Prutha Goa

All over Goa we see heritage houses, a testament to the Portuguese rule in this tiny state. Usually they are abandoned, empty with the owners living in another country, or in a dilapidated condition. The occasional well-maintained Portuguese-Goan style house is preserved at considerable cost. Even so, the preservation of ancestral Goan houses is essential to the Goan identity which carries with it stories of families and their legacies. There are many Goans who cut costs and try to use modern methods and materials such as ceramic tiles, etc. The best way to maintain these ancestral homes is to use age old architectural techniques which, although expensive, retain the integrity and structural harmony of the house. Ketak Nachinolkar is a conservation architect who has made an example of his own ancestral house by maintaining it the old fashioned way. Ketak, who has been practicing for the last sixteen years, found opposition to his ideas of conservation when he started out but more recen

Along the highway, it is common to see plant nurseries presenting an attractive sight. The prices that are charged for these plants vary, some charging over a hundred rupees for plants that would normally cost a price in double digits. Many of these nurseries are without a licence and are not authorised to sell plants. The Friday Balcão met on 9th of February 2018 to discuss the Goa Fruit and Ornamental Plant Nurseries (Regulation) Act, 1995, its implications on those who operate plant nurseries without a licence and use handcarts to sell plants from place to place, as well as the role of the government, legitimate businessmen and consumers. The reason for the discussion titled ‘Strengthening Regulations for Plant Nurseries in Goa: Role of Govt, Business and Consumers’ at the Friday Balcão, was the numerous complaints the various Consumer Forums were receiving about people having bought mango saplings or coconut saplings believing they were of a certain variety and then they turned out

Old age becomes a curse to many and the challenges that one faces at as vulnerable a time as this are many. The United Nations Organisation celebrated 15 June as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day because the number of older people is predicted to increase exponentially between 2015 and 2030, more so in developing countries. Along with this trend, there will be a rise in abuse of older persons. To check this violation of human rights, the UNO seeks to draw attention to this problem, which is essentially a global issue. The theme for 2017 is ‘Understand and End Financial Abuse of Older People: A Human Rights Issue’ and the matter was discussed particularly with regard to elderly people in Goa, at the Friday Balcão in Mapusa. In the past, there have been incidences of elderly parents being divested of their property through forged signatures or using chicanery to obtain valid signatures and then dumping them in old age homes. Elderly individuals have been hoodwinked in the same way by trust