Goa’s bond with football has always been strong: CM

Times of India | 5 days ago | 22-09-2022 | 01:02 am

Panaji: When the All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced the venues for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2020, Goa was missing from the list.Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Guwahati, Ahmedabad and Navi Mumbai were selected to host the tournament, but the Covid-19 pandemic meant that the tournament was cancelled. India was then handed the right to host the competition in 2022.From five venues, FIFA, the governing body for world football, and AIFF, decided it was best to reduce travel and host the tournament at just three venues. Kolkata, Guwahati and Ahmedabad were discarded and instead Goa was added, thanks to its experience of hosting major sports events like the Indian Super League (ISL) and AFC Champions League inside a bio-secure bubble.Missing out completely at first and now being handed the chance to host 16 of the 32 matches, including two quarterfinals and two semifinals, Goa put on a show with music and dance during the launch of the Host City Logo of the state at the Raj Bhavan in Dona Paula on Wednesday.“I was talking to (tournament project director) Ankush Arora and he told me this kind of launch has not happened anywhere, this is the best,” said chief minister Pramod Sawant. “When Union sports minister Anurag Thakur called me and asked whether Goa can host (the tournament), we jumped at the opportunity.”That call came six months ago, and since then Goa has taken little time in getting the infrastructure in place. Having already hosted the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2017 and ISL for the last two years, the state does not have too much of work to do.“Goa’s bond with football has always been strong, and it was made stronger when former chief minister Manohar Parrikar declared football as the state sport. In Goa, be it kids, youngsters or elders, everyone plays football.“We now have the Goa Football Development Council (GFDC) with training centres from Valpoi to Canacona. Goa has private football clubs who have helped with the development of the game. Our aim now is to identify young players and ensure that they reach international heights,” said Sawant.Sports minister Govind Gaude said it’s a matter of pride that Goa is hosting half of the matches and is among only two states in India to host two FIFA tournaments.“There were some doubts, questions were being asked, but we knew for sure that the tournament is happening (in India). The logo signifies Goa. It has golden sand, sun and the girl child.“Goa is making progress, both on and off the field. Valanka Alemao is the first woman to be elected as executive committee member of AIFF. We have Durgesh Gaonkar who is now (officiating) president of Mallakhamb federation. This is only the beginning,” said the sports minister.If the Goa logo launch was held on an impressive scale, the sports minister announced an inauguration event at the GMC Athletic Stadium in Bambolim, a day before the tournament officially opens in Bhubaneswar with India taking on the might of United States.The U-17 Women’s World Cup scheduled to be held between October 11 and 30 across Odisha, Goa and Maharashtra will be the first FIFA women’s competition to be held in India.

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Trinamool Spent Rs 47 Crore For Goa Polls, BJP Rs 17 Crore: Election Body

Ndtv | 1 day ago | 25-09-2022 | 11:19 am

Ndtv

1 day ago | 25-09-2022 | 11:19 am

Eyeing expansion, the Trinamool Congress had actively campaigned for the assembly elections in Goa.New Delhi: The Goa assembly elections were keenly fought with the Trinamool Congress and Aam Aadmi Party throwing their hats in the ring but when it came to poll expenditure, it was the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress that loosened its purse strings spending a whopping Rs 47.54 crore.The BJP, which retained power in Goa with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant at the helm, spent over Rs 17.75 crore towards election expenditure in the state.The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP spent nearly Rs 3.5 crore in Goa, where it tried its luck for the second consecutive assembly elections.The details of the election expenditure were submitted by the respective political parties to the Election Commission recently.The Congress, which was hoping to dislodge the BJP from power in Goa, spent approximately Rs 12 crore on the Goa elections.The Nationalist Congress Party gave Rs 25 lakh each to the 11 candidates it had fielded for the elections, besides spending on the campaign from the party's central fund.The Shiv Sena, which fielded 10 candidates in the Goa elections, spent nearly Rs 92 lakh towards poll expenditure. Eyeing expansion, the Trinamool Congress had launched an election blitzkrieg in Goa with poll strategist Prashant Kishor playing a key role in trying to get the party a toehold in the state.The party fielded 23 candidates in the Goa assembly election but none of them won, while its ally Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party put up candidates in 13 seats and managed to win two.The AAP fielded 39 candidates and managed to open its account in the state by winning two seats.The Congress had cried foul at the entry of Trinamool Congress and the AAP in the electoral fray in Goa, accusing them of dividing the anti-BJP vote.The BJP won 20 seats in the 40-member assembly and formed the government with the support of two MGP MLAs and three Independent legislators.PromotedListen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.comEarlier this month, eight of the 11 Congress MLAs, including Leader of Opposition Michael Lobo and former chief minister Digambar Kamat, defected to the BJP.(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

10,000 sanads for forest land in 18 months: Goa CM Pramod Sawant

Times of India | 1 day ago | 25-09-2022 | 07:50 am

Times of India

1 day ago | 25-09-2022 | 07:50 am

MARGAO: Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday handed over land title documents (sanads) for forest land under occupation to several beneficiaries under the Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. Addressing the gathering at a function held at the south Goa collectorate, Sawant said that the government has set a target of handing over 10,000 sanads to claimants of both individual and community rights category, within the next 12 to 18 months. Sawant said that his government was working on the Antyodaya principle, and said that being able to hand over titles to rightful claimants of forest land under the Act was his biggest achievement since becoming the chief minister. “There were nearly 10,000 applications pending under the Act whenI became the chief minister in 2019. No sanad was given to any claimant before that. So far 2,000 to 2,500 sanads have been handed over to beneficiaries. The rest will be cleared in due course,” he said. He urged beneficiaries not to sell the agricultural land they have now come to own, but cultivate it with the assistance of the agriculture department. Sawant also inaugurated the FRC Sanad Information System portal that will facilitate beneficiaries under the Act to obtain their land title documents online. “This is yet another step in our mission towards making Goa swayampurna (self-reliant),” Sawant said. Despite a large number of claims, sources said lack of documentation by claimants, the requirement of 50% quorum at gram sabhas have turned out to be major impediments in speedy processing of claims.

Man tries to enter club as CM’s brother, booked

Times of India | 2 days ago | 25-09-2022 | 04:46 am

Times of India

2 days ago | 25-09-2022 | 04:46 am

Panaji: The Porvorim police have booked an unidentified man, who introduced himself only as Dhairya, after he tried to enter a nightclub free of cost by claiming that he was the brother of chief minister Pramod Sawant. Although he was subsequently denied entry, he tried to forcefully enter the club. Sawant said he has instructed the police to nab the accused immediately.As per a complaint lodged before the police, a tall person called Dhairya, who had a strong build and fair complexion, and was dressed in a short-sleeved white shirt and trousers appeared at the entry counter of LPK Waterfront – a club that is located at Nerul – at around 12am on September 20. He claimed to be the brother of the chief minister in order to avoid being charged for entry into the club, the complaint stated. The club’s security in-charge, Pavan Rozer, said that the accused also promised ‘help’ in exchange for being let into the club. However, when he was denied entry, he attempted to use force to get into the club and even threatened the staff there with dire consequences, the complaint added.

TMC to protest govt failure to improve rate of employment

Times of India | 3 days ago | 24-09-2022 | 02:40 am

Times of India

3 days ago | 24-09-2022 | 02:40 am

Panaji: TMC Goa has planned to organise a protest against the government’s failure to resolve the high unemployment in the state, at Azad Maidan, on Sunday evening.This will be the first programme under the party’s new committee with Mariano Rodrigues and Samil Volvoikar as joint conveners. “Goa TMC has announced its state committee and its focus is to move ahead by serving the people at the grassroots and continuing our war against the incumbent anti-people BJP government,” said Volvoikar. “TMC Goa is here for the long run.”Non-inclusion of former Goa chief minister and present Rajya Sabha member Luizinho Faleiro in the party’s new committee has set tongues wagging. The TMC leadership has already asked Faleiro to resign as RS member for not following instructions issued by the party ahead of the 2022 state assembly elections and thereafter. He has written a letter to the West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, but has not got an appointment so far.Reports from Kolkata say the party is contemplating disciplinary proceedings against him.

Soon, mobility plan for state, parking mgmt for Panaji

Times of India | 3 days ago | 24-09-2022 | 02:40 am

Times of India

3 days ago | 24-09-2022 | 02:40 am

Panaji: Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Friday directed government departments and other agencies to come up with an action plan to implement a comprehensive mobility plan for the state to help facilitate smooth and hassle-free transport. The state government will also implement a parking masterplan for Panaji city.The comprehensive mobility plan will include proper strategies for jetty connectivity, airport connectivity, multimodal transport integration, mobility hubs, network of bus stops, freight corridors and freight timings for movement of trucks and improvement of footpaths.The government intends to implement this plan which would ensure better connectivity and environment-friendly transport infrastructure in the state.At a meeting held to discuss the two issues, the consultant agency, Urban Mass Transit Company, made a detailed presentation of its plan for the state on both the issues. The agency aims to set up a proper network of routes across Goa which would facilitate smooth and hassle-free transport while also working on trunk routes and feeder routes, thus strengthening better connectivity.The chief minister then directed all stakeholder departments — transport, river navigation, caption of ports, Kadamba Transport Corporation and other agencies — to come up with an action plan to implement the comprehensive mobility plan designed by the agency.Various aspects of parking management for Panaji under the Imagine Panaji Smart City mission were also discussed.Sawant was informed about various provisions made in the masterplan for improvement of junctions, parking spaces and zones which will help execute scientific management of parking and city planning. A senior officer said that the implementation of a parking management plan is likely to resolve parking issues in the state’s capital.

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