Page 20 - Goa

Goa CM Sawant warns of strict action against those who harass tourists

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday said stern action will be taken against harassment of tourists in the coastal state and said people involved in such acts will not be spared. Sawant was addressing a function here to mark the Goa Liberation Day, where he inspected a parade and received the guard of honour. The Goa Liberation Day is celebrated on December 19 every year to mark the success of 'Operation Vijay' undertaken by the armed forces to liberate the state by defeating the Portuguese in 1961. Highlighting the importance of tourism in the coastal state, Sawant said cooperation from stakeholders such as taxi and tour operators is required for the development of the sector. The state government is working towards creating a positive image of Goa with respect to tourism internationally, he said. We are exploring different facets of tourism such as beach, hinterland, eco-tourism, wellness and spiritual tourism, the chief minister said. People who harass tourists in the st

Congress blames BJP govt of failure to preserve historical monuments in Goa

The opposition Congress on Sunday attacked the BJP government in Goa on the eve of the state's Liberation Day accusing it of failing to preserve monuments of historical importance. Goa was liberated on December 19, 1961, from Portuguese possession by Indian armed forces. Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president Amit Patkar and Leader of Opposition in Legislative Assembly Yuri Alemao highlighted the condition of Lohia Maidan in Margao town and the Martyrs Memorial at Assolna, both in South Goa district. This is the Martyrs Memorial at Assolna-on the eve of Goa Liberation Day. This Village is birthplace of Dr Juliao Menezes at whose invitation Dr Ram Manohar Lohia came to Goa and started the Goa Revolution Movement. Apathy of @BJP4Goa Govt in preserving Historic Monuments is visible, Patkar tweeted and posted a picture of the memorial. Alemao alleged the refurbishment of Lohia Maidan remains incomplete. On the eve of Goa Liberation Day, the Commode on the Footpath of Historic Lohia

Goa minister warns taxi operators after US tourists forced to cancel trip

Goa tourism minister Rohan Khaunte on Friday condemned the incident at Mormugao Port in which some taxi operators refused to allow American tourists to board buses for a sight-seeing trip of the coastal state. He said taxi operators indulging in such kind of incidents will have their permits cancelled. The 100-odd tourists had got down from a cruise ship on Wednesday and had to cancel their sight-seeing trip due to the incident, which also involved taxi operators allegedly assaulting a bus driver. "The incident has created ripples throughout the tourism sector. We will ensure there is no repeat of such incidents. It is the prerogative of the tourists to choose their mode of transport," Khaunte said. "Taxi operators cannot force tourists to use their vehicles. We will move to cancel permits of taxi operators who indulge in such incidents. Post this incident, departments like transport, tourism and police will work closely," he added.

Go First plane flying to Goa suffers technical snag, returns to Mumbai

A Go First aircraft flying to Goa returned to Mumbai airport due to a technical snag on Wednesday, according to a DGCA official. The official said the aircraft VT-WGP operating G8-371 BOM-GOI had an air turn back due to vent avionics fault. Details about the number of passengers onboard could not be immediately ascertained. There was no immediate comment from Go First.

Vedanta emerges as successful bidder for Bicholim mining block in Goa

In a development paving the way for resumption of iron ore mining in Goa, the state government announced on Wednesday that Vedanta Limited has emerged as successful bidder for a mining block auctioned earlier this year. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant told reporters that Vedanta was the highest bidder with 63.55 per cent revenue for Bicholim Mining Block, spread over 485 hectares. The state government had started the process to auction four mining blocks in the state including the Bicholim one earlier this year. The existing block was being operated by Vedanta itself before iron ore mining was stopped in the coastal state on the Supreme Court's orders in 2012. As many as 51 tender documents had been taken for the four blocks and eleven companies finally submitted their bids, Sawant said. Five companies had submitted bids for Bicholim Block, he added. State Director of Mines and Geology Suresh Shabhogue said the successful bidders will have to obtain fresh approvals including ...

PM Modi inaugurates Goa's second airport, first commercial flight on Jan 5

The terminal in North Goa can handle 4.4 mn passengers annually, built at a cost of Rs 2,870 crore

PM Modi inaugurates first phase of Mopa international airport in Goa

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated the first phase of the greenfield international airport at Mopa in North Goa. He said the airport would be named Manohar International Airport after former Goa chief minister (late) Manohar Parrikar, a BJP stalwart. He targeted the previous governments, saying they had adopted a vote bank approach for decades instead of finding what people needed in terms of public amenities. The Mopa airport in North Goa is the second international airport in the coastal state apart from the existing airport at Dabolim, which is operated as a city enclave from Indian naval air station INS Hansa. The foundation stone for the airport at Mopa was laid by PM Modi in 2016. The first phase of the airport will be able to handle 44 lakh passenger movement every year.

PM Modi to inaugurate sustainability themed Mopa airport in Goa today

With an aim to boost connectivity in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Mopa International Airport in Goa on Sunday

New Goa Airport to stimulate state's GDP, bring more jobs: Management

With a capacity of handling 44 lakh passengers per annum, which is scalable to 330 lakh, the greenfield international airport at Mopa in North Goa is expected to stimulate the state's GDP and increase job opportunities, the airport management said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Sunday commission the first phase of the airport, managed by GMR Goa International Airport Limited. GMR Goa International Airport Limited, in a series of tweets, said the facility will boost the socio-economic development of the state. The airport has a capacity to handle 44 lakh passengers per annum, which is scalable up to 330 lakh, it added. The company said the new facility will stimulate the state's GDP and in turn, increase job opportunities. The airport, which is named as New Goa International Airport till the Union Civil Aviation Ministry finalises a name for it, has adopted best-in-class technologies. The company said 3-D monolithic precast technology has been used for the construction of ..

PM Modi to inaugurate Goa's Mopa International Airport on December 11

The development comes in the wake of the Centre's constant endeavour of providing world-class infrastructure and transport facilities across the country

IndiGo to operate 168 weekly flights from Goa's new international airport

No-frills carrier IndiGo said on Thursday it will operate 168 weekly flights to eight domestic destinations from the New Goa International Airport. The second international airport in the state will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 11. The airport will commence commercial operations from January 5 next year. The present airport at Dabolim in South Goa will remain active, and IndiGo will continue its existing operations there, the airline said in a release. Twelve daily and a total of 168 weekly, new flights to and from the New Goa International Airport at Mopa in North Goa from January 5 will be IndiGo's largest ever-new station launch and will immediately connect the new facility to eight cities across India, it said. Besides improving direct connectivity to the state, the launch of the new flight services is also aimed at catering to the increasing demand, it added.

NIIF to make investment of Rs 631 crore in GMR Group's Mopa airport in Goa

The investment will be made via compulsory convertible debentures in GMR Goa International Airport, the special purpose vehicle (SPV), which will operate the new airport in Goa

Indian Oil plans to upgrade supply locations, aviation fuel station in Goa

Indian Oil Corporation plans to invest Rs 6 crore on the upgradation of supply locations and aviation fuel station in the coastal state, a senior company official said. Anirban Ghosh, Executive Director and State Head of Maharashtra and Goa State Office, told reporters that the Indian Oil Company had the highest market share of 38.1 per cent and sold 256.4 TMT of petrol, oil and lubricant products in Goa in 2021-22. He said that in the current Financial Year, the Indian Oil will invest Rs 6 crore on the upgradation of supply locations and Aviation Fuel station. Ghosh added that the investment in the development of new retail outlets and upgradation of old ones for the fiscal 2022-23 is Rs 5.50 crore. He said that Indian Oil has a network of 38 retail outlets in the state, ensuring uninterrupted POL supplies at all times. There are five distributors of Indian Oil LPG in the state, Ghosh added. Ghosh said that the contribution to the exchequer of Goa has been Rs 438.58 crores which .

Goa will soon emerge as creative capital of India, says CM Pramod Sawant

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday said the coastal state would soon emerge as the creative capital of India. He was talking to reporters after distributing various benefits to start-ups and Information Technology companies at a function here. State IT Minister Rohan Khaunte was also present. The state government's policy has eleven schemes through which start-ups are incentivized, the CM said. These schemes include salary reimbursement, lease rent reimbursement, co-working spaces reimbursement, skill development promotion scheme and IPR reimbursement scheme and trademark reimbursement scheme, he said. Sawant said that since the inception of Start Up scheme, total grant of Rs 3.28 crore has been sanctioned against these incentives to more than 50 beneficiaries. Besides this, the IT Policy has 18 schemes including capital investment scheme, power subsidy, internet subsidy, salary subsidy, purchase of land and built-up space and quality certification, he added. Goa is .

Centre nods for Goa like beach shacks across coastal states to lift tourism

Shacks are crucial to tourism and local businesses in Goa and Maharashtra and currently, they have to be removed in the monsoon months (June to August)

PM Modi to virtually address 'Rozgar Mela' event in Goa on Nov 24

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually address a gathering organised in Goa as part of the 'Rozgar Mela' by the state government on Thursday, in which 1,250 recruits would be handed over appointment letters for positions in various departments, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Sawant said appointment letters would be handed over to selected youths for recruitment in the police department, Fire and Emergency Services, Planning and Statistics and Agriculture departments as part of the employment fair. "PM Narendra Modi will virtually address a gathering during the Rozgar Mela function scheduled to be held at Darbar Hall of Raj Bhavan in Dona Paula near Panaji at 10.30 am on Thursday," he said. A senior official from the state government said the PM will address the gathering for around 20 minutes. "The event is part of the Rozgar Mela organised by the state government," he said. As part of the employment fair, PM Modi had on Tuesday ...

Top official represents Uttarakhand at International Film Festival of India

Abhinav Kumar, special principal secretary, Information of Uttarakhand government represented the 'Land of the Gods' at the IFFI, which kicked off in Goa on Sunday, officials said

Goa CM welcomes decision to abolish export duty on low grade iron ore

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday welcomed the Centre's decision to abolish export duty on low grade iron ore, citing that the move will give a boost to the mining sector and fetch higher revenue for the state government. Taking to Twitter, Sawant thanked the Union government for considering the state's request to levy nil export duty on low grade iron ore. I thank the Union Govt led by Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi Ji for considering our request for levying nil export duty on below 58 Fe Iron Ore. My gratitude to the FM @nsitharaman Ji for the withdrawal of export duty that will give a boost to the mining sector and Goa's economy," the chief minister tweeted. In another tweet, Sawant thanked Union Home Minister Amit Shah stating that the move will fetch higher revenues for the state government during auctioning of mining leases. This will also propel the export of low grade iron ore from Goa, giving relief to various segments in the iron ore business and allied activiti

53rd edition of IFFI to kick off in Goa on Sunday, feature 280 films

The opening and closing ceremonies will be held at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, Taleigao, but enthusiasts can also join the carnival virtually

First international cruise ship of current tourist season arrives in Goa

Traditional Goan music played out and flowers were given as tourists disembarked from an international cruise liner in Vasco town on Wednesday, setting the tone for an upbeat tourist season after a long gap as shadows of the COVID-19 pandemic receded. In Goa, where tourism is the mainstay of the economy, the arrival of Viking Mars, the first international cruise ship of the current tourist season, was an occasion to celebrate. As soon as the ship docked at Vasco and 650 tourists disembarked, Mormugao MLA Sankalp Amonkar moved forward to lead a traditional welcome. The tourists were given flowers by local women complemented by the beating of drums. "This is the first international cruise ship to arrive in Goa for the current tourist season," a senior state Tourism department official said. He said the state government has been promoting cruise tourism by organising road shows and participating in tourism marts to promote Goa. The peak tourism season in Goa typically stretches from