Karnataka’s dams will affect Goa’s ecology: GFP

Times of India | 2 hours ago | 18-11-2022 | 04:55 am

Keri: If Goa fails to stop Karnataka, their dams will have devastating effects on Goa’s fragile ecology, said GFP chief Vijay Sardesai after visiting the proposed dam sites of Karnataka at Kalasa and Haltara in Belagavi district, along with party members. He said they were shocked at the close proximity of the work to Goa’s Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary.“The Karnataka government has already completed the survey and soil testing to undertake the Kalasa project. Diversion of the Kalasa river will drastically reduce the flow of the Nanoda nullah, whereas diversion of the Haltara nullah will create acute paucity of drinking water to Goa’s water treatment plants at Padoshe and Sanquelim,” Sardesai said. The work will also affect forest, ecology and wildlife of Goa to a great extent, he added.After TOI had published a report about Karnataka having completed the survey and soil testing at the dam sites, GFP had written to Goa’s chief secretary, asking that urgent steps be taken to restrain Karnataka from carrying out the work. GFP spokesperson Durgadas Kamat said that Goa government has miserably failed in restraining Karnataka from undertaking the work of the Kalasa project.

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‘Only healthy buffaloes can be transported’

Times of India | 3 hours ago | 18-11-2022 | 04:02 am

Times of India

3 hours ago | 18-11-2022 | 04:02 am

Margao: While allowing an agency to transport buffaloes from neighbouring states to Goa Meat Complex, Usgao, for slaughter, South Goa district magistrate has placed certain restrictions on transportation of the bovines.Quraishi’s Meat Traders Association of Goa, Karaswada, Mapusa, has been permitted to transport buffaloes to Goa Meat Complex Ltd, Usgao, for slaughter purpose from the neighbouring states, with a condition that only healthy buffaloes will be transported. “The animals shall be directly unloaded at the Goa Meat Complex Ltd for slaughter. The rejected animals, if any, shall be directly lifted and transported back to the original place from where they were procured, following the necessary formalities laid down as per Prevention of Cruelty Towards Animals Act (transportation rules),” the order states. The animals being transported should not be affected with lumpy skin disease, the animals should not be sourced from the tracts and herds affected with lumpy skin disease (LSD) and every consignment shall essentially carry the certificate in the requested proforma in original from government competent authority at the place of procurement stating that the animals are not affected with LSD nor have they been sourced from the tracts and herds affected with LSD, the order adds.This order has come into effect from November 16.Any person contravening this order shall be liable for punishment under provisions of the Indian Penal Code, the order states.

Dec 11 is Mopa’s tentative date for inauguration

Times of India | 5 hours ago | 18-11-2022 | 02:40 am

Times of India

5 hours ago | 18-11-2022 | 02:40 am

Panaji: Chief minister Pramod Sawant said on Thursday that December 11 is the tentative date finalised by the state for the inauguration of the Mopa airport, but that PM Narendra Modi is yet to confirm the date. Sawant said that once the PM confirms the date, it will be officially announced.“We have not received confirmation from the PMO on the date to inaugurate the Mopa airport. The government of Goa, GMR Goa International Airport Limited (GGIAL) and the Union ministry of civil aviation has started preparing for the inauguration.”Recently, Sawant had said that the decision to pick a name for the new airport would be taken by the Union government. The state has not proposed any name, he said. After reviewing the ongoing works at the airport, the CM had said that nearly 95% of the work has been completed.At least five international airlines and all domestic carriers have approached GGIAL seeking landing slots at the yet-to-be-commissioned airport at Mopa.Hundred landing and takeoff slots have been sought by domestic operators. International flights will commence from January, beginning with Oman Air, with more international flights to follow in the coming months.The largest temperature-controlled cargo facility, with an initial capacity of 25,000 tonnes, will be built at Mopa and will be fully operational by February 2023.In September, an Indigo Airbus A320 landed on the Mopa runway, completing critical navigation procedures for the greenfield airport. AAI successfully completed the calibration of the instrument landing system for the newly-built runway-28 at the airport. A special AAI flight inspection unit aircraft completed the technical observation and fine-tuning of the equipment. The total cost of the project has gone up to Rs 2,615 crore because of delays.As per the concession agreement, GGIAL will have the right to operate the business for 40 years, extendable by another 20 years. The airport project will be completed in four phases. Construction of the second phase will commence only after 80% of passenger traffic is handled.

After agonising wait, Fatorda pool to get a new lease of life

Times of India | 5 hours ago | 18-11-2022 | 02:23 am

Times of India

5 hours ago | 18-11-2022 | 02:23 am

Panaji: For a long time, the swimming fraternity in Goa has been deprived of basic facilities where they could train and prepare for national championships. Even those who swim for leisure were left without any place for their regular activity. The state-run swimming pool at Campal and then Peddem sports complex took agonisingly long to be refurbished, but there was no such luck with the pool at Fatorda, lying in ruins since being closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, there are reasons to be optimistic. The Sports Authority of Goa (SAG) has started work at the swimming pool in Fatorda. The pipelines, wherever needed, will be replaced, new tiles, filtration tanks and plants will also be installed. "We want the best work to be done by the end of January,” said Deepak Lotlikar, executive engineer at SAG. “The files are cleared, work has started. We are making the pool as good as the one at Campal. The pool was getting outdated. With work such as new tanks, sand, pipelines, fitting of tiles, there will be no complaints in the future." The swimming pool at Fatorda became operational in 1997. Without much maintenance work, the pool was crying for repairs: the operating systems were outdated, pipeline corroded and the less said the better about the structure. "I was running from pillar to post but nothing moved for a long time,” said Goa Swimming Association secretary Sudesh Nagvekar. “SAG officials didn't answer my phone calls, knowing I would ask them ugly questions about the Fatorda pool. We were always told that tenders have been floated, files sent for approval and forwarded to the concerned departments. The answers were bureaucratic. The work has now started, so let’s wait and watch.” According to Nagvekar, Margao has not produced any swimmer in the last 10 years due to regular coaching classes, popularly known as RCC, being stopped a few years ago. "The water quality was bad, as a result of which the swimmers were getting rashes. The pool was in a dilapidated state, the filtration process was not at optimum level. Who will send their kids to swim in such a pool? The RCC scheme had to be stopped and it killed the interest of people in Margao and nearby areas," said Nagvekar. Even with all those obstacles, a few enthusiasts and a group of senior citizens continued swimming till the Covid-19 pandemic put a stop to all sporting activities. "I had to go all the way to Ponda for swimming after the Fatorda pool was closed. We had a group of 30 senior citizens who swam here regularly," said 58-year-old Angelo Barreto from Curtorim. For more than two and half years, the pool was closed to public. According to Lotlikar, the facility will now be thrown open by January end or the first week of February. "We don't want to do a patch up job. Once it is done, it should continue for a long time. I am personally monitoring the process. The structure will get a facelift too," said Lotlikar.

‘No question of change in leadership’

Times of India | 8 hours ago | 17-11-2022 | 11:47 pm

Times of India

8 hours ago | 17-11-2022 | 11:47 pm

Panaji: Revenue minister Atanasio Monserrate said on Thursday that there’s no question of a change of leadership in Goa, and that CM Pramod Sawant has got the mandate of the people. “He got a majority to form the government, he is our leader, and there is no question of change in leadership,” Monserrate said.Reacting to GFP president Vijai Sardesai’s statement that health minister Vishwajit Rane could be a good chief minister, Monserratre said, “Everyone is capable and not only one person. I am not capable of becoming chief minister.”Monserrate said that every state has a staff selection commission (SSC), and that Goa is the only state which does not have it. “What is wrong in having a SSC? It will have transparency in the recruitment process,” he said.

India Lockdown trailer: Audiences to relive the horrors of Covid-19 with this Madhur Bhandarkar film. Watch

The Indian Express | 17 hours ago | 17-11-2022 | 02:40 pm

The Indian Express

17 hours ago | 17-11-2022 | 02:40 pm

On Thursday, ZEE5 dropped the trailer of Madhur Bhandarkar’s India Lockdown. The film is based on the initial days of the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic when the government called for a 21-day lockdown across the country. The trailer will send shivers down your spine as it recreates the horrors of the time when it was plain chaotic. Written by Amit Joshi and Aradhana Sah with Madhur Bhandarkar, the film will explore the lives of four characters, and how the unforeseen situation causes turbulence in their lives.The trailer relives the early March 2020 days, as everyone tried to grasp the ‘new normal’. The empty roads, people masked and authorities in PPE kits, the visuals seem like watching your worst dreams come alive. Through the trailer, Bhandarkar touches upon the varied emotions as the four narratives move ahead parallelly. The horrifying visuals of migrant workers, including their young children walking on roads like cattle, continue to haunt us. Also, while many were laid off, we wonder if anyone actually gave a thought about how sex workers survived with their lanes being empty. The film will bring the tales of how lives were changed ‘irreversibly’ for many.Prateik Babbar and Sai Tamhankar play a migrant worker-couple, who are left jobless during the lockdown. With no means of transport, they are forced to walk back to their hometown, facing more troubles on the way. Shweta Basu Prasad plays a sex worker from Kamathipura and wonders how she will earn her next meal while practicing social distancing. While Ahana Kumra plays a pilot, who for the first time experiences downtime, compelling her to introspect, Prakash Belawadi plays a father, who is stuck in a different city, during a crucial high point in his daughter’s life.India Lockdown is set to premiere at IFFI Goa on Monday. Expressing her excitement about the same, Sai Tamhankar, in a statement shared, “I couldn’t have possibly wished for more. For the film to be premiering on such a revered and respected platform is a huge honour. I am so humbled by the very thought itself.”She also spoke about being the ‘Madhur Bhandarkar heroine’. “At first it seemed like I was dreaming. To be a part of Madhur sir’s film is a distinction in itself for any actress. I learned so much from him. Even after all these years, there were still things I was able to only realise while working on India Lockdown. I am eternally grateful for the opportunity,” she shared.Starting December 2, India Lockdown will stream on ZEE5.

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