Goa, the only Indian state to have legalised casinos, will allow 10 betting houses to come up in the state as part of the government's plan to regulate gambling activities.
The death of two Britishers at North Goa's Morjim beach by drowning has exposed the Goa government's tattered beach safety plans. The government figures reveal till date, this year, 16 foreigners have died due to drowning in Goa, a tourist hotspot where four lakh foreign visitors come to soak in the sun every year.
The Goa government on Monday suspended with immediate effect Dr Silvano Dias Sapeco, professor and head of the Foreisic Medicine at Goa Medical College and Hospital, for his alleged "acts of commission and omission" in respect of the British teenager Scarlette Keeling's rape and murder case. Confirming this to UNI on Monday evening, Chief Secretary J P Singh, who is also in charge of the home ministry, said the government had already ordered a probe into Sapeco's conduct.
Mining companies will now have to cap mining activities in Goa.
In a move that spells further trouble for mining industry in Goa, the Manohar Parrikar government has decided not to allow mining activity until findings of the Public Accounts Committee and Justice M B Shah Commission on illegalities are dealt with in accordance with law.
Sejal Shah's flatly-narrated timeline would probably serve better as a documentary, observes Sukanya Verma.
"I wanted to preserve them. But they were destroyed. I am sorry, this should not happen. Now since 2000, we are preserving the records and their digitisation is being done," Sawant said addressing a gathering on Monday.
The probe into the blast in Goa, which was triggered in October, has been handed over to the National Investigation Agency for a thorough enquiry as it was emerging that links to the crime, alleged to have been carried out by Hindu extremists, were found in other states as well.
A US plane carrying 119 illegal Indian immigrants is expected to land at Amritsar airport on February 15, the second such batch of Indians deported by the Trump administration as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration. The plane is expected to land around 10 pm on Saturday. The 119 deportees include 67 from Punjab, 33 from Haryana, eight from Gujarat, three from Uttar Pradesh, two each from Goa, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, and one each from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Another US plane carrying deportees is also expected to land on February 16. This development comes days after a US military aircraft carrying 104 illegal Indian immigrants landed at the Amritsar airport last week. Most of the deportees hailing from Punjab said they wanted to migrate to the US for a better life for their families. However, their dreams were shattered when they were caught at the US border and brought back in shackles. The Trump administration has launched a crackdown against illegal immigrants since taking office, leading to the deportation of many people who entered the US through illegal means. Several political leaders in Punjab have questioned the landing of US aircraft in Amritsar, with Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema alleging that the BJP-led Central government wants to defame Punjab. The Punjab government has formed a special investigation team to probe the issue of illegal human trafficking following the deportation of Indian citizens domiciled in Punjab from the US. The SIT has so far registered 10 FIRs against fraudulent immigration consultants based on statements from deportees.
"Out of three SEZs only one has done some work. We will give back all the developers only the money which they had invested in buying the land as we are taking the land back from them," State Chief Minister Digamber Kamat said.
Chidambaram, who is the Congress' senior election observer for the assembly polls next year, asserted that the Trinamool Congress' entry into Goa "appears to be an imposition from the top that is based in West Bengal" and said he does not know the Mamata Banerjee-led party's motive in trying to start a unit in Goa by "encouraging defections" from other parties.
The accident took place at 4.45 am near Repoli village in Raigad, located more than 130 km from Mumbai. The victims, all relatives, were going in the van to Guhagar town in Ratnagiri district, Superintendent of Police Somnath Gharge said.
South Goa district collector Jyoti Kumari issued orders imposing Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
The Indian government has defended the use of Amritsar as a deportation hub for US flights carrying Indian deportees, despite objections from Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Government sources said Punjab has the highest number of deportees among Indian states, with 126 out of 333 people deported since February 5. The sources added that 23 flights carrying Indian deportees have arrived in the country since May 2020, all landing in Amritsar. The move has sparked controversy, with opposition parties protesting the treatment meted out to the deportees and demanding that the Indian government take up the issue with the US. Mann has accused the Centre of trying to defame Punjab and said a holy city like Amritsar should not be made a "deport centre".
The commerce ministry on Wednesday reiterated that the three notified special economic zones in Goa could not be scrapped by the Centre. It added that the issue had to be sorted between the state government and developers of the zones. Even as the Goa government has raised the issue of scrapping three notified special economic zones with the Centre, the state administration has till date not sent any formal communication to the SEZs in this regard.
Skymet expects a good monsoon over western and southern India.
Two days after the Goa government launched a crackdown on Nigerian nationals illegally living in Goa, a senior state Bharatiya Janata Party minister compared Nigerians to cancer.
Even as illegal purchase of land violating Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) is haunting Goa government, an ad hoc committee was told that the state can restrict the sale of land to foreign nationals under Foreigners Rule, 1946.
The exit deadline for Pakistani nationals visiting India on SAARC visas ended on April 26, while for the rest, except those on medical visas, it is set to close on Sunday, April 27 amid escalating tensions between the two countries over the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people.
The CBI has alleged that Singh had transferred funds through hawala channels to Chariot Media that was handling the AAP's publicity campaign during the Goa elections, the officials said.
The Board of approval had given more time for Raheja's to develop their project in the state. The project is one amongst the three SEZs recommended to be denotified by the state government. Goa's Rajya Sabha member Shantaram Naik said he would meet new Union Commerce ministry Anand Sharma and brief him on the issue.
After a minor rape victim tried to commit suicide in Panaji on Tuesday, the Goa government moved the high court seeking to cancel the bail granted to the girl's teacher, who had allegedly raped her.
After the assembly polls in 2017, the GFP, which had won three seats, had extended support for the formation of the then BJP-led state government under the leadership of Manohar Parrikar.
Union Minister for Environment and Forests Jayanti Natarajan on Wednesday termed the Goa government's action against all 93 mining leases in the state, in response to the Justice M B Shah Commission report, a "whitewash". "The Shah Commission tabled its report on September 7. Within two days, the Goa chief minister issued an order suspending licences of mines, which is a complete whitewash," she told reporters.
Muthalik had expressed his desire to set up base in Goa on the ground that the culture there was becoming extremely westernised. He had said there was a need to change this culture and hence, would be setting up Shri Ram Sena offices in Goa.
The Minister further said that there are certain people who are opposing the installation of the statue and they are the ones who don't want to see the country going ahead in sports.
Goa's second airport began operations last week and if all goes according to plans, the state will be the base for a new regional airline, Fly91. Promoted by the ex-executive vice-president of now grounded Kingfisher Airlines, Manoj Chacko, and Fairfax India's former head, Harsha Raghavan, the airline will offer no-frills buy on board product and serve unconnected routes with two ATR 72 aircraft. An application for the initial no-objection clearance was filed with the civil aviation ministry last week.
It is a record that the saffron party has created, where the majority of its legislators belonged to the minority community.
The Goa government has constituted several teams to inspect and quantify the iron ore stacked at various points in the state before allowing it to be exported, a senior official said on Wednesday.
Goa Police has registered an FIR against several persons, including government officers who were allegedly involved in clearing the controversial five-storey project comprising 80 flats.
The Supreme Court has given a go ahead to Tata Housing Development Company's premium project in Goa, Villa Paradiso, the company said in a press release on Monday.
With the Goa government proposing a reduction in petrol prices by Rs 11, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla on Wednesday said the other states especially the BJP ruled ones should emulate the step to ease the burden on the common man.
Some residents have already taken this step to relocate, either temporarily or permanently, some to their native places and others to clean-air destinations like Goa and Himachal Pradesh.
The Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party on Wednesday decided to forge a pre-poll alliance for the next month's assembly elections in Goa, saying that the Congress didn't respond to their proposal for a joint contest.
Names of a host of celebrities from the world of cricket and Bollywood, including Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting, have been found in the list of beneficiaries of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Assurance scheme in Goa.
Vishwajit Rane, who had unsuccessfully lobbied for the CM's post, has been given crucial Health and Town and Country Planning Portfolios along with Urban Development, Women and Child, and Forest departments.
The other two denotification routes are amendment of the SEZ Act through Parliament and through a presidential ordinance. The latter has been ruled out since Parliament is in session and there is nothing to stop the developers of the three SEZs from going to court if the government waits for the session to end. An amendment of the SEZ Act will not only need approval from the Commerce Ministry, but may also provoke political opposition from the Congress itself.
'In today's political spectrum, it is the Bharatiya Janata Party that always says, nation first.'
