tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24087428048598609702024-08-31T05:12:59.181-07:00Ranjit Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01751967049439520486noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2408742804859860970.post-7933624013315432612012-04-05T05:19:00.000-07:002012-04-05T05:19:47.929-07:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The New South Wales (NSW) government also has also decided to build a new international convention, entertainment and exhibition precinct. The link below gives the details of the development and the progress so far.</span><br /> <br /> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.newsydneyconventioncentre.com</span><br /> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /> </span><br /> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Comments for Goa:</strong> The new convention centre is taking advantage of the “waterside” location of Sydney which would be a good concept for Goa to emulate. Given the relative congestion in Panjim and the need to spread “development” , it might be a feasible alternative to locate the new convention centre in the Divar/Chorao areas. This coupled with the new bridges already announced would give an added boost to the economy, benefits to the locals and create a new spot for future expansion.</span><br /> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /> </span><br /> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>Ranjit Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01751967049439520486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2408742804859860970.post-39636258648599699182012-01-23T23:40:00.000-08:002012-01-23T23:40:52.486-08:00<span style="color: black;"><br /> </span><span style="color: black;">The season before Christmas is often referred to as the " silly season" in many western countries. The term can also be best used to describe the pre election period in India.</span><br /> <span style="color: black;"><br /> </span><br /> <span style="color: black;">Just look at the order to cover all the statue of elephants in Lucknow and other parts of UP before the elections. Do we seriously believe that people won't know that the statues are in there just by covering them with a pink cloth ? And the amount of money spent on this exercise .....Rs. 1 crore !!!!!</span><br /> <span style="color: black;"><br /> </span><br /> <span style="color: black;">To put this amount in context, a recent study put the percentage of severe malnutrition in children less than 5 years at nearly 20%, i.e. almost 1 in every 5 children. According to figures publicly available from Akshaya Patra, a NGO that provides meals to children, the average cost of a daily meal is approximately Rs. 6. </span><br /> <span style="color: black;"><br /> </span><br /> <span style="color: black;">So, the same money that could have been used to feed nearly 4500 children one meal for a whole YEAR is used to cover statues of elephants.</span><br /> <span style="color: black;"><br /> </span><br /> <span style="color: black;">While we are used to blaming politicians for most issues in our society ( and in this case, it all started from them), sometimes we have to wonder at the logic behind orders like these.</span><br /> <span style="color: black;"><br /> </span><br /> <span style="color: black;">Why only stop at elephants ? The humble "bicycle" is the symbol of another major party...so, should all bicycles be covered in pink cloth ? No "lotus" should be allowed to bloom anywhere during the election period, instead they should be covered with pink cloth......and if we really want to be fair across the political spectrum......my "Hand" should be covered in pink cloth as well, lest someone votes for a party just because I raised my hand.</span><br /> <span style="color: black;"><br /> </span><br /> <span style="color: black;">Well...being the eternal optimist......atleast they left the real elephants alone !</span>Ranjit Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01751967049439520486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2408742804859860970.post-86788685208104812942011-09-15T04:37:00.001-07:002011-09-15T04:41:29.822-07:00Yet again.....another politician changes his party.....what happened to the lofty ideals that they told us when they asked for our vote ?<br /><br />Is it time to get together people who "honestly" care about Goa ? Is Goa ready for a new political party ?Ranjit Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01751967049439520486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2408742804859860970.post-84345059866127860262010-08-14T06:37:00.000-07:002011-09-15T04:09:49.603-07:00Continuing the theme of posing some questions that we should be asking our politicians....<br /><br />6) What are you doing to ensure that Goa's natural beauty is preserved and at the same time our most important industry...."tourism" is maintained ?<br />7) What are you doing to attract the "right" kind of industries to Goa ?<br />8) What are you doing to ensure that the earnings from the export of minerals is put back into the community and "future proofing" Goa's future ?<br /><br />...These are only some of the questions that must be answered to be reasonably confident that Goa is going in the right direction....Ranjit Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01751967049439520486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2408742804859860970.post-47301870639815694412010-08-07T14:07:00.000-07:002010-08-07T14:09:12.099-07:00Ranjit Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01751967049439520486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2408742804859860970.post-42393293391641088312010-07-29T04:55:00.000-07:002010-08-04T04:48:23.204-07:00Politics has moved from being the first choice of people who want to make a difference to being the career to avoid if you want to maintain some decorum in your life.<br /><br />It wasn't always like this .....When India achieved independance in 1947 and Goa in 1961, there was a feeling of pride, a feeling of achievement and above all a sense of hope .....that finally..... it was time for India to unshackle itself from its past and shine as a nation and on the international stage....<br /><br />When Goa achieved statehood in 1987, there was a renewed sense of hope that things would turn around for the better...now that we were no longer "controlled" by the leaders from New Delhi...<br /><br />Have we...as the people of Goa ever asked this question to ourselves....<br /><br />What if we had not had 15 Chief Ministers in 23 years ?<br />What if our leaders had been genuinely interested in developing Goa and Goans?<br />What if we didnt have the petty politics that prevent the genuine needs of ordinary Goans from being met?<br /><br />As a community, we have the right to ask our leaders....<br />1) What are you doing about the increasing crime rates especially related to Drugs?<br />2) What are you doing about securing the future of Goan Children especially around preparing them to face the challenges of the digital age?<br />3)What are you doing to tackle the ever increasing transport issues in the state?<br />4) What are you doing to ensure that the environment that we inherited is not handed over in a "damaged" state to the next generation ?<br />5) What are you doing to ensure that Goans have "Genuine Access" to the best possible health care ?Ranjit Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01751967049439520486noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2408742804859860970.post-86100628355955336622007-01-12T00:38:00.000-08:002007-01-23T01:18:22.851-08:00Coming soon...Ranjit Nairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01751967049439520486noreply@blogger.com0