log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline SATURDAY FEBRUARY 24, 2024 GOA Brazilian, French, Goan connection to promote Tabebuia trees in Goa Karachi’s gift of 14 Goanorigin Jesuits to Gujarat IN SHORT >> New rules to recruit staff in panchayats PANAJI: In new guidelines that were unveiled to ensure uniformity and transparency in the staffing process, the State government has said panchayats will have to obtain NOC from the Director of Panchayats for filling up any vacancy. The guidelines also mandate conduct of a written examination for recruitment of all categories of posts in panchayats. Panaji draft ODP kept open for suggestions PANAJI: The North Goa Planning and Development Authority has kept open the draft outline development plan (ODP) 2031 of Panaji planning area, comprising parts of Penha de Franca village, for public input for a period of two months.  >> See pg 3 Demolitions as per HC orders: Navy PANAJI: Responding to blame and criticism over demolition of structures around Dabolim airport, Navy insisted that action had been taken on directives of the High Court of Bombay at Goa. In a statement, the Navy said that as operator of Dabolim International Airport, it is responsible for safe flying operations at the airport.  >> See pg 3 Laterite stone mine raided at Narvem BICHOLIM: Directorate of Mines and Geology and the Bicholim police jointly raided a laterite stone mine in Narvem-Bicholim and impounded machinery used for cutting of laterite stones. Three arrested with drugs worth `6 lakh PANAJI: Crime Branch sleuths seized drugs worth Rs 5 lakh in a raid near Thivim railway station on Friday. Two persons -- Syamsunder and Prabhudatta -- have been arrested. In another operation, the Calangute police seized drugs worth Rs 96,000 from a Maharashtra native. WEATHER >> Max: 31 C Min: 20 C Humidity: 75% TIDES Low: 05:18 High: 10:49 17:02 23:46 The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) 15 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME IX, NO.247 Owner refutes charge of Shivaji statue allowed in property with eye on devpt page 7 Facebook.com/thegoan 2 GOA Big push for restart of fresh iron ore extraction in Goa 3 RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 INFO 10 Did you know the way you shower can affect your mood, skin and hair? Root’s assured century helps England recover well POLICE ALSO SLAP CULPABLE HOMICIDE CHARGE BODY OF VICTIM STILL UNTRACEABLE, SEARCH TO RESUME TODAY THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Odisha tourist Ankit Triparty was not only driving the rental car recklessly but he was also under the influence of alcohol. The Panaji police have arrested him for offenses including culpable homicide and drunken driving. Police sources revealed to The Goan that Triparty was detained soon after the accident on the Mandovi Bridge on Thursday evening. As the body of victim biker Javed Sadekar is still untraceable, the police decided to take the accused into custody pending further investigation. "There's a high risk that the accused may flee Goa if not taken into custody. Given the seriousness of the offenses, no leniency will be shown in the investigation," the source said. The FIR has been registered under Sections 504 (culpable homicide), 279 (rash driving), 336 (endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code, and 185 (drunk driving) of the Motor Goa to write to Odisha to revoke license of accused Police undertake a search operation to locate the body of Javed Sadekar on Friday.  Narayan Pissurlenkar Vehicles Act. Meanwhile, search for Sadekar continued till Friday evening and will resume on Saturday. Police said the victim is feared to have drowned. The accident on the bridge occurred around 5.20 pm on Thursday and the search and rescue operations were launched soon after by the Fire & Emergency Services who were later joined by Naval and Coast Guard personnel. Sorties were made by the 11 kids rescued in late night Op near Margao rail station THE GOAN I NETWORK MARGAO Around 11 children have been rescued in a late night operation conducted by the Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights. The rescued children were picked from the Margao railway station premises and outside by a team headed by the Chairperson of the Child Rights panel, Peter Borges. While Chairperson Borges pointed out that the rescue operation is part of routine exercises initiated by the panel, the operation assumes significance and comes against the backdrop of recent kidnapping of a two-month-old infant from the railway station premises. It also assumes significance and comes against the backdrop of the fact that a brother-sister minor duo were abandoned on the station road and the Gandhi market. Help and assistance of the Margao police were taken by the Panel to conduct the res- The 11 children rescued by Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights were taken to the Margao police station to complete formalities and later sent to Apna Ghar cue operation. The rescued children were later taken to the Margao police station to complete the formalities, before the 11 children were sent to the Apna Ghar, the home for children. “The laid down procedure needs to be complied with before the rescued children are sent to Apna Ghar. The team has to also verify the genuineness of the parents who claim to be mother and father of the rescued children”, he added. Borges informed that the Child Rights Panel has been conducting routine rescue operations whenever they come across children around the >Continued on P5 Coast Guard's helicopter and Naval deep sea divers were also called in to support the operation. According to eye-witness accounts, Sadekar was heading towards Panjim while the rent-a-cab car driven by an Odisha native Ankit Tripathi was headed in the opposite direction but on the wrong side of the road. One eye-witness account said the bike and the car crashed head on. The impact of the collision was such Governor grants assent to new Sec of TCP Act for zone change THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Goa Governor has granted his assent to the Town and Country Planning (TCP) (amendment) Act 2024, wherein a new Section 39 A has been introduced to facilitate changing of zones of land parcels in the Regional Plan and Outline Development Plan. The change of zone, however, will not be permitted in respect of any eco-sensitive land. The amendment that was introduced and passed during the recently held Budget Session of the State Legislative Assembly, amidst protest by Opposition, has also omitted controversial Section 16 B of the TCP Act. The said Section was introduced in 2017 to allow change in zone on case to case basis. Goa Governor on February 21 granted his assent to the amendment. As per the amendment, the Chief Town Planner (Planning) upon direction of the >Continued on P5 THE GOAN I NETWORK TURTLE STATISTICS I A turtle nesting site at Galgibaga in South Goa. nesting beaches,” Rane said. He said that the relentless conservation efforts have yielded significant results, as evidenced by the successful release of 150 hatchlings into the ocean thus far. The maximum eggs have been laid along the Agonda and Galgibaga protected sites. The nesting season is from September to April. Last year, the season that ended in April 2023 had recorded over 16,000 eggs across the beaches, the count which was much higher compared to the 2022 season that „„93 turtle nests recorded till date this season „„Total count of eggs is 9,460 spread across nesting sites „„Count recoded on Feb 21-22 reveals 1,996 eggs reported around 10,500 eggs. These two seasons, too, had witnessed maximum nests in the South. Rane further informed that >Continued on P5 PANAJI: Taking serious cognizance of the horrific collision between a rental car and a motorcycle on Mandovi Bridge, the State government has directed the Transport Department to serve a notice to the accused driver, Ankit Triparty, and reached out to its counterparts in Odisha to revoke his driving license.  >> See pg 3 that the rider who got flung from his bike bounced from the dashboard of the car and plunged down into the river. Earlier on Friday morning, a body found near the Campal indoor stadium initially believed to be Sadekar's was later identified as Surjit Sahai, a labourer from Jharkhand who had been missing for two days. On Friday evening, another accident was reported between a rent-a-car and Karna- 15 SPORTS Tourist who hit biker on Mandovi bridge held for drunken driving ‘Eggcitement’ along beaches, Olive Ridley turtles lay over 9,000 eggs PANAJI n a positive sign this season, Olive Ridley turtles, have so far laid over 9,400 eggs across various nesting sites along the beaches of Mandrem, Ashvem, Morjim in North and Agonda and Galgibaga in South Goa. Forest Minister Vishwajit Rane announced that a total 93 turtle nests have been meticulously recorded, collectively representing an impressive count of 9,460 eggs spread across various nesting sites. “The recent monitoring conducted on February 21-22, unveiled a remarkable count of 1,996 eggs along the turtle Instagram.com/thegoanonline ACCIDENT DATA: JAN 1 TO FEB 22 454 PERSONS KILLED: 50 FATAL ACCIDENTS:  31 SELF/UD:  17 GRIEVOUS INJURY:  51 MINOR INJURY:  142 TOTAL ACCIDENTS:  ON PAGE 3 Police to focus on enforcement, engineering, education following Mandovi bridge accident RTO fines 15 renta-cars operators for using public parking in Vasco taka registered vehicle, near Kala Academy. Fortunately, no injuries were reported but the vehicles were damaged. Farmers’ stir: Fresh clashes break out, police use tear gas HARYANA WITHDRAWS NSA ORDER PTI HISAR As fresh clashes broke out, the Haryana Police on Friday used tear gas to disperse protesting farmers heading towards Khanauri on Punjab's border with the State. The Haryana Police also said it is withdrawing its earlier decision to invoke provisions of the National Security Act (NSA) against some farmer leaders who are a part of the ongoing farmers' agitation. The protesting farmers asserted that cremation of Shubhkaran Singh, who died on Wednesday, will not take place till the Punjab government registers a case against those responsible for it. Amid the standoff, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced compensation for Singh who died at the Khanauri border. A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court claimed that the Centre and some States have issued “threats” and fortified the national capital's borders, after several farmer unions called protests. In a related development, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced PLEA IN SC A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court alleging violation of the rights of the “peacefully protesting” farmers by the Centre and some States waiver of interest and penalty on certain crop loans and did not hike taxes as he presented a Rs 1.89-lakh crore budget for the 2024-25 financial year. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha are spearheading the ''Delhi Chalo'' march to press the government to accept their demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops and a farm loan waiver. The Punjab farmers are also demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations, pension for farmers and farm labourers, no hike in electricity tariff, withdrawal of police cases and “justice” for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence, reinstatement of the Land Act, 2013, and compensation to families of the farmers who died during a previous agitation in 2020-21.