Currently in Goa (Oct 18, 2009).......
*** No Water *** Residents of Porvorim had to celebrate Diwali without water on Saturday. According to the residents, there was no water supply to Porvorim for two consecutive days on October 17 and 18. The residents were forced to hire water tankers paying exorbitant charges to meet their water requirement. http://oheraldo.in/pagedetails.asp?nid=28782&cid=26 *** Phones are Dead *** BSNL'S service to customers is absolutely disgusting. The telephones of most BSNL consumers are either not functioning or the complaints are totally ignored. Most of the call centres are non-responsive. The numbers given for the call centre are most of the time unreachable. http://oheraldo.in/pagedetails.asp?nid=28772&cid=26 *** Drug squad without personnel *** Despite two high-profile seizures of drugs from Goa in Mangalore and Bangalore in the past week and a DJ arrested for possession of charas describing Goa as the "epicentre of the drug trade" in India, it will come as a rude shock to most people that the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for Goa has no staff at all at present. http://oheraldo.in/innerlist.asp?cid=26 *** Regular Power cuts *** Talked to a Goanetter in the North Goa beach-belt yesterday. Brown-outs are a regular feature - 35 years after Goa's villages were first electrified. Nevertheless.......Diwali, the festival of lights was celebrated with gaiety and spiritual fervour..... http://www.navhindtimes.in/news/goa-news/4262-diwali-celebrated-with-gaiety Happy Deepavali! - B