log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline SATURDAY NOVEMBER 2, 2024 GOA 2 Goan associations celebrate culture, traditions in UK Two Goans power to fame in bodybuilding IN SHORT >> Govt moves to draft action plan to tackle air pollution in Goa PANAJI: Following directions from the National Green Tribunal, Goa government has initiated a process to draft a State specific action plan to fight and control air pollution. The State government has constituted 13-member State Air Quality Monitoring Committee under Secretary Environment to prepare a State Action Plan for Air Quality Management for Goa.   >> See pg 3 Eco-sensitive zones panel reconstituted PANAJI: The State government has reconstituted a 16-member committee under the chief secretary to monitor activities within eco-sensitive zones of the five wildlife sanctuaries and one bird sanctuary in Goa. The government has nominated three new members on the committee. >> See pg 3 Dudhsagar operators to start hunger strike PONDA: Unhappy that their demand to shut down the Goa Tourism Development Corporation counter in Collem has not been implemented by authorities, the jeep operators affiliated to the Dudhsagar Tour Operators Association have decided to start a chain hunger strike in Collem market from Saturday morning.  >> See pg 3 Cipla gets okay for its plant in Goa PANAJI: After being flagged a few months ago for defects, the USFDA has given its all clear to the Goa plant of Pharma major Cipla the company has announced. It said, the Goa plant has been classified as Voluntary Action Indicated (VAI) after an inspection by a USFDA team.  >> See pg 5 Tourist taxi gutted in fire at Candolim >> See pg 2  WEATHER >> Max: 32.4 C Min: 24 C Humidity: 97% TIDES Low: High: 05:04 17:04 10:24 23:54 The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) 13 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME X, NO. 135 Battle not over yet, thunder anti-coal activists on 4 yrs of Chandor agitation page 6 Facebook.com/thegoan 2 GOA Vehicle scrapping facility set to begin operations soon 3 Instagram.com/thegoanonline RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 9 INFO Right ingredients for dry, ashy elbows Govt notifies massive hike in base land rates BIGGEST INCREASE OF NEARLY 450% IN BAMBOLIM THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The State government has notified massively hiked base rates for land (real estate) in the three fast urbanising talukas -- Mormugao, Salcete and Tiswadi -- by more than 250 per cent and in some locales of Taleigao by over 400 per cent. DETAILED AREA-WISE REVISED BASE RATES FOR 3 TALUKAS >> See pg 8 The notification revising the base land rates in these three talukas was on Wednesday issued by Vrushika Kauthankar, Under Secretary (Revenue-I).  The biggest hike in base rates of land is in Bambolim where it has been hiked by nearly 450% from the old Rs REAL ESTATE: SKY IS THE LIMIT „„In Taleigao and some of its locales like Durgawadi rates have been hiked by up to 420% „„New rates range between Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000 in Salcete where formerly it used to be between Rs 480 and Rs 10,906 „„In Mormugao rates range between Rs 8000 and Rs 25,000 per sq mt as against old rates of Rs 420 to Rs 4200 „„These “base rates” are applicable in ‘Settlement Zones’ and for 1,000 sq mt plots „„For smaller parcels of land of up to 500 sq mts, these rates will stand reduced by 30% in all four settlement zones -- S1, S2, S3, and S4 OPERATION CHECKMATE: While these rates may not reflect the actual market value of properties, the base rate enables revenue officials to check blatant and commonly followed strategy of undervaluing properties in sale deed transactions to cut down on stamp duty costs 3,600 per square meter to Rs 25,000 per sq mt. Also, in Taleigao and some of its locales like Durgawadi, the rates have been hiked by up to 420% from Rs 4,800 sq mt to Rs 25,000 per sq mt now. In the notification, Kau- thankar, however, clarifies that these “base rates” are applicable in ‘Settlement Zones’ and for 1,000 sq mt plots. For smaller parcels of land of up to 500 sq mt, these rates will stand reduced by 30 per cent in all the four settlement zones -- S1, S2, S3, and S4. Also, for larger parcels of land above 1,000 sq mts the base rates will be slashed by 10% for plots up to 4,000 sq mts, reduced by 15% for plots above 4,000 sq mts and up to 10,000 sq mts and cut Taxi drivers assault tourists at Calangute, two arrested n Concerns rise over safety of visitors n Cops brush off incident as ‘minor’ THE GOAN I NETWORK MAPUSA In yet another troubling incident at the start of the tourism season, a family from Pune was allegedly assaulted by two local taxi drivers on Diwali day, October 31. Calangute Police have arrested both the drivers. The altercation reportedly stemmed from a minor dispute over parking near St Anthony’s Chapel in Calangute. According to reports, the family of four including a minor had parked their vehicle when they asked one of the drivers to move his car to facilitate their departure for dinner. This request escalated into verbal abuse, ultimately leading to a physical confrontation in which the taxi drivers attacked the family. Nazia Shaikh, one of the victims, described the alarming encounter, said: “We just wanted to leave for dinner, but the driver got angry and started yelling at us. Then another PARKING PANDEMONIUM „„Incident starts due to a minor dispute over parking near St Anthony’s Chapel, Calangute „„Family asks one driver to move his car to make way for their exit „„Request escalates into verbal abuse „„Leads to physical confrontation in which 2 taxi drivers attack the family „„Altercation last for ten minutes before attackers flee „„Family record incident on their cell phone „„Victims promptly report attack to Calangute police driver joined him, and they both attacked us.” The altercation lasted for approximately ten minutes before the attackers fled the scene, reportedly after the family began recording the incident on their phone. The victims promptly reported the attack to the Calangute police, who arrested both the assailants, identified as Peter Philip Noronha and Samir Naik on Friday. A police official informed that it was a very minor inci- dent which was blown over by the tourist family. “There was no bleeding or any grave injury on the victims. But we have arrested both the drivers,” the official said. Police have registered an offence under relevant sections of the BNS and Section 8 (b) of the Goa Children’s Act. This incident follows a concerning trend of attacks on tourists in Goa, raising alarms about visitor safety as the holiday season begins. by  25% for parcels of land above 10,000 sq mts and up to 50,000 sq mts. For all parcels of land in S1 zones which are above 50,000 sq mts, the base rates are to be slashed by 30%. There are similar provisions for reducing the base rates as per the size of the plots or larger parcels of land in other settlement zones like S2, S3 and S4. On the contrary, for commercial zones, the base rates will be double (100% more than the notified base rates).. There will also be concessions for larger size parcels of land in the Commercial Zones. For industrial zones however, the base rates will be 40% lower. As per the revised base rates of land in Tiswadi, it is now between Rs 5000 per sq mt and Rs 25,000 per sq mt as  against the existing range >Continued on P5 SPORTS Indian batting slide after Jadeja five-for keeps Kiwis to 235 13 Power outage hits festival of lights in Anjuna, Assagao Laxmi Pooja festivities affected THE GOAN I NETWORK MAPUSA Residents of the coastal villages of Anjuna and Assagao were left in darkness on Friday after a major power outage, caused by a fault in a 33kV underground power cable, disrupted Diwali celebrations across the area. The outage lasted for nearly 18 hours on Laxmi Pooja day, one of the most significant days of the Diwali festival. The issue began around 3 am when a fault developed in the power cable supplying the Anjuna substation, plunging both Anjuna-Caisua and Assagao-Badem villages into an early morning blackout. As residents faced the outage, electricity department teams scrambled to locate the fault, deploying an underground fault detection machine that eventually identified the issue near Assagao around 2.30 pm. With power restoration efforts underway, the electricity The problem started around 3 am when a fault occurred in the power cable supplying the Anjuna substation, causing both Anjuna and Assagao villages to experience an early morning blackout. By 9.30 pm, power had still not been fully restored department provided limited, rotational power to some areas in Anjuna, Badem, and Assagao as a temporary measure. By 9.30 pm, however, full power had not yet been restored, leaving many residents in the dark during the Laxmi Pooja celebrations. “Due to the extent of the fault, we had to provide power supply on a rotational basis as a temporary arrangement,” a senior engineer from the power department stated. He confirmed that repair >Continued on P5 Speaker dismisses plea to disqualify 8 Cong MLAs who joined BJP THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Goa legislative Assembly Speaker, Ramesh Tawadkar on Friday dismissed the disqualification petition against the eight MLAs who had defected from the Congress to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in September 2022. The petition had been filed by former Congress State president, Girish Chodankar, who said he will seek legal advice to challenge the Speaker’s verdict before the courts. In his judgement, Tawadkar said, the arguments of the petitioner’s advocate are “factually and legally incorrect” when he argued that his (Speaker’s) order related to the sitting arrangement for the eight respondent MLAs when they claimed to have merged on September 9, 2022. Speaking to media  after passing his judgement, Tawadkar said the  two-year delay was justified given the multiple hearings and submissions made by all parties.  “However, I did try to fast track the order,” Tawadkar said, adding that the petitioner (Chodankar) is free to >Continued on P5 TRADITION & LOVE: Family members decorate the grave of their loved one on the eve of All Souls Day at St Inez Church cemetery. (Another photo on pg2) Narayan Pissurlenkar Cops have equipment, duty-bound to check noise pollution: GSPCB THE GOAN I NETWORK MAPUSA In light of heightened noise levels during festival season, Mahesh Patil, Chairman of the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB), has reaffirmed that the responsibility for enforcing sound limits rests with the police and the Collector’s office. Patil clarified that while noise restrictions are usually in effect after 10 pm, certain festivals such as Diwali come with a temporary relaxation allowing loud music until midnight. However, he stressed that all festivities must end by 12 am. “On regular days, loud music is restricted after 10 pm, but during certain festivals, it is allowed until midnight. However, music must stop after 12 am,” said Patil. He emphasised that police and sub-divisional magistrates (SDMs) hold the authority to monitor sound levels and act against any violations. To assist with this, most >Continued on P5 `  00 cr for Expo: Union Min’s Porvorim flyover work in fast lane, 12 piers erected 3 SPAN-TASTIC ENGINEERING letter casts doubt on funding THE GOAN I NETWORK THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI It may take a ‘miracle’ for the promised Rs 300 crore ‘special grant’ from the Centre for the upcoming decennial Exposition of the Sacred relics of St Francis Xavier to fructify going by the tone and tenor of a letter written to South Goa MP Viriato Fernandes by Union Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary. “The honourable Minister of State for Finance has given a detailed reply as to the amount of funds released to the State and is subtly saying so in no uncertain terms that the State government should manage the requirements of funds for the Exposition from South Goa MP had written to the Union Finance Ministry in connection with the Rs 300 crore special grant that Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had formally requested the Centre for the Exposition the funds already received from the Centre,” Fernandes said. Fernandes had written to the Union Finance Ministry in connection with the Rs 300 crore special grant that Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had formally requested with the Centre for the Exposition. Chaudhary in his reply letter to Fernandes has said that tax devolution to Goa has increased from Rs 2,480 crore in 2019-20 to Rs 4,708.37 crore in 2024-25. He also said, that grantsin-aid from the Centre to Goa had increased from Rs 566.00 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 1,506.57 crore in 2024-25. Citing other schemes-related fund devolution, Chaudhury said in his reply to  Fernandes, that there is transfer of “substantial resources” to Goa from the Union government to meet the financial needs of the State. MAPUSA onstruction of the sixlane elevated corridor on the Porvorim stretch of National Highway-66 (NH-66) is advancing steadily, with 12 piers now in place and foundations for an additional 17 piers completed. The project, aimed at alleviating heavy traffic congestion, is progressing at a brisk pace, according to Jude Carvalho, Executive Engineer of the Public Works Department (PWD) for the National Highways. Designed to stretch over 5.15 kms, the elevated corridor will rest on 86 piers plus two abutments and 87 spans, with pier heights varying from 8 to 10 metres, while the tallest piers are set to reach 13 metres. „„Elevated corridor designed to stretch over 5.15 kms „„To rest on 86 piers plus two abutments and 87 spans „„Pier heights to vary from 8 to 10 metres „„Tallest piers are set to reach 13 metres „„1,431 concrete segments to form the corridor „„33 segments ready for deployment „„Each span expected to consist of around 19 segments C Piers erected near Sangolda junction for the elevated corridor project. Agnelo Pereira A total of 1,431 concrete segments will form the corridor, with 33 segments ready for deployment. Each span is expected to consist of around 19 segments. The project team anticipates launching these segments by the last week of November or the first week of December. “Work on the elevated corridor is progressing at a very fast pace with the highest quality standards. If it proceeds like this, we may complete the project ahead of schedule,” said Carvalho. Motorists using the Porvorim stretch have been facing challenges due to the ongoing construction, with frequent traffic jams during peak hours. However, the PWD (NH) has been coordinating with various departments, including the Traffic Cell, Water Supply Division, Water Resources Department (WRD), and the Electricity Department, to min- imise disruption. The Executive Engineer informed that regular maintenance of the designated diversion roads, which are scheduled to be resurfaced this month, aims to ease some of the commuter inconvenience. The PWD has also been sprinkling water to control dust pollution along the >Continued on P5