log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline SUNDAY JANUARY 18, 2026 MOVIES »PAGE 16 AR Rahman statement triggers industry debate Why is 2016 suddenly trending? Facebook.com/thegoan The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) 16 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME XI, NO. 212 Instagram.com/thegoanonline RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 GOOD LIFE »PAGE 12 LIVE SMART »PAGE 14 SPORTS »PAGE 8 Is your bed potato shaped? Quiet cracks Man United stuns Man City in Carrick’s first game in charge Worshipping five elements, yoga, and more Tyranny of the parental voice Malhotra spins India to stunning DLS victory against Bangladesh Discover why potato bed is influencing the sleeping zones and patterns of the Gen Z How subtle workplace pressure is reshaping careers for many CZMP storm brews in Salcete after BDO’s directive to p’yats Today’s edition of THE GOAN includes a complimentary 2026 wall calendar. >> SEE PG 2 UNITY MALL: WHY CHIMBEL IS UNEASY 9 MAGAZINE MAGAZ Peaceful homes, fearful nights: Crime shadows Goa’s elderly Source code proposal: Testing time for smartphone manufacturers Freddy Peats is not history; he is a warning we keep ignoring Village autonomy legislated away vide the Goa Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2026? 11 IN SHORT >> Russian remanded to 14-day police custody PERNEM: A court has remanded the Russian national, Aleksei Leonov, to 14 days in police custody in connection with the murders of two female compatriots in separate incidents at Arambol and Morjim.  >> See pg 3 700 booked for renting out pvt cars PANAJI: As many as 700 cases of private vehicles being illegally operated as rent-acabs were booked across Goa over the last two calendar years, with more than half of the cases registered in 2024.  >> See pg 3 JAN 20 DEADLINE SET TO SUBMIT SUGGESTIONS ON DRAFT THE GOAN I NETWORK MARGAO Salcete’s coastal belt has witnessed a flurry of activity following directions from the Salcete Block Development Officer (BDO) asking village panchayats to submit their comments and suggestions on the draft Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) by January 20. Some of the panchayats, however, have expressed concern over the paucity of time available to convene gram sabhas and seek public feedback before forwarding their responses to the government. Adding to the confusion, some panchayats did not open the BDO’s email communication on the day it was sent, leaving them with even less time to complete the mandatory consultation process. Sarpanchas have also questioned the urgency of the deadline, particularly in light of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s statement during the recently concluded ses- CHALLENGES FACED BY PANCHAYATS „„Severe time constraint to convene gram sabhas and gather public feedback before the deadline „„Delayed access to communication, as some panchayats did not open the BDO’s email on the day it was sent „„Confusion over urgency, especially after Chief Minister stated the CZMP would be finalised over a year „„Lack of technical understanding, prompting panchayats to urgently rope in resource persons to explain the draft CZMP „„Uneven awareness levels, with some riverine panchayats in Salcete unaware of the draft CZMP and the January 20 deadline „„Administrative pressure, risking inadequate consultation and informed decision-making sion of the Goa Legislative Assembly that the CZMP would be finalised over the course of a year. The Salcete BDO memorandum had directed all the Village Panchayat Secretaries of Salcete Block to download the draft CZMP 2019 and place it in public domain for their comments/suggestions and convey the same on or before 20/01/2026. Given the situation, some of the panchayats are on the job to rope in resource persons to explain the salient features of the draft CZMP to the gram sabha members. Inquiries by The Goan re- vealed that the Benaulim village panchayat has issued a public notice informing gram sabha members that it has received the draft CZMP 2019 maps. Sarpanch Xavier Fernandes has urged residents to examine the maps and submit their comments and suggestions on or before January 20. Defunct ‘Elderline’ raises questions in time of need ROBBERY ATTEMPT AT MARGAO IN FOCUS GOVT LIKELY TO TAKE OVER THE HELPLINE THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI A senior citizen lay bleeding in her own home in the early morning hours, and her throat was slashed during an attempted robbery, at a time when Goa’s flagship emergency helpline for the elderly – Elderline 14567 -- was defunct once again. The attack on Cony Pacheco at her residence in Comba two days ago has cast a harsh light on the prolonged dysfunction of the helpline, which was launched in October 2024 but remained largely silent for months at a stretch. Pacheco survived with seven stitches to her neck. The incident has raised questions about why the helpline, projected as a “lifeline,” has repeatedly gone offline. Government sources told The Goan that Elderline has ‘LIFELINE’ THAT WENT ‘OFFLINE’ „„Elderline shut since Nov 2025 due to unpaid salaries and operational dues „„Helpline was inconsistent from the start and is facing its second prolonged shutdown „„Senior staff resigned after months of non-payment „„Staff shortage, with no additional personnel to manage workload „„Electricity bills and essential expenses remained unpaid „„Vulnerable elderly left without support for abuse, neglect, medical emergencies, and abandonment been shut since November 2025, allegedly crippled by unpaid salaries and operational dues. “The helpline was never consistent from the beginning, and this is its second prolonged shutdown,” a senior official said on condition of anonymity. “Payment issues eventually brought operations to a halt. There could be other issues as well, but clarity is needed from the concerned.” The helpline was launched on October 1, 2024, coinciding with the International Day of Older Persons. Government had then assured the service would be fully operational within 45 days, offering assistance for cases of abuse, neglect, medical emergencies and >Continued on P6 Another Hindu man crushed to death in Bangla PTI DHAKA A Hindu fuel station worker was crushed to death in Bangladesh after he tried to stop a vehicle from leaving a petrol pump without paying, police said. It has not been confirmed whether the incident, which took place on Friday in Rajbari district, is related to the recent spate of violence targeting Hindus in Bangladesh. The victim has been identified as 30-year-old Ripon Saha, The Daily Star newspaper reported on Saturday, quoting police officials. He was working at Karim Filling Station in Goalanda Mor at the time of the incident, it said. “We will file a murder case. The worker stood in front of the car after they refused to pay for fuel, and they ran him over before fleeing.” Rajbari Sadar Police chief Khondakar Ziaur Rahman said. According to police and eyewitnesses, a black SUV arrived at the filling station. When the driver attempted to leave without paying, Saha tried to block the vehicle. The car allegedly ran him over, killing him on the spot. Fernandes said the panchayat has convened an extraordinary gram sabha on January 20 at 10 am at the village panchayat hall. “The draft CZMP maps, printed in 1:25,000 and 1:4,000 scales, have been kept at the panchayat hall for public scrutiny,” he said, while appealing to gram sabha members to attend the meeting and participate in the discussion. Echoing similar concerns, Carmona Sarpanch Sandra Fernandes said the time granted to village panchayats to seek public input was far too short. “In the normal course, the draft CZMP is required to be placed before the gram sabha for a decision. However, with January 20 set as the deadline by the BDO, there is very little time to follow the process properly,” she said. To address the situation, the Carmona Panchayat has convened a meeting of its Village Development Committee (VDC). “Notices have been >Continued on P6 CAG exposes Excise Dept’s blunder, flags `44L revenue loss Says hotels, bars were misclassified THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has found that the Excise Department short-levied licence fees totalling Rs 43.98 lakh across hotels, bars and restaurants by wrongly identifying hotel categories and applying incorrect municipal classifications, which led to revenue losses that auditors seek must be urgently recovered. In its report for the period ending March 2023 and tabled in the Legislative Assembly in the just concluded winter session, the CAG flagged Rs 33.59 lakh shortfall from hoteliers after excise stations in Pernem and Margao failed to verify the Tourism Department’s classification of hotels and their star ratings. The auditors stated that mistakes in identifying “B/C” category hotels and their star status led to lower licence fees being imposed during the audit period, covering 2019-20 to 2022-23. “Scrutiny of records revealed short levy of licence fee amounting to Rs 19.60 lakh, CAG FINDINGS „„Flags Rs 33.59 lakh revenue shortfall due to excise stations in Pernem and Margao failing to verify hotel classifications and star ratings „„Errors in identifying “B/C” category hotels and their star status „„Mapusa Excise Station short-levied Rs 10.39 lakh from 39 bars by applying B-class rates instead of the A-class municipality rate which is recoverable along with leviable interest of Rs 13.99 lakh from 22 hoteliers,” the report stated. The CAG said the lapses represented failures in basic verification. “The excise stations failed to verify the correctness of the category of the hotels, which resulted in short levy of licence fees of Rs 33.59 >Continued on P6 Goans vote in Portugal prez polls at London consulate POLLING EXERCISE TO CONCLUDE TODAY LUI GODINHO THE GOAN I LONDON A number of Goans turned up at the Portuguese consulate in London and other parts of the UK on Saturday to exercise their franchise in the first round of the presidential elections in Portugal. In the UK, facilities have been available for Portuguese nationals to cast their votes on January 17 and 18 from 8 am to 7 pm at the location where the Portuguese nationals are registered (London, Manchester, Belfast, Hamilton, Jersey, or Guernsey). Free transport arrangements have been provided by the Goan Association (UK), and one coach brought in 13 Goans from Southall, Hounslow, and Wembley on Saturday noon. Ana e Brito Maneira, Consul General of Portugal in London, who, incidentally, traces her roots in Goa, was personally supervising the poll arrangements at the Consulate. The rest of the consulate staff were seen welcoming the vot- A Goan casts his vote at the Portuguese consulate in London on Saturday.  Lui Godinho ers and assisting in the voting process. When contacted, many Goans were pleased to get an opportunity to take part in the presidential elections. Faith Verushka Da Costa, who hails from Chorao, said, “I turned 18 and was happy to exercise my franchise for the first time.” A senior citizen, Jose Francisco Alvares, who hails from Bogmalo, said he always votes in the elections. Incidentally, two Goans were not allowed to cast their vote at the Consulate in London, as they had registered themselves in Goa and not at the London Consulate. Charles Dias, who resides in Wembley and hails from Aldona, said he was impressed with the voting arrangements and to see Consul General Ana e Brito Maneira personally attending to the polling arrangements. Goans also travelled to the Consulate via public transport, despite some >Continued on P6 SC draws line on tax treaties, AS ELECTION OFFICIALS HAVE NO RECORDS FROM PORTUGAL… Passports sole test to verify Portuguese citizenship pressure from foreign govts SPELLS OUT BROADER PRINCIPLES GOVERNING PACTS PTI NEW DELHI Treaties should be driven by national interest, not pressure from foreign governments or corporations, the Supreme Court has said while asserting that India must safeguard its tax sovereignty, ensure fairness, and prevent abuse while entering into international tax pacts. The observations by Justice JB Pardiwala came while a judgment in which the SC upheld the decision of the domestic revenue authorities that capital gains arising from a US-based investor firm Tiger Global’s exit from Flipkart in 2018 are taxable in India. Justice Pardiwala wrote a separate but concurring opinion, spelling out broader principles on how India should approach international tax treaties. “Tax treaties, international agreements, protocols and safeguards should be very engaging, transparent and capa- ble of periodical reviews with the power to renegotiate with strong exit clauses to avoid unfair outcomes, safeguarding the nation’s strategic and security, preventing erosion of tax base and loss or weakening of democratic control and introducing explicit carve outs safeguarding the sovereign’s right of taxation. “Treaties should be driven by national interest, not pressure from foreign governments or corporations,” Justice Pardiwala said. THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI ith no access to birth registration records maintained in Portugal, election officials in Goa are relying solely on passports to verify whether voters hold Portuguese nationality. Chief Electoral Officer, Goa, Sanjay Goel confirmed, stating the arrangement is “as of now.” “At present, we rely on passports to determine a person’s foreign nationality. In cases involving Portuguese nationality, we do not have access to birth registration records, so W TESTING TIME: CITIZENSHIP VERIFICATION „„Goa election officials rely only on passports to verify Portuguese nationality „„Authorities do not have access to Portuguese birth registration records „„Portuguese nationality is determined by registration of birth, according to the passport office „„Neither Goa govt nor MEA can access Portuguese civil records such as Bilhete de Identidade or Assento de Nascimento „„Verification depends largely on voluntary self-disclosure by individuals „„No independent mechanism to identify Portuguese or foreign nationality without declaration the passport remains the only basis for verification,” he told The Goan. The Passport Office has stated that Portuguese nationality is determined by registra- tion of birth. State authorities have already acknowledged that neither the Goa government nor the Ministry of External Affairs has access to Portuguese civil records, including Bilhete de Identidade or Assento de Nascimento which record birth registration in Portugal. As a result, officials said the current system depends largely on voluntary disclosure by individuals who may have acquired foreign nationality. “We currently have no mechanism to identify foreign or Portuguese nationality unless an individual voluntarily declares it. The situation is as of now... The rest depends on self-declaration,” Goel said. He added that penal action including imprisonment and/ or fine would follow in cases where individuals conceal their foreign nationality or submit false information. Asked whether a more robust verification mechanism >Continued on P6