SATURDAY MARCH 29, 2025 15 pages page 6 Milton Keynes Goan Community: Uniting Goans, promoting traditions Goan association reaches out to charitable causes in Goa, Southampton Facebook.com/thegoan The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME X, NO. 280 Instagram.com/thegoanonline RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 Earthquake jolts Myanmar, Thailand; over 150 killed n HAVOC ACROSS SIX REGIONS n BUILDINGS DESTROYED, ROADS CAVE IN n HUNDREDS TRAPPED UNDER RUBBLE IN SHORT >> Retired judge Eurico Santana no more MARGAO: Justice (Retired) Eurico Santana Da Silva has breathed his last in the wee hours of Friday. Born on May 10, 1933 at Margao, Da Silva was first appointed Judge as ‘Julgado Municipal Especial of Ponda’ on December 6, 1957.   >> See pg 2 Govt tweaks rules for OTS in Co-op sector PANAJI: In a bid to clean up the fiscal mess in the hundreds of Cooperative credit societies which have been a huge source of small retail loans to thousands of Goans, the State government has tweaked the rules to enable these rural mini-banks to recover bad debts.   >> See pg 3 Agro clinics to be set up in State: CM BICHOLIM: Stating that Agro Clinics would be set up in the State, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday said the Swayampurna Goa initiative has led to a 30% reduction in horticultural imports while significantly increasing the income of Goan farmers.   >> See pg 3 Elderly Goan couple end lives in Khanapur BELAGAVI: In a shocking incident, an elderly couple who were Goan settlers in the Upper Ghat ended their lives in Bidi, Khanapur taluka, on Thursday. In their suicide note, the couple has mentioned about some persons from Goa who had been reportedly pressurising them to sell their assets to repay the borrowed money.  >> See pg 5 WEATHER >> Max: 34 C Min: 24.4 C Humidity: 80% TIDES Low: High: 04:33 16:48 10:54 22:51 QUAKE AFTERMATH: People stand past the debris of a collapsed building in Mandalay, Myanmar on Friday. PTI BANGKOK A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighbouring Thailand on Friday, destroying buildings, a bridge and a dam. At least 144 people were killed in Myanmar, where photos and video from two hard-hit cities showed extensive damage with havoc spreading across six regions. At least 10 died in the Thai capital, where a high-rise under construction collapsed. The full extent of death, injury and destruction was not immediately clear particularly in Myanmar, one of the world’s poorest countries. It is embroiled in a civil war, and information is tightly controlled. The death toll and injuries are expected to rise, the head of Myanmar’s military government, Senior Gen Min Aung Hlaing said as he announced on television that at least 144 Old Goa heritage project file lands at p’yat desk JOINT SITE INSPECTION TO BE CONDUCTED THE GOAN I NETWORK OLD GOA The Se Old Goa panchayat has received the file of the Heritage Interpretation Centre (HIC) under PRASAD scheme for approval, and has decided to convene a joint inspection of authorities concerned. The decision was taken at the fortnightly meeting of the panchayat on Friday. Later speaking to reporters, Acting Sarpanch Ambar Amonkar informed that the panchayat is in receipt of the file from the Tourism Department, which was inwarded on March 25, and was placed at the fortnightly meeting for discussion. “We decided to call for a joint inspection of all authorities concerned like the ASI, National Monuments Authority, State Archaeology Department, Tourism Department and TCP,” Amonkar stated and added that after getting inputs from all the departments, the file would be PLAN OF ACTION „„Joint inspection of authorities like ASI, National Monuments Authority, State Archaeology Dept, Tourism Dept and TCP to be called „„After getting inputs from all depts, file to be placed before gram sabha for approval „„After receiving suggestions from Gram Sabha on the project, future course of action to be decided (According to acting sarpanch) placed before the gram sabha for public approval. “After receiving suggestions from the Gram Sabha on the project, the future course of action would be decided,” Amonkar informed. When questioned over the exclusion of the Church au- thorities and whether they would be invited for the inspection, Amonkar told The Goan that the panchayat would take a call on that. “However, the important thing is the opinion of the ASI, NMA, TCP and the Tourism Department now that cannon balls have been found at the site,” Amonkar said. “Earlier, nobody was aware of cannon balls being present at the site. So it would be important what report ASI and NMA give,” Amonkar opined. To another question, Amonkar said the total area of the project is 14,000 square meters and consists of lower ground and ground floor. Amonkar also informed that the Forest Department has granted NOC to cut 25 trees in the area. The proposed construction of the project near the Basilica, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Old Goa, had sparked concerns among citizens and heritage conservationists across the State. RCB hands CSK biggest-ever home defeat  Pg 15 people were killed and 730 others were injured in his country. In Thailand, Bangkok city authorities said 10 people were killed, 16 injured and 101 missing from three construction sites, including the >Continued on P5 Varsity to take disciplinary action against assistant prof THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The Executive Council of Goa University has decided to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the suspended Assistant Professor Dr Pranav Naik involved in the alleged paper leak issue. In a press statement issued on Friday, the Goa University has said its Executive Council has decided to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Naik as per the provisions of the Goa University statutes and the CCS CCA rules applicable to service matters. On Thursday State constituted High Level Enquiry Committee had sought information and documents related to the alleged matter. Based on the report of the fact-finding committee and official complaint from Goa University, the Agassaim police registered FIR against Naik. The four-member High Level Enquiry Committee headed by retired justice RMS Khandeparkar has been appointed by the government to inquire into the matter. Academic year to begin on April 7, govt notifies rules CLASSES FOR STD 6-10 & 12 FROM APRIL; TERM FOR STD 1-4 & 11 FROM JUNE THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Its official, the Academic Year 2025-26 is set to commence from April 7 instead of April 1, as the government on Friday notified new Rules under Goa School Education Act,1984.  As per the new Rules the academic year for Class VI to X and Class XII will commence from April and end in March, while for the students of Class I to V and Class XI, the term will start from June and end in March.  The classes for students of grade I to V will start from June 4.  “The date of the commencement of the Academic year 2025-26 may be read as April 7 instead of April 1,” Director Education Shailesh Zingade said in a corrigendum issued.  The ongoing Academic Year 2024-25 is set to end on March 30. H @thegoanonline ON This new adjustment in the academic calendar will align the State board schools with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) calendar, where the academic year commences in April and ends on March 31. The government has said that the academic year may be suitably divided into terms by the Director of Education, by issuing an order. Accordingly, the first term RC log on to thegoan.net 15 M A will be held between April 7 to October 15 while the second term will be from November 4 to March 24, 2026. The Ganesh Chaturthi holidays will be from August 26 to September 1 while Diwali break would be from October 16 to November 3.  The summer vacation for all classes from May 1 for a period of 5 weeks. >Continued on P5 Flyover nears milestone, final piers by mid-April FOCUS ON CONCRETE SEGMENTS IN NEXT PHASE THE GOAN I NETWORK MAPUSA The construction of the 5.15 km-long elevated corridor along NH-66 in Porvorim is moving at a steady pace, with almost all the piers in place. Only 10 piers remain to be erected, and officials expect them to be completed within the next 10 to 15 days. By mid-April, the entire stretch will have its piers standing tall, paving the way for the next phase of construction. Once the piers are in place, priority will be given to the development of permanent service roads and drainage systems, which must be completed before the onset of the monsoon season. Currently, temporary service roads are in use to facilitate traffic movement. Executive Engineer of the Public Works Department (PWD), Jude Carvalho, explained that the delay in constructing the remaining STANDING TALL: Piers that have been constructed along the Sangolda-Guirim stretch.  Agnelo Pereira 10 piers was due to the presence of overhead high-tension power lines near the uprooted banyan tree stretch. However, the Power Department has already laid underground cables, and the overhead lines are expected to be removed in the next two days. “Once the overhead lines are removed, the piling work for the remaining piers will be completed within three to four days. The erection of the piers will follow and should be finished within the next eight to 10 days. By mid-April, all piers will be completed along the entire elevated corridor,” Carvalho assured. Following the completion of the piers, the focus will shift to launching concrete segments on top, a process >Continued on P5 Re-digging of MG Road raises Survey paints rosy picture of Goa’s health sector ECONOMIC SURVEY: HEALTH FACTS & FIGURES doubts over Mar 31 deadline THE GOAN I NETWORK THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Impromptu re-digging of trenches and pits at multiple locations along the MG Road by contractors of the Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited has raised a spectre of doubt that major Smart City work will be completed ahead of the High Court mandated March 31 deadline. A trench was dug earlier this week at the Don Bosco-Alfran Plazza junction apparently to facilitate work linked to the sewerage project and laying of service pipelines. Local businessmen said, this road-digging has been done at this particular spot at least for the fourth time. Supervisors at the location were reluctant to say what the reasons are for the road digging multiple times. A little further eastwards along the MG Road, impromptu digging was also carried out at the Vishal Mega Mart junction. Reasons for digging  these stretches have remained a mystery given that IPSCDL itself had announced that all underground work related to the sewerage project and laying of pipelines for utility and other services had been completed on the MG Road in February itself. Meanwhile, elsewhere near the CCP market, several excavators were roving around the area transporting material. Interestingly, work on one major smart city project -- concrete smart road from the Old Patto bridge to the Four Pillars junction -- is yet to be started. The 1.4-kilometer section of the road hugging the Ourem creek was one of the four stretches which were to be taken up for development as  ‘smart roads’.  The other three stretches -- in St Inez from Taj Vivanta junction to Goa International Hotel at Tonca; Bal Bhavan to Madhuban Complex and Tonca junction at the western end of St Inez cemetery to Madhuban Complex via the crematorium, have already been developed into smart roads. PANAJI oa’s economic survey 2024-25 has painted a rosy picture of Goa’s health sector saying robust infrastructure and the ‘highly educated’ profile of the resident population has helped. Among some of the government’s public health initiatives and schemes cited for elaboration in the survey included the Goa Mediclaim Scheme, which provides financial support for super-speciality healthcare ordinarily not available in the State. Under the scheme, the maximum amount beneficiary patients are eligible for in re-imbursement of medical costs was recently enhanced from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh G „„Under Mediclaim Scheme re-imbursement hiked from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh „„Eligibility limit for annual family income increased from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 8 lakh „„DDSSY scheme covers total of 1.83 lakh families „„Digital registration opera- tional for all OPD services at both District Hospitals, Sub District Hospital at Ponda and health centres „„Goa is only the third State in India to start with National Health Authority “100 Microsites Project” „„Goa is the first State in the country to provide rapid molecular test as first diagnostic TB test for early diagnosis and the upper limit for annual family income to be eligible was also increased from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 8 lakh. In 2024-25 from April to January, 241 beneficiaries availed the scheme, with the government incurring a Rs 1.94 crore spend on it, the economic survey said. Another medical insurance scheme the survey cited was the Deen Dayal Swasthya Seva Yojana (DDSSY), noting that the scheme covered a total of 1.83 lakh families. In 2019-20, 8,583 claimed benefit under DDSSY with the government’s financial burden amounting to Rs 36.57 crore. Rs 43.44 crore was spent on providing DDSSY benefit to 17,983 claimants in 2020-21 while Rs 53.31 crore was spent on the scheme in 2021-22. In 2022-23 and 2023-24, the government spent Rs 40.56 crore and Rs 73.64 crore on paying out DDSSY benefits while in the current year (2024- 25) until January this year, Rs 32.85 was spent, the economic survey said. The survey also picked to highlight that digital registration is operational for all OPD services operational at both the District Hospitals, Sub District Hospital at Ponda, Ayushman Aarogya Mandir (AAM) Corlim, Community Health Centre (CHC) Sankhalim, CHC Valpoi, Primary Health Centre (PHC) Chinchinim and PHC Navelim. The survey said, Goa is only the third State in India to start with the National Health Authority “100 Microsites Project” with the aim to onboard the private healthcare providers on the Ayushman Bharat platform and was awarded >Continued on P5