Govt will requisition pumps from mining firms to dewater pits: Goa CM

Times of India | 5 hours ago | 19-05-2022 | 01:57 pm

PANAJI: Chief minister Pramod Sawant said the state government will requisition water pumps from mining companies to drain water from mining pits during the monsoon in order to prevent any mishaps. He was speaking after meeting with the chief secretary, the directorate of mines and the disaster management authority to discuss safety measures that need to be taken up at mining pits. “If mining companies are not ready to take safety measures at mining leases during the monsoon, the water resources department and public works department will take over and manage the matter,” Sawant said. The chief minister said that after the state ordered mining companies to vacate their leases before June 6, they had begun removing water pumps from the mining pits. “We have, however, told them not to remove the pumps that are utilised for dewatering the pits,” he said. Sawant had on Tuesday said new pumps would be installed, pipes would be laid and electricity would be provided to dewater mining pits during the fast-approaching monsoon. On May 4, the state government had initiated the process to take over 88 mining leases from lessees whose second renewal was quashed by the Supreme Court in February 2018. The directorate of mines and geology had issued notices to all 88 mining companies to vacate the leases within a month. On April 20, chief minister Pramod Sawant had held a meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah over the mining issue and a decision was taken to auction the 88 mining leases.

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Goas 1st biodiversity heritage site hosts khal jevan ritual

Times of India | 15 hours ago | 19-05-2022 | 04:04 am

Times of India

15 hours ago | 19-05-2022 | 04:04 am

Keri: At Purvatali Rai at Barazan in Surla, Goa’s first biodiversity heritage site, villagers recently performed the annual ritual of offering meals to express gratitude for an abundant harvest. Purvatali Rai is an untouched patch of forest protected as sacred by the local community for centuries. The sacredness comes from it being considered the abode of a folk deity. Every year, the farming communities of Surla assemble at the Rai under the cover of an ancient jackfruit tree and relish meals cooked from the first rice harvest of the winter crop. Sharing the folk belief behind the ‘khal jevan’ ritual, Tulshidas Vithal Ghadi, who performs it, said, “There was a time in the ancient past when the villagers lived under the terror of Betal. At the time they approached the devotees of Mallikarjun. On their advice, a bunch of ripe bananas was placed inside a well and Betal was asked to eat it without using either his hands or legs. When he descended into the well, the god Mallikarjun closed the mouth of the well mouth with a boulder thus freeing the villagers from his terror.” Every year, after reaping paddy cultivated during the winter, dishes prepared from the new grain are offered to Betal and other unseen spirits in the vicinity. Later, villagers eat the meal. “For, the last 18 years, haphazard mining activities had threatened our agriculture. However, timely assistance rendered by swyampurna mitra Subrai Kanekar helped us get a good harvest. This year, we all assembled to perform the rituals at Purvatali Rai to express the gratitude to the deities,” Vishnu Natekar from Surla said. Surla, before the onset of mining, was predominantly an agricultural village irrigated by traditional dams and channels. After recent mining restrictions, villagers struggled to revive agriculture. This year, they gained some success and decided to perform the ‘khal jevan’. A small cradle along with numerous items, including banana saplings, were tied to the sacred mango tree, while a white cloth with a bunch of bananas was tied to the sacred jackfruit tree.

IIT-Madras to study potholes on Atal Setu

Navhind Times | 17 hours ago | 19-05-2022 | 01:59 am

Navhind Times

17 hours ago | 19-05-2022 | 01:59 am

New machine may be used to fill up potholes in GoaPanaji: Minister for Public Works Nilesh Cabral on Wednesday said the government has asked IIT-Madras to find out the reasons for recurrence of potholes on the Atal Setu bridge that passes over the Mandovi.Speaking to media persons after a cabinet meeting, Cabral said that IIT-Madras will carry out a study on potholes on Atal Setu and submit a report to the government.He also said that his department will try to introduce a new machine which can fill up potholes even during the monsoon.Cabral assured making roads 100% pothole-free by the next monsoon.“We are trying to get a machine which can fill up potholes even during the monsoon. I assure you that there won’t be potholes by the next monsoon,” he said, disclosing that the PWD has started filling up the potholes on the roads across the state.“It is not possible to make roads pothole-free before this monsoon. But we will try to reduce their number substantially,” Cabral promised.The Minister said the department will ensure that roads are maintained to be commuter-friendly, adding that Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has issued directions to the department to ensure that the roads are in good condition especially during the monsoon.

Mining co moves HC over govt order to vacate leases

Times of India | 1 day ago | 18-05-2022 | 04:59 am

Times of India

1 day ago | 18-05-2022 | 04:59 am

Panaji: A mining company has approached the high court challenging the order issued by the state government asking mining companies to vacate 88 mining leases before June 6. Advocate general Devidas Pangam told TOI that the matter is likely to come up for hearing on Wednesday. The state government on May 4 initiated the process to take over 88 mining leases from lessees whose second renewal was quashed by the Supreme Court in February 2018. The directorate of mines and geology had issued notices to mining companies to vacate the leases within a month. TOI was the first to report that 88 mining leases would be included in the list of leases to be auctioned. On April 20, chief minister Pramod Sawant had a meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah over resumption of mining and a decision was taken to auction the leases. “The state government directs leaseholders whose leases were quashed by the Supreme Court to comply with the provisions of Rule 12(1) (hh) of the Minerals (other than Atomic and Hydrocarbons Energy Minerals) Concessions Rules, 2016 within a month from May 6 to June 6, 2022, failing which further action will be initiated as deemed appropriate in terms of the MMDR Act and the Rules made there under,” director of mines Vivek H P had said in the notices to leaseholders. The department had said that the apex court in 2018, while quashing the second renewals, granted a period of six months to all lessees to carry out transportation of minerals. The department had made it clear that the Supreme Court in 2020 had granted time up to the end of January 2021 for the removal of minerals excavated/mined on or before March 15, 2018, subject to the payment of royalties and other charges.

CM assures new infra to pump out water from mining pits

Times of India | 1 day ago | 18-05-2022 | 04:00 am

Times of India

1 day ago | 18-05-2022 | 04:00 am

Bicholim: Chief minister Pramod Sawant has assured that new pumps will be installed, pipes will be laid and electricity connection provided to pump out water from mining pits to avoid any mishaps during the monsoon. Sawant’s assurance came after mining companies removed their infrastructure after they were ordered to vacate the leases before June 6. An official said Sawant had a joint meeting and instructed officials to set-up an emergency control room to take immediate steps. “With mining companies no longer being owners of the mines, the responsibility for upkeep of the pits should be taken by the government,” a mining company official said. Bicholim MLA Chandrakant Shetye said that the government should immediately inspect all mines and take adequate measures to ensure that no mishaps occur during the rainy season . Farmers, meanwhile, fear that if steps are not taken in time, their crops will get affected if the mining slurry gets washed down into the plains when it rains heavily.

Defer panchayat polls by 4 months: Lobo

Navhind Times | 1 day ago | 18-05-2022 | 01:34 am

Navhind Times

1 day ago | 18-05-2022 | 01:34 am

Complete the ward reservation process for Other Backward Classes, he demandsPanaji: Leader of Opposition Michael Lobo on Tuesday demanded the government to defer the panchayat polls by four months and to complete the reservation of wards for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) as per the Supreme Court’s ‘triple test’ order.He said that the government cannot deprive the OBCs of their rights to contest the elections.“The OBC commission is defunct in Goa and there is a need to revive it; injustice should not be done to any category of the OBCs. Reservation is their right, and for this, the election ought to be postponed. We, as the Congress Legislature Party, demand that this election be postponed for a period of four months,” Lobo said.Addressing a press conference at the State Legislative Complex in Porvorim, the Leader of the Opposition said that the government should consider appointing an administrator for every village panchayat, which is facing election, as there is no provision to give extension to the outgoing panchayat body.“The administrator can take forward the day-to-day affairs of the panchayat,” he noted.Quoting a paragraph from the top court’s pan-India judgment that mandates triple test exercise for reservation of wards for OBCs, Lobo pointed out that the election programme has not been issued by the State Election Commission and claimed that if it is not notified then the elections can be postponed. If need arises, the government by law can issue an ordinance to postpone the panchayat polls, he maintained.“We are demanding elections in October by following all directions of the apex court,” Lobo stated.He said that the Congress party will write to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and the State Election Commission with a request to defer the polls. Meanwhile, Lobo alleged that in one of the wards of the village panchayat of Reis Magos delimitation has been carried out based on “religion” and not based on natural boundary or geographical continuity criteria.“Action should be initiated against the BLO and other concerned officials. People from one particular community have been placed in that ward. You cannot divide wards based on religion; the SEC ought to rectify it and re-do the process in a free and fair manner,” he said.

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