log on to thegoan.net @thegoaneveryday WEDNESDAY JANUARY 25, 2023 MMC revenue loss: GIS report collects dust IN SHORT >> Jio unveils 5G services in Panaji PANAJI: Reliance Jio on Tuesday announced the launch of Jio True 5G services in Panaji along with 49 other cities across the country. The Jio True 5G services are now available at 184 cities across the country. Jio users in the city will be invited to the Jio Welcome Offer, to experience Unlimited Data at up to 1 Gbps+ speeds, at no additional cost, starting today, a Jio spokesperson said. Duo arrested for stealing Goan taxi PANAJI: Two youth from Solapur have been arrested by Panaji police for stealing a four-wheeler from a Goan taxi driver. The accused were nabbed by Panaji police from Solapur and the stolen vehicle was also recovered from them. Both have been remanded to 3 days police custody. Mopa airport hits 1L passenger mark PANAJI: The Manohar International Airport at Mopa on Tuesday crossed the one lakh passenger movement, GMR Goa International Airport has announced. The airport had commenced commercial operations on January 5. `  5.70 lakh worth 1 raw plastic stolen PANAJI: Robbers decamped with raw plastic worth Rs 15.70 lakh from a warehouse at Kundaim. The warehouse belonging to a polymer factory situated at Kundaim Industrial Estate was broken into by unidentified miscreants. 13 pages PRICE ` 8 2 GOA Facebook.com/thegoaneveryday The Goan (Playstore) PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME VIII, NO. 128 GOA Saligao comunidade drills another nail in ‘illegal’ building project 3 THE GOAN I NETWORK MARGAO Linking Karnataka’s overt and covert plans to divert Mhadei water for the water guzzling steel plants proposed in the Baghalkot-Gadak-section and plans to import coal via the Mormugao Port Authority, social activists and public spirited citizens under the banner of Goencho Lok on Tuesday sounded the bugle for a “do or die” battle to protect Mhadei and save Goa from becoming a coal hub. The sustained battle will be launched on January 26 (Republic Day), wherein Panchayat gram sabhas across the State will be requested to adopt resolutions to save Mhadei and save Goa from coal. Besides, the group will launch awareness programme on Mhadei and Coal to explain to the people how the two issues are inter-linked Members of the civil society attending the meeting held at the Grace Church hall on Tuesday.  Santosh Mirajkar and are being pushed forward by the corporates comprising of Adani and Jindal. As part of the agitation, the meeting has further resolved to hold a massive protest dharna outside the MPA on January 30 at 11 am. Suggestions were made by various speakers to intensify the agitation to save Mhadei and save Goa from coal by holding agitation at places, such as railway tracks, where it hurts the government the most. A suggestion was also made that people should be mobilized to target the MLAs. Addressing the media after the meeting, activist Abhijit Prabhudesai said it was decided to launch a do or die battle to save Goa from destruction. “We have to do and win the battle by saving Mhadei and Goa as the corporates want to take Mhadei water and dump coal on Goa”, he asserted. WEATHER >> Max: 30 C Min: 20C Humidity: 78% TIDES Low: High: 07:31 19:20 01:27 13:20 Different ways how canola oil enhances your beauty Cautioning the people of Goa that they cannot afford to remain sussegad on the issues facing the state, Abhijit said the time has come for all Goans to come out and save Goa. “It is now increasingly becoming clear that the Karnataka government is hell bent in diverting the Mhadei river water neither for drinking nor for irrigation, but is intended to make it available for water guzzling steel units proposed by Adani and Jindal”, he said. He added: “It is now clear three issues of track doubling, coal transportation and diversion of Mhadei river water are all interlinked. In the bargain, the corporates have drawn up plans to make Goa a coal hub by ferrying the coal via the MPA and divert the Mhadei river water for the proposed steel units”. >Continued on P6 Key accused in land fraud arrested for eighth time FRUIT OF LABOUR THE GOAN I NETWORK North Collector bans cattle transportation VASCO: Two persons were arrested on charges of possessing drugs worth Rs 1.8 lakh near the old Verna panchayat after Verna police conducted a raid. INFO 9 n MOVEMENT TO BE LAUNCHED ON JAN 26 n GRAM SABHAS ASKED TO ADOPT RESOLUTIONS n MASSIVE DHARNA PLANNED OUTSIDE PORT ON JAN 30 n PLANS AFOOT TO TARGET MLAs PANAJI: IMD has predicted the possibility of light rainfall at isolated places in Goa on Wednesday. It said with an increase in moisture incursion in lower levels of atmosphere over Goa, an increase in clouding is likely and there is possibility of light rainfall. Two held on drugs charges at Verna RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 War bugle sounded to save Mhadei, fight against coal IMD forecasts light rain across State PANAJI: In view of the prevalence of Lumpy Skin Disease in cattle in the neighbouring states, the Collector of North Goa has prohibited transportation and entry of milch animals (cattle) except healthy buffaloes from other States directly or indirectly. Instagram.com/thegoaneveryday A farmer harvests fresh turnip cabbages (locally know as naab) from his field in Taleigao on Tuesday.  Narayan Pissurlenkar 5G vulnerable to criminal misuse: Security meet PTI NEW DELHI Warning against the vulnerabilities of the high-speed 5G telecom network, papers submitted at a key security meet have noted that it can provide an excellent platform for middlemen and agents for creating linkages for crimes such as drug trafficking, human and organ trafficking, money laundering and terror. The papers, written by some Indian Police Service officers, were submitted at the just-concluded conference of director generals of police and inspector general of police, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The IPS officers who wrote the papers suggested that a reserved 5G bandwidth and highly secured equipment should be developed proactively for sensitive government related communications and for military usage and only approved and authenticated firms with the least cyber risk or with maximum safety protocols should be allowed to work in for the government agencies. PANAJI Barely five days after he was arrested in yet another land fraud, Muhhamad Suhail Shafi has been booked and arrested for the eighth time on Tuesday. In the present offense, his accomplices including Paulina Juliana Diniz alias Palmarina Gonsalves, Royson Rodrigues, Mariano Antonio Teles Gonsalves and Branca Cassiana Diniz have also been booked, two of whom have repeat cases against them. Superintendent of Police of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) (Land Grab) Nidhin Valsan informed the media that Suhail is booked for forging documents of a Goan family’s ancestral property at Anjuna which dates back to the year 1951. The family currently resides in Mumbai. “Suhail is arrested and remanded to three days police custody,” he said. Suhail has been arrested the maximum time while his accomplice and kingpin Rajkumar Maithi is sent behind the bars four times. The driver of Bardez Mamlatdar Yogesh Vazarkar; Royson Rodrigues, Amruth Govekar, Sandric Fernandes and Record Attendant with Archaeology Department Dhiresh Naik are arrested two times each. Firm on Mhadei decision: CM PANAJI: Amid Karnataka’s attempt to discourage Goa from pursuing the Mhadei water dispute with concerned agencies including the central government, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant maintained that Goa government will make every effort to save Mhadei for the State. “Irrespective of Karnataka CM’s comments, we are firm to do all that is needed for saving the Mhadei River. Technically, politically and legally, whatever needs to be done for the sake of Mhadei will be done,” he said on the sidelines of an event in the capital on Tuesday evening. SPORTS Dominant India brushes aside Kiwis by 90 runs, clean sweep series Five more mining blocks up for grabs in Phase-II auction Blocks are at Advalpal Thivim, Kudnem, Thivim-Pirna, Kudnem-Karmale & Surla-Sonshi THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI After the first e-auctioning of four mining blocks, the government has announced the second phase of e-auctioning five more mining blocks in April. The mining blocks to be e-auctioned are at Advalpal Thivim, Kudnem, Thivim-Pirna, Kudnem-Karmale and Surla-Sonshi mines in North Goa. The last date to pay the tender of Rs 5 lakh is March 17 and the bids have to be submitted by March 27. According to Director of Mining Suresh Shanbhogue, the 88 mining leases will be divided in blocks and auctioned. “The first four blocks have been bagged by mining companies from Goa. There is a possibility that these new five blocks could also be bagged by Goan companies. The company or agency that presents the highest bid will be awarded the blocks,” said Shanbhogue. “After bagging the auction NEW DELHI In the wake of fatalities among children linked to cough syrups and medicines made by manufacturers based in India and Indonesia, the World Health Organisation issued a ‘call to action to countries to detect and respond to incidents of falsified medical products and save children from contaminated medicines’. The WHO said that over the past four months, countries reported several incidents of LONDON oetuses and placentas of pregnant women, especially those infected with Covid-19 at earlier points in the pandemic, were found to bear a greater risk of experiencing growth impairment or vascular lesions in organs and brain, according to a new research. According to the research, results demonstrate that the different strains of the virus that emerged during the pandemic led to varying degrees of damage, which was especially higher by those involving pre-Omicron variants. The F „„Different strains of the virus led to varying degrees of damage „„The detected placental lesions could potentially harm both development and health in some of the affected unborn children detected placental lesions could potentially harm both development and health in some of the affected unborn children, the study said. Using prenatal magnetic resonance imaging, a group of THE GOAN I NETWORK MAPUSA While Sahil Mahajan, a student of St Xavier’s College who has allegiance to ABVP, has said the Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Bardez has directed the college to hold the induction of Students Council by February 4, there was no official confirmation whether any such direction has been issued to the college. The Sub-Divisional Magistrate-I (SDM-1) Gurudas Dessai told The Goan that he cannot speak to the media even as SDM-2 Yashaswini B (IAS) passed the buck to SDM-1. Principal of St Xavier’s College Blanche Mascarenhas and College Administrator Fr Tony Salema also refused to speak to journalists on what transpired in the meeting with the SDM. As decided, the meeting was held in the SDM’s office on Tuesday where SDM-1 Gurudas Dessai and SDM-2 Yashaswini B (IAS) along with Mapusa PI, Paresh Naik were present for the meeting. From the college side, Principal Blanche Mascarenhas and Administrator Fr Tony Salema and three students of the „„Infections led to significantly greater damage such as blood clots or bleeding „„Researchers attribute varying extent of damage to the placenta caused by different strainsof the Covid virus Medical University of Vienna, Austria, researchers examined the placentas and foetuses of women who tested positive during pregnancy, study said. Contrary to previous studies, in which SARS-CoV-2-re- >Continued on P6 n ABVP student says yes n SDMs mum PTI over-the-counter cough syrups for children with confirmed or suspected contamination with high levels of diethylene glycol (DEG) and ethylene glycol (EG). The cases are from at least seven countries, associated with more than 300 fatalities in three of these countries, with most young children under the age of five. WHO said the contaminants are toxic chemicals used as industrial solvents and antifreeze agents that can be fatal even in small amounts. of the mining blocks, the company will have to seek environment clearances and consent to operate from the Goa State Pollution Control Board. After procuring these two permits, ore can be extracted at any time,” the director of mines added. The mining blocks in the first phase had been awarded to Vedanta, Salgaocar Shipping, Bandekar Brothers and Fomento Company. The block will be given to the companies on a 50-year lease. After initiating the e-auction of the mining blocks, the State government Suspense over Feb 4 date to install students council WHAT THEY SAID „„Sahil Mahajan, who claims to be the General Secretary of the college, informed media that SDM2 has told the college to fix a date for induction of the Students’ Council within five days from January 24 to January 28 and to hold the induction ceremony between January 30 and February 4 „„Sub-Divisional Magistrate-I (SDM-1) Gurudas Dessai told The Goan that he cannot speak to the media even as SDM-2 Yashaswini B (IAS) passed the buck to SDM-1 college, Sahil Mahajan, Vinay Raut and Shivani Vaigankar, were also present. After coming out of the meeting, Sahil Mahajan, who claims to be the General Secretary of the college, informed the media that SDM-2 has told the college to fix a date for induction of the Student’s Council within five days from Cough syrup deaths: Covid can harm foetuses of pregnant women: Study KEY OBSERVATIONS OF STUDY WHO calls for action AGENCIES 13 lated abnormalities were only identified postnatally and/ or through histopathological procedures, the research team focused on prenatal imaging findings, the study said. The study found that the placentas in both the pre-Omicron and the Omicron groups revealed abnormalities. “Infections with pre-Omicron variants, such as Delta, led to significantly greater damage in the form of vascular events such as blood clots or bleeding than with the Omicron subvariants currently circulating through the population,” noted lead author Patric Kienast, outlining a key finding of the study. The researchers attribute the varying extent of damage to the placenta caused by virus strains to the fact that Omicron sub-lineages are less likely than their predecessors. January 24 to January 28 and to hold the induction ceremony between January 30 and February 4. “We are not with any political party. Let anyone derive any meaning they want. Whatever we did was in the interest of the students. We had asked only to hold the induction of the student’s council. We are happy with today’s decision,” Mahajan said. TMC Media Coordinator Trajon D’Mello said if the media reports are true then SDM has exceeded his powers. “Is there any written order from the SDM? Please show me the order. When CM says the decision will be taken by the Director of Higher Education, how can the SDM direct the college management to hold induction ceremony?” D’Mello questioned. He said the meeting before the SDM was fixed to sort out the law and order problem that occurred after ruckus was created by the ABVP students in the college.