Feni, toddy licences go up

PANAJI — Goa, of late, has witnessed a slide in the number of public libraries and movie theatres, some of them even being closed down due to poor response. In contrast, the number of licenses issued by the excise department for manufacture of traditional liquors - caju (cashew) as well as toddy - is on the rise.
Recent figures provided by the government for the year 2006-2007 underlines that there are 99 private-aided libraries - 74 in North and 25 in South - in the state while 20 government libraries; 9 in North and 11 in South.
As for the private-aided libraries in North Goa, the maximum are in Pernem taluka - 16 and minimum in Tiswadi and Bicholim taluka, with each of these talukas having 9 libraries. In South Goa, the maximum libraries in this category are found in Quepem taluka - 8 and minimum of such libraries are located in Sanguem, 2 in number.
According to the statistics, the North Goa taluka having the maximum number of government libraries is Ponda with 3 libraries and minimum number of government libraries are located in Tiswadi, Bardez and Pernem talukas, with each taluka having 1 library. In South Goa, the Salcete, Quepem and Canacona talukas have maximum government libraries, 3 each, while Mormugao taluka has nil.
The figures for the year 2006-2007 also reveal that the excise department has altogether issued 2,578 licenses - 2,023 in North Goa and 555 in South Goa - for manufacturing caju (cashew) liquor while it has given 959 licenses - 358 in North Goa and 601 in South Goa - for manufacturing toddy liquor.
The figures for caju (cashew) liquor state that 874 licenses have been issued in the Sattari taluka and 433 in the Bicholim taluka, while those for toddy liquor inform that 202 licenses have been issued in Pernem taluka and 146 in the Sanguem taluka.
Furthermore, although the government, during the year 2006-2007, is in receipt of Rs 508.62 lakh - Rs 374.14 from North Goa and Rs 134.48 lakh from South Goa - by way of entertainment tax, the number of cinema theatres has reduced in the state.
In spite of the fact that a four-screen multiplex has come up in Panaji and another two-screen multiplex in Margao, the total number of theatres in Goa are only 20, with 11 of them located in North Goa and 9 in South Goa. The total capacity of the cinema theatres in North Goa is 5,626 seats while that in South Goa is 2,647, taking the total theatre capacity in the state to 8,273.
In North Goa, the Tiswadi taluka has a maximum of 7 theatres, while Sattari and Ponda talukas have none. In South Goa, the Salcete taluka has maximum theatres – 4, while the Sanguem taluka has no theatre.
A number of theatres including El Capitan (Mapusa), El Dorado (Panaji), Gulmarg (Ribandar), Shri Chitramandir (Marcel), Cine Ayesha (Ponda) and Blue Pearl (Margao), besides at least half-a-dozen others, have been shut down due to poor response from the audiences, difficulty in maintenance and inability to shift to modern technology.

Courtesy:navahindatimes.com

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