log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline WEDNESDAY MAY 21, 2025 GOA Demolition drive sparks anxiety among roadside vendors >> pg 8 From just three tiffins to three outlets: The rise of Soyara’s IN SHORT >> Water supply to Taleigao restored PANAJI: In a much needed relief to the citizens, water supply to the parts of Taleigao has been restored after a 50-day long period of disruption. However, residents of Palm-Grove-Cardoz vaddo and Posrebhat, might have to wait for some more time as the work to lay a new pipeline is in progress.  >> See pg 2 VP Dhankhar arrives in Goa PANAJI: Vice-President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar, accompanied by his spouse Dr Sudesh Dhankhar, arrived in Goa on an official visit. He was received at INS Hansa, Dabolim, by Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.  >> See pg 7 Railways urged for access at Velsao VASCO: Concerned over the potential loss of a long-used traditional pathway, residents of Velsao on Tuesday morning met with a Railway official to request that access through the area not be blocked by newly erected barricades. The issue was brought to the attention of Cortalim MLA Anton Vas and he visited the site to inspect the situation.  >> See pg 2 Govt to empanel tree cutters PANAJI: The North Goa Collectorate has invited applications for empanelment of skilled, experienced, and certified tree cutters to safely remove dangerous trees in the district for 2025–26, 2026–27, and 2027–28. Astrophysicist Narlikar no more PUNE: Dr Jayant Vishnu Narlikar, one of the most distinguished astrophysicists who was globally acclaimed for co-developing the HoyleNarlikar theory of gravity -- an alternative to Einstein’s general relativity -- and popularising science among common people, passed away in Pune on Tuesday. WEATHER >> Max: 34 C Min: 27.1 C Humidity: 92% TIDES Low: High: 10:31 ---04:45 17:36 Facebook.com/thegoan The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) 16 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME X, NO. 333 2 TG LIFE From a train to stage: The stunning journey of ‘Ganv Zala Zantto’ 6 Instagram.com/thegoanonline RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 INFO How to cultivate spiritual wellness in children 11 SPORTS Teen sensation Suryavanshi stars as RR ends season with emphatic win 16 Pre-monsoon showers take Goa by storm n WIDESPREAD FLOODING IN SEVERAL PARTS; PANAJI, MIRAMAR BEAR BRUNT n MAJOR TRAFFIC SNARLS WITNESSED n PERNEM WITNESSES HIGHEST RAINFALL n IMD WARNS OF THUNDERSTORMS; ORANGE ALERT ISSUED THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Heavy pre-monsoon showers lashed Goa on Tuesday, resulting in water-logging and a flood-like situation in low-lying areas. Goa has been put on Orange alert till Wednesday, with the current situation attributed to upper air cyclonic circulation over Karnataka and adjoining areas. With heavy to very heavy rainfall over the west coast of Karnataka, Konkan, Goa and Kerala and adjoining Peninsular India till May 26, Goa has been put on Yellow Alert till this period as it witnessed a near-chaotic situation even in urban areas like Mapusa and Panaji. In parts of Panaji including Miramar, water accumulation brought traffic to a standstill, while sudden road tarring works in Neugi Nagar led to traffic chaos amid rains. Rains brought life to a standstill in Mapusa too with a video of a two-wheeler swept away doing the rounds on social media. Similar scenes were reported from other parts of the state, as incessant showers accompanied by thunderstorms reduced visibility to near zero at some places. However, the RAIN PAIN: A scooterist struggles in a flooded street at Khorlim, Mapusa. (Right) A woman clears water from the library at Ravindra Bhavan in Canacona. rains brought respite from the heat with maximum temperature recorded at 34°C and minimum at 26°C. Over a dozen incidents where trees uprooted were also reported on a single day besides a fatal accident in which a linesman was electrocuted. In separate incidents, four dogs died after falling into a water tank and open wells at three different locations. By Tuesday evening, IMD recorded the highest 161 mm rainfall in Pernem, followed by 157 mm in Mapusa, 81 mm in Panaji and 75mm in Mormugao. The remote area, which usually witnesses one of the highest rainfall, saw 43 mm rainfall in Valpoi, 43 mm in Sanguem and 40mm in Quepem. The IMD further recorded 30mm rains at Ponda station. COMMERCIAL CAPITAL UNDER WATER Heavy pre-monsoon showers exposed holes in the GOVT ISSUES SANADS TO 871 CLAIMANTS PANAJI The Goa government has rejected almost 900 claims for land ownership under the Forest Rights Act 2006 due to various reasons including the claims by tribal on revenue land, which is not part of the forest rights. At the same time, till April 2025, the government has issued sanads to 871 claimants; it is in process of issuing land titles to another 1,418 claimants with land demarcation in the final stage. The ‘Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act’ in Goa came into force in 2006 and thereafter the State commenced accepting claims for grant of land titles to the backward community. Under the Forest Rights Act 10,137 claims filed by the tribals and other traditional forest dwellers have PANAJI: In a late night update, IMD Goa issued a port warning for South Maharashtra-Goa coastline stating that a cyclonic system is likely to develop. It said owing to upper air cyclonic circulation, squally conditions with wind speeds of 45–55 km/h, gusting up to 65 km/h, are very likely to prevail along and off the South Maha-Goa coast. 2 flights diverted at Dabolim airport Setback for tribals; 900 land ownership claims rejected THE GOAN I NETWORK Cyclone alert for Maha-Goa coast been pending for a long time and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has taken initiative to speed up the disposal process. Of these, 9,757 pertain to individuals, while 379 are community claims. Speaking to The Goan, Nodal Officer Ajay Gaude said that as of April 2025, total 871 claims have been settled with Sanads being issued while another 1,418 will be issued shortly. “We have rejected over 900 claims due to various reasons. The prime reason is that the claims are made for land ownership of revenue land which is not part of the forest. Also, there is a lack of evidence or documents, non-compliance with FRA’s provisions, etc,” Gaude said. He also explained that the State may reject more claims, as several claimants are not ready for spot verification claiming right over the land. “According to them the AFTER NO DETENTION POLICY ENDS… monsoon preparedness in the commercial capital, with many areas, including the Margao Municipal square and the area outside the South Goa district hospital inundated by waters. Services in the Margao Municipal Council trade and taxation section also suffered in the morning due to water seepage. Following non-stop overnight showers, rain water not only entered the trade and taxation section from the roof top, but the seepage per- Optical cables, 2 tempos damaged in Porvorim fire THE GOAN I NETWORK land belongs to them but the government record shows it is forest land. They will have to submit documents to prove ownership. If that does not happen, the claims will be rejected,” Gaude explained. So far, the government-appointed forest rights committee (FRC) has conducted spot verification of almost 7000 claims. The sub-division level committee has cleared 2,600 claims, which were forwarded to the district-level committee. “Wherever spot verification is completed, we would be able to expedite the process of issuing Sanads while in the case of 2600 claims, the exercise will take some time,” he said. Gaude said that the Supreme Court is monitoring the progress of Forest Right claims nationwide and in its latest directives; it has asked all the States to dispose off PORVORIM Optical cable worth Rs 1 crore was gutted while two tempos were damaged in a fire outside the godown of the Ethernet Express company near the KTC bus depot at Porvorim. The company has suspected a case of arson. Pilerne Fire Station Deputy Fire Officer Sunny Faide said they received a call at around 8.35 am on Tuesday stating that fire had broken out near the godown of Ethernet Express. “We left immediately along with a fire tender to the spot and tried to extinguish the fire. Since the fire was reigniting again and again, we summoned a JCB to segregate the optic fibre cable. We could extinguish the fire after about 90 minutes,” said Faide. While optical fibre cable was gutted in the fire, two tempos (GA-03-N-7146 and GA-03AH-0823) were also damaged. “The Ethernet Express >Continued on P9 >Continued on P9 colated down to the technical section. Bundles of files were also being moved from the administrative section which also witnessed water seepage. For want of a gutter facility, water was seen flowing near the flag pole on the first floor of the Municipal building. MAPUSA REELS A dramatic scene unfolded on Tuesday as a rider, clinging >Continued on P9 ON PAGE 3 Flooding due to poor drainage in Margao Dog shelter in Margao bears brunt When it rains, it hotmixes: Mapusa’s monsoon miracle in infrastructure VASCO: Heavy rains disrupted flight operations at the Dabolim Airport on Tuesday. Goa Airport director George Varghese confirmed that two flights were affected due to the inclement weather on Tuesday. “A Pune-Goa flight was diverted to Hyderabad, while a Mumbai-Goa flight was diverted to Belgaum,” he said. Monsoon may hit Kerala in 4-5 days NEW DELHI: The southwest monsoon is likely to reach Kerala in the next four-five days, much earlier than the usual date of June 1, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Tuesday. The weather department had earlier forecast that the monsoon would onset over Kerala by May 27. Live wire accident claims life of lineman in Sattari COLLEAGUE HURT; INCIDENT SPARKS OUTRAGE THE GOAN I NETWORK VALPOI A lineman from Ghodemal-Morlem who had joined the electricity department barely four years ago was electrocuted, while another lineman was injured when they came into contact with live wires while working on a transformer at Honda-Sattari on Tuesday morning. The incident sparked outrage in Sattari taluka, with people demanding to know why the department had not shut down the power supply while the two linemen were at work and action against those guilty for the lapse which cost a life. According to reports, the two linemen, Chandrakant Gaonkar and Sarvesh Gaonkar, were at work on a transformer near the KTC bus stand in Honda at about 11 am, when they came into contact with live wires. Power dept probing circumstances PANAJI: The Electricity Department which has come under fire again after one of their lineman, Chandru Gaonkar, died of electrocution has said it is investigating the circumstances of it. Chief Electrical Engineer Stephen Fernandes said an investigation into Tuesday’s episode had been launched by the department.  >> See pg 2 Chandrakant remained on the transformer while Sarvesh fell to the ground and sustained injuries in the mishap. Other electricity staff and locals brought Chandrakant down and rushed him to the Sankhali Community Health Centre, where he was declared dead. Sarvesh was also admitted to the hospital and is undergoing treatment. On receiving information about the incident, a Valpoi police team went to the site to conduct investigations and later sent the body for an au- topsy at the Goa Medical College hospital. Grief, shock and anger prevailed in Morlem village over the tragic demise of the lineman. Villagers demanded a thorough investigation into the matter and action against those responsible for not shutting down power supply while the two linemen were at work. The cause of the mishap is still unclear and when officials were contacted, one official said that investigations >Continued on P9 DESPITE CYBER THREAT ADVISORY… Govt now mulls competency 70 per cent of Goa govt websites still vulnerable ADVISORY TO ALL DEPARTMENTS tests for Classes V & VIII THE GOAN I NETWORK THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI As the Central government scrapped the No Detention Policy for Class V and VIII last year, the Goa government is likely to introduce competency-based tests for these grades from the current academic year. The State has constituted a committee of experts to draft standard operating procedure (SOP) for implementation of the same. Under the National Education Policy 2020, the Centre has suggested competen- cy-based tests at the Class V and Class VIII levels as they are the last class of the ‘preparatory stage’ and ‘middle stage’, respectively. Accordingly, the Union Ministry for Education in December, last year, scrapped No Detention Policy for the students, allowing schools to hold back students who fail annual examinations. Sources informed that the government is contemplating  not  to completely phase out  No Detention  Policy but to introduce what is called as a competency test. Sources said that though the government has constituted a committee to guide the Education Department on how to move ahead, the State is awaiting the Centre to release the guidelines. “Nevertheless, from this academic year, we intend to implement the competency level. The Department has asked the Committee to submit its report at the earliest, which needs to be forwarded to the government for approval,” sources said. >Continued on P9 PANAJI ven as a nationwide cyber threat advisory has been issued in the wake of rising Indo-Pak digital hostilities, most of Goa’s government websites continue to remain exposed to cyber threats with no basic security protocols in place and overdue for compulsory audits. More than 70 per cent of 62 departmental websites including those of the Goa Police, Goa University and the Directorate of Accounts among others, are still considered non-secured -- an alarming lapse flagged internally for E „„Block inbound and outbound traffic to and from Pakistan and any other countries deemed high risk „„Strictly adhere to Cyber Safety guidelines issued by Dept of Info Tech, Electronics and Communications „„Disable all unused ports, services and soft- ware on internet-facing assets „„Ensure all systems are protected with updated antivirus, anti-malware  „„Enforce multi-factor authentication for administrative and remote access „„Review, update incident response and data backup policies „„24x7 cyber control room established by MHA to address instances of cyber espionage, cyber terrorism etc nearly a year. A statewide directive was issued this week by the Department of Information Technology, urging all departments to immediately undertake a security audit. But for now, the vast majority of official digital infrastructure remains vulnerable. According to official records reviewed by The Goan, 45 websites have not had their mandatory security audits renewed for over 10 months, while another 17 departments had initiated the renewal process more than a year ago and the completion is still a distant dream. Many of these websites are not even equipped with SSL (Secure Socket Layer), an encryption standard that protects online communication through authentication and data integrity. Last week, the website of the Department of Women and Child Development was allegedly hacked, replacing departmental information with casino advertisements. The website has since been >Continued on P9