Panaji Apr 20 PTI Director General of Indian Coast Guard ICG V S Pathania on Wednesday reviewed the preparedness and readiness of oil handling agencies and oil spill response organisations at the sea off the Goa coast as part of a pollution response exerciseThe National Level Pollution Response Exercise NATPOLREX-Vlll started on Tuesday On the second day of the event the ICG a central coordinating agency conducted various exercises at the seaA senior ICG spokesman said several exercises including Heli skimmer high speed demo by sea boats fire fighting demo using Fi-Fi system disembarkation demo to life raft medical evacuation winching operation by Coast Guard Helo Chetak rescue operation by Jason Cradle life raft drop by Coast Guard Dornier and C130J Hercules were conductedA dozen ICG ships Bangladesh Coast Guard ship Kamaruzamman Sri Lankas Coast Guard ship Suraksha two tugs as many off-shore surveillance vessels OSV from ONGC Dornier aircraft with spray pods Chetak and Indian Air Force C130J Hercules took part in the drills he saidThe spokesman said NATPOLREX-Vlll comes at a time when there is an increase in maritime trade due to several initiatives of the governmentHe said 50 national participants from different agencies and 30 international observers were present for the event PTI RPS RSY RSY

Panaji Mar 25 PTI Goa Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai has summoned a two-day session of the new Assembly from March 29 during which Chief Minister-designate Pramod Sawant who is scheduled to take oath on March 28 will have to seek a vote of confidence officials said on FridayA new Speaker would be elected during the session which is expected to complete a range of legislative business including passing of bills and a vote-on-account an exercise to deal with short-term expenditure needs of government they saidAs per a press note issued here by the State Information and Publicity Department the Governor has summoned the session on March 29 at 1130 amMLA Ganesh Gaonkar the senior-most legislator has already been appointed the pro-tem Speaker of the House A senior official from the state Legislature said election for a regular Speaker would be held on the opening dayThe Governor will deliver his customary address to the House on March 29 as this is the first full session of the Assembly for the current calendar year he saidHe said Sawant who will take oath as the CM for a fresh term on March 28 will have to seek a vote of confidence during the sessionState Legislature Secretary Namrata Ulman said there will be no Question Hour for the session during which there will be discussion on supplementary demandsThe session will also see passing of bills and a vote-on-account she said PTI RPS RSY RSY

Panaji Mar 21 PTI Chief Minister-designate Pramod Sawant on Monday said his incoming government will work with full transparency and take forward the mission of Swayampurna Goa 20 which is an extension of Prime Minister Narendra Modis Aatmanirbhar Bharat programmeTalking to reporters here soon after being elected the BJP legislature party leader giving him a second term as CM Sawant said creation of adequate infrastructure and human development would be the focus areas of the state government in the next five yearsHe said his outgoing government had successfully implemented Swayampurna Goa 10 and its second version will be executed with even more vigourSwayampurna Goa is an extension of Prime Minister Modis Aatmanirbhar Bharat scheme which will be implemented across the state with thrust on self-sufficiency he saidUnder the programme a state government officer is appointed as Swayampurna Mitra who visits a designated panchayat or municipality interacts with people coordinates with multiple departments and ensures that benefits of various welfare schemes reach the targeted populationHe said he will take along non-BJP legislators who have extended their support to the new governmentWe will work with full transparency taking into confidence the parties which have extended their support to the government We all will work together he saidThe BJP has received support from the regional outfit MGP which has two MLAs and three Independent legislators putting their combined strength in the 40-member Assembly at 25 above simple majority mark of 21 The ruling party won 20 seats in the February 14 Assembly polls results of which were announced on March 10He said the BJP will continue giving good governance in the coastal state PTI RPS RSY RSY

Panaji Mar 21 PTI A crucial meeting of the BJP to elect a new Goa chief minister began in Panaji on Monday evening 11 days after the ruling party emerged as the single largest political formation bagging 20 seats in the just held Assembly pollsBJPs central observers Narendra Singh Tomar and L Murugan arrived here this afternoon to oversee the process to elect the leader of the BJP legislature party who will take over as the next chief minister of the coastal stateNewly elected MLAs of the BJP which won 20 seats in the 40-member House just one short of the majority mark are taking part in the meeting at the party headquarters in the state capitalThe BJP has secured the support of two MLAs of the MGP and three Independent legislators placing it comfortably in terms of numbers in the new AssemblyAfter choosing the next chief minister BJP leaders and MLAs are scheduled to meet Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai at the Raj Bhavan to stake a claim to form the new governmentBJP leader and caretaker chief minister Pramod Sawant is widely tipped to retain the top post PTI RPS RSY RSY

Panaji Feb 23 PTI Goa on Wednesday reported 44 fresh cases of COVID-19 taking the overall tally to 244861 while two more patients succumbed to the infection in the state the health department saidAs per a health department bulletin two more coronavirus-linked deaths reported in the last 24 hours pushed the toll to 3797The number of recovered cases in the state rose to 240607 after 118 patients were discharged during the day the bulletin saidGoa now has 457 active casesWith 2469 new coronavirus tests the number of tests conducted in the state so far has gone up to 1872671 a department official saidGoas COVID-19 figures are as follows Positive cases 244861 new cases 44 death toll 3797 discharged 240607 active cases 457 samples tested till date 1872671 PTI RPS RSY RSY

Panaji Jan 31 PTI Goa reported 500 new coronavirus cases on Monday down from 826 the previous day while 11 more patients succumbed to the infection in the state the health department said while the positivity rate dropped sharply to 1880 per centWith this the states caseload rose to 238906 while the death toll increased to 3693 a health department bulletin saidThe positivity rate was 1880 per cent down from 2877 per cent on SundayThe rate indicates the percentage of people who test positive for the virus of those overall who have been testedThe number of recovered cases in the state rose to 226453 after 1387 patients were discharged during the day the bulletin saidGoa now has 8760 active casesWith 2659 new tests the number of tests conducted in the state has gone up to 1810732 an official said Goas COVID-19 figures Positive cases 238906 new cases 500 death toll 3693 discharged 226453 active cases 8760 samples tested till date 1810732 PTI RPS RSY RSY

Panaji Jan 27 PTI Goa reported 955 new coronavirus cases and 15 deaths linked to the infection on Thursday the state health department said while the positivity rate stood at 2807 per centWith new additions Goas coronavirus caseload rose to 235039 and the death increased to 3645 the department said in a bulletinGoas positivity rate stood at 2807 per cent marking a decline after hovering over more than 30 per cent for several days in JanuaryThe rate indicates the percentage of people who test positive for the virus of those overall who have been testedThe number of recovered cases in the state rose to 218125 after 3390 patients were discharged during the day the bulletin saidGoa now has 13269 active casesWith 3402 new coronavirus tests the number of tests conducted in the state so far has gone up to 1795763 an official addedGoas COVID-19 figures are as follows Positive cases 235039 new cases 955 death toll 3645 discharged 218125 active cases 13269 samples tested till date 1795763 PTI RPS RSY RSY

Panaji Jan 25 PTI Goa reported 1794 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday and eight more deaths linked to the infection the state health department said while the positivity rate stood at 3205 per centA health department bulletin said with new additions Goas coronavirus tally increased to 232619 while the death toll rose to 3623The states positivity rate was 3205 per cent as compared to 3245 per cent recorded a day ago when it had reported 1387 casesThe rate indicates the percentage of people who test positive for the virus of those overall who have been testedThe number of recovered cases in the state rose to 210799 after 2522 patients were discharged during the day the bulletin saidGoa now has 18197 active casesWith 5597 new coronavirus tests the number of tests conducted in the state so far has gone up to 1788044 an official addedGoas COVID-19 figures Positive cases 232619 new cases 1794 death toll 3623 discharged 210799 active cases 18197 samples tested till date 1788044 PTI RPS RSY RSY

Panaji Jan 24 PTI Goa reported 1387 new COVID-19 cases on Monday down from 1582 the previous day and five more deaths linked to the infection the state health department said while the positivity rate stood at 3245 per cent As per a health department bulletin with 1387 more cases recorded in the last 24 hours the states coronavirus tally jumped to 230825Five more persons died due to infection during the day pushing up the toll to 3615 the bulletin saidGoas positivity rate stood at 3245 per cent down from 4018 per cent a day ago when the state had reported 1582 casesThe number of recovered cases in the state rose to 208277 after 2174 patients were discharged the department saidThe state where assembly polls are due next month now has 18933 active casesWith 4273 new coronavirus tests the number of tests conducted in the state so far has gone up to 1782447 an official saidGoas COVID-19 figures are as follows Positive cases 230825 new cases 1387 death toll 3615 discharged 208277 active cases 18933 samples tested till date 1782447 PTI RPS RSY RSY

Panaji Jan 20 PTI Goa reported 3390 new coronavirus infections and nine deaths on Thursday the health department said while the states positivity rate shot up to 4086 per centWith these additions the states COVID-19 tally increased to 222497 while the death toll increased to 3585 the department saidOn Wednesday Goa had reported 3936 coronavirus cases seven deaths and a positivity rate of 3876 per centThe number of recovered cases in the state rose to 196452 after 3728 patients were discharged during the day it saidGoa now has 22460 patients under treatmentWith 8295 new tests the number of tests conducted in the state so far has gone up to 1759879 an official addedGoas COVID-19 figures Positive cases 222497 new cases 3390 death toll 3585 discharged 196452 active cases 22460 samples tested till date 1759879 PTI RPS RSY RSY