log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline SUNDAY OCTOBER 13, 2024 Facebook.com/thegoan The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) 16 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME X, NO. 116 Instagram.com/thegoanonline India sweeps series in style with 133-run victory PG8 RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 Velingkar fallout: Summons trigger outrage in Margao PROTESTERS CRY FOUL, DEMAND WITHDRAWAL OF FIR THE GOAN I NETWORK >> SEE PG 2 UNEASY PEACE... AS COMMUNAL CONFLICTS LEAVE SCARS MAGAZINE MAGAZ No one should face breast cancer alone Keep your skin glowing during the festive season Generations of quality: The evolution of Joseph Bakery since 1938 9 10 11 IN SHORT >> Opt for public transport: CM PANAJI: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday advocated greater use of public transport by commuters which he said will reduce traffic congestion and also help bring down the high number of accidents in the State.  >> See pg 5 Delivery boy held for stealing 12 mobiles PANAJI: A 43-year-old man working as delivery boy at courier company is Panaji has been arrested for stealing 12 mobiles worth Rs 1.10 lakh which were to be delivered to customers. The accused robbed the shipment which was to be delivered on Oct 1. MARGAO With the Fatorda police issuing summons to the protesters charged for blocking traffic at Old Market a week ago to demand the arrest of Subhash Velingkar, protesters have cried foul to the police action as they demanded immediate withdrawal of the FIR filed against 500 persons. The protesters have charged the Goa government with double standards and applying different yardsticks for different set of people. Claiming the government through the police is indulging in selective targeting to suit its vested interest, the protesters demanded to know how many people were booked by the Goa police when the NH66 was blocked at Cuncolim to demand the arrest of activist Shreya Dhargalkar and those indulging in Hear, value public voices, do not silence them, pleads Fr Bolmax PANAJI: Strongly objecting to attempts to silence dissent, Chicalim Parish Priest Fr Bolmax Pereira has, instead, emphasised the need to have constructive dialogue and mutual respect to address the problems faced by people. “I express my deep concern and dismay over the selective targeting and harassment of ordinary Goan citizens who raised their voices to express their legitimate grievances and concerns regarding hurtful utterances,” Fr Pereira told The Goan. >> See pg 3 hate speeches. A group of protesters assembled near the Margao Municipal garden to condemn the government and the Goa police for meting out harassment to the people who had participated in the spontaneous agitation after Subhash Velingkar made derogatory remarks against St Francis Xavier. Addressing media, activist Pratima Coutinho blamed the government and the police responsible for forcing the people to take to the streets on Saturday last. “A couple of months ago, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had warned that those disturbing peace and amity would be arrested by the police. We would like to ask the Chief Minister why Mhadei calling, but House Committee yet to find time COMMITTEE CONSTITUTED IN JAN 2023 MET JUST ONCE WRD MINISTER SAYS ‘WAITING FOR THE RIGHT TIME’ THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI While Karnataka continues to mount pressure on the central government seeking approvals for Kalsa-Bhandura project via Mhadei river diversion, the Goa Government’s seriousness in handling the matter is evident from the fact that despite an assurance to hold House Committee meeting on Mhadei post Ganesh Chaturthi, the Minister for Water Resources Department (WRD) Subhash Shirodkar is still waiting for the “right time”. The 12-member House Committee, constituted to study the contentious issue related to Mhadei water diversion in January, last year, has met only once in February, 2023. Despite assuring on the House floor during the Winter Session to convene a meeting before February 29, the Minister failed to follow through. In August, the Minister announced that the House Committee will meet post Ganesh Chaturthi, which took place in SHIRODKAR SPEAK „„Let them (Karnataka) do whatever they want „„We have full confidence that Centre will not grant them any permission without consulting us „„Also our case is very strong before the Supreme Court the first week of September. Now, when contacted, Shirodkar told The Goan “will let you know…will call at a right time”. When pointed out that Karnataka has recommenced diversion work and is also mounting pressure on Centre for clearance, the Minister said “let them do whatever they want…we have full confidence that Centre will not grant them any permission without consulting us…also our case is very strong before the Supreme Court”. The House Committee has members from across all parties -- BJP, Congress, MGP, GFP, AAP, RG and Independent MLAs too. Since the House Committee was formed in January 2023, Goa has been left stunned and shocked by Karnataka's actions, yet there has been no response. The State, whose more than 50 per cent of the population depends on Mhadei river for its survival, is just banking on the special leave petition and the contempt pleas filed before the Supreme Court -- the matter which was supposed to come up for hearing in August. >Continued on P6 was there a delay by the police to even register FIR against Velingkar, leave alone his arrest for demanding DNA on the relic of St Xavier”, Pratima wondered. She added that people of Goa would not have come on the streets had the government and the police acted promptly by registering a FIR. “The Fatorda police is selectively targeting protesters by summoning them to the police station. There were many people across political parties, including BJP leader Manohar Ajgaonkar, BJP-backed Margao Municipal Councillors, including Camilo Barretto and Milagrina Gomes, who had come on the roads in support of the demand action against Velingkar”, Pratima pointed out, while demanding to know whether the police would also call the BJP leaders for questioning. Fidol from Majorda wondered why the police are targeting the handful of protestors when it was Subhash Velingkar, who had spoiled the peace in the State with his derogatory comments against St Xavier. “The police had brutally assaulted a senior citizen during the lathi charge. When I questioned them, I was detained by the police. And, now, the police is on the job to summon the protestors with the sole intention of meting out harassment”, Fidol said. A resident of Cortalim Peter D’Souza has charged the government with trying to divert the attention of the people from the more serious issues plaguing the State. “The police have moved with alacrity to register cases against the protestors. We did not see the same zeal and enthusiasm by >Continued on P6 Tamnar’s Xeldem transmission line to be activated THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Goa Tamnar Transmission Project Ltd has issued a notice asking people to be cautious as their freshly laid line '400 kv & 220 kv' between Xeldem and Mapusa will be charged anytime on or after October 12. The company has completed construction work of the Xeldem-Mapusa 400 kv D/c (Quad) line and also the existing Xeldem–Xeldem 220 kv HTLS D/c line. During the line-charging, high voltage electricity will be supplied through these transmission lines any time on or after October 12, 2024, it said. The Tamnar line passes through the villages of Colvale, Tivim, Aldona, Corjuem, Mayem, Bicholim, Piligoa, Karapur, Virdi, Amona, Navelim, Codnum, Surla, Pale, Usgao, Ganjem, Dharbandora, Conqurirem, Melauli and Sancordem. The second Xeldem-Xeldem line cuts through the villages of Bandoli, Codli, Dharbando- ra, Sangoad, Amona, Xeldem, Cacora, Curchorem, Sanvordem and Rumbrem. Tamnar has completed construction work of Xeldem-Mapusa 400 kv D/c (Quad) line and Xeldem-Xeldem (existing) 220 kV HTLS D/c line transmission lines. Transmission line projects are environmentally friendly and do not involve any disposal of solid effluents and hazardous substances in land, air and water. The constructional features of 400 kV transmission line is such that it is not affecting the environment as it’s not dividing existing forest because of long spans between the towers. Hindus on edge as several Durga Puja pandals targeted in Bangladesh 1 Seventeen persons have been arrested and about a dozen cases registered after Bangladesh witnessed about 35 untoward incidents related to the ongoing Durga Puja celebrations across the country this month, police said here. The development comes a day after it was discovered that a hand-crafted golden mukut (crown) gifted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was stolen from a Hindu temple in Bangladesh's southwestern Satkhira district amid Durga Puja celebrations, a theft over which India expressed concern. The minority Hindu population -- Hindus constitute just about 8 per cent of the 170 million Bangladesh population -faced vandalism of their businesses, and properties and destruction of temples during the student-led violence that erupted following the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5.  >> See pg 6 2 3 DIVINE PROTECTION: A policeman lays a flower during the Shastra Puja at Panaji police station on Saturday. This auspicious occasion is traditionally observed to honour and seek blessings for weapons and tools used in the line of duty.  Narayan Pissurlenkar NCP leader Siddiqui shot dead PTI MUMBAI NCP leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique died in hospital after being shot by three men in Mumbai’s Bandra East area on Saturday night, officials said. Two persons were arrested immediately after the incident that took place outside his MLA son Zeeshan Siddiqui’s office near Colgate ground in Nirmal Nagar, they added. In a condolence message on X, deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party chief Ajit Pawar described the attack as extremely unfortunate and condemnable. “I was shocked on learning that he died in this incident,” Pawar said, adding that he had lost a good friend and colleague. Global Hunger Index places Goa must have job quota for sports persons: Padukone India in ‘serious category’ ARMSTRONG VAZ THE GOAN I QATAR PTI LONDON The Global Hunger Index, a tool used by international humanitarian agencies to measure and track hunger levels with GHI scores based on under-nourishment and child mortality indicators across 127 countries, has ranked India 105th, which places it under the serious category. The 2024 report, now in its 19th edition, is published this week by Irish humanitarian organisation Concern Worldwide and German aid agency Welthungerhilfe to highlight KEY STATISTICS „„13.7% of popula- tion is undernourished „„35.5% of children under five are stunted „„18.7% of children wasted „„2.9% of children die before their fifth birthday that hunger levels will remain high in many of the world's poorest countries for several decades in the absence of more progress in measures to tackle the issue. India is among 42 countries that fall within the “serious” category, alongside Pakistan and Afghanistan, with other South Asian neighbours such as Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka showing better GHI scores to be listed under the moderate category. India's GHI Score is based on values of 4 component indicators: 13.7% of population is undernourished, 35.5 % children under 5 are stunted with 18.7% of them being wasted, and 2.9% die before their fifth birthday, report notes. Some Northern States including Haryana have well-defined policies when it comes to job reservation for sports persons…. in smaller States like Goa, it should not be a problem for the State government to give jobs as it would be a small number,” —Prakash Padukone F ormer All-England badminton champion Prakash Padukone is in favour of each State having its own sports policy when it comes to job reservation for sports persons. Padukone, who mentored the Indian team at the Paris Olympic said, “as sports is a State subject, each State must have its own policy with regards to job reservation for sportsmen and women.” The ace badminton tactician was in Doha, capital of Qatar to launch the first overseas branch of the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy. When it was pointed that in small States like Goa, sports persons including footballers are complaining of lack of government jobs, he said giving jobs for people who have represented the State at the national and international level should not be a problem. “Some Northern States including Haryana have well-defined policies when it comes to job reservation for sports persons. “In smaller States like Goa, it should not be a problem for the State government to give jobs as it would be a small number,” he said. Incidentally, Tanisha Crasto, who represented India at the Paris Olympics, trained at Padukone’s academy in Bengaluru for a brief period as a youngster. “Yes, I do recall her training at our academy for the first time many years back,” he said about Crasto, who got her initial training in Dubai and thereafter shifted base to India and preferred to play under the Goa Badminton Association banner. Asked if India Badminton Association has any programs to tap overseas talent taking into account Crasto’s journey from Dubai to Goa to the Paris Olympics, he said he is not aware of such programs. “I know that there are many talented young players in the Middle East and the game is very popular with all age groups.” Talking about tie up between Athlen Sports and Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy he said: “Talented boys and girls will get a chance to train at the Bengaluru academy and those who want to become professionals can stay in the residential academy.” >Continued on P6