Directorate of Food and Drugs Administration has informed that the District Collector, North Goa and South Goa in the capacity of Adjudicating Officer under Food Safety and Standards Act have disposed off, one case each in which the manufacturer and the seller have been imposed with penalties for manufacturing and selling sub-standard cashewnuts.

Both the manufacturers have been fined Rs. 10,000/- each and the seller in South-Goa have been fined collectively Rs. 10,000/-.

Adjudicating case in North Goa was filed by Food Safety Officer, Shri. Atul Dessai had drawn a sample from a shop at Calangute Bardez Goa. The Sample of Cashewnuts was found failing in free fatty acid, Superficial damage, Speckled or spotted black or brown kernels, insects damage, and also presence of off flavor and taste.

The second sample of Cashewnuts was drawn by Food Safety Officer, Zenia Rosario, from a super market of Margao; of a manufacturer situated at Sattari-Goa. The said sample was declared as sub-standard as the damaged/discoloured units were more than the maximum permissible limit as provided in the Regulations.

The above samples of Cashewnuts were drawn as a part of regular surveillance procedure; and also based on the complaint received, regarding quality of cashewnuts.

The drive against the sub-standard cashewnuts will continue, as informed by the Department of Information and Publicity.

The State Government has declared the State Awards to Teachers 2021-22 to six meritorious teachers for their exemplary work done in the field of education. Chief Minister, Dr Pramod Sawant will felicitate these teachers on the occasion of 61^st Teacher’s Day to be held on September 13, 2022 in the main hall of Institute Menezes Braganza, Panaji, at 11 am.

 In the Primary Teacher category, Ms Sarojini Narayan Gawas, Government Primary Teacher, Government Primary School, Thane, Sattari (North Goa District) has been awarded for her dedicated service. In the Secondary Teacher Category, Shri Ganpatrao Kustobarao Rane ,Assistant Teacher, Government High School, Ambedem, Nagargao, Sattari and Shri Diogo S. Pinto, Assistant Teacher, St Francis Xavier’s High School, Siolim, Bardez (both North Goa District) have been declared recipients of the State Teachers award.

In the High School Headmaster Category, Shri Devidas Vithoba Kotkar, Headmaster, Government High School, Ambedem, Nagargao, Sattari (North Goa District) has bagged the award. In the Higher Secondary Teacher Category, Shri Subhash Balkrishna Jan, Teacher Grade-I, Shree Ameya Higher Secondary School, Curti, Ponda, has been declared the recipient of the State Teachers Award.

Shri Mario Christopher Reuben Costa, Principal, VRDA’s Gauncar Higher Secondary School of Arts, Commerce and Vocational, Raia, Salcete, has won in the Higher Secondary Principal Category.

The Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant inaugurated the Centre Closure Segment of the ongoing Zuari bridge at Agassaim today. The Dilip Buildcon Limited which has undertaken the construction of the bridge organized the event. The center closure span was lifted at the hands of the Chief Minister after the performance of pooja.

The Chief Minister reiterated the Government’s commitment to improving infrastructural development and at the same time assured to extend benefits of schemes to the people. Government has disbursed an amount of Rs 132 crores out of Rs. 144 crores under various schemes and the rest of the amount will be disbursed in the days to come, he said. The Government is serious about the welfare of people and cited the example of handing over appointment letters under harness scheme to 12 beneficiaries whose family members were lost due to accidents, he added.

The Chief Minister further said the Government is concerned about the safety/security of people and therefore has taken to develop adequate infrastructure for the transport sector. The Government he said has incurred around Rs. 22 thousand crore rupees on various infrastructural projects. The architect of the ongoing dream bridge project he said is Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari who has stood behind to make the dream of building such a bridge with new advanced technology.

The Chief Minister informed that the Cable Stayed bridge is a 8 lane by taking into consideration the future needs. The stretch of cable-stayed bridge is 640 mts. He appreciated the stakeholders of Dilip Build Con and the staff for taking up the construction with dedication.

Minister for PWD, Shri Nilesh Cabral expressing happiness to witness the event of Centre Closure segment said that the work of construction of the ongoing bridge would be completed soon and would be opened for the public. This cable-stayed bridge is the second longest bridge in the country. The hands working behind this project are doing a marvelous job. This bridge will be an iconic one for Goa and would strengthen the infrastructure of Goa, he added.

Principal Chief Engineer, PWD, Shri Uttam Parsekar, Chief Engineer, MORTH, Government of India, Shri Dinesh Gupta; Vice Chairman, GSIDC, Shri Vinod Naik; Project Manager, DBL, Shri Dev Patil; Vice-President DBL Shri Atul Joshi, and others were among those prominent present on occasion.