Connect with us

Top Stories

Virus steals colour from Holi, Goa parties cancelled | Goa News – Times of India

Published

on

[ad_1]

PANAJI: Afroz Sayed, a DJ by profession, was signed up to perform at six Holi parties on Monday. However, all the six events were cancelled due to concerns surrounding the spike in Covid-19 cases in Goa in the last few days.
“I received back-to-back calls from the organisers to inform me that their respective events will not be taking place,” he said.
Within minutes, his packed schedule was reduced to a day devoid of work.
The state government on Friday announced the imposition of Section 144 to curb the spread of the virus due to potential crowding thus leading to the cancellation of parties across the state.
As a precautionary measure, celebrations for Shigmotsav, Easter and Shab-e-Barat were also called off.
The Festival of Colours party annually held at SinQ nightclub by Bull’s Eye Entertainment was cancelled soon after the state government made the announcement.
“The decision was timely since the safety of the people is more important than a music festival. We are currently in a pandemic, so we cannot help it,” Bull’s Eye Entertainment’s event planner Siggy D’Souza said.
The Uraki festival had scheduled a waterless Holi celebration at the Cajini multipurpose lawn that was supposed to run for 12 hours – 10 am to 10pm. The festival was cancelled two days prior to the scheduled date.
“While this decision may be sudden, we take the safety and health of our guests, staff and community very seriously,” a statement released by the organisers read.
They also promised to host the festival at a later date and assured that the ticket purchased will “automatically be applied to the rescheduled event”.
Other parties that were cancelled are Holi Hai at Majestic Pride, Rang De, Colour Nation, Holika and Colourholic.
The organisers are getting a pat on their back from the locals for making a responsible move, but due to lack of sponsorship this year, many of the small-time organisers that were dependent on the ticketed events to recover their investment are bound to face losses.
“Right from the planners of the small Holi party at Little Field, Taleigao, costing Rs 3.5 lakh to the organisers of grand ones like Colourland Goa at Nazri that is estimated to cost Rs 10-12 lakh or the Uraki festival costing about 20 lakh, everyone’s losing money due to cancellations,” Sayed said.
Some of these parties have even paid their vendors, while others had artistes flying in from neighbouring states to perform live. “Their hotel accommodation, flight tickets, taxi, etc, have been paid for and cannot be refunded. We have no choice but to bear the losses,” an organiser said.

[ad_2]

Source link

Special Stories

Broke Swiggy guy walks 3 km to deliver food, Social media helps him find better job. Heartwarming story is viral

Published

on

Social media can be a wondrous place at times. While on most days, its ugly face is on display, on days like today, it sets examples of the power of kindness. In a social media post, a LinkedIn user shared how a delivery executive, in need of money and a better job, bagged one after the users on the platform came together to help the person out.

Priyanshi Chandel, Marketing Manager at tech company Flash, shared an incident about a Swiggy delivery agent who had come to deliver food at her residence. When she asked the late and out-of-breath delivery person, identified by her as Sahil Singh, about what happened, he told her that he had no transport and had to walk 3 km to deliver the order.

He also said that he was out of money and had nothing left to pay his landlord too. Singh told her that he was not looking for money from her but requested her to help him bag a job. He said that he had a degree in Electrical and Communication Engineering, and had worked with Byju’s and Ninjacart before. He had to move back to Jammu during the pandemic.

“I have not eaten for a week, just drinking water and tea to get by. I am not asking for anything, please if you can find me a job, I used to make 25k before, I am 30 years old, my parents are getting old and I can’t keep asking for money from them (sic),” Chandel quoted saying.

She also shared his marksheets and contact number for people to help. His details shared show that he is a 2018 BTech graduate from Mewar University, and completed his schooling from the Jammu and Kashmir state board.

After she shared the details, the comments section was filled with people who stepped up to help. While someone recharged his Yulu account so that he did not have to walk around to deliver food, someone offered a place to stay. Many offered to help him with his applications, while some offered jobs too.

Chandel, later on put an update on the post, and said that he received a job.

However, so far it is unclear what job he has received.

2023 has so far been a year of job losses, an eventual outcome of the pandemic and increased hiring by tech companies. For instance, the SSC MTS 2023 recruitment exam that took place in Uttar Pradesh in May saw over 55 lakh applications for Group D jobs. Numerous candidates who applied for positions such as peon, watchman, gardener had educational backgrounds like BTech, MBA, and Master’s degrees.

Continue Reading

Top Stories

Goa CM, NRI Commissioner writes to MoEF for help in safe return of Goans from Ukraine

Published

on

Panaji: Goa chief minister Dr Pramod Sawant on Thursday urged Union Minister for External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar to help in safe return of Goans who are in the Ukraine.

Sawant tweeted “we are concerned about the Goans in Ukraine who are considering to return to India in the light of ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis. I request Union Minister for External Affairs @DrSJaishankar ji for help in the safe return of Goans. I am keeping track of the situation.”

The chief minister’s tweet comes hours after Goa’s NRI Commissioner Narendra Sawaikar wrote to the Union External Affairs ministry seeking help in return of Goans who are in the Ukraine.

“Many Goans are currently residing in Ukraine due to various purposes including higher studies and due to the ongoing tension between Russia and Ukraine, I have started receiving requests for help and assistance from them to return back to India,” Sawaikar wrote.

The Commissioner further wrote in the letter that advisories have already been issued by the Ministery of External Affairs to Indians currently in Ukraine and our Indian Mission in Kyiy is currently handling the matter.

“Striking note of urgency, the Government of India has recently asked the family members of Embassy officials in Ukraine as well as students and citizens whose stay is not vital , to leave the Eastern European nation amid it’s raising tensions with Russia,” the letter reads.

Sawaikar wrote that the Goans in Ukraine are in touch with this office as they are anxious to temporarily return till the situation normalizes.

Continue Reading

Top Stories

Election Commission announces polling dates and counting days for Vidhan Sabha elections in 5 states

Published

on

On Saturday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the dates for the Vidhan Sabha elections in 5 States, namely, Goa, Punjab, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

While briefing the media, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra informed that the elections in the poll-bound States will commence from February 10, 2022, to March 7, 2022. Elections in the State of Uttar Pradesh will be conducted in 7 phases, followed by Manipur with 2 phases. Elections in Goa, Uttarkhand and Punjab will be conducted in a single phase.

According to the Election Commission of India, the votes will be counted on March 10, 2022. ECI informed that all physical campaigning will be ceased until January 15, 2022, in light of the rising cases of Coronavirus.

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending