MARGAO: Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Monday reiterated that the IIT campus will be set up in South Goa. “Search for the land is ongoing. The IIT campus will be set up in South Goa,” he said. However, he declined to comment whether it would still come up in Sanguem. Protesters in Sanguem had rejoiced after the Union education ministry said in November 2022 that the land identified by the state government at Cortali, Sanguem, will no longer be considered to set up the IIT campus.The Union ministry had informed Goa that the land identified in Sanguem was not suitable for IIT and that it had decided not to send a site selection committee to inspect the same. The 7 lakh sqm land was found to be insufficient.Following this, Sanguem MLA Subhash Phal Dessai had said more land adjoining the identified site would be added to the property to make it suitable for a permanent campus for IIT. IIT Goa became operational in 2016 and ever since the Goa government has been trying to find suitable land for a permanent campus for the institute.It is presently operating from its temporary campus at the Goa Engineering College, Farmagudi.
Search for the land is going on, he said. (File photo)Panaji: A campus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) will come up in South Goa and efforts are on to identify a suitable land for it, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has said.The state government had earlier identified a land for setting up the IIT campus at Shel-Melaulim village in Sattari taluka of North Goa district, but the project was then scrapped following violent protests by locals in 2021.Later, another piece of land was identified at Cotarli in Sanguem taluka of South Goa district but as it was insufficient, the project was dropped last year.The issue was discussed during the recently held winter session of the Goa Assembly.Talking to reporters on Monday, Mr Sawant said, "The IIT campus would be set up in South Goa. Search for the land is going on." The CM had earlier said in the state Assembly that some people were going around opposing the land acquisition for the IIT Goa campus.PromotedListen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.comHe had refused to reveal the area where the land was being identified, fearing “unnecessary protest". During a discussion in the House on the issue, Congress MLA Altone D'Costa, who represents Quepem Assembly segment in South Goa, had asked the state government to set up the IIT campus in his constituency.He had said land was available at Betul in Quepem constituency to set up the institute campus.Featured Video Of The DaySonu Sood Sings 'Dil Chori', Soldiers Love His Desi Swag
MARGAO: Governor P S Shreedharan Pillai said that universities of Cochin and Mangalore have accepted his suggestion to introduce Konkani in their academic curriculum in principle. "Konkani is one of the beautiful ancient languages of India, it is not confined only to the state of Goa but is spoken in Karnataka and Maharashtra too. In my native state of Kerala, it is a mother tongue of more than two lakh people. Being a chancellor of Goa University, I suggested to the universities of Cochin and Mangalore to introduce Konkani, which they accepted, in principle," Pillai told a gathering of Guardian Angel Higher Secondary School, Curchorem, on the occasion of the establishment's Golden Jubilee celebration, recently.The governor also lauded efforts of the Pilar fathers in establishing Xaverian Education Society to promote education in remote parts of Goa. "The Christian missionaries have given the greatest, most important contribution in the field of education. If one can analyse, they prepared around 80 dictionaries, including in my own original Malayalam, besides encyclopedias and grammar books," he said.Retired teachers Martin Barbosa and Suneela Phadke and some toppers of the institution at the Goa Board examination were felicitated and the school magazine 'The Guardian' and specially-designed 50 years logo was released at the hands of the governor and PWD minister Nilesh Cabral.
Margao: Governor P S Shreedharan Pillai said that universities of Cochin and Mangalore have accepted his suggestion to introduce Konkani in their academic curriculum in principle. “Konkani is one of the beautiful ancient languages of India, it is not confined only to the state of Goa but is spoken in Karnataka and Maharashtra too. In my native state of Kerala, it is a mother tongue of more than two lakh people. Being a chancellor of Goa University, I suggested to the universities of Cochin and Mangalore to introduce Konkani, which they accepted, in principle,” Pillai told a gathering of Guardian Angel Higher Secondary School, Curchorem, on the occasion of the establishment’s Golden Jubilee celebration, recently.The governor also lauded efforts of the Pilar fathers in establishing Xaverian Education Society to promote education in remote parts of Goa. “The Christian missionaries have given the greatest, most important contribution in the field of education. If one can analyse, they prepared around 80 dictionaries, including in my own original Malayalam, besides encyclopedias and grammar books,” he said.Retired teachers Martin Barbosa and Suneela Phadke and some toppers of the institution at the Goa Board examination were felicitated and the school magazine ‘The Guardian’ and specially-designed 50 years logo was released at the hands of the governor and PWD minister Nilesh Cabral.
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.
