Times of India | 1 week ago | 15-11-2022 | 04:13 am

Panaji: To support Goa’s agricultural sector, the department has approached GMR Goa International Airports Limited (GGIAL) to set up a packaging-cum-sorting facility for agricultural produce. The agriculture department hopes to build an integrated pack house facility which can be used to export fresh fruits and vegetables by flight.Agriculture minister Ravi Naik said the state is making efforts to strengthen the agriculture logistics sector which can help reduce wastage and improve price discovery.“GMR officials assured us full cooperation to set up a pack house and we are in the process for planning for this at the new international airport,” said director for agriculture Nevil Alphonso.Alphonso and a team of officials from the department had a meeting with GGIAL officials to discuss the proposal. Lack of certified perishable pack houses and accredited testing labs in Goa hinder the export of vegetables and fruit not just from Goa but districts of neighbouring states as well.“Our government wants to lay stress on agriculture transport logistics. Produce must not get wasted, it must reach the market or the storehouse and if this happens, then the farmers will benefit,” said Naik. The agriculture department has also decided to create a digital marketplace. “We have around seven markets and none of them are linked online. But we are in the process of converting them online under the National Agriculture Market or eNAM project,” said Alphonso.

PANAJI: The Goa University has signed a MoU with Bangladesh’s Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Maritime University (BSMRMU) for cooperation in the maritime fields. Goa University has become the first varsity in the country to forge ties with the university. “This is the first time that any university in India has signed a MoU with this university. Thus GU has become a leader,” said Goa University vice-chancellor Harilal B Menon. He was in Dhaka last week to attend an international seminar on ‘UN Decade of Oceans’ organised by BSMRMU, where the MoU was signed. “The MoU was signed between GU and BSMRMU for cooperation in the maritime fields, extending support for education, research, training, student and faculty exchange and joint research in areas of mutual interest. The study involves both fundamental and applied research leading to conceptualisation of various sensors and equipment for a sustainable usage of blue water,” Goa University announced. Menon and RAdm Khaled Iqbal (retd), VC of BSMRMU, signed the MoU. Menon was at the international seminar to speak on the issue of ‘Reversing the Planetary Crisis of Climate Change by Ocean Science’, while Dr Narsinh Thakur from the National Institute of Oceanography spoke about ‘Linking Marine Chemical Ecology with Bio Prospecting’. Later, earlier this week, Goa University also had talks of collaboration with French institutions. On November 23, a delegation from the French Embassy in India headed by Emmanuel Lebrun-Damiens, counsellor for education, science and culture, visited Goa University and met Menon to discuss collaborations and opportunities for higher education in France in multiple disciplines. The delegates met the faculty from the Discipline of French and Francophone Studies and visited the Goa University library.

Panaji: Tourism minister Rohan Khaunte on Friday said that the Centre has assured full support to various tourism development projects planned by his ministry.Khaunte recently held a detailed discussion with Union tourism minister G Kishan Reddy during his recent visit to Delhi. “Tourism has become the backbone of Goa’s economy after the collapse of the mining sector. While the pandemic dealt another major blow to the economy, tourism has been a major sector reviving it. It is important that tourism-oriented projects are given a boost. I have conveyed this to Reddy,” Khaunte said.The Union tourism minister, Khaunte said, also informed that Goa has made its mark as a popular international destination which is evident from the fact that foreign tourists visiting India do not leave the country without coming to the state. Domestic tourists are also attracted to Goa’s rich ecology, and their interest is not limited to the beaches, he said. “We discussed how important it is to have new tourism projects in Goa,” the tourism minister said. The tourism department has directed its focus on eco, hinterland and adventure tourism.Khaunte, who also holds the IT portfolio, said that Goa’s pavilion at the India International Trade Fair (IITF) has received a huge response from leading IT companies. Chief minister Pramod Sawant visited IITF on Friday.The IT minister briefed various representatives of companies about the Goa government’s plan to bring a paradigm shift in the IT sector of the state. “They were informed about our facilities to enable tourists to work flexibly and also enjoy their stay,” he added.

Panaji: Police arrested Ashpak Kadur, 25, and Hussain Rashid, 23, both from New Wadem, Vasco, for snatching a gold chain worth Rs 1 lakh, worn by a woman from Assonora. Evarista De Souza, 52, had registered a complaint with Colvale police that on November 3 at around 11.45am, near the Ganesh temple in Assonora, two men on a bike snatched her gold chain weighing 12g while she was walking home. The accused then fled from the spot. When the police were trying to establish the identity of the accused, they recovered CCTV footage, which was widely circulated online. Through technical surveillance, Covale police, along with Vasco police, then identified the accused. The duo was held and interrogated during which they confessed to the crime.The accused were produced before the JMFC Mapusa and have been remanded in three days of police custody.

Panaji: The latest guidelines requiring people residing within municipal limits to register their pet animals may have been issued just a day ago, but the few municipalities that had introduced a similar rule much earlier have seen negligible compliance. Just three pets have been registered with the Mormugao Municipal Council — one of the first civic bodies to implement the initiative — over the past three years. A municipality official said that although sufficient awareness has been created about the rule, people have still not been coming forward to comply.A pet owner has to fill a form furnishing details of the pet, following which a registration number for the animal is issued upon payment of a nominal fee, the official said. “We have three different fee slabs. The highest is Rs 500 and applies only to pedigree dogs. Despite the registration charges being this low, we don’t see pet owners coming forward for registration,” the Mormugao municipality official said.The Mapusa Municipal Council, too, had implemented the rule a while ago but has got no response at all, chief officer Amitesh Shirvoikar said. The Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP), however, is yet to make any beginning in this regard even as the state capital has had the rule in force several years ago. A CCP official said the rule was in operation since 1970, but did not know why it was not followed subsequently. Similarly, the commercial capital Margao is yet to begin implementation. Chief officer Manuel Barreto said now that the guidelines are in place, they will be implemented in right earnest.As per the guidelines, councils and panchayats — besides registering pets — have to be actively involved in restricting the stray dog population and controlling allied problems.

Panaji: Three months after scrapping the Greater Panaji Planning and Development Authority (GPPDA) , the Town and Country Planning department has kickstarted the process to rework the outline development plans (ODPs) for Panaji, Taleigao, Bambolim and Mapusa. TCP minister Vishwajit Rane made the announcement on Friday, adding that the ODPs will be prepared based on the inputs of town planners and consultants.Rane said that he has directed the North Goa Planning and Development Authority (NGPDA) to prepare the ODPs within a fixed time-frame.“The Panaji, Bambolim, Taleigao, and Mapusa ODPs are being opened. Now, NGPDA will appoint consultants from among the ones that the board has shortlisted and these ODPs will be opened (for revision),” said Rane. “Once the draft is done, there will be time for objections and suggestions.”Soon after being appointed as the TCP minister, Rane suspended all the ODPs in Goa, both notified and draft plans, claiming that he wanted to remove discrepancies. In August, the TCP board decided to scrap the GPPDA and merge it with NGPDA. In the same month, the TCP board granted permission to open and frame ODPs for Panaji, Taleigao, Mapusa, Ponda and Margao.“We held a board meeting and the decisions have been taken for Goa’s benefit and development. We want the ODPs prepared and finalised within a time-frame. Development is an ongoing process and that is why overall we need to incorporate people’s demands and concerns,” said Rane.Officials said that the draft ODPs should be ready in three months. Rane said that the NGPDAwill appoint a consultant to steer the ODP revision process.

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