Panaji Apr 25 PTI The Goa governments expert committee on COVID-19 on Monday advised people to continue wearing face masks when outdoors as a safety protocol and predicted a possible fourth wave of the pandemic in the coastal state in June or JulyDean of Goa Medical College and Hospital Dr Shivanand Bandekar the head of the committee who chaired a meeting here said experts have warned against lowering guard on COVID-19He said though the number of daily coronavirus cases has reduced drastically in Goa there is probability that the fourth wave may hit the state in June or July When there is a virus it reappears or disappears in a period of four months We are expecting this phenomenon in June-July after the third wave he saidBandekar said wearing of face masks in public places is necessary to ensure the infection does not spread and a new wave is brought under control quicklyDuring the meeting he said the committee members reviewed the preparations to face another coronavirus wave and added the state has enough stock of medicines to deal with any situationBandekar said continuation of the vaccination drive and administration of booster doses are necessary steps to stop another wave from hitting the state PTI RPS RSY RSY

Panaji Apr 20 PTI Goa Information Technology Minister Rohan Khaunte on Wednesday said his departments endeavour will be to ensure that start-ups and IT-related businesses dont have to run around to get permissions for their ventures Measures will be put in place to make sure that there is ease of doing business for all industries including start-ups and IT-related ventures the minister said Khaunte said he has already initiated brainstorming sessions with stakeholders to chart out a road map for ease of doing business in the state We need to ensure that start-ups and other businesses spend time operating their ventures and not running around to get permissions or liasoning for schemes he said If we are really promoting Goa as an IT destination we need to make the scenario comfortable for our people local entrepreneurs and businessmen If we dont do it brain-drain will happen here the minister said Khaunte further said the state government is looking at projects such as electronic manufacturing cluster at Tuem village in North Goa and hybrid park at Porvorim near Panaji to attract good investment which will eventually create employment opportunities IT infrastructure needs to be built up for the success of these projects he added PTI RPS ARU ARU

Panaji Apr 19 PTI A day after Goas industry bodies agreed to bear the cost of purchasing additional power to meet their demand Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday gave his approval for purchase of electricity from open market The chief minister has given the approval to purchase 120 MW power from open market which would be supplied to the industries a senior official said The industry bodies had on Monday written to the state government raising concerns about the acute power shortage in the coastal state which had resulted in load shedding and affected operations The Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industries GCCI Goa State Industries Association GSIA and Goa Pharmaceuticals Manufacturers Association GPMA wrote to Sawant and State Power Minister Sudin Dhavalikar expressing their concerns The industry associations also met Dhavalikar to discuss their issues Since March industries have been facing acute power shortage due to constant load restrictions of up to 12 hours per day imposed by the government the letter jointly signed by chiefs of all the three associations stated Quoting their meeting with the power minister on Monday the associations had said that to address the power deficit additional electricity will have to be purchased by the state government However the rise in the traffic in the IEX market has increased the cost substantially and the government finds it difficult to bear this burden the letter states As far as the industries are concerned due to the current restrictions on load they have to run their units on generators at a much higher cost they said This also increases pollution and has a negative impact on the environment the association said suggesting that the cost of purchasing additional power may be billed to all EHT and HT consumers in the state till June 30 PTI RPS ARU ARU

Panaji Apr 19 PTI As a marine pollution control response three more pollution control vessels PCVs will be added to the Indian Coast Guards ICG fleet Union Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar said on Tuesday Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the 8th National Pollution Response Exercise currently taking place in Goa Kumar said that India is also willing to help friendly countries in upgrading their capabilities Around 19 friendly countries are participating in the exercise The Union government is continuously trying to upgrade the ICGs capabilities to face pollution hazards in the ocean Today the Indian Coast Guard is capable of handling the highest level of oil spills in this region which is 700 tonnes and above Only a few countries in the world have this capability Kumar said Currently the ICG has two dedicated vessels for pollution response while three more will be added to its fleet to enhance its capability he said The Indian Ocean is one of the busiest routes in the world and half of the trade takes place in the region the senior official said adding that oil exploration has also increase and accidents can happen anywhere Countries are also battling with the issue of plastic waste being dumped in the ocean he said We need to fight this plastic pollution collectively It cannot be done by one country All the coastal countries in the region need to make efforts Kumar said The defence secretary lauded the Punit Sagar Mission launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to clear plastic from the coastline We should ensure that plastic waste is not washed into the ocean Every year 15000 million tonnes of plastic washes into the Indian Ocean from different countries If this continues our marine life environment ecology and health will be affected he said Asked about cooperation from Pakistan and China over the pollution response Kumar said This is an environmental issue and all countries should contribute towards it Several treaties have been signed to reduce pollution in the Indian Ocean and friendly nations will have to collectively ensure that these are observed he said PTI RPS ARU ARU

Panaji Mar 19 PTI One person was seriously injured in a clash between Congress and BJP members in Mormugao in South Goa police said on Saturday The clash took place during Holi celebrations on Friday and the injured person has been identified as the father of a BJP worker an official said Both groups filed cross complaints Police personnel were deployed in large numbers in the area to maintain law and order he said Chief Minister Pramod Sawant visited the hospital on Saturday to meet the injured person Visited Shri Pradeep Mayekar at Chicalim Hospital father of our Karyakarta from Mormugao He has been physically assaulted by Congress supporters after election results We will not tolerate such acts of violence I have asked the police to take strict action against the culprits Sawant wrote on Facebook after his visit to the hospital and posted pictures with the patient The Congress Sankalp Amonkar won from Mormugao after defeating former social welfare minister and BJP candidate Milind Naik in the recent Assembly polls results of which were declared on March 10 PTI RPS BNM BNM

Panaji Mar 19 PTI Two constables attached to Ponda police station in North Goa district were suspended and an FIR was registered against them for allegedly assaulting a man police said on SaturdayConstables Rama Khanekar and Omkar Mankar have been placed under suspension for allegedly assaulting a man at Codar village on Friday Deputy Superintendent of Police Ponda C L Patil saidAn FIR has also been registered against the duo after a formal complaint was filed by the victim he saidAccording to the police the complainant has alleged that the constables assaulted him when he went to bathe in a river at Codar village along with his friends after Holi celebrationsThe complainant claimed that the constables assaulted him at least 50 times without any provocation and alleged that he was also pushed in a police jeep and brought to Ponda police station where they threatened to file a fake case against him PTI RPS ARU KRK KRK

Panaji Mar 19 PTI Two constables attached to Ponda police station in North Goa were suspended and an FIR was registered against them for allegedly assaulting a man police said on Saturday Constables Rama Khanekar and Omkar Mankar have been placed under suspension for allegedly assaulting a man at Codar village on Friday Deputy Superintendent of Police Ponda C L Patil said An FIR has also been registered against the duo after a formal complaint was filed by the victim he said According to the police the complainant has alleged that the constables assaulted him when he went to bathe in a river at Codar village along with his friends after Holi celebrations The complainant has claimed that the constables assaulted him at least 50 times without any provocation and alleged that he was also pushed in the police jeep and brought to Ponda police station where they threatened to file a fake case against him it was stated PTI RPS ARU ARU

Panaji Mar 18 PTI Goa on Friday reported four COVID-19 cases taking the tally in the state to 245243 while the death toll remained unchanged at 3830 an official said So far 241349 people have been discharged post recovery including 13 during the day leaving Goa with an active caseload of 64 he added With 614 samples being examined in the last 24 hours the number of tests in the state stood at 1903782 he said Goas COVID-19 figures Positive cases 245243 new cases 04 death toll 3830 discharged 241349 active cases 64 samples tested till date 1903782 PTI RPS BNM BNM

Panaji Feb 24 PTI The Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party MGP on Thursday said it will not challenge the order passed by the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court on its disqualification petitions but will request the President of India to amend the Anti-Defection Act MGP MLA Sudin Dhavalikar had filed disqualification petitions against two former party MLAs Manohar Ajgaonkar and Deepak Prabhu Pauskar after they joined the BJP in 2019 The High Court on Thursday dismissed the disqualification petitions by Dhavalikar along with another petition by Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president GPCC Girish Chodankar Chodankar had told reporters earlier during the day that he will be challenging the High Courts order in the Supreme Court while Dhavalikar said he would not do so I am not going to challenge the High Court order on disqualification petition in the Supreme Court because of financial crunch the MGP leader said The party strongly feels that the Anti-Defection Act should be amended and made stringent for any MLA to switch sides he said Dhavalikar said he would petition the President with a request to amend the Act The defecting MLAs should be barred from contesting elections for at least six years he said PTI RPS ARU ARU

Panaji Feb 22 PTI Goas Chief Electoral Officer has sought reports from the returning officers of both districts and director general of police DGP in connection with the alleged violations reported during ballot paper voting for the legislative Assembly elections held on February 14 an official said on Tuesday Talking to PTI Chief Electoral Officer Kunal said North and South Goa district returning officers and the DGP were on Monday asked to submit a report within three days about the alleged violations reported during ballot paper voting for service voters The election for all the 40 Assembly constituencies of Goa was held on February 14 and the vote counting will take place on March 10 The Congress had filed a formal complaint alleging that BJP leaders were trying to influence service voters who would be casting their vote through ballot paper The party had also named a police sub-inspector who was allegedly asking voters to cast their votes in his presence on behalf of the ruling party it was stated Apart from the complaints raised by political parties the polling authority had also noticed certain violations in ballot paper voting the official saidThe coastal state had recorded 7894 per cent voting on February 14 PTI RPS ARU ARU