Panaji, June 20, 2016. … Union Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar in the presence of Shri Siddharth Kuncolienkar, MLA and Chairman EDC laid the foundation stone for the proposed work of design, construction, supply, erection, testing and commissioning of 2 MLD Sewage Treatment Plant at Patto, Panaji, today.

            Speaking on the occasion the Defence Minister said that the State Government has initiated steps for the conservation and protection of environment. He instructed the authorities concerned to comply with the necessary formalities that are required to be completed before the execution of work so that there could not be any hue and cry over the project by Non Governmental and other organizations and the work is completed in stipulated time period.

          The Union Defence Minister further informed that this is a new project undertaken by the Government which is estimated to cost Rs.1118 lakhs. In order to get rid of sewage problem the Government has already taken up the work of treating the garbage on scientific lines for the disposal of garbage in the state.

          Shri Parrikar said after completion of the project the residents of Mala, Panaji will benefit the most besides deriving the benefits by the people from the city.

          Shri Siddharth Kuncolienkar, MLA and EDC, Chairman in his address said that sewerage treatment plant at EDC Patto Plaza was initially constructed almost 25 years ago. However, the plant was not operational. He said, after the completion of 2 MLD Sewage Treatment Plant project, it is planned to divert the Sewage at part of Mala area, as it will reduce the present load of Mala Sewage pumping station.

          He further informed that the proposed plant is based on the SBR (Sequential Batch Reactor) Technology which can give a B.O.D. less than five, as similar plant at Tonca which is giving B.O.D. as 2 to 4. Besides the water from the new proposed plant can be used for purposes like gardening, flushing and many other purposes, he added.

Smt. Vaidehi Naik and Shri Shubham Chodankar both former  Mayors, Corporation City of Panaji, Councilors’ Dr. Shital Naik,  Shri Vithal Chopdekar, Smt. Diksha Mainkar and Shri Uttam Parcekar, Principal Chief Engineer amongst those present on the occasion.

Earlier Shri Dilip Dhavlikar, Executive Engineer welcomed and later proposed a vote of thanks.

Panaji:  June 19, 2016 … Minister for Fisheries and Labour, ShriAvertano Furtado has said that the Government has decided to merge the State Employment Exchange data with the union Government’s new job sites in a bid to combat unemployment.  The North Goa data will be complied followed by South Goa, he added.

 Shri Furtado was extending his warm greetings to the people of the State on the 70^th Goa’s Revolution Day at Lohia Maidan, Margao, recently informed that for the time in Goa component of variable dearness allowance has been added to the Minimum Wages based on consumer price index.  The minimum wages has been enhanced from Rs. 215 to Rs. 307 with effect from May 20, 2016, he said.

 The Union Home Ministry, Fisheries Minister said, taking cognisance of the dual citizenship issue bothering Goans has decided to form an authority to handle the issue.

 Shri Furtado informed that the work on the District hospital has been accelerated to serve the people of the District.  Nursing college will be set up in the District hospital for Goans to pursue nursing studies.  The Government, he said has appointed Administrator in GMC to restructure smooth and hassle free functioning to benefit people and added that subordinate staff for cardiology, super speciality will be appointed shortly.

 He also informed that the additional land has earmarked for expansion of KTC bus stop at Margao, expansion work of which will be undertaken to ease congestion.

 The Government, Shri Furtado said aims to provide 24×7 power supply to Goa by 2019.  Efficient lighting programme has been launched to promote LED based household lights. Three LED bulbs at the rate of Rs. 25 each will be distributed to all households within a month, he remarked.

 Recalling the supreme sacrifice of the known and unknown freedom fighters, Shri Furtado appealed to all stakeholders to join hands, working with unison for accelerated and inclusive socio-economic development of the State, uplifting the living condition of the people.

 Freedom Fighter, Shri Vaman Prabhugaonkar also spoke on the occasion.

 Earlier, Shri Furtado, freedom fighters and other dignitaries laid wreath at the Martyrs Memorial and at the statue of Dr. R.M. Lohia.   A garland was also laid on the portrait of  Dr.Lohia on the occasion.

 The children from various schools sang patriotic songs while the police band paid compliments to the Martyrs Memorial.

 MLA,Margao, Shri Digamber Kamat; Collector(South), Shri Swapnil Naik; Supdt. of Police, Shri Shekhar Prabhudessai; Freedom fighters and senior government officials were amongst those present on the occasion.

Panaji, June 18, 2016 … The Goa Revolution Day was observed today with an ardent call to people by the Governor Dr. Smt Mridula Sinha and Chief Minister Shri Laxmikant Parsekar to create a positive outlook   and refrain from opposing good things which the Government is contemplating. They sought cooperation of the people to ensure that the trend of development accelerated at a fast pace.

Speaker of Goa Legislative Assembly, Shri Anant Shet , Dy Chief Minister Shri Francisco D Souza,  Forest Minister Shri Rajendra Arlekar, Minister for Craftsmen Training   Shri Pandurang Dhavlikar and MLA Shri Siddharth Kuncolienkar, attended the Goa Revolution Day function observed at Azad Maidan in the city today.

Governor said, Government has made a steady progress in all spheres be it education, health and other sectors. The freedom fighters has inspired the younger generation so that they will stand up against any injustice. Goa’s culture is not different from the culture of the country. The Governor said and added that Government is a continues process and though the people has a right to give suggestions to the Government on important issues in democratic set up, however at the same time the people has to participate in the development process and support the Government in its endeavour towards the development.

The Governor further said that freedom should serve as the foundation for a bigger cause towards all round progress and glory of the State and our Motherland.

Chief Minister, Shri Laxmikant Parsekar in his address said that the contribution of freedom fighters is immense for the sake of freedom struggle.  These freedom fighters should now supplement the Government efforts to emancipate the living conditions of the people. The Goa Government, he said will seek cooperation from freedom  fighters for  the development of the State.

The Chief Minister said a positive approach is necessary for the development of the State. He said, in the past 55 years  all successive Government have contributed to the progress of the State. Though Goa attained freedom after gap of 14 years post Indian Independence, the State has caught up with the progress and is almost as par with other States in the Country. Further, the state has made impressive progress in health, education and other sectors. The Chief Minister said the Government in not in the position to give Government job to all and therefore the Goan youths should avail benefits of the schemes of self employment available with the Government.

Shri Sham Sunder Nagvekar President of Goa, Daman & Diu Freedom fighters Association and Shri Chandrakant Kenkre, President, Goa freedom fighters Association spoke on the freedom struggle .

Earlier on arrival the Governor was received by Chief Minister  who alongwith other dignitaries paid their respects by laying wreaths on Martyrs Memorial.

 Also present on the occasion were Secretaries to Govt., Heads of Department , freedom fighters, prominent citizens and students.

The Police Guard of honour reversed the arms and later  paid compliments to the martyrs memorial whereas the choir group of Bal Bhavan sang patriotic songs followed by national Anthem.

Panaji: June 18, 2016 …..Minister for Railways Shri Suresh Prabhu has said that, 11 new stations have been sanctioned on Konkan Railway in phase I. Kharepatan has been selected as the first station to be taken up as part of phase -1. It will benefit 70 villages from 3 talukas of Sindhudurga district and people will have to travel lesser distance to board passenger trains to Mumbai he added.

          Shri Prabhu was speaking after laying foundation stone for proposed new Kharepatan railway crossing by remote. Inaugural function via video conferencing held at Seminar Hall, Secretariat, Porvorim today. The function was organised by Konkan Railway Corporation.

          The total cost of the project is approx Rs. 15 crores.

          Chief Minister Shri Laxmikant Parsekar, Deputy Chief Minister Shri Francis D’ Souza, Speaker of Goa Legislative Assembly Shri Anant Shet and Minister for RDA Smt. Alina Saldanha and Shri Sidharth Cuncolienkar, MLA graced the occasion.

          Speaking further Shri Prabhu said, Konkan Railway will be processing another 10 stations in phase – II. Meanwhile, patch doubling from Roha to Veer has already been sanctioned and work will start very soon he added.

          Speaking on the occasion Chief Minister lauded the work of Railway Minister and said, double trekking of railway route from Karwar to Pernem may be taken on priority. He said Konkan Railway has playing vital role in the development of the state. If the attention of passengers diverted towards travelling by trains there will be lesser pressure on roads and help in reducing road accidents, he said.

          Deputy Chief Minister and Speaker also spoke on the occasion.

          Earlier Sanjay Gupta, CMD of Konkan Railway welcomed the guest.

Panaji: June 17, 2016 …. The Government of Goa has extended the validity of the scheme  for providing employment in Government to the children of freedom fighters as announced in the Budget Speech 2013-14 as per clause 7 of the Principal Notification for a further period of two years with effect from March 1, 2015. As per the Principal notification the Scheme was valid upto February 28, 2015.

The continuity of the scheme was essential to bestow the benefits under the scheme to children of freedom fighters registered with the Home Department.

As the Scheme is devised for the Children of Freedom Fighters. The Government of Goa decided to accept belated applications subject to the conditions as mentioned below.

Application for providing Employment for Children of Freedom Fighters may be accepted after the due date, The belated application received after the due date for providing Employment for Children of freedom fighters would be covered or considered only after the present applications are disposed off by the Home Department(General), Secretariat, Porvorim- Goa.

The belated applications for Employment of Children of Freedom fighters after due date would not bestow any right for granting employment or seniority. No further extension in validity of the scheme will be granted. As such any applications remain pending/ unprocessed etc during the validity period shall be deemed to be rejected without any further  notice/intimation.

Panaji, June 16, 2016 … Chief Minister Shri Laxmikant Parsekar will inaugurate ‘Freedom Fighters Gallery’ in the distinguished presence of Minister for Archives and Archeology Shri Dayanand Mandrekar on June 18 at 11 a.m. at Reis Magos Fort.

          The Directorate of Archives and   Archeology and Reis Magos Heritage Society has put up a gallery at Reis Magos Fort to commemorate the saga of Goa’s liberation movement highlighting the contribution of Freedom fighters who were impriosoned at Reis Magos Fort.

          Reis Magos Fort served as living testimony of Goa’s Liberation struggle wherein many freedom fighters suffered rigorous imprisonment in the fort. It stood as the witness of transition from Portuguese colonial yoke to Goa Liberation. Several incidences related to Goa’s liberation are noteworthy

 Panaji: June 15, 2016 … The Office of the Commissioner for the Person with Disabilities on June 13, 2016 conducted an awareness/ Sensitization programme for parking lot attendants, to secure the notified disabled parking lots for the disabled persons, which are invariably occupied by general public.

The C.C.P, The Traffic Police, the Contractor with his team of attendants, Mr. Avelino D’sa  of  DRAG, Mr. Raj Vaidhya working in disability sector were roped in. The training was conducted by Ms. Monica   Chaturvedi.

The Commissioner has appealed to the General Public to be sensitive to Person with disabilities and not to park in places reserved for them.

Panaji: June 14, 2016 …. The World Blood Donor Day was observed in the State as in other parts of the Country. The theme for this year is “Blood Connects us All.”

The Secretary (Health) Shri Sudhir Mahajan was the chief guest at the State level function organized by the Goa State AIDS Control Society and Goa State Blood Transfusion Council in the Seminar Hall, Secretariat, Porvorim, today.

 Dr. Digamber Naik, Chairperson of Core Committee of Goa State AIDS Control Society and Dr. Sanjeev Dalvi, Director of Health Services, Dr. Pradeep Naik, Dean, GMC, Dr. Jose D’Sa, Project Director, Goa SACS and Shri Umakant Sawant, DD (IFC) Goa SACS were present.

 Speaking on the occasion the Secretary, Shri Mahajan highlighted the importance of blood donation and stressed the need for create greater awareness about blood donation among the people, particularly the youths so that those willing to donate blood can come forward to donate blood regularly, so that lives of needy patients can be saved.

Rear group blood donors Dr. Sanjeev Dalvi, Shri Atul Paidarkar, Shri Vinson Pinto, Shri Welington Monteiro and Shri Ranjeet Waikar were felicitated at the hands of Secretary.

Dr. Jose D’ Sa, Project Director, Goa SACS welcomed the gathering.   Shri Umakant Sawant, Dy. Director, Goa SACS proposed vote of thanks. Smt. Sunita Arudra compered the function.

Panaji: June 13, 2016 …. The Advisory Committee of PC-PNDT has stressed the need to initiate stringent action against those clinics operating without valid registration and constantly violating PC-PNDT rules.

The PC-PNDT meeting held under the Chairmanship of Shri Swapnil Naik, Collector South Goa in the Conference hall, Mathany Saldanha Administrative complex, Collectorate, South Goa, Margao discussed and reviewed various measures to make people aware of PC-PNDT Act and to conduct site inspections of registered Genetic Laboratories including USG clinics for effective implementation of  PC-PNDT Act recently.

During the course of discussion at the meeting , new Genetic registrations, renewal intimation of  USG machines purchased, installation, change of address of  clinics, quarterly inspection were also discussed to initiate necessary action if required.

The meeting was attended by Shri Jeetendra Bugde, Mamlatdar, Dr. Ira Almeida, Chairperson of Advisory Committee, Dr. Deepak Dhond, Vice- Chairperson and Dr. Yuri  Egipsy, Sr. Gynecologist.

Panaji: June 12, 2016 …. The District Magistrate South Goa has reconstituted the Enforcement Squads of  Dharbandora Taluka for enforcing the effective implementation of the illicit drug/ Cigrattes and Other Tobacco Products( Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 in South Goa District for entire Dharbandora taluka.

The Enforcement Squads team consists of Mamlatdar/Jt. Mamlatdar and Executive Magistrate, PSI, attached to concern Police Station , Sanitary Inspector of Health Centre’s and Member of NGO (GOACAN)