log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline THURSDAY FEBRUARY 22, 2024 GOA No money allocated to fund pilgrimage scheme for senior citizens IN SHORT >> Doyen of Indian judiciary Fali Nariman dies at 95 NEW DELHI: Fali S Nariman, a doyen of Indian judiciary, who was part of several landmark legal proceedings that helped shape modern India, including the Kesavanand Bharati case in which the Supreme Court laid down the basic structure doctrine, died on Wednesday. He was 95. SC stays Colva resort demolition MARGAO: The Supreme Court has stayed the order passed by the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) for the demolition of structures built by a resort at Colva and to restore the land to its original position.  >> See pg 2 Woman held in infant kidnapping case MARGAO: The Margao police have arrested Natalina Almeida, a resident of Goa Velha, in connection with a complaint filed by a woman alleging that her two-monthold daughter has been kidnapped from her lawful custody.  >> See pg 2 Naval officer granted bail VASCO: Naval officer Anurag Rajawat was on Wednesday granted bail in connection with the LPG cylinder vapour cloud burst case. >> See pg 3 Man arrested for injuring wife MAPUSA: A man was arrested on charges of injuring his wife over her refusal to serve him food at their home in Chandanwadi-Bastora in the wee hours of Thursday.   >> See pg 3 WEATHER >> Max: 28 C Min: 21 C Humidity: 67% TIDES Low: 04:50 High: 10:11 16:31 23:37 The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) 14 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME IX, NO.245 Instagram.com/thegoanonline RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 3 2 9 Implement SC directions: HC to govt in wake of rising accidents Margao’s Sonsodo conundrum: What lies ahead after clean-up? >> See PG 3 Facebook.com/thegoan GOA Pomburpa project row: Villagers reject offer to limit structures INFO Factors that increase heart disease in women SPORTS Jaiswal breaks into top-20 of ICC Test Rankings GOVT ASKED TO FILE STATUS OF COMPLIANCES BY MARCH 1 THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The Bombay High Court has directed the State government to ensure that directions issued by the Supreme Court concerning the release of uninsured vehicles involved in accidents are followed and sought instructions whether modifications made in the motor vehicle rules have already been effected via a notification. The Supreme Court directed that where there is no insurance cover for a vehicle, the owner should be directed to offer security or deposit an amount adequate to satisfy the award that may be ultimately passed as a condition precedent for the release of the seized vehicle involved in the accident. If such security or cash deposit is not made, within a period of three months, appropriate steps may be taken for disposal of the vehicle and THE SC DIRECTIONS… „„Where there is no insurance cover for a vehicle, the owner should be directed to offer security or deposit an amount adequate to satisfy the award that may be ultimately passed as a condition precedent for the release of the seized vehicle involved in the accident „„If such security or cash deposit is not made, within a period of three months, appropriate steps may be taken for disposal of the vehicle and hold the sale proceeds in deposit until the claim case is disposed of hold the sale proceeds in deposit until the claim case is disposed of. The Supreme Court Registry was directed to send copies of this Judgement and Order to the Chief Secretaries and the Directors General of Police of all the States for compliance with the directions. The Supreme Court then noted that though direction was issued to all State governments to incor- porate such a Rule, yet, it appears that no steps have been taken so far. Accordingly, a copy of the Order was directed to be once again communicated to the Chief Secretaries and the Director Generals of Police of all the States to see that such a Rule is introduced, if not already done, so that the victims of accidents get some compensation. When the matter came up Shortage looms as IPS officer seeks to cancel Goa transfer SOME OFFICERS ARE HOLDING MULTIPLE RESPONSIBILITIES THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI For many central cadre officers, Goa is considered their dream posting, but here’s an IPS officer who has reportedly sought to cancel his transfer. His request, if approved, could further widen the shortage of IPS officers in Goa Police with some already holding multiple responsibilities within the department. Sources disclosed to The Goan that Rohit Rajbir Singh is allegedly pursuing with the concerned authorities to cancel his posting in Goa. The reason: having already spent two and a half years in Arunachal Pradesh, he is due for transfer to Delhi within six months. “Accepting a posting in Goa would mean another three-year commitment, which is likely to further delay his expected transfer to Delhi. As such, Singh is pursuing with both the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Arunachal Pradesh government to approve his request to complete his remaining tenure in the northeastern state,” the source said. As per the rules, IPS officers – depending on their EYES ON ANOTHER POSTING? „„Rohit Rajbir Singh is allegedly pursuing with the concerned authorities to cancel his posting in Goa „„The reason: Having already spent two and a half years in Arunachal Pradesh, he is due for transfer to Delhi within six months „„Accepting a posting in Goa would mean another three-year commitment, which is likely to further delay his expected transfer to Delhi RECENTLY TRANSFERRED OFFICERS TO DELHI „„Aslam Khan: Additional Commissioner of Police/Vigilance „„Abhishek Dhania: Deputy Commissioner of Police/ Vigilance „„Nidhin Valsan: DCP/5th Bn, DAP (Additional charge of 6th Bn, DAP) rank – are posted for 2-3 years before being transferred to another state or union territory based on their cadre. Singh and Rahul Gupta were part of a batch of AGMUT officers relocated to new postings on January 29, which also included Deputy Inspector General of Police Aslam Khan, as well as Superintendents of Police Nidhin Valsan and Abhishek Dhania. While Khan, Valsan, and Dhania were promptly re- lieved by the Goa government on February 10 and have also joined their respective postings in Delhi ‘on arrival’, their replacements are missing. As an interim measure, the department has appointed Traffic SP Akshat Kaushal as the North Goa SP with an additional charge of the Crime Branch, Central Procurement Cell, and Cyber Crime Cell. SP Sunita Sawant is the South SP in addition to Vigilance and Legal. Pillion rider dies in Barcem road accident; another serious in Dharbandora mishap MARGAO/PONDA: Yet another life was claimed in a road accident, this time on the National Highway 66 at Barcem village on Wednesday morning. A 55-year-old lady pillion rider Suvarna Chandrakant Gaonkar, a resident of Shristhal-Canacona, sustained injures and succumbed at the South Goa district hospital. Cuncolim police said the accident occurred when the motorcycle rider Chandrakant Gaonkar (60), lost control after being dashed by a car and fell down as a result of which the pillion rider sustained injuries. She later succumbed to her injuries at the South Goa district hospital. Meanwhile, a jeep driver was seriouly injured in a road mishap when a vegetable truck and a jeep collided in front of the Sanjeevani Sugar Factor at Dayanandnagar Dharbandora on Wednesday at 5 am. According to sources, the jeep was travelling from Ponda to Mollem and the vegetable container was in the opposite direction. Firefighters later pulled the driver, Akshay Sonavane (30) of Pune, out of the jeep and shifted him to the Pilaye Primary Health Centre, from where he was referred to the GMC hospital in Bambolim. for hearing, the State government was unable to inform the court whether such modification to the MV Rules was indeed made in to the rules in Goa. >Continued on P5 14 Court deadline nears, but only 20 of 175 structures sealed THE GOAN I NETWORK MAPUSA Six days have passed since the High Court had ordered the sealing of 175 structures in Anjuna within 10 days, but the Anjuna panchayat and the Block Development Office (BDO) have sealed only 20 structures so far. On February 13, the High Court had directed the sealing of 175 structures in the no-development area along the coast in the Anjuna-Caisua panchayat area and had sought an action-taken report to be submitted within 10 days. Acting on directives of the High Court, the panchayat and BDO began sealing structures on February 15 and in the last six days, have sealed only 20 establishments and they include 12 cottages of a hotel in Chapora. The drive to seal structures has proceeded at a slow pace. Officials have claimed that the action has been delayed because the vehicle does not reach the places of some structures, forcing the team to walk to the sites, and in many OFFICIALS CLAIM HURDLES IN DELAY Officials have claimed that the action has been delayed because the vehicle does not reach the places of some structures, forcing the team to walk to the sites, and in many cases, the verification of documents and sealing process has taken time cases, the verification of documents and sealing process has taken time. With the panchayat and BDO expected to submit an action-taken report within 10 days, it is left to be seen if the officials can seal the remaining 155 structures within the next four days. It may be noted that life in the otherwise bustling coastal village of Anjuna came to a grinding halt as shops and establishments were shut down as part of a day-long bandh to voice concern over the sealing of establishments illegally set up in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ). SP, Cong tie-up in UP, MP for LS elections PTI LUCKNOW INDIA bloc partners SP and Congress on Wednesday announced a tie-up for the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, with the UP's main opposition party leaving 17 out of the 80 seats in the state for the ally. In Madhya Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party will contest on a single seat, Khajuraho, and support the Congress in the remaining constituencies in the state. Among the 17 seats on which the Congress will contest in UP included Raebareli and Amethi, once considered pocket boroughs of the party, and Varanasi which is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency. The seat-sharing announcement was made at a joint press conference here by SP state chief Naresh Uttam Patel, SP national general secretary Rajendra Chaudhary, Congress state president Ajay Rai and AICC in-charge of UP Avinash Pande. Pande said the Congress will contest on 17 seats, while on the rest 63 seats in the state, the SP and other alliance partners will contest. SP state chief Patel said party president Akhilesh Yadav will decide candidates for the 63 parliamentary seats in UP. BACK TO THE SEA: An Olive Ridley turtle returns to the sea after laying eggs at Morjim, on Wednesday. Over 76 Olive Ridley turtles have laid eggs along the beachbelt from Candolim to Keri.  Narayan Pissurlenkar Set for Jan 19 rollout, no sign yet of ‘smart city’ bus network THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Already a month past the January 19 launch date for its ambitious new transport service system the 'Smart City Mission' for Panaji both on intra-city routes as well as those between its suburbs like St Cruz, Taleigao, Dona Paula and Bambolim, the plan has suffered a fresh hurdle – delays and poor progress in set- ting up the 36 state-of-the-art shelters at bus stops. A handful of these that were set up, equipped with provisions for display of information related to the routes and number of trips besides QR Code based digital ticketing kiosks and public announcement systems, have also been dismantled. These 'smart' bus shelters have also come under attack from within the State govern- ment itself with Panaji MLA Atanasio (Babush) Monserrate shooting off a letter to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant raising fault with the design, flagging inadequate space in these shelters and virtually insinuating a scam. Sawant is chairperson of the Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited (IPSCDL), the special purpose >Continued on P5 No much coal pollution in Vasco for First Goan woman coach to train men’s team now, claims Environment Minister TRANSFORMATIVE CLINTON D’SOUZA SAYS CONSENT TO ENHANCE CAPACITY ONLY AFTER DOME STRUCTURE THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The Environment Minister Aleixo Sequeira on Wednesday asserted that there is “no much coal pollution” in and around the Vasco port town while reiterating that the State government will not grant any consent to Mormugao Port Authority (MPA) to enhance its coal handling capacity till the measures to further curb pollution is in place including dome, proposed to stack coal. Speaking to media persons at the sidelines of an event, Sequeira said that as per his knowledge there is no much DOME FACILITY TO CURB POLLUTION M/s Jindal South West is set to invest Rs 180 crore to construct the dome facility at MPA, which is likely to be completed within nine to ten months coal pollution in the area now and to further reduce the pollution, a dome structure, to stack all the coal handled, is being constructed. M/s Jindal South West (JSW) is set to invest Rs 180 crore to construct the dome facility at MPA, which is likely to be completed within nine to ten months. “The Union Ministry (MoEF&CC) has granted the permission to MPA (JSW) to enhance its coal handling capacity but the State government has not given its consent. We are not going to grant till the dome structure is in place. The company will have to first construct the facility, start stacking coal there and only then we will look into their request for enhancement,” the Minister said. After over a five-year long wait, the MoEF&CC in >Continued on P5 PANAJI usum Shaikh is a Goan girl who hails from capital city Panaji, she is a well-known name in the women football of the State, and in the past she has represented the State at the national level. In the dynamic world of football, Kusum's journey from being a formidable player to a pioneering coach marks a significant shift, breaking gender norms and challenging the conventional roles within the sport. Having played for prominent clubs like Churchill FC and FC Goa, Kusum's story takes a unique turn as she steps into the coaching arena, armed with a D licence followed by a swift progression to the C licence. JOURNEY K Coach Kusum Shaikh at a practice session of U-21 men’s team. "The transition from player to coach is like stepping into two different worlds. As a player, it was about personal glory, but coaching is all about nurturing the potential of young talents," says Kusum, reflecting on her transformative journey. The switch from player to coach is not just a change in title; it represents a drastic Kusum's journey from being a formidable player to a pioneering coach marks a significant shift. Associated with the Reliance Youth Foundation as the coach of the under-21 men’s team, Kusum embraces the responsibility of being the first woman coach from Goa to lead young talents transformation in responsibilities and perspectives. "As a player, I could play freely, making my decisions. Coaching is a whole new ball game; it's about the team, the players, and their growth," she adds. Now associated with the Reliance Youth Foundation as the coach of the under-21 men’s team, Kusum embraces the responsibility of being the first woman coach from Goa to lead young talents. "I don't want to just prove that women can coach; I want to show that a coach is a coach, irrespective of gender," Kusum emphasizes, highlighting the broader mission behind her coaching role. Reflecting on the coaching experience, Kusum acknowledges the positive feedback received even in the face of challenges. The journey involves not only imparting tactical knowledge but also understanding the lives and >Continued on P5