Panaji: Chief minister Pramod Sawant said on Wednesday that many are coming from outside the state to grab new and emerging business and job opportunities in Goa. He said that those without any medical backgrounds are opening up old-age homes in Goa. Goa’s first private veterinary hospital is also being run by someone from outside the state who is not even a veterinary doctor but has hired a team of doctors.“Normal graduation is not enough today to get a job; it is very difficult to survive… There are opportunities in affordable healthcare, preventive healthcare, mental wellbeing, elderly care, accessibility, and community health. All these problems are there in Goa. People are willing to pay. However, we are not taking these opportunities and so many people are coming from out of the state and grabbing these opportunities. They are coming and starting old-age homes. One does not need to be a doctor. Anyone has started coming here and is opening old-age homes,” said Sawant, addressing students during Seva Sankalp Abhiyan.He said that recently the state had to hire a candidate with a diploma in disaster management from Kashmir with a salary of Rs 1.5 lakh as there was no candidate available locally.Sawant said that the state spends Rs 500 crore annually on waste management, but all the two to three individuals working in the sector are from outside the state.“My dog got very ill one night and he was taken to a doctor in Bicholim who referred us to a hospital in Campal. It is Goa’s only private hospital for veterinary services. He admitted my dog, who had got gastro issues, and kept him in ICU. When I went to see, thinking only our dog had been kept in ICU, there were several others also in the ICU. When I inquired with the owner, he said he is not a veterinary doctor and he has a team of 10-12 veterinary doctors working in shifts. He said he has to turn people away saying there are no beds. I paid a Rs 1.5 lakh bill after keeping my dog there for three or four days,” said Sawant, adding that Goan graduates in veterinary services, on the other hand, seemed not to be grabbing such business opportunities.He said that in the renewable energy sector too, there are only five to four consultants available in Goa.“We need to become competitive. I was checking recently; hardly 2% of Goans work in the banking sector. Those coming to the govt with projects on rural development: each and every NGO is from out of Goa,” said Sawant.“We need to become competitive. I was checking recently, hardly 2% of Goans work in the banking sector. Those coming to the govt with projects on rural development; each and every NGO is from out of Goa,” said Sawant.
