log on to thegoan.net @thegoaneveryday MONDAY JANUARY 23, 2023 GOA Construction industry body holds skilling prog in waterproofing IN SHORT >> Teacher eligibility test on Feb 26 PANAJI: The State Council of Educational Research & Training, Goa will conduct Goa Teacher Eligibility Test (GTET) on February 26 to determine the eligibility of candidates for appointment as teachers for classes I to V and VI-VIII. Interested candidates can apply only through online mode on GTET’s official website - www.scert. goa.gov.in. Russian flight lands safely at Dabolim PANAJI: The Azur Air Charter flight from Russia which was diverted to Uzbekistan following a bomb threat email to sent to the Goa Airport director on Saturday morning landed safely at Dabolim airport late night. Officials said after thorough checking of the flight, the alert was found to be a hoax. FIR booked for cheating investors PANAJI: The Goa Police’s Economic Offences Cell has booked the managing director of Karmabhumi Infratech Realty Manoj Kumar Saigar in a case of an investor scheme going rogue. Nearly 1,000 investors have alleged that the company cheated them of up to Rs 7 crore.  >> See pg 3 One booked for rape of minor MAPUSA: Mapusa Police arrested a 27-year-old man for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor. The minor was allegedly raped against her consent and later forced to consumer a pill to safeguard her from pregnancy.   >> See pg 5 Cops ask banks to keep ATMs safe MAPUSA: With the rise of thefts in bank ATMs, the bank officials in Bardez were instructed to station a security guard at the ATM kiosks for the security of the ATMs and safety of the public who visit the bank ATMs.   >> See pg 3 Panchayats seek tax from Mopa airport PANAJI: Chandel Hasapur gramsabha has resolved that all four panchayats around the Mopa airport should be paid tax towards lakhs of sq mts construction which has come up within the panchayats jurisdiction. The gramsabha also discussed the issue of taxi and jobs for locals at Mopa Airport. WEATHER >> Max: Min: Humidity: TIDES 33 C 20 C 76% Low: 05.57 17.52 High: 00.11 11.24 Facebook.com/thegoaneveryday The Goan (Playstore) 12 pages PRICE ` 8 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME VIII, NO.216 3 GOA Velim gram sabha adopts resolution opposing move to divert Mhadei water 5 Instagram.com/thegoaneveryday RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 INFO Meditation for beginners: Tips to make meditation easier 10 SPORTS FC Goa outclasses Blasters 3-1, consolidate place in playoffs Massive mystery explosion triggers panic in Mapusa  WINDOW PANES OF FLATS, HOUSES SHATTERED; CRACKS IN WALLS  SEVERAL VEHICLES DAMAGED  FORENSIC TEAM, BOMB DISPOSAL SQUAD VISIT SITE THE GOAN I NETWORK MAPUSA A mysterious blast in a bar and restaurant on the ground floor of a two storey building in the wee hours of Sunday in Dangui Colony, Mapusa has caused damage to property but fortunately no one was injured in the incident. The intensity of the blast, however, sent shock waves and created panic in the neighbourhood. Police are not completely ruling out LPG-induced blast theory but said that investigations were still on. Late in the evening a forensic team and a bomb disposal squad also visited the site to ascertain the cause behind the blast. Due to the impact of the blast the window panes of the flats on the top two floors of the building housing the bar and restaurant were damaged while a wall of a nearby house also suffered a deep crack. At least four cars and three two-wheelers also suffered extensive damage in the inci- OWNER SUSPECTS FOUL PLAY The wreckage after the mysterious blast in a bar & restaurant at Dangui Colony, Mapusa.  (Another photo on pg 3) dent. So severe was the intensity of the blast that the shutter of the bar and restaurant was ripped off and flung at least 20 metres away while the window grill was similarly thrown quite a distance away. At around 5.15 am the residents living in the flats above heard a loud sound. “We heard a big blast. When we rushed out to find out what happened we saw all the destruction below,” said M Halarnkar, one of the residents. Halarnkar also informed that the police and fire brigade were promptly informed about the incident but both the authorities took time to arrive, so neighbours got together to put off some small fires Anti-coal activists visit land along rail tracks MAPUSA: Adding a twist to the mysterious blast incident, the owner of the bar and restaurant, Pramil Mayenkar suspected foul play over the incident and further disclosed that some of the neighbours were against the operation of the bar and restaurant in the area. “We have been running the bar for the last 30 years. The flat owners want us to operate any other business other than the bar and restaurant. We are operating a legal business and have all licences,” Mayenkar said. “Looks like someone has deliberately triggered this blast to fix us. There is no fire indication inside our shop. I think it’s revenge…” she added. She thrashed the gas cylinder blast theory and said that there was no gas smell whatsoever in the area. with buckets of water. Later, Mapusa Police along with the Fire and Emergency Service personnel arrived at the spot. Initial probe revealed it could be a cylinder blast but the cylinders inside the bar and restaurant were found intact. A fire official told The Goan that one cylinder was empty and the other cylinder which was connected along with the regulator and the hose pipe were intact. “All three condensers of one fridge and two coolers inside the bar and restaurant were also intact. Even the eggs in a tray were not damaged,” the fire official informed. >Continued on P5 12 State BJP resolves to fight LS polls under Nadda’s leadership THE GOAN I NETWORK VASCO Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Sunday said the BJP Goa State executive meeting had resolved that J P Nadda will continue as the National President and that Goa will fight the 2024 Lok Sabha elections under his leadership. “We are having the State executive meeting for the first time in Vasco and the people of Mormugao have given the party three MLAs. The first resolution was proposed by Party President Sadanand Tanavade to have Nadda to continue as the National President and all of us supported the resolution. We are going to fight the 2024 Lok Sabha elections under the leadership of Nadda”, he said. Sawant also said the meet deliberated various issues affecting the State and that all schemes will be taken to the last person in the society. Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho proposed a Rs 2 lakh accidental policy and many other proposals were placed before the State executive meeting today, Sawant said. Resolving to strengthen the Atmanirbhar Bharat Swayampurna Goa 2.0 and give boost to youth and women policies, Sawant said “we have also The first resolution was proposed by Party President Sadanand Tanavade to have J P Nadda to continue as National President. We are going to fight the 2024 Lok Sabha elections under the leadership of Nadda — Pramod Sawant taken an oath to ensure that we will work wholeheartedly to take the national and local government schemes to the last person”. Another resolution that was taken at the meeting was our MPs, MLAs, leaders and karyakartas will work wholeheartedly for betterment of Goa and Goans, Sawant said. Will explore all options for Mhadei... Maharashtra is also with us, says CM >> See pg 3 FISH WISH!  PLAN FUTURE COURSE OF AGITATION  LINK COAL CARGO TO DOUBLE-TRACKING WORK THE GOAN I NETWORK VASCO The anti-coal team of agitators met at Isorssim in Velsao to chalk out their further action in the agitation against the Environment Clearance (EC) granted to enhance coal cargo at Mormugao Port Authority (MPA). Linking the EC for the enhanced cargo to the ongoing work on the double tracking, the team visited properties which are alleged to have been encroached by RVNL contractors along the railway tracks for doubling of the railway line to take stock of the situation at the request of some property owners. The team accused the RVNL of destroying the rivulet by filling mud. “We were shocked to observe the brutal means by which the trees including the fruit bearing trees have been cut and stumps uprooted to ensure that no trace is left that these trees existed there” said Capt. Viriato Fernandes. Goans in UK decry EC for coal enhancement at MPA PANAJI: Voices critical of the Union Environment Ministry’s decision to grant Environment Clearance (EC) to enhance the capacity to handle coal and other products in Berths 5A and 6A at Mormugao Port Authority (MPA) are not restricted to the State. A number of Goans in the UK have also denounced the EC to enhance coal cargo at the MPA and they have been critical of the State government for reneging on its promise to reduce coal cargo in the State.  >> See pg 5 “Some villagers we met expressed their apprehension and fear that this land-filling of the century-old natural storm drains might lead to flooding in the next monsoon” said Fr Bolmax Pereira. “This particular Nullah is one of the originating streams for River Sal which starts as a spring in this property at Dhervado, Mollo-Velsao on the Eastern side of the existing single railway tracks. It flows as a Nullah draining into the River Sal at Margao near the wholesale fish market,” said Fr Pereira. Sandra Rodrigues of Goencho Ekvott criticised the double standards of the government. “How hypocritical can this double engine sarkar act? On the one side, the WRD launches a Rs 24 crore pilot project to rejuvenate the polluted River Sal and on the other side they are allowing RVNL to destroy the very source of River Sal that naturally supplies rejuvenating fresh spring water to A man casts his net, locally known as ‘pagear’, in an attempt to catch fish in the Tiracol river at Keri. Demand for freshly caught fish is usually high along the coastal belt.  Vincent Braganza  >Continued on P5 >Continued on P5 Sewage overflow irks Panaji residents THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI An enhancement of the underground sewerage system is a significant  component of the ongoing Smart City works in the capital city but ironically residents have over the last few days been continuously hassled with sewage overflow from chambers of the existing system along streets and pavements at multiple points including on Sunday. One such instance of sewage oozing out of a chamber was captured by upset residents around the Panaji Church Square and went viral by Sunday evening. It being a weekend, no authority attended to the problem. Sewage gushing out from the chamber had created a pool of foul smelling slush along the road and the foot- path there, worrying residents in the vicinity. A few days ago, a large section of the much-hyped walkway hugging the Mandovi river from the Children’s park in Campal to the Youth Hostel 10 killed in mass shooting China records nearly 13K Covid deaths in a week in US, suspect on the run C AGENCIES PTI LOS ANGELES A gunman killed 10 people and wounded 10 others at a Los Angeles-area ballroom dance club following a Lunar New Year celebration, setting off a manhunt for the suspect in the latest mass shooting tragedy in an American community. Capt. Andrew Meyer of the Los Angeles Sheriff’’s Department said Sunday that the wounded were taken to hospitals and their conditions range from stable to critical. The shooting took place after 10 pm around the location of a Chinese Lunar New Year celebration where many downtown streets are closed for festivities that draw thousands of people He said the 10 people died at the scene in the city of Monterey Park. Meyer said people were pouring out of the location screaming when officers arrived on the scene at around 10:30 pm. He said officers then went into the dance ballroom as firefighters treated the wounded. The Lunar New Year celebration had attracted thousands. Monterey Park is a city of about 60,000 people with a large Asian population about 10 miles (16 kilometres) from downtown Los Angeles. It marked the fifth mass shooting in the US this month and the deadliest since 21 people were killed in a school in Uvalde, Texas, according to AP/USA Today database on mass killings in the US. BEIJING hina reported nearly 13,000 Covid-related deaths in hospitals between January 13 and 19, after a top health official said the vast majority of the population has already been infected by the virus. China a week earlier said nearly 60,000 people had died with Covid in hospitals as of January 12, but there has been widespread scepticism over official data since Beijing abruptly axed anti-virus controls last month. China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a statement on Satur- With no Covid restrictions people across China ring in the Lunar New Year with large family gatherings and crowds visiting temples on Sunday. day that 681 hospitalised patients had died of respiratory failure caused by coronavirus infection, and 11,977 had died of other diseases combined with an infection over the period. The figures do not include those who died from the virus at home. Airfinity, an independent forecasting firm, has estimat- ed Covid deaths in China will peak at around 36,000 over the Lunar New Year holiday. The firm also estimated that more than 600,000 people have died from the disease since China abandoned the zero-Covid policy in December. Tens of millions of people have travelled across the country in recent days for long-awaited reunions with families to mark the biggest holiday in the lunar calendar that fell on Sunday, raising fears of fresh outbreaks. But a top health official said China will not experience a second wave of Covid infections in the next two to three months after millions return to villages to mark the Lunar New Year because nearly 80% of the population has already been infected by the virus. “Although a large number of people travelling during the Spring Festival may promote the spread of the epidemic to a certain extent... the current wave of epidemic has already infected about 80 percent of the people in the country,” Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said in post on China’s Twitter-like Weibo platform on Saturday. “In the short term, for example, in the next two to three months, the possibility of... a second wave of the epidemic across the country is very small”, he said.