log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline TUESDAY MARCH 18, 2025 12 pages Facebook.com/thegoan The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME X, NO. 269 Instagram.com/thegoanonline ANDREEVA BECOMES YOUNGEST INDIAN WELLS CHAMPION IN 26 YEARS >> P11 RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 INVESTMENT STARTS FROM ` 1.29 Cr. *T&C Apply Sancoale, Goa RERA NO: PRGO03242174 | WWW.RERA.GOA.GOV.IN | WWW.BHUTANIGROUP.COM | Collection A/C Acqua Eden: Beneficiary Name: Parmesh Construction Company Limited | Account No: 99921102030405 | IFSC: HDFC0000088 | Bank Name: HDFC Bank * GU probes exam paper leak, Dept gets mixed response to April suspends assistant professor start for schools AS FEEDBACK WINDOW CLOSES… >> See pg 3 With one working hand, this single mother speaks about her struggles and resilience IN SHORT >> E-stamping must for stamp duty above `9999 from April MARGAO: Come April 1, e-stamping would be made mandatory in the State for stamp duty above Rs 9999. Salcete Sub-Registrar Suraj Vernekar informed that the sale of non-judicial stamp papers, franking and stamp duty through challan would come to a stop for stamp duty amount exceeding Rs 9999.  >> See pg 2 Liquor case: Excise inspector suspended PANAJI: A day after Karnataka excise officials arrested Goa Excise Inspector Pramod Juvekar for alleged liquor smuggling, the State Excise Department suspended him. Juvekar was allegedly caught red-handed transporting 138.05 litres of Goa-made liquor into Karnataka during a raid in Shimoga. Russian tourist bitten by stray dog PANAJI: In another incident of stray dog attack, a Russian tourist was chased by six dogs and bitten by one while strolling on the Benaulim beach. Lifeguards rushed to her aid, administered first aid and handed her over to 108 medical personnel. Aurangzeb tomb row: Violence in Nagpur NAGPUR: Violence erupted in Nagpur with stones hurled at police amid rumours that the holy book of a community was burnt during an agitation by a right-wing body for removal of Aurangzeb’s tomb, leaving six persons and three policemen injured, officials said.  >> See pg 7 Bull stuck in post office, rescued >> See pg 3  WEATHER >> Max: 34 C Min: 24.5 C Humidity: 70% TIDES Low: 06.58 High: 00.26 19.07 13.26 TWO-MEMBER PANEL TOLD TO SUBMIT REPORT IN 48 HOURS THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Goa University on Monday suspended an assistant professor of Physics on allegations of leaking an examination paper to a female student pending inquiry. The varsity, which has so far denied any such charges claiming to have not received any paper leak complaint, has set up a two-member fact-finding committee which has been ordered to submit a report within 48-hours. In an order issued, the Vice Chancellor Harilal Menon has suspended assistant professor Dr Pranav Naik, from the School of Physical and Applied Sciences, until further orders pending inquiry proceedings. Menon said that the suspension was issued on the Governor seeks report from university PANAJI: Goa Governor, who is also the Chancellor to Goa University has sought detail report on the allegations of paper leak. In a statement issued, it is said that the “Raj Bhavan has taken a serious note of the recent issue of “Question Paper Leakage” at the Goa University and also different comments made by political parties, in this regard”. “Governor of Goa Shri Shreedharan Pillai who is also a Chancellor to Goa University has asked detail report from Vice Chancellor of Goa University immediately,” the Governor Office said. basis of allegations made against the professor for “disclosing [the] exam question paper to a female student” as reported in media that subsequently led to two police complaints. While the first complaint was lodged on Sunday by ac- tivist Kashinath Shetye and other like-minded citizens, the Congress-affiliated National Students Union of India (NSUI) lodged a complaint on Monday at Agassaim police station. The police are yet to register an FIR into the complaints. DHE eyes mineral fund for Sanquelim college revamp MOVES OVER `3.70 CR PROPOSALS BEFORE NGDMF THE GOAN I NETWORK DIGGING DEEP FOR EDUCATION PANAJI The Directorate of Higher Education (DHE) has moved over Rs 3.70 crore proposals before the North Goa District Mineral Foundation (NGDMF) for undertaking various initiatives in the government college Sanquelim through District Mineral Fund (DMF). During its meeting held earlier this month, the managing committee of the North Goa District Mineral Foundation decided to place proposals before the Governing Council for decision. The committee, however, declined proposal to procure electric buses for the college at the cost of over Rs 25 lakh while directing them to opt for diesel buses. The DHE has proposed setting up of a sewage treatment plant to treat and recycle the waste water from toilets and reuse it for gardening, irrigation and cleaning. The facility, proposed at an estimated cost of more than Rs 1.34 crore, will also benefit the village as „„Sewage treatment plant to treat, recycle waste water from toilets and reuse it for gardening, irrigation, cleaning „„Rs 95.42 lakh for acoustics, soundproofing, audio solutions for college auditorium & seminar hall „„Dedicated computer lab with digital smart boards to cater to 1,000 students „„Proposal for installation of solar panels, commissioning of a sensor control system for existing lights „„Proposal to plant 25 tree species as a pollution control measure and green cover at the college whole. A Rs 95.42 lakh proposal for acoustics, soundproofing and audio solutions for the college auditorium and seminar hall at the college is also proposed. The seating capacity of the auditorium is around 300 and of seminar hall is 100. Currently, the college is hiring an external sound system for approximately Rs 60,000 per year for various events. In a bid to promote e-learning, the DHE has proposed to have a dedicated computer lab with digital smart boards to cater to the needs of 1,000 students who are enrolled in the college. The total cost of the project is Rs 56.18 lakhodd. The department opined that the priority should be given to schooling infrastructure over higher education infrastructure. The managing committee has also recommended a proposal for installation of solar panels and commissioning of a sensor control system for existing light for the college >Continued on P5 PANAJI he rampant growth of rent-a-cabs in the State has prompted a decisive crackdown, with the State Transport Authority (STA) enforcing a complete freeze on new permits under existing licenses. While there’s already a halt on fresh licenses, permits/ registrations surged under the existing licenses, adding 3,618 rental cabs to the fleet since 2021. Official sources revealed that STA authorities expressed concern about widespread violations and offenses involving rental vehicles. “There is a blatant disregard for transport T YEAR TOTAL PERMITS RENT A CABS YEAR FRESH PERMITS RENEWAL OF PERMITS SPECIAL PERMITS TEMPORARY PERMITS 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 3438 14581 15643 10301 3936 359 787 1300 993 179 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 1785 7528 9842 5600 2407 228 950 523 370 53 1147 4705 3827 2943 911 287 1398 1451 1388 565 regulations and the overall law. The Transport Department has intensified enforcement action, and in line with this, the STA has decided not to issue more permits under existing licenses,” a senior official told The Goan. “There have been hundreds of permits under a single license issued till the STA decision. Restrictions are a must before we see further misuse of the rules,” the official added. In the current year till March 17, out of 3,438 permits across various categories, 359 were issued for rental cabs alone. Last month, the Transport Department imposed strict guidelines tightening the noose around the alleged illegal operations of the rent- a-cab operators. The directive mandated that rental cars must operate solely from registered office premises. It warned that licenses of violators operating from public spaces, such as airports and railway stations, would be suspended immediately. In another directive, officials flagged the illegal use of private vehicles with white PANAJI As the five-day window period for submission of views to the draft Goa School Education (Amendment) Rules, 2025 ended on Monday, the Directorate of Education (DoE) has received mixed reactions to its proposed change to commence the new academic year in April, as against June. While several school heads, teachers, parents welcomed the move to conduct the academic term from April to March, quite a number of schools and PTAs have raised their objections citing several concerns including weather, infrastructure, etc. The State government has formulated draft Rules under Goa School Education Act, 1984 as per which the academic year for Class VI to X and Class XII will commence from April and end in March, A DIVIDED LOT Several school heads, teachers, parents welcomed the move to conduct the academic term from April to March, but quite a number of schools and PTAs raised their objections citing several concerns including weather, infrastructure, etc The BJP-affiliated Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) held a protest outside the Vice Chancellor’s Office demanding an inquiry into the incident. They demanded immediate suspension of the professor. Following this, the varsity swung into action. After being countered by the ABVP, Menon said that the University has not received any complaint from any student or faculty member that the question paper was leaked. He narrated an incident that took place in September, last year, during second semester. “There was absolutely no complaint that the question paper was leaked. No student or faculty member approached us with any complaint and hence the question of any inquiry does not arise,” he said. “It was only said that somebody had entered my (the informant’s) cabin one evening between 5.30 to 6 pm. And the Dean has asked him (the accused assistant professor). His reply was, “I had gone there to take a chemical, for analysis for my student”. He apologized for the same and said sorry. That is all he said,” the Vice Chancellor revealed. Menon informed that following media reports and police complaint, the Varsity has set up a two-member fact-finding committee under senior Deans to get into the details and if there is any substance in the allegations then the action as per law will be initiated. “I admit without fire there is no smoke... so, we have constituted a fact-finding Raorane named GPSC chairman despite facing legal challenge Over 3k influenza cases in nearly 3 mths THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Governor of Goa has appointed Udaysinh Shrikant Raorane as the chairman of the Goa Public Service Commission (GPSC). Incidentally, a PIL is filed in the High Court challenging his appointment as a member of the Commission. The post of GPSC chairman was vacant in February 2024 following the retirement of Jose Manuel Noronha. The order has been issued under Article 316 (1) of the Constitution. His tenure will be for six years from the date he assumes office or until he attains the age of 62, whichever is earlier, states the notification issued by Under Secretary Personal Raghuraj Faldesai. Meanwhile, earlier this month, HC had issued a notice to the government in a public interest petition challenging the appointment of Raorane as a member of GPSC. The petitioners argued that the appointment was made without issuing any advertisement and without any inquiry, verification, or scrutiny. State cracks down on booming rent-a-cab market THE GOAN I NETWORK THE GOAN I NETWORK number plates and transport vehicles operating without valid permits as rent-a-cabs, in violation of the Rent-a-Cab Scheme, 1989, and the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. These violating operators face a fine of Rs 10,000, along with suspension of registration while repeat offenders will have their permits cancelled. Meanwhile, the Transport Dept has issued a total of 89,096 permits to date. However, a 6.79 percent decline was recorded in 2024, following a sharp 51.86 percent rise in 2023 and a massive 161.71 percent jump in 2022. These permits include All India Tourist Permits, Contract Carriage permits, National Permits, Goods Permits and others. >Continued on P5 PANAJI: The State has reported a whopping 3,484 cases of influenza across health centres in less than three months with authorities advising precautionary measures to curb its spread. While the seasonal surge is expected during this time of the year – from January to March -- the Directorate of Health Services (DHS) has stressed the need for hygiene and protective while for the students of Class I to V and Class XI, the term will start from June and end in April. It also said that there shall be a break of one week between the end of the academic year and the beginning of the new academic year. The Goa Headmasters’ Association (GHA) has welcomed the State >Continued on P5 measures, especially for high-risk groups. According to official data exclusively with The Goan, January recorded 1,142 cases of influenza-like illness (ILI) and 155 cases of severe acute respiratory illness (SARI). The numbers peaked in February with 1,535 ILI cases and 214 SARI cases with March (till date) recording 807 and 118 cases, respectively.  >> See pg 3