The debate over Goa’s Ganpati celebrations and the repeated appearance of the elephant Omkar raises a larger question about how the State balances religious tradition with environmental responsibility. Ganesh Chaturthi is deeply rooted in Goa’s cultural and social fabric. The festival brings families and communities together and is an important part of Goa’s identity. But devotion cannot come at the cost of the environment. The concerns surrounding the immersion of idols, especially those made from materials that do not easily dissolve, deserve serious attention. If an idol repeatedly returns to the shore or remains in the water, it is a…
Author: Team Admin
Team Goemkarponn PANAJI: The Bombay High Court at Goa has sought answers from the Department of Panchayats over missing records connected with a waste management project at Rachol, while also questioning why the department has not shifted its NOC-related procedures to an online platform. The matter came before a Division Bench of Justice Valmiki Menezes and Justice Amit Jamsandekar during proceedings on a Public Interest Litigation concerning the Material Recovery Facility (MRF) at Rachol. The Court is examining the sanction and utilisation of Rs 12.76 lakh for the facility and has called for the original documents to establish how the…
Team Goemkarponn MARGAO: The Goa Human Rights Commission has directed a Margao eatery to take corrective measures after an inquiry found that smoke, cooking emissions and noise from the establishment were affecting a senior citizen couple living in the flat above it. The Commission has recommended that Café 108 relocate its outlet within 30 days in a manner that allows cooking fumes and smoke to disperse towards the open area above the building’s entrance passage rather than towards the residential portion. The Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) has been asked to follow up on the recommendation and ensure that…
Team Goemkarponn MARGAO: The South Goa District Magistrate has ordered temporary traffic restrictions on the road stretch from KTC Bus Stand, Fatorda, to Old Market Circle, Fatorda, from September 24 to October 10, 2026, to facilitate beautification works. As per the traffic advisory issued by the Goa Traffic Police on September 23, only one lane will remain available for vehicular movement in each direction along the stretch. Two-wheelers travelling from Old Market towards KTC Bus Stand may take a left turn near SFX Chapel, pass through the newly developed parking area and exit near KTC Bus Stand, opposite Raigad Restaurant.…
Team Goemkarponn PANAJI: The Goa Energy Development Agency (GEDA), in partnership with PTC India Limited, will host a day-long State-Level Stakeholder Consultation on the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana (PMSGMBY) on September 24 in Panaji. The consultation, being organised under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s City Accelerator Programme (CAP), will be held from 9.30 am to 4 pm. The event will bring together vendors, bankers, GEDA as the state nodal agency, the Goa Electricity Department, representatives of urban local bodies, Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs), consumers and state government officials. The consultation will review the progress of the…
Team Goemkarponn PANAJI: Goa has taken what the state government describes as a pioneering step in preventive healthcare with the launch of the Goa Policy for Life-course Immunization 2026–2036 and its accompanying Operational Guideline. Launching the policy at a function organised by the Directorate of Health Services at Sta. Inez, Panaji, Health Minister Vishwajeet Rane said Goa is the first state in the country to introduce a comprehensive policy covering immunization across the life course. “This is an achievement we should recognise, but more importantly, it is a responsibility we should embrace,” Rane said, adding that Goa was not merely…
Team Goemkarponn PORVORIM: Police have registered a complaint following an alleged road confrontation at Sodiem, Bardez, in which a 70-year-old man claimed that he was stopped while riding his scooter, abused and threatened with dire consequences. According to the complaint lodged by Subhash Rama Goltekar, 70, a resident of Alto Valley Road, Samarth Nagar, Socorro, the incident took place at around 1.40 pm on September 11 near Leo Dias House at Bankarwado, Sodiem. The complainant alleged that Sachit Shyam Mandrekar, a resident of Sodiem, Siolim, due to a personal grudge, stopped his scooter in the complainant’s path and wrongfully restrained…