log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline Facebook.com/thegoan The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) Instagram.com/thegoanonline >>8 SUNDAY FEBRUARY 23, 2025 N O W ON 16 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME X, NO. 246 Budget session to be just three-day affair GOV ORDERS LEGISLATURE TO MEET ON MARCH 24 CONFRONTATION WITH OPPOSITION ON CARDS THE GOAN I NETWORK @TheGoanOnline >> SEE PG 2 AMERICAN DREAM: A PERILOUS JOURNEY IN SHORT >> POPE FRANCIS CRITICAL VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis’s condition “continues to be critical”, the Vatican said Saturday, saying the 88-year-old was alert but had a respiratory attack that required “highflow oxygen”, and also blood transfusions. “The Holy Father’s condition continues to be critical, therefore, as explained yesterday, the pope is not out of danger,” the Vatican said in its regular early evening update. 9 MAGAZINE MAGAZ Celebrating Goa’s spirit through community festivals First voice notes of legends: A vault of rare test records Motherly love: The secret recipe of Smita’s Lake View Restaurant & Bar Imperativeness of consistency in zoning under Sec 39A of TCP Act, 1974 11 PANAJI The budget session of the Goa legislative assembly will be held from March 24 to 26, again a short 3-day affair less than two months after the 2-day winter session, raising the spectre of another confrontation between the government and the outnumbered Opposition with the Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar sandwiched in between. On Saturday, Governor Sreedharan Pillai issued the order convening legislature to meet on March 24 at 11 am. Sittings of the Assembly will be held on March 24, 25 and 26, a bulletin issued to MLAs by Legislature Secretary Namrata Ulman said. THREE-DAY POWER PLAY „„Sittings of the Assembly to be held on March 24, 25 and 26 „„Chief Minister Pramod Sawant expected to present State budget on one of the three days „„Budget session restricted to a three-day affair less than two months after the short two-day winter session on January 26 and 27 FLASHBACK: WINTER SESSION Opposition had accused Speaker Tawadkar of pandering to Sawant govt and restrict the winter session to just two days. They had also accused the BJP government of throttling ‘democracy’ and running away from legislative accountability Chief Minister Pramod Sawant is expected to present the budget for 2025-26 on one of the three days. With this budget session restricted to a three-day affair less than two months after the short two-day winter session on January 26 and 27, the government is seemingly riding on its brute 32-7 majority to run rough-shod over the out- 45 top babus in service with extended tenures CHIEFS OF PWD, WRD, ACCOUNTS AMONG THOSE WHO ARE CURRENTLY CONTINUING IN SERVICE THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Principal Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department (PWD) Uttam Parsekar, who got his third service extension a few days ago, is among five heads of departments currently in service on extensions in the Goa administration. The other heads of departments serving on extension are: Vivek Kamat (Director of Technical Education), Chief Town Planner Rajesh Naik, Director of Accounts Dilip Humraskar and WRD Chief Engineer Pramod Badami. Official data shows as many as 45 high-ranking government officers and some lower officials including the five heads of departments, got service extensions in the period from January 2022 till date. A majority of them continue to be in service well past their retirement on attaining the age of superannuation. Parsekar got his first service extension on February 1, 2023 BEYOND THE AGE LIMIT „„Parsekar got his third extension of service this year „„Three other chief engineers -- Santosh Mapne, Angelina Da Silva and George Pereira – also got extensions „„Jyoti Sardesai also got a one year extension and served as FDA Director beyond her superannuation age a day after he was to retire on January 31 that year on attaining the age of superannuation. In February last year, the State government accorded him a second year-long extension and this year he got his third extension of service. The PWD which Parsekar heads as PCE has the highest number of officials who got extensions including three other chief engineers -- San- „„Chief Town Planner Rajesh Naik who otherwise would have retired on superannuation has been granted year’s extension up to April 30 this year „„In WRD, apart from CE Badami, one SE Krishanakant Patil, two EEs Krishanand Naik and Narareth Vaz, and two AEs Abhay Prabhu and Merwyn Caldeira got extensions tosh Mapne, Angelina Da Silva and George Pereira. Three other Superintending Engineers, four Executive Engineers and three Assistant Engineers of the PWD also got extensions in service since 2022. Another head of a department Jyoti Sardesai also got a one year extension and served >Continued on P5 AUSTRALIA COMPLETES HIGHEST SUCCESSFUL CHASE IN ICC ODI EVENT RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 numbered Opposition which has been hankering for sessions of longer durations. The Opposition comprising the Congress (3 MLAs), Aam Aadmi Party (2 MLAs) and one MLA each of Revolutionary Goans Party and Goa Forward Party had accused Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar of pandering to the Pramod Sawant government and restrict the winter session to just two days, one of which got consumed by the Governor's address. They had also accused the BJP government of throttling 'democracy' and running away from legislative accountability by truncating sessions to which Tawadkar had said that the Chief Minister has assured to have a longer budget session. Dog dispute turns deadly in Mandrem, woman run over Delhi youth arrested for killing 65-yr-old THE GOAN I NETWORK PERNEM An altercation between two families over pet dogs took a gruesome turn when a youth from Delhi allegedly drove his car deliberately and fatally knocked down a 65-year-old woman at Junaswada-Mandrem late Friday night. The accused, Deepan Batra (23), a native of Paschim Vihar, Delhi but residing at a Guest House in Sawantwada-Mandrem, has been arrested on charges of the murder of Maria Joao Fernandes. According to North Goa SP Akshat Kaushal, the incident took place following a verbal and physical altercation between Fernandes and her family members, and Batra and his family members. The accused had previously worked as a chef Goa feels the heat; mercury, humidity rise „„The accused was on a walk with his parents „„He gets into a verbal altercation with victim’s son who objects to the dog being walked close to their house „„Arguments turn physical, blows exchanged between both sides „„After the fight, accused sits in the car and allegedly deliberately hits the woman while she was trying to place a chair outside her house „„Woman later succumbs to injuries in Dubai and is presently working on a self-funded film project and staying in Goa since December 2023. SP Kaushal stated that initial investigation revealed that while the accused was on a walk with his parents, he got into a verbal altercation with the victim’s son who objected over the dog being walked close to the victim’s house. Soon, the arguments turned physical and blows were exchanged between both sides. These resulted in injuries being sustained to both the parties, with the hand of the accused allegedly having bite marks. However, after the fight, the accused sat in the car with his parents, and is alleged to have deliberately hit Fernandes while she was >Continued on P5 TITANIC CLASH IN DUBAI THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Goa felt the heat on Saturday, with temperatures hitting day’s high of 34.4°C, creeping 1.9°C above normal, while the night stayed unusually warm at 25.2°C, a full 4.4°C above the average. Humidity levels too peaked at a sticky 95 per cent -- 13 per cent higher than expected. As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD) Goa, the maximum temperature is expected to remain at 34°C till February 26, with a possible rise to 35°C on February 27-28. The minimum temperature is likely to range between 24°C and 25°C and humidity is expected to be around 80 per cent during this period. The overall weather conditions are projected to remain above normal. The IMD has forecast shallow to moderate fog on Sunday and Monday mornings, followed by dry weather for the rest of the day. Dry conditions are expected to persist till the end of the month, with the prevailing weather conditions attributed to easterly winds at lower atmospheric levels over Goa. HOW IT HAPPENED HEAD TO HEAD „„India & Pak played total of five matches against each other „„Pak leads against India having won thrice in five matches „„First match was in 2004 „„Last India-Pak encounter came in 2017, when Pak won by 180 runs INDIA AIMS FOR SEMIS, PAK EYES SURVIVAL Hyped as a marquee showdown but mostly lopsided on the field, India and Pakistan lock horns in the ICC Champions Trophy on Sunday PITCH REPORT „„Pitch can offer assistance to both batsmen & bowlers „„Spinners can become more effective due to surface tending to dry out at night „„Early on, fast bowlers may find some swing & bounce ADVANTAGE INDIA WHEN & WHERE „„India holds a clear advantage, having acclimatized to conditions, while Pakistan arrive in Dubai straight after their loss to New Zealand „„With form & familiarity, India head into Sunday’s clash with a psychological edge „„The match will happen on Sunday at 2.30 pm with the toss at 2 pm (IST) „„Will be played at Dubai International Stadium, Dubai „„Will be broadcast on Star Sports and Sports 18 channels >> Report on pg 8 New bat coronavirus found Junk vehicles continue to clog parking spaces in Wuhan, China on alert DRIVE TO NOWHERE DESPITE OFFICIAL NOTICES… COULD INFECT HUMANS VIA SAME ROUTE AS COVID PTI BEIJING A Chinese team of virologists have found a new bat coronavirus that carries the risk of animal-to-human transmission because it uses the same human receptor as the virus that causes Covid-19, a media report said. The study was led by Shi Zhengli, Chinese virologist from the controversial Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), where the COVID-19 was al- leged to have emanated from. Shi, who is known as the Bat Woman for her research on viruses from the Bats, as well as the Chinese government deny that the virus was leaked from the Wuhan lab. The latest discovery is a new lineage of the HKU5 coronavirus first identified in the Japanese bat in Hong Kong. The new virus comes from the merbecovirus subgenus, which also includes the virus that causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers), the Hong Kong based South China Morning Post reported. The virus is able to bind to the human angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE2), the same receptor used by the Sars-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19, to infect cells. “We report the discovery and isolation of a distinct lineage of HKU5-CoV, which can utilise not only bat ACE2 but also human ACE2 and various mammalian ACE2 orthologs”, the team of virologists headed by Shi wrote in a paper. THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI ot only have several private vehicle owners failed to clear their abandoned vehicles, most of the government departments, too, have ignored official notices to remove their defunct cars and SUVs. With nearly 520 government vehicles past their 15-year lifespan and most of these clogging public/parking places across Goa, the Transport Department is now likely to re-issue notices to defaulters. The department is further expected to send fresh notices to N „„Over 500 govt-owned vehicles are past 15 years, most of them occupying public spaces „„Govt department have been ignoring notices to clear abandoned vehicles „„Final reminder and fresh notices to be issued shortly parent departments of those abandoned vehicles recently identified. In November 2024, the „„Pay parking contractors asked to report violations „„Collector to take possession of these vehicles before proceeding with their disposal „„Gov mulling reducing six-month waiting period for claims North Goa District Magistrate’s Office issued a proclamation to auction unclaimed vehicles in a bid to free up parking spaces and eliminate potential mosquito breeding grounds. The notice called upon persons with an interest in any abandoned or unattended vehicles located in Bardez and Tiswadi to submit their claims within six months to the respective Deputy Collector and Sub-Divisional Magistrate offices. Even as this process is underway, reliable sources revealed to The Goan that the Transport Department had earlier served notices to various government departments whose vehicles had been lying abandoned for a considerably long time. However, the efforts to clear the parking spaces were in vain. >Continued on P5