log on to thegoan.net @thegoaneveryday friday november 20, 2020 goa Fishermen still craving for better sanitation, facilities at Cutbona in short >> Covid: Another zero fatality day PANAJI: Goa witnessed yet another day with zero fatality from Covid-19 but new cases rose marginally to 136 in the 24 hour period of Wednesday-Thursday. According to the DHS bulletin, 1621 samples were tested in these 24 hours which also recorded 157 recoveries. 90 jellyfish sting cases reported MAPUSA: Over 90 cases of jellyfish stings have been reported along different coastal stretches in the State since Wednesday. Over the past two days, over 55 cases were reported along the Calangute-Baga beach and 10 cases along the Candolim-Sinquerim beach stretch. South Goa reported over 25 cases of jellyfish related accidents requiring immediate first aid.  >> See pg 3 Bihar minister quits after taking charge PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s fourth term started with the resignation of a minister three days after he and his 14-member cabinet took oath. Education minister Mewalal Choudhary had to step down after the Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal flagged a three-year-old corruption case against him and questioned why he was inducted in the government. Delhi hikes mask fine to ` 2000 NEW DELHI: Amid spiralling cases of Covid-19 in the national capital, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said that a fine of Rs 2000 will be imposed on anyone who is found not wearing a mask at a public place. Earlier this fine was merely Rs 500. Maharashtra braces for 2nd Covid wave MUMBAI: Though the graph of Covid-19 cases has shown signs of decline, the Maharashtra government, anticipating a second wave of the infection, has asked authorities not to drop guard and take all necessary steps to deal with any situation. Hafiz Saeed gets 10 years in jail NEW DELHI: Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, has been sentenced to 10 years in two terror cases by a court in Pakistan. This was not the first time that Hafiz Saeed, chief of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a front organisation for the terror group LeT, was sentenced in a terror case by a Pakistani court. weather >> Max: 33.3 C Min: 19.3 C Humidity: 77% Tides Low: High: 01:44 14:33 08:11 21:08 2 Facebook.com/thegoaneveryday The Goan (Playstore) 8 pages Price ` 6 VOLume VI, No. 154 goa Sawant holds review meet on smart city projects 3 Instagram.com/thegoaneveryday RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 7 news India launching pinpoint strikes on camps in PoK sports ATK Mohun Bagan takes on Kerala Blasters in ISL opener tonight Double-tracking work resumes at Davorlim under police protection Goans may have to leave Kuwait on turning 60 the goan I network Armed RPF team from Bihar deployed near rail crossing the goan I network MARGAO All appeared quite on the Davorlim tracks on Thursday, a day after activists protesting against the track doubling work and the police had come face to face on Wednesday morning. Unlike Wednesday, labourers engaged by the Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd were on the job on the tracks to lay the tracks on Thursday. While these labourers were linking the rails on the new track as part of the Vasco-Hospet double tracking project, a posse of Railway Protection Force (RPF), requisitioned by the South Western Railway from Bihar were maintaining strong vigil on the tracks meters away. While the armed RPF team were deployed at the Davorlim railway crossing as part of the PANAJI In yet another setback for many Goan expatriates in Kuwait after last month’s law mandating the Gulf country’s government to drastically cut down work permits, reports have emerged that those turning 60 will have to leave with their permits expiring. Reports in the Kuwaiti media and also some international journals said the Kuwaiti authorities are moving ahead with plans to refuse renewal of work permits of those 60 years of age and above. The measure, according to the reports, will come into force in less than two months from January 1 but will not affect those holding University degrees or post Secondary School diplomas. Also, those affected will be given an amnesty time through a ‘family residency permit’ but for a limited period. They will however have to Davorlim protestors in dock, case booked Workers laying the double track at Davorlim on Thursday.  Santosh Mirajkar decision taken by the railways and police, the labourers were working on the tracks, around 200 meters away, ostensibly providing security cover for the workers. Senior Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd informed that work has resumed at the Davorlim stretch of the railway line with police protection. In fact, a senior RVNL official informed that no sooner the RPF arrived in Goa on Wednesday around noon, the armed personnel were immediately deployed along the problematic Davorlim-Sao Jose de Areal stretch. 10,000 govt jobs up for grabs, ban to be lifted 8 MARGAO: Perhaps for the first time since the agitation against track doubling gained momentum after the historic midnight protest at Chandor on November 1-2, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) has invoked provisions of the Railway Act against the protestors in connection with the Wednesday’s incident at Davorlim. The RPF, Vasco is believed to have booked a case for trespass and obstruction under Section 146 and 147 of the Railway Act. Meanwhile, perhaps for the first time, the Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd has lodged a complaint with the Railway Protection Force >Continued on P6 see page 2 >> Areal villagers stop work at Nessai gate MLA, panchayat exhorted to join stir TOUGH ROAD AHEAD „„The new rule, according to reports, will come into force from January 1 „„Will not affect those holding University degrees or post Secondary School diplomas „„Those affected will be given amnesty time through a ‘family residency permit’ eventually leave the country once these ‘family residency permit’ expires. The move is part of Kuwait’s decision to reduce the expat population ratio to 30 percent from the current almost 70 percent following the pandemic-triggered economic crisis due to the turmoil in oil markets. A FLAME OF DEVOTION CM says recruitment process to begin soon the goan I network PANAJI There is a bonanza coming the way of unemployed youth in Goa in a year leading to the next general elections due approximately 16 months from now in early 2022. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday said, his government will lift by November 30 the ban on recruitment in the wake of financial disruption due to Covid-19 pandemic imposed in March this year and begin the process of filling some 10,000 vacancies thereafter. Following precedents set by successive predecessor governments, Sawant too is seemingly relying on the tried and tested strategy of opening up government recruitment to earn goodwill going into a year leading to the 2022 Assembly election. Speaking to reporters outside his official Altinho residence Sawant said the process to fill government posts lying vacant in various departments will begin soon. He said, the ban on recruitment and tendering of government works, imposed in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic in March this year, will be lifted by November 30. “The office memorandum was issued in March because of Covid-19, which had weakened the financial situation of the State. We have taken a review now and the financial situation has improved con- WHAT SAWANT SAID „„Ban on recruitment and tendering of government works, imposed in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic will be lifted by November 30 „„We have taken a review now and the financial situation has improved considerably „„Ban on tendering new projects will also be simultaneously lifted „„Advertisements will be issued for recruitment to these posts soon CONTROVERSIAL RECRUITMENTS „„Over the last couple of decades there had been a hue and cry over allegations of jobs being sold for cash and votes „„Recruitment processes in the past have invariably faced legal challenges in courts and some have even got struck down „„CM had cancelled a recruitment process midway to fill some 1000-odd posts at the GMC siderably. The memorandum will be lifted from November 30,” Sawant said. The chief minister also said the ban on tendering new projects will also be simultaneously lifted. There are vacant posts of around 10,000 in almost all government departments, he said, adding that advertisements will be issued for recruitment to these posts soon. The next general elections to the Goa legislative assembly are due in early 2022 with the current legislature’s term ending in mid-March that year. Also, local elections are due to the two Zilla Panchayat bodies and also nearly a doz- en civic bodies. The Zilla Panchayat elections were halted after the process had neared its end and voting was postponed indefinitely from March 22 when the country observed a ‘Janata Curfew’ as a prelude to the national lockdown. Also, municipal polls to at least a dozen civic bodies is overdue with their terms having ended and the State government opting to appoint bureaucrats as administrators to run their day-to-day affairs. Government recruitment in Goa has over the last couple of decades taken a controversial and political hue with >Continued on P6 Women light diyas at Sai Baba temple in Boca de Vaca, Panaji to celebrate “deepotsav” on Thursday. The festival of lights commemorates Sai Baba’s struggle to gather enough oil to light lamps and owing to the purity of his faith, the saint could light lamps with water instead of oil.  Narayan Pissurlenkar Now, Pilerne, Nerul hit by water shortage the goan I network PORVORIM While locals in Porvorim have been complaining of water shortage, the situation is no different in Pilerne and Nerul as locals have also been facing water shortage since the last 8-10 days. In Pilerne-Marra, residents of Sanjiwaunvwado, Maikawado and Navetim wards have been worst affected as they have not received water since the last 10 days. “I have not received a drop of water for the last 10 days. I complained to the Pilerne Panchayat and the PWD office in Porvorim, but in vain. I have been hiring water tankers paying Rs 600 per tanker,” lamented Raymond Fernandes of Sanjiwaunvwado. When contacted, Pilerne-Marra Sarpanch Sandeep Bandodkar admitted that residents of three wards are facing acute water shortage since the last 10 days. “Acting on a complaint from Fernandes, I contacted the PWD Assistant Engineer Deepak Borkar at Porvorim, who informed me that they do not receive sufficient water from the Assonara Treatment Plant.” “Since Pilerne lies at tailend, water supply is comparatively less and hence, the houses on a higher altitude do not get water with sufficient pressure. Since there are no wells in those areas, residents have to depend on water tankers,” said Bandodkar. In Nerul, another problem confronts the village. The pump located at a sump in Verem, from where water is supplied to Fattewado (Ward 1) and nearby areas, broke down and residents in these areas did not receive water for eight days. “Surprisingly, there is no spare pump with the PWD. With great difficulty and after persistent follow up with PWD, the pump was repaired on Thursday morning,” said Nerul Panch Piedade Almeida. 150 scientists seek impact study of Mollem projects Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology the goan I network (Established U/S 3 of UGC Act, 1956), Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India PANAJI ver 150 scientists and academicians with domain expertise have written to the director of Wildlife Institute of India (WII) seeking a study on the ‘cumulative’ impact of the three Centre-sponsored infra projects affecting protected forests on the environment and wildlife. The demand was raised by the scientists and academicians in a letter to the WII director earlier this week after the State government appointed the renowned wildlife insti- O tute to recommend mitigation measures following the agitation demanding scrapping of the projects. WII Dehradun has been mandated by the Goa government to carry out the study and recommend mitigation measures for the railway line double-tracking project only. The scientists however have said the other two projects -- four-laning of the national highway and the private power transmission project -- and their cumulative impact with the railway expansion must be included in the study for it to be meaningful. These three projects will have a range of potential effects on the local ecology, have considerable spatial overlap and are connected in function, their letter said. “Mitigation measures cannot be effectively suggested without first studying cumulative impacts,” it adds. The letter also extensively refers to a reviewed critique of the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) reports for the three projects, which was submitted some months ago by a group of 31 scientists to a >Continued on P6 CM hits out at NRI Goans for support to anti-projects stir PANAJI: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant once again trained his guns at Goans overseas for supporting the ongoing agitation against Centre-sponsored infra projects which are feared will threaten protected forests in Mollem National Park and Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary. Sawant on Thursday reiterated his commitment to protect Goa’s forest and Mollem should not be a worry for “outsiders” in an obvious reference to many expat Goans backing the swelling agitation. “Many people are concerned about Mollem and Mhadei >Continued on P6 Deemed to be University Winner of 'Awards Asia 2020' in the category 'Workplace of the Year' by Times Higher Education 16 Date: November 21, 2020 (Saturday) Time: 09.30 a.m. Chief Guest Prof. Muhammad Yunus Founder, Grameen Bank & Nobel Peace Laureate, Bangladesh will deliver the Convocation Address Watch live on www.kiit.ac.in & Kalinga TV from 9.30 a.m. onwards