One legislator, Sanjay Bandekar, and several senior bureaucrats are already in Orissa or on their way there. Incidentally, the government team from Goa is not going to rough it out in the wilderness of its adopted district. It will remain in Orissa's capital Bhubaneswar.

Destination London
Last year, the then chief minister Wilfred D'Souza was removed from power while he was attending the World Tourism Mart in London. Naturally, the man who did him in present CM Luizinho Faleiro is loath to leave home lest he be administered a dose of his own medicine. So Faleiro has decided to deputehis tourism minister Churchill. Since Alemao's sales pitch won't go farther than his tiny constituency, Benaulim, he has decided to take a large contingent of officials from the tourism department for the WTM. Surely, a good time will be had by all.

Football capers
Tourism Minister Alemao has yet another reason to celebrate. His football club Churchill Brothers reached the finals of the Rovers Club in Mumbai and the big man has decided to rope in some cheerleaders for the boys. No, not the leggy beauties clad in short skirts like in the US but busloads of homegrown Goenkars to inspire them. Needless to say the buses sponsored by Alemao are filling up.

Tail piece
Electricity department employees who do not want to work too hard reading power metres have come up with an innovative excuse to shirt their duty. They cite dog menace as an excuse for not reading the bills of residents in Altinho, the Malabar Hill of Goa. So the high and mighty of the State pay only the minimum electricitycharges. Who said breeding dogs, even strays, are not profitable!

-- Shiv Kumar