log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline SATURDAY MAY 18, 2024 Facebook.com/thegoan The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) 13 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME IX, NO. 331 Instagram.com/thegoanonline Lucknow Super Giants beats Mumbai Indians by 18 runs PG 13 RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 The ultimate cooling range by BPL. ATTRACTIVE FINANCE SCHEME* *T&C Apply. page 6 Goan spearheads plans for new type of investment fund in UK Exploring Tsavo: Wildlife, history, and generosity IN SHORT >> CAG red-flags GU for non-utilisation of UGC funding PANAJI: The Comptroller and Auditor General has redflagged the non-utilisation on time of grants approved by the University Grants Commission to the tune of Rs 77.34 lakh by Goa University. GU had released CAG audit of its accounts for 2021-22 in which this non-utilisation of Rs 77.34 lakh has been flagged.  >> See pg 5 Navy plane makes emergency landing VASCO: A naval fighter on a routine operation sortie carried out an emergency landing at Dabolim airport on Friday, resulting in minor damage to the runway centre line lights. “Prompt action by the Indian Navy ensured that the runway was made available within 2 hours and normal operations resumed, minimising disruption to civil flights,” stated the Navy on its social media. Govt to implement NEP for Std 9 from June this year THREE NEW SUBJECTS TO BE INTRODUCED, SAYS CM THE GOAN I NETWORK Fishing ban to start from June 1 PANAJI: Fisheries Department has announced annual fishing ban from June 1 to July 31, both days inclusive.  According to the notification, fishing by fishing vessels fitted with mechanical means of propulsion and by means of trawl-net and purse-seine net is prohibited. WEATHER >> Max: 34.8 C Min: 25.2 C Humidity: 74% TIDES Low: High: 01:46 13:12 08:01 19:26 Imtiyaz becomes Swindon Council’s first mayor of Indian heritage LUI GODINHO THE GOAN I LONDON In a major boost to the huge Goan community in Swindon-UK, Councillor Imtiyaz Shaikh (48) on Friday became Swindon’s first Indian and Goan Mayor of the Swindon Borough Council. Mayor Shaikh had previously served as Deputy Mayor and takes on the chains from outgoing Mayor of Swindon, Councillor Barbara Parry. Incidentally, his wife Adorabelle-Amaral Shaikh is also councillor at the Swindon Council. Shaikh moved to Swindon from Vasco in 2005 and will serve in this role for 12 months. In a statement on social media, the Swindon Borough Council stated that Swindon is incredibly proud of its strong Goan community. “Today, Councillor Imtiyaz Shaikh became Swindon’s and Training (SCERT) Director Megha Shetgaonkar, Goa Board chairman, Baghirath Shetye, Dr S Ghadi and Deputy Director (Education) Manoj Sawaikar. Members of the steering committee setup by the government for NEP implementation -- Shripad Patnekar, former Board chairman G R OCI registration is under MEA’s consideration, asserts Sawant PANAJI Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday announced that National Education Policy (NEP) will be implemented for Class IX from the upcoming academic year slated to commence in June itself. Sawant who chaired a meeting of top officials of the Education Dept to review preparedness of schools for the measure, said that three new subjects will be introduced in the IX standard as per the NEP -- vocational studies, interdisciplinary subject and art. The actual teaching in these subjects, however, will commence from August while teachers in the meantime will be imparted adequate training, he said, adding that re- Rebello and Anil Samant -also partook in the meeting as was Rupesh Sawant, the NEP implementation co-ordinator. The NEP was announced by the Central government back in 2020 to universalise school education up to Class XII in the country and Goa was one of the first States to accept and adopt it. However, implementation of the policy in Goa commenced only at the beginning of the last academic year (2023-24) and that too restricted to the pre-primary level. At the time in June last year, Sawant, who also holds the education portfolio, had announced that the NEP would be implemented progressively for the primary and the higher classes progressively to maintain continuity. Tiatr scene in Margao set to shine bright yet again Details on Monday or Tuesday: Zingde PANAJI: The formal announcement of the decision to implement the NEP for Class IX from June this year will made either on Monday or Tuesday by Education Secretary, Prasad Lolayekar, IAS, according to Director of Education Shailesh Zingde. “The Education Secretary will make the announcement. All the finer details will be told to you either on Monday or Tuesday,” Zingde said. cruitment of 180 more teachers will also be fast tracked. Sawant made the remarks to the media after emerging from the review meeting of the Education Department called to review the preparedness of High Schools in Goa to adopt the NEP. He however refrained from going into the details of ei- ther the NEP implementation plan or of the deliberations held during the Friday review meeting. Apart from Sawant who chaired it, others who attended the review meeting, included Education Secretary, Prasad Lolayekar, IAS, DoE Shailesh Zingde, State Council for Educational Research IFFI posters unveiled at Cannes Festival PANAJI: Posters for the 55th edition of IFFI and the save the date poster of the inaugural edition of World Audio Visual Entertainment Summit the Global Entertainment and Media Summit, planned on the sidelines of the festival in Goa, were unveiled at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.  Goan sworn in as Swindon Mayor THE GOAN I NETWORK after chairing a pre-monsoon preparedness review at the Secretariat on Friday. “Our meetings are aimed at thoroughly assessing each department’s preparedness within their specific areas of responsibility, raising PANAJI Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has finally broken his silence on the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) corrigendum concerning Portuguese citizenship of Goan origin, clarifying that it did not outright reject the earlier Office Memorandum, which indicated Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will accept  the  Revocation Certificates for OCI registrations. Speaking to reporters after a meeting at the Secretariat on Friday, Sawant stated that the matter is currently under consideration by the MHA with direct communication channels established.  “The corrigendum doesn’t mean a ‘no’ but only states that it is under consideration of the MHA. The process has begun and MHA will make a final decision. We are also directly communicating with the MHA,” he stated.  Sawant also rubbished >Continued on P5 >Continued on P5 MANGO MANIA: A variety of mangoes on display at Kala Academy, Panjim on Friday. The two-day ‘Mango Show’ is featuring 40 distinct varieties of mangoes grown in the State. AFTERMATH OF MUMBAI HOARDING Focus on unsafe hoardings in Goa ahead of monsoons THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI In the wake of the recent dust storm disaster in Mumbai that claimed 16 lives, the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) in Goa has directed all departments to stay vigilant as the monsoon season approaches including acting against dangerous hoardings.  “The concerned authorities must take swift action. It’s important to take necessary precautions be it illegal hoarding or its positioning at improper location, etc,” SDMA Member Secretary Sandip Jacques said while speaking to The Goan first Indian and Goan Mayor of Swindon at a special ceremony. The Mayor carries out a range of civic duties on behalf of the Council and acts as an ambassador for the area, to represent the local community and local democracy.” The Swindon Borough Council added that “this year, the Mayor is supporting two local charities. The ‘BEST - Be a Better You’ is a small registered charity who supports at-risk children aged 11 to 25 >Continued on P5 Curtains at Pai Tiatrist hall rise on May 22 THE GOAN I NETWORK MARGAO There’s finally good news in store for tiatrists and tiatr lovers. The Pai Tiatrist auditorium at the Ravindra Bhavan, Margao will be finally open for tiatrs from May 22. That’s not all. The auditorium is all set for further upgradation in the coming months for the screening of films during IFFI 2024. Addressing media, Ravindra Bhavan Chairman, Rajendra Talak said the entire flooring of the auditorium stage has been replaced during the repair and renovation works. He further said the auditorium will now have full 1069 seating capacity following of the repairs of the damaged seats. Of the 1069 seats, six seats have been reserved for persons with disabilities. On the Sound system, Talak said the 15-year old sound system has been repaired as it …AND THE SHOW WILL GO ON „„Entire flooring of stage replaced during the repair and renovation works „„Auditorium to have 1069 seating capacity following of the repairs of the damaged seats „„Six seats reserved for persons with disabilities „„15-year old sound system repaired as it was working only 30% of its capacity „„Flooring beyond the wooden stage and green rooms upgraded „„Auditorium set for further upgradation for screening of films during IFFI was working only 30 per cent of its capacity. “We expect to upgrade the sound system when the auditorium is taken up for upgradation in the run up to the IFFI festival 2024”, he said, adding that flooring beyond the wooden stage and the green rooms have been upgraded. “We could complete this work due to the hard work and dedication showed by contractors, PWD, Division VIII, Engineer Elvis D’Souza, JE Gaurish and entire staff of Ravindra Bhavan”, he added. Saying Ravindra Bhavan, has played host to two trial shows of tiatr by Pascol de Chicalim and Menino de Bandar to check if any issue needs to be resolved, Talak said Rs 30,000 was paid to them as >Continued on P5 Climate change affecting 85% Vatican revamps norms to evaluate visions of Mary THE NEW NORMS: WHAT THE VATICAN SAYS people in India, claims survey PTI PTI NEW DELHI Eighty-five per cent of people surveyed in India say they are already experiencing the effects of climate change, and more than a third of them have either already moved or considered moving because of extreme weather events such as severe heat, droughts and floods. Ninety-one per cent of 2,178 adults surveyed between September 5 and November 1 last year by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and CVoter are “worried about global warming”. Eighty-five per cent of the people said they are already SURVEY: KEY FINDINGS „„91% of 2,178 adults worried about global warming „„38% had to go without enough clean drinking water for at least one day in the past year „„72% experience electricity disruptions on a typical day „„34 said they have either already moved or considered moving because of extreme weather experiencing the effects of climate change. Thirty-eight per cent had to go without enough clean drinking water for at least one day in the past year and 72 per cent experience electricity disruptions on a typical day. Thirty-four per cent of the respondents said they have either already moved or considered moving because of ex- treme weather events such as severe heat, droughts, floods or others. According to a report by the Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, weather-related disasters triggered over half a million (above five lakh) internal displacements in India in 2023 and around 2.5 million (25 lakh) in 2022. VATICAN he Vatican on Friday radically reformed its process for evaluating alleged visions of the Virgin Mary, weeping statues and other seemingly supernatural phenomena, putting the brakes on making definitive declarations unless the event is obviously fabricated. The Vatican’s doctrine office overhauled norms first issued in 1978, arguing that they were no longer useful or viable in the internet age. Nowadays, word about apparitions or weeping Madonnas travels quickly and can actually harm the faithful if hoaxers are trying to make money off people’s beliefs or manipulate them, the Vatican said. T „„The new norms envisage a more articulated investigation process after a bishop receives word of a possible supernatural event in his diocese „„He forms a study commission to gather info and evidence, interview the alleged witnesses „„Submits recommendation to Vatican’s Dicastery for Doctrine of the Faith for approval „„Can choose among six general outcomes: the green light nihil obstat to allow and even encourage popular devotion, or gradually more cautious approaches if there are doctrinal red flags about the reported event „„Revised norms allow that an event might at some point be declared supernatural, and that the pope can intervene in the process The new norms make clear that such an abuse of people’s faith can be punishable canonically, saying, the use of purported supernatural experiences or recognised mystical elements as a means of or a pretext for exerting control over people or carrying out abuses is to be considered of particular moral gravity. The new norms reframe the Catholic Church’s evaluation process by essentially taking off the table whether church authorities will declare a particular vision, stigmata or other seemingly divinely inspired event supernatural. Instead, the new criteria envisages six main outcomes, with the most favourable being that the church issues a noncommittal doctrinal green light, a so-called nihil obstat. Such a declaration means there is nothing about the event that is contrary to the faith, and therefore Catholics can express devotion to it. Francis has expressed scepticism about more recent events, including claims of repeated messages from Mary to seers at the shrine of Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina. I prefer the Madonna as mother, our mother, and not a woman who’s the head of a telegraphic office, who sends a message every day at a certain time, Francis told reporters in 2017. But the phenomena have also been a source of scandal. That was the case when the Vatican in 2007 excommunicated the members of a Quebec-based group, the Army of Mary, after its foundress claimed to have had Marian visions and declared herself reincarnation of mother of Christ.