log on to thegoan.net @thegoaneveryday SATURDAY MAY 6, 2023 GOA Konkani Kovita Academy to be launched in UK Taking Goan Vindaloo to the world IN SHORT >> IMD predicts light rain for next 4 days PANAJI: IMD forecasts light rain in isolated places in Goa for next four days. "A cyclonic circulation lies over North Interior Karnataka and neighbourhood at 0.9 km above mean sea level. Light rain/ TSH likely at isolated places over North and South Goa districts on May 5, 6, 7 & 8,” said IMD. 2 IPL betting rackets busted VASCO: IPL betting rackets were busted at Arossim and Porvorim in separate raids by Verna police and Porvorim police respectively. Verna police on Thursday night arrested 10 persons while Porvorim police arrested three persons on Friday. >> See pg 3 33% rise in State excise revenues PANAJI: Goa's Excise Commissioner Narayan Gad claimed that the State rebounded after the Covid-hit financial year of 2021-22 with a nearly 33% jump in excise revenues in the following 2022-23 fiscal. >> See pg 3 Mhadei: Human chain planned on May 20 PANAJI: Formation of a human chain is planned in Panaji on May 20 to highlight the importance of river Mhadei. The human chain is planned from Caranzalem Children park to Santa Monica Jetty on May 20, from 4 pm to 6 pm. Pawar to continue as NCP chief MUMBAI: Sharad Pawar on Friday said he has decided to rescind his decision to step down as Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president, owing to pressure from party leaders and workers.  >> See pg 9 WEATHER >> Max: 32 C Min: 26 C Humidity: 67% TIDES Low: High: 04:47 17:18 11:41 22:41 The Goan (Playstore) 14 pages PRICE ` 8 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME VIII, NO. 318 Court exempts Babush, Mauvin from appearing in criminal cases page 8 Facebook.com/thegoaneveryday 2 GOA On a spree: NCB seizes drugs worth `6 crore in latest bust 3 Instagram.com/thegoaneveryday RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 INFO Simple home remedy to treat computer strained eyes 10 Chopra begins Diamond League title defence with win in Doha India, Pak in crossfire over terrorism at SCO conclave JAISHANKAR CALLS FOR TOUGH ACTION AGAINST CROSS-BORDER TERRORISM; ZARDARI SAYS DON’T WEAPONISE ISSUE FOR ‘DIPLOMATIC POINT-SCORING’ HOW INDIA & PAK REACTED PTI BENAULIM India and Pakistan on Friday took a veiled swipe at each other at a SCO meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar demanding tough action against cross-border terrorism and his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari calling for not getting caught up in “weaponising terrorism for diplomatic point-scoring”. In his address at the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) here, Jaishankar said the channel of finances for terror activities must be blocked without any distinction even as Bhutto Zardari raised the issue of “violation of international law” which was seen as an apparent reference to Kashmir. The SCO norms do not allow We firmly believe that there can be no justification for terrorism and it must be stopped in all its forms and manifestations including cross-border terrorism,” — S Jaishankar, When I speak on this topic, I do so not only as the Foreign Minister of Pakistan whose people have suffered. I also speak as the son whose mother was assassinated,” — Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, -- to hide behind non-State actors,” Jaishankar said in the presence of Bhutto Zardari and his counterparts from China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. “Taking our eyes off the menace would be detrimental to our security interests. We firmly believe that there can be no justification for terrorism and it must be stopped in all its forms and manifes- tations including cross-border terrorism,” he added. In his address, the Pakistan foreign minister talked about the need for ensuring respect for universally recognised principles and said, “Unilateral and illegal measures by States in violation of international law and Security Council resolutions run counter to the SCO objectives.” “We need India External Affairs Minister External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari before the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, in Benaulim, on Friday.  raking up bilateral issues and the two foreign ministers did not name any country and made the comments indirectly. Chairing the conclave, Jaishankar said taking the “eyes off terrorism” would be detrimental to the security inter- BJP PANELS WILL WIN PONDA, SANQUELIM CIVIC POLLS: CM PANAJI: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Friday that his party backed panels will win the civic elections in both Ponda and Sanquelim. “I am confident. BJP-backed panels will win Sankhali and Ponda municipal elections,” the chief minister said, adding that the review he has taken indicate massive response to their candidates. The Chief Minister also claimed that in his own Sanquelim municipal council, all the candidates backed by the BJP will win. SIDELIGHTS „„In one of the 10 wards of Sanquelim -- Ward XII -- recorded a whopping 96 per cent turnout and enthusiasm was seen right from the morning session „„There were no untoward incidents apart from minor verbal confrontations between rival candidates in some wards throughout the polling hours „„In ward six of Sanquelim, a Congress leader who was carrying cash amount of Rs 40,000, was taken into custody „„At Ponda, the highest turnout in terms of percentage of eligible voters was from Ward-1 which recorded 81.03 % polling „„The level of enthusiasm among voters was rather low in Ward No. 13 in Ponda although it eventually recorded a 70% turnout „„Ravi Naik was among the early voters and cast his vote at the Khadapaband booth while former South Goa MP, Narendra Sawaikar also cast his vote at the same booth ests of the grouping and that when the world was engaged in facing the Covid-19 pandemic and its consequences, the menace of terrorism continued unabated, in another veiled reference to Pakistan. “We must not allow anybody -- individual or State Pak External Affairs Minister >Continued on P5 SPORTS 14 Disengagement process has to be taken forward: Jaishankar on China row PTI BENAULIM The relations between India and China cannot be normal if peace and tranquillity in border areas are disturbed, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday. His comments at a press conference came a day after his talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang. “I think the issue is that there is an abnormal position in border areas,” he said, adding “we had a frank discussion about it.” “We have to take the disengagement process forward,” he further said. Jaishankar and Qin held bilateral talks on Thursday on the sidelines of a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). The meeting between the two foreign ministers was their second in the last two months. The Chinese foreign minister visited India in March to attend a meeting of the G20 foreign ministers. During the talks, Jaishankar conveyed to his Chinese counterpart that the state of India-China relations is “abnor- LADAKH ISSUE „„During the talks, Jaishankar conveyed to his Chinese counterpart that the state of India-China relations is “abnormal” because of the lingering border row in eastern Ladakh mal” because of the lingering border row in eastern Ladakh. Last week, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu at a meeting that China's violation of existing border agreements “eroded” the entire basis of ties between the two countries and that all issues relating to the frontier must be resolved in accordance with the existing pacts. The meeting on April 27 took place in New Delhi on the sidelines of a conclave of the SCO defence ministers. Days ahead of the meeting between the two defence ministers, the Indian and Chinese armies held 18th round of talks on ending the border >Continued on P5 High turnout at civic elections, Ponda records 74.66%, Sanquelim 87.56% OBSERVERS SAY PERSONAL POLITICAL PRESTIGE OF NAIK, SAWANT WAS LIKELY FACTOR THAT CONTRIBUTED TO HIGH VOTER INTEREST THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI There was relatively high voter interest in the civic elections in Ponda and Sanquelim with the two towns registering a more than expected turnouts at 74.66% in the former and a whopping 87.56% in the latter. Apart from the local civic issues involved, political observers say the personal political prestige of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant in Sanquelim and Agriculture Minister Ravi Naik in Ponda was a factor that possibly contributed to the high voter interest and turnout. Both Sawant and Naik had won their respective assembly seats by extremely low margins, the former by some 600odd votes and Naik by as slim a margin as 77 votes. Voters stand in a queue at a polling booth in Ponda to cast their vote while (right) men stand in a queue at a booth in Sanquelim. Polling to elect 13 councillors to the Ponda Municipal Council and 10 in Sanquelim began at 8 am on Friday and ended at 5 pm. Two councillors each have been already elected unopposed in both these civic bodies. Polling officials said, there were no untoward incidents apart from minor verbal confrontations between rival candidates in some wards throughout the polling hours. Counting is slated to be taken up on Sunday and the results are expected to be declared the same day. In one of the 10 wards of Sanquelim -- Ward XII -- recorded a whopping 96 per cent turnout and enthusiasm was seen right from the morning session. Meanwhile in ward six a Congress leader who was carrying cash amount of Rs 40,000, was taken into custody, according to Police Inspector Suraj Gawas. Also, locals said there was a confrontation between voters and the candidates at one place, but the issue got quickly resolved. At Ponda, the highest turnout in terms of percentage of eligible voters was from Ward1 which recorded 81.03 % polling. Also, the level of enthusi- asm among voters was rather low in ward no. 13 although it eventually recorded a 70% turnout. Naik was among the early voters and cast his vote at the Khadapaband booth. Former South Goa MP, Narendra Sawaikar also cast his vote at the same booth. After voting, Naik told the >Continued on P5 Britons question King’s lavish coronation Scrapyard, vehicles gutted in major fire as UK grapples with cost-of-living crisis at Dhavali, flames spread to nearby hill AGENCIES LONDON s the UK grapples with a cost-of-living crisis and widespread strikes over pay, some Britons are questioning why taxpayers have to foot the bill for King Charles III's lavish coronation on Saturday. "They got the money, why are they taking it from me?" asks Delany Gordon, a 50-yearold building site manager. The cost of the coronation has been kept under wraps and the total sum is unlikely to be revealed until after Saturday's event. According to some estimates, the cost will be between 50 million pounds and 100 million pound ($63 million and $126 million) on top of the price of a large-scale security operation. "I am spending 26p (0.33 A TAXPAYERS REACT „„An YouGov poll said 51 per cent of respondents believe the ceremony to crown Charles and Camilla should not be paid for by the government „„According to some estimates, the cost of the coronation will be between 50 million pounds and 100 million pound on top of the price of a large-scale security operation KING CHARLES GREETS FANS AS CORONATION BUZZ BUILDS>> See pg 9 US cents) on my lunch today," Gordon said, showing a bread roll that he just purchased in a north London supermarket. Another Londoner, Eden Eawit, says she cuts costs by cooking only two days a week and eating sandwiches the rest of the time. "We are not living the same life... People are struggling," the 38-year-old says. "Some people are not eating at all. It is very hard." Others have turned to charitable organisations, such as The Trussell Trust, which operates a vast network of food banks across the country. The NGO said it provided nearly three million emergency food parcels to people in difficulty between last April and March – a 37 per cent increase compared to the previous year. King Charles in December gave an undisclosed sum, donated in memory of his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, to a charity helping people unable to pay fuel bills and personally donated another 1 million pound to food banks. However, with the royal family sitting on a fortune, a recent survey indicated that many British people do not want the coronation to be funded by taxpayers. An April YouGov poll said 51 per cent of respondents believe the ceremony to crown Charles and Camilla should not be paid for by the government. Buckingham Palace has >Continued on P5 Ponda-Margao traffic diverted Minister vows closure of scrapyards CAUSE OF FIRE THE GOAN I NETWORK PONDA The scrapyard and some vehicles were gutted in a major fire at Dhavali on Friday afternoon, with the flames also spreading to a nearby hill. Such was the fire that traffic was disrupted along the Ponda-Margao route and had to be diverted via Bethora. Officials from Ponda taluka including the deputy collector, mamlatdar and police officials rushed to the site to take stock of the situation. A fire tender from the Ponda fire station was first sent to the site, but as the flames intensified, fire tenders from other fire stations were also dispatched to the scrapyard. Director of Fire and Emer- Firefighters battling the flames at the scrapyard in Dhavali on Friday. gency Services Nitin Raiker and other fire officials were also at the site to supervise firefighting operations. The scrapyard is reported to have had chemicals in cans and tins, which caught fire, while a tempo was also gutted into the fire. It is believed that more vehicles were also destroyed in the fire. “Locals have been demanding the closure of these scrapyards for the past 15 years, and the panchayat had also ordered action again the scrapyards,” said Kavalem Sarpanch Manuja Naik, who along with other panch members also rushed to the spot. Power Minister Sudin „„The scrapyard is reported to have had chemicals in cans and tins, which caught fire, while a tempo was also gutted into the fire. It is believed that more vehicles were also destroyed in the fire Dhavalikar later visited the site and assured that the scrapyards would be shut down in the next eight days. “Efforts to shut down the scrapyards have been going on for many years, but now this fire has showed how lives are in danger, and it is necessary to take measures for the safety of public living in the vicinity,” said Dhavalikar.