log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 18, 2024 Facebook.com/thegoan The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) 13 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME X, NO. 91 GOA ‘Unused’ for last 5 yrs, fate of 222-metre Cutbona jetty hangs in balance 2 3 GOA Govt to seize private vehicles illegally rented to tourists Instagram.com/thegoanonline RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 INFO Get soft, kissable lips with homemade raspberry lip balm 9 Water crisis erupts in Anjuna, villagers hit streets in anger n ROAD BLOCKADES, COASTAL SHUTDOWN PLANNED n PWD OFFICE GHERAOED, 15 DAYS DEADLINE SET THE GOAN I NETWORK >> pg 6 Combining words, colours to make living beautiful IN SHORT >> HC asks GSPCB to submit sound pollution report PANAJI: The Bombay High Court at Goa has directed the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) to submit a report on the inspection of five clubs and restaurants in Anjuna, found in violation of sound permission, to ascertain if these have real-time sound level monitoring systems installed.  >> See pg 3 Cholera: Cutbona, Mobor get breather MARGAO: No fresh case of cholera has been reported either from the Cutbona fishing jetty or the fish landing centre at Mobor during the last 24 hours. Also, all patients admitted in South Goa district hospital have been discharged, while only six are undergoing treatment at GMC. >> See pg 2 Suspected Mpox case reported in Kerala KOCHI: A suspected case of monkeypox infection has been reported from Malappuram district of Kerala after a man who recently returned from abroad showed symptoms. A health official said that the patient arrived in Kerala a few days ago and, after falling sick, was first admitted to a private hospital. Youth found dead at Surla waterfall PANAJI: In another alleged drowning case, a youth was found dead at the waterfall at Surla. Valpoi Fire and Emergency Services personnel retrieved the body. WEATHER >> Max: 31.6 C Min: 24.4 C Humidity: 97% TIDES Low: High: 04:26 16:57 10:47 23:13 MAPUSA In the picturesque coastal village of Anjuna a less glamorous struggle has quietly simmered for nearly a year – the lack of a basic necessity: drinking water. On Tuesday, this frustration boiled over as villagers came together in a massive protest, not over the infamous loud music that often stirs debate in this tourist haven, but over something far more fundamental – the right to clean, regular water. Despite a year of record rainfall in Goa, the taps in Anjuna-Caisua have run dry for months, leaving the community grappling with the unrelenting issue of irregular water supply. For nearly four months, the problem has worsened, hitting a critical point during Ganesh Chaturthi, one of the most significant festivals in the region. Instead of celebrating, fam- Locals allege rats, plastic found in water pipelines MAPUSA: As Anjuna grapples with a severe water crisis, shocking allegations have emerged. Residents claimed rats, plastic, and even slippers were found inside broken water pipelines.  >> See pg 3 Anjuna villagers protest outside the PWD office in Mapusa on Tuesday. ilies found themselves in dire straits, with not a drop of water to manage the festivities. ACCOUNTABILITY In a powerful display of collective anguish, the villagers – armed with buckets, pots, and utensils – marched to the Public Works Department (PWD) office in Mapusa, determined to make their voices heard. They surrounded the of- fice, demanding immediate action to restore water supply, a service that has long eluded them. Their message was clear: the patience of Anjuna’s residents had run out. Anjuna Sarpanch Laxmidas Chimulkar stood in solidarity with the crowd, echoing the villagers’ frustrations. “For almost a year now, the people of Anjuna have been SAG scores self goal with outdated info on website Deceased, former members are still listed as Executive Committee members ARMSTRONG VAZ THE GOAN I MARGAO Sports Authority of Goa (SAG) had set lofty goals for the State’s sportspersons, associations and clubs when it was formed in 1998. The vision was to bring about excellence in sports at State, National and International level in keeping with the Sports Policy of the Government of Goa. But one area where SAG has failed to keep pace in terms of drawing up plans and implementing them is on technological front when it comes to uploading information on their website. Consider the registered sports associations that receive annual grants and regularly send teams to national championships. The records for these associations are outdated, as some individuals listed as presidents or secretaries no longer hold those positions. Of the 37 sports associations listed on SAG website, SAG’S DIGITAL DILEMMA „„Churchill Alemao who had to quit still shown as GFA president „„ Prakash Kamat who died in March still figures as secretary of Goa Athletics Association „„Goa Judo Association also shows Gurudutt Bhakta as president „„Goa Carrom Association, Goa Hockey Association and Goa Volleyball Association have no officials as heads „„Goa Handball Association and Goa State Tennis Association have new committees in place but does not reflect on the website „„Most data of sports associations featured on the website is also outdated some office bearers have been voted out of office or have had to step down due to violations related to the Sports Code. One of them happens to be the former Chief Minister of Goa Churchill Alemao, who lost his court case over the Sports Code regulations and had to quit the Goa Football Association president post. The SAG website still shows Alemao as the President of GFA. Another person whose name still figures on the list is that of Prakash Kamat as secretary of Goa Athletics Association. Kamat died in March this year. Shaindra Naik is now the General Secretary of the Association. Sources said that most of the data of sports associations >Continued on P5 enduring extreme hardship due to this erratic water supply. The PWD has failed to even provide adequate staff to monitor the pipelines. This is unacceptable,” Chimulkar stated emphatically. He, along with other panchayat members, called for urgent action from the department, pushing for >Continued on P5 PWD admits to water issues MAPUSA: In response to mounting protests by Anjuna residents over a year-long water shortage, officials from the (PWD) have admitted to disruptions in water supply but cited infrastructure issues beyond their control.   >> See pg 3 SPORTS FC Goa loses opening ISL match against Jamshedpur FC 12 No link to Bhutani, permissions not by my depts: Sawant THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday said he is in no way linked to Bhutani whose big real estate project in Sancoale has faced stiff resistance from locals and activists over alleged irregularities. “I have no connection with Bhutani. Not a single permission is given by any of my departments,” Sawant said on  Tuesday, adding that the permissions were given by the earlier government.  He also suggested that journalists should probe who has given permissions to this project even as he added that  to revoke the permissions in his capacity as chief minister, he will have to follow procedures. “I need to follow procedure to cancel the licences if they were not obtained properly,” Sawant said. The project at Sancoale has come in for severe criticism from the Opposition MLAs as well as Sancoale locals and activist as it involves massive conversion of land-use zoning besides hill cutting and destruction of green cover. AAP’s Benaulim MLA, Venzy Viegas had in the July-August Assembly session demanded that Sawant and his govt revoke permissions to Bhutani’s project and two others involving massive hill cutting and destruction of green cover -- Abhinandan Lodha project in Bicholim’s Karapur and another at Reis Magos of real estate major DLF Ltd. All government offices to be cleared of waste in 15 days, assures CM PANAJI: The Pramod Sawant administration has taken a major initiative to clean up public offices directing all departments to dispose scrap and waste piling over several years within 15 days. “All government departments have been instructed to clear their offices of unwanted scrap, waste, e-waste, old vehicles, etc within the next 15 days,” Sawant said, adding that the officer in-charge of each office has also been authorised to dispose this scrap up to a limit of Rs 5 lakh.  >> See pg 3 Kejriwal quits as Delhi CM, Atishi set to take charge 1 The Aam Aadmi Party led by its chief minister designate Atishi staked claim to form a new government in Delhi on Tuesday shortly after Arvind Kejriwal resigned from the post. 2 I will work with one goal for the next few months to bring back Kejriwal as the chief minister, said the 43-year-old, who is set to be Delhi’s third woman chief minister after Congress’ Sheila Dikshit and BJP’s Sushma Swaraj. 3 Beset by charges of corruption over the excise scam and released from jail last week, the AAP supremo submitted his resignation to Lt Governor V K Saxena in the evening, virtually seeking a referendum on his politics of honesty. >> See pg 7 COASTAL CLEAN-UP: A JCB demolishes a structure at Arambol beach on Tuesday. Fifteen structures along the coast built in violation of CRZ regulations are facing the axe. Four of these were demolished on Tuesday, while the remaining 11 are scheduled for demolition on Wednesday. Conditional nod for Pvt buses on smart city routes, Govt tells HC THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The State government has allowed local buses to operate alongside Kadamba Transport Corporation Limited’s (KTCL) e-buses on Smart City routes subject to approval from the Regional Transport Office (RTO), Panaji. This decision was submitted before the Bombay High Court at Goa in response to a petition filed by private bus operators opposing a scheme that restricted bus operations in Panaji to e-buses only. During the hearing on Tuesday, the Bench was informed that as per the existing government scheme, KTCL held exclusive rights to operate its e-buses under the Smart City mission. However, the government thereafter amended the scheme allowing private bus operators to apply for >Continued on P5 SC halts ‘bulldozer justice’, Turtle tale: Cheers & tears in nesting season says it’s unconstitutional T TURTLE SAGA THE GOAN I NETWORK PTI NEW DELHI There will be no demolition of properties, including of those accused of crime, till October 1 without its permission, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday while observing that even one instance of illegal demolition was against the “ethos” of the Constitution. A bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan clarified that its order will not be applicable to unauthorised structures on public roads, footpaths, railways lines or public places etc. “Stand over to October 1 at the request of the Solicitor General. However, we direct that till the next date, no demolition without seeking leave of this court,” the bench said. “Even if there is one instance of an illegal demolition it is against ethos of Constitution,” the top court observed while hearing pleas which alleged that properties of accused were being demolished in several States illegally. The bench also referred to statements made after the September 2 hearing in the matter during which the apex court had said it proposes to lay down certain guidelines on the issue that would be enforceable across the country. “After that order, there have been statements that the bulldozer will continue and it all depends in whose hands the steering is,” the bench said, adding it was refraining from saying anything further. “Mr Mehta (solicitor general), after these directives are laid down, we will seek your assistance on this glorification and grandstanding You will assist us on how to stop this. If necessary, we will ask the Election Commission also,” the bench said. CANACONA he recent turtle nesting season at the twin turtle protected sites at Agonda and Galgibaga in Canacona taluka has brought cheers as well as tears to the forest (wildlife) department. Over 231 Olive Ridley turtles laid a record 22,965 eggs at the various beaches in South Goa and the eggs were protected at the twin Turtle Rehabilitation Centres (TRC) operated by Forest (Wildlife) at Agonda and Galgibaga. However, only 13,561 Olive Ridley hatchlings were subsequently released into the sea, at a meagre 59.05 per cent. As many as 8,190 eggs failed Olive Ridley hatchlings being released into the sea at Galgibaga. (File photo) to hatch and another set of 1,214 hatchlings died in the pits itself. Admitting that the high mortality rate had been alarming, Forest (Wildlife) RFO Rajesh Naik has, however, blamed the unseasonal rains as being a main factor for the high mor- tality rate this season. “Of course, various factors can be attributed for the damage to the eggs, the heavy rains this season had caused major problems for us in our efforts to protect the turtle pits,” said Naik. “While some eggs got „„Over 231 Olive Ridley turtles laid a record 22,965 eggs at beaches in South Goa „„Only 13,561 hatchlings subsequently released into sea „„As many as 8,190 eggs failed to hatch „„1,214 hatchlings died in pits „„Agonda topped with 181 pits with 18,011 eggs washed away, we tried to save many pits by replacing the rain-drenched pits with dry sand and as a result save many eggs from getting spoiled and they later developed into hatchlings.” “Some pits at the newly shifted nesting site of the Agonda TRC got washed away due to rising of seawater, but were partially saved from complete damage to all the eggs.” “However, many eggs laid at the fag end of the nesting season, especially at Galgibaga, failed to hatch and got spoiled after rains damaged the last pit at Galgibaga. But due to our efforts in changing the sand, we managed to get 8 hatchlings, which itself is remarkable,” Naik added. The Agonda TRC topped with 181 pits and protecting a >Continued on P5