Goa / The Times of India
After being delayed for over a year, the Goa intelligent city management system (GICMS) is getting ready to go live, with Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited (IPSCDL) issuing instructions to L&T to begin trials. The integrated command and control centre (ICCC) at Altinho, which has been set up as part of the Smart City Mission, will give authorities the ability to manage traffic in real time while also keeping a watch on crime and public amenities.
After staging a protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Sunday against the illegal bungalow at the UNESCO world heritage site in Old Goa, citizen activists have submitted a memorandum to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to enforce regulations on the protection of the land.
Karnataka excise officials seized around 158 litres of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) at Anmod checkpost near the Goa-Karnataka border on Tuesday afternoon.
Amid a rise in Covid cases, chief minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday advised citizens to take precautions and isolate themselves in case they have any symptoms.
For the second consecutive day, thousands of commuters had a harrowing time as they were met with traffic jams on the Porvorim-Panaji route and from the Chimbel junction to the KTC bus terminus circle on Tuesday. Some ambulances were also caught in the jam.
The AI-enabled traffic management system, which was recently introduced at the Merces Circle, came under commuters question after they found themselves stuck in traffic from Merces to Panaji for hours on Tuesday.
A fire broke out in a restaurant at Cuncolim market late Monday night. No casualties were reported.
An assessment made by ICAR-National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning has found extremely severe soil loss potential of over 80 tonne per ha per year in Pernem and Bicholim talukas.
The Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP), which usually starts pre-monsoon preparations in January-February, has finally taken steps to hire contract workers to clear drains and vulnerable trees.
With curbs being imposed on Atal Setu, commuting between Porvorim and Panaji turned out to be a harrowing experience for office-goers, tourists and students. The nightmare was only compounded by the ongoing road repairs in the state capital.
A disabled passenger, Payal Kapoor, travelling from Goa to Hyderabad, had a harrowing experience after the airline (IndiGo) she was booked with failed to provide necessary assistance both at the Dabolim international airport and in flight.
Tanish Kinalkar always had a passion for music, even performing on the national stage in a television programme. But the Class IX student, who is fully visually-impaired, was always worried by painting.
As tourism and other industries grow in Goa and there is an increase in mandatory compliances like GST, businesses in the state are dealing with a peculiar problem - a short supply of chartered accountants.
CM Pramod Sawant said on Monday that the state's immediate priority is skilling the youth, and that playgrounds can wait.
The state recorded two H3N2 infections on Monday, the first time the strain has officially been detected in Goa. State epidemiologist Dr Prashant Suryawanshi said that the patients are being followed up on, and are doing well.
Expressing his love for sacred trees in the state, Goa governor PS Shreedharan Pillai said that he is keen on learning about the rich eco-cultural traditions of such trees.
Union minister of state for science and technology and minister of state for earth sciences, Jitendra Singh, said that there was a need to create an ocean aquarium and that the proposal needs to be pursued with the tourism ministry.
With Goa accounting for over 50% of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) violations in the country, the state government told the Union government that it has adopted standard operating procedure (SOP) to deal with CRZ violations. Out of the 1,878 CRZ violations reported across the country in the past five years, 974 CRZ violations were in Goa.
The government has rejected all 10 objections submitted by those opposing South Western Railway's (SWR) double-tracking project citing environmental concerns.
The state government is set to bring back the traffic sentinel scheme from April, but with a twist. Instead of citizen involvement and monetary rewards, only police personnel will now be allowed to photograph and report violators. Instead of cash rewards, they will be given five-star stay and other gift vouchers provided under corporate social responsibility (CSR).
The new Zuari bridge seems to have become a garbage dumping zone, with several polythene bags containing rubbish hurled onto the tarmac.
Mohammad Shaikh, 26, from Vasco cannot hear and has limited vision but he scaled a mountain of stereotypes about people with disabilities by completing a three-day Himalayan trek recently.
Goa police booked around 2,000 traffic violations across the state and collected over Rs 10 lakh in fines on just one day, Friday. Deputy SP Siddhant Shirodkar said that on the same day last year, traffic police collected just over Rs 2 lakh.