log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline MONDAY MAY 13, 2024 GOA PONDA: In an unfortunate incident, a man who had gone for fishing drowned in the Zuari river on Sunday. The incident occurred when Sandeep Durbhatkar from Karai-Shiroda had gone for fishing with his friend at around 7.30 am. After a while Sandeep lost his balance and fell into the river. His friend who was nearby, managed to pull him out with the help of other locals. He was later rushed to the Shiroda Health Centre but doctors declared him ‘brought dead’. Ponda police conducted the panchanama and later shifted his body to the South Goa District hospital for post mortem. Police Inspector Tushar Lotlikar is investigating the case. IN SHORT >> IMD extends rain forecast for 2 days PANAJI: The Indian Meteorological Department Goa has extended its earlier May 9 to 12 forecast of light rain and thunderstorms by an additional two days up to May 14. It said, it may rain in many parts of Goa on Monday and Tuesday even as it also extended the 2-day ‘yellow alert’.  >> See pg 3 32-year old man stabbed in Revora MAPUSA: A 32-year-old resident of Revora identified as Alistair Pulickal was stabbed by his neighbour late Sunday evening, Colvale police said. The incident, believed to be fueled by past enmity, occurred as Pulickal was returning home after attending a football match.  >> See pg 2 2 hospitals, airport get bomb threats NEW DELHI: Delhi Fire Services said two city hospitals and IGI Airport received bomb threats through email, 11 days after over 150 schools in Delhi-NCR received a bomb scare. The bomb threats were reported from Indira Gandhi International Airport, Burari Hospital and Sanjay Gandhi Hospital, a senior official said.  >> See pg 7 Nijjar killing: Fourth Indian arrested WASHINGTON: A fourth Indian has been arrested by Canadian authorities in connection with the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a week after police arrested three Indians linked with the high-profile case. WEATHER >> Max: 34 C Min: 25 C Humidity: 79% TIDES Low: High: 07.55 00.59 21.12 15.24 The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) 12 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME IX, NO.326 Questions over plugging rainwater infiltration in sewerage line Shiroda man drowns during fishing trip Facebook.com/thegoan 2 GOA Mapusa’s battle against encroachment: Illegal biz back despite prior crackdown 3 Instagram.com/thegoanonline RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 INFO Natural body butters to take care of your dry skin India votes in Phase-4 of LS elections today   SEATS UP FOR GRABS 1,717 CANDIDATES IN FRAY 96   PROMINENT CANDIDATES IN FRAY PTI NEW DELHI The electoral fate of several prominent candidates like Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Union minister Giriraj Singh, TMC’s firebrand leader Mohua Moitra and AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi will be decided on Monday when polling will be held in 96 Lok Sabha constituencies across 10 states and Union Territories in the fourth phase of the general elections. Voting will simultaneously be held in all 175 Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, which is witnessing a triangular contest involving ruling YSRC, the Congress-led INDIA bloc and the NDA, comprising the BJP, Chandrababu Naiduled TDP and Pawan Kalyan-led Jana Sena Party (JSP). As many as 28 legislative assembly seats of Odisha are also going to polls in this phase. „„Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and former cricketer Yusuf Pathan of TMC (both from Baharampur, WB) „„Union minister Ajay Kumar Mishra Teni eyeing hat-trick from Kheri „„Mahua Moitra seeking re-election from Krishnanagar A total of 1,717 candidates are in the fray in the Lok Sabha seats and more than 19 lakh polling officials have been deployed at 1.92 lakh polling stations for the over 17.70 crore eligible voters, including 8.73 women, in this round of the seven-phase polls. Among the keenly watched contests are those involving former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav (Kan- „„Film star-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha seeking re-election from Asansol „„AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi contesting from Hyderabad „„Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav contesting from Kannauj nauj, UP) and Union ministers Giriraj Singh (Begusarai, Bihar), Nityanand Rai (Ujiarpur, Bihar) and Raosaheb Danve (Jalna, Maharashtra). Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and former cricketer Yusuf Pathan of TMC (both from Baharampur, WB), BJP’s Pankaja Munde (Beed, Maharashtra), AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi (Hyderabad, Telangana) DHS taps churches, mosques in bid to tackle dengue threat DOCTORS AT UHCs, PHCs, CHCs ASKED TO START GROUND ACTION ON MALARIA TOO THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Stung by the rising graph of dengue cases each year, the vector-borne disease cell of the Directorate of Health Services (DHS) is readying to tackle the menace much before the monsoon hits this year and is banking heavily on the involvement of local communities in the battle. In late April and early May, the DHS approached parish priests in Panaji and St Inez to make announcements during Sunday liturgical services about the do’s and don’ts to check mosquito breeding and thus tackle dengue. “We also approached Muslim religious leaders to make similar announcements at Mosques,” Dr Kalpana Mahatme, who heads the DHS’ national vector-borne disease control programme, said. Dr Mahatme said temple managements too have been approached but Hindus worship individually and not as a community so announcements are not that effective as they are in churches and mosques. “Last year we did get significant help from local bodies, A STITCH IN TIME… „„DHS has approached parish priests in Panaji and St Inez to make announcements during Sunday services about do’s and don’ts to check mosquito breeding „„Muslim religious leaders have also been urged to make similar announce- ments at mosques „„Anti-larval measures, cleanliness drives and fogging operations to be carried out particularly in vulnerable locales „„Dengue graph has been steadily rising with almost 450 confirmed cases last year including providing us with staff, to carry out our awareness and mosquito breeding prevention measures across the State. However, we need the local population (community) to join in the efforts if we are to check and eventually eliminate dengue,” Dr Mahatme said. Meanwhile, doctors incharge of Urban Health Centres, Primary Health Centres and Community Health Centres have already been issued instructions to commence ground action on measures to tackle dengue and also malaria. Anti-larval measures, cleanliness drives and fogging operations are some of the measures which will be carried out particularly in vulnerable locales like construction sites and migrant ghettos. However, in several settlements and also urban areas where residential buildings and complexes abound, mosquitoes breed in water stored in homes, including baseplates under flower pots and sometimes even in unused commodes,” Mahatme said, adding that households must ensure such residual water is cleared at least once every >Continued on P7 Normal to below normal temp likely, says IMD NEW DELHI: Normal to below normal temperatures are likely in areas going to polls on Monday, according to IMD. In view of the hot weather and people’s reluctance to step out, EC has increased the poll timing in some seats. and Andhra Pradesh Congress president YS Sharmila (Kadapa) are among the prominent candidates. Union minister Ajay Kumar Mishra Teni, whose son is an accused in the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, is eyeing a hat-trick from Kheri (UP), while TMC’s Mahua Moitra, is seeking re-election from Krishnanagar in West Bengal. 91 cases of new Covid variant in M’rashtra; US infections rise AGENCIES MUMBAI Maharashtra has recorded 91 instances of the new Covid-19 Omicron sub-variant KP.2, which has surpassed the previously dominant JN.1 variant and is now fueling infections in several countries. Pune reported 51 cases, and Thane recorded 20 cases of KP.2 sub-variant. This new strain was first identified in January and is currently the dominant variant in the US. Apart from Pune and Thane, seven cases each were identified in Amravati and Aurangabad. Additionally, Solapur had two cases, while Ahmednagar, Nashik, Latur, and Sangli each reported one instance. KP.2 is a descendant of JN.1, which held prominence as the primary Covid strain by the end of 2023. Dr Rajesh Karyakarte, the State’s genome sequencing coordinator, said by March and April, KP.2 had become predominant strain in the region. However, there hasn’t been a corresponding increase in hospitalisations. In March, Maharashtra experienced a slight increase in cases, with an average of around 250 detections, which is likely attributed to the spread of the KP.2 variant. Top medical body exposes sneaky side of food labels PTI NEW DELHI ood labels on packaged items can be misleading, apex health research body ICMR has said stressing that consumers should read the information carefully to make informed and healthy choices. It also pointed out that sugar-free foods maybe loaded with fats, while packed fruit juices may contain only 10 per cent fruit pulp. In its recently issued dietary guidelines, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said health claims on packaged food are designed to catch the consumer attention and convince them that the product is healthy. F FOOD FOR THOUGHT: LABELLING CONUNDRUM „„FRUIT JUICE: Any food item with even a small amount of fruit is allowed to state it is made with real fruit pulp or juice… But the product claiming to have real fruit may have added sugar and other additives „„MADE WITH WHOLE GRAIN: These words could be misinterpreted... Such a statement does not necessarily imply that the food items are not tertiary or ultra processed „„ORGANIC: When a food label says ‘’organic’’, it may simply mean that it is free of all artificial preservatives, flavours and colours and that the food ingredients are free from pesticides and chemical fertilizers „„SUGAR-FREE FOOD: These may be loaded with fats, refined cereals and even hidden sugars and would imply high glycemic index and high calories “Though the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) has strict norms, the information presented in labels could be misleading,” the dietary guidelines for Indians issued by the Hyderabad based National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) under the apex health research body said. Giving some examples, the NIN said a food product can be called ‘’natural’’ if it doesn’t have added colours and fla- vours or artificial substances and goes through minimal processing. “This term is often used rather loosely. It is often used by manufacturers to identify one or two natural ingredients in the mix and this can be misleading,” it said, urging people to read the label, specifically the ingredients and other information carefully to crosscheck the claims. The NIN presented some examples of statements on labels that could be misleading. For the claim ‘’real fruit or fruit juice’’, the NIN said that according to the FSSAI regulation, any food item with even a small amount, for example, fruit juices containing only 10 or less percent of fruit added to a product is allowed to state that the product is made with real fruit pulp or juice. But the product claiming to have real fruit may have added sugar and other additives with only 10% actual fruit pulp. 10 SPORTS RCB beats DC by 47 runs to stay alive in IPL playoffs race Gas leak snuffs out life of youth at Vasco, three others in GMC THE GOAN I NETWORK VASCO In a tragic incident early Sunday, a gas cylinder leak at Fakir Galli in Vasco, claimed the life of one person while three others landed in hospital and are undergoing treatment at GMC, Bambolim. According to information a group of eight people had come to Goa from Ghaziabad-Varanasi in search of work. They rented two rooms at Fakir Galli in Shantinagar. Four of them were staying in one room while the other 4 were in another room. Unfortunately on Sunday, when one group woke up they found their colleagues had not woken up and knocked the door but there was no response. After numerous attempts, they alerted residents and forcibly opened the door and found all 4 unconscious and the room filled with LPG gas. The police and the fire department officials were immediately summoned who rushed them to Chicalim Sub District Hospital. While Sanjay Bind (21) was declared ‘brought dead’, the other three were later rushed to GMC where one is critical. 12 16 KTC workers on hunting jaunt at Netravali detained 5 LIVE CARTRIDGES, HATCHET, AXE SEIZED THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Forest officials detained 16 employees of the State-owned Kadamba Transport Corporation Limited (KTCL) on suspicion of being on a hunting trip at Saljini in Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary. Five live cartridges, a hatchet, an axe and cooking utensils have been seized from them. The sixteen KTCL employees, including drivers and porters from the Sanguem area, were moving to Saljini in the Netravali sanctuary area in batches at around 9.30 pm on Saturday night. Their movements alerted the forest department officials on duty leading them to suspect that the group was headed to the sanctuary to hunt wild animals and then hold a party. A forest department team was then in hot pursuit of the suspected hunting party and detained 16 persons. Two oth- Inquiry on, says Gaokar PANAJI: Deputy Conservator of Forests Aniket Gaokar confirmed the incident and said that an inquiry has been initiated. He also confirmed the detention of the KTCL personnel and that all will be investigated. ers succeeded in escaping, the forest officials suspect. From those detained, the forest officials recovered five live cartridges, a hatchet, an axe and utensils like cups, plates, etc, besides cooking utensils. However, hunting guns are yet to be recovered by the forest department team. The group was brought to the Netravali office of the wildlife division late at night and a case was registered against them under the >Continued on P7 More worms found in tap water at Mandur, supply disconnected THE GOAN I NETWORK OLD GOA Close on the heels of AAP leader Prof Ramrao Wagh slamming authorities for delay in action on water contamination at Dhaktem Bhat-Dongrim, more worms were found in the tap water thereby prov- ing Wagh right in expressing fears over continuance of water supply in the area. And this time the worms were found in the household of Gaude family on Saturday evening. The incident forced authorities to disconnect water supply to the area and water was supplied through water tankers. Speaking to The Goan about the latest incident, Mandur sarpanch Prashant Naik informed that he came to know of worms being found in Gaude’s household only at 10 pm on Saturday night.  >> See pg 5