log on to thegoan.net @thegoaneveryday FRIDAY DECEMBER 30, 2022 Brazil icon Pele dies aged 82 Facebook.com/thegoaneveryday 14 pages PRICE ` 8 The Goan (Playstore) PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME VIII, NO. 192 Instagram.com/thegoaneveryday Indian cricket in 2022: A saga of forgettable year  Pg 14 RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 MHADEI: K’TAKA GETS CENTRE’S NOD CWC CLEARS DPR FOR DAMS AT KALASA AND BHANDURA; DIRECTOR SAYS ACCEPTANCE OF REPORT SUBJECT TO SC DECISION THE GOAN I NETWORK SAO PAULO: Pelé, the Brazilian king of soccer who won a record three World Cups and became one of the most commanding sports figures of the last century, died Thursday. He was 82. The standard-bearer of “the beautiful game” had undergone treatment for colon cancer since 2021. He had been hospitalized for the last month with multiple ailments. His agent Joe Fraga confirmed his death. Widely regarded as one of soccer’s greatest players, Pelé spent nearly two decades enchanting fans and dazzling opponents. IN SHORT >> 3 more Covid cases in State PANAJI: Goa recorded 3 new Covid cases on Thursday from the 548 samples tested. With 8 recoveries, active Covid caseload of the State stands at 21. Suspension of ration cards from Feb 1 PANAJI: The Department of Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs has decided to temporarily suspend ration cards of beneficiaries who did not lift their monthly entitled food grains for last six months from February 1, 2023.  >> See pg 3 Plaint against Colvale scrapyard owner, son PANAJI: A police complaint has been registered against Rizwan Plastic Industries owner Rizwan Khan and his son Irfan Khan over the massive fire that engulfed scrapyards at Colvale on Wednesday. Empty chemical drums were stored at the scrapyard without due precaution thus endangering human life and safety of workers, states the complaint. WEATHER >> Max: 33 C Min: 23 C Humidity: 56% TIDES Low: High: 10:50 04:05 22:11 17:14 PANAJI In a setback to Goa related to the decades-old Mhadei dispute, the Union government’s Central Water Commission (CWC) has granted its clearance to Karnataka’s detailed project report (DPR) to construct dams at Kalasa and Bhandura to divert the river’s waters. The CWC communicated its approval of the DPRs to the Karnataka government through an ‘office memorandum’. Karnataka is proposing to divert 1.72 tmc by building a dam at Bhandura and 2.18 tmc with a dam at Kalasa, which are within the ambit of the August 2018 award of the Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal (MWDT). CWC director, N Mukherjee, has however said in the office memorandum that the acceptance of Karnataka’s DPR from the hydrology and inter-State aspects, is subject to the decision of the Supreme Court of India before which both Goa Constitute Mhadei Water Mgmt Authority, Sawant urges Centre THE PROPOSAL „„Karnataka is proposing to divert 1.72 tmc by building a dam at Bhandura and 2.18 tmc with a dam at Kalasa, which are within the ambit of the August 2018 award of the Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal and Karnataka, besides the third riparian State of Maharashtra have appealed against the August 2018 MWDT award. Karnataka’s claim for a share of Mhadei river waters has been a contentious one and an issue Goa has been fighting against for decades since the 1970s. Initially, several Chief Minister-level talks failed to break the logjam between the two States and eventually the Centre constituted the MWDT in 2013. After hearing the claims and counter claims of all the three riparian States -- Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra -- for nearly five years, >Continued on P5 THE GOAN I NETWORK Gift from Centre, says K’taka CM THE GOAN I NETWORK BELAGAVI “Now that the DPR has been approved, we will call for tender and start the work. We will lay the foundation stone for the project,” the Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said in the State Assembly. He said this is a gift the Centre has given to Karnataka while the Assembly session was on. “The Central government has accepted the DPR of the Kalasa-Banduri canal. On behalf of the people of Karnataka and this House, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he added. Karnataka Water Resources Minister Govind Karjol in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday announced the clearance by the Centre recalled the efforts being made by the government headed >Continued on P5 PANAJI The Central government’s order giving a go-ahead to Kalasa-Bhandura project in poll-bound Karnataka overshadowed the Goa government’s high-profile inauguration of the Phase-I of the Vijai says betrayal of ‘more than a mother’ PANAJI: Soon after the news broke out, the GFP President took to Twitter to slam Chief Minister Pramod Sawant for surrendering to his high command in Delhi and Karnataka. In his tweet, Sardesai said, “LAST CHANCE FOR #GOANS TO TAKE SELFIE WITH #MHADEI, @ goancm? The betrayal of ‘more than a mother’ >Continued on P5 Road quality will be on par with world’s best by 2024: Gadkari n PHASE-1 OF NEW ZUARI BRIDGE OPENED FOR TRAFFIC n BRIDGE APPROACH ROADS CONNECT BAMBOLIM TO VERNA AT STRETCH OF 13.20 KM n REVOLVING RESTAURANT, LIGHT & SOUND SHOW ON CARDS THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Stating that the Union government is committed to seeing radical improvements in the quality of road infrastructure in the country, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said that by 2024, the quality of roads in the country will be on par with the very best in the world. The Union Minister was speaking after inaugurating the phase 1 of the New Zuari Bridge on Thursday. Located on the Zuari river at Cortalim village on Margao-Panaji National Highway, the bridge aims to ease the traffic woes of the State. Under the 1st Phase, the 4 Lane Right Hand Side Corri- OTHER PROJECTS „„Gadkari assured the Goa government to consider its proposal for constructing a ring road connecting Patradevi to Canacona through the hinterland so that vehicles travelling from Maharashtra to Karnataka and vice versa do not congest Goan highways „„Work on Panaji to Patradevi highway to be completed in the next 7-8 months People gathered on the new Zuari Bridge for the inaugural function on Thursday. ( More photos on pg 3 )  Narayan Pissurlenkar dor of the 8 Lane Stayed Cable bridge has been inaugurated. The Rs 2,530 crore project consists of the new bridge and the approaches from Bambolim to Verna and has a total project length of 13.20 km. The Union Minister expressed his joy at being present at such an occasion where a grand and ambitious project becomes a reality. He credited the late Chief Minister and Union Minister Manohar Parrikar as being one of the architects of both the Mandovi bridge and the new stayed cable bridge over the Zuari river. The recent pace of construction of this project is also testament to the new technology that the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is using to build bridges across the coun- try, observed Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. He informed that the Goa-Mumbai Highway will also be completed in the next 7 to 8 months. The Minister stated that both the Union and State governments are determined to see the planned revolving restaurant on the New Zuari Bridge become a reality. He stated that being in a >Continued on P5 EC develops prototype of Mopa airport taxi imbroglio next big remote voting machine headache for Sawant-led govt Political parties invited for demonstration PTI NEW DELHI In a major move to increase voter participation, the Election Commission on Thursday said it has developed a prototype of a remote electronic voting machine (RVM) for domestic migrant voters and has invited political parties for a demonstration on January 16. If implemented after stakeholder consultations, migrant voters do not need to travel to their home districts to exercise their franchise. The Congress opposed the idea saying the EC should first allay the Opposition’s apprehension about misuse of EVMs before extending their application which “would seriously undermine trust” in THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI ven as the stage is set for commercial operations to begin at the Manohar International Airport by January 5, regulation of taxi services from there is shaping up to be the next big headache for the government of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. For the record, the much-publicised ‘Goa taxi app’ facilitated by the Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) and gone onstream is the only permitted taxi service at the new airport, the State government has said. However, taximen and their associations are opposed to the plan. Meanwhile on Thursday, Sawant warned that those creating obstruction to the E If implemented after stakeholder consultations, migrant voters do not need to travel to their home districts to exercise their franchise the electoral system. Former chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi, however, described the EC’s move as an “excellent initiative”. Citing EC’s press note, he >Continued on P5 CM’S TOUGH TALK „„Those creating obstruction to the smooth functioning of taxi services at the Manohar International Airport through the Goa Taxi app will be dealt with strongly „„If they (taxi operators) want to run their taxis at Mopa they will have to join the app smooth functioning of taxi services at the Manohar International Airport through the Goa Taxi app will be dealt with strongly. “If they (taxi operators) want to run their taxis at Mopa they will have to join the app,” Sawant said. Meanwhile, the government is making efforts to engage with the stakeholders and resolve the taxi imbroglio. Sawant, along with the Pernem MLA Praveen Arlekar, held meetings with elected representatives including sarpan- chas, panchas of Pernem and the Pernem Municipal Council representatives to convice them about the efficacy of the Goa taxi app. Sawant said, he has asked the elected representatives to to convince the taxi operators from their respective areas but the ground reality seems different with the latter refusing to blink. The meeting chaired by Sawant was called specifically to resolve the taxi imbroglio failed to meet its purpose as it was boycotted by the taxi eight-lane New Zuari Bridge. Barely an hour before Union Minister Nitin Gadkari officially inaugurated the bridge, the news from Karnataka Legislative Assembly sent ripples in Goa’s political circles. unions with the authorities refusing to allow Sudip Tamhankar to represent one of the bodies. Tamankar, meanwhile, claimed that providing a taxi counter at Mopa, particularly for the black-and-yellow cabs like in the case of the Dabolim airport and Margao railway station is mandated by law. Meanwhile, Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte said, the government will take an overall review of the Mopa taxi operations on January 2 and accordingly decide the next course of action. Khaunte claimed that over 1,000 taxi operators, including from Mandrem have already joined the Goa taxi app. The minister also took a tough stand saying the “mafia raj” by some taxi operators will not be tolerated. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant urged the Centre to constitute Mhadei Water Management Authority to stop the diversion of water from Kalasa rivulet. His reaction came in after Goa Forward Party (GFP) President Vijai Sardesai took a >Continued on P5 Yuri wants all-party delegation to PM PANAJI: Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao, on the other hand, asked Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to devote time to lead an all-party delegation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanded to table relevant papers in the upcoming assembly session. “Mr Chief Minister, its high time we sink >Continued on P5 Pastor barred from preaching in Siolim THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Pastor Domnic D’Souza and Joane Mascarenhas e D’Souza have been barred from carrying out “religious activities” in their institutional building at Sodiem in Siolim. An order to this effect was issued by North Goa District Magistrate (Collector) Maumu Hage, IAS, to “curb religious conversions”. “The ban to carry out religious activities by Mrs Joan Mascarenhas e D’Souza and Mr. Domnic D’Souza in their institutional building situated in the property bearing Sy. No. 221/8A and H. No. 302/4, Tropawaddo, Sodiem, Siolim, BardezGoa in order to curb the religious conversions by means of allurement or fraud which may ultimately affect the freedom of religion and conscience of Citizens” states Hage in the order. “Given the emergent nature of the situation, immediate prevention is desirable. Therefore Mrs Joan Mascarenhas D’Souza and Mr. Domnic D’Souza are directed to abstain from engaging in religious conversion. The circumstances do not allow the serving of notice individually, except Mrs Joan Mascarenhas e D’Souza and Mr. Domnic D’Souza,” Hage further states in the order.