log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline MONDAY JUNE 17, 2024 GOA The power play behind Benaulim ZP by-poll IN SHORT >> Articles worth `33L seized in casino raid, 11 arrested PANAJI: The Crime Branch arrested 11 persons for their alleged involvement in an illegal live card game at Bambolim. SP CB Rahul Gupta disclosed that among those arrested, eight were gambling customers, two table dealers and one shift manager, all caught red-handed in the act. CB officials also seized two live card gambling tables, 14 tablets, two sets of 52 playing cards, two live card shufflers, two card scanners and two cash chip floats containing chips worth Rs 28 lakh approx. Other gambling articles were also seized with the total value of the confiscated items estimated at Rs 33 lakh. 2 fall into sinkhole at Miramar, hurt PANAJI: Two persons were injured after they fell into a sinkhole near a residential colony in Miramar on Sunday evening. CCTV footage released to a section of the media showed two men falling when a portion of the ground collapsed at the under-construction site. Assagao nightclub row intensifies MAPUSA: The controversy surrounding a nightclub in Assagao continues to escalate, with no resolution in sight. The situation has taken a new turn as the landowner has appealed to the Director of Panchayats to regularize the structure.  >> See pg 3 Rains expose poor condition of roads MAPUSA: The onset of the monsoon season has laid bare the deplorable state of roads in Mapusa, exacerbating the woes of pedestrians and motorists alike. As rains poured, several thoroughfares across the town revealed a landscape dotted with potholes.  >> See pg 3 Sopo tender: Eyes on SGPDA meet MARGAO: Wholesale fish market traders are anxiously waiting for the SGPDA meet not just to float the e-tender on sopo collection, but to put an end to exorbitant rates levied on fish traders by PDA-appointed sopo agents in the wholesale fish market.  >> See pg 2 WEATHER >> Max: 32 C Min: 25.8 C Humidity: 87% TIDES Low: High: 01.18 13.10 08:19 18.38 Facebook.com/thegoan The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) 12 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME IX, NO. 361 2 GOA HC quashes assault FIR, imposes penalty on complainant 3 Instagram.com/thegoanonline RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 Effective ways to get rid of skin peeling Claims of EVM tampering ignites political firestorm REPORT SAYS CANDIDATE FOUND USING MOBILE PHONE ‘CONNECTED’ TO EVM AT THE COUNTING CENTRE PTI NEW DELHI A fresh political slugfest erupted on Sunday over EVM tampering claims with Rahul Gandhi and other Opposition leaders citing media report that alleged Shiv Sena candidate in Mumbai North West Lok Sabha constituency was found using a mobile phone “connected” to an electronic voting machine during the counting of votes on June 4. However, Vandana Suryavanshi, returning officer of the constituency, dismissed the report in ''Mid-Day'' newspaper as “false news” and said a defamation notice has been issued to the publication. She asserted that EVM is a standalone system, not programmable and has no wireless communication capabilities. The BJP hit out at the Op- Sparks fly after Elon Musk’s post on EVMs NEW DELHI: Tesla and SpaceX Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Elon Musk has said that electronic voting machines (EVMs) should be eliminated as they are prone to “getting hacked” by humans or AI (artificial intelligence). “We should eliminate electronic voting machines. The risk of being hacked by humans or AI, while small, is still too high,” Musk said in a post on X. The billionaire was reacting to irregularposition leaders over the issue and demanded that the Election Commission should prosecute all those who “amplified the lie” by sharing the news report. Questioning the reliability of EVMs, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and ities reportedly discovered in EVMs during Puerto Rico’s primary elections. However, former information technology minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar termed Musk’s post a “sweeping generalisation” and offered to “run a tutorial” for the Tesla chief on how India ensures it’s indigenously manufactured EVMs are hacking proof. In response, Musk replied: “Anything can be hacked”. others on Sunday also quoted a post by Elon Musk, chairman of social media platform X and CEO of Tesla, in which he talked about eliminating EVMs and claimed the risk of hacking was “too high”. Congress' ally and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh A DAY AFTER FEET WERE FOUND… Massive search at Mandur, no clue of infant’s body POLICE, LOCALS SCOUT AREA FORENSIC TEAM AT SITE CCTV FOOTAGE SCANNED; DOG SQUAD CLUELESS THE GOAN I NETWORK OLD GOA The Agassaim police along with the locals, which included the panchayat authorities, conducted an extensive search around the area where the infant feet were found at Tari VaddoMandur, on Sunday. However, the search could not result in the finding of the remaining part of the body of the infant. It may be recalled that, on Saturday evening feet of an infant were found in a residential area at Tari VaddoMandur. The same were first noticed by a lady in the morning but she brought it to the notice of the local panch only in the evening. And, on Sunday, a strong police force descended at the site and began searching the area particularly the one behind the residential houses where huge dumping of debris and garbage is noticed. The forensic team at the site where the infant’s feet were found. Manuel Vaz ON PAGE 3 Demand for tenant verification grows MLA, former MLA visit site, want case resolved Mandur sarpanch Prashant Naik, panchas Nandesh Mayenkar, Premanand Kurtikar and Francisco Po, former sarpanch Ajit Bacal and some locals also joined in the search which however could not help in finding the remaining part of the body. It was also observed that the feet of the infant could have been picked by the dog from the area where dumping is done as there is an access to the spot where the feet were found. The shallow water located >Continued on P5 Yadav also questioned the credibility of EVMs and demanded that all future elections should be conducted through ballot papers. “EVMs in India are a ''black box'', and nobody is allowed to scrutinise them. Serious concerns are being raised Valpoi police seize 3,000 kg illegal beef THE GOAN I NETWORK VALPOI In a major operation, Valpoi police intercepted a vehicle at Keri and seized approximately 3,000 kg of illegal beef valued at Rs 6 lakh that was being transported from Belagavi to Goa. The incident occurred late Saturday when police stopped a pickup truck en route from Belagavi at Keri checkpoint. Upon inspection, it was found loaded with beef and the driver, Mehboob Subhani from Belgaum could not produce the required documents. He was later arrested and a case was filed at Valpoi police station. Police suspect a larger operation of illegal beef trafficking from Karnataka to Goa and have intensified monitoring at checkpoints following credible information received prior to the raid at Keri. While Mehboob Subhani has been arrested, an ongoing investigation aims to uncover any additional suspects involved. Authorities later disposed off the seized beef and have impounded the vehicle. Further investigation is on as officials continue to pursue leads in the case. Despite rain, dam water levels remain critically low THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI fter more than a fortnight of continuous rainfall in Goa, including pre-monsoon showers, water levels in the dams remain quite low. Two dams including Anjunem have recorded less than 20 per cent water capacity while Selaulim and Amthane have reported less than 40 per cent. However, the Water Resources Department remains unperturbed stating that water levels will surge by the end of August and the dams will brim to their full capacity. Minister Subhash Shirodkar, speaking to The Goan, said that water capacity will rise within two months. Chief Engineer Pramod Badami reiterated the water level will gradually rise while stating the capacity A 9 INFO WATER LEVELS: AS OF JUNE 16  Water at Anjunem dam at 15.1% despite 326.90mm rainfall  Selaulim dam @ 33.3% having recorded 430.20mm rainfall  Amthane dam stands at 35.4%  Panchwadi dam lags at 18%  Chapoli dam @ 46.7%  Tillari dam registers 24.8% of each of these dams is huge. “All these dams will reach full capacity by August-end with overflow expected in the subsequent month,” he added. As of June 16, Anjunem dam remains the lowest at 15.1 per cent capacity despite receiving 326.90mm of rainfall. Selaulim dam records 33.3 per cent capacity having recorded 430.20mm of rainfall whereas Amthane dam stands at 35.4 per cent capacity, while Panchwadi dam lags at 18 per cent. Among other dams, Se- laulim dam -- critical water source for several places in the South district including Margao, Vasco, Quepem, Sanguem, and the surrounding rural areas -- saw a decline in water level to 34 per cent till the first week of May when the State reeled under scorching heat. The Anjunem dam’s water level had also plummeted to 22 per cent, further seeing a dip. Meanwhile, as per the latest figures, Chapoli dam boasts 46.7 per cent capacity while the main Tillari dam -- serving Sattari and parts of Bicholim taluka -- registered only 24.8 per cent with the area receiving 220.40mm of rainfall. Gaunem dam leads the pack with a maximum of 50.5 per cent capacity. The State has experienced continuous rainfall with the India Meteorological Department issuing a yellow alert from June 18-20. On Sunday, Goa remained under a yellow alert as heavy rains accompanied by strong winds swept across most parts of the State. about transparency in our electoral process. “Democracy ends up becoming a sham and prone to fraud when institutions lack accountability,” Gandhi said in a post on X and tagged the media report which claimed that a relative of Shiv Sena's candidate Ravindra Waikar, who won the polls, had a phone that unlocks an EVM. Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Aditya Thackeray and Priyanka Chaturvedi also shared the news report and demanded that the CCTV footage of the counting day be released. “This is a fraud at the highest level and yet the @ ECISVEEP continues to sleep. The manipulated winner's relative was carrying a mobile phone at the counting centre which had the ability to unlock EVM machine.,” Chaturvedi said on X. SPORTS ICC T20 World Cup: Pakistan ends campaign with 3-wicket win 12 Netravali residents up in arms against ban at waterfalls SLAM DEPT, CLAIM LOCAL BIZMEN AFFECTED THE GOAN I NETWORK SANGUEM Locals from Netravali village particularly those running small business units, and the tourists alike have bitterly decried the recent order issued by the Forest Department banning tourists from visiting waterfalls in the Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary during the monsoon. The ban reportedly follows the incident which took place at Savari waterfall last year when two youth lost their lives while attempting to venture into the waterfall. Locals have, however, decried the move claiming it to hold no logic as entry for visitors to the beaches continues unabated even during the monsoon. Waterfalls are it best during monsoon and gives an altogether different look which is missed by tourists given the blanket ban imposed by the Forest Department, they claimed. Locals also claim that while many used to thrive on tourism activities in the village during the monsoon season, these opportunities have been severely impacted since the ban was implemented, leaving those who depended on tourism out of business. The Forest Department has been urged to review the order and get it withdrawn immediately by imposing other restrictions as that of ban on swimming at the waterfalls. No need to teach students about riots: NCERT chief DENIES ATTEMPTS TO SAFFRONISE TEXTBOOKS PTI NEW DELHI Rejecting accusations of saffronisation of school curriculum, NCERT's director has said that references to Gujarat riots and Babri Masjid demolition were modified in school textbooks because teaching about riots “can create violent and depressed citizens.” In an interaction with PTI editors at the agency's headquarters, National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) director Dinesh Prasad Saklani said the tweaks in textbooks are part of annual revision and should not be a subject of hue and cry. Asked about references to Gujarat riots or Babri Masjid demolition being tweaked in NCERT textbooks, Saklani said, “Why should we teach about riots in school textbooks? We want to create positive citizens not violent and depressed individuals”. “Should we teach our students in a manner that they become offensive, create hatred in society or become Should we teach our students in a manner that they become offensive, create hatred in society or become victim of hatred? Is that education’s purpose? Should we teach about riots to such young children ... when they grow up, they can learn about it but why school textbooks —Dinesh Prasad Saklani victim of hatred? Is that education's purpose? Should we teach about riots to such young children ... when they grow up, they can learn about it but why school textbooks. Let them understand what happened and why it happened when they grow. The hue and cry about the chang- es is irrelevant,” he said. The comments by Saklani come at a time when new textbooks have hit the market with several deletions and changes. The revised Class 12 political science textbook does not mention the Babri masjid but refers to it as a “three-domed structure”.