log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline MONDAY JUNE 1, 2026 GOA OIL PRICES, RUPEE MOVEMENT & FII SELLING IN FOCUS THIS WEEK IN SHORT >> Tourist duo injured in rent-a-bike mishap MAPUSA: Amid growing concerns over rash driving by tourists in the State, a tourist couple riding a rent-a-bike scooter was involved in an accident with a taxi cab on the Siolim-Marna road on Sunday, once again drawing attention to road safety issues linked to rental vehicles.  >> See pg 3 MP Pappu Yadav visits Colva beach MARGAO: Tourists and locals at the iconic Colva beach were in for a surprise when a tall, well-built stranger strolling along the silvery sands turned out to be none other than Bihar Member of Parliament Pappu Yadav.   >> See pg 5 Kejriwal joins Karapur protesters PANAJI: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday joined villagers in Karapur, who have been staging a sit-in for 57 days against the 'Abhinandan Lodha Mega Project'. Kejriwal, accompanied by Atishi, the party's State president Valmiki Naik and Velim MLA Cruz Silva, accused the BJP government in Goa of siding with builder lobbies. >> See pg 3 Woman hurt in bison attack at Revora MAPUSA: A 45-year-old woman from Revora sustained serious injuries after she was attacked by a bison early Sunday. The victim, identified as Cynthia Fernandes, was rushed to the North Goa District Hospital in Mapusa after suffering severe injuries in the attack.  >> See pg 5 Building collapses in Delhi, 6 dead NEW DELHI: The death toll in the collapse of a commercial building near Saket Metro station in south Delhi rose to six, while several others were rescued from the debris, officials said. WEATHER >> Max: Min: Humidity: 35.2 C 27.8 C 65% TIDES Low: 04.59 17.50 High: 12.12 22.35 The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) 12 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME XI, NO. 344 Instagram.com/thegoanonline RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 3 2 9 Congress plunges into turmoil over Chodankar’s comeback Kshatriya Samaj urges govt to defer ST reservation notification >> pg 6 Facebook.com/thegoan GOA INFO Habitual gold fraudster from Kerala held at party venue in Calangute From fine to fabulous: How to give thin hair instant bounce  TRIGGERS WAVE OF RESIGNATIONS  GPCC MOVES TO CONTAIN POLITICAL FALLOUT, APPOINTS FRESH FACES THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The All India Congress Committee's (AICC) decision to reappoint Girish Chodankar as president of the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) has plunged the State unit into turmoil, triggering a wave of resignations, open dissent and growing resentment among party leaders just months before the crucial 2027 Assembly elections. What was intended as an organisational overhaul by the Congress high command has instead exposed deep fault lines within the Goa Congress, with several leaders accusing the party leadership of imposing decisions without consulting grassroots workers and local functionaries. The first signs of rebellion emerged within hours of the announcement, as GPCC General Secretary Manisha Usgaonkar tendered her resignation, publicly questioning both the timing and rationale behind replacing Amit Patkar at a critical juncture ahead of Leadership change decided before ZP polls: Thakare PANAJI: AICC Goa desk in-charge Manickrao Thakare has revealed that the decision to replace the State Congress president Amit Patkar was taken in December, before the Zilla Panchayat elections itself. Senior leaders in Goa were aware of the move, and detailed discussions were held with national president Mallikarjun Kharge in Bengaluru, he added. Thakre said he will personally meet Patkar and South Goa MP Viriato Fernandes to the elections. The discontent quickly spread through the party ranks. Goa Congress Social Media Chairman Divyakumar Khandhar resigned, followed by GPCC members including Shamila Siddiqui, Rajesh Sawal, Saee Volvoikar and Vishal Volvoikar. Their exits underscored the growing unease over the leadership change. The backlash has been par- address their concerns. “If anyone is upset, we will succeed in resolving their grievances,” he asserted. Thakre admitted that Fernandes was not specifically informed before the official announcement but added that all leaders knew that the change was imminent. Thakare will hold meetings with Fernandes, Patkar, and other leaders to calm the dissent and restore unity in the party when he comes back to Goa within the next couple of days. ticularly intense in South Goa, where block-level leaders and party workers have openly expressed anger over the AICC's move. Some disgruntled workers have even called upon South Goa MP Capt Viriato Fernandes to resign from the Lok Sabha in protest against what they described as the central leadership's disregard for the sentiments of Goa Congress workers. Sources said Quepem MLA Big push for tribal welfare, govt unveils outreach drive ‘DHARTI AABA SUVIDHA KENDRAS’ TO BE SET UP IN TRIBAL-DOMINATED PANCHAYATS THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI In a major initiative aimed at strengthening last-mile delivery of welfare services for Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities, the State government has notified the “Dharti Aaba Suvidha Kendra” (DASK) scheme, under which dedicated facilitation centres will be established in every Village Panchayat where the ST population exceeds 35 per cent. Announced by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant in the 2026-27 Budget, the scheme seeks to bridge gaps in access to government services caused by administrative distance, lack of awareness, digital exclusion and geographical isolation in tribal areas. According to the notification, the DASK centres will function as integrated one-stop facilities to provide information, assistance „„Easy access to govt „„Support for caste welfare schemes certificate applications, grievance HOW „„Help in getting benefits KENDRAS redressal like housing, „„Health WILL scholarships, camps, immuBENEFIT pensions, nisation drives TRIBALS and nutrition forest rights awareness „„Digital support for Aadhaar-linked „„Skill development, services and online applidigital literacy, entreprecations neurship support „„Reduced travel burden „„Protection of culture, through local document stronger implementation collection, assistance of Forest Rights Act and convergence of welfare schemes meant for tribal communities. The centres will be operated through NGOs or charitable trusts and will focus on improving accessibility, promoting inclusion and facilitating grievance redressal. The government said the centres will assist tribal families in availing benefits under various State and central schemes, including housing, scholarships, pensions and forest rights. They will also provide digital support for Aadhaar-linked services, >Continued on P7 Altone D'Costa, who was simultaneously appointed one of the GPCC's working presidents, has conveyed strong reservations over the leadership change and is expected to formally communicate his displeasure to the party high command. Capt Viriato is also learnt to be unhappy with the decision. Party insiders point out that Fernandes had played a key role nearly six months ago TOURISTS AT IT AGAIN; VIRAL CLIPS EXPOSE RISKY STUNTS ON PAGE 2 GPCC holds review meet to chalk out strategy for Assembly elections Pressure mounts on Viriato to intervene with party high command in stalling an earlier attempt to replace Patkar, making the latest move by the high command particularly contentious. Several Congress leaders have privately questioned the wisdom of bringing back Chodankar, who resigned as GPCC president following the party's disappointing performance in the 2022 Assembly elections, where Congress won only 11 seats. The reappointment follows Chodankar's successful stint as AICC in-charge for Tamil Nadu, where he was credited with helping forge a post-poll >Continued on P7 SPORTS SAFF Women's C'ship: India outclasses Bangladesh to top Group B 11 Goa’s water hero, kokum drinks win PM’s praise Says kokum-based beverages are effective summer refreshments THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday, spotlighted Goa in his monthly Mann Ki Baat programme, praising a retired school teacher from Canacona for resolving a drinking water crisis in his village and highlighting the state’s traditional kokum-based beverages as effective summer refreshments. MANN KI BAAT During the broadcast, Modi lauded Balkrishna Ayya, a retired teacher from Loliem, Canacona, for his initiative in addressing a long-standing drinking water shortage affecting residents of the Hundolle-Madditalap area. The Prime Minister said Ayya stepped in after observing that nearly 20 to 25 households were struggling to access potable water. Taking matters into his own hands, he dug a step-well that struck water at a depth of nearly 40 metres, installed a pump, and laid pipelines to supply water MODI MESSAGE „„Hails Balkrishna for solving water crisis „„Praises community-driven efforts „„Highlights kokum drink, Sol Kadi for summer „„Urges people to stay safe during heatwaves PM acknowledgment will motivate me to work harder in future: Balkrishna >> See pg 3 to neighbouring homes. Describing the effort as an example of community-driven problem-solving, Modi said such initiatives demonstrate how individual commitment can bring meaningful change and improve lives at the grassroots level. The Prime Minister also referred to Goa while >Continued on P7 RCB STRIKES GOLD AGAIN! 1 Two videos have gone viral on social media drawning attention to reckless behaviour by tourists on Goa’s roads, raising concerns over road safety and the lack of strict enforcement with residents and road safety experts describing them as serious traffic violations that put not only those involved at risk, but also other motorists and pedestrians. In one incident on the NH-66 stretch between Guirim and Mapusa, a group of youths, believed to be tourists, were seen hanging out of a moving car, waving their hands and behaving dangerously amid traffic. One youth was even seen removing his T-shirt while leaning outside the vehicle. In another incident at Baga, at least ten young men were crammed into a single car, with two travelling in the open dickey as the vehicle moved with its rear door fully open.  >> See pg 3 2 3 Royal Challengers Bengaluru clinched their second consecutive IPL title, riding on an unbeaten 75 off 42 balls by Virat Kohli, to beat Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2026 final in Ahmedabad on Sunday. (Report on pg 12) Board tightens re-exam norms for SSC students with ATKT, low skill grades THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (GBSHSE) has clarified that SSC students who were awarded ATKT or secured Grade ‘I’ or ‘H’ in skill-based subjects in the March 2026 examination will have to reap- pear for the entire subject and cannot appear only for the practical component. The clarification comes after the Board received requests from schools seeking permission for such students to appear only for the practical examination of skill-based subjects. In a circular issued to heads of affiliated schools, the Board stated that once a candidate's result is finalized with Grade ‘I’ or Grade ‘H’ in any subject, the student is required to appear in the concerned subject during the ensuing examination and secure the qualifying Grade ‘G’ as per the prescribed >Continued on P7 Govt reduces windfall tax on New-gen tobacco products luring kids faster: Experts HOW CHILDREN ARE BEING TARGETTED petrol, diesel, ATF exports PTI STATUS QUO ON FUEL DUTY RATES FOR DOMESTIC USE PTI NEW DELHI The government has halved windfall gains tax on export of petrol to Rs 1.5 litre, while reducing the levy on diesel to Rs 13.5/litre and aviation turbine fuel to Rs 9.5/litre effective June 1. The finance ministry in a notification said road and infrastructure cess will be nil on export of petrol and diesel. Also, there is no change in the existing duty rates on petrol and diesel cleared for do- mestic consumption. The special additional excise duty (SAED) on petrol at Rs 3/litre was imposed on May 16 and the fortnightly review slashed it to Rs 1.5/litre from June 1. The duty on export of diesel has been reduced to Rs 13.5 per litre, from Rs 16.5 per litre, and aviation turbine fuel to Rs 9.5 per litre, from Rs 16 per litre from June 1. The government had on March 26 imposed an export duty of Rs 21.50 a litre on diesel, and Rs 29.5 a litre on ATF. In the review on April 11, the duties were hiked to Rs 55.5/litre and Rs 42/litre. In the April 30 review, they were cut to Rs 23/litre and Rs 33/litre, and further slashed to Rs 16.5/litre and Rs 16/litre on May 16. The windfall tax was levied to increase domestic availability of the fuel amid the US-Israel and Iran war. It was also aimed at not allowing exporters to take undue advantage due to price differences as globally crude oil prices had risen since the beginning of the war. NEW DELHI hildren are up to nine times more likely than adults to be attracted to new tobacco and nicotine products, making them the primary targets of industry marketing strategies, leading public health experts warned on World No Tobacco Day on Sunday. The experts said the tobacco and nicotine industry is increasingly using flavours, sleek designs, digital promotion and other tactics to make its products appealing to young people, raising concerns about a new generation becoming addicted to nicotine. C „„Flavoured tobacco, nicotine products designed to attract youth „„Sleek, colourful, trendy product designs target children „„Heavy digital, social media promotion influence young users „„Marketing creates curiosity, experimentation, addiction „„Newer nicotine products falsely perceived as ‘safe’ „„Attractive packaging hides serious health risks „„Illegal online sales increase access to e-cigarettes „„Peer pressure, influencer culture encourages vaping „„Gutkha, khaini still aggressively marketed The warning comes as the world marks this year's World No Tobacco Day under the theme, “Unmasking the Appeal: Countering Nicotine and Tobacco Addiction”, which focuses on exposing the tactics and strategies used to make tobacco and nicotine products appear attractive, particularly to children. Dr Shalini Singh, Director of ICMR-National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Re- search (NICPR), said tobacco and nicotine often focus their marketing efforts on children and young adults as most users start consuming such products during adolescence or early adulthood. “That is why the marketing tactics are designed to create curiosity, experimentation and eventually addiction,” she said on Sunday during a webinar organised by Tobacco Free India, a citizens'' initiative. She said the challenge today extends beyond traditional tobacco products and includes newer nicotine products. Former Chief of the National Cancer Institute in Delhi, Dr Alok Thakar, said tobacco continues to impose a heavy burden on health system. “As oncologists, we witness the consequences of tobacco use every day. Many tobacco-related cancers are preventable, yet thousands of families continue to suffer,” he said.