View this post on the web at https://gerardsgazette.substack.com/p/the-liquor-raid-that-wasnt
Welcome to yet another edition of Gerard’s Gazette, a weekly newsletter in which I attempt to break down the events of the week gone by and offer a bit of context, as well as a dose of news you may have missed and news behind the news. If this is your first time here, thank you for signing up, and I hope you stick around! Thanks for reading GERARD’s Gazette! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. There are three fairly important things I want to talk about this week. Actually, there’s more than three, but two others -- the Loliem Poinguinim attempted land grab [ https://substack.com/redirect/02a7d496-cc5f-454c-a218-14b8d6a3bbb8?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] and the continued land conversions in Goa [ https://substack.com/redirect/3eca0661-8ba4-4c85-964a-d72f550d60e5?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] will have to wait -- only for the sake of brevity (I don’t want the newsletter to become too long) and nothing else. But before that, let’s get a few things out of the way. The Goa University finds itself in hot water on account of an ‘underwear’ parade [ https://substack.com/redirect/02e06b96-a00b-472f-bb45-097a54973b52?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] organised by students of the fourth year ‘integrated’ (Bachelors + Masters) MBA during an event styled as ‘Third Degree’ as part of the wider cultural event termed ‘Frolic’ organised by the Students’ Council of the University. For those of whom flying on a direct flight between the UK and Goa was on your minds, Air India has announced it is discontinuing its Mopa-Gatwick thrice-weekly direct service [ https://substack.com/redirect/5300df60-9e7a-4c81-999a-a6dab7c471a3?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ], an announcement that has come the same week, the AAIB released its preliminary report into the cause of the Ahmedabad-Gatwick flight [ https://substack.com/redirect/9d06f7be-af0f-47de-8ac9-562d3259c416?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ]. Flights on the route were earlier kept on hold until mid-July. The plane that crashed in Ahmedabad was to return from Gatwick to Goa the next day on its return leg. That said, let’s dive into the main stories this week. Thanks for reading GERARD’s Gazette! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. The liquor raid that wasn’t Let’s start with a story that, even if you follow news from Goa regularly, you might have missed. Reason being, it wasn’t widely reported and among those who reported it, was carried only on the inside pages. If you recall, in May this year, there was news of how excise officials who are manning the state’s northern border at Patradevi busted what they claimed as a major liquor smuggling racket [ https://substack.com/redirect/357e4400-03fc-4ec5-8400-fb25ec3fc1da?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] when they intercepted a Haryana registered truck carrying liquor into Goa allegedly without any documents? According to reports at the time Excise officials claimed that the consignment was worth a value exceeding Rs 2-crore. [ https://substack.com/redirect/c41ce94b-f5f3-4b35-8654-36b090620e55?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] The report caught the eye for multiple reasons, firstly, it came across as odd -- at least to me -- that someone would try and smuggle liquor into Goa, when usually the practice is to smuggle liquor out of Goa since liquor is generally cheaper here. If true, it would mean that it is the first time such a large quantity of liquor has been caught being smuggled into the state. The seizure even prompted the Goa Liquor Traders Association to hold a protest outside the Excise Department [ https://substack.com/redirect/4d07e36d-3b67-4680-bddf-619ea0bf126d?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] urging them to crackdown on high-end liquor, which is now cheaper in Haryana than it is in Goa -- being smuggled into the state. They said that along the coastal belt there are around 300 shops that are selling this Haryana liquor at a discount in Goa [ https://substack.com/redirect/38d07083-727b-4064-9165-e5949e720c7f?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] thereby undercutting the legitimate business and causing loss to the exchequer. Now, I have no doubt that their fears are real, but as it turns out, in this case the liquor bust wasn't a liquor bust at all. It was a perfectly legal consignment of imported liquor that was being transported from one ‘customs-bounded’ warehouse located in Haryana to a ‘customs-bounded’ warehouse in Goa. The importer filed a case against the Goa Excise Commissioner and the High Court not only quashed the show cause notice issued against the importer but also ordered that the consignment be released to continue on its journey. [ https://substack.com/redirect/147b2b20-9ee0-45d3-bfbd-b579c4af2ffb?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] It turns out that under Customs law, goods are not considered as ‘imported’ until they pay their Customs duties and are cleared by Customs. Furthermore, this is something I learnt thanks to this case, it is possible to transport imported items between ‘customs-bounded warehouses’ within the country, despite them not being cleared by Customs and which are thus, yet to be ‘imported’ into the country. Both the Haryana warehouse, and the Pilerne warehouse where the consignment was destined for, were duly registered ‘Customs-bounded’ warehouses and the truck carrying the consignment between the two was duly sealed by a Customs official. The consignment in question was yet to be ‘imported’ into the country and customs duty was yet to be paid. The Excise sub-inspector who broke the Customs’ seal to inspect the contents of the truck had no jurisdiction over the consignment and was way out of line to do so. In fact, he is very lucky that the High Court didn’t impose exemplary costs as vehemently asserted by the importers for his ‘illegal acts.’ Turns out that the humble driver who was detained and was saying that the consignment was bound for ‘Customs’ was right all along and the Excise Sub Inspector was wrong. It must be noted that the Sub-Inspector has since been transferred, [ https://substack.com/redirect/8ee13ab0-eb62-4652-8833-c7e9a43d1af5?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] but it is high time that officials at least know the law that they are tasked with upholding, instead of holding up consignments and threatening to arrest drivers just so that they can make a quick buck. Wheels of misfortune Road accidents in Goa don’t often make news. In fact they are so common -- around 300 fatalities a year (almost one a day) — that many aren’t even reported unless there are multiple fatalities. But this week, at least two accidents caused quite a flutter. The first took place in Guirim along NH 66 when a Mapusa-Panjim that was merging with the highway ran over a scooterist who was on his way to Porvorim when the bus merged onto the highway like it owned the road. As it turned out, the victim in this case was Narayan Abhyankar [ https://substack.com/redirect/7b86384c-f958-45c4-983a-c484a5436581?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ], who was under secretary for law and working at the Secretariat. As expected, after the accident the blame game began. Mapusa MLA Joshua de Souza, said the accident was on account of incomplete service roads [ https://substack.com/redirect/8999a132-592a-406c-b497-5d64e5ec1bff?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ], and the PWD said they would put in place corrective measures like rumbler strips to ensure motorists are adequately warned of the threats ahead. But what no one seemed to address was the traffic sense (or lack of it) that was on display here. It is pretty much the rule, that when a vehicle from an approach road or a service road seeks to enter or merge with traffic on a highway, it is their duty to stop, look to see if the lane is clear and only then merge on to traffic. The rule is that those on the ‘lesser’ road have to yield to those on the ‘greater’ road. What is especially true at the Guirim junction is that those who are coming from the service road onto the highway act like they are the kings of the road and directly join the highway without looking left nor right, placing themselves right onto the path of those already occupying the highway lanes, who then have to yield to them. That’s exactly what this bus did and merged onto the highway unconcerned about whose path he was cutting across and snuffing the life out of the hapless two wheeler rider. The other accident at Bethora in Ponda, claimed two lives [ https://substack.com/redirect/14e4c17e-5955-466d-9663-a6d008d9b7e8?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ]-- both young adults -- and was by one of the two deceased adults Aditya Dessai who was driving on the wrong side (against the flow of traffic) of a busy road. Now, I have no sympathy for those driving up the wrong side of a road, but regretfully they take with them the lives of innocent, rules-abiding commuters, which is what happened in this case. The less said about the traffic police and the RTO the better. Instead of tackling offences that actually cost lives, they are always keen to pick the low hanging fruit of helmet/seatbelt, overspeeding, etc. Very rarely have I seen them tackle wrong side driving, dangerous parking or even policing the traffic flow at crucial junctions. No one gives a damn and the only way to survive is to drive like you care more about being alive than in the right. In most countries, driving is a privilege. Here, might is right. GSBB’s unsound advice This week, the Goa State Biodiversity Board issued an advisory urging harvesters of wild ‘Roen Olami’ or Termitomyces mushrooms to do so in moderation [ https://substack.com/redirect/302644a4-810b-491d-b6a6-6a47888ef3dc?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ], as according to the GSBB, rampant consumption and over exploitation of wild edible mushrooms was a “threat to nature" and “degrading sensitive wild habitat thus causing erosion of biodiversity.” [ https://substack.com/redirect/78f53b6f-8674-4119-9013-a5e8a2d31645?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] Now, as a lover of these seasonal, incredibly tasty, but also expensive wild offerings, I was naturally alarmed. These mushrooms are an excellent substitute especially at a time when fish is scarce. Want to know how much Goans miss their fish? You should have seen the line queuing up no sooner the Fisheries Department announced that “limited stocks” of farm prawns were available for sale. [ https://substack.com/redirect/782d870a-b0df-4762-936e-94e217522d51?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] Anyways, back to our story. So what exactly is the basis of this fear that overharvesting is threatening the existence of these seemingly rare members of Kingdom Fungi? A Facebook post by Miguel Braganza [ https://substack.com/redirect/358e253b-e7e2-4b5f-9972-0ed3e8dd2852?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ], prompted me to ask this question. Turns out that this advisory is based on a ‘study’ [ https://substack.com/redirect/e73dac47-debd-4a18-9eb6-677ce9cbd97b?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] conducted by Nandakumar Kamat back in 2004. Kamat is the advisor to the Goa State Biodiversity Board when it comes to mushrooms. This study [ https://substack.com/redirect/e73dac47-debd-4a18-9eb6-677ce9cbd97b?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ], it turns out, is nothing but a ppt presentation based on anecdotal evidence gathered through observing what’s available in the market. In it, Kamat claims that a “random market survey” revealed 15 species in 1986 with the number of species gradually dropping over the years. “In 1991, only 12 species were identified in market samples, in 1993, only 10 species were seen in the market,” Kamat says before going on to add that by 2004 “it was difficult to see more than 5-6 species.” After which he draws a conclusion that “the uncontrolled Termitomyces trade is eroding its’ genetic base.” Now as you probably know (if you’ve paid attention during your science classes in school) is that the main ‘organism’ of the fungi lives underground or inside wood. In the case of Termitomyces it grows from the wood that the termites take back to their nest. The fungi helps the termites by breaking the wood down into a form that the termites can then digest. What surfaces as a ‘mushroom’ is only the fruiting body that produces and releases spores. Plucking the mushroom is no threat to the organism itself that will survive for as long it has a source of wood to feed on. In the case of the ‘roen olami’ that grows on termite mounds, it is also guaranteed an endless supply of wood for as long as the termite mound remains intact and active. It’s like claiming plucking a fruit or flower threatens the plant itself. What needs to be protected is the ant hill or the termite mound. The real threat to the mushroom, therefore, does not come from unregulated plucking or overharvesting. The real threat is fungicides and other chemicals used today to treat the soil. More than that it is the loss of habitat that is a threat to the abundance, availability and survival of these mushroom species. But the GSBB is silent about these real threats and is instead going after the poor harvesters seeking to blame them as being a threat to biodiversity. In the meanwhile a massive project like the Mopa Airport, or an iron ore mine or even a real estate project, that hollows out an entire hill that erases habitats of not just mushrooms but of thousands of species finds no mention in the advisory. You can therefore continue to enjoy your mushrooms guilt-free. About time we stopped missing the wood for the trees. Quite literally. That’s all I have for you this week. Make sure you comment or write in, should you have something, anything to say. I would also invite you to contribute via sending in your views, especially on a subject you know something about, and I will be happy to include it as part of the newsletter. You are also welcome to write in with leads and tip-offs or anything that you think might be interesting enough to include here. As always, please share and help spread the word. Until next week, then. Tchau! Thanks for reading GERARD’s Gazette! This post is public so feel free to share it. Unsubscribe https://substack.com/redirect/2/eyJlIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9nZXJhcmRzZ2F6ZXR0ZS5zdWJzdGFjay5jb20vYWN0aW9uL2Rpc2FibGVfZW1haWw_dG9rZW49ZXlKMWMyVnlYMmxrSWpvM01qZ3pOREF4TlN3aWNHOXpkRjlwWkNJNk1UWTRNVFkyTnpNekxDSnBZWFFpT2pFM05USXpOek00TXpRc0ltVjRjQ0k2TVRjNE16a3dPVGd6TkN3aWFYTnpJam9pY0hWaUxUSTJPVEF5TmpBaUxDSnpkV0lpT2lKa2FYTmhZbXhsWDJWdFlXbHNJbjAucjg1akxrYl9GSnFLdm90YUxtQjR2YjBHbmdvU1FkRTlKeGhkeHpfLWlCRSIsInAiOjE2ODE2NjczMywicyI6MjY5MDI2MCwiZiI6dHJ1ZSwidSI6NzI4MzQwMTUsImlhdCI6MTc1MjM3MzgzNCwiZXhwIjoyMDY3OTQ5ODM0LCJpc3MiOiJwdWItMCIsInN1YiI6ImxpbmstcmVkaXJlY3QifQ.OqDhCtX1jKiWxV9dbaC1aFQuZKNFg7hyiYV8G_MJF2w?
