Clive D'Souza, Boliye and Avil Rasquinha were chosen for the 'Leo Rodrigues Family Kittall Youth Award' and 'Austin D'Souza Prabhu Family Arso Journalism Award' for the year 2022.

Both the awards carry a cash component of Rs 25,000 and citation.

The awards will be conferred on Avil Rasquinha and Clive D'Souza on 1st January 2023 at 6.00 pm at a function to be held at Maria Jayanti Hall, Jeppu, Mangaluru. Ln Dr Austin D’Souza Prabhu, Chicago, editor–publisher of Veez Digital Konkani Weekly and CA Valerian D Almeida, Abu Dhabi-based entrepreneur and mentor of spearhead group will be presenting the awards.

Every year premier Konkani web portal kittall.com honors a youth writer with the Kittall youth Award and Abu Dhabi-based NRI Mr Leo Rodrigues sponsors the award for the last 10 years. Arso launched as a fortnightly in the year 2013 by H M Pernal, now successfully running in the 9th year as a monthly magazine under the editorship of noted poet and lyricist Wilson Kateel. Starting this year, ARSO will honor a senior Konkani journalist who has contributed substantially to the growth of Konkani journalism. The award is sponsored by Ln Dr Austin D'Souza Prabhu, the editor and publisher of the only illustrated digital Konkani Weekly published in Chicago in the last five and half years.

Mr Avil Rasquinha, served as an editor and publisher of the fortnightly 'Kannik' for 20 years from 1977 to 1997. He started writing at the age of 14 years and became the youngest editor-publisher at the age of 20 years. Apart from publishing 'Kannik' from his Santacruz Press, Avil has published 12 Konkani books. He has also acted in Konkani, Kannada, and Tulu Dramas and is an active member of the Lions Club. Presently, he lives in Bellore with his family.

Mr Larry Clive D'Souza of Kutalnagar writes under the name Clive Souz, Boliye for the last several years. So far, he has penned more than 140 poems, two short stories, and about six essays. Presently, he is promoting Konkani on digital platforms. So far he has posted seven singles on Youtube and four are ready for launch. Along with singles, he has written and composed two hymns. A graduate of Hospitality Science from the University of Mangalore, he is working as a chef at Indian Ocean, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.

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New Delhi: Following its defeat in the Haryana assembly elections, the Congress party's allies in the INDIA bloc have called for a review of its election strategy. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Shiv Sena-UBT, and the Communist Party of India (CPI) voiced concerns over the Congress’s approach, particularly as upcoming polls in Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and Delhi draw near.

Despite initially trailing during the vote count, the BJP secured a significant victory, winning 48 out of 90 seats, while the Congress, expected to capitalize on anti-incumbency sentiments, managed only 37 seats.

AAP leaders criticised the Congress, warning against overconfidence. Arvind Kejriwal stated that the key takeaway from the results is to avoid complacency. Manish Sisodia added that although voters sought to unseat the BJP, the Congress's strategic flaws led to its poor performance.

Shiv Sena-UBT leader Priyanka Chaturvedi maintained that the Haryana results would not affect the Maharashtra elections but advised the Congress to refine its strategy. CPI general secretary D Raja urged the Congress to introspect and involve all INDIA bloc partners in shaping the strategy for the upcoming polls in Maharashtra and Jharkhand.

With the Congress engaged in seat-sharing talks with Shiv Sena-UBT and NCP-SP in Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray has pushed for clarity on the coalition's chief ministerial candidate. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh emphasised adherence to 'coalition dharma' and stressed that alliance issues should be discussed internally, rather than through the media.

The Haryana election outcome has raised concerns within the opposition bloc as they prepare for crucial assembly elections in key states.