Panaji: Hitting out at AAP, chief minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday said that government and local institutions are capable of running the primary schools in the state. AAP should first see the condition of schools in the state where they have a government, he said. Sawant said he did not need political advice to run the schools.The chief minister, who also holds the education portfolio, said that the state government has started a survey to identify government primary schools for amalgamation and not a single school has been closed so far. He said that the government has started speaking to teachers. “The merger of schools is at the planning stage,” Sawant said.“If there are only four students and primary schools are in a 2km radius we want to merge them and provide four teachers and improve the infrastructure,” the chief minister said.He said that the state government is capable of running government primary schools and in the last 60 years it has done so. Sawant said that if the parents are ready to take responsibility to run the schools, then the government will help them with additional teachers. “There is no need for any political party to take over government primary schools to run and the government is committed to run the schools.” AAP on Tuesday requested director of education Shailesh Zingade to reverse the decision of merging government primary schools in the interest of public and students. In a memorandum, AAP offered to “adopt” these schools which are to be merged and “show how the enrolment in these schools can be increased by providing futuristic facilities in these schools”.The chief minister said that first they should see the bad condition of schools in the state which are run by their party. Sawant said that AAP only wants publicity and to print some news in Delhi. The chief minister said that out of 540 high schools, the state government runs only 10% of high schools. “Institutions and the government are capable of running the schools, there is no need for political parties to get involved. The government will not allow any political party to run the schools,” he said.
Panaji: AAP on Tuesday requested the director of education, Shailesh Zingade, to reverse the decision of merging government primary schools in the interest of public and students.In a memorandum submitted to Zingade, AAP also offered to “adopt” these schools which are to be merged and “show how the enrolment in these schools can be increased with providing futuristic facilities in these schools”.“AAP is willing to take over these schools if the government acknowledges that it has failed to provide Goan children with the educational facilities they need and deserve. We’ll demonstrate using our Delhi model how to boost enrolment and improve results in Goa as well,” AAP Goa unit president Amit Palekar stated. The party alleged that enrolment in these government primary schools has dropped as a result of the BJP government’s complete neglect of government primary schools in recent years.AAP further said that these schools cannot be merged as most of Goa resides in small villages and local children feel comfortable attending these primary schools as they find it convenient to walk to the school in their village.“By merging schools, a child will now have to attend a school almost 4-5 km away from their home. Many of the villages do not have transportation facilities and this will cause a lot of hardship to the child as he/she will have to walk to the school in the monsoon rains in winter cold and summer heat with a heavy bag,” the party submitted to the director of education.
PANAJI: Animal safaris will be provided in Goa on the lines of such safaris offered at Kevadia, Gujarat, forest minister Vishwajit Rane said on Tuesday. Rane said that he has already discussed the plan with the Union minister. The state is looking at working on the project in collaboration with the central government, he said. "Following in the footsteps of an animal safari developed in Kevadia, we sought advice from the Union minister to work closely with the ministry in the development of a state-of-the-art animal safari in Goa," Rane said. Rane met Union minister for environment, forest and climate change Bhupendra Yadav. During the meeting, a development plan for Bondla zoo was also discussed. The zoo will be upgraded to showcase fauna found in the Western Ghats, Rane said. "We also discussed the Bondla Zoological Park's integrated and holistic development to showcase the diverse fauna of the Western Ghats and other regions in a naturalistic setting. A master plan, including such proposals, has already been submitted to Central Zoo Authority," said Rane. The minister said that a proposal for maintenance of Goa's grasslands is also on the cards. "I discussed various proposals, viz, integrated development of wildlife habitat under which we have sought approval for maintenance of grasslands, enrichment plantation with fruit-bearing trees, creation and maintenance of forest roads, nature camping facility in protected areas, etc," the minister said. He said that the proposals discussed also included creation of artificial watering holes in protected areas of Goa using solar pumps and nature guide training programmes and capacity building of local youth for eco-tourism activities.
Panaji: The state forest department has embarked on an ambitious 10-year roadmap to turn Goa’s forests — part of the internationally-recognised Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot — into a safari destination.From luxury tents and wildlife trips to deep sea expeditions and turtle nesting tours, the forest department has come up with several strategies to unlock the state’s rich wildlife sanctuaries and biodiversity for locals and tourists. “I want to develop safaris,” said forest minister Vishwajit Rane. “You cannot have animals in a cage for this. You need to have an ecosystem, and this is not a one or two year work. It has to start now, and over the next ten years, you may start seeing some results.” Outlining his plan after chairing a meeting with the department, Rane said that priority areas have been identified where eco-tourism activities will be set up — Cotigao, Galgibaga, Netravali, Molcornem, Surla and Chorla.The state has three wildlife sanctuaries, but most of these remain inaccessible and out of bounds for wildlife lovers. The state also has four turtle conservation and nesting sites at Morjim and Mandrem in Pernem, and Agonda and Galgibaga in Canacona. Rane aims to increase these, while also introducing guided tours for students and tourists. Also being considered is a 120km walking trail linking the Cotigao wildlife sanctuary, the forests of Netravali, Bhagwan Mahavir wildlife sanctuary, and the Mhadei wildlife sanctuary upto Chorla ghat. Along with this, facilities for recreational vehicles or camper vans and luxury tent camping sites at Surla and Nanoda are also being discussed, said Rane, who is interested in wildlife photography.The state government has roped in former principal conservator of forests Vinay Luthra as advisor. Rane met Luthra, Goa’s principal chief conservator of forests Rajiv Kumar Gupta, and additional principal chief conservator of forests and chief wildlife warden Santosh Kumar, to prepare the roadmap. “We have taken Luthra on as an advisor to the minister for forests, and at the same time, he will have a role to play in the GFDC to see how we can increase activities in the wildlife sanctuaries. At the same time, in Goa, we will come up with a forest development and forest management plan,” said Rane.While the wildlife safaris are at least 10 years away, in the short term, the department intends to start camping sites, kayaking, cycling tracks and hiking trails, beginning with Cotigao. These plans coincide with the state government’s push towards hinterland tourism. The minister said that the department can develop two camping sites immediately by spending Rs 2-3 crore at the Bhagwan Mahavir wildlife sanctuary and at Cotigao, while a similar camping site at Nanoda will be set up through the PPP route. Aware that there will be resistance, Rane said that the department will involve the locals, particularly by training local youth as guides. Among other plans, the forest department hopes to upgrade the Bondla zoo, and create natural habitats for wild animals and bird watching sites.“There is no law that says that people cannot enter forests. We want to make it very friendly. We want to have a proactive approach so that Goans do not have to go far. They can go on a Saturday or Sunday to a wildlife park, or for a trek, or on a trail walk,” said Rane.
Panaji: Hitting out at AAP, chief minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday said that government and local institutions are capable of running the primary schools in the state. AAP should first see the condition of schools in the state where they have a government, he said. Sawant said he did not need political advice to run the schools.The chief minister, who also holds the education portfolio, said that the state government has started a survey to identify government primary schools for amalgamation and not a single school has been closed so far. He said that the government has started speaking to teachers. “The merger of schools is at the planning stage,” Sawant said.“If there are only four students and primary schools are in a 2km radius we want to merge them and provide four teachers and improve the infrastructure,” the chief minister said.He said that the state government is capable of running government primary schools and in the last 60 years it has done so. Sawant said that if the parents are ready to take responsibility to run the schools, then the government will help them with additional teachers. “There is no need for any political party to take over government primary schools to run and the government is committed to run the schools.” AAP on Tuesday requested director of education Shailesh Zingade to reverse the decision of merging government primary schools in the interest of public and students. In a memorandum, AAP offered to “adopt” these schools which are to be merged and “show how the enrolment in these schools can be increased by providing futuristic facilities in these schools”.The chief minister said that first they should see the bad condition of schools in the state which are run by their party. Sawant said that AAP only wants publicity and to print some news in Delhi. The chief minister said that out of 540 high schools, the state government runs only 10% of high schools. “Institutions and the government are capable of running the schools, there is no need for political parties to get involved. The government will not allow any political party to run the schools,” he said.
Panaji: AAP on Tuesday requested the director of education, Shailesh Zingade, to reverse the decision of merging government primary schools in the interest of public and students.In a memorandum submitted to Zingade, AAP also offered to “adopt” these schools which are to be merged and “show how the enrolment in these schools can be increased with providing futuristic facilities in these schools”.“AAP is willing to take over these schools if the government acknowledges that it has failed to provide Goan children with the educational facilities they need and deserve. We’ll demonstrate using our Delhi model how to boost enrolment and improve results in Goa as well,” AAP Goa unit president Amit Palekar stated. The party alleged that enrolment in these government primary schools has dropped as a result of the BJP government’s complete neglect of government primary schools in recent years.AAP further said that these schools cannot be merged as most of Goa resides in small villages and local children feel comfortable attending these primary schools as they find it convenient to walk to the school in their village.“By merging schools, a child will now have to attend a school almost 4-5 km away from their home. Many of the villages do not have transportation facilities and this will cause a lot of hardship to the child as he/she will have to walk to the school in the monsoon rains in winter cold and summer heat with a heavy bag,” the party submitted to the director of education.
PANAJI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that the BJP would form the next government in the state, chief minister Pramod Sawant said after briefing the PM over political developments in Goa. The assembly results are scheduled to be declared on Thursday. “Modi told me that BJP will form the government,” Sawant told TOI from Delhi. Modi held the meeting with Sawant to review the political situation in the state. During the discussion, Modi took constituency-wise details about the number of seats BJP will secure in Goa. Sawant provided details to Modi on what the results would be, and how BJP would form the government. “We will form the next government in the state and in case we are short of a majority, independent MLAs will support BJP,” Sawant said. He added that if required, BJP would seek support of MGP. The CM told Modi that BJP is getting around 20 seats, and with the help of independent MLAs, BJP will form the government. Modi also deliberated on the possibilities of forming a coalition government just in case there was a fractured mandate. The meeting also discussed seeking support from independent MLAs or regional parties. All the exit polls on Monday have predicted a hung assembly in Goa. The election is crucial for BJP as well as for Sawant as both are facing anti-incumbency. BJP has contested all 40 assemblies for the first time, and it’s also the party’s first state election in the absence of their strategist, former chief minister Manohar Parrikar. Modi addressed the people of the state during the election campaign and had said “Goa has decided that this wave of development and good governance should not slow down. Under the young leadership of chief minister Pramod Sawant, this journey will continue in the same manner”. Sawant, BJP state president Sadanand Shet Tanavade and BJP’s Goa election in-charge Devendra Fadnavis held a meeting in Mumbai to discuss the formation of the next government. Fadnavis already held a meeting with senior MGP functionary Ramkrishna ‘Sudin’ Dhavalikar over the post-poll alliance. Dhavalikar had told Fadnavis that the MGP-TMC alliance would take a decision after the results. BJP had started approaching independent candidates who are likely to get elected in the assembly election, already hitting the drawing board to strategise how to form the next government.
Panaji: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that the BJP would form the next government in the state, chief minister Pramod Sawant said after briefing the PM over political developments in Goa. The assembly results are scheduled to be declared on Thursday. “Modi told me that BJP will form the government,” Sawant told TOI from Delhi. Modi held the meeting with Sawant to review the political situation in the state. During the discussion, Modi took constituency-wise details about the number of seats BJP will secure in Goa. Sawant provided details to Modi on what the results would be, and how BJP would form the government. “We will form the next government in the state and in case we are short of a majority, independent MLAs will support BJP,” Sawant said. He added that if required, BJP would seek support of MGP. The CM told Modi that BJP is getting around 20 seats, and with the help of independent MLAs, BJP will form the government. Modi also deliberated on the possibilities of forming a coalition government just in case there was a fractured mandate. The meeting also discussed seeking support from independent MLAs or regional parties. All the exit polls on Monday have predicted a hung assembly in Goa. The election is crucial for BJP as well as for Sawant as both are facing anti-incumbency. BJP has contested all 40 assemblies for the first time, and it’s also the party’s first state election in the absence of their strategist, former chief minister Manohar Parrikar. Modi addressed the people of the state during the election campaign and had said “Goa has decided that this wave of development and good governance should not slow down. Under the young leadership of chief minister Pramod Sawant, this journey will continue in the same manner”. Sawant, BJP state president Sadanand Shet Tanavade and BJP’s Goa election in-charge Devendra Fadnavis held a meeting in Mumbai to discuss the formation of the next government. Fadnavis already held a meeting with senior MGP functionary Ramkrishna ‘Sudin’ Dhavalikar over the post-poll alliance. Dhavalikar had told Fadnavis that the MGP-TMC alliance would take a decision after the results. BJP had started approaching independent candidates who are likely to get elected in the assembly election, already hitting the drawing board to strategise how to form the next government.
MARGAO: A bag containing 40 cartridges belonging to the Indian Reserve Batallion (IRB) that proceeded to Uttar Pradesh from Goa for election duty that was found misplaced on Tuesday, was recovered by Margao police on Wednesday from the roadside at Davorlim. Police sources said that about 900 IRB personnel had departed by an UP-bound train from Margao railway station on Tuesday evening. They were ferried to the Margao railway station by buses. However, it was after the train departed from Margao railway station that the “missing” bag containing cartridges came to their notice. The Railway police were soon alerted, who in turn contacted the Margao town police who launched a search exercise on the routes taken by the buses to ferry the IRB personnel to the railway station. The bag was finally recovered from a roadside at Davorlim on Wednesday. Police surmise that the IRB personnel left the bag containing cartridges after alighting from the buses to proceed to the railway station.
Margao: In a major relief, the 40 live cartridges that were in the possession of IRB personnel headed for poll duty in Uttar Pradesh and had gone missing late on Tuesday night, were found in a gutter near Davorlim circle hardly half km away from the Margao railway station platform on Wednesday morning.Ten companies of IRBpolice personnel left by a train for Delhi from where they will travel to Uttar Pradesh. Four boxeswith each containing 10cartridgeshad gone missing. IRBpersonnel Nansekerhad made an application to the Margao police on Tuesday late night in which he had mentioned thatthe live cartridges in his possession had gone missing.He had reported that the cartridges went missing along the ring road between fire station and Davorlim circle. A search operation was conducted by police.Police teamengaged in the search operationhad visited the Konkan railway station area, checked the CCTV footagebesides parkingareaswhere buseshad dropped the IRBstaff, however, the cartridges were not found.However on Wednesday at around 10 a.m.,the four missing boxeswerefound in a gutter by LIB team of policewhich was also pressed into a search operation. It is still a mystery howthe live cartridges reached the gutter. Investigation is in progress. Police havekept the cartridges in custody after conducting legal formalities.
Good morning,The BJP-Shinde Sena coalition won the trust vote with 164 votes, the same number it previously garnered in the Speaker’s election. The last day of the special assembly session was marked by an emotional speech from Shinde, who referred to the death of two of his children in a boat accident in June 2000. He also tried to reassure his political rivals saying: “We don’t subscribe to the politics of vendetta…”🔴 Having comfortably won the floor test, the coalition may not press for disqualification of the 15 MLAs left with Uddhav Thackeray. Highly placed sources in the BJP said the party wanted “truce”, even though Speaker Rahul Narwekar said he would seek their disqualification as they had ignored a whip issued by the Shinde side for the Speaker election.🔴 Meanwhile, the failure of 11 Congress MLAs, including former CM Ashok Chavan, to cast their vote in the floor test led to raised eyebrows within the party with senior leaders raising concern and questioning their “recklessness” and “casual behaviour”. Chavan said: “We were late by two or three minutes. They closed the gates. There is no foul play. We were stuck in traffic.”At least 26 recommendations for appointment of judges to the Bombay High Court, which is currently functioning at almost half its sanctioned strength, are pending with the government at different stages of consideration, The Indian Express has learnt. The Bombay High Court currently has 57 judges against a sanctioned strength of 96 judges. At least five more judges are expected to retire this year.Scientists in India probing the possible causes for the recent rise in Coronavirus cases said BA.2.75, one of the several sub-variants of the parent Omicron variant, was now one of the most commonly detected sub-variant in the country in recent results of genome sequencing. It has been found to have an 18 per cent growth advantage over the other currently circulating Omicron sub-variants. However, there is no evidence as of now to suggest that the BA.2.75 also causes a more severe form of infection.The government has barred hotels and restaurants from adding service charge “automatically or by default” in the food bill. It said that in case of violation, a consumer can ask the hotel/ restaurant to remove the service charge, or seek redressal by filing a complaint.As drama swirled around the Maharashtra government’s survival, one of the characters at the heart of it was a politician from Haryana, Sonia Doohan. The 30-year-old national president of the NCP students’ wing was held along with an aide for allegedly using fake identification documents to check into a hotel in Goa, where Sena rebels were staying. Doohan, who played an “important role in the fall of the three-day BJP government in 2019” according to NCP’s Dheeraj Sharma, has denied the allegations.A day after their capture of two heavily armed LeT militants, the residents of Tukson village in J&K remain firm: they will not give way to terrorists, at any cost. One of the residents involved in the capture, a BA student, told The Indian Express about how he had alerted his brother of two “unknown people posing as traders” at a dhok. This led to a gathering of seven residents, who formed a cordon, and eventually went on to overpower the duo.A year since the Covid-induced oxygen crisis, hospitals in Delhi are struggling to keep the pressure-swing adsorption (PSA) plants going. Most of them switch on the plant once a week or for a couple of hours every day to ensure that the machine remains functional. The reason for this are multiple: High operation and maintenance cost, lower quality of oxygen generated, and fear of antagonising the regular liquid medical oxygen suppliers.Mumbai’s chawl and low-income housing localities have always boasted of a community dance culture. B-Girl Bar-B, born Siddhi Tambe, took her first steps in Breaking at a similar community centre. The 18-year-old has now earned a ticket to New York after emerging India champ at the Red Bull BC One Cypher earlier this month. We take a look at her journey.Delhi Confidential: Union Minister Amit Shah annually visits his village on the occasion of Bhaidooj and the second day of Navratri and participates in the meeting of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies. Shah revealed this while responding to Cabinet colleague Parshottam Rupala, who took a jibe at cooperative leaders and asked them how they contribute to the sector, during an event to mark the 100th International Day of Cooperatives.In today’s episode of the ‘3 things’ podcast, we talk about Maharashtra’s new government clearing the floor test in the Assembly and the protests against its decision to build a metro shed in Aarey forest. We also discuss a fratricide case in BSF and the rising concern of mental health issues among police forces.Until tomorrow,Leela Prasad and Sonal Gupta
The four-day old Shiv Sena-BJP government will face the floor test on July 4 during the special two-day session of the Legislative Assembly beginning here Sunday.The election to the post of the Speaker of the House will be held Sunday after the House proceedings begin at 11 am, an official said.Sena MLA and Uddhav Thackeray loyalist Rajan Salvi is the candidate of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress combine for the Speaker’s election. He is pitted against first-time BJP legislator Rahul Narvekar.Rebel Shiv Sena MLAs who support Shinde returned to Mumbai from Goa on Saturday evening on the eve of the Assembly session, and were lodged in a luxury hotel in south Mumbai, where Vidhan Bhavan, venue of the floor test, is located.NCP chief Sharad Pawar claimed that Narhari Zirwal, the deputy Speaker, can perform officiating Speaker’s duties even though a no-confidence motion is pending against him. The post of Speaker is vacant since February last year after Nana Patole of Congress quit.As many as 50 MLAs who support Shinde, including 39 rebel legislators of the Shiv Sena, on Saturday evening flew to Mumbai from Goa by a chartered flight. Shinde, who had flown to Goa in the morning, accompanied them back.Shinde has the support of 10 legislators of smaller parties and independents and 106 MLAs of the BJP in the 288-member House.Following is the party position in the Assembly: Shiv Sena 55, NCP 53, Congress 44, BJP 106, Bahujan Vikas Aghadi 3, Samajwadi Party 2, AIMIM 2, Prahar Janshakti Party 2, MNS 1, CPI (M) 1, PWP 1, Swambhimani Paksha 1, Rashtriya Samaj Paksha 1, Jansurajya Shakti Party 1, Krantikari Shetkari Party 1, and Independents 13.There is a vacancy due to the death of Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke last month.Two NCP members – Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Food and Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal – have tested COVID-19 positive, while two other party legislators – Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik – are currently in jail.
WITH THE Speaker’s election slated for Sunday after Shiv Sena announced the candidature of its MLA Rajan Salvi for the post against BJP’s Rahul Narwekar, the stage is set for the first test for the newly sworn-in Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his group of Sena rebels, and for BJP and the Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis.Shinde and Fadnavis were sworn in on Thursday and the Governor has called for a special session of the assembly on Sunday and Monday for the Speaker’s election followed by a floor test. The election will mark the first battle in the House between Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena which has 16 MLAs, and Shnde-led rebel group with 39 MLAs.On Saturday, Shiv Sena chief whip Sunil Prabhu issued a whip, asking all the MLAs to be present in the assembly and cast their votes in favour of Salvi.Replying to the whip issued by Prabhu, Chief Minister Shinde asserted that it does not apply to his group as they have more than two-thirds of the total 55 Sena MLAs. He said, “We will face the floor test and we will win”.Sources said a separate whip is likely to be issued by the Shinde faction for the election and the floor test.Ajay Chaudhari, Shiv Sena legislative party leader said, “We have a strategy in place but I can’t disclose it now.’’ Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant said, “We will fight the Speaker’s election and we believe in the Constitution. I have heard that the Shinde faction spokesperson Deepak Kesarkar said that Uddhav Thackeray is their leader. These MLAs now must obey the whip and vote for Rajan Salvi.”Shiv Sena parliamentary party leader Vinayak Raut said, “We have issued a whip that the rebel MLAs should vote for Rajan Salvi. If they don’t, it will be an added material in our case in Supreme Court for disqualifying them.”A three-time MLA, Salvi was accompanied by Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant, Sena legislature party leader Ajay Chaudhari, state NCP chief Jayant Patil, and Congress legislative party leader Balasaheb Thorat while filing his nomination for the election.Meanwhile, late Friday night, Thackeray sacked Shinde from the post of Shiv Sena leader in party organisation for indulging in “anti party activities’ ‘.“Dear Shri Shinde, You have been indulging in anti-party activities and have also voluntarily given up your membership of Shiv Sena. Therefore, in exercise of the powers vested in me as the Shiv Sena Paksha Pramukha, I remove you from the post of Shiv Sena leader in the party organisation,” the letter issued by Thackeray read.The move came after Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis took oath as CM and deputy CM respectively on Thursday. Sources in Shinde camp said that they will challenge the letter legally.Ahead of the Speaker’s election, the rebel Sena MLAs and Independent MLAs returned to Mumbai on Saturday evening after spending almost 11 days out of the state — first in Gujarat, then in Assam, and then in Goa. They arrived in Mumbai on a special flight and will be camped at a south Mumbai five-star hotel along with BJP MLAs.Addressing them, CM Shinde asserted that the whip of state legislative leader Bharat Gogawale, who is a part of his group, will be applicable to them, and not that of Shiv Sena’s which has been reduced to a minority.Security was beefed up in Mumbai and police security was deployed along the route from Mumbai airport to South Mumbai hotel to avoid any untoward incident.As the floor test is also scheduled on Monday, Shiv Sena president and former CM Uddhav Thackeray held meetings with party leaders to carve out a strategy. Congress MLC Bhai Jagtap and Congress working president Charan Singh Sapra also met Thackeray at Matorshree Saturday afternoon and all MVA leaders held a meeting in the evening.The NCP legislature party will hold a meeting on Sunday morning to decide their strategy. State NCP president Jayant Patil said, “I feel elections should not be held. All three parties gave a letter… We have a deputy Speaker, Narhari Zirwal, and he has the right to run the House… When the government has changed, Koshyari has allowed elections for a Speaker and people are watching these developments.”Congress spokesperson Atul Londhe said, “Earlier, MVA demanded election of Speaker and it was denied by the Governor quoting law related to elections. Now, we can’t understand the reason to have elections. The Governor should not forget that he is a constitutional authority, and not a BJP worker.”
PANAJI: As Covid cases continue to rise in the state, health officials have said that people must get tested for the disease even if they have flu-like symptoms. State epidemiologist Dr Utkarsh Betodkar said that people have no option but to take precautions. On Wednesday, the state recorded a total of 82 new cases.
Panaji: Even as Covid-19 cases rise rapidly in the state, health authorities have said that people should get tested even if they have flu or flu-like symptoms. On Tuesday, Goa hit 100 daily cases after nearly four months, after several days of daily cases ranging from 60 to 70. State epidemiologist Dr Utkarsh Betokdar said that people have no alternative but to take precautions. “People should get tested even if they think they have the flu,” Betodkar said. However, health authorities are still not ready to term the present rise a new (or a fourth) wave. “Hospitalisations are still on the lower side, just one or two admissions a week,” he said. “Since the rise, a single fatality has been reported, adding that the patient who died after contracting the infection was a 95-year-old woman. Betodkar said that most patients reported mild symptoms, unlike in earlier phases of the pandemic. Since the rise in cases, the majority of patients have been treated in home isolation. The directorate of health services is still unclear as to how to define the ongoing increase, but one pattern that’s been emerging has been similar to earlier, which is that South Goa is reporting more cases than North Goa. “We haven’t seen any clusters so far, but more infections are being reported from South Goa,” he said. Betodkar said that it may be because of “the higher concentration of population” in certain talukas of South Goa. The first wave originated at Mangor Hill, Vasco, in the first week of June 2020, reaching other parts of the state by the month-en. While Vasco became the hotspot, Salcete also reported a huge number of cases. During the second wave, Margao remained at the top, whereas in North Goa, Calangute, Candolim, Panaji and Porvorim saw the disease spread like wildfire, but the tally of cases in South Goa was higher than that of North Goa. Even during the third wave which began from December 28, 2021, and started dipping by mid-February, South Goa was ahead in terms of numbers.
