Withdraw Mhadei project nod: Goa cabinet to Centre

Times of India | 5 months ago | 03-01-2023 | 02:40 am

Panaji: The state cabinet on Monday resolved to urge the Centre to withdraw the approval granted to the detailed project report (DPR) of the Kalasa-Bhandura (canal) drinking water project on Mhadei. “An all-legislative party delegation will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah to explain the state's stand on the Mhadei issue so that there is no injustice to the state,” Sawant said. He said that on January 5, the Supreme Court will hear the Mhadei matter.The state cabinet resolved to demand the Union government form Mhadei Water Management Authority to stop illegal diversion of water. “Even if the case is pending in the apex court, Mhadei authority should be constituted and all such DPRs should be submitted to the authority in the future. We will continuously follow up with the PM and the home minister till the authority is constituted,” Sawant said.Reiterating that Mhadei is more than his mother, the CM appealed to all people to stand united to fight the Mhadei battle.The state cabinet took five decisions on the Mhadei issue. “From day one we have opposed the diversion of water from Mhadei basin, and we are firm on it, and we have decided not to allow diversion of water out of Mhadei basin,” Sawant said this is the first cabinet decision.He said that the Mahadayi water tribunal has allowed Karnataka to take 3.9tmc water from the Mhadei basin and this has been challenged in the Supreme Court.The chief minister said that the cabinet resolved to issue notice to the Karnataka wildlife board under Wildlife Protection Act that they cannot divert flowing water in the sanctuary.Advocate general Devidas Pangam explained the Mhadei issue in detail to the cabinet ministers. Sawant said that the government has never given up on the Mhadei issue.The chief minister said, “The state will continue to fight with the Centre as well as the neighbouring state of Karnataka and also in the Supreme Court over the Mhadei issue.”He said that the state government will not compromise on the Mhadei issue with the ministry of jal shakti. “A lot of people think that the government is not serious but that is not the case. We continue to hold meetings over the issue, but only we don’t convey it to the public,” Sawant said.He said that they have asked the Centre to provide a copy of the DPR of the Kalasa-Bhandura drinking water project on Mhadei.“We have received the official memorandum and the same has been studied by the legal and technical team. After studying the memorandum, we have come to know where we can raise objections and where we can stop them. We have prepared the strategy, but it cannot be revealed in public. We will legally and technically challenge the memorandum,” the chief minister said.He said that sanctuaries in Goa and Karnataka depend on Mhadei water and people of the state even require it for drinking. Sawant said that Karnataka cannot start work as they have to take necessary permissions.Reacting to the Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai claim that he was summoned to Delhi by the Prime Minister to inform him about the Union government’s approval for the DPR, Sawant said that Sardesai is misleading the people and the Mhadei issue was not discussed with the PM.

Read more

Share:

Similar News

One guard 'missing' after Bihar bridge demolition, says circle officer

The Indian Express | 14 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am

The Indian Express

14 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am

After a 200-metre stretch of an under-construction bridge over the Ganga in Bihar collapsed Sunday, authorities on Monday said that one person working as a guard at the site has been reported missing.“He was a guard with the SP Singla Company. We have been searching for him since yesterday night. SDRF and NDRF teams are also engaged in the search operation. We have not been able to trace the body. We are making efforts to to recover the body at the earliest,” Parbatta Circle Officer Chandan Kumar was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.#WATCH | The bridge that collapsed yesterday had collapsed last year also. I have instructed officials to take strict action. It is not being constructed correctly that’s why it is collapsing again & again. The department will look into it & action will be taken: Bihar CM Nitish… pic.twitter.com/Y8m5Zo5Kka— ANI (@ANI) June 5, 2023Circle Officer Kumar added that the missing person’s bike is still parked near the pillar where it was yesterday.Meanwhile, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Monday said that the said bridge had collapsed last year as well. “I have instructed officials to take strict action. It is not being constructed correctly that’s why it is collapsing again and again. The department will look into it and action will be taken,” he told reporters.The Bihar government on Sunday clarified that the Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge in Bhagalpur had been demolished intentionally, and that no casualties had occurred due to its razing. “It was decided that we must not take any chance and wait for a final report. So we went ahead with pulling down parts of the bridge. It was a part of such a preventive exercise,” Additional Chief Secretary of Road Construction Department, Pratyay Amrit, had said in a press conference with Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav.The 3.1-kilometre-long bridge, built by SP Singla Constructions Private Limited at a cost of Rs 1,710 crore, had also collapsed on April 30 last year, raising concerns over its construction.(With inputs from PTI, ANI)

In Manipur relief camps, some dream of home, others seek a fresh startPremium Story

The Indian Express | 14 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am

The Indian Express

14 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am

With just the clothes on their backs, M Joy Singh and his family of five fled their home in the hill district of Kangpokpi and arrived at a relief camp in Imphal West’s Lamboi Khongnakhong on May 7. They have been there ever since and see little hope of returning anytime soon, even as the violence that started on May 3 continues across the state.They are among the thousands of families currently in relief camps across the state, many of whom have been living as refugees within their own state for close to a month now.As of June 2, there were 37,450 people living in relief camps across 13 districts. And with the continuing incidents of shooting and arson, particularly in the areas at the border of valley and hill districts, this number is rising by the day.The relief camp in which M Joy Singh and his family are being housed is located in a government school. Set up by local residents from a group called Indigenous Development Mission, it is much smaller than many other camps — housing 67 people from 22 families, most from Kangpokpi district and a few from Churachandpur district. Because the school campus is small, organisers say they are already running over capacity and have not taken in any new people since May 24.“The provisions for the camp are mostly being donated by different NGOs and clubs. They have been asking us about our needs and contributing. We have also been receiving some basic provisions from the government’s side,” said S Milan Singh, one of the organisers. Since May 12, they have received 18 bags of rice, three bags of dal, a few bags of salt, potatoes and onions, three tins of cooking oil and 22,000 litres of water from the district administration.In Churachandpur, Kennedy, part of the Kuki Khanglai Lompi group which runs 50 relief camps in the district, said meeting basic needs is a daily challenge amid the swelling numbers and soaring heat. On Saturday evening itself, more than 100 people arrived at the camps from Moljol village. Currently, he said, there are more than 6,500 people living in these camps, set up in schools, churches and community halls. Another 2,000 people are living in relatives’ homes but depend upon the group for food rations.“Different stakeholders are providing us with supplies. There are other civil society organisations, the church, private organizations, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum and the district administration… Right now, providing medicines to the people is a big challenge for us, especially since a lot of people are getting sick because of the heat,” he said. More than anything, however, it is the future that worries him.“We can’t just keep feeding them every day. Ultimately, people will need their own livelihood again,” he said.Back in Imphal, M Joy Singh — who was a teacher in a private school — said that for him, rehabilitation would ideally mean returning to Kangpokpi with protection so that he can restart his life there. “I have lived all my life there. My parents and grandparents have been cremated there. I don’t want to lose the place where I was brought up, but I fear it may take more than one or two years to return,” he said.At another relief camp in Imphal, M Baby, whose home was in Churachandpur town and who has been in the camp since May 10, said that her family would prefer a fresh start in the valley.“We came with nothing but our clothes. But there is nothing to go back to, everything is destroyed,” she said.According to the Deputy Collector of one of the districts concerned, there are primarily two sets of people in relief camps with differing long-term needs. People who have moved to the relief camps from border areas of the same districts, and those who have come from other districts dominated by people from another community.“Those from fringe villages will probably eventually go back. It is more challenging for the other displaced group. Until the question of where they will be resettlement is tackled, we want to at least find a better place for them to live where they can have some privacy and live as family units instead of all together, which is something we are working towards,” said the official.Among the inmates of the Lamboi relief camp are 14 children. While schools across the state have been shut since the start of the violence and will continue to remain closed till at least June 15, a small respite for the children is that some volunteer teachers have been visiting the camp for the past two weeks to conduct some informal classes for a few hours for them.

IndiGo closing towards record deal to buy 500 jets from Airbus: report

The Indian Express | 14 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am

The Indian Express

14 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am

Airbus is closing towards a potentially record deal to sell 500 narrow-body A320-family jets to India’s largest carrier IndiGo, industry sources said on Sunday.The European planemaker has emerged as front-runner for an order eclipsing Air India’s historic provisional purchase of 470 jets in February, the sources said on the sidelines of an airline industry meeting in Istanbul.Such a deal would be worth some $50 billion at the most recently published Airbus list prices, but would typically be worth less than half this after widespread airline industry discounts for bulk deals, according to aircraft analysts.Airbus and Boeing are also still competing in separate talks to sell 25 A330neo or Boeing 787 wide-body jets to the same airline, the industry sources said.IndiGo Chief Executive Pieter Elbers, attending the annual meeting of the International Air Transport Association in Istanbul, declined to comment on commercial matters.Airbus and Boeing also declined to comment.Reuters first reported in March that IndiGo, which has a 56% share of the domestic Indian market, was in talks with both Airbus and Boeing for the order, which if confirmed would be the largest by a single airline ranked by the number of units.IndiGo is already one of Airbus’s largest customers and has so far ordered a total of 830 Airbus A320-family jets of which nearly 500 are still to be delivered.Airbus and Boeing have been racking up billions of dollars of new orders stretching beyond 2030 as airlines lock in supplies ahead of looming shortages.Turkish Airlines had taken the spotlight before the IATA meeting with a surprise announcement that it could order 600 jets, but delegates said there were few signs of an immediate deal.TRAVEL REBOUNDIndian carriers now have the second-largest order book, with over 6% share of the industry backlog, behind only the United States, according to a June 1 report by Barclays.But some analysts have expressed concern that airlines could be over-ordering jets in pursuit of the same passengers.Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr told reporters on Sunday there was globally more supply than demand, however.The drive by IndiGo comes as the world’s third-largest aviation market is seeing a strong rebound in travel post-COVID, with passenger numbers surging despite high fares.IndiGo aims to double its capacity by the end of the decade and expand its network, especially in international markets.The airline has a codeshare partnership with seven carriers including Turkish Airlines, American Airlines and KLM.The alliance with Turkish Airlines has seen IndiGo make a major push into Europe, a favourite holiday destination among Indians, with the budget carrier now offering flights to 33 European airports.In a departure from its single-aisle strategy, IndiGo earlier this year began international operations to Istanbul with a Boeing 777, its first wide-body aircraft, taken from codeshare partner Turkish Airlines, which provides the pilots.Taking on the two widebodies is a stop-gap arrangement for IndiGo which needs the capacity until it takes delivery of the longer-range Airbus A321XLR planes in 2025-ish timeframe, Elbers told Reuters in an interview in March.

How having tea with biscuits ups your blood sugar levels, leads to weight gain

The Indian Express | 14 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am

The Indian Express

14 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am

Most Indians have a fondness for starting their day with a steaming cup of tea accompanied by a couple of biscuits. It has been ingrained in our minds from childhood that consuming tea on an empty stomach can lead to acidity, so it is essential to have a few biscuits with our tea. However, this habit doesn’t end there. Throughout the day, every time we sip on a cup of tea or coffee, biscuits are the go-to accompaniment that we rarely miss. Have you ever taken the time to calculate the number of biscuits you consume in a day? Moreover, have you ever looked into the ingredient list of these biscuits?Biscuits, unfortunately, can be quite calorie-heavy and are high in hydrogenated fats. On average, a plain Marie biscuit contains around 40 calories. However, cream-filled or freshly baked varieties can contain as much as 100 to 150 calories per biscuit. Additionally, it’s rare for anyone to stop at just one biscuit. Most biscuits are made with refined flour, commonly known as maida, which gets absorbed quickly by the body and can contribute to insulin resistance and weight gain.Furthermore, biscuits are often loaded with chemicals such as emulsifiers, preservatives and colouring agents, which are added to increase their shelf life. Excessive amounts of salt and sugar are also commonly found in biscuits. High sodium consumption also ends in water retention resulting in bloating, puffiness and weight advantage. As a result, individuals who are hypertensive, diabetic, or overweight should avoid consuming biscuits. It is important to be cautious of sugar-free biscuits as well, as they often contain artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose, which can affect metabolism and disrupt the gut microbiome. In addition, dipping sweet biscuits in tea or coffee can increase blood sugar levels.Even when a biscuit packet claims to be whole-wheat, fibre-rich, or oatmeal-based, the proportion of these healthier ingredients is usually minimal, ranging from 5 to 10 per cent. The primary ingredient remains the unhealthy refined flour. This deceptive marketing can lead consumers to believe they are making a healthier choice when, in reality, they are not.Some estimates say that even taking four digestive biscuits is equal to nearly a bag of potato chips! That’s bothersome for the heart health of people with high blood pressure, who eat these biscuits mistaking them to be a healthier option.Next time you reach for a biscuit, it’s worth considering the potential consequences. There are better alternatives available, such as consuming nuts like almonds, makhana (fox nuts), or roasted bhuna chana (roasted gram). These options not only provide a delicious taste but also offer essential nutrition. Nuts are rich in healthy fats, protein, vitamins, and minerals, making them a healthier choice compared to biscuits.While the nostalgia and convenience of biscuits with tea are deeply rooted in Indian culture, it’s crucial to prioritise our health and make mindful choices. By replacing biscuits with healthier options like nuts, we can satisfy our taste buds while providing our bodies with the nutrition they need. So, the next time you’re tempted to reach for a biscuit, think twice and consider the alternatives that offer both taste and nourishment.As they cater to pleasure-seeking areas in the brain, consuming biscuits becomes an addiction much like cocaine and morphine. That’s the reason why you don’t stop at one.

BJP, Shiv Sena to jointly contest all future elections in state, including Lok Sabha: CM Eknath Shinde

The Indian Express | 14 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am

The Indian Express

14 hours ago | 05-06-2023 | 11:45 am

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced Monday that the Shiv Sena and BJP have decided to jointly contest all elections including the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections, state Assembly and local body polls. This was decided during a meeting between Shinde, Deputy CM and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, and Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi.In a tweet, Shinde said, “It was also decided in this meeting that Shiv Sena and BJP will jointly contest all upcoming elections in the state (including elections to Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha, local bodies)”.काल, रविवारी रात्री मी आणि उपमुख्यमंत्री @Dev_Fadnavis यांनी दिल्लीत केंद्रीय गृह आणि सहकार मंत्री @AmitShah यांची भेट घेतली.कृषि, सहकार विभागाशी संबंधित विविध बाबींवर आम्ही चर्चा केली. राज्यात शेतकरी, महिला सक्षमीकरण अशा विविध क्षेत्रात गतीने कामे सुरू असून अनेक रखडलेले… pic.twitter.com/MdLoqiPoy2— Eknath Shinde – एकनाथ शिंदे (@mieknathshinde) June 5, 2023Shinde said that the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance for Maharashtra’s development is “strong”. “In the future, we will contest elections together and win with a majority to make Maharashtra the number one state in the country in all fields, to continue the race of development,” he added.Several issues of the state including agriculture and cooperation were discussed during the meeting with Shah. Shinde said that pending projects in the state have been streamlined now and they are on way to completion.“We have always received guidance from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for various projects. We met Shah to discuss issues related to the cooperation sector,” the chief minister said.The visit comes ahead of the completion of one year of Shinde-Fadnavis led government in the state.

More News

Latest News