log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline MONDAY MARCH 24, 2025 Facebook.com/thegoan The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) 12 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME X, NO. 275 Instagram.com/thegoanonline IPL: Noor, Ravindra star as CSK beats MI  Pg 12 RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 INVESTMENT STARTS FROM >> pg 6 6 factors, including monthly expiry and FII flows, to shape D-Street IN SHORT >> Pay parking in Mapusa soon MAPUSA: Mapusa Municipal Council is set to introduce new pay parking zones and improve amenities in the market area to provide better services to the public. Chairperson Priya Mishal, along with her colleagues and engineering staff, conducted an inspection of various locations in the market to assess infrastructure issues.   >> See pg 3 Turtles return to Vagator beach MAPUSA: The coastal village of Anjuna is once again witnessing a natural spectacle as Olive Ridley turtles have laid their eggs on Vagator beach, sparking celebration among local residents and renewed calls for conservation efforts. The discovery was made by Chairman of the Anjuna-Caisua Biodiversity Management Committee, Ramesh Naik.  >> See pg 3 Anjuna local held with drugs worth ` 9L PANAJI: Anti-Narcotics Cell of Goa police conducted a narcotics raid at Vagator, arresting 33-year-old Karan Govekar from Anjuna and seizing drugs worth Rs 8.98 lakh from him. During the operation, officials recovered 37 grams of Cocaine, 37 grams of Methamphetamine, and 15 high-quality Ecstasy tablets. Sambhal violence: Mosque chief held NEW DELHI: Shahi Jama Masjid management committee president Zafar Ali was arrested on Sunday after being questioned in connection with the November 24 violence during a protest against a court-ordered survey of the Mughal-era mosque.  >> See pg 7 WEATHER >> Max: 34.4 C Min: 23 C Humidity: 74% TIDES Low: High: 00:11 11:59 04:05 19:54 Cong rules out alliance for Assembly elections AICC SECY SAYS WILL FIELD ONLY LOYAL CANDIDATES THE GOAN I NETWORK MAPUSA AICC Secretary and Goa co-incharge Anjali Nimbalkar reiterated on Sunday that Congress will not enter into an alliance with any other party for the upcoming Assembly elections, stressing the party’s commitment to fielding candidates who are deeply loyal to its ideology. Speaking at a function commemorating ‘Martyrs’ Day in Mapusa, Nimbalkar highlighted a growing discontent among Goans with the BJP-led government, citing rampant corruption, land grab cases, land conversions, cash-forjobs schemes and deteriorating law and order in the State. “With these issues on the rise, people have realized that Congress is the only party working for them,” she stated. Cong to contest all seats: Nimbalkar MARGAO: Saying the people of Goa do not want the Congress to forge any alliances with Opposition parties for the upcoming polls, AICC Secretary and Goa co-incharge Dr Anjali Nimbalkar on Sunday said the voice of Goans would resonate before the High Command to take a decision. Exuding confidence that the Congress High Command would stick to the voice of the people of Goa, Anjali said Congress would contest elections in all the seats. Anjali said, “after moving in around 20-25 constituencies, the voice of the people of Goa is one sided. Congress workers and voters don’t want any alliance with the AAP or any other party.  >> See pg 2 Nimbalkar emphasized that during her interactions across Goa, there was a unanimous call against forming any alliances. “Everyone is saying don’t form an alliance. The voice of Goans will be heard, and we will ensure that our high command takes the right decision,” she added. In a pointed critique, Nimbalkar labeled the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) as the “B team” of the BJP, warning that their participation could split the secular vote and play Central body asks State for decades-old forest records SEEKS INFO ON FOREST LAND DIVERTED FOR OTHER PURPOSE AND ACTION ON COMPENSATORY AFFORESTATION THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The National Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) has directed Goa to furnish reconciliation of project-wise information on forest land diverted for non-forest purpose and the compensatory afforestation (CA) undertaken since 1980. In a communication to the State Chief Secretary, the Chief Executive Officer Subhash Chandra has sought data before CAMPA body was constituted and post CAMPA came into force in 2008-09 and once the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act 2016 came into force. “The DGF advised States/ UTs to furnish reconciliation of project wise information on forest land diverted and the corresponding status of CA against approvals of forest land diversion granted by the Central government under the Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam 1980. GOA’S GREEN LEDGER: DATA „„Goa lost over 249.96 sq kms of forest land for non-forest projects in over two decades „„Of total 245.96 sq kms, almost 11% of land diverted in last five years „„Nearly 40% of diverted land used for mining while 60% for govt infra projects „„From 1980 till Dec 2024, State managed to take up a total of 3079 ha of CA & penal CA towards diversion of forest land „„State has to take up total of 3765.4 ha of CA & Penal CA „„State has to achieve 686 ha of CA & Penal CA by March 2027 As per the information, Goa has lost over 249.96 sq kms of forest land for non-forestry projects like mining, roads, water pipeline, double tracking of railway line and other infrastructure purposes in over two decades. Such a huge diversion was despite the FCA 1980, which provides for the conservation of forests across the country in several ways including restricting the use of forests for non-forest purposes (including cultivation). The data further reveals that of the total 245.96 sq kms, almost 11 per cent, that is 28.05 sq kms of the land, was diverted in the last five years from 2019-23. Nearly 40 per cent of the diverted land was used for iron ore mining and dumping purposes while the other 60 per cent was towards government infrastructure projects. Goa lost a large chunk of its forest land in the early 90s. From  1980 till December 2024, the State has managed >Continued on P5 into the hands of the ruling party. “If they come and fight the election, then Delhi will repeat here. The people of Goa are ready to show the BJP, AAP and TMC their place,” she said. The AICC leader also acknowledged past challenges within the party, admitting that Congress MLAs had defected in pursuit of money and power. However, she assured that the party has learned from those experiences and is now focused on building a robust organization in the State. “This time, we will select candidates who are true to our party’s ideology. If we get 25 to 27 MLAs elected, we are confident they will remain loyal to Congress,” Nimbalkar >Continued on P5 Indian-origin man, daughter killed in US store shooting PTI VIRGINIA A 56-year-old Indian-origin man and his 24-year-old daughter were shot dead at a convenience store in the US state of Virginia and police have arrested one person in connection with the shooting, according to media reports. Pradipkumar Patel and his daughter were working at the store on Lankford Highway in Accomack County when the shooting incident happened. Accomack County is located on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. The Accomack County Sheriff’’s office said deputies were called shortly after 5.30 am on March 20 on reports of a shooting victim, Shore Daily News reported. When they arrived, deputies discovered an unresponsive man suffering from apparent gunshot wounds, it said. While searching the building, deputies found a woman suffering from apparent gunshot wounds as well. ` 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 * Three-day Assembly session from today ALL EYES ON CM’s FISCAL ROADMAP THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The three-day Budget Session of the Goa Legislative Assembly is set to commence from March 24. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who holds the Finance Portfolio, will place the State Financial Statement cum State Budget 2025-26 on March 26 and will seek Vote on Account for four months. Budget would be passed during the monsoon session in July. Total 728 questions have been raised by the MLAs for the three-day session of which 180 are starred questions while another 548 are unstarred. The House will witness discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the Governor’s Address, which was delivered on February 6. The discussion will take place for two-days with the Chief Minister’s reply slated for Tuesday. On Monday, the government will introduce three Total 728 questions have been raised by the MLAs for the three-day session of which 180 are starred questions while another 548 are unstarred bills --The Goa State Research Foundation (Amendment) Bill, 2025, The Goa Private Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2025 and The Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) (Goa Amendment) Bill, 2025. The Opposition parties have criticised the government over the short tenure of the  budget  session. The Opposition led by Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao held a meeting on Thursday, to chalk out a strategy to corner the government on issues like job scam, law and order, financial mismanagement, unemployment, etc. Opposition is expected to raise the issue concerning >Continued on P5 After 5-week hospital stay, Pope finally back home PTI VATICAN A frail Pope Francis returned to the Vatican on Sunday after a five-week hospitalisation for life-threatening double pneumonia, and he made a surprise stop at his favorite basilica on the way home before beginning two months of prescribed rest and recovery. The 88-year-old pope sat in the front passenger seat wearing nasal tubes to give him supplemental oxygen as he entered the Perugino gate of Vatican City, where his return brought relief after fears that his illness could be fatal. Francis’ motorcade from Gemelli hospital overshot the Vatican initially and took a detour across town to stop at St Mary Major basilica. He didn’t get out of the car but gave a bouquet of flowers to basilica’s cardinal to place in front of Salus populi Romani icon. The Byzantine-style painting on wood is revered by Romans and is so important to Francis that he has chosen to be buried in the basilica to be near it. A section of the crowd opposing the work on the heritage interpretation centre at Old Goa on Sunday. (Inset) Cannon balls at the project site. Manuel Vaz Hundreds storm Old Goa to protest heritage centre work THE GOAN I NETWORK OLD GOA Hundreds of people gathered in Old Goa on Sunday to oppose the heritage interpretation centre under PRASAD scheme, the work for which has begun since the last few days. A call to oppose the project was given by the Save Old Goa Action Committee (SOGAC) as they pointed out that the project comes within the protected zone of the UNESCO mon- uments and if allowed would prove detrimental to the heritage value of the former capital city. RELATED REPORTS ON PG 3 Various speakers pointed out that the area where the project is planned is itself a heritage area as it used to be the site where the arsenal existed. “During the excavation that was undertaken for the project, several canon balls were found but the irony is that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) did not take note of the same despite their office being located nearby,” said former bureaucrat Elvis Gomes while stating that the ASI was duty bound to immediately take steps to take possession of the canon balls and immediately stop any excavation activity. “Whenever there is an archaeological find the ASI >Continued on P5 APAAR enrollment picks up, Organ donation on the rise in Goa, 1,300 sign up over 76% students register 14k Goans benefit from Centre’s health scheme THE GOAN I NETWORK THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI With Goa government making Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR) ID mandatory for availing benefits like mid-day meal, the student registration to generate APAAR ID has gained momentum with the State achieving over 76 per cent coverage as on date. The initiative, part of the Centre’s ‘One Nation, One Student ID’ programme, is set to provide a unique ID to each student, consolidating their academic journey. APAAR ID has been made mandatory to obtain benefits of free textbooks, mid-day meals and other government benefit schemes. Also, students will have to produce the ID for inter-school transfers and migration henceforth Speaking to The Go an, Director Education Shailesh Zingade confirmed that with 2.25 lakh plus students generating their  APAAR  ID, the total enrolment have crossed 76 per cent as on date. The total targeted enrolment of the State is 2,91,112 that included 81,589 secondary and higher secondary students. Zingade said that all 1,472 schools have initiated the student enrolment process. “We have not set any deadline to achieve 100 per cent coverage. But, more early the student does, it will benefit him or her,” the director said. The department has made  APAAR  ID mandatory to obtain benefits of free textbooks, mid-day meals and >Continued on P5 PANAJI hirteen hundred individuals in Goa have formally pledged to donate organs on their deaths even as 29 organs -- 16 kidneys, seven livers, four hearts and two lungs -- were harvested from eight brain dead donors, mostly accident victims, over the last four-odd years since the State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (SOTTO) was established at the Goa Medical College. All these organs were successfully used in transplant procedures at hospitals here and also in other States. According to SOTO data, living donors of organs have T PANAJI: Nearly 14,000 patients in Goa have had their hospital bills aggregating Rs 5 crore paid under the Centre’s health insurance scheme -- Ayushman Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, information furnished in Parliament has revealed. Insurance cover is provided for twenty-seven treatment protocols for various diseases in emalso risen with as many as 49 organ transplants performed so far with kidneys donated by living donors.  Interestingly, women outnumber men on the roster of living kidney donors in the State so far. Usually, the living panelled secondary and tertiary hospitals, both in the public as well as private sector. Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, J P Nadda, also told Parliament that the scheme is being improvised, even as he revealed that the process for empanelling of more hospitals has been left open-ended and is the responsibility of the States.  >> See pg 5 kidney donors are next of kin of the recipient patients. Of the 49 people who donated kidneys while alive, over 70 per cent, 34 were women and 15 were men. On the flipside, in the list of recipients of the kidneys, the ratio reversed with 35 kidneys transplanted into male patients and 14 beneficiary patients were women. SOTTO data also shows that 34 corneal transplants have been conducted, thus far.  In Goa, kidney transplant procedures are conducted at the Goa Medical College and a handful of private hospitals. and SOTTO, which is headed by GMC Dean, Dr Shivanand Bandekar, actively engages with communities across Goa to create awareness about organ donation. At the GMC, meanwhile, where brain deaths occur at the rate of 1-2 per month, these are by default notified to SOTTO whose teams then engage with the patient’s families to tap the opportunity for voluntary organ donation. The family is explained the meaning of “brain death” and then organ donation is suggested, a SOTTO official said, adding that the decision to donate is >Continued on P5