log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline MONDAY MARCH 17, 2025 12 pages >> pg 6 What will shape the markets this week? Key factors to watch GU Asst Professor accused of stealing question papers to help friend PANAJI: An assistant professor at Goa University has been accused of stealing question papers to help a 'special' student pass with high marks. Social activist Kashinath Shetye and others have filed a complaint at Agassaim police station regarding the matter. According to available information, the assistant professor and a second-year postgraduate student have been close friends since college. It is alleged that the professor stole question papers in a previous exam to help the student score top marks. When other professors became suspicious, they investigated the matter, which eventually came to the attention of university authorities. However, instead of taking strict action, the professor was only given a warning, and the issue was settled. >Continued on P5 Facebook.com/thegoan The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME X, NO. 268 Instagram.com/thegoanonline New bill proposes 7-yr jail for using forged passports PENALTY OF UP TO `10 LAKH; BILL INTRODUCED IN LS PTI NEW DELHI Anyone found using a forged passport or visa for entering, staying or exiting India will be punished with a jail term of up to seven years and a fine to the extent of Rs 10 lakh if the new immigration bill is approved by Parliament. The legislation, piloted by the Union Home Ministry, also provides for mandatory reporting of information about foreigners by hotels, universities, other educational institutions, hospitals and nursing THE BILL: IMMIGRATION CONTROL „„2 to 7 years imprisonment and Rs 1–10 lakh fine for using/ supplying forged travel documents „„Hotels, universities, hospitals, must report foreigner details to track overstayers „„Airlines and ships must provide passenger/ crew details before arrival „„Up to 5 years imprisonment and Rs 5 lakh fine for entering without valid documents „„Foreigners on visas over 180 days must register with FRRO/FRO within 14 days homes to enable tracking of overstaying foreigners. All international airlines and ships will also be required to submit at a port or place in India the passenger and crew Revised coastal plan: Goa awaits NCZMA’s approval EYE ON NATIONAL CALL-UP, NAIR SEEKS IPL GLORY WITH CAPITALS >> P12 RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 manifest, the advance information of passengers and crew on board of such aircraft, vessel or other mode of transport. “Whoever knowingly uses or supplies a forged or fraudulently obtained passport or other travel document or visa for entering into India or staying in or exiting from India, shall be punishable with an imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than two years, but may extend to seven years and shall also be >Continued on P5 Porvorim’s elevated corridor work races ahead, but commuters face daily ordeal >> See pg 3 Govt amalgamates ration shops to ensure food supply continuity 21 shops merged so far; new scheme to improve financial viability of fair price shops PANAJI With several Fair Price Shops (FPS) in the State finding the business “financially not viable” and thereby opting for closure, the State government has begun amalgamation of such ration shops with the nearest one to ensure continued supply of free food grains to the beneficiaries. So far, 21 such ration shops have been attached. The Department of Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs will soon be launching a special “Compensation to FPS Dealers" scheme, under which an operating expense of Rs 9,500 per shop per month would be provided, apart from enhancing the margins per item to enhance the viability of FPS network. Speaking to The Goan, Director Civil Supplies Jayant Tari said that there are several reasons like financial viability, THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The Goa Government is awaiting a nod from the National Coastal Zone Management Authority (NCZMA) to its revised draft Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) 2011 based on 1:25,000 scale, before going ahead with the CZMP maps on 1:4,000 scale for submission to the local bodies. Goa is the only State to prepare the maps based on 1:4,000 scale. The Technical Scrutiny Committee of the Union Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) on CZMP during its meeting on February 28 recommended the revised draft CZMP maps on 1:25,000 scale only, as per the direction MARGAO: When the contentious issue came up for discussion at the Raia gram sabha on Sunday, Sarpanch Mario D’Souza announced that the government has decided to scrap the proposal to declare Bacbhatt Lake and Bebki Lake as wetlands, but instead designate them as biodiversity heritage sites.   >> See pg 2 and handling „„Rice commission raised to Rs 3.15/kg; fortified rice price for APL increased to Rs 16.50/kg „„AFFECTED REGION Closures in Tiswadi, Mormugao, Quepem, Salcete, Ponda, Pernem, Bardez, and Canacona; no cases in Dharbandora, Sanguem, Sattari, and Bicholim death of owner, family issues, etc for which the ration shops are shutting down. “Closure of ration shops will directly have an impact on the beneficiaries that are registered with them. Hence, what we are doing is basically merging or attaching this FPS with the nearest one so that the beneficiaries continue to get the benefit,” he said. As on date, five each FPS in Tiswadi and Mormugao taluka are attached so far, while there are three in Quepem taluka, two each in Salcete, Ponda and Pernem while Bardez and Canacona have reported one each such case. “We have not come across any such cases in PRESENT KETEVAN >Continued on P5 MUSIC FESTIVAL 5 booked for property fraud in Chinchinim Raia lakes to get heritage tag „„Shops shutting due to financial issues, owner deaths, family problems „„21 closed FPS merged with nearby shops to ensure food supply „„‘Compensation to FPS Dealers’ scheme to sustain FPS operations „„Rs 9,500/month per shop for wages, rent, electricity, taxes, transport, Only State to draft plan on 1:4,000 scale maps; Technical panel recommends 1:25,000 scale IN SHORT >> MARGAO: The Fatorda Police has registered a case against five persons for cheating a resident of Margao to the tune of Rs 62.64 lakh on the promise of selling a property located in Chinchinim village.  >> See pg 2 THE GOAL: SUSTAIN FPS NETWORK THE GOAN I NETWORK MARCH 21, 2025. 7PM Ruins of St Augustine, Old Goa GURJAANI GEORGIAN FOLK GROUP: Founded in 1967, they will present selection of Georgian folk songs that highlight the country’s unique polyphonic singing tradition. SONIA SONI SHIRSAT presents Global Music. From the powerful chants of Georgia to the soulful rhythms of Alentejo, the vibrant melodies of Cabo Verde, and the intricate folk tunes from Minho, and Goa, while describing the essence and history of each folk form. MANDAKINI TRIVEDI & ANERI SHETH present a mesmerising performance of Mohiniattam from Kerala with a storytelling of feminine power across the world... a tribute to Saint Queen Ketevan. All are welcome! IN ASSOCIATION WITH 4 arrested for illegal beef transportation VALPOI: The Valpoi police have intercepted an illegal beef transportation network and arrested four individuals during an early morning operation on Sunday at the Keri Check Post in Chorla Ghat.   >> See pg 3 Ex-DySP Santoba Desai dies at 83 PANAJI: Prominent former police officer, Santoba Desai, passed away at his residence in Ponda on Sunday. He was 83. Desai, a former Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) until the late 1990s, had played a controversial role in Goa's defection-ridden politics of the 1990s.   >> See pg 3 WEATHER >> Max: 30 C Min: 25 C Humidity: 68% Hospitality Partner Curated by >Continued on P5