log on to thegoan.net TUESDAY MAY 23, 2023 GOA @thegoaneveryday Facebook.com/thegoaneveryday The Goan (Playstore) 14 pages PRICE ` 8 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME VIII, NO. 335 As rains loom, fears raised over delay in north main sewerage line 2 GOA Decision on Mapusa councilor’s fate heading towards long drawn legal battle 3 Instagram.com/thegoaneveryday RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 INFO Benefits of cranberry for skin and hair 10 SPORTS Dhoni faces ‘Gill Test’ as CSK plays GT in IPL qualifier 14 CM clears air over Sonsodo, NEP only at foundational level from this year: Govt promises plant by next year SAYS NEW GARBAGE PLANT TO HANDLE 15 METRIC TONNES OF WASTE DAILY THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI After a two-year hiatus, the High-Powered Coordination Committee (HPCC) on Sonsodo garbage reconvened on Monday wherein it decided to implement a 15 metric Tonnes Per Day (TPD) plant within the next one year. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced that a Biomethanation waste treatment plant will be established in the first phase to effectively manage the garbage problem at Sonsodo. This plant, he said will be capable of handling 15 metric TPD of waste while assuring to be operational within one year. Goa Forward Party (GFP) legislator Vijai Sardesai who called for the meeting had thrown some questions at the meeting considering that the HPCC has been unable to resolve the issue ever since it was constituted around 15 years ago during the reins of then CM Digambar Kamat. 2 killed, 5 injured in Panchawadi road mishap PONDA: A child and a teenager were killed while five others were hurt, when a car rammed a roadside tree at Mapa-Panchawadi on Monday. Mahadev Naik and his family from Paaj-Shiroda had gone to Shirdi and returned late Sunday night. On Monday, Naik and his family were travelling to Rivona to drop their relatives, when the driver lost control of the car and dashed against a roadside tree. All seven were injured and were taken to the Curchorem PHC in a 108 ambulance. However, Siddham Mahadev Naik (11) from Paaj was declared dead on arrival, while Resham Rajendra Naik (18) from Rivona, who was taken to GMC for further treatment died in the evening. IN SHORT >> Woman robbed of gold chain at Loutolim MARGAO: In a daylight robbery, a woman who was sitting on a roadside bench was robbed of her gold chain by 3 bike borne robbers at Ambora, Lotoulim. Two of the robbers forcefully removed the chain while the third accused was ready with the bike on which they later fled. THE ROAD AHEAD TO CLEAR SONSODO MESS „„Margao Municipal Council to finance and oversee the 15 TPD Waste Management project „„Technical support to be provided by Goa Solid Waste Management Corporation „„Execution of the project will be inspected by Goa State Pollution Control Board „„MMC to deposit necessary funds with GSWMC, which will then issue the project tender „„Once the waste treatment facilities are established, Sonsodo plant to also handle daily disposal of 10 tonnes of waste currently transported to Saligao facility „„FACT FILE: On an average, Margao and its surrounding areas produce 50 tonnes of waste per day, comprising 35 tonnes of wet waste and 15 tonnes of dry waste Details shared by the HPCC states that on average, Margao and its surrounding areas produce 50 tonnes of waste per day, comprising 35 tonnes of wet waste and 15 tonnes of dry waste. "MMC will finance and oversee the 15 TPD Waste Management project, with technical support provided by the Goa Solid Waste Management Corporation. The execution of the project will be inspected by Goa State Pollution Control Board," Sawant said. As per the decision, the MMC will deposit the necessary funds with GSWMC, which will then issue the tender. Once the waste treatment facilities are established, the Sonsodo plant will also handle the daily disposal of 10 tonnes of waste that is currently transported to the Saligao waste treatment facility. Speaking to The Goan after the meeting , Sardesai expressed that while he is contented that things have finally moved towards resolving the issue, he will keep a close watch on negligence if any. "Although belatedly, the HPC finally met today and I am thankful to the CM for answering to my call to hold this meeting, which was long due. I will cooperate with the government and continue to play the role of a constructive opposition," he said. Robbers target Zuarinagar bungalow, fire at police COP SUSTAINS INJURIES FROM RICOCHETING BULLET; ALL THREE FLEE ON STOLEN TWO-WHEELER VASCO Three robbers attempting to break into an unoccupied bungalow at the MES College area in Sancoale fired two rounds at the police while escaping from the scene after the police reached just in time to foil their robbery bid. While one bullet missed the head of PSI Swapnil Naik and he survived the attack, home guard Prahlad Naik was injured after the bullet struck the road and ricocheted on his knee. The police immediately pressed the sniffer dog and forensic team and have recovered an axe, screw driver, spanner and two broken locks from the site. The police conducted a naka bandi after the incident and managed to attach the bike used by the robbers, even as they are believed to have made good their escape from the adjoining slum area in Zuarinagar. Speaking on the incident, Mormugao DySP Salim Shai- Uproar at Pai Tiatrist hall as AC breaks down during tiatr THE GOAN I NETWORK Angry tiatr lovers stop show, slam authorities; claim they have to often bear brunt of such situations >Continued on P5 VASCO: This was the second attempt at the bungalow at the MES College area in Sancoale within a gap of three years. “A relative said the family was not living in the house and were out of Goa, leaving the bungalow closed most of the time. The same bungalow had been burgled in the past around three years ago when burglars locked the door of the room of the caretakers from the outside and entered the bungalow by breaking the grills,” said a source. kh informed reporters that the three robbers were trying to break open the door of the unoccupied bungalow at around 22 PIs shunted, Calangute PI's transfer raises eyebrows MARGAO: Will the meeting of the High Powered Coordination Committee (HPCC) chaired by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant help avert another High Court deadline being missed by the Margao Municipal Council after the failure to set up the firefighting mechanism at Sonsodo? This question has come to the fore following a standoff between MMC and Goa State Urban Development Agency on the question of adopting technology to clear the piled up waste. >> See pg 2 >Continued on P5 Bungalow burgled twice in 3 years MARGAO The air-conditioning facility at the Pai Tiatrist hall came back to haunt the Ravindra Bhavan management and the department of Art and culture once again. In fact, the Pai Tiatrist auditorium witnessed an uproar over the non-functioning air conditioning facility on Monday during the staging of a tiatr. The hall was packed to capacity. As Sheena Gracias concluded the opening chorus, the audience started shouting ‘AC full kor.’ As the chorus for the AC rose in the auditorium, the director Sammy Tavares, stopped the tiatr for a while and then took to the mike to announce that the Theater Manager had informed him that one AC plant had broken down in the morning and that work was in progress to repair the same. He requested the audience to bear with the situation and permit the tiatr to commence. Flood of `2,000 notes at petrol pumps, cash sales spike NEW DELHI ash purchase of fuel at petrol pumps using Rs 2,000 notes has spiked to almost 90 per cent of daily sales as buyers rushed to tender the withdrawn currency notes. Petrol pump dealers said cash sales before the surprise announcement of withdrawal of the Rs 2,000 note was only 10 per cent, but now customers were using the withdrawn note to make small purchases of Rs 100/200, expecting petrol pumps to return change. They have now asked the Reserve Bank to instruct banks to provide enough small denomination notes to help C `2000 notes will be accepted at all our outlets, Goa Sahakar Bhandar clarifies PANAJI: Goa State Co-operative Marketing and Supply Federation ltd commonly referred to as Goa Sahakar Bhandar has withdrawn the circular instructing supermarkets operated by it in various cities across Goa, not to accept Rs 2,000 denomination notes from the customers. “Bhandars and branches across the State shall accept Rs 2000 notes from customers as usual until further instructions,” stated the new circular. serve customers smoothly. “Majority of the customers are trying to use Rs 2,000 notes even for small purchases of Rs 100-200 and are expected change from the petrol pumps and hence the petro outlets are extremely short of change across the country,” All India Petroleum Dealers Association president Ajay Bansal said in a statement. It said the petrol pump dealers have been requesting customers to use the card or digital payment. Make provision for shade, water for customers, RBI tells banks NEW DELHI: In a welcome departure from the mayhem during demonetisation during 2016, the Reserve Bank on Monday advised banks to provide shade from the sun and water to customers waiting to exchange or deposit Rs 2,000 notes. Banks are advised to provide appropriate infrastructure at the branches such as shaded waiting space, drinking water facilities, etc. considering the summer season, RBI said in a notification on Monday. “Before this Rs 2,000 withdrawal, we used to receive only 10 per cent of our cash sales through Rs 2,000 notes, but now almost 90 per cent of cash received at our outlets is in the form of Rs 2,000 notes only, and we have to deposit the same in banks on daily basis,” it noted. Petrol pumps and some other daily essential services were allowed to accept old 500 and 1,000 rupee notes after November 8, 2016, demonetisation of nearly 86 per cent PANAJI: With the introduction of the NEP from this year, not merely registrations as per the old system, but pucca approvals will have to be secured by pre-primary school managements and institutions from the Directorate of Education (DoE). The DoE has already launched an online process via a dedicated portal for getting these approvals which will be granted taking into account and assessing each institution’s infrastructure, availability of trained teachers and the overall capacity of the institution to deliver course content as prescribed under NEP. “No institution imparting pre-primary education will be permitted to operate without this formal DoE approval after May 31, 2025,” Lolienkar said. Lolienkar said, new institutions can also apply for these approvals but admitted that the June 15 deadline that the DoE has set will have to be extended taking into account the pace at this the process is currently progressing. policy. Also during this month of June, the State Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT) will conduct training of teachers in play method of teaching,” Lolienkar said, adding that training of some 100 master trainers has already begun. Under the NEP, education at the foundational level will be imparted by the ‘play method’ and will focus on physical, cognitive, socio-emotional, moral and other aspects of child development. “There will be no examinations throughout the five year foundation level. Students will be assessed only at the >Continued on P5 THE GOAN I NETWORK DAYS AFTER RBI’S SUDDEN ANNOUNCEMENT… PTI DoE nod must for pre-primary schools Sardesai also pointed out to unfulfilled promises made by HPCC during the successive governments in the past while also reminding Minister Atanasio Monserrate's empty promise on setting up 225 TPD plant at Sonsodo in 18 months. WILL THE HPCC ASSIST MMC? 2 am when the incident was noticed by a neighbour who The bungalow at MES college area which was broken into by robbers. Vikram Nayak THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI In a bid to dispel the ambiguity surrounding the introduction of National Education Policy (NEP), the State government on Monday announced it will indeed be introduced but only for the level-1 (nursery of the existing system) of the ‘foundational level’ in the upcoming academic year. The ‘foundational level’ encompasses the first five years -- the three pre-primary years (nursery, KG-I and KG-II) and classes I and II -- of the existing education system accounting for the 3-8 years age group. Education Secretary Education, Prasad Lolienkar, IAS, who made the announcement at a press conference said, the academic year for this level one of foundational level will commence only from July 3 in all pre-primary educational institutions in the State. “This will give the entire system breathing space to address whatever issues arise over the introduction of the PANAJI In a move that possibility no one saw coming, Goa police on Monday abruptly shunted award-winning Police Inspector (PI) Dattaguru Sawant from Calangute Police Station, one of the vital PS in the northern coastal belt. While the department issued transfer orders of 22 PIs, Sawant's transfer to Security Unit comes within a remarkably short span of less than a year. This unprecedented move comes despite the PI declared having outstanding achievements in cracking down on touts, recovering mobiles worth a whopping Rs 60 lakh approx, and booking around 10 narcotics cases just this year. What's also interesting is that while such sudden transfers are usually due to non-performance or other complaints, the Calangute PS -- as per the police records -- reported incident-free festivals and events. Of the three PS at Calangute, Anjuna and Pernem, the first PS is the only that reportedly did not report complaints of amplified THE GOAN I NETWORK Pre-primary teacher training through the year SCERT begins training 100 master trainers of the currency notes. Petrol pumps, however, soon turned into outlets to launder banned currency notes, leading to the government prematurely withdrawing the facility. This time too petrol pumps have become outlets to get the withdrawn currency out. “We also request the RBI to give guidelines to banks for providing enough small denomination notes, especially to petrol pumps in lieu of Rs 2,000 notes,” Bansal said. He expressed apprehension that petrol pump dealers would again face problems as they did during the 2016 demonetisation when most dealers got income tax notices or were raised “without any fault” of theirs. Tiatr lovers packed to capacity at Pai Tiatrist hall in Margao on Monday. The audience was however not in the mood to relent as this was the usual case in the auditorium. They pointed out that they had to undergo a similar ordeal at the tiatr staged at the Pai Tiatrist hall on Sunday. Tiatr Director made a fervent plea to the tiatr lovers to bear with the inconvenience, pointing out that the AC issue has been taken up with the Ravindra Bhavan authorities. The Tiatr Director later made an announcement stating that those wished not to watch the tiatr over the AC issue may seek refund. The house full show, however, continued but not before exposing the Ravindra Bhavan for the issues relating to air-conditioning. The AC issue had forced the Ravindra bhavan management to cancel tiatr shows at the Pai Tiatrist hall a couple of >Continued on P5 Now, Goa to tie up with popular tourist States THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI In a bid to attract a wider range of tourists and reduce dependency on traditional source markets, particularly the UK and Russia, the State has mooted a plan to enhance tourism connections with various tourist-popular hubs across India. Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte said the government is working towards transforming the perception of Goa from a mere sun, sand and sea destination to a diverse hub of wellness, yoga, spirituality, and hinterland experiences. As a part of this initiative, the government has decided to tie KPMG ASKED TO RELOOK, REVISIT MASTER PLAN THREE YEARS AFTER CABINET APPROVAL >> See pg 3 up with states consisting of popular locations like Kashi (Varanasi), Amritsar (known for Golden Temple), Guwahati, Nagpur, Nashik, and others. “We need to start looking at it differently,” he said, while talking about taking forward Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Dekho Apna Desh scheme which aims at >Continued on P5