log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline FRIDAY OCTOBER 10, 2025 GOA Size Matters: Why India needs to rethink its obsession with big cars 2025 Mahindra Thar: Subtle upgrades with same spirit IN SHORT >> Sawant heads panel to improve Goa’s ease of doing biz PANAJI: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant will head a high-level committee to identify and implement priority reforms for improving Goa’s ranking in national and international Ease of Doing Business and Ease of Living. The state government has constituted a 37-member committee under the Chief Minister to bring in reforms in EoDB and EoL.  >> See pg 3 Alert boy foils kidnap attempt at Amona BICHOLIM: An attempt to kidnap a 12-year-old boy from Amona-Sankhali was foiled by the quick and alert action of the boy himself. The incident took place when the Std 7 student of a government high school in Amona was walking home.   >> See pg 2 Pipeline damaged at Mapusa, supply hit The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) 14 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME XI, NO. 113 GOA Forest dept defers permission for land diversion to Charavane project STOCKHOLM: The 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to the Hungarian author Laszlo Krasznahorkai for his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art.   >> See pg 9 WEATHER >> Max: Min: Humidity: 31.7 C 24.7 C 93% TIDES Low: 06.30 18.45 High: 00.53 12.01 SPORTS INFO ICC Women's World Cup: South Africa beats India in thriller The serum sensation: How to use for a radiant skin  TRIO NABBED FROM BENGALURU, HYDERABAD; BEING BROUGHT TO GOA  POLICE TIGHTLIPPED THE GOAN I NETWORK MAPUSA Two days after the daring dacoity at the bungalow of a doctor couple in Ganeshpuri, Mapusa, Goa Police have reportedly arrested three suspects linked to the high-profile robbery. Sources said the trio was nabbed from two different locations – Bengaluru and Hyderabad – and are being brought to Goa for further interrogation. The arrests mark a major breakthrough in the investigation into the shocking crime that left the State on edge. At least six persons were involved in the pre-dawn dacoity, during which the gang held Dr Mahendra Ghanekar, his wife Dr Anuradha, their 14-year-old daughter and Dr Ghanekar’s 80-year-old mother hostage at knifepoint before escaping with jewellery and cash worth nearly Rs 50 lakh. A joint operation by the Crime Branch and Mapusa Police – involving forensic anal- „„A joint operation by the Crime Branch and Mapusa Police – involving forensic analysis, local intelligence and interLONG ARM OF state tracking – led to the arrests THE LAW „„Two police teams had earlier been dispatched to the Maharashtra and Karnataka borders to trace the suspects FLASHBACK: At least six persons were involved in the pre-dawn dacoity, during which the gang held Dr Mahendra Ghanekar, his wife Dr Anuradha, their 14-year-old daughter and Dr Ghanekar’s 80-year-old mother hostage at knifepoint before escaping with jewellery and cash worth nearly Rs 50 lakh. ysis, local intelligence and interstate tracking – led to the arrests. Two police teams had earlier been dispatched to the Maharashtra and Karnataka borders to trace the suspects. On Wednesday, investigators also questioned a Goan taxi driver allegedly hired by the robbers to transport them to Belagavi after the heist. The vehicle used in the escape was examined by forensic experts for possible evidence. Despite reports of the arrests, senior police officials have remained tight-lipped. “No one is nabbed. All the news about arrests are false,” DySP Wilson D’Souza said when contacted. The incident occurred between 3 am and 5 am on Tuesday when a group of masked men, armed with knives and iron rods, broke into the Ghanekar residence by cutting open a window grill. The robbers fled with valuables, four mobile phones and the family’s car, which was later found abandoned under the Mandovi bridge in Panjim. The chilling incident has sparked deep concern in the upscale Ganeshpuri locality, home to several doctors and professionals and has prompted police to intensify patrolling and surveillance in the area. THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Ahead of rolling out Smart Meters, the State Electricity Department has commenced consumer indexing and site survey as a preparatory step for the large-scale installation of new meters under the central government’s Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS). Starting from November, the installation of smart meters will commence across all the government offices as well as power substations and transformers, as part of the first phase. The government has appointed Digismart Networks Pvt Ltd (lead consortium member) and CWD Ltd (consortium member) for the implementation of the project, which is estimated at Rs 890 crore. Smart metering project implementation is based on the Design-Build-Finance-Own-Operate-Transfer (DBFOOT) model. CWD will provide the wireless IoT modules while Digismart will handle ground-level deployment. The project, covering nearly 8 lakh consumers, will be executed within a period of 27 months. Speaking to The Goan, Su- THE SMART METER WAY „„Consumer indexing, site surveys begin as first step before actual meter installation „„Metering infra, feeders, data transmission, network availability, and signal strength at each consumer location being evaluated „„Govt offices, dept transformers, sub-stations to be perintending Engineer Mayur Hede said as part of preparatory stage we have commenced consumer indexing and site survey process, only after which the actual meter installation will start. “Consumer indexing is basically an exercise to cross verify consumer profiling that includes government, industries, commercial and domestic. We already have the data but we are verifying it through ground survey,” he explained adding, the site survey is to assess the infrastructure, connectivity, GPS tagging, etc. As part of site survey, the department is evaluating the Student hurt as ceiling fan falls during class in Poriem  PARENTS ACCUSE CONTRACTOR OF SUBSTANDARD WORK  PWD ISSUES SHOW-CAUSE NOTICE AK-47 rifle found at Miramar beach fake Hungarian author wins Literature Nobel RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 Phase-I to cover govt offices, sub-stations PANAJI: A major water pipeline burst near Carvalho Petrol Pump in Mapusa disrupting water supply to several areas. Residents of Verla-Canca, Anjuna, and Calangute have been affected, with water supply to these localities remaining suspended. Repair work is currently underway to restore normal distribution. PANAJI: Police recovered an object resembling an AK-47 assault rifle after it washed ashore on Miramar Beach on Thursday morning. The discovery prompted an immediate response from the local police, who upon checking it, confirmed to be made of rubber. Instagram.com/thegoanonline 3 14 2 11 Breakthrough in Mapusa Indexing, survey pave way for rollout of smart meters dacoity, three arrested Govt’s high-security number plates notice triggers confusion Page 8 Facebook.com/thegoan THE GOAN I NETWORK HITTING THE RIGHT NOTES: A visually impaired person plays an instrument at the Purple Fest in Panaji. The third edition of the four-day festival, which kicked off on Thursday, will run until October 12. (More photos and report on pg 5) Narayan Pissurlenkar Coastal body's axe to fall on 28 illegal Palolem structures THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) has ordered demolition of 28 illegal structures in Palolem for being in operation without requisite permission. The Authority has directed Resort The Palolem Beach Front Bliss to demolish their 18 structures erected beyond the permission granted by GCZMA. The resort was granted permission for 25 temporary structures; however, it went ahead and erected 43 structures. “Also, there are violations among the 43 structures such as those erected on the per- manent plinth,” the Authority said, pointing out that a total of ten structures including seven wooden cottages were constructed on permanent plinth. In another case, Jesica Coco Hut, erected a total seven temporary structures as against >Continued on P9 VALPOI In a shocking incident, a student was injured after a ceiling fan came crashing down in the classroom at the Government Primary School in Poriem-Sattari. The incident prompted angry parents of the school to accuse the contractor of substandard work and demanded action in the matter. According to sources, electrical works had recently been taken up in the school. While classes were in progress, a fan suddenly fell down and injured a student. The student was first moved to the Sanquelim Health Centre and was later referred to the North Goa District Hospital in Mapusa for further treatment. On hearing news of the incident, many parents rushed to the school and said such an incident was unacceptable and demanded action against the contractor. The School PTA has also taken serious note of the incident. PWD officials also visited LUCKY ESCAPE The ceiling fan that crashed in the classroom on Thursday. the spot and took stock of the situation. An investigation is underway to ascertain how the fan could fall down if the down rod had been fastened with the nut and bolt. The PWD later issued a show-cause notice to the contractor for the inferior workmanship in the installation of electrical works at the government schools in Poriem constituency. The contractor has been given three days to respond under Clause 3 of the agreement or faces action in „„While classes were in progress, a fan suddenly fell down „„The student was first moved to the Sanquelim Health Centre and was later referred to the North Goa District Hospital in Mapusa „„Electrical works had recently been taken up in the school the matter. Voicing outrage over the incident at the government school in Poriem which injured a student, Poriem MLA Deviya Rane said such negligence is unacceptable. covered in the first phase; industrial, commercial consumers in second phase „„First batch of smart meters to arrive this month „„Domestic consumers to be covered after industrial and commercial installations condition of existing metering infrastructure at consumer premises, feeders, distribution transformers, determining data transmission, network availability and signal strength at each consumer location, etc. Hede said that once the exercise is complete, the first phase of installation, covering the government offices, our transformers, sub stations, will commence from November. “The first lot of smart meters will be arriving this month,” he said. The department will take >Continued on P9 Govt launches all-India drive to test, inspect cough syrups PTI NEW DELHI Central drug regulator Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has started a pan India drive to test, inspect and audit cough syrup manufacturers, official sources said on Thursday. It has also asked all states and Union territories to provide a list of cough syrup manufacturing companies for auditing. This comes in the wake of children deaths allegedly due to the consumption of contaminated cough syrups. The sources further said that no state so far has fully complied with Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) guidelines which have been introduced for ensuring safety and maintaining standards in pharmaceutical products. So far, 18 state drug control authorities have onboarded the Online National Drugs Licensing System (ONDLS) which is aimed at streamlining drug licensing and regulatory compliance. ONDLS is a digital, single-window platform for various drug-related licenses in India and has been developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing. SC advocates introducing sex Mind matters: Goa’s mental health stats worrisome 2024 STATISTICS: FACTS & FIGURES edu to kids from younger age VIBHA VERMA THE GOAN I PANAJI SAYS ADOLESCENTS NEED TO KNOW OF HORMONAL CHANGES PTI NEW DELHI Sex education should be provided to children from a younger age, and not Class IX onwards, the Supreme Court has said. A bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Alok Aradhe said sex education should be part of the curriculum in higher secondary schools so that young adolescents are made aware of the hormonal changes that come with puberty. “We are of the opinion that sex education should be provided to children from a younger age and not Class IX onwards. It is for the authorities to apply their mind and take corrective measures, so that children are informed of the changes that happen after puberty, and the care and cautions to be taken in relation thereto,” the bench said. The top court made the observations while granting bail to a 15-year-old boy accused of offences under sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC, and Section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The Allahabad HC had earlier denied him bail in August 2024, after which he approached the Supreme Court. WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY „„Over 43,000 outpatients sought psychiatric help in Goa in 2024, „„IPHB alone recorded 42,799 visits — 22,437 men and 20,362 women „„Other facilities and jails accounted for 886 additional patients The Annual Statistical Report 2024, available with The Goan, reveals that more than 43,000 outpatients sought psychiatric help over the year -- an average of nearly 120 patients every day. Of these, IPHB alone recorded 42,799 outpatient visits A s the world marks World Mental Health Day today, statistics from the Institute of Psychiatry and Human Behaviour (IPHB) show a sobering reflection of a State quietly grappling with its growing mental health burden. „„A total of 4,220 new psychiatric cases were registered, with 2,629 men and 1,591 women, reflecting a slightly higher incidence among males „„CGC handled 3,802 cases, comprising 1,279 new cases and 2,523 follow-ups, showing ongoing patient engagement „„The institute admitted 1,056 patients under the Mental Healthcare Act, with a 96.16% bed occupancy rate, and discharged 1,017 patients in the year -- 22,437 men and 20,362 women. The RMC at Mandur accounted for 169 patients, while Chimbel Asylum, St Cruz and Apna Ghar together reported 495. Another 222 patients were registered at Colvale jail. Officials confirmed that the figures indicate both rising awareness and a deepening concern in mental well-being across Goa. Goa’s promised mental health day-care centre faces delays >> See pg 3 Of the total, a total of 4,220 new psychiatric cases were registered last calendar year, with men forming a slight majority -- 2629 male patients and 1591 female patients. >Continued on P9