Panaji: Union Home Minister Amit Shah was given a mineral water bottle worth Rs 850 during his trip to Goa and it was brought from a town located around 10 km away from Panaji, state Agriculture Minister Ravi Naik said on Tuesday.Naik mentioned about the expensive buy while making a strong pitch for rainwater harvesting in Goa and explaining how water will become a scarce and precious resource in the future."When Amit Shah was in Goa (for campaigning for February Assembly polls), he asked for a Himalaya (brand) water bottle. It was then brought from Mapusa (located around 10km from Panaji)," Naik said, addressing an event in South Goa.The mineral water which was purchased for Shah costs Rs 850 per bottle, he said."Even the rate of mineral water bottles available in star hotels hovers in the range of Rs 150-Rs 160. This is how expensive water has become," Naik added.Naik, a former Goa chief minister, in the past has pushed for constructing dams across rivers to accumulate water, which he said, can be sold to Gulf countries in exchange for fuel."The government can build dams across the state, wherever there are mountains, and store water," he said at the event, warning people will fight for water in the future due to shortages.—PTI

Union Home Minister Amit Shah was given a mineral water bottle worth Rs 850 during his trip to Goa and it was brought from a town located around 10 km away from Panaji, state Agriculture Minister Ravi Naik said on Tuesday.

Amit Shah was given water bottle worth Rs 850: Goa minister

Panaji: Rebel MLAs of Shiv Sena who are still camping in Goa, with their leader Eknath Shinde's name announced as next Chief Minister of Maharashtra, were seen dancing in Taj Resort and Convention Centre in Panaji. Shinde on Thursday had left for Mumbai from Goa. However, members from his groups are still in Goa.They chanted slogans and said that they support Eknath Shinde while dancing in the hotel.Shinde virtually addressed the rebel MLAs from Mumbai and said that he will never forget the trust they showed in him. "With the support of our MLAs (rebels) we could reach this stage. This is an ideological fight. One side there was a power, government and big leaders and on the other side I am a small worker. But these 50 MLAs trusted me, I will not forget them. I assure you that the 'experience' (of Maha Vikas Aghadi government) of the last two and half years will not be repeated," Shinde said. Rebel MLAs staying in Goa hotel, told media persons they are very happy with the new political development and Eknath Shinde becoming the Chief Minister.—IANS

Rebel MLAs of Shiv Sena who are still camping in Goa, with their leader Eknath Shinde's name announced as next Chief Minister of Maharashtra, were seen dancing in Taj Resort and Convention Centre in Panaji. Shinde on Thursday had left for Mumbai from Goa. 

Rebel Shiv Sena MLAs In Goa Celebrate 'Victory'

Panaji: Reacting to the removal of Eknath Shinde, now Chief Minister of Maharashtra, as leader of party (Shiv Sena), rebel MLA Deepak Kesarkar said that they will reply to it legally, but sender should introspect whether he is doing insult to the people of Maharashtra or not. Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray 'removed' Eknath Shinde as a 'Shiv Sena Leader' for allegedly indulging in 'anti-party' activities. The letter said: "You have been indulging in anti-party activities and have voluntarily given up your membership of Shiv Sena." Kesarkar, who is still camping in Goa along with other rebel MLAs and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, on Saturday addressed a press conference and said that Shinde has received a letter saying he has been removed as leader of the party organisation.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"There is one tradition that the leader of the House, who gets elected and becomes chief minister, doesn't limit to one party. He is the leader of all parties in the House. This is why he is called the leader of the house. When he enters assembly, ruckus or business taking place gets paused till he sits on his chair. This is the respect to that chair," Kesarkar said."And when you say that you have removed the leader of the house from the party, you need to think of the people of Maharashtra, whether you are insulting them or not," he said. "We will not speak anything against Udhav Thackrey (as all respects him), but we will reply to the legal letter sent by him. We will take legal advice to reply to the legal letter," Kesarkar said."Shinde is still our leader, all who had elected on the ticket of Shiv Sena had chosen him as leader of the organisation. Nobody can snatch it (right) from him, and those who tried it, we have approached the Supreme Court. I don't want to comment on it. But again and again such things are taking place," Kesarkar said. —IANS

Reacting to the removal of Eknath Shinde, now Chief Minister of Maharashtra, as leader of party (Shiv Sena), rebel MLA Deepak Kesarkar said that they will reply to it legally, but sender should introspect whether he is doing insult to the people of Maharashtra or not. 

'Will Reply Legally', Says Rebel Sena MLA On Removal Of Eknath Shinde

Panaji: BJP MLA Joshua De Souza was on Friday elected as the Deputy Speaker of Goa Legislative Assembly.The election for the post of was held on Friday, during the ongoing monsoon session of the assembly.De Souza polled 24 votes, while Congress candidate Delialah Lobo was supported by 12 opposition MLAs.Two members of the Aam Admi Party (AAP) and the lone MLA of the Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP), both belonging to the opposition benches, abstained from voting.Assembly Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar and others congratulated De Souza on his win.De Souza, 33, represents the Mapusa assembly constituency in North Goa. He was first elected as the MLA in 2019 following the death of his father, Francis De Souza, who was then a minister in the state cabinet.—PTI

BJP MLA Joshua De Souza was on Friday elected as the Deputy Speaker of Goa Legislative Assembly.

BJP’s Joshua De Souza elected Deputy Speaker of Goa Assembly, 

BJP’s Joshua De Souza elected Deputy Speaker of Goa Assembly

Panaji:&nbsp;Goa Health Department on Monday said that airport authorities and others have been asked to carry out close surveillance to detect monkeypox cases.Health Department Director, Dr Geeta Kakodkar told reporters here that they have received guidelines for monkeypox and accordingly, all stakeholders have been briefed on them."We have circulated it to IMA doctors and governmentAmedical officers. We will take samples even if it is chicken pox case and will send it to (the NIV in ) Pune," she said.Kakodkar said that according to guidelines, the patients have to be kept in isolation and hence isolation beds are made ready in some hospitals."Airport authorities will do surveillance. We have sent letter to the airport authorities about what steps have to be taken if a suspected case is found," she said.Kakodakar said that Health Department has taken all preventive measures and has spread awareness to whom one has to inform and which hospital the suspect has to be sent. —IANS

Goa Health Department on Monday said that airport authorities and others have been asked to carry out close surveillance to detect monkeypox cases.

 Goa carrying out close surveillance to check monkeypox

Panaji:&nbsp;The Goa police on Tuesday arrested a resident of Hyderabad for allegedly possessing 740 grams of hashish oil valued at Rs 7,40,000 in the international market.The accused person has been identified as Prudhvi Penmathsa, 25, the police said.The raid was conducted under the supervision of Superintendent of Police (ANC) Shobhit Saksen.According to the police, the accused was nabbed during a raid in North Goa's Porvorim. —IANS

The Goa police on Tuesday arrested a resident of Hyderabad for allegedly possessing 740 grams of hashish oil valued at Rs 7,40,000 in the international market.

 Hyderabad man arrested in Goa for possessing hashish valued at Rs 7.4 lakh

Panaji:&nbsp;With Delhi and neighbouring Maharashtra reducing liquor rates, Goa's liquor traders are left worried that they may further lose business from tourists visiting the sunshine state, who no longer purchase liquor from the state's liquor vends like before.The situation is such that the tourists visiting Goa are mocking retailers for higher price of liquor.As per government statistics, in 2019, about 71,27,000 domestic tourists visited Goa, of which 9,31,000 were foreign tourists. But this number dropped in 2020 and 2021 as the Covid pandemic struck the coastal state. But now the local tourism industry is hopeful that tourist footfall will increase in the upcoming tourism season.Dattaprasad Naik, President of Goa Liquor Traders Association, told IANS that the liquor industry in the state is suffering losses for the past eight months."Since the past eight months, we have lost customers from the North. It's a major setback for us. Tourists are not procuring liquor from us in the way they did before," he said."Some are even mocking us by saying that the liquor prices in Goa are double as compared to Delhi," Naik said.The liquor price in Delhi came down as compared to the coastal state in recent times primarily due to the reduction in registration fees for different brands. Also the duty on liquor in Delhi is lesser that what it is in Goa.According to Naik, the association has requested the Goa government to streamline the excise duty slab."In reality, the Delhi model will not work in Goa," he said.Naik also said that duty slabs in Goa are not proper and also that the ‘label registration' fee should be streamlined."There should be ease of doing business in our trade. It takes around 15 days to get an import permit. They delay issuing import permits, which should not happen," Naik said.Goa Forward Party MLA Vijai Sardesai had in the recently concluded Assembly session raised the issue of liquor prices and said that liquor rates in the state are higher than other places, especially Delhi.He said the situation is such that people are bringing liquor to Goa from their own states, especially those visiting the coastal state for wedding events."Goa is known as a wedding destination, but people now bring liquor from other states," Sardesai had said."The government may be proud about the excise collections, but the reality is liquor sales have gone down. The prices in Delhi and Maharashtra have gone down," he had said.Sameer Naik, a retailer, told IANS that ever since liquor prices went down in Delhi and Maharashtra, sales have plummeted in Goa."Why would they purchase from us? Every passing day the rates are increasing here. In the near future, we will have to depend on local customers only," Sameer Naik said.Sources said that many people used to smuggle liquor from Goa to the North, which has stopped now.An excise officer, on condition of anonymity, said that though the government has collected sizeable revenue from liquor trade, the price difference will impact tourism and it will become evident from the coming tourism season."There are many domestic tourists who visit Goa mainly for cheap liquor. Why would they come now if the prices are higher here," he asked.—IANS

With Delhi and neighbouring Maharashtra reducing liquor rates, Goa's liquor traders are left worried that they may further lose business from tourists visiting the sunshine state, who no longer purchase liquor from the state's liquor vends like before.

 Delhi Downer: Cheaper liquor in Delhi, Maha hits Goa's booze business

Panaji: Two persons were arrested on Saturday for allegedly trying to rob a Russian national in a hotel room.

According to North Goa Superintendent of Police Nidhin Valsan, complainant Aigul Davletianova, 30, Russian national, staying at Grand Inn hotel in Morjim, Pernem-Goa, said on March 24, two unknown persons entered into her room through slanting window, and when she woke up, the accused persons caught hold of her hands and pressed her mouth due to which she sustained injuries to her lips and her one tooth got uprooted.

"All the staff working at Grand Inn hotel were rounded up and after interrogation, suspects namely Abinash Goria, 29, native of Assam, who was working as a waiter and Mohammad Faizal Khan, 26, native of Jharkhand, who was working as an electrician in the hotel, confessed to committing the crime," Valsan said.

He said that both the accused persons are arrested and remanded to four days police custody.

"During interrogation, the accused persons revealed that they entered the room of the complainant woman with an intention to commit theft," Valsan said.

A case has been registered and investigation is on. IANS

Two persons were arrested on Saturday for allegedly trying to rob a Russian national in a hotel room.

Two arrested for attempting to rob Russian tourist in Goa

Bengaluru CEO Suchana Seth, charged with the tragic killing of her four-year-old son, has had her police custody extended by an additional five days, according to PTI sources.  Following the conclusion of her initial six-day custody, Seth was presented before a Panaji court. The CEO stands accused of smothering her son to death in a service apartment in Goa, subsequently concealing the lifeless body in a bag with intentions to transport it from Goa to Bengaluru via taxi. However, her plans were thwarted when authorities apprehended her in Karnataka's Chitradurga.
 Reports suggest that the founder of the Bengaluru-based AI startup was discontented with a court order granting visitation rights to her estranged husband, a factor believed to have contributed to the tragic incident.
—Input from Agencies

Follow the Suchana Seth case, Bengaluru CEO accused of a shocking crime. Get the latest on the Panaji court proceedings and the tragic incident in Goa.

Bengaluru CEO Suchana Seth Faces 5 days Extended Police Custody After killing her 4-Year-Old Son

South Goa (Goa): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday participated in 'Viksit Bharat, Viksit Goa 2047' programme and inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of projects worth over Rs 1330 crore. The Prime Minister inaugurated the permanent campus of the National Institute of Technology Goa to the nation.
The newly built-up campus has various facilities such as tutorial complex, departmental complex, seminar complex, administrative complex, hostels, health centre, staff quarters, amenity centre, sports ground and other utilities to cater to the needs of students, faculty and staff of the Institute, the Prime Minister Office stated. Prime Minister also dedicated the new campus of the National Institute of Watersports. The institute will introduce 28 tailor-made courses aimed at fostering the development of watersports and water rescue activities catering to both the public and the armed forces.  Prime Minister inaugurated a 100 TPD Integrated Waste Management Facility in South Goa. It has been designed for the scientific treatment of 60 TPD wet waste and 40 TPD dry waste, while also featuring a 500 KW solar power plant that generates surplus electricity, the PMO stated. Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for Passenger Ropeway, along with associated tourism activities, connecting Panaji and Reis Magos. The foundation stone for the construction of a 100 MLD Water Treatment Plant in South Goa will be laid by him. He also distributed appointment orders to 1930 new government recruits across various departments under Rozgar Mela and handed over sanction letters to beneficiaries of various welfare schemes.
—ANI

Narendra Modi launches transformative projects in Goa, from NIT's new campus to water rescue training, waste management, and key infrastructure developments.

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Amit Shah was given water bottle worth Rs 850: Goa minister

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Amit Shah was given water bottle worth Rs 850: Goa minister

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