On a recent visit to Kuwait, Goa's Tourism Minister Mickky Pacheco met his childhood friends - Lino Gabriel Fernandes and Mariano Gomes (both Nuvemkars). Lino Gabriel Fernandes is the General Secretary of Nuvem-Kuwait Parishioners (NKP) and a die-hard football enthusiast and supporter of Goan causes. He also runs the NKP blog wherein he archives news clippings of interest to the Nuvem villagers.
The Tourism Minister was invited and specially flown in direct from Goa by the Indian Football Federation-Kuwait as a chief guest at the finals of the 2009-10 IFFK Football League Tournament. The thrilled Nuvemkars duo were so taken back, that even after a gap of two decades, the Minister remembered their names and enquired about their welfare as well as of the Nuvemkars in Kuwait.
Shortly after returning to Goa, Mickky Pacheco announced housing scheme for needy Nuvem locals. While distributing paddy seeds to the farmers of Nuvem on Friday along with Nuvem ZP member Wilfred D’Sa, Pacheco said he has plans to acquire land admeasuring six lakh square meters in Nuvem and make them into plots of 250-300 square meters and distribute to the needy villagers. “I understand the difficulties faced by the villagers of Nuvem on the housing front. I want to acquire land in the village and distribute them into plots for the needy”, he said.Hitting out at the big landlords for disposing off land to parties from Delhi and Mumbai, Pacheco said if the current trend continues, outsiders will outnumber the Nuvem villagers one day. “I want to acquire land and distribute the same to the villagers. This will also help to retain the land and utilized by the locals instead of by outsiders”, he added. Earlier, Pacheco and Wilfred distributed 500 bags of paddy seeds for the farmers and have promised to provide fertilizers to ensure the seeds grow into plants. “Don’t hesitate to come to me for any help and assistance. I will continue my work in Nuvem”, he said, while profusely thanking Nuvem villagers for electing Wilfred with a comfortable margin in the ZP polls. Incidentally, both Pacheco and Wilfred had distributed around 400 bags of paddy seeds to the farmers of Verna. “During my visits to Nuvem, I have found many farmers still cultivating the fields, unlike many other villagers, where fields are kept fallow”, he said, while asking the people to protect their land and not to sell them to outsiders.
Wilfred D’Sa later told newsmen that the objective behind distributing the paddy seeds is to promote farming in the village. “People showed their love for me by giving me a huge lead in the ZP polls. Now, it is my turn to shower my love for the villagers”, he said. He said the people have formed Nuvem Krishi Saunstha wherein machinery including tractors and power tillers will be made available to the farmers as part of efforts to promote agriculture in the village.
Report & Pictures by
www.goa-world.com Team
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