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Goa: Land acquisition for double-tracking illegal, says opposition | Goa News – Times of India

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PANAJI/VASCO: The land acquisition process being undertaken by the state government for the South Western Railway’s double tracking project under the Railway Act “is improper and illegal”, said a united opposition on Thursday. The opposition met officials at the South Goa collectorate and submitted a memorandum demanding that all hearings regarding the land acquisition should be stopped as the Railway Act, 1989, can be used only for special railway projects and not for the current double tracking of railways.
Opposition MLAs, including Benaulim MLA Churchil Alemao and Independent MLA Prasad Gaonkar, submitted a memorandum to the South Goa collector Ruchika Katyal and said that they would take legal recourse if the state government did not stop the land acquisition process and the double tracking project.
The opposition said that the ministry of railways letter dated February 16, 2018, regarding land acquisition for the Hospet-Hubli-Londa-Vasco-da-Gama railway project does not mention that the project is a special railway project.
The memorandum which has been signed by opposition leader Digambar Kamat and Goa Forward Party president Vijai Sardesai, along with other Congress and GFP MLAs.
Based on the Union ministry of railways’ letter, the opposition contends that the Railway Act warrants that the whole project has to be declared as a special railway project and not just a small section covering few patches of land, as has been done in Goa.
Acquisition of land under the Railway Act requires joint measurements to be conducted involving Railway representative, state revenue authorities as well as the land owners, but since many of these land owners cannot be traced, such a survey cannot be conducted, the memorandum said.
Goencho Avaaz has also submitted a similar letter to the South Goa collector, calling for the land acquisition to be stopped. The opposition along with the Goencho Avaaz maintain that if land acquisition is not possible due to objections or any other reasons, the acquisition has to be done through the Goa compensation to the project and vesting of land in the government legislation, 2017.
“As an immediate measure, we have requested the collector to kindly cancel the hearings scheduled, failing which we will be forced to seek necessary legal action,” Kamat said.
The opposition MLAs, along with BJP MLA Alina Saldanha, also rushed to Vasco and protested outside the deputy collectors office where the hearing was on. The MLAs were made to wait for more than 30 minutes while a heavy police cordon kept watch.
“We condemn this high handedness of BJP to please their crony club who want to convert Goa into a coal hub. Congress will continue to be the voice of the people and will continue to protest,” said Kamat.
Congress MLA Kamat, Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai, Curtorim MLA Aleixo Reginald Lourenco, Saligao MLA Jayesh Salgaonkar, Sanguem MLA Prasad Gaonkar, and Cortalim MLA Alina Saldanha stood in protest till they were allowed to meet the deputy collector.
Sardesai said that the land acquisition has to be scrapped. “We have given a letter to the South Collector, which proves the acquisition is illegal,” he said .

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Broke Swiggy guy walks 3 km to deliver food, Social media helps him find better job. Heartwarming story is viral

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Social media can be a wondrous place at times. While on most days, its ugly face is on display, on days like today, it sets examples of the power of kindness. In a social media post, a LinkedIn user shared how a delivery executive, in need of money and a better job, bagged one after the users on the platform came together to help the person out.

Priyanshi Chandel, Marketing Manager at tech company Flash, shared an incident about a Swiggy delivery agent who had come to deliver food at her residence. When she asked the late and out-of-breath delivery person, identified by her as Sahil Singh, about what happened, he told her that he had no transport and had to walk 3 km to deliver the order.

He also said that he was out of money and had nothing left to pay his landlord too. Singh told her that he was not looking for money from her but requested her to help him bag a job. He said that he had a degree in Electrical and Communication Engineering, and had worked with Byju’s and Ninjacart before. He had to move back to Jammu during the pandemic.

“I have not eaten for a week, just drinking water and tea to get by. I am not asking for anything, please if you can find me a job, I used to make 25k before, I am 30 years old, my parents are getting old and I can’t keep asking for money from them (sic),” Chandel quoted saying.

She also shared his marksheets and contact number for people to help. His details shared show that he is a 2018 BTech graduate from Mewar University, and completed his schooling from the Jammu and Kashmir state board.

After she shared the details, the comments section was filled with people who stepped up to help. While someone recharged his Yulu account so that he did not have to walk around to deliver food, someone offered a place to stay. Many offered to help him with his applications, while some offered jobs too.

Chandel, later on put an update on the post, and said that he received a job.

However, so far it is unclear what job he has received.

2023 has so far been a year of job losses, an eventual outcome of the pandemic and increased hiring by tech companies. For instance, the SSC MTS 2023 recruitment exam that took place in Uttar Pradesh in May saw over 55 lakh applications for Group D jobs. Numerous candidates who applied for positions such as peon, watchman, gardener had educational backgrounds like BTech, MBA, and Master’s degrees.

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Goa CM, NRI Commissioner writes to MoEF for help in safe return of Goans from Ukraine

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Panaji: Goa chief minister Dr Pramod Sawant on Thursday urged Union Minister for External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar to help in safe return of Goans who are in the Ukraine.

Sawant tweeted “we are concerned about the Goans in Ukraine who are considering to return to India in the light of ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis. I request Union Minister for External Affairs @DrSJaishankar ji for help in the safe return of Goans. I am keeping track of the situation.”

The chief minister’s tweet comes hours after Goa’s NRI Commissioner Narendra Sawaikar wrote to the Union External Affairs ministry seeking help in return of Goans who are in the Ukraine.

“Many Goans are currently residing in Ukraine due to various purposes including higher studies and due to the ongoing tension between Russia and Ukraine, I have started receiving requests for help and assistance from them to return back to India,” Sawaikar wrote.

The Commissioner further wrote in the letter that advisories have already been issued by the Ministery of External Affairs to Indians currently in Ukraine and our Indian Mission in Kyiy is currently handling the matter.

“Striking note of urgency, the Government of India has recently asked the family members of Embassy officials in Ukraine as well as students and citizens whose stay is not vital , to leave the Eastern European nation amid it’s raising tensions with Russia,” the letter reads.

Sawaikar wrote that the Goans in Ukraine are in touch with this office as they are anxious to temporarily return till the situation normalizes.

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Election Commission announces polling dates and counting days for Vidhan Sabha elections in 5 states

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On Saturday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the dates for the Vidhan Sabha elections in 5 States, namely, Goa, Punjab, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

While briefing the media, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra informed that the elections in the poll-bound States will commence from February 10, 2022, to March 7, 2022. Elections in the State of Uttar Pradesh will be conducted in 7 phases, followed by Manipur with 2 phases. Elections in Goa, Uttarkhand and Punjab will be conducted in a single phase.

According to the Election Commission of India, the votes will be counted on March 10, 2022. ECI informed that all physical campaigning will be ceased until January 15, 2022, in light of the rising cases of Coronavirus.

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