log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline FRIDAY OCTOBER 24, 2025 GOA Facebook.com/thegoan The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) 13 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME XI, NO. 126 Major jolt for BJP in Davorlim as its candidate loses Sarpanch election 2 GOA Garbage crisis in Mapusa festers amid unpaid dues, worker unrest 3 Instagram.com/thegoanonline RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 INFO Are food packages raising your breast cancer risk? Anjuna wall row puts WRD’s private works under scanner DEPT ENGINEERS DIVIDED OVER PRIVATE PROJECTS; SOME SAY PERMITTED WITH SANCTION AND FULL PAYMENT, OTHERS CALL IT AN EXCEPTION AGNELO PEREIRA THE GOAN I MAPUSA The ongoing controversy over the construction of an anti-sea erosion wall at Anjuna linked to Siolim MLA Delilah Lobo and Calangute MLA Michael Lobo has brought the functioning of the Water Resources Department (WRD) under public scrutiny, with several current and former engineers of the department offering differing views on whether the WRD can legally take up private works. The general consensus among engineers – both serving and retired – is that the WRD can undertake works for private parties, but only under specific conditions: the government must approve the proposal and the cost of the work must be fully borne by the private entity. However, they also stressed that such instances are uncommon and handled as exceptions rather than routine practice. A recently retired WRD engineer explained that any Page 6 GST cuts fuel small cars to make a big comeback Mini JCW Countryman ALL4: Power and a dash of madness IN SHORT >> Humid days, stormy nights in Goa; yellow alert till Oct 26 PANAJI: Goa saw light rain and thunderstorms on Thursday, following three nights of heavy rainfall since October 20. While early-week days were humid and sunny, temperatures fell amid storms at night. The IMD has issued a yellow alert until October 26.   >> See pg 3 Boy averts disaster, puts out fire at home BICHOLIM: A brave nineyear-old boy from Lakhere-Bicholim showed remarkable presence of mind and acted quickly to extinguish a fire in his house, thereby preventing his home from getting destroyed.  >> See pg 2 „„WRD can execute WRD’s functional scope; private projects only estimates and suwith government pervision charges approval and apply full cost borne WHAT THE „„Mandatory by the private ENGINEERS permissions party like CRZ clearSAY... „„Such works ance are required are rare exceptions, „„Departmental not routine work is generally for public „„Projects must fall within benefit, not individual gain government department, including the WRD, can take up works for private organisations if directed by the government and if the concerned party pays the full cost and necessary departmental charges. “On many occasions, projects are taken up on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) basis or even directly from private organisations or individuals, provided they deposit the required funds with the government,” the engineer said. “However, it is not a gener- al practice to take up private works. In some cases, projects of large institutions like the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) are approved by the government,” he added. Another ex-senior WRD engineer said the department can undertake such projects if they fall within its purview. “The department prepares the estimate and the private party must pay the entire cost of the work plus 15 per cent supervision charges,” he said. A former WRD engineer also confirmed that such works for private individuals Lobo couple had obtained WRD, CRZ clearances for anti-sea erosion wall MAPUSA: It has come to light that the anti-sea erosion wall being constructed along the seaward edge of the property belonging to Calangute MLA Michael Lobo and Siolim MLA Delilah Lobo’s son has received necessary approvals from the authorities concerned. Sources in the Water Resources Department (WRD) confirmed that the MLA couple had obtained official permission from the department to execute the construction.  >> See pg 3 are “rarely taken up,” but can be executed as a special case with government approval. A serving WRD engineer explained that if the proposed work falls within the department’s functional scope, the WRD can undertake it after drawing up an estimate and recommending an executing agency. “The cost has to be fully paid by the private party,” he said, adding that “the concerned individual must also secure all mandatory permissions, including those under the Coastal Regulation Zone Dept reissues order as cops’ transfer defiance drags on IGNORED TRANSFERS OVER YEARS RAISE DOUBTS OVER CONTROL, STALLING POSTINGS ACROSS RANKS THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI In a telling sign of administrative breakdown, hundreds of Goa Police personnel continue to defy transfer orders from their own superiors, forcing the department to reissue – yet again – directives that are routinely ignored. The latest instruction, issued through a wireless message by Superintendent of Police (Headquarters) Dharmesh Angle on the orders of Deputy Inspector General (Headquarters) Ajay Krishnan Sharma, follows repeated failures to implement transfer directions recommended by the Police Establishment Board (PEB) over the past several years. An internal review earlier this year revealed that several personnel have remained in the same postings for more than five years, while others managed to return to their old positions without ever joining their new ones — a practice first exposed by The Goan in STATE OF AFFAIRS: STALLED TRANSFERS „„This year alone, 506 officers and personnel, including three inspectors, 24 sub-inspectors, 39 assistant sub-inspectors, 60 head constables, and 380 constables, have allegedly ignored their transfer orders „„Two earlier reminders, issued on September 15 and 19, instructed immediate compliance, but had no effect „„Sources at police headquarters say the reluctance to relocate stems from fears of losing access to preferred postings permanently October 2024. This year alone, 506 officers and personnel including three inspectors, 24 sub-inspectors, 39 assistant sub-inspectors, 60 head constables and 380 constables, have allegedly ignored their transfer orders. Two earlier reminders, issued on September 15 and 19, instructed immediate compliance, but to no effect. Sources at the police headquarters said reluctance to relocate stems from fears of losing access to preferred post- ings permanently. Between 2020 and 2025, 73 personnel including five sub-inspectors and 20 head constables, have continued to evade transfers, often remaining in “temporary” arrangements for years. The problem traces back to the 2024 transfer cycle, when a review in early 2025 found that nearly half of the 704 officers transferred in September 2024 were still occupying their original positions. >Continued on P5 (CRZ) norms.” Another senior engineer pointed out that departmental work is generally limited to projects that benefit a larger community. “For individual benefit, we normally don’t take up such works,” he clarified. In the Anjuna case, MLA Delilah Lobo has maintained that all necessary approvals were obtained before the construction began. “We have obtained permissions from the WRD for the >Continued on P5 After 9-month lull, Mhadei House panel to meet today THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI After a gap of more than ninemonths, the Goa Legislative Assembly’s House Committee on Mhadei river diversion is set to hold its third meeting on Friday, October 24. The 12-member House Committee under WRD Minister Subhash Shirodkar was reconstituted in September, last month. Curchorem MLA Nilesh Cabral has replaced ex-Minister Aleixo Sequeira on the committee. The Committee was initially set up in January, 2023 to study Mhadei river diversion matter following persistent violation by Karnataka to divert the river water for its Kalsa Bhandura project. The Committee has so far held only two meetings – first in February 2023 and second on January 8, 2025. During its first meeting, the Committee decided to involve experts to study violations but did not follow up. In the second meeting, a joint site inspection with Karnataka failed to yield conclusions. 10 SPORTS India loses ODI series after narrow defeat to Australia 13 119 Maharashtrian families draw rations from Goa shops Scheme ensures ration access across States; four Goan families avail benefits elsewhere THE GOAN I NETWORK RATIONS WITHOUT BORDERS PANAJI It is not 'Omkar' the elephant alone who strays beyond the borders of Maharashtra and settles in Goa for a while. Like the sometimes friendly other times boisterous tusker, several people from the same Sindhudurg district too make Goa a temporary home. According to civil supplies department officials, 18 families from Sindhudurg pick their monthly quotas of ration from fair price shops in Goa. Another 15 families from Kholapur do the same and in all 119 families from Maharashtra avail their monthly rations from Goan fair price shops. This has been possible under the 'One Nation, One Ration Scheme' launched by the Centre which allows beneficiaries to use their ration cards issued in their states to buy rations in another, anywhere in the country. The officials said under this scheme, a person from any other State can come and avail rations from fair price shops in Goa with a „„The officials say under this scheme, a person from any other State can come and avail rations from fair price shops in Goa with a card issued by their own native State „„Similarly, Goans can do the same in any other State they move to temporarily using their Goan ration card „„No specific formality like separate registration is necessary card issued by their own native State. Similarly, Goans can do the same in any other State they move to temporarily using their Goan ration card. Only AAY and PHH card holders who are covered under the National Food Security Scheme (NFSA) are eligible for this 'One Nation, One Ration' though. Above poverty line (APL) ration card holders are not eligible. No specific formality like separate registration is necessary. They can just bring their ration cards from their home State and directly pick up their monthly ration quota from the fair price shops anywhere in Goa, the officials said. Meanwhile, of the 119 ration card holders from Maharashtra who lift their rations here, 69 of them do so from fair price shops in South Goa and 50 in the North. Apart from Kholapur and Sindhudurg, people from remote Maharashtrian districts like Yavatmal, Latur, Jalgaon, Nanded, Beed, Akola and Ahmednagar also use the scheme to pick rations in Goa. On the flip-side, four Goan families who have ration cards issued here, pick their monthly rations from fair price shops in other States – three from North Goa and one from the South. These Goan families pick their rations in Maharashtra, Kerala and Gujarat. 42 rescued as cruise, dinghy stranded off Aguada Bay DRISHTI MARINE LIFESAVERS BRAVE TURBULENT SEAS TO PULL OFF TWIN RESCUES AMID IMD WEATHER ALERT The cruise boat, which had been caught amid rocks due to the rough weather on Thursday evening. THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Drishti Marine lifesavers rescued 42 persons, including 38 tourists onboard a cruise boat and four on a dinghy, after both vessels stranded among rocks off Aguada Bay on Thursday evening amid rough sea conditions. A press statement by Drishti Marine states that thunder- storm-induced turbulent seas and strong waves made the rescue operations challenging. A team of 12 lifesavers deployed on a rigid inflatable boat (RIB) and jetskis first responded to the distress call from the cruise boat, which had been caught amid rocks due to the rough weather. All 38 passengers were safely evacuated and brought ashore. Soon after, the lifesavers received an alert about a dinghy stuck nearby, following which they rescued four persons onboard and brought them to safety. "Both operations were completed without injury to either the rescued persons or the rescuers. The lifesavers were >Continued on P5 Modi skips EAS; speculation ‘Ancessao’ bags ‘Best Global Short Film’ in Toronto Prashanti Talpankar makes history for Konkani cinema with Best Actor (International) award over Trump meeting ends MEA CONFIRMS PM WILL JOIN SUMMIT ONLINE; JAISHANKAR TO REPRESENT INDIA IN KUALA LUMPUR AGENCIES NEW DELHI Ending days of speculation over a possible meeting with US President Donald Trump on the margins of the East Asia Summit (EAS) in Kuala Lumpur, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not travel to the Malaysian capital. The MEA said that the PM will “virtually attend” the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)-India meeting on October 26, while External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will represent him at the EAS on October 27. On Thursday morning, in a social media post, the PM said he had a phone conversation with his Malaysian counterpart, Anwar Ibrahim, and was looking forward to joining the Asean-India summit virtually. In his Facebook post, Ibrahim said Modi had informed him that he would attend the summit online since the “Deepavali festival was still being celebrated” in India. The phone call took place on Wednesday evening. Sources attributed Modi’s inability to attend the meetings in Kuala Lumpur to scheduling conflicts. Trump is among several world leaders attending the EAS, along with Canadian PM Mark Carney and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI he 30-minute Konkani short film Ancessao, directed by Manguirish Jagdish Bandodkar, has won the Best International Short Film award at the 14th International Film Festival of South Asia (IFFSA) held in Toronto, North America. Goan actor Prashanti Talpankar was also honoured with the Best Actor (International) award for her moving performance in the film. Ancessao was the only Goan and Konkani entry officially selected for IFFSA Toronto 2025, the largest South T (Left) A still from Ancessao. (Right) Actor Prashanti Talpankar with director Manguirish Bandodkar. Asian film festival in North America. It was screened on October 14 at Cineplex Cinemas Courtney Park, Mississauga, drawing acclaim for its intimate storytelling and authentic Goan setting. The film explores the inner world of an elderly Goan woman living alone in her village home. Isolated and longing for connection, she turns to gossip to fill the void, finding both amusement and moments of guilt in meddling with others’ affairs. Blending humour with quiet melancholy, Ancessao paints a vivid portrait of solitude and small-town life, capturing the rhythms of everyday existence and the quiet longings that lie beneath idle chatter. Critics have praised the film for its tonal balance, rich character work, and deeply human gaze. Written in 2022, filmed across Chandor, Curtorim, and Cuncolim in South Goa during 2024, and completed in 2025, Ancessao showcases the beauty and solitude of Goan villages through a >Continued on P5