log on to thegoan.net @thegoaneveryday WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2021 GOA Ready to work out solution on ‘Port Limits’, says Cabral Facebook.com/thegoaneveryday The Goan (Playstore) 8 pages PRICE ` 6 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME VI, NO. 238 2 GOA Cops under fire for free run to loud music along coastal belt 3 Instagram.com/thegoaneveryday RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 NEWS P Chidambaram’s 2009 LS election win holds, says Madras High Court Gang rivalry plays out in Fatorda, criminal shot in broad daylight GANG MEMBER SURVIVES ATTACK, ALERT COP NABS ONE WITH HELP OF DRIVER BLOODY TUESDAY THE GOAN I NETWORK MARGAO Blood was spilled and gunshots fired as armed criminal gangs battled it out on the streets of Fatorda near the Arlem circle in broad daylight on Tuesday noon, less than half-a-kilometer away from the Fatorda police station. Thanks to an alert Superintendent of Police, Konkan Railway police station, Sammy Tavares, history-sheeter Sheikh Anwar alias Tiger Anwar survived an attempt on his life after he was attacked by a rival gang. Anwar, who sustained a gunshot injury on his thigh, besides other injuries, was rushed to the Hospicio hospital, from where he was shifted to the Goa Medical College and Hospital, Bambolim. A big-size koita and a country-made pistol were freely used in the gang war as ev- IN SHORT >> PF interest may be taxed History-sheeter Anwar Sheikh being taken on a stretcher to the Hospicio.  Santosh Mirajkar ident by the recovery of the koita and an empty cartridge from the crime spot. A bullet is believed to have hit Anwar on his thigh, the police said. The Fatorda police have arrested one person Ricky Hornekar, a resident of Curchorem, and are on the look- out for the remaining assailants, including Imran Bepari (Chimbel) in connection with the incident. The filmy style incident occurred at around 1.15 pm on Tuesday near the Arlem circle when a group of 4-5 persons were seen chasing the dread- „„The incident happened near the Arlem Circle in broad daylight on Tuesday noon „„Around 1.15 pm on Tuesday near the Arlem circle a group of 4-5 persons was seen chasing dreaded gangster, nicknamed Tiger „„After an alert cop raised an alarm, three made good their escape, while two chased the injured gangster ed gangster, against whom a host of criminal cases, including attempt to murder, stands registered at various police stations. As an exhausted Anwar rushed on the main by-pass road with the assailants in tow, senior Goa police officer, Senior cop saves Anwar’s life MARGAO: Anwar Sheikh alias Tiger Anwar survived an attempt on his life solely due to the intervention of SP Sammy Tavares and his police driver near the Arlem Circle on Tuesday noon. Sammy said he initially thought it was a film shoot that was on, but later realised an armed gang was chasing a person.  >> See pg 2 SP Sammy Tavares, who was passing by at the same time, averted what many believed may have ended in a bloody murder. After SP Tavares raised an alarm, three of the assailants are believed to have made >Continued on P5 SIDHI, MP: A total of 45 bodies were recovered from a canal in a horrific bus mishap in Madhya Pradesh’s Sidhi, said Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday. The deceased include 21 men, 18 women and a child. The bus was carrying over 50 people when it fell into the canal at around 7.30 am.   >> See pg 7 Maha CM hints at another lockdown MUMBAI: Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday asked people to strictly follow governmentmandated guidelines on masks and social distancing or be prepared to face another round of lockdown as the state reported more than 3,000 cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on Tuesday for the seventh straight day. Maharashtra registered 3,663 new cases of the coronavirus disease on Tuesday, 461 of them in Mumbai, after reporting 4,092 infections. WEATHER >> Max: 31.6 C Min: 21.7 C Humidity: 87% TIDES Low: High: 8.29 1.56 20.14 14.38 Indian players celebrate during the 4th day of the second cricket Test against England at Chennai on Tuesday. India won by 317 runs to level the 4-match Test series 1-1. See report pg 8PTI Govt directed to frame EDM guidelines THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The Bombay High Court at Goa has issued directions to the Goa government to frame guidelines within four months for the hosting of EDM festivals on Comunidade land. A petitioner had filed a prayer before the court stating that the Government should prepare some guidelines regulating the grant of Comunidade land on a temporary basis for holding such festivals, including the procedure for such grants and the fees to be charged. He even offered some suggestions in the form of a proposal before the court. In response, the State Advocate General Adv Devidas Pangam told the court that the government would consider framing guidelines and will see that they are made more effective. At this, the Court disposed of the matter by giving directions to the respondents to frame the guidelines in aforesaid nature within four months from today. EDM festivals, especial- ly Sunburn, are usually held on land belonging to the Anjuna Comunidade and often involve setting up temporary structures on the open piece of land. A petitioner Mascarenhas had approached the court arguing that the Comunidade should be adequately compensated for its land being used temporarily. 8 Release grants to Mandrem college, court orders govt THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The Bombay High Court at Goa has struck down the decision of the Goa government not to sanction grants to the Mandrem College of Commerce, Economics and Management run by the Vikas Parishad Mandrem ruling that the decision was both discriminatory and arbitrary. The High Court also directed the State Government to release the grant in favour of Vikas Parishad for running the BCom curriculum in the college from the academic year 2017-2018 and the arrears of the grant are directed to be cleared in six equal installments. “The decision-making process leading to the denial of the grant to the petitioners is thus vitiated by unreasonableness and the breach of guarantee of equality enshrined in Article 14 of the Constitution of India,” the High Court bench of Justices M S Sonak and Bharati Dangre ruled. “The action of the State AGENCIES GE, locals stop double-tracking 45 die after bus falls into canal in MP Serena reaches the Australian Open semi-finals for first time since 2017 Release grants as per order: Khalap MAPUSA: Stating that the stand of the commerce college run by Mandrem Vikas Parishad (MVP) has been vindicated, former deputy chief minister and senior Congress leader, Ramakant Khalap, on Tuesday hoped the government would reconcile to the decision of the High Court and release the grants to the college.  >> Report on pg 3 Government is hit by Article 14 of both the aspects being discriminatory and also being arbitrary. It is not permissible for the State to act as per its whims and fancies to suit some chosen few, while distributing its largesse and it is expected to act reasonably and fairly while dealing with the grant-in-aid, though discretionary,” the High Court ruled. The case dates back to 2012 when the Goa govern- Brazilian, African Covid strains detected in India SWEET REVENGE NEW DELHI: The government is exploring the option of an annual deduction on the interest income earned by employees contributing over Rs 2.5 lakh into their provident fund accounts, while suggesting that accounts up to the taxfree cap be maintained separately. In the budget, the government had proposed to tax interest earned on employee contributions beyond Rs 2.5 lakh from the next financial year but had said the details would be worked out. VASCO: The controversial double-tracking works continue to meet with public resistance when Goencho Ekvott along with villagers and landlords stopped the work at Hollant in VelsaoPale-Issorcim on Tuesday afternoon.  >> See pg 3 7 SPORTS DELHI A few cases of the more infectious South African and Brazilian strains of the coronavirus have been detected in India and people flying in from those countries may be tested more aggressively, the government said on Tuesday. The South African strain of the coronavirus has been detected in four people in the country and the Brazil variant has been seen in one, according to top medical body Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). All five have been quarantined. “ICMR-NIV is attempting to isolate and culture the South African variant of SARSCoV-2, while the Brazil variant of SAS-CoV-2 has been isolated and cultured at ICMR-NIV-Pune,” ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava told reporters at the health ministry briefing on Covid. There are 187 cases of the UK strain in India, Dr Bhargava said. All their contacts have been isolated and tested. The Health Ministry said all the rules for travellers from the UK - Covid negative reports and RT-PCR tests for every passenger - are likely to be followed for flights from South Africa and Brazil. “We have done disembarkations, mandatory RT-PCR tests for travelers coming from UK. Those who tested positive, their genome sequencing is being done. This is a good strategy. I hope... we might follow this similar strategy for flights from South Africa and Brazil,” said Rajesh Bhushan, Health Secretary. “There are no direct flights from South Africa or Brazil, so the health ministry and the civil aviation ministry are in touch on the steps to be taken on the matter,” he said. According to the ICMR chief, existing vaccines have the potential to neutralise the UK variant and experiments are on to assess the effectiveness of the vaccines against the South African and Brazilian variants. The South African variant is circulating in 41 countries around the world, including the US. The four people who have tested positive for the strain in India are from Angola, Tanzania and South Africa. The UK variant has spread to 82 countries and the Brazilian strain of Covid has spread to nine countries. ment granted approval to the college, fronted by Congress leader Ramakant Khalap, for a BCom course on grant-in-aid basis. This approval was however made subject to the concurrence of the Finance Department of Goa Government. The Goa University also granted it affiliation on 17.07.2012 for the BCom degree course for the academic year 2012-2013. Accordingly, the college started the course from 17.07.2012 and the affiliation came to be extended from time-to-time by the Goa University upto the year 20152016. However, on 21.06.2013 the Department informed the College that the administrative approval for starting the BCom graduation course which was granted by the earlier letter stood withdrawn as the Finance Department did not agree with the proposal. In the wake of this communication, the Goa University also sought to withdraw its affiliation for the academic year >Continued on P5 Grants for coconut, jackfruit production THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The State Government has finalized jackfruit as product for North Goa district and coconut as product for South Goa district under One District One Product (ODOP) under centrally sponsored Prime Minister Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises(PM FME) scheme of Ministry of Food Processing Industries. AGRI BOOST As part of Atmanirbhar Bharat, the Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries had announced PMFME scheme on June 30, 2020, for micro food-processing enterprises throughout the country. The Government has allotted Rs 1000 crore for the scheme. The Centre will spend 60 percent while the state component is 40 percent under the scheme. Under the scheme, the farmers, cooperative producers, farming produce groups, small industries, self-help groups will get grants upto Rs 10 lakh under the scheme. 200 Indian-origin leaders hold sway in top positions Rihanna’s topless pic stokes controversy PTI WASHINGTON ore than 200 Indian origin persons occupy leadership positions in as many as 15 countries including the United States and United Kingdom. Of these, 60 hold Cabinet ranks, according to the first of its kind-released by a US-based organisation working among Indian diaspora. Drawing from government websites and other publicly available resources, the 2021 Indiaspora Government Leaders List on Monday recognised more than 200 leaders of Indian heritage who have ascended to the highest echelons of public service in 15 countries across the globe, with more than 60 of these leaders holding Cabinet positions. M “It is a huge source of pride to have the first woman and first person of colour as the Vice President of the world’s oldest democracy be someone of Indian heritage. We wanted to use this seminal moment on Presidents’ Day to highlight a host of others in the diaspo- ra who also are in public service,” said Indiaspora founder MR Rangaswami, a Silicon Valley-based entrepreneur and investor. “These leaders are building a legacy for future generations, and one that extends beyond our community to all of the constituents and communities that they serve,” he said in a statement. “It truly is inspiring to note the remarkable contribution that government leaders of Indian heritage have made to advance the societies that they now represent,” said Rosy Akbar, Fiji’s Minister of Education, Heritage, and Arts. “For a sizable segment of the population, it is government policy addressing social injustices that lead to a transformative path of sustainable socio-economic progress.” The list includes immigrants from India, as well as professionals born in countries such as Singapore, South Africa, England, Canada and the US. “As a proud Indo-Canadian, it is an honour to be included in the 2021 Indiaspora Govern- ment Leaders List alongside an accomplished and diverse group of leaders from the India diaspora,” said Senator Ratna Omidvar. “I am eternally proud of my Indian heritage but also being Canadian. Canada has given me its protection and its opportunities, and in return, I am committed to making it a better place so that it continues to be a land of protection and opportunity for future Canadians,” he said. While some of the officials are part of their country’s first wave of immigration, arriving as refugees or for economic opportunities, others serving in their governments are part of subsequent waves of diaspora, who came for educational opportunities, or are of subsequent generations, Indiaspora said. AGENCIES NEW DELHI International R&B singer Rihanna has got herself in yet another controversy. After she was recently criticized by a segment of Indians over her tweet on the ongoing farmer’s protest, her recent picture topless picture has irked people. On Tuesday, Rihanna shared a picture of her posing in a topless avatar. With nothing on but a pair of satin night shorts, it was her heavily accessorised look that attracted the attention of many. Fans soon pointed out a Ganesha pendant necklace. Apart from bracelets and huge drop earrings, the actress and singer wore a diamond-studded Ganesha idol pendant, in a semi-nude pose. The picture sparked outrage as Twitterati trolled her for disregarding a Hindu deity. Rihanna has a huge fan following among the Indian mass. However, this picture came across as unsettling and offensive to many. A user commented, “Why use ganesha necklace when he is worshipped in Hindu religion?” Another one said, “i read and appreciate and love you, but the necklace you wearing is totally not okay, stop using our religion and culture for your aesthetics, it’s very sad and disappointing.”