Mining halt in Goa casts shadow on film festival

Panaji: The crisis looming large on Goa’s mining industry has cast its shadow on the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) which is currently underway in Goa. The organisers have cut short their plans to have mega shows across the state as a part of peripheral activity for the festival, while the main opposition party Congress has said that peripheral activities should have been curtailed further.[caption id=“attachment_529309” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Preparations for the inaugural function of IFFI- 2012, at Kala Acadamy ground, in Pannaji, Goa on 19 November 2012. Image courtesy PIB[/caption] During IFFI there will be cultural programmes and screening of movies on the beaches at 16 locations across the state. The state’s economy is currently fearing crisis after iron ore exports from Goa were halted following Supreme Court order. “We wanted to have mega shows. But we have decided to keep the peripheral activities low profile,” said Vishnu Wagh, the vice chairman of Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG), a Goa government-run agency. Wagh said the cultural shows will showcase local singers, dancers and instrumentalists. “Performing art is a precursor to the film, that is why we have given importance to such shows,” he said. Congress has termed expenditure on these cultural peripheral activities as a ‘waste’. “It is a waste of money. These activities should have been curtailed when economy is in the crisis,” said Goa Congress unit president Subhash Shirodkar. Shirodkar said Goa is not in a mood to celebrate. “The economy in the interior of Goa is going from bad to worse due to stoppage of mining activity,” he said. Around two lakh people are directly affected with the mining halt in the state. The SC ordered to halt of the transport and extraction of the ore due to the allegations of illegal mining in the state. PTI