TRINAMOOL SWEEPS WEST BENGAL
THE Trinamool Congress won 90% of the Panchayats in the recently concluded poll in West Bengal. The poll was marked by unprecedented violence with over 50 deaths. The major confrontation was between the Trinamool and the Left with the BJP adding spice to achieve Hindutva polarisation.
SHRIPAD PRAISES SERVICE INSTITUTIONS
GAINING adequate knowledge in any field has become indispensable to achieve expertise and excellence in life, stated Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping, Waterways & Tourism Shripad Naik after felicitating 26 personalities for their outstanding contribution in varied fields at a function organized by Samrat Club as part of Guru Poornima celebration held on July 10, 2023 at Virnoda, Pernem.
Speaking further Shri Naik lauded the yeoman services rendered by Samrat Club International State 1, affiliated to Samrat Club International for the society. He said service Institutions like Samrat Club help the Government to supplement its efforts in creating a well cultured society.
The Union Minister said Gurushishya Parampara has existed in our country since more than 1000 years Quoting Ramayan and Mahabharata which are two of India’s greatest epics, Shri Naik said this ancient Indian tradition is also visible in these epics. He further stressed the need to enrich and preserve this tradition for “posterity’.
While commending the efforts of Samrat Club for conducting various activities ever since its inception three years ago, the minister said bringing together 26 Samrat clubs out of a total of 35 such clubs for the Guru Poornima celebration and felicitating 25 personalities for their contribution in various fields, was highly commendable. President Shailesh Borker, DarUday Kudalkar and Venkatesh V Nail of the Samrat Club International also expressed their views. Dipak Narvekar, immediate past president of Samrat Club International State 1 was also present. Subhash Parsekar (president, Samrat Club Pernem town) welcomed everyone and Rishab Kolvekar (secretary, proposed the vote of thanks.
PAIKUL BRIDGE INAUGURATED
CHIED MINISTER Dr Pramod Sawant inaugurated the newly constructed Paikul bridge in the presence of Health Minister Vishwajeet Rane and Poriem MLA Dr Diviya Rane on July 10, 2023. The CM also shared some exciting details of upcoming projects in the state, saying that the construction of the Savordem bridge in Sattari is ready to commence soon, with the foundation stone scheduled to be laid within the next two months.
Additionally, he announced that the GMC will soon provide cancer OPD services in collaboration with Mumbai’s prestigious Tata Hospital. The government is also introducing easy Mediclaim to ensure accessible healthcare for all. The government of Goa is committed to enhancing connectivity by facilitating the necessary NOCs for the installation of towers, he added.
Health Minister Vishwajeet Rane expressed his joy with the completion of the Paikul bridge, it was a long-cherished dream come true. The bridge will greatly benefit Paikul and the entire Sattari region people. The people of Sattara taluka have always been united and this is how it should be. Plus, the forest circuit project mooted will also be initiated shortly.
Acknowledging the importance of continued development and connectivity, MLA Dr Deviya Rane emphasized the need for improved transportation services. She requested Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant to deploy Kadamba bus services regularly to Paikul village. She was redoubling efforts to speed up electricity and water-related issues in Sattari and plans underground cabling will be completed by the next monsoon, she said.
Interestingly, the construction of the Paikul Bridge cost an investment of Rs19 crore and it was completed in a record time of nine months. Harish Adkonkar (MD of GSIDC), GSIDC staff, sarpanchs, panchas and a large number local residents were present at the function hosted by Tejaswini Nabar and Nitesh Gaude, sarpanch of Guleli, extended the vote of thanks.
SOLAR ENERGY PROJECT
THE Goa College of Engineering students should come up with a project based on solar energy as it is the need of the hour and in this matter the State government will definitely support them, was Minister for Power & New Renewable Energy Ramkrishna (alias Sudhin Dhavalikar). He was speaking after launching Remote Controller for Sectionalizer on 11kv distribution feeder, designed & developed by Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering Goa College of Engineering in association with Goa Electricity Department at Mantralaya, Porvorim.
The minister congratulated students of Goa Engineering College for designing Remote Controller for sectionalisers to help identify the faulty section as well as clear the fault in minimum time, thereby improving power system networks. He said power interruptions are mostly seen in remote areas covered by forest as in Sattari, Dharbandora, Sanguem and Quepem. According to him work has started on underground cabling work and they are focusing on development in the sector which requires utmost care such as city and industrial areas where a lot of revenue is generated.
On this occasion students of GCE from Electrical & Electronics Engineering Department, Raunak Chari, Fred Barboza, lshwari Gaonkar and Ujwala Shanbhag were felicitated with certificates of appreciation. Chief Engineer (Electricity Department) Stephen Fernandes, Dr Vivek Kamat, director, Directorate of Technical Education) and principal of GCE congratulated the students of GEC. Under the guidance of Prof Jayesh Priolkar, GCE students from Electrical & Electronics Engineering department designed, developed and implemented the device that will allow remote control of Sectionalizer on 11 kV distribution feeders using secure mobile phone communication.
This will benefit the maintenance, fault detection on power transmission lines. After installing this device, technicians will be able to remotely operate the Sectionalizer. This device is embedded with all the safety and security features. The operator will also receive confirmation messages after carrying out operations and real time status can be checked by all authorized personal. One of the devices was installed and tested successfully on 11 KV Opa feeder at Nandanvan, Bethoda as a part of product development work. Principal of GCE Dr Krupashankara welcomed the gathering and Head of Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Dr Govind Kunkolienkar, proposed the vote of thanks.
DAM AT CHARAUNEM VILLAGE
CHIEF Minister Dr Pramod Sawant has approved the proposal of Water Resource department for construction of a dam at Charaunem village at Sattari taluka in Mhadei Wild life Sanctuary. He approved this while at the State Wildlife Board meeting held at Mantralaya on July 12, 2023. The dam will not only have direct benefit to 250 farmers families providing them with water for sustainable irrigation but also indirectly benefit wild and domesticated animals in a new eco-system being built up. The meeting was attended by Vishwajit Rane (forest minister), Dr Deviya Rane (chairperson, Goa Forest Development Corporation), Ganesh Gaonkar (chairperson, Goa Tourism Development Corporation), Puneet Kumar Goyal (IAS chief secretary and other officials). Various other issues were also discussed including status regarding the declaration of a tiger reserve in the state. The CM directed the Department of Forest to ban the use of alcohol and plastic bottles at the entry points to forestlands.
GOA CASINO CRASHED
DELTA Corporation, the listed company which runs the Deltin Royal casinos, has lost 14% of its share value. All casinos in Goa and online gambling is in trouble. This is because the GST has been raised to 27% of the face value of every bet made. This means that if you get Rs10,000 you will have to pay 27% GST. Earlier the 27% GST was only under net revenue from the earnings of gambling.
WATERFALLS OUT OF BOUNDS
COME the monsoon rains and the attraction of dozens of mini waterfalls in the wilderness of Goa beckons tourists. The most popular of these watrerfalls is the Manapi waterfall. However, the rush and crush of too many picnickers and tourists at several waterfall points has resulted in untoward accidents and incidents including needless deaths with the waterfall enthusiasts taking risks while enjoying the waterfall beauty spots. It has been noticed that anxious to take selfies many revellers are not careful and often slip into trouble. The result of this has now led to the closure of wildlife sanctuaries where waterfalls are located during the monsoon months. Villagers residing in the vicinity of the waterfalls also get angry when tourists turn up with liquor bottles and carry out cookout activities, leaving behind litter to harm the community and wildlife.
GOA GAMBLING HUB
GOA has become the headquarters for the big time gamble in cricket IPLs. A group of people hire hotel rooms with computers and other sophisticated equipment and accept bets going into several lakh. Cricket betting is not only about who will win or lose the match but even on how many runs particular players will score and the number of wickets. There is wide spread match fixing with good players dropping games because they are paid for it. The earliest scam in match fixing in football was when Shane Warne of Australia and Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin fixed the match. The scam was exposed by “Tehelka.”
FOOTBALL FIXING
IT IS not only cricket that is attracting the gamblers. It has been admitted that there is widespread match-fixing in football. The Goa Football Association itself has admitted to match-fixing scams. The government has asked to increase fines for culprits of GFA which has threatened to cancel membership of clubs if anyone is caught engaging in betting in match-fixing.
CABS ON WAR PATH AGAIN!
WHILE supplying digital meters the government have fixed an annual maintenance fee for cabs. Now the taxi operators strongly oppose the maintenance fee and are also against the huge increase in private taxis given out on hire. In Goa taxi fares continue to be extremely high and much beyond the reach of aam aadmi Goans. The result is tourists have taken to hiring their own bicycles, scooters and cars to travel around in Goa. Many of the regular upper crust tourists coming to Goa for some rest and recreation are urbanized and are well able to drive their own rented four-wheelers with the useful GPS assistance.
FAKE CALL CENTRES
THE Crime Branch of Goa has busted a fake call centre and arrested nine people reportedly targeting US citizens under the pretext of providing loans. This call centre was located in a rented apartment at Majorda. With tipping off the police managed to seize over Rs5 lakh and equipment worth Rs15 lakh. The fake call centres offer loans at very low rate of interest and the financial details of US citizens are stolen by the call centre operators. The information is then abused and misused and American bank account holders are victimised.
INDIA ON MOON
In INDIA is the fourth country which has successfully launched the Chandrayan mission to the moon. The Chandrayan spacecraft will land on the moon and monitor climate changes. The landing of the moon is expected to take place on August 5, 2023. The first person to land on the lunar surface was Russian dog called Liaka. Soon Neil Armstrong of the United States followed him. The focus has now turned to the red planet Mars. Private trips to outer space are now available at an average cost of Rs50 lakh per ticket. Space tourists may enjoy the cheap thrills of living without gravity.