BALLI BURNING: May 25: It was a case of a lathi charge that went horribly wrong. A large crowd of tribals had gathered at Balli and cut off NH 17 and the railway line.
The police miss-read the situation and ordered a lathi charge. What followed was a harsh retaliation in which a cashew nut godown was burnt down. At the end, two tribals lost their lives. An inquiry is on and the report awaited.
PALOLEM SURGE: Nov 28 : A sudden rise in sea water at Palolem beach damaged canoes lying on the shore and ripped apart fishing nets. The loss caused by the incident is estimated to be around ` 2 crore. A total of 50 canoes, ten motorised canoes and other equipment were destroyed. The National Institute of Oceanography stated that the water surge is a local phenomenon triggered by a sharp depression and intensified wind conditions.
NAPHTHA FIRE: Aug 19 : A major fire ignited by a leak in the naphtha pipeline at Varunapuri, Mormugao, killed five people. The fire raged for more than a week and the pipeline was shut down causing shortages of petrol and diesel in the state. The pipeline was punctured by a road contractor. ZIOTL, which manages the pipeline was severely criticised for not acting in time to prevent the disaster.
CUT TO SIZE: Oct 5 : The year did not go well for the ex-Benaulim MLA, Mr Francisco (Mickky) Pacheco, who was arrested by lower court on charges of assaulting a junior electricity department. Mr Pacheco was convicted by the court. His sentence has been reduced but he still has to serve six months in jail. Mr Pacheco had to resign as tourism minister after his name surfaced in connection with the suicide case of Nadia Torrado the previous year.
CAR CRASH: June 24 : In the tragic accident, four youth lost their lives at Raia-Tembi, on the Margao-Ponda highway after their car crashed into an oncoming truck which was diverted due to the ongoing road work. The driver of the truck was arrested along with the road contractor.
NARROW ESCAPE: Sept 6 : Nearly 105 passengers of Kuwait-Goa-Chennai flight had a narrow escape after a tyre of plane burst while landing at Dabolim airport. The front nose wheel tyre of the Airbus 320 aircraft burst on landing. No one was hurt.
FILMI CHAKKAR: Nov 23 : For the first time since Goa became the permanent venue of the International Film Festival of India, the inaugural ceremony was shifted to Pai Tiatrist Hall in Margao. That was when Shahrukh Khan came to the commercial city. The occasion was marred by protests over the closing ceremony which coincided with the feast of St Francis Xavier.
BURIED ALIVE: June 18 : Three persons were buried alive under a heap of mining rejects that gave way at Cuddegal mines in Sanguem. The department of mines and the company operating the mine came under fire for the incident. Compensation was paid to the families of the workers.
TWO IN A DAY: Dec 11 : One of the saddest moments of the year was the passing away of internationally acclaimed cartoonist, Mario Miranda. He was 85. Mario’s death has created a void in the world of creativity. On the same day a well known tiatrist, William De Curtorim breathed his last. He had carved a niche on the Konkani stage with is his politically inspired songs.
COPPER BULLETS: Nov 26 : The Zambian national football team played their first match against Goa XI and subsequently against India team to mark the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Goa Football Association. They won both matches. The visiting team is nicknamed as `Chipolopolo` (Chi-Polo-Polo) which means ‘Copper bullets’ as copper is one of the nation’s main exports.
