log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline SUNDAY MAY 18, 2025 Facebook.com/thegoan The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) 16 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME X, NO. 330 Instagram.com/thegoanonline RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 MOVIES »PAGE 16 GOOD LIFE »PAGE 12 LIVE SMART »PAGE 14 Nayanthara joins Mega157 Silent side of jaundice Ready to cozy up? Why this comfort-first trend is more than just warm lighting and fuzzy socks SPORTS »PAGE 8 FA Cup final: Crystal Palace edges Man City to win first major title Vijay Varma reveals he secretly applied in FTII Everyday habits that cause panic attacks What our films teach us about money and mistakes Rain forces abandonment of RCB’s match against KKR Rane-Kamat chemistry in Margao raises eyebrows VISHWAJIT PRAISES DIGAMBAR, CREDITS MARGAO MLA FOR SUPPORTING HEALTH INITIATIVES DURING CONGRESS STINT THE GOAN I NETWORK MARGAO A mega health camp held in Margao on Saturday saw Health Minister Vishwajit Rane singing praises of Congress-turned-BJP MLA Digambar Kamat as he recalled how the former Congress chief minister had backed him to the hilt to take medical and health services to the nook and corner of the State. Publicly apologizing to Kamat for the harassment he might have meted out to him during his stint as health Minister in his Cabinet, Rane termed Kamat as his leader, adding that he will always remain with the Margao MLA for guiding him the right path. Vishwajit Rane was the Health Minister in Digambar Kamat-led Congress government between 2007-12. Devoting a significant portion of his speech at mega Vishwajit regrets harassing Digambar during Cong rule, apologises publicly MARGAO: Health Minister Vishwajit Rane tendered a public apology to Congress-turnedBJP Margao MLA Digambar Kamat for harassing him during his stint as the Chief Minister of Goa during the Congress regime. Rane went to the extent of saying that Kamat was his guide and mentor and a fatherly figure, who backed him to the hilt as Chief Minister. “I had harassed Kamat a lot when I was a Minister under him. Today, I publicly apologize to him because he has been my mentor, iconic leader, an elder and like a father. Kamat had excellent health camp, organised at the initiative of the Health Minister, to shower praises on Digambar Kamat, the Health Minister termed Kamat as an iconic leader, one who relations with my father and I will always maintain my relation”, he said. Reminding that power comes and goes, but one need to respect humanism, the Health Minister further said “today, I have apologized to Kamat for what I had done to him 15 years ago. You need to have a big heart to apologize. I made mistake and have apologized. I cannot forget that he had sanctioned so many health projects. I am indebted to him”. had given sanctions to set up health services at Sanquelim, Valpoi, Bicholim, Mapusa and the district Hospital in South Goa. “Kamat had never said no to proposals to take the >Continued on P6 health services to the villages and town. He had never blocked files when it came to health services. That’s the reason why one will find so many health centres and hospitals today, which were proposed by him and approved by Chief Minister Digambar Kamat”, he said. The Health Minister reminded that constructing buildings is not enough to take health and medical services to the villages and towns. “What is important is that these centres are loaded with life-saving equipment and manpower. Only then we can say that the hospital is functioning properly”, he said. He added: The South Goa district hospital is in need of a Cath lab, a full-fledged neurology department, and an orthopaedic surgeon. Why should people from South Goa go to the Goa Medical College and hospital, Bambolim to avail these services. Similarly, the health centres and hospitals opened at Curchorem, Tuem and other >Continued on P6 MHA relieves Sanjith, orders him to join Ladakh posting Warns that any delay may lead to disciplinary action, salary stoppage or promotion denial THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Over eight months after IAS officer Sanjith Rodrigues was transferred to Ladakh and yet continued service in Goa, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has relieved him from the Goa government with immediate effect and warned of disciplinary action and debarment from promotion if he fails to comply with the order. Rodrigues, a 2013-batch AGMUT cadre officer, was transferred to Ladakh on September 12, 2024. However, he continued to serve in Goa, reportedly due to ongoing responsibilities under the Smart City Mission. In a fresh directive issued on May 16, along with a separate transfer order of IAS and IPS officers of the AGMUT cadre, the MHA invoked the 2016 guidelines that mandate officers under transfer to join their new posting within 15 days of the order. “Sanjith Rodrigues, IAS (AGMUT 2013) shall ‘stand relieved’ from the Government of Goa with effect from the 024 Every parent must know about the impact jaundice can have on children ON „„Sanjith Rodrigues, IAS (AGMUT 2013) shall ‘stand relieved’ from the Government of Goa with effect from May 16 „„To join new place of posting, UT of Ladakh, immediately „„Non-compliance shall be liable to disciplinary action, debarment from promotion, etc „„All requests seeking cancellation or deferment of transfer order rejected date of issuance of this order and is directed to join his new place of posting, UT of Ladakh, immediately under intimation to this Ministry. Should non-compliance of  FAMILIES GO ON ‘FORCED HOLIDAYS’  SOME MOVE TO HOUSES OF RELATIVES  BOREWELLS RUNNING DRY MAGAZINE MAGAZ 09 Living museums: How Goa’s cultural spaces are evolving Celebrating integrity and inclusion through sport Summer’s magic solution: Cotton’s natural comfort Nuances of indecisiveness and the courts of law 11 IN SHORT >> Goa’s temples among the cleanest: Sawant PANAJI: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday said that Goa’s magnificent temples and vibrant culture are drawing visitors from all over the country. He emphasized that the State’s temples are among the cleanest and most beautiful and also highlighted the rise of spiritual and cultural tourism in Goa. Haryana YouTuber arrested for spying NEW DELHI: A Haryana-based YouTuber has been arrested on the charge of passing on sensitive information to Pakistani intelligence operatives, police said on Saturday. NUTTY FERVOUR: Artistes perform at the third edition of the Cashew Festival at Campal on Saturday. (Report and more photos on page 5)  Narayan Pissurlenkar Govt flags housing fund misuse, assures first payout by May 30 THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI With instances of financial assistance being misused under schemes such as the Dayanand Social Security and Griha Aadhar, the State government is tightening its grip to prevent similar irregularities under the Atal Asra Yoja- na, especially for beneficiaries from Scheduled Tribe communities. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday assured that part payment of Rs 75,000 for house repairs will be released to eligible beneficiaries before May 30. However, he made it clear that the second installment of Rs 75,000 will be disbursed only upon submission of bills -- as a proof of work done using the first installment. Speaking at a special drive to clear pending applications under Atal Asra in his constituency at Sanquelim, Sawant warned that the funds were >Continued on P6 PANAJI As Taleigao taps turn dry with seven wards locked in a worsening crisis for over 50 days, residents are being forced into desperate choices. Around 500 households have been cut off from clean drinking water after Public Works Department (PWD) officials confirmed the presence of E. coli bacteria in the local water supply. The PWD's promises of swift pipeline replacement have faltered and this weekend was yet another missed opportunity. Amid this, the water pipeline burst on Saturday adding to the woes of the people. Several residents have taken alternative ways to escape the water crisis, with some families packing their bags. “We have started calling it a ‘forced holiday,’ but there’s nothing relaxing about it. We tried booking private water tankers but it’s either too >Continued on P6 Cops bust drugs worth `16 lakh; 5 from Himachal, K’taka arrested THE GOAN I NETWORK Vishwesh Mandrekar and his family, who had previously cancelled travel plans to focus on their children’s studies, have now booked tickets in what he claims is “part escape and part survival tactic.” “We didn’t want a holiday... But without water, what choice do we have? The tankers are unreliable and each >Continued on P6 >Continued on P6 Water gushes out after a pipeline burst near Borbhat, Taleigao on Saturday. expensive or they just don’t show up. For drinking water, we are spending money every day on bottled gallons of water. It’s not sustainable,” Sarita Kamat, a resident of Borbhat lamented. The PWD had earlier this week claimed that nearly 90 percent of the affected areas would have water restored by May 17, but the taps remained dry. the transfer order persist, Rodrigues shall be liable to incur various consequences under the service rules, PANAJI In a joint crackdown on drug trafficking, the North District Police and Crime Branch (CB) arrested five persons from Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh, and seized narcotics worth over Rs 16 lakh in three separate operations carried out within 24 hours. In the major bust, the CB arrested three men from Udupi, Karnataka, in the early hours of Saturday near the Goa State Central Library in Panaji. Superintendent of Police (CB) Rahul Gupta stated that acting on specific intelligence, the CB team recovered 91.934 grams of MDMA, a car and seven mobile phones from Sajeer (33), Moidin Ashmin (22), and Mohammad Suhel (21). The accused hail from Udupi, Karnataka and the total seizure is estimated to be worth Rs 12 lakh. In a separate raid near Assagao Church late Friday night, Anjuna police arrested Santosh Lamani (24), originally from Karnataka, with THE GOAN I NETWORK GOA’S ENERGY PUSH: EYE ON FUTURE 6 NOV 2 MHA’S FRESH DIRECTIVE 50 days on, Taleigao still reels under water crisis >> SEE PG 2 ,2 Actress joins Chiranjeevi for action drama, their third film together Govt names Tharoor in IN AN ATTEMPT TO MONITOR STUDENTS’ SUGAR INTAKE… panel, Cong stunned CBSE mandates schools to set up ‘sugar boards’ PTI NEW DELHI The Congress was left ‘surprised’ after the government named Shashi Tharoor as the leader of one of the seven multi-party delegations it will be sending abroad to explain India’s stance on terrorism emanating from Pakistan, and hit back at the government saying it was “playing games” with a “mischievous mindset”. The other MPs picked by the government to present India's “national consensus” in fighting terrorism before the world, including to UN Security Council members, are NCP-SP's Supriya Sule, BJP's Baijayant ''Jay'' Panda, Shiv Sena's Shrikant Shinde and DMK MP Kanimozhi. A statement by Parliamentary Affairs Ministry said, “the all-party delegations will project India's national consensus and resolute approach to combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations. “They would carry forth to the world the country's message of zero tolerance against terrorism.” Sources said the delegations will be travelling to four of the five permanent Security Council members and not visit China, which has long been a Pakistan ally. PTI NEW DELHI he CBSE has directed affiliated schools to establish “sugar boards” to monitor and reduce sugar intake of children, according to officials. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) noted that there has been a big increase in Type 2 diabetes among children, a condition once primarily seen in adults, over the past decade. “This alarming trend is largely attributed to high sugar intake, often due to the easy availability of sugary snacks, beverages and processed foods within school T CBSE PUTS SUGAR UNDER SURVEILLANCE „„Significant increase in Type 2 diabetes among children „„Alarming trend largely attributed to high sugar intake „„Blames easy availability of sugary snacks, beverages and processed foods within school environments „„Excessive consumption of sugar not only increases the risk of diabetes but also contributes to obesity, dental problems and other metabolic disorders environments. The excessive consumption of sugar not only increases the risk of diabetes but also contributes to obesity, dental problems and other metabolic disorders, ultimate- „„Impacts children’s longterm health and academic performance „„FACT FILE: Studies indicate that sugar constitutes 13 per cent of daily calorie intake for children aged four to 10 years, and 15 per cent for those aged 11 to 18 years, substantially exceeding the recommended limit of 5 per cent. ly impacting children's longterm health and academic performance,” the CBSE said in a letter to school principals. Studies indicate that sugar constitutes 13% of daily calorie intake for children aged four to 10 years, and 15% for those aged 11 to 18 years, substantially exceeding the recommended limit of 5 per cent. “The proliferation of sugary snacks, beverages, and processed foods, often readily available in school environments, contributes significantly to this intake,” it said. The direction was issued after a nudge by National Commission for Protection of Child Rights -- a body formed to ensure that rights of children, especially those who are most vulnerable, are protected.