08/08/2014 … stating that he was totally against irregularities taking place in to the state of goa Pwd minister sudhin dhavlikar on Thursday said a new law for controlling spa and massage parlours was required in to the state of goa which could take strict action on illegal things taking place in spa and massage palours

It may be noted that the chief minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday had informed the assembly that his government would bring in a new law with adequate teeth to regulate massage parlours in the state and to prevent their misuse for the purpose of prostitution.

Parrikar had made the announcement while replying to a calling attention motion by Calangute MLA Michael Lobo who had stated that the lack of action from state police officials had allowed prostitution activities under the government approved centres of massage parlours, spas and Ayurvedic treatment in the state.

Commenting over the issue pwd minister sudhin dhavlikar said that there had to be a stop on illegal madssage parlour while genuine legal massage parlours had to be permitted to carry out their operations in the state

Meanwhile st cruz mla babush monsoratte commenting over the issue said that there was a need for the law to be in totally transparent as it was the police officials themselves who did not help to tackle illegal issues but were the other who were creating more complications and were good in taking benefits out of it

07/08/2014 ….Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Health Minister, has announced a fresh government initiative to ensure that organs and tissues are collected scientifically from donors and distributed to patients-in-need at minimum cost.

 He said that Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi will house the first National Organ &Tissue Transplantation Organisation (NOTTO). It will maintain computerised networks with 24 identified transplant and organ retrieval centres in Delhi. It will be commissioned within 18 months, he informed.

 “I wish to see a body pledging revolution in India. But before that I will put in place a state-of-art interface system between organ and recipients. At present only a handful of private hospitals are controlling information on organ availability, which is making costs prohibitive for the common man. Soon public institutions will make possible for speedy and effective distribution of kidneys, hearts, lungs, bones, tissues, cornea, skin and cells at token cost to those who can pay and free to the poor,” Dr Harsh Vardhan said.

Yesterday, a dry-run was successfully carried out between IGI Airport and a Gurgaon private hospital in which a dummy heart was transported over a 15.4 Km distance in 15 minutes through rush hour traffic. In normal days, this would have taken at least twice the time. In June, two heart transplants were carried out in Chennai using the “green corridor” system.

Dr Harsh Vardhan said, “I am convinced now that Indian society is ready for a revolution insofar as organ donation and transplantation are concerned. It is my job as Minister to make it work on the ground.”

The Health Minister added that he would consult the state governments at the next meeting of the Central Council of Health on setting up NOTTO-like institutions in all state capitals. The proposed Universal Health Assurance Plan which Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has articulated will have an organ donation component, he stated.

Under the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-2017), Rs 149 crore had been allotted for setting up organ donation facilitation infrastructure. However, in the first two years only about Rs 10 crore was spent, the Minister said. The new government intends implementing a nationwide programme for not only setting up NOTTO-like bodies, but also spreading social awareness so that there is never a dearth of organs and tissues for recipients, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said.

The Health Minister said that today, organ donation from the brain dead to patients-in-need is facilitated by law. But having progressive laws is not enough. The rate of organ donation in India is only 0.16 per 1 million population, compared to 40 in Spain and 35 in the United States, he said.

07/08/2014 …. Following is the text of speech of Minister of Tourism and Culture Shri Shripad Yesso Naik at a function in New Delhi on 6th August, 2014 on the occasion of release of new tourism brand for the Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli:

“I am happy to be present here today for launching the new tourism brand for the Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli, as well as the release of the Vision 2020 publication for Dadra & Nagar Haveli.

 The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India is promoting India as a brand across the world. Our “Incredible India” campaign has been highly successful. However, for maximizing our tourism potential, the Government’s effort needs to be supplemented by each State Government and Union Territory Administration. Many States and Union Territories are already well known for their tourism potential, and have also been proactive in promoting their destinations across the nation as well as at international level but there are others that are now trying to make a beginning.

 Both Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli share their rich history with Goa. While Goa is already world-famous as a tourist destination, very few people know that Daman and Diu are also endowed with excellent beaches and rich Portuguese heritage. Dadra & Nagar Haveli, on the other hand, has lovely forests, lakes and gardens which make it an enviable destination to spend time with nature. Unfortunately, people of India are still not aware about the tourist attractions in these UTs.

 In this backdrop, the attempt by the Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli to promote tourism by establishing a new brand image is highly commendable and welcome step.

I am especially delighted to note the forward looking approach of the UT Administration by conceiving, designing and publishing its vision for Dadra & Nagar Haveli. Though promotional campaigns may be outstanding, they need to be backed by quality infrastructure to make every tourist satisfied with his overall experience. I am, therefore, happy that both Union Territories have invested a lot in connectivity, basic infrastructure and tourism and have drawn a long term strategy before taking the important step of creating and launching their tourism campaign.”

07/08/2014 …. Konkan Railway TTE, Shri V K Chendavankar, is being lauded for his good work for saving lives of 3 passengers who were stated to be drugged in Mangala Express train and were found unconscious by him. He got them admitted to local hospital at Chiplun for medical treatment and saved their lives.

The details of the case are that when train no. 12618 Nizamuddin – Ernakulam Mangala Express reached Panvel at about 0930 hrs on 3/8/2014, the Konkan Railway TTE, Shri V K Chendavankar, boarded the train for ticket checking duty at Panvel. While checking coach no. S-10 around Roha station, he realized that 2 passengers in the coach at berth no. 50, 51 were unconscious and another passenger at berth no.53 was semi-conscious. Upon enquiring with the semi-conscious lady passenger, it came to light that all of them were related and that someone had offered them tea when the train was around Nashik station and upon drinking the tea they had all fallen unconscious.

Without wasting time, the TTE passed message to RPF Control of Konkan Railway who alerted the RPF and the medical staff at Kolad and Chiplun stations. The TTE contacted the relative of the semi-conscious passenger on her phone who asked the TTE to bring the passengers to Madgaon, but seeing the gravity of the case, the TTE convinced the passenger to alight at Chiplun where they can be provided medical aid. After she agreed, the 3 passengers were detrained at Chiplun station and readily escorted to Life Care Hospital at Chiplun by ambulance with RPF and medical staff of Konkan Railway.

The 3 passengers Shri Bala (age-58 yrs), Smt. Jaya (age-51 yrs), and Smt. Lily (age-49 yrs) (names changed) – are all from Kerala. A purse containing cash of Rs. 22000/-, Gold Chain of 03 tolas, 03 Gold bangles, ATM card, ID card etc are reported to be stolen from their belongings.

Further inquiry into the matter revealed that these 3 passengers were offered tea by some co-passengers. They have refused to file any complaint. However, Konkan Railway has forwarded the details of the case to Central Railway.

Konkan Railway permitted these three passengers to travel on same ticket in train no.12618 Dn Mangala Exp of following day.

Konkan Railway, on its section from Kolad to Thokur, regularly conducts surprise checks and escorts important trains which has acted as deterrent to criminals on the section in past few years. However, passengers are urged not to accept eatables from strangers and be vigilant

Panaji, August 6, 2014 …. Death Anniversary of late Shri D.B. Bandodkar,  the  first  Chief Minister of Goa, will be observed on Tuesday August 12, 2014. On the    occasion, Chief Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar alongwith  Cabinet Ministers will place garlands/flowers on the Samadhi of late  Shri D.B. Bandodkar  and pay their homage at Miramar at 8:30 a.m.  followed by garlanding of the statue of late Shri D.B. Bandodkar at Old Secretariat, Panaji at 9:00 a.m.

All the Secretaries to Government and Heads of Departments are requested to attend the aforesaid function.

06/08/2014 … The Electronics Test and Development Centre-Goa  under Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Government of India, will be organising a one day seminar on Computer and Cyber Security on 18^th September 2014. 

The programme will cover the topics such as  need and relevance of cyber security,  cyber threat landscape-  malware, identity theft, intrusion, etc.,  threat management and mitigation – proactive and reactive approach, etc.

          The programme will give insight of computer and cyber security and  is beneficial to bank staff, insurance company staff, hotel industry, housekeeping and front office staff, persons working in medical labs, professionals who work online and to any other individual  who uses online services.  

For further details interested parties can contact the course co-ordinator on telephone No. 2458681/82/83  Fax : 2459784  Mob: 9823124495,  Email : rm*****@******ov.in