Fine print...

Sometimes, the fine-print that shows up in the advertisements makes for interesting reading. For instance, some Vasco-related adverts in the Navhind Times of Dec 28, 2005:

* Goa Naval Area is advertising for some tens of thousands of uniforms and it specifies that those bidding need to be "competent contractors owning atleast 15 sewing machines and having expertise in fabrication of uniforms of naval personel serving at Vasco da Gama"...

These two conditions itself would probably exclude most from bidding from this contract! Does it matter if someone has 15 sewing machines, or is using some other model of completing the work, as long as the work gets done as required? And wouldn't the clause about having experience in sewing uniforms in the past restrict the bids only to those who have already won contracts in the past? Correct me if I'm wrong...

* Goa Urban Co-op Bank at Panjim has sent out notices to borrowers and guarantors who have not repaid loans. These include two parties at Vasco, a builder at Airport Road and someone else at Patrong, Baina.

* Meanwhile, the MPT has calledl for tenders for industrial acetylene and oxygen gases, and old reusable unformed super giant tyres.

I guess the tendering sector in Vasco, particularly from the Central government organisations, must be quite big business, even if little understood by the average citizen. FN