Police have to act tough on tout issue: Calangute MLA Michael Lobo

Times of India | 10 hours ago | 28-11-2022 | 08:26 am

CALANGUTE: Police and panchayats have to act tougher to bring the problem of touts under control in the Calangute coastal belt, according to Calangute MLA Michael Lobo. Talking to media, he said touts misguiding and cheating tourists is giving the coastal belt a bad name and though police have been taking action by fining them, more needs to be done. “There are some touts who are looting tourists. They will approach tourists and tell them that they will take them to so-and-so club where there are women available, but when they reach there, there is nothing inside. That’s the reason we see fights between tourists and touts. To control this policing should be increased,” Lobo said. “They also use swipe machines and take Rs 20,000 or more. When the tourists complain to police, police call the touts and make them refund the money. But they don’t register an offence. They should file an FIR,” Lobo said. He said with the new tourist season having started, a lot of people from other states are coming to Goa and getting into illegal activities. “Although police have been arresting a large number of drug peddlers, new drug peddlers keep coming from other states and also many locals get into these illegal activities. We have to see how to stop this and make Goa the safest destination,” he said, referring to the recent incident of a woman tourist from Delhi who was hospitalised after allegedly overdosing on illicit drugs at a nightclub in Vagator.

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Calangute panchayat to buy apartment in Mumbai for patients

Times of India | 2 days ago | 26-11-2022 | 04:53 am

Times of India

2 days ago | 26-11-2022 | 04:53 am

Calangute: The Calangute panchayat has revived a plan to purchase a residential apartment in Mumbai for use by villagers who travel to the metro for medical treatment, said sarpanch Joseph Sequeira.Speaking to reporters during a ‘free medical awareness camp’ at the Calangute panchayat ghar recently, Sequeira said that he had proposed that the panchayat purchase a large residential apartment in Mumbai close to the Tata Memorial Cancer hospital so that patients and their family members from Calangute who go there for treatment have a place to stay as many are unable to afford the cost of accomodation in hotels.Sequeira said that he had made this proposal during his previous panchayat stint five years ago, but the plan was shelved by the next panchayat body. Now that he is back as sarpanch, Sequeira said that he would take up the plan again. “We’re going to take the approval of the state government. The apartment will cost around Rs 3-4 crore. It was costing Rs 2 crore five years ago,” he said.Following the overwhelming response to the medical camp, the panchayat has decided to organise another mega medical camp on November 27, with specialists from different fields who will be available for consultation, he said.Sequeira said the panchayat would now be holding one medical camp every month for the convenience of villagers who are unable to afford the cost of visiting private clinics for various medical tests.We’re going to take the approval of the state government. The apartment will cost around Rs 3-4 crore. It was costing Rs 2 crore five years ago

Recent fire at Calangute shacks brings safety aspect in sharp focus

Times of India | 3 days ago | 25-11-2022 | 02:40 am

Times of India

3 days ago | 25-11-2022 | 02:40 am

Panaji: The destruction of two shacks in Calangute two days ago indicates the need for safety measures to be taken by operators to avoid a repeat of such incidents. Calangute beach receives the highest footfalls in the state. Last season, two fire incidents at beach shacks were reported, one each at North and South Goa.While the fire incident occurred post midnight and no human loss was reported, the cause of the blaze is still unknown. However, it is suspected that a short circuit was the probable reason. A decade ago, most shacks would operate with rudimentary electrical appliances, while a single-phase connection would suffice to meet their requirements. Now, most operators apply for three-phase connections, a power department official said.Apart from a mixer grinder and a few light fixtures, several shacks run three to four refrigerators, electrical decor inside and outside the shack, a high-tech music system, big LCD TVs, besides other small appliances. In the past few years, decorative lighting has also caught the imagination of operators and they extensively embellish their shacks.“Mostly fires happen due to short circuits in equipment, or when shacks use extensions and put up decorative lighting,” the power department official said.“A shack operator can use any number of appliances, and all connections have a miniature circuit breaker (MCB), so any overloading will cause the MCB to trip. Fires don’t happen because of overloading. At 3am, it is unlikely there was overloading,” he said.Higher the sanctioned load, the more shack allottees have to shell out as fees as temporary power connections given to the operators are fixed at higher rates than normal connections. The electricity department, the official said, conducts a safety inspection every year before giving connections to the shacks. A shack operator refuted claims that they are careless, and emphasised that taking precautions is in their interest, which most of them follow. John Lobo, secretary, Shack Owners’ Welfare Society (SOWS), said that operators have to run electrical appliances at the shacks, and most of them pay hefty power bills in the range of Rs 20,000-45,000 a month. “We pay higher charges than others, and all have taken legitimate connections. The usage of more than two fridges is necessary as using ice every day to store fish is expensive,” he said.The electrical decor, he added, is part of the competition, and unless they don’t use this, guests will not step into their shacks.

Two shacks gutted at Calangute, loss of Rs 50 lakh

Times of India | 5 days ago | 23-11-2022 | 04:40 pm

Times of India

5 days ago | 23-11-2022 | 04:40 pm

CALANGUTE: Two shacks were gutted in a fire at Calangute beach in the early hours of Tuesday, resulting in a loss of around Rs 50 lakh. No injuries were reported in the incident. Achal Naik, co-owner of one of the shacks located at the entrance to the beach in Umtavaddo, said that the fire broke out at around 2.30am in an adjacent shack and quickly spread to his structure. The shackswere reduced to ashes within minutes, he said. Benedict Rodrigues, owner of the shack where the fire broke out, said that he is uncertain if the blaze was caused due to a short circuit. “The workers were sleeping inside after closing the shack. They awoke when the fire started with the noise,” he said. The blaze destroyed fridges and other equipment such as sound systems, generators, furniture, food and beverage stock as well as gas cylinders. Shacks beside these two structures had a miraculous escape as staff began dousing water while the wind slackened, workers said. Pilerne fire station officials said they received a call at around 2.42am and reached the spot at 2.55am. Fire fighting operations lasted until 6am. They said they would be rebuilding the shacks and open for business in about a week. Calangute MLA Michael Lobo said it was a “natural disaster”, and he would be asking the CM to provide immediate relief to the affected shack owners. Shack owners called for increasing the space between shacks during demarcation to prevent such incidents in future.

Set up quick response unit at beach: Lobo

Times of India | 5 days ago | 23-11-2022 | 07:40 am

Times of India

5 days ago | 23-11-2022 | 07:40 am

Calangute: Calangute MLA Michael Lobo has urged the state government to set up a quick response force to handle fire incidents and other major accidents on beaches.“We had submitted a proposal to the chief minister last year for a quick response team of firefighters who should be stationed on the beach with a four-wheel drive vehicle equipped with foam and a small water tank,” he said.Manuel Cardozo, president , Traditional Shacks Owners’ Association, said a fire brigade unit is a necessity in Calangute. “We have been repeatedly telling the government for the past five years that something should be done for the safety of shacks. Being the biggest tourist destination, we don’t have a fire brigade stationed here. By the time the fire brigade reaches, everything is reduced to ashes,” he said. tnn

After repeated complaints of CRZ violation, coastal body to inspect Candolim property

Times of India | 1 week ago | 21-11-2022 | 04:51 am

Times of India

1 week ago | 21-11-2022 | 04:51 am

Calangute: The Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) has again postponed a site inspection of a beachside property where there was destruction of sand dunes and beach vegetation at Dando, Candolim, which was to be done on Monday.Following repeated complaints by residents and the Calangute Constituency Forum (CCF) about destruction of sand dunes and beach vegetation in a beachside property at Dando, Candolim, the inspection was originally scheduled to be held on November 16, but was rescheduled. CCF members said that despite the complaints and the GCZMA notice of a site inspection, the builders who are developing the property were continuing with their work, even on Sundays. “The builder has erected metal fencing around the property within 50m of the high tide line and no-development zone and is also levelling the sand dunes,” CCF members alleged.

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