log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline MONDAY JANUARY 26, 2026 GOA WE ARE CLOSED TODAY The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) 14 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME XI, NO. 219 Instagram.com/thegoanonline RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 4 13 2 11 Dharmendra, former Kerala CM ED: Birch nightclub generated revenue named among Padma awardees of ` 22 cr in 2 years Chimbel villagers take Mall protest to Shripad’s home The offices of THE GOAN will remain closed on January 26, 2026, on account of the Republic Day holiday, hence there will be no edition of this newspaper dated JANUARY 27, 2026. Facebook.com/thegoan GOA PIL alleges highway works damaged Verna floodplain INFO Heart-healthy eats: What to put on your plate to lower LDL GOVT UNVEILS LIST OF 131 RECIPIENTS FOR 2026 PTI >> pg 10 Earnings, US Fed decision, Union Budget, rupee trend in focus IN SHORT >> Weeds continue to choke River Sal MARGAO: A close look at the ongoing beautification of the River Sal near the Khareband bridge reveals a stark contrast. While the stretch near the bridge has been de-weeded and given a facelift, the river course towards Benaulim remains choked by a thick green carpet of invasive water hyacinth. >> See pg 2 NEW DELHI Former Kerala chief minister and Communist leader V S Achuthanandan and actor Dharmendra are among the awardees to receive the second-highest civilian honour, Padma Vibhushan, posthumously for 2026, the government announced on Sunday. In a statement, the government announced 131 Padma awards for the year 2026, including five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri, which includes two duo cases in which the award for two individuals is counted as one. Ninety awardees are women, and the list also includes six persons from the category of foreigners, NRI, PIO, OCI, and 16 posthumous awardees, it said. Besides Dharmendra and Achuthanandan, former Supreme Court judge KT Thomas for public affairs, Hindustani classical musician and violinist N Rajam in art, eminent Malayalam journalist P Narayanan in literature and education have also been Goa origin Dr Armida gets Padma Shri THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Mumbai-based senior neonatologist Dr Armida Fernandez, of Goan origin has been awarded the Padma Shri in recognition of her work to better maternal, infant and child health, particularly in urban poor areas. Dr Fernandez was a Professor and Head of the Department of Neonatology and also retired as Dean of Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General (LTMG) in Sion, Mumbai. She was born in Hubli, Dharwad and pursued her MBBS degree there. She awarded Padma Vibhushan, it said. The Padma Bhushan has also been awarded to playback singer Alka Yagnik, former Uttarakhand chief minister Bhagat Singh Koshyari, actor Mammootty, tennis legend Vijay Amritraj, banker Uday Kotak, Tamil Na- earned her MD from the famed KEM hospital in Mumbai. She traces her roots to Divar island. Setting up India’s and Asia’s first Human Milk Bank at the Sion hospital is one of her many achievements in her illustrious medical professional career. du-based gastroenterologist Kallipatti Ramasamy Palaniswamy, US-based Oncologist Nori Dattatreyudu, social worker SKM Maeilanandhan, Avadhanam bhajan performer Shatavadhani R Ganesh and General Secretary of SNDP Yogam and SN Trust Vellappally Natesan, the statement men- She is also credited with preparing a ‘Breastfeeding Manual’ with support from UNICEF. She also founded in 1999 the Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action (SNEHA), the Mumbai-based organisation which works in slums and poor regions of the country in child health, nutrition, women’s empowerment, adolescent health, and prevention of violence against women and children. She also founded the Romila Palliative Care Centre at Bandra for patients with life-limiting illnesses after her daughter Romila lost her battle with cancer. tioned further. Senior BJP Leader VK Malhotra, JMM Founder and former Jharkhand CM Shibu Soren and advertising icon Piyush Pandey have been given the award posthumously. Indian aerospace scientist in Defence Research and Development Laboratory, Chan- dramouli Gaddamanugu, who directed the Akash Missile system from development to deployment during Operation Sindoor, and ISRO’s eminent scientist, A E Muthunayagam, who led the cryogenic propulsion system, have been awarded Padma Shri. Ramamurthy Sreedher, the former CRPF DG and chief of STF that killed notorious poacher Veerappan and the founder of community radio in India, along with Satyanarayan Nuwal, the founder of India’s first licensed private defence company, have also been awarded Padma Shri. Cricketer Rohit Sharma, who led India to victory in the last T20 World Cup, women’s cricket captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who led India to its first ODI World Cup victory, hockey players Savita Punia and Baldev Singh, and para athlete Praveen Kumar have been awarded Padma Shri as well, the statement said. Actors R Madhavan, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai actor Arvind Vaidya and Anil Kumar Rastogi, Gadde Babu Prasad have also been awarded Padma Shri. SPORTS India drubs New Zealand to seal T20I series SUSPECTS MONEY TO BE ‘PROCEEDS OF CRIME’ THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Sunday said that the entities operating the Arpora-based nightclub Birch by Romeo Lane, where a devastating fire last year claimed 25 lives, generated revenue of about Rs 22 crore over the last two financial years -- an amount suspected to be “proceeds of crime” under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED also revealed that the club was operating without mandatory statutory licences and approvals. In a press statement, ED informed that searches were carried out at nine premises across Goa, New Delhi and Gurugram, including the premises of the Sarpanch and Secretary of the Arpora–Nagoa Panchayat, as part of the investigation against Saurabh Luthra and others. The probe is based on two FIRs registered by the Goa Police, which include scheduled offences under the PMLA. “The searches have re- ED INQUIRY Evidence of foreign remittances routed through group entities found Possible violations of multiple laws under examination Crores of rupees from illegal operations diverted to personal, group entity bank accounts Incriminating documents and digital devices seized during searches Bank accounts suspected of holding proceeds of crime frozen vealed serious irregularities in statutory compliance including the procurement of licences on the basis of forged documents and the continued operation of commercial activities despite the absence of mandatory approvals from competent authorities,” ED said. >Continued on P8
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