8 cattle in Goa test positive for LSD

Times of India | 10 hours ago | 27-09-2022 | 07:40 am

PANAJI: Five cattle in Goa tested positive for lumpy skin disease (LSD) on Monday, bringing the total number of infected animals in the state to eight. The disease, which has been spreading at pace among cattle in North India, until now has been fairly benign in Goa. The entry of livestock into North Goa has already been prohibited by the state government to prevent the spread of the disease. "We have a total of eight confirmed cases of LSD in the state, most of which are from Ponda area. There are no deaths due to the disease in Goa, so far," director of the department of animal husbandry and veterinary services, Augustinho Mesquita said. The disease is self-limiting. It manifests itself in the form of skin nodules and is associated with fever, enlargement of lymph nodes and depression. The disease also causes reduced milk yield, abortion in pregnant animals and sterility in bulls. Since it subsequently affects milk production in dairy cattle, the impact of the disease is economic. The eight infected animals in Goa have been isolated. They are currently undergoing cosmetic treatment, which includes ointment application on the nodules and anti-allergy medication and antibiotics to prevent secondary bacterial infection. Cattle sheds are being sprayed and fogged to ensure that the disease does not get transmitted by flies and ticks. Instructions have also been given to dairy farmers to ensure there is no stagnant water near the animals. "The process of vaccinating cattle against LSD started in Goa, last month. We have covered a majority of the animals and have also ordered more vials as a preventive measure," Mesquita said. He said that the disease is not communicable to humans, but is contagious among cattle. Currently, only cattle in Goa have been detected with the disease. "The order prohibiting the entry of livestock into North Goa from other states has been issued so that they don't bring animals with the infection into Goa," Mesquita said. "We can control the disease here, but if cattle start coming from outside the state then it might go out of hand. Infection in buffaloes is rare, but it does happen sometimes." The total cattle population of Goa is about 80,000 of which about 20,000 are stray. This includes buffaloes, nondescript crossbreeds, and dairy cattle. Cattle are usually brought from other states into Goa for dairy farming. Buffaloes are usually brought to the state for meat consumption. Mesquita said that an infected animal's meat is safe for consumption in case of buffaloes. "Dairy farmers need to stop purchasing animals privately for milking. Stricter checks must be mandated at the checkpost by the RTOs stationed there," he said.

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Goa: Ban on livestock entry may impact beef supply

Times of India | 3 days ago | 24-09-2022 | 11:21 am

Times of India

3 days ago | 24-09-2022 | 11:21 am

PANAJI: The availability of beef is likely to be affected in Goa as the state government has prohibited the entry of livestock into North Goa to prevent the spread of lumpy skin disease (LSD). North Goa collector Mamu Hage said that the director of animal husbandry and veterinary services has said that LSD is a contagious viral disease that primarily affects cows and buffaloes, and spreads rapidly through vectors. As per the order of the North Goa collector the entry of livestock “such as cattle and buffalo, from other states of India into the North Goa district, either directly or indirectly” is prohibited. Ahead of the tourism season that is likely to begin next month, meat traders said that the government should allow the transportation of healthy animals, else it would impact the supply of fresh beef in the state. “The problem is in north India, while animals in Goa or Karnataka are not severely affected by LSD. If there is a restriction on the transportation of animals, it will affect our business,” said Anwar Bepari, general secretary, Quraishi meat traders association. On average, Goa meat complex gets 10 to 15 animals a day, mostly from Maharashtra. “We will hold a meeting with all traders on Saturday to discuss the future course of action to provide for Goa’s daily demand for beef,” said the association’s president, Manna Bepari. The meat traders will also meet the director of animal husbandry and managing director, Goa meat complex, on Monday, to ensure that healthy animals are permitted to be brought to Goa. “These will be animals that are checked by veterinary doctors, that they are not infected with LSD and are therefore fit for slaughter. Only then will they be transported to Goa,” Bepari said. The government said that incidences of LSD have been seen in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Rajasthan, besides a few other states. LSD spreads through the bite of mosquitoes, stable flies and ticks. It can also spread through saliva and contaminated feed and fodder. The disease spreads more rapidly in warm and moist conditions. “This order shall come into force with effect from September 23, until further orders,” Hage said, adding that any person contravening the order will be punishable under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code. Over the past few months, the department has taken measures with regards to LSD.“We have initiated vaccination of cattle in Goa”, an officer said. “To a large extent, we should be able to control the spread of the disease owing to vaccination. All government dispensaries have been supplied with the vaccines to be administered in cattle,” he said. The self-limiting disease is notorious for the development of skin nodules, which is associated with fever, enlargement of lymph nodes and depression. The disease also causes reduced milk yield, abortion in pregnant animals and sterility in bulls.

Goa: Nigerian gets 2-year jail term after 9.5 years in drugs case

Times of India | 1 week ago | 20-09-2022 | 11:32 am

Times of India

1 week ago | 20-09-2022 | 11:32 am

PANAJI: Nine-and-a-half years after he was arrested for being in possession of narcotics, a North Goa court has sentenced Ugochukwu Solomon Ubabuko, a Nigerian national, to two years imprisonment. The court stated that the period of detention undergone by him during investigation and trial be set off against his sentence. Ubabuko was convicted under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, after he was found in illegal possession of cocaine and tablets containing ephedrine. The court considered that this is the first conviction against him and sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment for six months and fined him Rs 10,000 under Section 21 (a) of the narcotics act and to rigorous imprisonment for two years and fined him Rs 25,000 under Section 25 A of the act. Both the sentences are to run concurrently, special judge, Panaji, Sherin Paul stated.

Drugs worth Rs 31 lakh seized in north Goa in past fortnight

Times of India | 1 week ago | 17-09-2022 | 04:40 pm

Times of India

1 week ago | 17-09-2022 | 04:40 pm

PANAJI: In its drive to curb the drug trade, Goa police and the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) have seized drugs worth Rs 31.69 lakh in nine different cases across the North Goa beach belt over the past 15 days, said North Goa SP Shobhit Saxena. The largest quantity seized was of over 14kgs of ganja worth Rs 14.5 lakh. The other drugs seized were hashish oil (120gms), MDMA (80gms), charas (31gms), ecstasy tablets (17gms), LSD capsules (15gms), cocaine (2gms), LSD paper (1.1gms), and methamphetamine (1.1gms). "Eleven persons have been arrested during these drug seizures. Besides these, three habitual drug offenders - Joao Lopes and Abilio D'Souza from Calangute and Valy D'Costa from Quepem - will be placed under preventive arrest. Curlies beach shack and 9 Bar Mirage are two establishments which have been shut down for suspected illegal activities based on a report sent by Anjuna police. The demolition of Curlies is also in progress for violating CRZ norms," Saxena said. Of the 11 accused arrested in the different drug cases, three are foreigners, Gatherine Diai Hayuma (25) and Bianca Carlos Shyo (25), both from Tanzania, and Stephen Slotwiner, 76, from the UK. "Police presence has also been increased, especially in the coastal area of North Goa district. More police personnel have also been deployed in isolated places for continuous patrolling, to collect intelligence to stop illegal activities. We have also briefed shack and hotel owners not to get involved in any illegal activities and have also warned them that if such activities are found then strict action will be initiated against them which may even lead to their establishments being closed," Saxena said. Two Goans are also among those arrested - Frazer Fernandes from Sada Tisk, Ponda, and Niyaz Khader from Assagao. Others accused are from Kerala, Hyderabad, Karnataka and Gujarat. Saxena said that the arrests will help ascertain the main source from where the narcotics are procured. "We have begun an awareness campaign among youth against the use of drugs. Programmes have already been conducted at the St Tereza Higher Secondary School, Candolim, and Dnyanprassarak Mandal's College, Assagao, covering 350 students in each institution. We also request people to provide information regarding any drug abuse in their locality," the SP said.

Cong MLAs’ switch-over vindicates TMC: O’Brien

Times of India | 1 week ago | 16-09-2022 | 02:40 am

Times of India

1 week ago | 16-09-2022 | 02:40 am

Panaji: The TMC said that its pre-election assertion that BJP and Congress were working together has been proven true by the eight Congress MLAs who joined BJP on Wednesday. Leader of TMC parliamentary party in the Rajya Sabha, MP Derek O’Brien said that with Congress unable to respect people’s mandate, the West Bengal outfit will emerge as the best alternative in the next elections.“Before the elections our candidates asserted that a vote for Goa TMC will always be a vote for Goa TMC, unlike Congress and BJP who have been in cahoots to fool the people of Goa for selfish personal gain,” O’Brien said.TMC’s newly-appointed state executive committee held its first meeting where the party discussed ways to improve its organisational base in Goa. “Over the next one month we will prepare a roadmap to increase the party presence at the grassroots level,” party’s chairman for North Goa Rajendra Kakodkar said.

For months before joining BJP, Lobos faced heat from Goa govt over ‘illegalities’

The Indian Express | 1 week ago | 15-09-2022 | 05:40 am

The Indian Express

1 week ago | 15-09-2022 | 05:40 am

Former minister in the previous BJP government Micheal Lobo and his first-time MLA wife Delilah Lobo spent eight months in the Congress party that they joined ahead of the Assembly polls in Goa on February 14. But since June, they began to feel the heat as the state Town and Country Planning Department and the Food and Drugs Administration began cracking down on properties they owned in the touristy coastal belt of Bardez taluka in North Goa.Lobo, a third-time MLA from Calangute, had won his first two terms from the BJP. In the previous government led by Pramod Sawant, he was minister for Ports, Rural Development and Waste Management. In January, the Lobos entered the Congress with great pomp and show. Their entry was expected to be instrumental in reviving the Congress’s fortunes in the state at a time that it was down to just one MLA before the election. The BJP had then said that Lobo had left the party because he could not get a BJP election ticket for his wife. “For us it is desh pratham but for him it is patni pratham (For us its nation first, for him its wife first),” Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had said about Lobo’s exit from the BJP.The Congress that had appeared confident before the election results were declared on March 10, however, suffered a blow after winning only 11 seats in the 40-member House. The BJP won 20 and formed the government with the help of two Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party MLAs and three independents.In June, about a month before the unsuccessful attempt by Congress MLAs to defect to the BJP, Goa Town and Country Planning (TCP) minister Vishwajit Rane and Lobo, then the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, had locked horns over alleged violations of permissions granted by the North Goa Planning and Development Authority (NGPDA). The authority had issued two show-cause notices to ‘Micheal Lobo and others’ in view of the violations in two hotels in which Lobo has stakes. Lobo, former chairman of the authority, had then said that he was being ‘targeted’.Tension had been simmering between Lobo and Rane for months. During the last Assembly session, Rane had said that he would expose the “illegalities” allegedly perpetrated by Lobo during his tenure as the chairman of the North Goa Planning and Development Authority (NGPDA).In a series of tweets in June, Rane had said, “It’s also amusing to see as the report suggests, when he was in power, he had no mercy and committed illegalities such as taking away lands & selling them to people outside state. Who was responsible? How was it accomplished? What was the modus operandi? Citizens must know!”. In the same thread, he said, “LoP is one aspect, what we are doing is exposing illegalities committed. If LoP is part of the illegalities, one cannot do anything, law will take its course. Whether it is running a restaurant from an illegal premise, illegalities in ODP or misusing of power, law will catch up.”Two properties in which Lobo is a partner – Hotel Baga Deck and Nazri Resort – had earlier got notices for illegal construction, while the FDA claimed to have found violations at Pisco by the beach in Anjuna, owned by Delilah Lobo.Delilah, who was the sarpanch of the Parra panchayat before she became an MLA in March, had then said they had been running the businesses for 20-25 years, much before Lobo became an MLA. “Only now that we have joined the Congress, has something gone wrong? When all these years we were in the BJP, everything was fine?”Claiming the alleged violations were “flimsy”, like broken tiles, Lobo said: “So many ministers have also eaten at our restaurants. I asked them if there was anything wrong with our food? They said no, the food was very good…Nobody has filed any complaint against us.”Businessman-turned-politician Lobo is a three-time MLA from Calangute and a wealthy and influential figure in the Bardez taluka of North Goa where popular beaches such as Baga, Calangute, Candolim and Anjuna are located. This area has been a thriving tourist spot for decades, with several hotels, restaurants and places for tourist activities.While the Lobos themselves may not have been the target, their constituencies – especially in the touristy parts – had seen increased crackdowns by the Goa Police against touts, beggars and illegal massage parlours in the months preceding their entry into the BJP on Wednesday.The Special Investigation Team set up by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant in June had also begun making arrests in the illegal land grab cases. Majority of these cases, according to the SIT, were located in Anjuna, Assagao, Badem, Calangute, Mapusa, Nerul, Parra and Reis Magos areas of North Goa and some were from Vasco and Margao in South Goa. Thus far, however, the Goa Police had only said that “political links” in these cases were being examined.

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