log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline WEDNESDAY MAY 22, 2024 GOA Water supply to be restricted in Bardez PANAJI: There will be restricted water supply to entire Bardez taluka and parts of Bicholim taluka on May 22 and May 23 as there will be shut down of Assonora Water Treatment Plant to undertake various maintenance and repair works on May 22. Mumbai man held for bike theft PANAJI: One Mukul Jadhav from Parel, Mumbai has been arrested by Panaji police for allegedly stealing a two-wheeler from Dona Paula. Devi Lairai devotees demand arrest MAPUSA: Devotees of Devi Lairai gathered outside the Mapusa Police Station on Tuesday, renewing their demand for the arrest of the girl who had posted a critique of the “homkhand” ritual performed during the Shirgao Zatra on social media.   >> See pg 3 2 booked for operating boat without licence VASCO: The Harbour Coastal Police have registered an offence against two individuals for operating a boat without a licence and endangering lives at sea.  >> See pg 3 2 families clash over mango issue, 7 held MAPUSA: Seven persons have been booked in connection with clashes between two families over the issue of picking fallen Mankurad mangoes near Shri Krishna temple at Xelpe-Duler in Mapusa on Monday evening. Both families are involved in a dispute over the collection of Mankurad mangoes from a tree in the property.   >> See pg 5 One held with drugs worth `2.15 lakh PANAJI: The Crime Branch arrested 20-year-old Badalkumar Prasad from Bihar for allegedly possessing Ganja valued at Rs 2.15 lakh. Prasad was caught red-handed with a grey handbag containing drugs weighing 2.153 kgs during a raid at Chopdem. WEATHER >> Max: 31 C Min: 27 C Humidity: 82% TIDES Low: 03:39 High: 10:43 16:12 21:33 2 BANGKOK A Singapore Airlines flight hit severe turbulence over the Indian Ocean and descended 6,000 feet in a span of about three minutes, the carrier said on Tuesday, leaving a British man dead and more than two dozen other passengers injured. The flight was then diverted and landed in stormy weather in Bangkok. Authorities said the 73-yearold British man may have suffered a heart attack, though that has not been confirmed. His name was not immediately released. The Boeing 777 flight from London’s Heathrow airport to Singapore, with 211 passengers and 18 crew members aboard, landed at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, the airline said in a GOA PWD staff livid over assault of fellow worker, march to Ponda Police Station 3 Instagram.com/thegoanonline RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 INFO Know about hypertensive heart disease 9 SPORTS KKR outplays Sunrisers, march into IPL final Schools to be NEP compliant by 2027-28: Education dept ONLY CLASS IX MAKES THE SWITCH IN JUNE, CLASSES III & VI FROM NEXT YEAR; SUBSEQUENT RESTRUCTURING FROM CLASS 1 TO XII: SECY THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI It is final. Goa’s school education system is making a leap to climb on to the National Education Policy (NEP) system and a start will be made in the upcoming academic year beginning in June at Class IX. Next year, classes III and VI will also transition into the NEP system and thus by 2027-28, the entire school education system in Goa will be fully compliant with the new policy when the Education Department will begin the academic restructuring to give it the intended 5+3+3+4 structure, Education Secretary Prasad Lolayekar, IAS, said on Tuesday. The physical restructuring of school premises will be introduced by the Education Department from 2027-28 into N E P : E D U TO T H E N E X T L E V E L For Class IX „„Students this year will have three languages with equal weightage of four credits each, while Mathematics, Science and Social Science will have five credits each „„The two additional subjects – 1) Interdisciplinary (Environment Education, Junior Red Cross, Scouting and Guiding, NCC, Financial Literacy and Electoral Awareness); 2) Skill based vocational education „„The examination papers for all subjects in Class IX will be set by GBSHSE but the evaluation will be done by the schools themselves with a two-semester format „„There could be a tweak in regulation hours for schools who have been given the flexibility to begin classes in the morning a little later than 8 am Physical restructuring of schools „„The physical restructuring of school premises will be introduced from 202728 into the Foundational Stage (five years from nursery to class II), Preparatory Stage (three years from Class III to V), Middle Stage (three years from Class VI to VIII) and Secondary Stage (Four years from Class IX to XII) the Foundational Stage (five years from nursery to class II), Preparatory Stage (three years from Class III to V), Middle Stage (three years from Class VI to VIII) and Secondary Stage (Four years from Class IX to XII), Lolayekar said. The Goa Board for Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (GBSHSE) will also adopt the national curriculum framework and the national credit framework which are detailed on the website of National Council for Education, Research and Training (NCERT). As per the scheme under NEP, Class IX students this year will have three languag- Mounting demand for power makes Tamnar project need of hour: Sudin SAYS NEARLY 90% WORK ON PROJECT COMPLETED, BALANCE BY AUG-END THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The mounting demand for power in Goa has made the Tamnar power transmission project, currently in limbo due to Karnataka government’s move to block it, a dire need of the State, Power Minister Ramkrishan Sudin Dhavalikar said on Tuesday. Dhavalikar who was addressing a press conference alongwith Chief Electrical Engineer (CEE) Stephen Fernandes and other top engineers of the power department, also said that nearly 90 per cent of the work on Tamnar project has been completed and the balance will get done in the next couple of months. “We will try to finish the balance facilities of the project by the end of August,” Dhavalikar said, adding that Karnataka should consider the project positively. The Karnataka government ‘Severe turbulence’ hits Singapore Airlines flight, 1 dead, dozens injured PTI The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) 12 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME IX, NO.335 Comprehensive drainage plan for Benaulim-Khareband area only on paper IN SHORT >> Facebook.com/thegoan ONBOARD HORROR „„The Boeing 777 flight from London’s Heathrow airport to Singapore, with 211 passengers and 18 crew members aboard hit severe turbulence over the Indian Ocean and descended 6,000 feet in a span of about three minutes „„A 73-yearold British man who died, the authorities claim may have suffered a heart attack while more than two dozen other passengers injured Facebook post. Emergency medical crews rushed to help the passengers. Videos posted on the LINE >Continued on P5 POWER MINISTER SPEAKS „„Will try to finish the balance facilities of the Tamnar project by the end of August „„The Karnataka government has not cleared the project citing the Kali and Dandeli tiger reserves through which the transmission line will have to pass through „„Even if the neighbouring State does not clear it, the Tamnar infrastructure built in Goa will not go to waste but rather will be integrated to the intra-State grid which will help immensely „„There already exists an old power transmission line between Supe and Ponda via Anmod and the SC has endorsed the Tamnar line has not cleared the project in its jurisdiction citing the Kali and Dandeli tiger reserves through which the transmission line will have to pass through. Dhavalikar said there already exists an old power transmission line between Supe and Ponda via Anmod and the Supreme Court has endorsed the Tamnar line aligning with it through Karnataka without causing much damage. “Karnataka needs to consider the project positively,” Dhavalikar said, adding that even if the neighbouring State does not clear it, the Tamnar infrastructure built in Goa will not go to waste but rather will be integrated to the intra- Dept needs two years to insulate power infra from faults: Minister PANAJI: Power Minister Ramkrishna (Sudin) Dhavalikar on Tuesday said it will take at least two more years to put the necessary infrastructure in place across the State to make the power transmission and distribution grid fault free.  >> See pg 3 State grid which will help immensely. According to the power minister, the peak load demand in Goa this year breached the 820 MW mark and future estimates suggest the State will need an additional 300-400 MW while the Tamnar project has the capacity to bring in supply of up to 1,200 MW. Govt’s e-portal service fails to deliver; citizens in limbo APPLICANTS ENCOUNTER HURDLES IN OBTAINING CERTIFICATES THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The election code of conduct, while serving as a regulatory mechanism for government decisions, has inadvertently made some departments and subsidiary offices lethargic. For example, the goaonline.gov.in website, an online platform to avail various public services, isn’t functioning well. Its performance has been either allegedly compromised or delayed in processing numerous applications, leaving many applicants stranded. Senior citizens, in particular, have purportedly faced harassment due to these setbacks. The delay has therefore hindered them from progressing with applications for various social welfare schemes, which mandate government ‘HURDLES’ IN ONLINE SERVICES „„The goaonline.gov.in, an online platform to avail various public services, isn’t functioning well „„Its performance has been either allegedly compromised or delayed in processing numerous applications, leaving many applicants stranded „„Senior citizens, in particular, have purportedly faced harassment due to these setbacks „„The delay has hindered them from progressing with applications for various social welfare schemes, which mandate government documents documents. The repercussions of this inefficiency are evident in specific cases witnessed by The Goan, where one of the senior citizens has encountered hurdles in obtaining her income certificate. “My mother went to the nearest office to apply for an income certificate, but the of- ficials directed her to apply online. She then asked for my help, and since I’m in Pune, I did everything I could to ensure the online process went smoothly. We uploaded all the necessary documents for the income certificate, despite which, my mother still hasn’t >Continued on P5 es with equal weightage of four credits each, while Mathematics, Science and Social Science will have five 5 credits each. The two additional subjects being introduced are: 1) Interdisciplinary (Environment Education, Junior Red Cross, Scouting and Guiding, NCC, Financial Literacy and Electoral Awareness); 2) Skill based vocational education. Interestingly, the examination papers for all subjects in Class IX will be set by GBSHSE but the evaluation will be done by the schools themselves with a two-semester format. Also, there could be a tweak in regulation hours for schools who have been given the flexibility to begin classes in the morning a little later >Continued on P5 KR collects ` 2.69 cr record fines in April MARGAO: Ticketless travel has helped the Konkan Railway Corporation to earn revenue amounting to a whopping Rs 2.69 crore by way of fines in the month of April. KRC senior officer, Baban Ghatge said, “In the month of April 2024, a total of 15,129 unauthorised/ irregular travellers were detected without tickets and were penalised and that a total amount of Rs 2,69,85,256 was recovered from fines. This is the highest ever fine collected.” 12 SC stays HC order on ODPs for five North Goa villages PTI NEW DELHI The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed an order of the Bombay High Court which had suspended the operation of the December 2022 Outline Development Plans (ODPs) for Calangute-Candolim, Arpora, Nagoa and Parra villages in Goa. “The high court can’t run the administration,” a vacation bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal observed while hearing a plea filed by the Town and Country Planning Department of Goa and others. The department moved the apex court challenging an order of the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court which had said that pending the final disposal of a plea before it, the operation of the December 2022 ODPs shall remain >Continued on P5 Message from Shri. Arun Kumar Mishra, IAS, Secretary, Environment & Climate Change Government of Goa, On the occasion of International Day for Biological Diversity 2024 I am pleased to extend warm greetings to everyone on ‘The International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB)- 2024’. This year’s theme is ‘Be Part of the Plan’. The plan referred is ‘The Biodiversity Plan’, a campaign aiming to communicate and promote the 4 Goals and the 23 Targets launched by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity Framework to the world, on 19 December 2023. This was based on the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, exactly one year ago at the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity which aims to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. Our various initiatives at national level, like the initiative of Lifestyle for Environment as part of Mission LiFE, envisaged by our Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, aims for actions that need to be taken by all of us considering the fact that there is need of concerted efforts to achieve the envisaged targets by 2030. Our Goa State Biodiversity Board has completed the task of preparing the first draft of Goa State Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan for next decade which will be in-line with the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan which incorporates global targets envisaged in Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) in Goa are vibrant and through their voluntary actions have been trying to document and conserve ecosystems including native landraces and traditional wisdom associated with biodiversity. Our People’s Biodiversity Registers, in Goa will be the basis for planning for sustainability in future. Having more Biodiversity Heritage Sites, connecting livelihood to conservation through GoVan brand project, ongoing SBSAP, involving students and teachers to work with BMCs, State level awards for BMCs, individuals and enthusiasts, researchers, supporting projects on biodiversity are some of the initiatives taken by Goa State Biodiversity Board (GSBB). We shall strive to incorporate the theme of IDB 2024 in achieving inclusive, sustainable, equitable and participatory conservation efforts. We solicit your involvement and vigilance at ground level to ensure that all of us are part of the plan for biodiversity conservation for the benefit of the entire global population. Our existence is interdependent on biodiversity, hence let us act and pray so that no creature suffers. May all sentient beings be at peace, may no one suffer from illness, May all see what is auspicious, may no one suffer.