log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline THURSDAY JANUARY 18, 2024 Facebook.com/thegoan 13 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME IX, NO.211 cbc 22201/13/0169/2324 Government of India Scan for more information Viksit Bharat 4 yrs later, case of 4 tiger deaths hasn’t reached closure Stock markets in free-fall: Sensex plunges 1,628 pts MUMBAI: Benchmark Sensex nosedived 1,628 points or 2.23 per cent on Wednesday, marking its biggest single-day slide in more than one-and-a-half years following an intense sell-off in banking, metal and oil shares triggered by weak global trends. It plummeted 1,699.47 points or 2.32 per cent to a low of 71,429.30. The Nifty tanked 460.35 points or 2.09 per cent to settle at 21,571.95, falling for the second day in a row. HDFC Bank was the major drag, falling more than 8 per cent to emerge as biggest loser after its third quarter financial results failed to meet market expectations. Its market valuation took a hit of more than Rs 1 lakh crore. >> Related report on pg 8 IN SHORT >> 13 mobiles seized from Colvale jail MAPUSA: In yet another security lapse, 13 mobile phones were seized from prisoners at the Central Jail in Colvale. Jail Superintendent Shankar Gaonkar conducted a sudden check in all sections of the jail on Wednesday morning and found 13 mobile phones with prisoners. While seven phones were seized from the NDPS cell, the remaining were seized from other cells. No mobile phones were found in the undertrial and women’s cells. Saligao resident falls victim to online scam PANAJI: A Saligao resident, Zeeshan Mazhar has lodged a complaint about an online scam wherein she fell victim to a fraudulent scheme orchestrated through Facebook. Mazhar claimed she was coerced into transferring a substantial sum of Rs13.98 lakh from October to December 2023.  >> See pg 3 WEATHER >> Max: 26 C Min: 21 C Humidity: 73% TIDES 11:00 04:09 10:38 17:33 Instagram.com/thegoanonline India largest producer of milk in the world, record increase of 58% in milk production in last 10 years; Welfare of 8 crore cattle-rearing families ensured HC allows 50 trips per day of ore transportation in Mayem COURT PUTS CAP ON TIMING; DIRECTS SETTING UP 2 MORE AIR MONITORING STATIONS CO U RT O B SE R VAT I O N S THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The Bombay High Court at Goa has imposed restrictions on the transport of ore through the village of Mayem imposing a limit of 50 trips per day and a time limit of 10 am to 12 noon and 2 pm to 5 pm beyond which no transportation can be allowed. Hearing a petition filed by the villagers of Mayem, the High Court also ruled that until two further air quality monitoring stations are set up in the village – one at the panchayat ghar and another at a location recommended by the villagers, no ore transport can resume. “Instead of the 230 trucks which were transporting through the village, there would be only 50 trips per day. They also reduced the timing to 10 am to 12 noon and 2 pm „„Today the HC recorded that out of the 26,000 MT of ore that was permitted to be transported by an order of 28th December 2023, the company started transporting on the 8th of January and from 8th January till 17th January they had already transported 17,000 MT of ore „„So only 5,900 was left balance and the court felt that although prima facie the villagers were entitled to relief, looking at the fact that 3/4th had already been transported, the court felt that the balance 5,000 only and nothing more can go through Mayem villages with certain conditions to 5 pm, which is a total of five hours instead of the earlier 8 hours. And they asked for strict compliance. This is because the company said that the ore which is already gone to the jetty, we cannot export it unless the balance goes there and there is an assessment,” Adv Norma Alvares who represented the villagers, said. The petition was filed by the villagers because ore had never been transported through their village all the years of mining but the Directorate of Mines and Geology (DMG) had given permission for transportation to one company in 2022 which these villagers had come to the HC to stop and the HC had stopped the transportation. However, the First fortnight of Jan records 9% rise in accidents 13 DEATHS ON ROADS SO FAR THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI As the State continues to grapple with an increasing number of road accidents, an average of nine accidents occurred daily from January 1 to January 15, 2024, resulting in 13 deaths. In all, there were around 144 accidents including 16 major collisions that claimed 13 lives across Goa – which means one person lost his/her life every 27 hours during this period. A comparison with the corresponding period last year shows a 9 per cent increase in accidents, although fatalities decreased from 16 in 2023 to 13 in 2024. The very first day of the New Year saw five deaths including that of a youth Ayush Halarnkar, a second-year student at Dhempe College of Arts and Science, who succumbed after falling into an under-construction sewerage chamber at Mala - a Smart City Project. A police consta- CAUSE FOR CONCERN: JAN DATA SO FAR „„In all, there were around 144 accidents including 16 major collisions that claimed 13 lives across Goa – which means one person lost his/her life every 27 hours during this period „„The data further shows that till January 15, 2024, 21 accidents were serious resulting in 26 persons sustaining grievous injuries, while 36 were minor accidents that injured 49 others Another 74 accidents caused extensive damage to vehicles ble Ulhas Gaonkar and three others died in separate road accidents at Bhoma, Taleigao, Valpoi and Cuncolim; adding >Continued on P5 The team including officials at the Nandi Bull site in Chandor village on Wednesday.  Santosh Mirajkar Alemao, who represents Cuncolim constituency, has visualised practical difficulties in the implementation of the plan to develop Chandor as a heritage village. The worry stems from the fact most of the heritage sites in question fall under the private ownership, including the local THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Ahead of Lok Sabha polls, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP National convener Arvind Kejriwal will be on a two-daylong visit to Goa from Thursday, January 18. Kejriwal will be accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Maan and MPs Raghav Chadda and Sandeep Pathak during his visit that will conclude on January 20. Addressing media persons, AAP Goa chief Amit Palekar said that the visit is to review State unit preparedness for the Lok Sabha polls. He said that the AAP leaders will meet its party’s Goa MLAs and other leaders and volunteers during their visit. Palekar said that INDIA bloc seat sharing has not been finalised yet and hence there is no clarity whether in Goa, TESTING THE GOA ELECTION SPACE „„Kejriwal will be accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Maan and MPs Raghav Chadda and Sandeep Pathak during his visit „„The visit is to review State unit preparedness for the Lok Sabha polls „„The AAP leaders will meet its party’s Goa MLAs and other leaders and volunteers during their visit the two seats would be shared between AAP and Congress. “Currently, we have received three names for South Goa candidature and two for >Continued on P5 THE GOAN I NETWORK THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI In the run up to the Lok Sabha elections, the Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant is all set to present a pro-people Budget 2024-25, next month. Sawant on Wednesday chaired a crucial consultation meeting with the Secretaries and Heads of Department seeking details on their new proposals, projects, schemes and plans to boost the economy and revenue generation. Speaking to media persons post meeting, Sawant said his government will present a pro-people Budget with focus on Swayampurna Goa. He said that consultation held with representatives of liquor traders, GCCI, CREDAI, small scale industries and have received suggestions. “The consultations are going on well. I cannot disclose more details of the Budget but it will be pro-people budget,” he said. The Chief Minister said that secretaries and HoDs are directed to prepare proposals on how can we get more funds to various Centrally sponsored schemes. The Chief Minister is expected to table the State Budget on February 8. PANAJI The academic year 2024-25 for students of Class I to X and XII will begin from June 4 and will conclude on April 30, next year. The summer vacation will begin from May 1, this year and go up to June 3. Director of Education Shailesh Zingade on Wednesday issued the academic calendar detailing out the terms and vacation breaks for the upcoming term. The first term will be held from June 4 to October 26, while the second term is scheduled between November 18 to April 30, 2025. The Directorate of Education (DoE) has asked schools to ensure that the First Summative or Terminal Examination ends before October 26, and the Second Summative exams to be held preferably before April 5, 2025. The schools have to ensure that the final results are not declared before April 29, next year. The Ganesh Chaturthi break is notified from September 6 to 12 while the Diwali vacation is from October 28 to November 16. The Christmas FLAME OF DIVINITY: A 108-ft long incense stick (dhoop-batti) being lit, brought from Gujarat ahead of the Ram Mandir ‘Pran Pratishthan’ programme, in Ayodhya. Consecration of Ram Mandir: Govt declares public holiday on Jan 22 THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The Goa government has declared public holiday for its employees and the educational institutions on the day of Ram Temple consecration, January 22. The General Administration Department on Wednesday issued a notification declaring „„Most of the heritage sites in question fall under the private ownership, including the local Fabrica, Comunidade, besides private properties „„Basically, without NOCs from the owners, work on the project cannot be started „„The Fabrica and the Comunidade have to play a major role in the project A >Continued on P5 Delhi CM, other national leaders to review LS poll preparedness Schools academic year 2024-25 to begin from June 4 THE ‘HURDLES’ AHEAD THE GOAN I NETWORK DMG issued a fresh permission to another company to transport through the Mayem village which we opposed. The villagers argued before the Court that the MoEF had issued a memorandum that no ore should go through the villages and that if a company is using the village network, they should ensure that they are properly strengthened and that they’ve got carrying capacity. “Today the HC recorded that out of the 26,000 MT of ore that was permitted to be transported by an order of 28th December 2023 the company started transporting on the 8th of January and from 8th January till 17th January they had already transported 17,000 MT of ore. So only 5,900 was left balance and the court felt that although Kejriwal on 2-day Goa visit as AAP awaits INDIA bloc seat-sharing With eye on LS poll, CM likely to present pro-people budget Govt agencies anticipate ‘practical difficulties’ in implementing heritage village status for Chandor MARGAO s government agencies including officials of the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation, besides historian Prof Prajal Sakhardande descended in the village as part of the agenda to implement the heritage village status for Chandor, fears have been raised in certain quarters that practical difficulties may come to the fore while taking the agenda forward. In fact, none other than Leader of Opposition, Yuri T20I: INDIA WINS THRILLER AGAINST AFGHANISTAN >> 13 RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 ModiUnprecedented boost toGuarantee Sarkar ki dairy sector Hamara Sankalp >> See PG 3 Low: High: The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) Fabrica, Comunidade, besides private properties. Unless the Fabrica, Comunidade body and the private owners issue the required NOC, it is felt that it may take some time to implement the heritage village plan for Chandor. While addressing the officials and villagers on Wednesday at the Chandor panchayat >Continued on P5 a public holiday on January 22, Monday to all State government departments, autonomous bodies, corporations and State government aided institutions. The notification stated that the public holiday was declared on occasion of the grand ceremony of consecration of idol of Prabhu Shri Ram at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh. Goa is one among those few States who have declared holiday on January 22. The Uttar Pradesh government has even declared the day as dry day and that the liquor shops will remain closed. “The ‘anushthan’ ritual has started and will continue till January 22, the day of the consecration ceremony. >Continued on P5 75K Goans exited poverty in last 9 years: Niti Aayog THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI As many as 75,000 people from Goa have exited multidimensional poverty in the past nine years, as per the latest report by NITI Aayog. Multidimensional poverty 2005-06 – calculated on the basis of 12 parameters including health, education, housing, maternal health and bank accounts – is projected to have reduced to 0.37 per cent in 2022-23 from 0.84 per cent in 2019-21 and 3.76 per cent in 2015-16. POVERTY INDEX REPORT Multidimensional poverty 2005-06 – calculated on the basis of 12 parameters including health, education, housing, maternal health and bank accounts – is projected to have reduced to 0.37 per cent in 2022-23 from 0.84 per cent in 2019-21 and 3.76 per cent in 2015-16 According to the paper by Niti Aayog member Ramesh Chand and senior advisor Yogesh Suri, in 2013-14, total 5.15 per cent of the population was under multidimensional poverty in Goa. Though the report did not provide estimates of several parameters, it said that the initiatives like Poshan Abhiyan, Anaemia Mukt Bharat and Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritav Abhiyan have helped to >Continued on P5