log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline THURSDAY JANUARY 4, 2024 GOA Facebook.com/thegoan 13 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME IX, NO.197 Delayed implementation of anti-extortion app IN SHORT >> PANAJI: While the Central government’s approval to transfer Rivona land for the Indian Institute of Technology’s (IIT) permanent campus is awaited, Social Welfare Minister Subhash Phal Dessai said they are awaiting a ‘written approval’ from the site selection panel that visited Goa to finalise the land.   >> See pg 3 More FIRs against GMC staff, wife for fraud PANAJI: The Goa Medical College and Hospital employee Vijaynath Gawade and his wife Vidisha, arrested by Ponda Police for defrauding a Curti resident of Rs 10 lakh in a land deal, are facing two more FIRs at Valpoi and Bicholim police stations.   >> See pg 3 GOA PANAJI The Union Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has allowed homestead owners in Goa’s private forest to construct residential houses upto a maximum of 250 sq metres of built-up area. The provision, which has also been made applicable to Mussorie area of Uttarakhand, has, however, banned construction of institutional and commercial buildings on such land. In a communication issued to the Goa government, the Union Ministry has issued guidelines on homestead owners who can be allowed to construct in private and deemed forest areas of Goa. As per the guidelines, construction activity for residential purposes in private forest shall be allowed only for domestic purposes and shall not be extended to any insti- Concerns raised over coastal pollution impacting tourism Ways to use turmeric for arthritis treatment THE MINISTRY GUIDELINES „„Construction activity for residential in private forest shall be allowed only for domestic purposes „„Construction activity will not be extended to any institutional buildings or commercial development tutional buildings or commercial development. Also, the Construction activities shall be restricted to a maximum of 250 square metre of built-up area (2,690 sq „„The construction activities shall be restricted to a maximum of 250 sq mtr of built-up area (2,690 sq feet) in each case „„Permissions for construction is subject to conditions feet) in each case. And that the construction of residential buildings in private forest is permitted only in order to alleviate hardship of homestead owners for constructing/ com- PTI Cash of ` 5L stolen from 2 Siolim villas NEW DELHI: In a big relief to the embattled Adani Group, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that the fraud allegations against the apples-to-airport conglomerate do not need more probes either by a special investigation team or CBI.  >> See pg 7 WEATHER >> Max: 29 C Min: 24 C Humidity: 72% TIDES Low: 11:19 High: 04:25 10:21 17:32 pleting their bona fide residential buildings. The ministry added that the cut of date for “deciding the status of the homestead” will be February 11, 2011, and the construction cannot be in excess of 250 sq mtrs. “In case of any sub-division of ownership of the forest land post 11.02.2011, the construction activities shall be restricted in such a way that the total of all construction activities in such sub-divided portions post 11.02.2011 should not exceed a maximum of 250 square metre of built-up area,” the Ministry said. It also clarified that permissions for construction is subject to conditions such as minimal tree felling, sufficient soil conservation measures being taken and all other standard conditions required for such projects including planting of tree species and paying net present value of the forest area being applicable. SC stays MoEF’s office memo on ex-post facto EC PANAJI: The Crime Branch sleuths have arrested a Karnataka native for allegedly peddling drugs in the Morjim beach belt, early Wednesday morning. The contraband, weighing 3.072 kgs and cash of Rs 2,070, all worth Rs 3.15 lakh approx were seized from his possession.  >> See pg 5 SC declines SIT or CBI probe against Adani POLL PREPAREDNESS: EVM machines being carried into the office of North Goa Collectorate, Panaji, on Wednesday. Demonstrations and training in the use of EVMs will be held ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.  Narayan Pissurlenkar I-T sleuths raid dozens of pubs, outlets in N Goa coastal belt THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI After the biz bonanza of the Christmas-New Year week, dozens of nightclubs and up-market restaurants in North Goa, have had unfamiliar visitors knocking at their doors since Tuesday morning – the dreaded taxmen. Sleuths of the Income Tax department drawn from multiple outstation locations conducted raids on dozens of pubs, restaurants and nightclubs and even residences of some of their owners since Tuesday morning. The raids were aimed at unearthing the unaccounted cash netted by these business- 10 INFO KA native caught in narcotics case MAPUSA: Two villas in a building were ransacked and electronic equipment, mobile and cash worth Rs 5 lakh was stolen from Gawaswada in Sodiem-Siolim on Tuesday night. The owner of the villas Narendra Singh has registered a police complaint in the matter.  >> See pg 5 RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 OWNERS CAN CONSTRUCT ONLY FOR DOMESTIC PURPOSES THE GOAN I NETWORK Site selection panel for IIT on Rivona land Instagram.com/thegoanonline 3 2 MoEF allows 250 sq mtr houses in private forests Seeing is believing? Team inspects sewage discharge >> See PG 3 The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) es who did roaring business in the peak season period leading to Christmas and New Year. The I-T department has not made any official statement on the searches it conducted in North Goa but sources said, that the exercise was aimed >Continued on P5 NEW DELHI The Supreme Court has imposed a stay on an office memorandum issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change allowing ex post facto environmental clearance which permits projects to carry out operations without getting environmental clearances. A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta issued a notice to the Ministry of the Environment and Forests (MoEF) on the plea filed by NGO Vanashakti. “Issue notice returnable in four weeks. Until further orders there shall be stay of the office memorandum dated January 20, 2022,” the bench said. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for Vanashakti, submitted that environmental impact assessment mandates prior approval before commencement of any activity and allowing ex post facto environmental clearance was anathema to the Environment Protection Act. He argued that the Environment Impact Assessment notification of 2006 stipulates prior environment clearance for all projects and the problem arose with an office memorandum of 2017 which provided a six-month window for alleged violators to apply for post facto clearance. SPORTS Siraj rips apart South Africa’s batting line-up in second Test 103 killed in twin blasts in Iran at event to honour slain general PTI DUBAI Two bombs exploded minutes apart on Wednesday at a commemoration for a prominent Iranian general slain in a US drone strike in 2020, officials in Iran said, killing at least 103 people and wounding at least 188 as the Middle East remains on edge over Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. No one immediately claimed responsibility for what appeared to be the deadliest militant attack to target Iran since its 1979 Islamic Revolution. The blasts shook the city of Kerman, about 820 kilometres (510 miles) southeast of the capital, Tehran, and sent shrapnel hurtling into a screaming crowd fleeing the first explosion. The gathering marked the fourth anniversary of the killing of Gen Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force, in a US drone strike in Iraq in January 2020. The explosions occurred near his grave site as >Continued on P5 13 ROTTWEILER HORROR CONTINUES… 2 pet dogs attack man on evening walk at Cacra THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI A prominent citizen from Dona Paula had a nightmarish experience last week after he was attacked by two pet Rottweilers at Cacra village, when he had gone for an evening walk. The Rottweilers are owned by the ex-chairman of Goa Public Service Commission. However, no police complaint has been filed by the concerned citizen. The victim was administered 24 injections and he is yet to fully recover from the injury. The incident occurred on December 26 evening, when the victim was out for an evening walk along with his pet dog along the Samudradarshan colony in Cacra village. “When I was walking, suddenly, the two Rottweilers, who were left free, attacked my dog. While trying to save my dog, the Rottweilers bit me on my hand, leaving a major THE ATTACK „„The incident occurred on December 26 evening, when the victim was out for an evening walk along with his pet dog along the Samudradarshan colony in Cacra village „„When he was walking, suddenly, the two Rottweilers, who were left free, attacked his dog „„While trying to save his dog, the Rottweilers bit him on his hand, leaving a major injury injury,” he said. The victim said it was gross negligence on part of the pet owner to let the dogs free without taking precautions, and endangering others. >Continued on P5 ‘Dead man’ comes home alive 3 months after his funeral THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI In what seems like a movie twist, a man, officially declared dead three months back, stunned his family and the Goa police by returning home alive. His wife and son, who had identified the dead body in October 2023 and held his funeral in their home village, have now confirmed that this man is Marcos Milagres. The 59-year-old somehow travelled to Thane-Mumbai where he was found wandering on the streets and subsequently lodged in a beggar’s home. An NGO was instrumental in unravelling the mysterious story when its representatives shared his photo with Agassaim Police to check his identity. The man had earlier gone missing on September 19, 2023 and a missing person’s complaint was registered with the Agassaim police station. Days later on October 7, 2023, a body was found near Hindu Pharmacy, which was then shifted to the Goa Medical College and Hospital where he was identified as Marcos. Police sources said that the deceased’s identity now remains unknown with the MYSTERIOUS TWIST „„The 59-year-old Marcos Milagres somehow travelled to Thane-Mumbai where he was found wandering on the streets and subsequently lodged in a beggar’s home „„An NGO was instrumental in unravelling the mysterious story when its representatives shared his photo with Agassaim Police to check his identity „„The man had earlier gone missing on September 19, 2023 and a missing person’s complaint was registered with the Agassaim police station „„Days later on October 7, 2023, a body was found near Hindu Pharmacy, which was then shifted to the GMC where he was identified as Marcos Milagres present revelation. “Marcos’ cousin identified the body first because of a tattoo on the hand. He shared the photo of the “Cross” tattoo with Marcos’ wife and son who are living in the UK. They returned to Goa, identified the body as that of Marcos and conducted his funeral,” the police said. Three months later, Marcos emerged alive. “It was a photo from an NGO in Mumbai that alerted us. He was found in Thane-Mumbai with a wound on his head. The authorities there shifted him to a beggar’s home where he underwent treat- ment and care,” the police said adding, ‘Being mentally unsound, Marcos always failed to give his correct identity except that he lives in the Agassaim police station jurisdiction. With the help of this lead, the NGO shared his photo with the Agassaim police’. The photo was then forwarded to the Panaji police who had submitted NOC to Marcos’ wife after the previous identification. The police further said that Marcos’ wife and son were once again called to Goa, who have re-confirmed >Continued on P5 KTC in quagmire to start city bus India registered 9.3 lakh cancer deaths, 12 lakh service amid ‘Smart City’ mess cases, second highest in Asia, says study THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The Kadamba Transport Corporation Limited (KTCL), tasked with operating the ambitious new transport service plan under the ‘Smart City Mission’ finds itself in the messy quagmire that Panaji’s roads currently are and is unlikely to take off a week before Republic Day on January 19. The 48 electric buses have already arrived and are in the KTC’s possession, but the State-owned public transporter has several logistical issues to put in place before it is ready to operate the service. The ambitious new public transport service is planned PTI KTC MD SPEAKS… „„The service is unlikely to start on January 19 as the roads across the city on the routes notified are dug up for the ongoing smart city work „„Besides, smart bus shelters and stops are to be installed and also people have to be trained on the nuances of using this new transport system, including the digital, QR-Coded ticketing on seven routes both within Panaji as well as between it and the peripheral suburbs of Bambolim. Dona Paula, St Cruz and Taleigao, was recently notified by the State government’s transport department under the ‘Smart City Mission’. Under the plan, nearly 57 private bus operators were put on notice that their operational permits will cease from January 19 and all routes would be nationalised and operated by the KTC. >Continued on P5 NEW DELHI ndia registered about 12 lakh new cancer cases and 9.3 lakh deaths in 2019, becoming the second highest contributor to the disease burden in Asia for that year, according to a new study published in The Lancet Regional Health Southeast Asia journal. Researchers found that India, along with China and Japan, were the three leading countries in Asia in terms of number of new cases and deaths, where they say cancer has become a more significant public health threat with 94 lakh new cases and 56 lakh deaths in 2019. I LANCET RESEARCH: CAUSE FOR CONCERN „„Researchers found that India, along with China and Japan, were the three leading countries in Asia in terms of number of new cases and deaths „„Cancer has become a more significant public health threat with 94 lakh new cases and 56 lakh deaths in 2019 „„China contributed the most with 48 lakh new cases and 27 lakh deaths, Japan recorded about 9 lakh new cases and 4.4 lakh deaths „„Examine the temporal patterns of 29 cancers in 49 Asian countries between 1990 and 2019 using estimates from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries and Risk Factors 2019 Study (GBD 2019) „„In Asia, the leading cancer was that of tracheal, bronchus, and lung (TBL), resulting in an estimated 13 lakh cases, 12 lakh deaths Of these, while China contributed the most with 48 lakh new cases and 27 lakh deaths, Japan recorded about 9 lakh new cases and 4.4 lakh deaths, the international team of researchers including those from the National Institute of Technology Kurukshetra and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Jodhpur and Bathinda, said. “We examined the temporal patterns of 29 cancers in 49 Asian countries between 1990 and 2019 using estimates from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries and Risk Factors 2019 Study (GBD 2019),” they wrote in their study. They found that in Asia, the leading cancer was that of tracheal, bronchus, and lung (TBL), resulting in an estimated 13 lakh cases and 12 lakh deaths. It was also found to be most frequent in men and third most frequent in women. Specifically among women, cervical cancer is ranked second or among top-5 cancers in several Asian countries. The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, introduced in 2006, has proved to be effective in preventing the disease and reducing HPV-related deaths, the researchers said. >Continued on P5