Calangute: The Candolim panchayat has written to the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) after a number of residents of Saipem ward in the village complained that their wells have become contaminated following the recent fire at a paint factory in the Pilerne Industrial Estate. Saipem sits at the bottom of the hillock atop which the Berger-Becker factory is located. “We have written to the GSPCB and the health authorities to test the air quality and the well water in the village. We are with the villagers and object to the existence of the paint factory. We are all demanding re-location of the company. Very soon we will meet both the Calangute and Saligao MLAs and hand over a memorandum to the chief minister,” Candolim sarpanch Fermino Fernandes said.He said most of the wells in Saipem and Orda wards have been contaminated since the past 10-15 years because of the industrial units in the Pilerne Estate and the recent fire tragedy has further aggravated the situation. Residents of Saipem were shocked when they noticed a thin layer of an oil-like substance floating in their well water, which had also turned darkish in colour. The villagers also found the water “frothy” with a typical “nail polish” like smell. “Till some days ago everything seemed fine. But suddenly on Friday evening the water that we pump from our well came with an unusual frothy flow and had a smell of nail polish. On Saturday morning we saw an oily film in the water and it the water a little darkish in colour,” a resident, Lydia Lasrado, said.“Many of my neighbours also use the water from my well. As it is, very few wells remain with good water in the village and this has cast further shadow on their survival,” she added.“We use the well water for washing and gardening. For drinking we use mineral water. This incident has further increased our travails,” another local Godwin Noronha said. “Almost 90% of the wells in Saipem and Orda areas in Candolim are contaminated. For the last 15 years we have been fighting against the company because of the water pollution in our area. This fire is the last nail in the coffin of the villagers. Our village existed before the factory set shop. We want the factory to be relocated to some other place,” said Assis Cardozo, a resident and a businessman of Saipem.“Such companies that use chemicals in the manufacturing process should not be given permission in residential areas. We are in the process of collecting signatures and submitting a memorandum to the CM,” panchayat member Dinesh Morajkar said.
PANAJI: With the blaze doused at the Berger Becker Coatings factory, the fire department has now turned its attention to the possible cause of the fire and has opened an investigation into the incident that occurred on Tuesday. Goa’s directorate for fire and emergency services has asked officials of the factory for records of all the stock, safety measures that were in place and other details to try and piece together the origins of the inferno.On Thursday, firefighters, who battled the fire for two days, were still sifting through the debris at the paint factory to quell minor fires that were still simmering in the basement. The intense heat of the inferno had caused the building’s slab to collapse into the basement, making it difficult for firefighters to access the area.“The fire has been put out and fire personnel withdrew around 6pm. As a precaution, one fire tender and a crew of four to five personnel will be stationed tonight at the site,” said Ajit Kamat, assistant divisional officer, north zone.What was once a factory for heat-resistant paints and coatings now resembles a dump yard for mangled metal, industrial debris and noxious soot. “We can’t make out what is underneath the debris and in the basement. As we shift the debris, smoke emerges. There is no fire but we are still pumping water to reduce the heat that is trapped underneath,” said a senior fire fighter at the site.Aside from the large cargo truck that was instantly burnt in the incident, the charred remains of a car and two-wheelers of the employees remain a grim reminder of the losses. The fire department and Berger Becker Coatings have yet to quantify the financial loss.“We have asked the company for all documents and records. We are waiting for the records on the stock at the factory. The investigations are on,” said Kamat.On the day of the fire, over 100 fire fighters were on site to battle the blaze. Along with the firemen, personnel from the Mormugao Port Authority, Indian Navy and the Indian Army also joined the firefighting efforts. On Thursday morning, 30 to 40 fire personnel were on site to search for possible breakout fires and inflammable items that could reignite.Goa Industrial Development Corporation chairman Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco told TOI that the industry body will prepare a report on the incident and submit it to the government. When asked if a special team or sub-committee has been constituted to draft the report, Lourenco responded in the negative.
Calangute: The Calangute Constituency Forum (CCF) claimed that the ongoing work of strengthening and renovating the 3.5m-wide old bundh from Nerul bridge to Caculo house at Candolim by the water resources department (WRD) is in violation of the Environment Protection Act. “It is noted that existing 3.5m width of the bundh has been expanded to 6-8m by land-filling and destroying the mangroves and biodiversity of the water bodies,” CCF stated in a recent complaint to the state chief secretary, member secretary of Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA), and other authorities.Though the complaint was filed on December 21, CCF members said they have not received any reply yet. On Friday, they visited the GCZMA office and met senior WRD officials. The CCF said, “The Goa State Biodiversity Board has made it very clear that the mangroves and biodiversity along the riverside will not be destroyed.”It added, “Despite the fact that such rules exist in protection of biodiversity, the WRD and their contractors have done blatant violation of Environment Protection Act and destroyed the river biodiversity by cutting mangroves and using concrete for retaining wall. The land filling has been done by covering water bodies to make a way to expand the width of the existing bundh for vehicular movement and in the interest of the builder lobby. It also visible that the expansion of road towards the western side of the property is done in the interest of the developer who has a project passed without proper access in a private property.”
Calangute: The Calangute Constituency Forum (CCF) claimed that the ongoing work of strengthening and renovating the 3.5m-wide old bundh from Nerul bridge to Caculo house at Candolim by the water resources department (WRD) is in violation of the Environment Protection Act. “It is noted that existing 3.5m width of the bundh has been expanded to 6-8m by land-filling and destroying the mangroves and biodiversity of the water bodies,” CCF stated in a recent complaint to the state chief secretary, member secretary of Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA), and other authorities.Though the complaint was filed on December 21, CCF members said they have not received any reply yet. On Friday, they visited the GCZMA office and met senior WRD officials. The CCF said, “The Goa State Biodiversity Board has made it very clear that the mangroves and biodiversity along the riverside will not be destroyed.”It added, “Despite the fact that such rules exist in protection of biodiversity, the WRD and their contractors have done blatant violation of Environment Protection Act and destroyed the river biodiversity by cutting mangroves and using concrete for retaining wall. The land filling has been done by covering water bodies to make a way to expand the width of the existing bundh for vehicular movement and in the interest of the builder lobby. It also visible that the expansion of road towards the western side of the property is done in the interest of the developer who has a project passed without proper access in a private property.”
PANAJI: The long wait for Goa’s second international airport to start operations ends on Thursday, as the first commercial flight is all set to touch down at the Manohar International Airport, bringing passengers from Hyderabad. The Indigo flight 6E 6145 will land at 9am, followed by flights from Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, and Chennai. Go First will also commence flights on Thursday, bringing in passengers from Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Jaipur, and Mumbai.The first flight will be welcomed with a traditional water gun salute to mark the historic occasion. However, taxi operators from Pernem could mar the aviation milestone. Developed at a cost of around Rs 2,870 crore, the GMR Group will operate the Mopa airport through its subsidiary, GMR Goa International Airport Limited (GGIAL).“We are fully prepared to commence domestic operations at the Manohar International Airport and Indigo and Go First will be commencing flights on the first day. We are fully geared up to welcome the passengers that are coming and those who will be departing from here,” said Ranganathan Venkata Sheshan, the president and chief executive officer of GGIAL.GGIAL plans to roll out the red carpet on the first day, offering live music and a tour of the airport to the first fliers. “As an airport operator, we have done all that is required to ensure that the passengers have a pleasant experience. Besides this, our airline partners, Indigo and Go First, are making sure that all requisite things are in place to give the passengers a good experience,” said Sheshan. Low-cost carrier IndiGo was the first to announce flights from Mopa, with 12 daily and a total of 168 weekly flights to eight major cities in the country. Mopa will be IndiGo’s largest ever new station launch, a move that aims to cater to the increasing demand for flights to Goa. The existing Goa International Airport at Dabolim will continue to operate, and IndiGo said it will continue to offer flights to Dabolim. Inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi on December 11, Mopa will provide direct connectivity to North Goa’s tourist belt and the state’s buzzing nightlife. However, concerns about connectivity with the airport, which is at least an hour away from Calangute, Panaji, and even more from Margao, persist. Taxi operators from Pernem have been protesting for the past few days, demanding a yellow-black taxi counter and objecting to the Goa taxi app introduced by the Pramod Sawant government.Kadamba Transport Corporation Limited (KTCL) has said that it will operate electric buses to ferry passengers from Mopa (GOX) to Margao via Panaji. Starting from 8am, a 49-seater electric bus will depart from the new airport, while buses to the airport will commence as early as 4am from Margao. KTCL will also operate buses from Sinquerim and Calangute to ferry tourists to the airport. “All the arriving passengers will be given a red carpet welcome on arrival with music and band. All passengers who are about to board and who are arriving will be given an opportunity to see the airport and will then be given connecting transport,” said Sheshan.Flights to Ahmedabad, Jaipur, and Chandigarh will start from Friday.Centre nod to airport name:The Union cabinet has given a ex-post facto approval for naming of Goa’s second International Airport at Mopa, as ‘Manohar International Airport – Mopa, Goa’, as a mark of tribute to late Manohar Parrikar, former defence minister and four-time Goa chief minister.
Panaji: Goa’s second international airport, the Manohar International Airport at Mopa, is all set to commence operations on Thursday with an IndiGo flight from Hyderabad. It will be the first commercial flight to touch down at the airport.While domestic operations will start from January 5, international flights will commence in the following month, said officials of the airport, which is operated by GMR Goa International Airport Ltd (GGIAL). However, GGIAL said it will announce details about international flights “in due course of time.” Thursday will see 11 domestic flights land at Mopa. “Indigo Flight 6E 6145 from Hyderabad is the first flight scheduled to arrive at Manohar International Airport at 9am,” said a GGIAL official. IndiGo will also operate three flights from Delhi the same day.IndiGo, Go First, Vistara and Akasa Air are expected to operate flights from the greenfield airport that is spread over 2,133 acres and which can handle 44 lakh passengers in the current phase I.The GGIAL spokesperson said, “IndiGo, Go First, Vistara and Akasa Air are in the process of setting up ticketing counters at the passenger terminal building.” The terminal is currently capable of handling 1,000 passengers per hour.Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the greenfield airport on December 11, which is expected to relieve pressure on the existing Goa International Airport at Dabolim.
PANAJI: After making “alterations and modifications”, the town and country planning (TCP) department has notified the outline development plans (ODP) for Calangute-Candolim, Vasco, and Arpora-Nagoa-Parra. The North Goa Planning and Development Authority (NGPDA) and the Mormugao Planning and Development Authority issued simultaneous notifications on Thursday reactivating the ODPs, which were suspended in April by TCP minister Vishwajit Rane. Meanwhile, the NGPDA has been asked to “re-notify” the draft ODP-2031 for Panaji, which was earlier notified by the Greater Panaji Planning and Development Authority in October 2021. TCP chief town planner Rajesh Naik said that NGPDA will provide a 30-day period for objections to be submitted. “As the same ODP for Panaji Planning Area as notified by Greater Panaji Planning and Development Authority will be re-notified by NGPDA, the authority shall bring it to the notice of the public that the objections received earlier need not be filed again as they are already on record,” said Naik in the notification. Naik said that low-lying paddy fields, water bodies, khazan lands, flood-prone areas, land having slopes more than 25%, forest land including private forests, land falling in the buffer zone of wildlife sanctuaries and tenanted agricultural land shall not be considered for change of zone. Immediately after being appointed as the TCP minister, Rane had suspended the ODPs for over three months and launched an investigation into alleged irregularities. Rane had alleged that over 3.5 lakh sqm eco-sensitive land spread over 434 properties in the Arpora-Nagoa-Parra, Calangute-Candolim and Vasco ODPs were converted to settlement when Calangute MLA Michael Lobo was the NGPDA chairman. Rane said all the illegalities and irregularities in the ODPs have been “removed”, paving the way for notification of the suspended plans. NGPDA member secretary R K Pandita issued the notification for Calangute-Candolim Planning Area – 2025 as well as for the Arpora-Nagoa-Parra Planning Area-2030. The TCP board met on October 14 to consider and approve the alterations and modifications in the three ODPs, and also gave the go-ahead for the development plans to be operationalised. All permissions granted under the notified ODPs will have to adhere to provisions of the Goa Land Development and Building Construction Regulations, 2010.
Panaji: After making “alterations and modifications”, the town and country planning (TCP) department has notified the outline development plans (ODP) for Calangute-Candolim, Vasco, and Arpora-Nagoa-Parra.The North Goa Planning and Development Authority (NGPDA) and the Mormugao Planning and Development Authority issued simultaneous notifications on Thursday reactivating the ODPs, which were suspended in April by TCP minister Vishwajit Rane.Meanwhile, the NGPDA has been asked to “re-notify” the draft ODP-2031 for Panaji, which was earlier notified by the Greater Panaji Planning and Development Authority in October 2021.TCP chief town planner Rajesh Naik said that NGPDA will provide a 30-day period for objections to be submitted.“As the same ODP for Panaji Planning Area as notified by Greater Panaji Planning and Development Authority will be re-notified by NGPDA, the authority shall bring it to the notice of the public that the objections received earlier need not be filed again as they are already on record,” said Naik in the notification.Naik said that low-lying paddy fields, water bodies, khazan lands, flood-prone areas, land having slopes more than 25%, forest land including private forests, land falling in the buffer zone of wildlife sanctuaries and tenanted agricultural land shall not be considered for change of zone.Immediately after being appointed as the TCP minister, Rane had suspended the ODPs for over three months and launched an investigation into alleged irregularities. Rane had alleged that over 3.5 lakh sqm eco-sensitive land spread over 434 properties in the Arpora-Nagoa-Parra, Calangute-Candolim and Vasco ODPs were converted to settlement when Calangute MLA Michael Lobo was the NGPDA chairman.Rane said all the illegalities and irregularities in the ODPs have been “removed”, paving the way for notification of the suspended plans.NGPDA member secretary R K Pandita issued the notification for Calangute-Candolim Planning Area – 2025 as well as for the Arpora-Nagoa-Parra Planning Area-2030.The TCP board met on October 14 to consider and approve the alterations and modifications in the three ODPs, and also gave the go-ahead for the development plans to be operationalised. All permissions granted under the notified ODPs will have to adhere to provisions of the Goa Land Development and Building Construction Regulations, 2010.
