DEMAND FOR PORSCHE RETURN
THE family of the teen who allegedly in his Porche car ran over and killed two IT professionals Aneesh Awadhiya and Ashwini Costa, has been demanding the return of the car. The car was impounded after the accident which took place on May 19, 2024. The minor who is 17-year-old was let off by the Juvenile Justice Court. His sentence was that he had to write a 500-word essay on drunken driving. The family now wants their fancy car back because it is registered in his father’s name.
TOP DOCTORS REMOVED!
THE West Bengal government has sacked the top four medical officers, namely the newly appointed principal Dr Suhrita Paul, Dr Arunabha Datta Chaudhari of Chest department, assistant superintendent Dwaipayan Biswas and superintendent and vice-principal Bulbul Mukherjee of the RG Kar College & Hospital where the 31-year-old woman doctor resident was raped and murdered on August 9, 2024. This is an addition to Sandip Ghosh who was the principal when the incident happened. Manas Banerjee returns as principal of the college. The Supreme Court has set up a national committee to draw up a system to secure the safety of the doctors who’ve were on strike for 11 days.
BANASTARIM ACCIDENT CULPRIT!
THE CBI has sought cancellation of the conditional bail granted to AAP president, Amit Palekar, for violating one of the bail conditions by travelling out of the country without prior court permission. He was arrested for allegedly trying to mislead the investigation in the Banastarim drunk driving accident case when three people were killed on August 6, last year. Palekar, a practising lawyer and officer of the court, was out on bail but he travelled abroad four times since the accident. He tried to shift the blame of the accident to a dummy driver.
Reportedly, it is the wife Meghna of builder Paresh Sinai Sawardekar who was in the driver’s seat that fateful day. Palekar who was representing Sawardekar tried to mislead the investigation process by introducing a dummy driver in the additional session’s court.
VMSCL STUDENTS MASTER THE ART OF DOING NOTHING
THE VM Salgaocar College of Law’s Beyond the Syllabus initiative – Inner Peace Challenge — was successfully held on August 20, 2024. Interestingly, this initiative was aimed at promoting the art of doing nothing. Ashta Datye (SY BALLB) and Kaushal Bathia (FY LLB) were declared the “Inner Peace Champions” after they maintained the most stable heart rates during the 90-minute challenge, which required participants to sit quietly without using gadgets, talking or moving. The competition’s criteria for winning focused on heart rate stability, with readings taken by volunteers at the start and end of the challenge. Participants with the most stable heart rates were awarded.
However, the final results saw a tie in both categories. In the female category, Dr Mrunmayi Vaidya, Vandana Sardesai, and Ashta Sukhalal Datye recorded identical differences in their heart rate readings. In the male category, Dr BS Patil, Joshua de Souza and Kaushal Bathia had similar differences in their readings. To determine the winners, readings were redone, with the consent of the participants.
Out of the 82 registered participants which included faculty members, students and the general public, 55 joined the IPC with just one participant quitting and three others dozing off during the event. The event was organised under the guidance of Principal Dr Shaber Ali G, BeyondTheSyllabus Convenor Ramrai Naik (asst prof-VMSCL), co-coordinator Trisha Almeida (college counsellor) and student coordinators Richa Gomes and Priya Shirodkar.
Volunteers who contributed to the success of the event include Kashaf Khan, Aanchal Naik, Arya Nadkarni, Udi Narvekar, Swayam Chodankar, Rhea Rao and Shivam Usgaokar. The IPC is inspired by the International Space Out Competition from South Korea and the BeyondTheSyllabus initiative at VMSCL was founded in July 2023, it promotes multidisciplinary learning and encourages engagement with a diverse range of activities and topics. Full Video on Youtube: Inner Peace Challenge (IPC) — 90 Minutes of Doing Nothing! For more information about BeyondTheSyllabus, visit https://beyondthesyllabus.in.
`SADBHAVANA DIWAS’ OBSERVED
THE government of Goa observed ‘‘Sadbhavana Diwas” to commemorate the birth anniversary of the late Rajiv Gandhi, former prime minister of India, at the Secretariat, Porvorim on August 20, 2024. Principal Secretary (Finance) Dr V Candavellou garlanded the portrait of the late prime minister and administered the “Sadbhavana Pledge” to officials and staff of the Secretariat.
To foster and promote national integration and communal harmony amongst people of all religions, languages and regions and do away with any sort of violence and to foster goodwill amongst people the birth anniversary of late Rajiv Gandhi is observed as “Sadbhavana Diwas” nationwide annually. Secretary- Information, Subhash Chandra (IAS), Addl. Secretary-Finance Vikas Gaunekar, Director-SCERT, Meghana Shetgaonkar, secretaries to government, additional secretaries/joint secretaries, under secretaries to government and other officers in the Mantralaya were present on the occasion.
SATYANARAYAN MAHAPUJA AT DIP
AS it is the annual practice a Shree Satyanarayan Mahapuja was organized in the auspicious month of Shravan by the Department of Information & Publicity at its offices on August 17, 2024. Department officials and staff participated in the spiritual gathering to evoke positive energies for better times to come.
Prashant Naik and his spouse Prachi Naik performed the puja ceremony amid chanting of bhajans led by artist Rohidas Gaonkar and his team. The puja ceremony was aesthetically designed with an arch made of banana leaves, symbolizing an eco-friendly concept by DIP staff Sarvesh Phadke, Bhavesh Velingkar, Akshata Naik and Raunak Narvekar under the guidance of information officer Kiran Munanakar and office superintendent Sailesh Naik.
The banana arch drew a lot of attention and was much praised. Members of the public visited the department to offer prayers and this included media persons, government officials, ex-staff of DIP, social workers and a large number of people from Panjim. I&B Director Dipak Bandekar did the honors of welcoming everyone.
CM: DEGREE COURSE IN FISHING
CHIEF Minister Dr Pramod Sawant disclosed that that the State government is planning to introduce a degree course in fishing from next year. He made this announcement during the Narali Poornima celebrations, organized by the Directorate of Fisheries at Fisheries Jetty where he offered coconuts to the sea for blessings on August 19, 2024. The CM noted that this initiative would help develop new technologies in the fishing industry and also mentioned that the government is currently supporting around four students pursuing fishing degrees outside the state.
He urged citizens to keep Goa’s rivers clean and safe, expressed concern about the disposal of plastic litter in the open sea where marine life chokes on the plastic garbage. In turn it is we, the people, who end up eating microplastics in contaminated fish and other marine food. The result is the trend of fewer Goans selling fish and more outsiders taking over the fisheries trade. It indicates a decline in Goa’s fishing tradition and community.
Earlier the CM launched three significant projects — Matsya Malaya Vahini, Matsya Aahar and Artificial Reef, under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) scheme, in the presence of Minister of Fisheries Nilkanth Halarnkar, Mayor of CCP Panaji Rohit Monserratte and E. Vallavan, IAS-Secretary of Fisheries.
The Matsya Malaya Vahini is an eco-friendly, moveable fish kiosk designed to enhance fish transportation from landing sites to markets. Its electric design reduces maintenance costs and environmental impact while offering features like on-site cooking and tracking via a mobile app with ten units, costing ₹85 lakh. This has been sanctioned under PMMSY.
Matsya Aahar is a fish retail outlet and AC restaurant built from shipping containers. It includes live fish vending and a rooftop barbecue, with a capacity of 5,000 kg per kiosk and requiring ten staff. Twenty-five units, totaling ₹2.5 crore is to be sanctioned. The artificial reefs project aims to boost marine biodiversity and fish stocks by deploying three reef models—Triangle, Wellring and Grouper— along the coast. These reefs will offer shelter and breeding grounds, benefiting the fishing community.
The CM extended his greetings to the fishing community on the occasion of Narali Poornima, while Nilkanth Halarnkar highlighted the ongoing efforts of Central and State governments to boost fishing activities. He noted that the government has implemented several schemes for fish and mussel farming, with 450 beneficiaries last year.
On the occasion sanction orders were issued to 15 beneficiaries under various schemes, including financial assistance for purchasing motorcycles with ice boxes, three-wheelers with ice boxes, medium-scale ornamental fish rearing units (both marine and freshwater), and fish kiosks for aquarium/ornamental fish. Additionally, a book titled “Goa Fish Trail’ highlighting the achievements and schemes of the Fisheries department was released.
Dr Shamila Monteiro, Director-Fisheries, welcomed everybody, Shanti Makwana, Dy Director-Fisheries (admin), Megha Kerkar, Dy Director-Fisheries (acting), were present on the occasion compered by Mansi Changadkar.