TAXI FARE HIKE!

Transport Minister Mauvin Gudinho announced on Wednesday, August 4, 2021 that taxi fares have been further increased by Rs3 per km. The fares of yellow and black taxis which operate from the airport and railway stations have also increased to a minimum of Rs24 for the first km.

For every subsequent km the fare will be Rs21. Waiting charges will be Rs50 per hour or Rs4 for every ten minutes. The night journeys will attract additional sub-charge of 35% on the new tariff. In the case of drops outside Municipal limits the charges will be 50% of the applicable fare.

Three thousand tourist taxis which have not installed a digital meter face cancellation of their licence. The last date which was July 24 has been extended to August 18, 2021.

PEGASUS SPY LIST

ACCORDING to the latest issue of The Wire the Indian list of mobile numbers on which the Pegasus spyware had been installed includes numbers of  Supreme Court judges and two court officers. The number of Justice Arun Mishra, who has retired, was also added to the list in 2019. The names of several senior lawyers involved in high profile cases are also on the list.

The Supreme Court on Thursday, Aug 5 admitted the petitions on Pegasus but asked the petitioners why they were silent for two years? The SC admitted that it was a very serious issue as the spyware has great scope for misuse. The lawyer for the petitioner, Kapil Sabil, describes, “Pegasus is a rogue technology entirely illegal. It is an insult on privacy, human dignity and values of our republic.”

DEFINE RAPE!

THE Kerala High Court has expanded the definition of rape in Section 375 of the Indian Penal Court. Giving its verdict on an appeal by the accused, the Kerala High Court has ruled that “using any part of a women’s body as an orifice to get sexual gratification amounts to rape.”

In this particular case the man convicted of rape used the thighs of his minor victim for sexual satisfaction. This may have an implication on the Tarun Tejpal case which is coming up for further hearing later this month on Tuesday, August 10.

VAX WITHOUT AADHAR

EVEN residents of Goa without prescribed identification cards like Aadhar and voter ID cards May now avail of the Covid-19 vaccines. The vaccination drive venues will be finalised by the  local mamlatdar.

The Margao police have identified around 70 beggars and homeless persons of which 20 have been already vaccinated and the rest were due for vaccination on August 7.  Citizens of Nepal working in Goa in large numbers and who not have any documents may also get vaccinated.

Meanwhile for the third consecutive day there have been over a 100 new covid-19 cases in Goa with a positivity rate of 2.3%. A few deaths take place daily.  Margao with 87 active cases continues to have the highest number of new cases, followed by Panaji with 72.

TEACHERS VAX MANDATORY

THE Director of Education has issued a warning letter to 56 schools asking them to confirm if all the school staff have got themselves vaccinated as on August 6, 2021. School staff including teachers and other clerical and class four staff, who have not got themselves vaccinated, made be dismissed from service. Many prominent schools have defaulted with several teachers reluctant to get vaccinated. The intention is to protect students as online classes are due to move into the old normal physical classes mode of functioning very soon.