@thegoanonline TUESDAY JANUARY 16, 2024 Facebook.com/thegoan The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) 13 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME IX, NO.209 Government of India Scan for more information Instagram.com/thegoanonline RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 Modi Sarkar ki Guarantee Active participation of women in nation's development Hamara Sankalp Viksit Bharat Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam gives women the right to 33% reservation in Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies Heritage protection move taking its own sweet time  HERITAGE PANEL DILLY-DALLIES ON HOLDING FIRST MEET  THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI More than a month after its constitution, the 15-member monitoring committee for drafting Heritage Policy is yet to hold its first meeting, even though it has to submit its report within six months. The State government last month constituted the committee under Secretary Archaeology to draft the policy in consultation with experts and the general public by seeking their inputs. The committee has to also scrutinise the draft policy before submitting it to the government for approval. Highly placed sources in- IN SHORT >> 36 teachers to be recruited in govt primary schools PANAJI: Goa Staff Selection Commission issued an advertisement for recruiting 36 English language teachers in govt primary schools. 14 posts are reserved for candidates from scheduled tribe communities.  >> See pg 3 Contamination of Mapusa well water MAPUSA: Residents of Gaunsawado, Mapusa have raised concerns of pollution in a well after they found a sudden change in colour of the water. Health officials have taken the water samples for testing.  >> See pg 5 Suchana’s police custody extended PANAJI: The Children’s Court extended the police remand of CEO Suchana Seth, charged with murdering her toddler, by five days till January 19.  >> See pg 3 Candolim casino raided, 11 arrested PANAJI: The Crime Branch sleuths on Monday arrested 11 persons for illegal gambling at a starred hotel in Candolim and seized Rs 74 lakh worth of cash and other items. Sources said the operators were running live gaming. 15-MEMBER COMMITTEE FORMED, BUT… „„Last month, the govt constituted a 15-member committee under Secretary Archaeology to draft the heritage policy in consultation with experts and public „„It is also mandated that the committee has to submit its report within six formed that the committee is yet to hold its first meeting. “The Secretary, who is the Chairman of the committee, has to call for the meeting. The meeting is also not sched- months „„Committee has to also scrutinise the draft policy before submitting it to the uled for this month, as of now,” sources said. It took almost six months for the government to constitute the committee after assuring on the Floor of the House, „„According to govt, there are 51 monuments of archaeological importance protected under the ‘State list’ „„21 others are under Archaeology Survey of India „„400 private heritage buildings are also listed under TCP Act in July 2023, to draft a heritage policy for Goa within a year. According to the government, there are 51 monuments of archaeological importance protected under the ‘State list’ while another 21 are under the Archaeology Survey of India (ASI). In addition, some 400 private heritage buildings are WERE DEBARRED AFTER BEING CAUGHT STEALING CHOCOLATES, CHIPS, SANITISERS, ETC FROM STALLS ON COLLEGE CAMPUS PANAJI Two students of the Birla Institute of Technology Science, Goa campus at Zuarinagar who approached the Bombay High Court at Goa seeking the court’s intervention after they were debarred for one semester were granted relief by the High Court who ordered that they do community service for two hours every day for two months instead. The two students Vuribindi Mokshith Reddy and Karri Kishore Ramachandra Reddy, aged 18 and 19 years respectively, were caught along with three others stealing potato chips, chocolates, sanitisers, pens, notepads, mobile phone stands, two desk lamps and three bluetooth speakers from the stalls on the college campus. Initially all the five students were debarred from registration during semester I (202324) and two further semesters. However in respect of the three other students, the appellate authority dropped the penalty of cancellation of semesters but maintained the fine of Rs 50,000. The High Court took offence HERITAGE: FACT FILE government for approval „„Highly placed sources informed the committee is yet to hold its first meeting „„Sources said the Secretary, who is the Chairman of the committee, has to call for the meeting, but it is not scheduled for this month, as of now HC orders 2 BITS students to do community service THE GOAN I NETWORK AUSTRALIAN OPEN: OSAKA FALLS AT FIRST HURDLE ON GRAND SLAM RETURN  >>12 KEY HIGH COURT OBSERVATIONS „„The prime reason for not being merciful or for almost ignoring the reformative aspect, so clearly emphasised by the UGC guidelines, was the apprehension that students would seek Court intervention against the Institute’s decision „„This should not have been the approach of the Director particularly when dealing with two 18-yearold students „„We almost got the impression the Director was irked that these two petitioners had dared to seek Court intervention against his decision „„Though we are hurt by this approach of the Director, we refrain from saying anything more because we are mindful that the two petitioners have to complete their education with the respondents for the next few years to the Director of the Institute refusing to modify the punishment with a view to help the students reform as well as the director’s decision to hand out unequal punishment for the same alleged breach of the institute’s disciplinary rules. In his submissions before the Court, the institute’s director said that “any reduction of punishment, at this stage, will encourage students to seek Court intervention against decisions given by the Institute, undermining the time-tested disciplinary system of the In- stitute.” “The prime reason for not being merciful or for almost ignoring the reformative aspect, so clearly emphasised by the UGC guidelines, was the apprehension that students would seek Court intervention against the Institute’s decision and such Court intervention would undermine the disciplinary systems of the Institute. To say the least, this should not have been the approach of >Continued on P5 >Continued on P5 41-year-old Fatrade man gored to death by buffalo Questions raised if incident was at a bull fight; police register case of unnatural death THE GOAN I NETWORK MARGAO A 41-year-old man from Fatrade-Varca Zenito Vaz was on Monday gored to death by a buffalo at Fatrade. Colva police has registered a case of unnatural death in connection with the death of the man. When asked to comment on reports doing the rounds that the man was allegedly gored to death at a bull fight on Monday evening, Colva police station in-charge, PI Theron D’Costa told media that the relatives of the deceased has claimed that the deceased was gored to death by a buffalo near their cowshed at Fatrade. “The wife of the deceased and his brother have given a statement that Zenito was Class XII Board exams to start from Feb 28 The wife of the deceased and his brother have given a statement that Zenito was gored by a buffalo near their cowshed, but reports doing the rounds say man was allegedly gored to death at a bull fight gored by a buffalo near their cowshed. Accordingly, the police have registered a case of unnatural death”, he said. To a question, PI Theron said the deceased was brought dead to the hospital on Monday evening. DySp Rajendra Prabhudesai said the Colva police has registered a case of unnatural death based on the statement given by the wife of the deceased and his brother. When his attention was drawn to reports that the deceased has been allegedly gored to death at a bull fight, DySP Rajendra Prabhudesai said the police has registered a case of unnatural death and has started investigations into the case. “If anything new comes to light in respect of the case during the course of investigations, the police will initiate further action”, he added. Incidentally, Monday’s incident at Fatrade-Varca comes close on the heels of another incident reported at the Benaulim beach last week wherein a British woman was gored by a bull while taking a walk on the beach. The British woman had sustained injuries on her leg and also on her head after she fell down after the attack by the bull. FESTIVITY TAKES WINGS THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education released the final date sheet for Class XII Board exam, which is slated to commence from February 28 and will conclude on March 18. The exam conducted by the Goa Board for vocational Class XII students will be held from February 28 to March 12. For general stream, the examination will begin with Geography paper on February 28, followed by language paper on February 29. The psychology paper is scheduled on March 2, Accountancy, History and Physics on March 4, Sociology on March 5, Biology on March 6, Marathi on March 7 and Banking on March 9. Chemistry is scheduled on March 11 while Hindi language on March 12. Students will answer maths paper on March 15, economics on March 16 and Maths & statistics on March 18. Vocational stream exam will start with a Communication Skill paper on Feb 28. For the general as well as vocation stream, the practical examination will commence from February 1. The Board has clarified that under no circumstances the examinations would be postponed even if the day is declared as a public holiday by the government. cbc 22201/13/0157/2324 log on to thegoan.net A boy flies a kite as part of Makar Sankranti celebrations at Miramar on Monday. The festival marks the transition of the sun from the zodiac of Sagittarius to Capricorn.   Narayan Pissurlenkar Two Indian students found dead in US, family clueless PTI NEW DELHI Two students -- one from Wanaparthy in Telangana and another from Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh -- were found dead in their Connecticut accommodation in the United States recently, a family member said on Monday. The students were iden- tified as G Dinesh (22) from Wanaparthy in Telangana and Nikesh (21) from Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh. Family members of the Telangana student are clueless about the cause of his death and also of his roommate’s. “Dinesh’s friends who live in a nearby room called us on Saturday night and informed us about his death and his roommate’s. We have no clue as to how he died,” Dinesh’s family members said. According to a family member, Dinesh went to Hartford, Connecticut for studies on December 28, 2023 while Nikesh reached a few days later. Incidentally, they were mutual friends of some common friends and became roommates after going to the US. Pilot assaulted over flight delay Soon, your phone battery could last for 50 years! THE NEXT GENERATION BATTERY at Delhi airport, one arrested AGENCIES GOA-BOUND FLIGHT WAS STUCK FOR OVER 10 HOURS PTI NEW DELHI A passenger on an IndiGo flight was arrested after he assaulted a pilot who was making an announcement regarding a delay in takeoff at the Delhi airport on Monday. A purported video of the incident, which took place on Sunday, surfaced on social media and showed Sahil Katariya hitting the pilot as he was making the announcement inside the aircraft, which was bound for Goa. The flight took off from Delhi at 6 pm after a delay of over 10 hours, according to website flightradar24. The incident happened on a day when dense fog majorly impacted operations at the Delhi airport leading to many flights being diverted, cancelled or delayed. Katariya was arrested and a case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as well as the Aircraft Rules was registered against him. He was later released on bail. Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said unruly passenger behaviour is unacceptable and “will be dealt with strongly” in line with existing legal provisions. According to him, aviation regulator DGCA will issue an SOP (standard operating procedure) for airlines on better communication and facilitation of passengers to minimise discomfort in view of flight cancellations and delays due to adverse weather. NEW DELHI start-up in China has created a new battery that it claims can generate electricity for 50 years without the need for charging or maintenance. According to a report, it’s a nuclear battery developed by Beijing-based Betavolt. Betavolt has managed to squeeze 63 isotopes into that module that’s smaller than a coin, the outlet further said in its report. The company said it is the first battery in the world to realise the miniaturisation of atomic energy. The next-generation battery is already being tested and A „„The battery is being tested and will be mass produced for commercial applications like phones & drones „„Can meet needs of long-lasting power supply in aerospace, AI equipment, medical equipment etc „„It measures 15 x 15 x 5 mm and is made of wafer-thin layers of nuclear isotopes and diamond semiconductors „„Currently generates 100 microwatts of power at 3 volts „„Radiation poses no danger to human body, making it usable in medical devices such as pacemakers „„Has a layered design, which will prevent it from catching fire or exploding due to sudden force „„Can withstand temperatures ranging from -60 degrees Celsius to 120 degrees Celsius will be mass produced for commercial applications like phones and drones. “Betavolt atomic energy batteries can meet the needs of long-lasting power supply in multiple scenarios, such as aerospace, AI equipment, medical equipment, microprocessors, advanced sensors, small drones and micro-robots,” the company said in a press release. “This new energy innovation will help China gain a leading edge in the new round of the AI technological revolution,” it further said. According to the dimensions of the battery it measures 15 x 15 x 5 millimetres and is made of wafer-thin layers of nuclear isotopes and diamond semiconductors, as per Futurism. The nuclear battery currently generates 100 microwatts of power at 3 volts. However, the goal is to reach a 1-watt power output by 2025. Betavolt said the radiation poses no danger to humans, making it usable in medical devices such as pacemakers.