log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline Facebook.com/thegoan The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) Instagram.com/thegoanonline Pg 15 WEDNESDAY JANUARY 22, 2025 15 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME X, NO. 215 The fast lane: Gadkari gives Goa roads a booster shot INAUGURATES INDIA’S 1ST CURVED FLYOVER BRIDGE AT VASCO THE GOAN I NETWORK VASCO Marking a transformative leap in Goa’s transport and connectivity, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Thursday inaugurated India’s first curved flyover-cum-cable-stayed bridge for port connectivity from Ravindra Bhavan to the MPT in Vasco and laid the foundation stone for five National Highway projects worth Rs 4,200 crore. Besides launching the Rs 644 crore flyover, Gadkari also laid the foundation stone for five projects including flyover from MES college junction to Bogmalo junction and VUP at Queeny junction (Rs 472 crore), 4-Laning from end of Zuari approaches to the start of Margao bypass (Rs 398 crore), 4-Laning from >> pg 7 Tanshikar Spice Farm: A package for rejuvenation Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on India’s first curved flyover-cum-cable-stayed bridge that was inaugurated in Vasco on Tuesday. Navelim to Cuncolim (Rs 747 crore), 4-Laning from Bendordem to Pollem (Rs 1376 crore), and 4-Laning from Ponda to Bhoma which is part of Hy- derabad Goa corridor (Rs 557 crore). Highlighting the significance of the Rs 644 crore loop port connectivity flyover, con- necting the Mormugao Port to South Goa, Gadkari said “this port connectivity flyover is a project which have been carried out in two loops. The first loop from Varunapuri to Sada Junction to Gate no 1 of Mormugao Port was inaugurated by me in January 2022. The second loop from Ravindra Bhavan to Mormugao Port gate 9 is being inaugurated today. This loop includes the up ramp at Vasco and down ramp at Baina”. The minister explained how the project, conceived during the tenure of late Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, was designed to address traffic congestion and pollution around the port. “This flyover will save time, reduce traffic jams, and minimize pollution, benefitting locals and >Continued on P8 33 cars destroyed in massive fire at Verna service centre Dry grass sparks blaze, loss worth crores of rupees IN SHORT >> Loud music: Vagator nightclub in trouble  MAPUSA: The manager of 9 Bar, a popular nightclub located in Vagator, has been booked by Anjuna police on charges of violating noise pollution regulations after it was found that the club played loud music beyond the permissible decibel limit.  >> See pg 3 HC extends stay on tree translocation PANAJI: The stay on the translocation of the banyan tree at Vodakkodem, Porvorim, has been extended till January 23 after the Hyderabad-based company, Doctor Trees India Private Limited, sought additional time from the High Court of Bombay at Goa to file its affidavit.   >> See pg 3 Call for action on encroachments VASCO: Gadkari advised the State government to inspect roads and address encroachments, which included government offices. “I request CM Pramod Sawant and Chief Secretary... I have a doubt that many government offices/ officers have encroached on the main road because the width does not seem proper.” “Please carry out an inspection and measure the present width of the road before we start the work,” Gadkari said. 66 dead as huge fire engulfs ski resort in Turkey 1 A fire raged through a 12-story hotel at a popular ski resort in northwestern Turkey early Tuesday during a school holiday, killing at least 66 people when they jumped from the building to escape the flames, officials said. 2 The charred remains of the cars that were destroyed in the fire at Verna on Tuesday. THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI/MARGAO As many as 33 cars valued at crores of rupees were gutted in a major fire at a car service centre in the Verna Industrial Estate (VIE) on Tuesday evening. According to reports, the 33 cars, including one demo car, were parked in an open space outside the car service centre. Firefighters said most cars had come in for a service while some of them were new cars ready for deliveries to customers. At about 3 pm, dried grass near the service centre caught fire and the flames soon spread to the parked vehicles. Workers of a nearby furniture factory rushed there and tried to extinguish the fire by spraying water from a tanker. When attempts to control the fire failed, the owner of the furniture factory notified the fire station. With the strong wind and fuel in the cars, all 33 vehicles were soon engulfed in flames. A fire brigade rushed to the site, but when it became apparent that additional fire tenders were needed, fire tenders from Vasco, Verna, Panaji, Margao, Ponda, Curchorem and the Fire Headquarters at >Continued on P8 At least 51 people also were injured in the fire at the Grand Kartal hotel in Kartalkaya. There was chaos on the upper floors as guests tried to escape the fire, including by trying to climb down from their rooms using sheets and blankets. The hotel was engulfed in smoke, making it difficult for guests to locate the fire escape. 3 The government appointed six prosecutors to lead an investigation into the blaze, which is believed to have started in the hotel’s restaurant section. Four people, including the hotel’s owner, have been detained for questioning as part of the investigation. >> See pg 8 Dengue peaks at 27°C & moderate rain, claims study PTI NEW DELHI engue infections and deaths increase when temperatures go above 27 degrees Celsius and rainfall is moderate and spread out over a period, according to a new study. The study also reveals very heavy rainfall (more than 150 mm in a week) can wash away mosquito eggs and larvae, lowering the risk of dengue. Researchers Sophia Yacob and Roxy Mathew Koll from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, examined how temperature, rainfall, and humidity affect dengue in Pune, a major hotspot of the disease. D HEAT & RAIN: DENGUE’S PERFECT STAGE „„Dengue infections and deaths increase when temperatures go above 27 degrees Celsius „„Moderate rainfall spread out over time and humidity between 60 & 78% also ideal conditions „„Very heavy rainfall (more than 150 mm in a week) can wash away mosquito eggs & larvae phases see fewer dengue cases and deaths „„Monsoon rainfall in India has active (wet) and break (dry) phases „„Years with fewer active and break phases see higher dengue cases and deaths „„Years with more of these They found that dengue infections and deaths increase when temperatures go above 27 degrees Celsius, rainfall is moderate and spread out over time and humidity is between 60 and 78 per cent during monsoon (June-September). The scientists also created a model using artificial intelli- WARNING SYSTEM „„Scientists created model using AI and machine learning that can predict dengue outbreaks two months in advance „„Allows authorities to prepare in time and reduce impact of the disease gence and machine learning that can predict dengue outbreaks more than two months in advance. This allows local authorities and health de- Shami’s fitness in focus as India takes on England in T20 series RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 partments to prepare in time and reduce the impact of the disease. In Pune, the average temperature ranges from 2735 degrees during monsoon. This range is conducive for dengue transmission because it affects how long mosquitoes live, how many eggs they produce, and how quickly the virus develops inside them. It also influences how long it takes for people to show symptoms. The researchers noted this temperature range is specific to Pune and will differ in other places because various factors -- like rainfall and humidity -vary. Therefore, it’s important to study the climate-dengue link for each region separately. Trump ends birthright citizenship on day one Immigrant & civil rights advocates go to court AGENCIES WASHINGTON US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order to end birthright citizenship for children born to people who are in the country without authorisation or who hold temporary work, student, or tourist visas. Titled “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” the order stipulates that his administration will no longer recognise automatic citizenship for children born on US soil to immigrant parents who are in the country without authorisation, provided neither parent is a US citizen. In his first term, Trump threatened to take similar action but did not follow through. Within hours of Trump signing the order, he was sued by immigrant and civil rights advocates, including the American Civil Liberties Union. BRICS warned of 100% import tariffs WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on January 20 reiterated to impose 100 per cent import tariffs on the BRICS countries if they took any steps towards cutting the use of the dollar in global trade. The BRICS nations include Brazil, Russia, China, South Africa and India. “As a BRICS nation... they’ll have a 100 per cent tariff if they so much as even think about doing what they thought, and therefore they will give it up immediately,” Trump was quoted as saying. Birthright citizenship is a legal principle under which citizenship is automatically granted to individuals upon birth. Presently, in the US, there are two forms of birth-related citizenship: ancestry-based citizenship and birthplace-based citizenship. The latter, also called jus soli, a Latin term meaning “right of the soil”, grants unrestricted citizenship based on place of birth. The second is restricted ancestry-based citizenship, also called jus sanguinis, which extends citizenship to children born abroad to US citizens. The US Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment guarantees birthright citizenship, stating that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.” Porvorim flyover: Court directs contractor to chart traffic plan Seeks update on timeline for current work THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The High Court of Bombay at Goa on Tuesday directed M/s Lion Engineering Consultants Pvt Ltd, the contractor handling the Porvorim flyover project, to submit an affidavit on Thursday giving a timeline on the ongoing works, which requires traffic diversion and steps to mitigate the associated challenges.  The Court adjourned the matter for further hearing on January 27 taking serious note of alleged discrepancies in the contractor’s earlier claims to the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by petitioner Moses Pinto. The Bench observed that some works of hot mixing road stretches reported as completed were in fact still pending.  During the hearing, dust pollution concerns were also raised with the High Court directing the contractor to include measures in the same reply affidavit.  A report submitted by the Public Works Department on the inspection of hot-mixed roads indicated partial compliance with several stretches needing improvement. “This is an issue the contractor must clarify in the affidavit,” Advocate General Devidas Pangam said. In the previous hearing, the High Court expressed strong displeasure over a misleading affidavit filed by the contractor regarding the hot-mixing of roads for the project.  >Continued on P8