the goan I network
MARGAO
The seafarers also demanded that the office of the International Transport Federation (ITF), which looks after the welfare of the seafarers around the world, should be immediately shifted to Vasco, Goa from its present location at Delhi.
Speaking at the National Maritime Day celebrations organised by the Goan Seamen Association of India at the District Collectorate here on Wednesday, Pereira said that Goan clubs dotting the Mumbai countryside had in the past come in handy for Goans to make a career in the merchant Navy and cruise liners. “Organisations such as GSAI should strive to ensure that the Goan clubs remain for posterity,”
he said.
The Additional Collector has appealed to the seafaring community to avail benefits of the schemes through the department of NRI Affairs.
Earlier, GSAI President Dixon Vaz made a forceful plea to the government to shift the ITF officer from Delhi to Vasco, Goa, for the benefit of the seafaring community. “The office of ITF which looks after the welfare of seafaring community ought to be located near a Port and not in the hinterland,” he said.
Dixon further urged the seafarers community to unite for a battle since the NUSI hospital at Panzorconne-Cuncolim continues to remain closed till date.
“I had checked with the lease deed with Cuncolim Agricola Sociedade and have found out that the agreement does not speak of any benefits for the seamen community,” he said, while calling upon the community to brace up for a battle to revive the NUSI hospital project for the benefit of serving and retired seafarers.
