TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: After a picnic at Bat Island last week, it is now international getaways for incumbent ministers and legislators, most of whom are out of Goa and the country this week — albeit at the cost of the state’s exchequer.
While a huge contingent has set out for Europe, a much smaller group of ministers and MLAs have embarked on a trip to Dubai. Their mission–to play football at a tournament organised by Dubai Goans.
The tournament consists of 20 minute seven-a-side matches that will be played throughout the day and through a system of combination of leagues and knockouts and two teams will make it to the finals.
The team, which has set out includes Carlos Almeida, Benjamin Silva, Avertano Furtado, Glenn Ticlo, Caetano Silva, Mahadev Naik and Milind Naik as well as Naresh Sawal along with some veteran footballers from the state.
Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar too is scheduled to be present in Dubai to “watch the match”
as Goa Legislators is one of the teams which will take part in a tournament organized by the Dubai Goans. It however, could not be confirmed whether the Chief Minister cancelled his plans later after the recent developments in the state.
The seven -a-side day long tournament matches are scheduled to be played in Dubai on November 8.
The team was to include Michael Lobo who had to opt out as he was to participate in the study tour of Europe considering the fact that a GTP is proposed in Calangute. Rohan Khaunte also turned down an invitation following the Nigerian issue that is still raging in north Goa and his constituency Porvorim.
We are told that while the bill for the trip to Italy, Austria and Germany which includes the deputy chief minister, five legislators, officials and local bodies representatives, will be footed by the government, the common man will have to pay for the politicos bill to play football in Dubai.
Francisco Mickky Pacheco apparently refused to speak on the issue even though we understand that he was not invited for the Bat Island picnic nor the football game in Dubai.
Alina Saldanha the minister for environment has also not opted for any of the international trips. Dilip Parulekar is presently in London for the tourism travel mart and is scheduled to meet up with his party colleagues in Europe.
Other legislators who have gone on tourism trips will be part of various road shows ostensibly to bring more tourists to Goa.
