log on to thegoan.net @thegoaneveryday MONDAY JANUARY 16, 2023 GOA CRIME REVIEW IN SHORT >> Miss USA crowned new Miss Universe LOUISIANA: Miss USA R’Bonney Gabriel was on Sunday crowned the new Miss Universe at a dazzling pageant in New Orleans, Louisiana. Reigning Miss India-Universe Divita Rai secured a berth in the top 16 but failed to make it to the top 5. Min temperature in Goa to fall further PANAJI: The minimum temperature over Goa is likely to further fall by 1°C during next 3 days and subsequently rise again by 1-2°C in 2 days. According to IMD, the mean minimum temperature recorded at Panaji in January this year is 19.7 which is higher than as 20C that was recorded in 2022. Sanguem continues to thirst for water SANGUEM: With yet another day passing without water, Sanguem residents continued to grapple with the situation. However, there was some relief as panchayat member from Bhati, Vishranti Gaonkar supplied water to the affected villagers through a private tanker at her own cost. >> See pg 5 Shop at bus stand raises eyebrows MAPUSA: Interior furnishing work undertaken in an illegally constructed shop on the passenger platform at the KTC bus-stand in Mapusa has once again raised eyebrows. A year back a shop was being erected on platform no 5 of the KTC bus stand without any approvals and in gross violation of all rules and regulation.  >> See pg 5 Illegal structure rules gram sabha OLD GOA: The Merces gram sabha saw a prolonged discussion over the grant of ex-parte stay for an alleged unauthorized structure with the villagers demanding that the panchayat challenge the stay. The issue cropped up when the minutes of the previous gram sabha were being read.  >> See pg 3 3 GOA Missing woman from Pilar traced after 3 years in Karnataka 3 Instagram.com/thegoaneveryday RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 INFO Ways to clean up your diet for a healthier heart 10 SPORTS Hockey World Cup: India plays out goalless draw against England 12 Stage set for mega Mhadei rally today HUGE TURNOUT EXPECTED OPPN, CIVIL SOCIETY RARING TO GO ON PAGE 2 THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Opposition politicians, civil society organisations and activists across the State were working overtime on Sunday to ensure a massive turnout at the mega rally called by the impromptu 'Save Madei Save Goa Front' collective at Virdi in Sanquelim on Monday at 4 pm. The venue, an open ground near the Virdi-Amona bridge was picked after the permission to use the Sanquelim Municipal ground was revoked by the municipality's chief officer earlier this week earning the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Pramod Sawant government severe criticism. On Sunday, workers were seen readying the venue. Tankers were seen watering the ground and prepping up the venue for the Monday evening rally which organisers feel is crucial to send out a strong message of Goa's solidarity in the tussle for the Mhadei with Karnataka. Barring the Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP) all other Opposition parties -Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Goa Forward Party (GFP), TMC and NCP -- have thrown their lot behind the Save Mhadei, Save Goa front. Meanwhile, Opposition legislators and members of the Cong to create awareness through ‘Mhadei Jagor’ Mhadei drive extension of Opinion Poll movement: Bhembre CM should tender resignation if Centre pays no heed to Goa: Venzy Vijai reminds people how January 16 occupies key place in Goa’s history The ground near Virdi-Amona bridge where the mega rally is scheduled to be held. Chalo Sanquelim chants echo in Salcete MARGAO: Chants centered on “Chalo Sanquelim to Save Mhadei and Save Goa” reverberated around Saxtti countryside on Sunday as NGOs, activists and political parties, MLAs and village Sarpanchas descended on the ground to mobilise people for the rally at Sanquelim on Monday evening. If Aam Admi Party Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas got the Sarpanchas from Benaulim Constituency on one platform to give a call to Front were busy mobilising people for the rally on Monday, which incidentally is the anniversary of the Opinion Poll, the plebiscite which ensured Goa's independent sta- Benaulikars to join the Save Mhadei rally at Sanquelim, the Goemkar Ghor, the headquarters of Goa Forward party bustled with activity on Sunday as party Chief and Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai went into a huddle with party workers. The civil society and activists also hit the ground through appeals and poetry to spread awareness amongst the people and ensure they all join the Monday rally.  >> See pg 2 tus in the Indian union. Several environmental and social activists have also given a call to the people of Goa to come out in large numbers for this rally. The decades old tug-of-war between Goa and Karnataka over the Mhadei river shot into the mainstream political discourse after the Central Water Commission granted Diversion issue not of Mhadei river, but Kalsa, Bhandura tributaries: Pangam ADV GENERAL CLEARS THE AIR, ASSERTS LAW DOES NOT ALLOW DIVERSION AS NO RIVER THAT FLOWS THROUGH WILDLIFE SANCTUARY CAN BE DIVERTED THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The lifeline of Goa, Mhadei issue is on fire and both States, Goa and Karnataka are battling over the diversion of the water of its tributaries. Advocate General of Goa, Devidas Pangam explained in detail the status of the case and how and why even a single drop of the tributaries -Kalsa and Bhandura -- should not be diverted. Stating that there are misconceptions about the entire issue that’s going on from 1985 and the public is not aware of the exact nature of the case. The Attorney General pointed out that it is not di- ADV GENERAL’S TAKE ON MHADEI „„Law does not allow diversion, as no river that flows through the wildlife sanctuary can be diverted „„Goa has presented its point before the Tribunal and SC and to the Centre „„Bhandura nalla flows through Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary and in Karnataka too, it flows through Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary, so by law there cannot be any diversion „„Water can be used on the spot, the DPR has been approved, but Karnataka has dug up tunnel and diverted the water „„There are bandharas on Hartal and Bhandura where a dam of 11 meters has been built and water diverted version of the main river Mhadei, but fight is over diversion of its tributaries, Kalsa, Bhan- dura and Hartal. “The Mhadei basin is spread across three States, 68 dead in Nepal plane crash; fate of 5 Indians not known Search ops to continue, some bodies yet to be retrieved PTI KATHMANDU t least 68 people were killed when a Nepal passenger plane with 72 people onboard, including five Indians, crashed into a river gorge while landing at the newly-opened airport in central Nepal's resort city of Pokhara on Sunday in the country's deadliest plane crash in more than 30 years. Yeti Airlines' 9N-ANC ATR-72 aircraft took off from Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport at 10:33 am and crashed on the bank of the Seti River between the old airport and the new airport minutes before landing, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN). A total of 68 passengers and four crew members were The Goan (Playstore) 12 pages PRICE ` 8 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME VIII, NO. 209 Calangute locals demand revocation of all licences to ‘dance bars’ The Goan begins a new series reviewing major crimes of the week with insights into crucial aspects of stories. Today we visit the ‘double-murder’ case at Candolim. >> See pg 3 Facebook.com/thegoaneveryday A Rescue operation underway after a plane crashed at the Pokhara airport on Sunday. on board the aircraft. The flight time between Kathmandu and Pokhara is 25 minutes. “So far, dead bodies of 68 people have been recovered from the crash site, an official at the Search and Rescue Coordination Committee of the CAAN told PTI. However, the dead bodies are yet to be identified, he added. Efforts are on to recover four more bodies, he said. Foreign nationals onboard the plane included five Indians, four Russians, two Koreans, an Australian, a French, an Argentine and an Israeli. The five Indians were identified as Abhisekh Kushwaha, 25, Bishal Sharma, 22, Anil Kumar Rajbhar, 27, Sonu Jaiswal, 35, and Sanjaya Jaiswal, a Yeti Airlines official said. Of the five Indians, who were feared dead in the plane crash in Nepal on Sunday, four were planning to participate in paragliding activities in the tourist hub of Pokhara, a local resident said. Among the five Indian nationals, four had just arrived in Kathmandu from India on Friday. Fishermen row canoes to spread message to Save Mhadei Activist calls on RGP to put aside differences, join rally consent to projects proposed by the neighbouring State to divert the river's waters at Kalasa and Bhandura. Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for dams at Kalasa and Bhandura on the Mhadhei's course in Karnataka were granted by the CWC in December-end last year. Although in consonance with the August 2018 award of >Continued on P5 Gov’s address to kick start winter session today THE GOAN I NETWORK Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa. Though the river starts in Karnataka and flows in Maharashtra and Goa, finally meeting the Arabian Sea in Goa, the basin in Karnataka is about 300 sq km, and in Maharashtra it is around 77 sq km, but in Goa it is 1500 plus sq km”, stated Pangam. The Kalsa tributary begins in Karnataka and flows into Goa at Surla becoming Surla tributary that meets the main Mhadei river in Goa. The Bhandura nalla also begins in Karnataka and joins Mhadei. The dispute is crucial here, and one has to understand that the main Mhadei river PANAJI Amid the looming shadow of the government v/s Opposition stand-off on the Mhadei row, the 4-day winter session of the Goa legislative assembly is set to commence on Monday at 10 am with the customary start of the year address to the House by the Governor, P S Sreedharan Pillai. Pillai's address is the only agenda before the House on Monday and is expected to roll out a 'state of the State' report card from the government's point of view and also reveal policy initiatives and the direction the Pramod Sawant dispensation intends to take the development process in the year ahead. It will be the first session of >Continued on P5 >Continued on P5 CM, ministers aim to dilute backlash THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and some of his Cabinet ministers launched a media outreach addressing the vexed Mhadei issue in an apparent bid to blunt the backlash of the Opposition-backed mega rally slated to be held on Monday in his home constituency of Sanquelim. Sawant addressed the people of the State virtually going live and attacked the Opposition accusing it of politicising the issue even as he claimed his government was effectively handling the battle for Mhadei through legal, technical and political means. Taking a political jibe at the Opposition, Sawant said the government itself, the BJP and the other partners would have stood in unison with them to support Monday’s rally at Sanquelim if they (Opposition) had participated in the all-party meeting called by the Government. “We too would have been present at Azad Maidan to raise hands with them yesterday (Sat),” Sawant said referring to the joint press conference addressed by leaders of Opposition parties to express their SAWANT SPEAK „„The sole motive of the Opposition is politics „„We too would have been present at Azad Maidan to raise hands with them had they participated in the all-party meeting „„My government will succeed in handling the Mhadei issue, just as it was victorious in the matters of mining & Mopa support for the Save Mhadei, Save Goa front’s rally. He alleged that on Mhadei, the sole motive of the Opposition was politics. Sawant, in the virtual address to the people of the State, expressed confidence that his government will succeed in handling the Mhadei issue, just as it was victorious in the matters of mining and Mopa through the Supreme Court. >Continued on P5