Tourism dept seeks action over illegal sand extraction at Varca
Panaji:
The tourism department took serious note of unauthorised sand extraction and alteration of natural dunes using an excavator along Varca beach.
Tourism director Kedar Naik stated that the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) and the Colva police have been instructed to initiate legal action against those who extracted sand from the beach.
The tourism department forwarded the video from Wednesday to the GCZMA and police, which shows an excavator moving sand on Varca beach, violating the coastal regulation zone (CRZ) notification issued under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and the Goa Tourist Places Protection and Maintenance Act, 2001.
'The department took serious cognisance of a recent incident involving illegal activities along the Varca beach stretch, which is a clear violation of environmental norms. Any activity detrimental to the environment, especially in sensitive coastal zones, will not be tolerated. Strict action will be pursued in accordance with the law,' said Naik.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Class 10 student abducted, trafficked, raped: Maharashtra couple arrested from Telangana's Adilabad; probe on
HYDERABAD: Adilabad police arrested a couple from Maharashtra on Saturday for trafficking a minor tribal girl for Rs 10,000. A rape case has also been registered against a man in Rajasthan under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act for repeatedly sexually abusing the girl. He has not yet been arrested. The couple has been charged with human trafficking and kidnapping. Bheempur police registered a case on June 22 after the girl's family reported her missing, having failed in their attempts to trace her. You Can Also Check: Hyderabad AQI | Weather in Hyderabad | Bank Holidays in Hyderabad | Public Holidays in Hyderabad According to the police, the girl, a Class 10 student, was living with her mother's relatives when the Maharashtra couple took her away. Adilabad deputy superintendent of police L Jeevan Reddy said that on June 2, while the girl was alone at home, Nirmala Bapunja Athra, 47, and her husband Bapunya Rajaram Athra, 49, from Kinhla village in Yavatmal district, Maharashtra, approached her. The couple was in the Adilabad village as they knew people there. They reportedly engaged the girl in conversation, misled her, and abducted her. They first took her to Adilabad, then travelled by bus to Nagpur, and from there by train to Kota in Rajasthan. 'They then took her to a village, threatened her, and handed her over to a man,' said the DSP, adding that the man, Karan alias Bhagavath Menon, kept her at his house and repeatedly sexually abused her. According to cops, after learning from Nirmala Athra that girl's family had filed a complaint, Karan handed the girl back to her on June 23. Police said Karan is married and divorced. Nirmala and Rajaram brought the girl back to Adilabad, and she returned home on June 25. The DSP said the couple was arrested at Adilabad railway station while attempting to flee. (The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
Hans India
2 hours ago
- Hans India
Major protest marks fee exploitation by private schools
Gadwal: In a show of resistance, student organisations came together on Saturday to protest the alleged fee exploitation and irregularities being carried out by private schools in Aiza Mandal of the Alampur constituency, Jogulamba Gadwal district. The protest rally, which began at Telangana Chowrasta and concluded at the New Bus Stand, saw students raising slogans and holding placards condemning what they described as 'commercialization of education.' Following the rally, a delegation of student leaders submitted a memorandum to the Mandal Revenue Officer (MRO), urging immediate intervention and strict action against erring schools, particularly the Sri Krishnaveni Private School, which was singled out for multiple alleged violations. Student leaders alleged that private schools in the region were collecting exorbitant and unregulated fees, in clear violation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act and existing fee regulation laws. They claimed that the Sri Krishnaveni School was forcing parents to purchase uniforms, textbooks, and notebooks at inflated prices from a shop operated illegally beside the school. The school's management had set up a fake certificate-backed book centre and was openly selling books on the roadside, yet no action was taken by education officials despite earlier complaints to the District Collector. The Mandal Education Officer (MEO) allegedly ignored direct instructions from the District Education Officer (DEO) to seize the illegal book stock, and even remarked that he would only take action 'if provided protection.' Furthermore, the students claimed that Bonafide and Transfer Certificates (TCs) were being issued only after collecting up to Rs 2,000 from Class 10 students. The school fee for Class 10 was increased from Rs 28,000 in the academic year 2024–25 to Rs 34,000 for 2025–26 without any justification. School staff, including drivers and teachers, were reportedly forced by the management to protest in front of the MEO office, allegedly with the support of the MEO himself. The situation escalated when student union leaders visited another school, Sri Chaitanya, after receiving reports about similar irregularities. They were allegedly assaulted by men linked to Krishnaveni School owner Madhusudan Reddy, who reportedly sent his drivers to threaten and attack the students. Demanding justice, the protestors urged the authorities to suspend the MEO for negligence and bias; cancel the recognition of Sri Krishnaveni School for repeated violations; file criminal charges against the school owner Madhusudan Reddy and the individuals involved in the assault; and enforce the RTE Act to ensure that 25% of seatsare reserved for underprivileged students.
New Indian Express
4 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Burnt cash case: Why SC panel recommended Justice Varma's impeachment
When Parliament convenes for its monsoon session on July 21, one issue on which there ought to be wide consensus is the impeachment of former Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma. Sacks of partially burnt Rs500 currency notes found in the storeroom of his official residence, 30, Tughlaq Crescent, New Delhi during an accidental fire -- captured on camera on the intervening night of March 14-15 -- threw up questions of judicial integrity. One of the videos has an audio referring to the burning currency as 'Mahatma Gandhi me aag lag rahi hai.' That the storeroom was cleaned up and the notes went missing the next morning, but some burnt fragments of the bank notes were later found on the Tughlaq Crescent lane by lay people added to the mystery. Justice Varma, his family and personal staff flatly denied there was any currency note in the room. But by then the photos and videos had reached the then Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna. The CJI took the extraordinary decision of putting the visuals and Justice Varma's denial in public domain. However, when an in-house probe panel's report indicted the judge, he recommended his impeachment but refrained from placing the report in public domain. The media got hold of the 64-page report which possibly built a watertight case against Justice Varma. Curiously, no first information report (FIR) has been filed against the crime yet. Also, no committee has been constituted to investigate the allegations against Justice Varma under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, which is mandatory. At a recent meeting of a parliamentary committee on law and justice, several MPs asked why no FIR has been lodged over the matter. While the government is trying to build parliamentary consensus for impeachment, the Opposition is yet to take a final call. There are divergent views on whether another probe panel under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968 needs to be constituted. While one section considers the in-house panel's report as just a fact-finding exercise, others see it differently. The bigger question is the source of the ill-gotten wealth, which the panel did not answer. The matter will not get quietus unless the source of the funds is outed.
