log on to thegoan.net @thegoaneveryday THURSDAY JANUARY 12, 2023 GOA WRD to test GeoTube tech to plug sewage flowing into Sal IN SHORT >> Assembly session: Sec 144 imposed PANAJI: The North Goa District Magistrate has imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in view of the assembly session, slated to begin on January 16, 2023.  >> See pg 3 RND employees call off strike PANAJI: River Navigation Department employees on Wednesday announced withdrawal of their Statewide strike scheduled on January 12 in view of the assurances given by Social Welfare Minister Subhash Phaldessai that he will look into their demands. The strike call was given by Government of India Navigation Employees’ Union (Goa) in support of their demand of payment of 36 months overtime to the RND employees. Man assaulted in Assagao dies MAPUSA: The man who was seriously assaulted by some construction workers in Assagao died while undergoing treatment at the Goa Medical College and hospital, Bambolim on Wednesday morning. The five accused who were arrested on Monday in the brutal assault case have now been booked for murder, Anjuna Police said. Police have added Section 302 (murder) of the IPC against the accused.  >> See pg 3 School clerk held for sexual assault BICHOLIM: Bicholim police has arrested a senior clerk at a high school in Bicholim taluka on charges of harassing a minor girl student of the same high school. According to information, the incident is reported to have taken place last month when the clerk is alleged to have harassed the student who lives in the same village where the high school is situated. Peegate: Accused denied bail NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Wednesday denied bail to Shankar Mishra, accused of urinating on an elderly woman co-passenger on an Air India flight, calling the act “utterly disgusting and repulsive”. Metropolitan Magistrate Komal Garg said the act has shocked the civic consciousness of people and needed to be deprecated. WEATHER >> Max: Min: Humidity: TIDES 32 C 21 C 43% Low: 08:19 19:41 High: 02:06 13:27 Facebook.com/thegoaneveryday The Goan (Playstore) 14 pages PRICE ` 8 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME VIII, NO.205 2 GOA Mapusa council special meet comes under ‘illegal’ cloud 3 Instagram.com/thegoaneveryday RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 INFO Will fasting boost your metabolism? GOA DELEGATION DISCUSSES MHADEI WITH SHAH, SHEKHAWAT CM says meet positive, but mum on outcome THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Chief Minister Pramod Sawant-led delegation on Wednesday met Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi to mount pressure on the Central government to revoke the approved DPR for Kalasa-Bhandura project in Karnataka. Although the details of the meeting are kept under wraps, Sawant disclosed that the meeting was ‘positive’ and that the Union Minister was briefed about Goa’s concerns. The CM also stated that Shah assured to look into the matter. There was, however, no word about Shah categorically agreeing to Goa’s plea. “Goa government’s delegation on Mhadei met the Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi today and urged for immediate constitution of the Mhadei Water Management Authority as given in the All eyes on Modi’s Hubbali visit today The Goa government’s delegation led by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Mhadei issue meets the Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Wednesday. award and also urged for the withdrawal of the DPR sanctioned by CWC,” the Chief Minister’s Office said in a brief statement issued late Wednesday night. The delegation later met Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat to convey how the DPR’s approv- Govt’s closure ‘shot’ to Covid relief scheme Bondla Zoo upgradation plan gets MoEF nod THE GOAN I NETWORK after mandatory scrutiny. “The amount will be released to the eligible applicants within 15 days of their applications’ scrutiny,” he added. The State government introduced the scheme in July 2021 to grant one-time financial relief to a large number of people engaged in different marginalised/ unorganised sectors, whose livelihood was impacted PANAJI In a major boost to the Goa government’s plan for upgrading Bondla Zoo, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF & CC) approved the master plan of Bondla Zoological Park, around three months after the proposal was granted in-principle approval by the Central Zoo Authority. With the final go-ahead, the authorities will be able to undertake development of Bondla on a large scale as the master plan proposed new orientation of cages for the zoo besides overall upgradation at the wildlife sanctuary. While approving the plan, the ministry’s letter to Chief Wildlife Warden in Goa on Wednesday directs the State to revise the plan to confirm the submission year, that is, for 20 years starting from 2022-23 and to furnish updated information about animal inventory, number of sanctioned posts and posts to be created, enclosure and constraints, etc. Forest Minister Vishwajit Rane took to social media to inform about the approval and assured to carry out holistic and integrated development through in the right perspective. >Continued on P5 >Continued on P5 OKAYS `  0 CR FOR 40K APPLICATIONS 2 THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The State government’s much-touted scheme ‘Covid-19 relief to marginalised/ unorganised sector’ will discontinue after it clears 90,000 pending applications for a one-time grant. The decision was taken at the State cabinet meeting on Wednesday wherein Rs 20 crore was also approved to clear 40,000 of the total applications in the first phase. “We received 90,000 applications seeking one-time relief of Rs 5,000 under the scheme. There was a shortage of funds…The cabinet has approved Rs 20 crore for 40,000 applicants while the remaining will be cleared in the next Budget in April. We won’t accept more applications hereafter,” Social Welfare Minister Subhash Phaldesai told reporters after Chief Minister Pramod Sawant-headed cabinet meeting at the Secretariat. He explained that the government will make a provision of Rs 25 crore in the upcoming Budget session to clear the remaining 50,000 applications al will impact Goa adversely as the State will face an acute shortage of water. Earlier on Wednesday afternoon, the delegation left for the capital after the cabinet meeting at Porvorim. The high-level delegation did not include the Opposition leaders, for; they refused We received 90,000 applications seeking one-time relief of Rs 5,000 under the scheme. There was a shortage of funds… The cabinet has approved Rs 20 crore for 40,000 applicants while the remaining will be cleared in the next Budget in April. We won’t accept more applications hereafter,” — Subhash Phaldesai, Social Welfare Minister PANAJI: The State will have all eyes on Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he visits Hubballi on Thursday to launch the National Youth Festival in the city. His visit comes at a time when the Goa government has locked horns with its counterpart in Karnataka over the Mhadei issue, and the Goa government’s >Continued on P5 to extend cooperation to government meetings ahead of the Delhi trip. “The Opposition leaders refused to attend the all-party meeting. Their attitude indicates they are not interested in either discussing the >Continued on P5 9 SPORTS Malaysia Open: HS Prannoy trumps Lakshya Sen in opening round 14 Cabinet nod to home-stay concept in hinterlands THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The State cabinet on Wednesday approved a holiday homelike concept in the interiors of Goa, in a bid to boost hinterland tourism and encourage local entrepreneurship. “Many tourists visit places such as Sanguem and Sanvordem to enjoy the scenic beauty…The villagers accommodate these tourists…These houses could be used for the purpose where tourists can stay and they are also served authentic local food. The cabinet has approved (the proposal),” Minister for Art & Culture Govind Gaude said. He claimed to have found support from the Mineral Foundation to push the project that will help the villagers to earn a decent income as well as allow tourists to explore the unexplored parts of Goa. In yet another tourism-related project, the government seeks amendment of Section 17 of the Goa Town and Country Planning Act to provide alteration/ modification of the TOURISM BOOST: MINISTER SPEAKS „„Many tourists visit places such as Sanguem and Sanvordem to enjoy the scenic beauty…The villagers accommodate these tourists…These houses could be used for the purpose where tourists can stay and they are also served authentic local food „„The Mineral Foundation to give a push to the project that will help the villagers to earn a decent income as well as allow tourists to explore the unexplored parts of Goa Regional Plan to accommodate and promote projects as well as schemes towards tourism development, economic and environmental policies of Goa. “It will not materially alter the overall character of RP and also rectify errors in the RP and correction of inconsistent/ incoherent zoning proposals in the RP, in accordance with all the rules that may be made on this behalf,” reads the note. The cabinet also discussed about issuance of permissions for trade, business, industry, hotels, restaurants, coffee house, sweetmart shop, bakery, boarding house or lodging house (other than a hostel recognised by the government) or a dharmashala or for manufacturing ice or aerated water or any other permission in the panchayat jurisdiction, depending on the resolutions. The amendment has been approved as the clause also speaks about licence/ permission from Block Development Officer for construction, repairs, modifications, alterations or for the above identified trade. The aim is to “create transparent and efficient mechanism to streamline the process of granting permissions, licences and occupancy certificates,” it said. Firefighting Ops at Pilerne paint factory continued on Wednesday  50 FAMILIES IN SAIPEM SHIFTED TO SAFER PLACES  CAUSE OF FIRE BEING PROBED  GSPCB MONITORING AIR QUALITY THE GOAN I NETWORK ON PAGE 3 PORVORIM/MAPUSA The fire at the warehouse of the Berger Becker company in Pilerne Industrial Estate has been brought under control following overnight firefighting operations, although some small fires were still going in patches at the site. As precautionary measures, about 50 families living in Saipem village in Candolim went to the homes of their relatives late Tuesday evening. Fire fighting operations at the site of Berger Becker factory continued till Wednesday evening and Assistant Divisional officer of Fire and Emergency office Ajit Kamat and Pilerne Fire Station Officer Srikant Parrikar were at the site till evening to monitor the operations. “The fire at the warehouse of the Berger Becker company in Pilerne industrial estate has been brought under control although some small fires were still going in patches at the site. The roof of the building has collapsed and therefore, a JCB has been used to excavate the patches where fire gets ignited,” said Kamat. IDC to submit report today PANAJI: The Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) is expected to submit its report into the fire at Berger Becker paint factory to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday. Saipem school closed AFTERMATH: The remains after the fire at the warehouse of Berger Becker company in Pilerne Industrial Estate on Wednesday. Umesh Zarmekar He informed that operations to extinguish the fire continued the whole night. “Firefighters had a very tough time in extinguishing the fire. Around 10-12 lakh litres of water and 4,000-5,000 litres of foam were used to bring the fire under control, while 11 fire tenders of the Goa Fire Services besides those from the defence and MPT were in operation to fire-fight the inferno.” Pilerne Fire Station Officer Srikant Parrikar said the management of the Berger Becker Coatings is yet to reveal to them the approximate losses incurred by the company due to the fire. “But considering the damages caused, it will run into crores of rupees. The exact cause of fire is being investigated. As per our information, the warehouse where raw material was stored, one truck, 2 cars and over 50 two-wheelers were burnt in the blaze,” said MAPUSA: The Government Primary School at Saipem village in Candolim was kept closed on Wednesday as a precautionary measure, following the inferno at the warehouse of the Berger Becker company in Pilerne Industrial Estate on Tuesday evening. Meanwhile, the advisory issued by the government yesterday has been extended for 72 hours. Parrikar. When contacted, Porvorim Police Inspector Anant Gaonkar mentioned that since they were informed about the fire >Continued on P5 Flights across US grounded RRR’s song ‘Naatu Naatu’ wins a Golden Globe ROLL OF HONOUR: WINNERS amid major system failure PTI WHITE HOUSE SAYS NO EVIDENCE OF CYBERATTACK PTI WASHINGTON Hundreds of flights across the US were grounded on Wednesday morning following a technical failure in the system of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA has ordered airlines to delay all domestic departures until 9 am Eastern Time to allow the agency to validate the integrity of flight and safety information. The airlines said they had already begun grounding flights. “The FAA is working to re- store its Notice to Air Missions System. We are performing final validation checks and reloading the system now. Operations across the National Airspace System are affected,” FAA said. President Joe Biden has been briefed by Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg on the FAA system outage. “There is no evidence of a cyberattack at this point, but the President directed DOT to conduct a full investigation into the causes. The FAA will provide regular updates,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a tweet. The outage comes as a result of the failure of the Notice to Air Missions system, which alerts pilots and other personnel about airborne issues and other delays at airports across the country. According to FlightAware, a flight tracking company, more than 1,200 flights within, into or out of the US were delayed and more than 100 were cancelled. Transportation Secretary Buttigieg said that he is in touch with the FAA and monitoring the situation. LOS ANGELES Naatu Naatu”, the irrepressible, fun track from the blockbuster “RRR”, danced its way to a Golden Globe as the ‘best original song-motion picture’ -- and to Indian showbiz history -- at a star spangled awards ceremony here. The song, which beat the likes of numbers by Taylor Swift, Rihanna and Lady Gaga, to win the coveted award is the first time an Indian production has won a Golden Globe. Organised by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the prestigious awards, which mark the beginning of the Hollywood season that ends with the Oscars in March, were presented here on Tues- “ M.M. Keeravani poses in the press room with the award for best original song, motion picture for “Naatu Naatu”. day night. “RRR” had also been nominated in the ‘best picture-non English’ category and lost out to Argentina’s historical drama Argentina, 1985. But there was compensation aplenty. “And the Globe goes to ‘Naatu Naatu’ ‘RRR’,” actor Best picture, drama: The Fabelmans Best picture, musical or comedy: The Banshees of Inisherin Actress, drama: Cate Blanchett (Tár) Actor, drama: Austin Butler (Elvis) Actress, musical or comedy: Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once) Actor, musical or comedy: Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin) >> Director: Steven Spielberg (The Fabelmans) Screenplay: Martin McDonagh (The Banshees of Inisherin) Original song: Naatu Naatu, from “RRR,” by composer MM Keeravani and lyricist Chandrabose Jenna Ortega announced on stage to loud cheers from the “RRR” team. The track has been composed by veteran music direc- tor MM Keeravaani and voiced by singers Kala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj.  >> Related report on pg 6 >Continued on P5