log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline WEDNESDAY MAY 28, 2025 GOA Seven Doors to Heaven: A holistic retreat for realigning mind, body and soul in Goa IN SHORT >> IMD forecasts above-normal rains in June NEW DELHI: India is likely to receive above-normal rainfall in June, which is expected to keep maximum temperatures in check in most parts of the country, the India Meteorological Department said on Tuesday.  >> See pg 8 I-T returns deadline extended to Sept 15 NEW DELHI: The Income Tax department on Tuesday extended the due date for filing ITRs for Assessment Year (AY) 2025-26 to September 15 from July 31. Individuals and entities, who do not need to get their accounts audited, were required to file income tax returns (ITR) by July 31. 12-year-old girl dies in Peddem mishap MAPUSA: A 12-year-old girl lost her life in a tragic hit-andrun accident near Peddem junction on National Highway 66 late Tuesday evening. The incident occurred around 7.45 pm while the victim was playing with two friends on the service road adjacent to the highway.  >> See pg 3 BITS Pilani submits suicide reports to Gov PANAJI: BITS Pilani, Goa campus has submitted to Goa Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai a detailed report on the three suspected student suicide cases reported within the campus in the last five months.  >> See pg 3 Vasco women booked for pet dog attack VASCO: Vasco police have registered a case against two women after their pet dog allegedly attacked a local resident at Mangor Hill on May 21. The complaint was lodged by Laxmi Pillai of Mangor Hill, who alleged that the accused, both residents of Vasco, negligently unleashed their pet dog at their residence.  >> See pg 3 Ex-CJI Khehar among 68 Padma awardees NEW DELHI: Former Chief Justice of India Jagdish Singh Khehar, dancer Shobana Chandrakumar, actor Anant Nag and Vice Chancellor of prestigious King George's Medical University Soniya Nityanand were among 68 eminent personalities conferred with the coveted Padma awards on Tuesday. The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) 13 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME X, NO. 340 Collector issues instructions for demolition of 2 unsafe buildings >> pg 6 Facebook.com/thegoan 2 GOA New aggregator rules get backing from TTAG amid taxi operators’ concerns 3 Instagram.com/thegoanonline RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 NEWS NGOs getting foreign funding won't be able to publish newsletter: MHA Setback for tiatrs, closure of Margao hall extended CHAIRMAN CITES RAINS AND INCOMPLETE ROOF REPAIRS AS REASONS FOR SHUTDOWN UNTIL JUNE 15 TIATRISTS AT SEA THE GOAN I NETWORK MARGAO Tiatrists suddenly find themselves at sea as the management of Ravindra Bhavan, Margao has further extended the closure of the Pai Tiatrist auditorium for the popular form of art till June 15. What has further left the tiatr directors and the artists a worried lot is that the Pai Tiatrist hall will be out of bounds for shows during the two months of July and August as announced by the management to undertake repairs and upgradation of the projector, screen and sound system ahead of IFFI 2025 festival. In fact, anxious tiatrists conveyed their displeasure over the fact that the new tiatr season, beginning around May and goes on till July-August will end without many shows taking place at the Pai Tiatrist hall for want of the auditorium. „„The closure date has been changed four times in seven days, originally scheduled to reopen on May 25, and then pushed to June 1, June 7, and now June 15 „„The auditorium will also be unavailable during July and August for projector, screen, and sound system upgrades ahead of IFFI 2025 „„Directors requested postponing the July–August closure to September–October, but the management declined A couple of tiatr directors sought an audience with Chairman of Ravindra Bhavan, Margao on Tuesday after they suddenly realised on Monday that the closure of the Pai Tiatrist hall for tiatr shows has been extended to June 7. The directors were completely taken by surprise when they came for the meeting with the Chairman after they were told the main auditorium will be shut till June 15. Noted tiatr director, Sammy Tavares told the media that the Ravindra Bhavan, Margao management has extended the closure of the Pai Tiatrist hall for staging of tiatr on four occasions in the last seven days, causing loss and confusion for both the tiatrists and tiatr lovers. “First, they announced that Ravindra Bhavan auditorium will be out of bounds for tiatr till May 25. The date was later extended to Mapusa streets flood but this area thirsts for water SHANTINAGAR RESIDENTS ENDURE EIGHT DAYS WITHOUT DRINKING WATER, RELY ON DISTANT WELLS, BOTTLED WATER THE GOAN I NETWORK MAPUSA While floodwaters gushed through the streets of Mapusa last week, inundating homes and choking drains in the pre-monsoon deluge, a cruel irony unfolded quietly in a small, hilly neighbourhood of Shantinagar in Khorlim. Nearly 20 households perched above the waterlogged town were bone dry – cut off from the most basic necessity of life: drinking water. For eight long days, the residents of this overlooked pocket of Mapusa have survived without a drop from their PWD pipeline. Instead, they’ve been filling buckets with rainwater just to wash utensils, buying bottled water for drinking or walking long distances to fetch water from a distant well. For many, especially the elderly and disabled, the daily struggle for water has become unbearable. “We’ve had to spend money on Bisleri bottles just to drink,” said Suresh Naik, a 72-year-old resident who not only has to manage his own health but also care for his DRY STRUGGLE IN A WET SEASON: A resident of Shantinagar, Mapusa, carries a Bisleri water container into his home – an everyday struggle for drinking water in an area that has gone several days without PWD supply. handicapped son. “Rainwater is fine for cleaning, but how long can we go on like this?” he added. Naik’s story is echoed across the neighbourhood. Sulochana Bagkar, another affected resident, recounted how residents have been calling Public Works Department (PWD) officials every day, only to receive the same response: “Tomorrow, the water will come.” But tomorrow has not come. “Two officials came and inspected the area. They assured us water would be released. Now, even our councillor doesn’t answer our calls,” Bagkar said with visible frustration. The area, residents say, sits on a slope, which they believe could be the reason water doesn't reach them – perhaps due to insufficient pressure. But in an age of advanced technology and urban infrastructure, that explanation >Continued on P8 Chairman assures early reopening MARGAO: Saying that Ravindra Bhavan Pai Tiatrist auditorium will be shut down till June 15, Chairman Rajendra Talak has assured that all possibilities will be worked out for the commencement of the auditorium at the earliest.   >> See pg 2 June 1 citing heavy pre-monsoon showers. On Monday, we realised that the closure date has been further extended to June 7. Today, we are told that the auditorium will not be available for tiatr shows till June 15,” he lamented. Sammy added: “When we questioned the Ravindra Bhavan Chairman why the closure has been extended till June 15, >Continued on P8 8 SPORTS Jitesh Sharma’s heroics power RCB into IPL Qualifier 1 13 Bondla Zoo closure continues amid fresh positive test report Zoo will be reopened only if both mandatory tests return negative from Bhopal institute THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI With a fresh “inconclusive” positive test report for the Bondla Zoo indicating existence of the avian influenza strain, the Forest Department has decided to continue with the closure of the State’s only zoo, which is shut since April 1. The zoo is undergoing a mandatory double-confirmation test by the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) in Bhopal before reopening to the public. The two consecutive negative reports are required to reopen the zoo for visitors. The zoo has been closed to the public since April 1 following the death of five animals – three civet cats and two jungle cats. Since then, the other animals were placed under quarantine for a period of 15 days. Highly placed sources confirmed that a recent “inconclusive” positive test report for the Zoo, indicating the existence of avian influenza strain H5N1, has forced the department to continue with the closure of the zoo. “A fresh pos- HEALTH AND SAFETY CONCERNS „„Bondla Zoo remains closed since April 1 due to avian influenza scare „„A fresh 'inconclusive' positive test report has delayed the zoo's reopening „„The Forest Department awaits two consecutive negative test results from the NIHSAD, Bhopal „„The department is strictly following SOPs from the Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry „„Financial impact: The zoo lost over Rs 1 lakh in April, with a similar loss expected in May itive report from the Bhopal based institute…an inconclusive report was submitted and hence the department was not in position to reopen the zoo,” sources said. Sources said that two consecutive negative test results are must for re-opening of the zoo. “This will take some time…till then the zoo will remain shut for visitors,” sources said. As reported last month, H5N1 in two jungle cats was confirmed by the Goa Forest Department; however the reason for the deaths of three civet cats was not known. Sources said that the de- partment is following the standard operating procedure laid down by the Union ministry of fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying with regards to the H5N1 outbreak. “The department cannot open the zoo unless the test results are negative,” sources said. Meanwhile, the closure of the zoo has led to major revenue loss to the Forest Department as the summer vacation was the targeted period for high zoo footfall. Sources said that the zoo has lost over Rs 1 lakh in April and the similar amount is expected in May month too. Daily half-hour yoga in schools from June 4 THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Ahead of International Yoga Day, the Directorate of Education (DoE) has instructed all the schools to initiate daily yoga practice sessions for students from the very first day of re-opening of classes for the academic year from June 4. The directions have been issued to all the government, government aided, unaided primary, secondary, higher secondary and special schools. In a circular issued, Director Education Shailesh Zingade said that the schools will have to conduct a minimum of half an hour of yoga practice every morning before the commencement of regular academic session. “The practice shall continue till June 21 and may be further extended as per the school’s discretion,” Zingade said. Zingade said that during the sessions, emphasis should be on simple and age appropriate asanas, breathing exercises and meditation techniques. The schools are also directed to organise special yoga sessions to mark the International Yoga Day on June 21 and the photos along with brief report to be submitted to the DoE by June 25. MARITIME BOOST: After much delay, the RND finally conducted a trial run of the first Ro-Ro ferry along the Ribandar–Chorao route on Tuesday.  Narayan Pissurlenkar After long wait, Ro-Ro ferry begins trial run on Ribandar-Chorao route THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI After much delay, the first rollon/roll-off (Ro-Ro) ferry arrived and the River Navigation Department did a trial run on Tuesday morning along the Chorao–Ribandar route. Built at a shipyard in Rassaim, Loutolim the Ro-Ro ferry has a capacity of 15 cars and another 15 two-wheelers be- sides a sheltered sitting area for passengers. Ro-Ro ferries will be a big boon to the RND's ferry service as it will help save trip time. The RND however did not specify when the regular commercial runs will begin on the Ribandar-Chorao route even as the department claimed the trial runs went on smoothly without any hitch. Initially set for a launch in mid-March, the launch of the Ro-Ro ferry got delayed because of a delay in delivery of the craft. The jetties (ramps) built under the Smart City project too were readied and handed over to the RND only by March end. The service will be a huge relief to the Chorao islanders >Continued on P8 Household budgeting feels the Skip class, lose visa: US warns international students US EMBASSY WARNING pinch as prices of veggies soar PTI THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Housewives and others managing household budgets have begun feeling the pinch of rising prices of daily use perishables due to disruption of supply chains on account of the ongoing inclement weather which began nearly a fortnight ago. Retail prices of several types of vegetables soared at the Panaji market since Monday and on Tuesday, tomatoes were being sold at Rs 45 per kilo, Rs 10 higher than the prices last week. Potatoes too became cost- THE SURGE: INCLEMENT WEATHER? In Panaji market Tomatoes: Rs 45/kg (up Rs 10 from last week) Potatoes: Rs 50/kg (up Rs 10) Coriander: Rs 40/bunch (up Rs 10) Onions: Rs 40/kg (stable) Green Chillies: Rs 120/kg lier by Rs 10 and were being sold at Rs 50 per kilo. Onion was stable at Rs 40 per kilo. The price of a bunch of coriander has also risen from Rs 30 to now Rs 40 and traders said it is very likely that vegetable prices may rise further over the next few days on account of crop losses and disruption of transportation due to the rains. Meanwhile, the prices of green leafy vegetables have >Continued on P8 NEW DELHI he US Embassy in India on Tuesday warned international students studying in the US that if they “drop out, skip classes, or leave your programme of study” without informing the school, then their student visas may be revoked. The Embassy, in a post on X, also urged students to adhere to the terms of visas and “maintain your student status” to avoid any issues. “If you drop out, skip classes, or leave your programme of study without informing your school, your student visa may be revoked, and you may lose eligibility for future US visas. „„Students who drop out, skip classes, or leave their study programme without informing their school risk revocation of their visas T and ineligibility for future visas „„Students advised to adhere to visa terms and maintain student status VISA STATISTICS „„In 2023, the US consular team in India issued over 1,40,000 student visas, a record for the 3rd consecutive year „„The same year, the US Mission processed 1.4 million visas in total Always adhere to the terms of your visa and maintain your student status to avoid any issues,” it said. American universities attract a large number of Indian students. In 2023, the US consular team in India issued over 1,40,000 student visas – more than any other country – setting a record for the third year in a row. The same year, the US Mission in India processed a record 1.4 million visas. The F-1 Visa (Academic Student) allows individuals to enter the United States as a full-time student at an accredited college, university, academic high school or other academic institution. The J visas are non-immigrant visas for individuals approved to participate in exchange visitor programmes in the US. In April, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that Indian missions in the US are in touch with Indian students facing issues relating to the revocation of visas and extending possible support to them. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had responded to a question on several Indian >Continued on P8