Staff Reporter  Panaji The Ministry of Jal Shakti has issued advisories to all state and Union territory administrations regarding the prevention of potential groundwater contamination due to rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems in urban areas.  The move comes after the National Green Tribunal said that RWH systems could be a source of groundwater contamination if not implemented properly. The NGT had directed the ministry to look into the issue urgently through a joint committee with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Ministry of Urban Development. A committee was subs ..read more

Staff Reporter Vasco Setting a fine example of communal harmony, a Christian singer from Sanvordem has earned a name for himself among the bhajan lovers.  Francis Anthony has been performing ‘Geet Ramayan’ (the Ramayana epic through songs) in Marathi at the Ram Mandir in Mestawada, Vasco for over three decades.  A musician from Mestawada, late Gokuldas Chari, had introduced Anthony to the Ram temple around 30 years ago and thus started his journey of presentation of bhajans during the annual Ram Navami celebrations.  Like every year, this Ram Navami also saw Anthony presenting d ..read more

Staff Reporter Panaji With an aim of promoting nature conservation, the Directorate of Education (DoE) has decided to increase the number of fruit-bearing trees by sowing seeds at the hands of students from schools across the state. Focusing on mango and jackfruit especially, the DoE has come out with an educational video by involving students of the Government High School at Dona Paula. “It all starts with as simple as eating the fruits, washing the seeds and then storing them safely. And when the school reopens in the month of June or when the rain comes, the seeds are to be sown. This year ..read more

Staff Reporter Panaji The BJP on Tuesday filed a complaint against the INDIA bloc Congress candidate for the South Goa Lok Sabha seat, Viriato Fernandes, over his alleged ‘hate speech’ against the Constitution. The party urged the Election Commission of India to take “strong cognisance of this hate speech” and terminate Fernandes’ candidature. The state party president, Sadanand Shet Tanavade, filed the complaint, which was handed to the Chief Electoral Officer, Ramesh Verma, in Panaji. In his election speech on Monday, Fernandes, while stressing the need to have dual citizenship, said that th ..read more

Staff Reporter Curchorem The BJP manifesto has placed stress on the upliftment of youth, women, farmers, and the poor, said the party’s South Goa candidate, Pallavi Dempo, on Tuesday. “A number of schemes have been floated by the Centre for the benefit of senior citizens. A medical package of Rs 5 lakh has been declared for citizens above 70 years of age, and 5 lakh Goans will benefit from this. Similarly, the government’s health insurance of Rs 5 lakh has been availed of by 52,000 Goans,” she said. Dempo on Tuesday campaigned in Quepem taluka with the morning session seeing corner meetings co ..read more

Staff Reporter Panaji Goa has 11,79,644  voters eligible for voting in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections on May 7, as per the updated electoral data released by the office of the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), on Tuesday. Of the eligible voter number, 5,80,710 are from North Goa and 5,98,934 from South Goa. The size of the electorate has increased by 62,435 voters this time, while in 2019 Lok Sabha polls the number stood at 11,17,209. As far as the composition of the electorate is concerned, women outnumber men in demography with 5,71,617 males, 6,07,715 females and 12 transgender ..read more

Staff Reporter Pernem Stating that Pernem is close to his heart, INDIA bloc’s North Goa Lok Sabha candidate Ramakant Khalap said he has worked for the development of the taluka. “There was no road from Hasapur to Ibrampur. We have worked a lot in this taluka. The Pernem Taluka Vikas Parishad, which we started, was instrumental in setting up a school in Varkhand. So many students have studied here. I recall we had agitated against the government’s plan to start bauxite mining at Mopa, Pernem,” said Khalap at a public meeting at Nagzar-Pernem. Stating that locals have not been employed at the Mo ..read more

Staff Reporter Margao Along with an awareness campaign aimed at increasing voter participation in the upcoming Lok Sabha election, the authorities in the state are also laying thrust on protection of environment. Going ahead with it, the Goa State Election Commission and the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) have decided to have green polling booths where five fruit-bearing plants will be planted at each of the 862 booths across the South Goa district, besides the highway stretches. Over 5,400 saplings are expected to be planted. District Collector and Returning Officer (RO) for the south parliame ..read more

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