GOA, FRIDAY, 13 AUGUST, 2010

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HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, AUG 12

Goa Universitys Committee forthe Prevention of Sexual Harass-ment of Women at the Work-place (CPSHW) expects thevarsitys draft policy on preven-tion and redressal and sexualharassment of women at theworkplace will be implementedduring the current academicyear.

Speaking to Herald after aworkshop on the sensitive sub-ject on Thursday, Dr Edith MeloFurtado, who heads the 10-member committee as its chair-person, informed, The draftpolicy that covers every aspectof sexual harassment in detailwas submitted to the varsity inJune 2010 soon after it wasready. It has been circulated tocollege principals for their feed-back and is also available on the

varsity website.Dr Furtado mentioned by the

end of this month they will getback to the university on thesubject. The final approval forthe policy will come from thevarsitys Executive Council, butbefore that we are looking atfurther deliberations on thefeedback and see how best wecan incorporate some of thegood suggestions into the pol-icy, she observed.

Earlier, at the workshop Mem-ber Secretary CPSHW Shaila deSousa informed that the policyas a measure of safeguard hasassured no counter complaintsagainst the complainant(s) willbe entertained by any commit-tee till the final report into theparticular case was out.

She said full assistance willbe provided to the complainantby the university to pursue her

case. Also, the name of the vic-tim will not be disclosed andher safety will be ensured bythe un ivers i t y, she men-tioned.

Citing the draft policy, Chair-person Goa State Commissionfor Women Ezilda Sapeco, whowas speaking as the chief guestmentioned, There should beno problem for students tocome forward to register theircomplaints because I am toldthere are enough safeguardsprovided for them in the draftpolicy.

In her keynote address, Re-searcher at the Tata Institute ofSocial Science, Mumbai, AnaghaSarpotdar, advised studentspresent not to ignore sexual ha-rassment and bring the same tothe notice of friends. Keep atrack of the vents by recordingthem in a diary with details of

day, time, nature of incident,people present on spot, etc.,she suggested.

Adv Albertina Almeida, whois the NGO component in the10-member CPSHW, said sexualharassment at the workplacedoesnt necessarily mean inci-dents that happen only at theworkplace.

An incident that has occurredoutside the workplace in rela-tion to work is also consideredsexual harassment at the work-place, she mentioned.

GU Vice-Chancellor DileepDeobagkar also spoke on theoccasion.

On August 13, 1997, theSupreme Court in response toa petition acknowledged the ex-istence of sexual harassment atthe workplace and espoused onthe need for socio-legal recoursefor the same.

GU awaits feedback on draftsexual harassment policy

Panel expects implementation this academic year

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, AUG 12

A fashion designer has chargedTaleigao panchayat of harassinghim and illegally demolishing aportion of his villa at Dona Paula.

Addressing a press briefing, NoelAndre alleged that Taleigao SarpanchJennifer Monserrate has abused herposition by provoking authoritiesto demolish his house.

A portion of my villa was de-molished without prior noticeto me. They say a notice wassent but I was not in Goa. TheSarpanch therefore, should havefurnished another notice. Theyhave also disconnected electric-ity at the villa, he said.

He admits that a portion ofhis villa was illegal but allegedthat Monserrate demandedbribe of Rs 15,000 to approveit, some years ago. I thoughhave nothing to show that I paidthe amount to her to approvethe matter. I had asked her forthe receipt but she refused andsent somebody to collect theamount from me, he alleged.

Andre, who retails his designsat reputed Hotels (Taj, ParkHyatt), also alleged that Mon-serrate brushed-off a similar

matter connected with HealthMinister Vishawajeet Rane atDona Paula.

For the trespass and illegal dem-olition, the designer threatened tofile disqualification petition againstthe Sarpanch. He said that entireDona Paula stretch comprises of il-legal structures.

She does not know her jobwell and I will see to it that sheis no more in the chair. She haspressurized the authorities toact against me Who has givenher the right to demolish myhouse, said the designer.

In a press note circulated tomedia, with a copy to GovernorS S Sidhu, Chief Minister Digam-bar Kamat, Deputy InspectorGeneral of Police Ravindra Yadavand Director of Panchayats,Andre alleged harassment bythe police, Sarpanch, Magistrateand local goondas.

In a complaint at Panjim townpolice station on August 11,Andre stated that while the dem-olition activity caused damageto his villa, belongings such asshoes, crystal glasses and lap-top, perfumes, spectacle glassesand cash amounting to Rs 5 lakhwere stolen. He quoted the over-

all damage to above Rs 20 lakh. The complaint is filed against

Monserrate, Collin Curry, Seby,Deputy Sarpanch PrakashRosario, Secretary of Village Pan-chayat of Taleigao and Sidneyof trespass for mischief and in-termediation.

The designer, who has beenin profession for last nine years,further alleged that Curry, whois also harassing him, holds abad reputation in the society.

The police meanwhile haveshrugged off its involvementstating they only obliged to or-ders by local bodies by providesecurity during demolition.

We have documents toshow that demolition was onorders from Deputy Collector,Sub Divisional Magistrate in-charge of demolition squad onJuly 27. We were asked to pro-vide protection for demolitionand disconnecting the electric-i t y, i n spec to r SandeshChodankar said.

When contacted by HeraldSarpanch Jennifer Monserrateclaimed to have carried out thedemolition activity with legalpermission from concerned au-thorities.

Taleigao VP accused of illegally demolishing villa

A portion of Noel Andres house at Dona Paul which was demolished.

MMC workerthreatens

hunger strikeon I-Day

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 12

With the Margao MunicipalCouncil twice postponing theDepartmental Promotion Com-mittee without taking any de-cision on regularization of hisservice, aggrieved Civic workerWenceslau Silva has now threatenedto resort to a one day hunger strikeon Independence Day.

The Citizens Working Centre,which has taken up cudgels forthe aggrieved worker, has ex-pressed surprise that no deci-sion has been taken by the Civicbody at the Departmental Pro-motion Committee meetingheld on August 2 and August11, there by violating the direc-tions issued by the Urban De-velopment Minister, JoaquimAlemao.

CWC P res iden t S r i r amRaiturkar said the Civic bodyhas now called the DPC on Au-gust 13, adding that if no deci-sion is taken at the meeting toregularize Silvas services, theywill be forced to go on a day-long strike on August 15 infrontof the Civic body, following bycontinuation of the indefinitehunger strike from August 20.

Raiturkar alleged that theCivic body is dilly dallying onthe issue of regularizing Silvasservices, charging a prominentCouncilor for pressing the DPCto consider regularizing manynon-Goans along with the ag-grieved employee.

When contacted, MMC Chair-person Savio Coutinho, how-ever, denied the allegation andattributed the delay to failureby the Municipal administrationto compile a detailed report onthe regularization of the 39workers in 2006. On two oc-casion, the office could not com-pile the report, forcing theadministration to postpone theDPC. The 2006 report wouldshow how Silva was discrimi-nated by the administrationwhile regularizing the servicesof the Municipal workers, headded.

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, AUG 12

The State Governments plan toacquire 3000 sq mts of openspace in La Marvel Colony atDona Paula for Rs 55 lakh forCorporation of the City of Panjim(CCP) to be used as land fill sitehas ran into trouble.The Bombay High Court at Goaon Thursday passed an orderstaying payment of the amountunder the Land Acquisition Actafter La Marvel Residents Wel-fare Association (LMRWA) chal-lenged the acquisition allegingscam in the acquisition deal.They charged that public moneyis being squandered on purchas-ing land which is not totally us-able for the purpose which thegovernment intends to put touse.Erstwhile owners of the land --one Mendonsa family and thedeveloper of the land -- Real Es-tate Agencies (REA) have stakedtheir claims in the share whilethe plots were developed aboutthirty-five years ago.The government agreed to payRs 500 per sq mts for land ad-measuring 1000 sq mts whichis a quarry and Rs 1500 per sqmts for balance 2000 sq mts offlat land.

The petition also raises the ques-tion about valuation of the landdone and at high price.The petition filed throughEvaristo Fernandes, PresidentLMRWA, charged that the gov-ernment went ahead with landacquisition proceedings even asthey intimated CCP that theywould not object if it used thequarry as land fill site. In a way,petitioners indicated that theland need not be acquired and,at such high value.When the matter came up forhearing before the DivisionBench of Justice A K Oka andJustice F M Reis, today morning,the counsel for the petitioner,Adv Joseph Vaz submitted thatthough the government soughtto acquire 3000 sq mts of landat Rs 55 lakhs -- only 1000 sqmts could be used for land fillsite which is a quarry.He also that under Planning &Development Authority (PDA)sDevelopment Plan 2000 Rules,Open spaces shall be deemedto be zoned as Zone R (recre-ation) and shall be jointly heldand developed and maintainedby the owners of the sub-dividedplots unless they are transferredto local authority . In this case, no such transfer

had taken place.The REA has staked claim beforeland acquisition officer in thecapacity as partnership firm, thepetitioners submitted a letterto the Court obtained from Reg-istrar of Firms office saying REAwas not found registered as part-nership in their books.The Court will next hear thematter on September 6. Mean-while permission has beengranted to LMRWA to makefresh representation to CCP giv-ing their consent for use of openspace as land fill site. It is learntthat the government was set tomake payments to the twostakeholders and cheques werekept ready.

HC stays compensation toland acquired at Dona Paul

Mickkys pleato be heard on Aug 14

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 12

Addit ions sess ions JudgeDesmond DCosta will on Fridayhear the application filed by for-mer Minister, Mickky Pachecoseeking permission to travelabroad on August 14.

The matter will be heardby Judge DCosta followingthe transfer of Judge B PDeshpande.

The former Minister had ap-proached the sessions court forrelease of his passport and toseek Courts permission to travelto the USA from August 14.

The C r ime b ranch hasstrongly objected to Pachecosapplication, apprehending thatthe former Minister may jumpbail if granted permission totravel abroad.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 12

With H1N1 raising its ugly headin South Goa with the death ofa migrant woman and detectionof positive cases, the South GoaDistrict Disaster ManagementAuthority has decided to con-centrate on slums and schoolsto contain the spread of thevirus.

And, if the Mamlatdar in thedistrict Collectorate, AshutoshApte is to be believed, the dis-trict disaster authority will notinvoke provision of law but willuse educational programs tospread awareness in the com-munity.

Invoking provisions of lawwill not help in containing thedisease from spreading acrossthe district. The only viable so-lution to take the virus head onis through awareness in theschools and slums, Apte said,while addressing a workshopon H1N1 organised by city-based NGO Public Cause Foun-dation here on Thursday.

He said the district disasterauthority has geared up to meetthe challenge through the doc-tors and other stake holders

such as the private hospitals lo-cated in the district.

The workshop sent a clearmessage to the disaster man-agement authority to gearup to tackle the spread ofthe virus in the district on awar footing.

Former Hospicio Medical su-perintendent Dr Lanfred DaCosta told Apte that the disastermanagement authority shouldinitiate action at the groundlevel and not confine the Actionplan on newspapers.

Saying that many residentsof Khareband are down with

fever and flu, Dr Da Costa saidit is unfortunate that the Disas-ter Authority is just starting toimplement the measures whenthe virus is fast spreading in thecommunity. The authorities areadvising the people to avoidcrowded areas. This raises a per-tinent question: Should peopleavoid going to auditoriums tosee Tiatr, he asked and saidthe district authority should notremain on mere paper but beactive on the field.

Hospicios senior physicianDr Edward De Mello called forpreventive measures to containthe virus from spreading in thedistrict.He said that preventivemeasures are important to con-tain the virus instead of treatingthe patients on vaccination.

Hospicio doctor, Dr AiraAlmeida advised parents andteacher to take a close look ifany child suffers from cold, fever,inflammation of the face, sorethroat for H1N1.

MMC Chairperson SavioCoutinho offered his full supportto the authorities to spreadawareness in the city on H1N1.

Public Cause FoundationChairman Adv Jagdish Prabudes-sai also spoke.

Officials to focus on schools, slums to contain H1N1 virus

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, AUG 12

The Child Welfare Committeesoffice has been shifted to newpremises and the sitting of thecommittee has been recom-mended to extend for the entireday, the High Court was toldtoday.

A reply, to the report submit-ted by the Principal District andSession Judge was filed todaybefore the Bombay High Courtat Goa by the state government.

As per the reply, nearly Rs8.50 lakh have been spend bythe government for the renova-tion of the vacant quarters (nextto existing CWC building) andthe office of CWC has beenshifted there.

It also states that the govern-ment is planning to build a newblock for the sitting of the CWCand Juvenile Justice Board (JJB).The plans are being approvedby the government and the PWDhas been asked to prepare theestimates, the reply reads.

Till then CWC and JJB mayuse the same premises allottedto them as continues shift fromone place to another would

amount to unnecessary wastageof money and manpower, itadds.

The reply compiled by SanjivGadkar, director of women andchild welfare, recommends thatthe sitting duration for CWCshall be extended to full daythat is from 10.am to 1.30pmand from 2.30pm to 5pm.

T h e r e c o m m e n d a t i o nc a m e a f t e r H i g h C o u r tpointed out that there is nospecific timing for sitting ofCWC members.

The double bench comprisingof Justice A S Oka and F M Reiswas hearing the petition filedby NGO, State Child Abuse Now(SCAN). The court will hear thefinal argument for proper direc-tion on September 7.

The government in its replyhas said that a STD facility, com-puter and copier machine faxmachine and other stationerywould be provided at the earli-est.

It also states that a sepa-rate budgetar y provis ionwould be made for CWCunder Integrated Child Pro-tection Scheme (ICPS).

CWC sittingrecommended forentire day, HC told nFormer Hospicio

Medicalsuperintendent DrLanfred Da Costatold Apte that thedisastermanagementauthority shouldinitiate action atthe ground leveland not confinethe Action planon newspapers.

Beautycentre raidedHERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 12

Officials of the Legal Metrologyon Thursday raided a beautycentre at Aquem in the com-mercial capital and confiscatedgoods from the premises.

The officials lifted awaythe goods following allega-tions that the goods had nodetails concerning their man-ufacturing.

The goods were later takento the head office of the LegalMetrology, Panjim for further in-vestigations.

Further investigations are on. Legal metrology officials confiscating goods from the Margao beauty centre. Photo by Santosh Mirajkar

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 12

Chief Minister, Digambar Kamathas agreed to constitute a com-mittee to study the issue of pay-ment o f s a l a r i e s fo r theemployees employed with theSouth Goa Administrator ofCommunidades, who have beenrunning from pillar to post toget their salaries for the lastfour months.

Finance Secretary, Revenuesecretary and the Administratorof Communidades, South willbe the members of the Commit-tee which will not only studythe payment of salaries to the25-odd employees, but willstudy the aspect of absorbingthe employees as in governmentservice.

T h i s w a s d e c i d e d a t ameeting the Administratorof Communidades, P Baradhad wi th Ch ie f Min i s ter,Digambar Kamat and Rev-enue Minister, Jose Philip D-Souza on Wednesday.

The Chief Minister is believedto have initially maintained thatthe employees working in theAdministrator of Commu-nidades are not government ser-vants. He, however, later agreedto constitute the high-level Com-mittee to study the issue relatingto the employees threadbare

Committee to studytake over of

coummunidade staff

days after escape, police search for fugitives in Kalay HERALD CORRESPONDENT

SANGUEM, AUG 12

Curchorem Police on Wednesdayconducted combing operationin Kalay to search the escapedjailbirds Hitler Fernandes andSeby Ferrao, who are still atlarge.

Given the arrest of AbhijitPatil from an abandoned housein the heart of Kalay village, themen-in-uniform are trying all

possible ways to trace thewhereabouts of the other twojailbirds, who police doubt tobe still hiding in remote Kalay.

Sources informed that lateWednesday evening, the police-men searched the nearby jungleareas to search for the duo, butto no avail.

Earlier on August 10, thepolicemen had brought Ab-hijit Patil to Kalay for inves-

tigation. During the courseof investigation, Patil wast a ke n t o v a r i o u s p l a c e swhich he and Seby had vis-ited during their stay in thevillage after escaping fromSada Jail.

Patil led the police to a restau-rant in Kalay, where they hadordered food after their arrivalin the village.

Sources however informed

that police could not get muchinformation from the restaurantowner, as he did not recognizethe duo.

Given the number of cus-tomers visiting the hotel on dailybasis, it is difficult to concen-trate as to who enters and leavesthe hotel, the hotel owner re-portedly told the men in uni-form, informed a village.

It may be recalled that police after

getting vital information from asource had raided the abandonedhouse, where Seby and Abhijit werehiding, leading to the arrest of Abhijit,while Seby, who was also hiding inthe same house, gave the police aslip.

Since then the policemen arevirtually on a hunt to trace SebyFerrao, who the policemen stillhave doubt of hiding in the vil-lage.

nSources said thatlate Wednesdayevening, thepolicemensearched thenearby jungleareas to searchfor the duo, but tono avail.

before a final decision is takenby the government.

The Revenue Minister JosePhilip, sources in the knowsaid, is in favour of absorb-ing the employees as gov-ernment ser vants , but i sawaiting the Chief Ministerfor a final decision.

These Communidade employ-ees have been without theirsalaries since the last fourmonths and have served a noticeon the Administrator to go ona pen down strike after the ex-piry of 21 day period.

The government had in thepast sanctioned a one-time grantto the Communidade Adminis-trator to clear the salaries ofthe employees early this year.Around Rs 45 lakh grant wassanctioned by the government,with the condition that the Ad-ministrator of Communidadesrepays the amount.

nTheseCommunidadeemployees havebeen without theirsalaries since thelast four monthsand have serveda notice on theAdministrator togo on a pen downstrike after theexpiry of 21-dayperiod.

Sewerageline in

Navelim soon

HERALD REPORTERMARGAO, AUG 12

The Navelim MLA and PWDMinister Churchill Alemaohas said that the Goa gov-ernment would soon com-m e n c e w o r k on theunderground sewerage line inNavelim constituency.

Addressing women at theformat ion of a Se l f He lpG r o u p a t R u m d a m o l o nThursday, the PWD ministersought cooperation of thepeople for the undergroundsewage line.

GOA, FRIDAY, 13 AUGUST, 2010

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3 temples in Panjim, Betim, Calangute burgled

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

PORVORIM, AUG 12

Gold and silver ornaments andcash, all worth Rs 1.17 lakh,were stolen from the Shan-tadurga Pilernakarin Devasthanat Betim on the interveningnight of August 11 and 12.

According to Porvorim Police,burglars broke open the sidedoor as well as the door of theGarbhakud of the ShantadurgaPilernakarin Devasthan and de-camped with cash, gold and sil-ver ornaments of the deity,valued at Rs 1,17,500.

While Porvorim Police has putthe value of gold and silver orna-ments and cash at about Rs 1.17lakh, temple committee membershave claimed that based on the cur-rent market value of silver and goldornaments, the loss could be any-where between Rs 4.50 and Rs 5lakh. The cash was around Rs 2,000.

Speaking to Herald, the tem-ple President Sheetal Chodankarsaid Poojari Devendra Dessai

had closed the temple at 9.30pm on August 11.

When he went to the templeon August 12 at about 5.30 am,he found the side door of thetemple opened. He immediatelycalled temple committee mem-bers, who in turn alerted Por-vorim Police, said Chodankar.

However, police reported at thetemple almost after 45 minutes andthat too after ringing them thrice,even though the distance from thepolice station is barely 1 km, claimedChodankar.

Police pressed the dog squadinto service, but couldnt pro-vide any clue. Police also ob-tained finger sprints. We havelost faith in police now. We havetherefore decided to installCCTV cameras in the temple anddepute a watchman to safeguardthe temple, said Chodankar.

PANJIM REPORTER ADDS:Gold and silver ornaments worthmore than two lakhs have beenstolen from the temple of Sati

Bhavani at Bhatlem in Panjim,between Wednesday night andThursday morning.

The theft was first detectedby the head priest when he cameto the temple to offer dailyprayers early morning. A com-plaint of theft has been filed byMahadev Araundkar at the Pan-jim town police station.

Speaking to Inspector SandeshChodankar said that the burglaryoccurred between Wednesday9:15pm and Thursday 5:30 am, bybreaking open the doors.

The burglars broke open themain door of the temple andgate of the room leading to thedeity. Apart from the jewelleries-one gold mangalsutra, pair ofgold earning and nose stud onthe Goddess, the accused bur-gled silver Prabhana and twosilver crowns, total amountingto Rs 2.33 lakhs, he said.

Incidentally, a temple at Por-vorim was also burgled of lakhs

on Thursday morning. Respec-tive police teams are studyingthe modus operandi of theftsin other temples, which can helptrace the accused.

Smarting under the loss in-cluding thefts and desecrationsat religious institutions, NorthGoa Superintendent of PoliceArvind Gawas in June 2010 hadissued 15 security advisories toall temple committees. Besides,it is holding regular meetings.

Even as that, certain templeshave not complied with advi-sories, which include deployinga security guard. The two tem-ples, police sources informeddid not adopt security measures.

Few of the total advisories,include installing Door FrameMetal Detectors (DFMDs), park-ing of vehicles away from reli-g ious inst i tut ions , checksuspicious vehicles, storing or-naments in bank lockers orheavy safe with very good lock-

ers, illumination around thetemple premise, maintain Q sys-tem of devotees, etc.

Temples were also directedto deploy security personnel atevery religious institution, andif it is not possible due to finan-cial or other crunches, to submitnames of two volunteers whosenames will be forwarded to theGovernment for formalities.

CALANGUTE CORRESPON-DENT ADDS: Burglars robbedthe Jambleshwar Devasthan atXimer-Calangute and decampedwith cash of Rs 1,000 in the weehours of Thursday.

According to Calangute Po-lice, in their attempt to openthe Ghumti to lay their handson the donated cash, the bur-glars broke the glass of theghumti, which was later re-placed by the Devasthan com-mittee. Devasthan President MadhuKorgankar lodged a complaint withCalangute Police on Thursday.

One caught stealing

mangalsutra from deity

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

PORVORIM, AUG 12

Residents of Moira on Thursdaycaught red handed a personfrom Dhargal while allegedly at-tempting to rob mangalsutra ofa deity in Sateri Temple at Moira.

According to reports, SalvoRamnath Korgaonkar had goneto Sateri Temple on August 7.The poojari while closing thetemple noticed the gold neck-lace of the deity, worth Rs12,000, missing.

The poojari immediately broughtthe matter to the notice of devasthancommittee members.

According to Mapusa Police,some people had noticed Salvomoving around the deity in asuspicious manner on Saturday.Hence they suspected that Salvomust have robbed the necklace.Since they did not have theproof, complaint was not lodgedwith the police.

Salvo again visited the templeon Thursday. A resident AbhayRaus noticed Savlo entering thetemple and alerted the commit-tee members, who kept a watchon his movements.

While Salvo was attemptingto rob the mangalsutra of thedeity, he was caught red handedby the devotees. He was laterhanded over to Mapusa Police.

Mapusa Police informed thatSalvo was involved in severaltheft cases in the past. Recently,Anjuna Police had arrested himin the theft and forgery case.PSI S M Yerum is investigatingthe case.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 12

The police has claimed of achiev-ing a breakthrough into the Raiaand Quepem dacoity cases re-ported in the last two monthswith the arrest of five youngstersaged between 22-25 years three from Margao and two fromQuepem.

Addressing a press confer-ence, Superintendent of Police,South Allan De Sa exuded con-fidence of a breakthrough insome other burglaries and rob-beries, including the daylightNavelim robbery case, as threeother accused persons are stillat large.

In the Raia dacoity case, DeSa said the case was initially reg-istered as robbery, but the sec-tions has been changed todacoity as interrogations of ac-cused Valley DCosta fromQuepem has revealed the in-volvement of more than five per-sons in the case.

He further said that arrest ofValley and Jaison Verghese, bothfrom Quepem, Narendra Patiland Asif Chittar (Azad Nagar,Margao) has helped to detectthe June 15 dacoity case at

Akamol-Quepem, wherein sixaccused waylaid a liquor sup-plying vehicles before decamp-ing with cash of Rs two lakh.He said the motorcycle used inthe offense had been recoveredfrom the accused.

In another development, the

SP, South said that the Margaopolice has arrested a residentof Mandopa-Navelim, SuleimanNada in connection with thesame offense. Police said an ac-cused from North Goa is alsoinvolved in the two dacoities.

Complimenting DySP Umesh

Gaonkar, Maina Curtorim PI Sid-hant Shirodkar and other staffof Maina Curtorim police stationfor detecting the two dacoitycases, SP De Sa said he has rec-ommended to the police depart-ment fo r a reward to P IShirodkar and his staff.

DySP Umesh Gaonkar said thepistol used in the Raia Dacoitycase is yet to be recovered, buthastened to add that theweapon will be recovered afterthe arrest of the arrest of theremaining accused.

PI Shirodkar along PSIsNavlesh Desai and Suraj Samantworked on a clue that accusedValley Dcosta, who was relatedto the victim Maria Fernandeswas moving around in Raia. Hismobile location also helped todetect the case, Dysp Gaonkarsaid, adding that the receiverof the stolen property NagarajTalwadkar has been arrested andpart of the gold ornaments re-covered.

Replying to a question, DySPGaonkar said that though thepolice has so far arrested fivepersons in connection with thetwo dacoities, many others hadparticipated in the conspiracyto commit the offenses.

Five arrested for Raia, Quepem dacoities

The five accused arrested in the Raia and Quepem dacoiity along with the motorcyles used to committhe offense. Photo by Santosh Mirajkar

Shirgao locals fear danger to water tank due to mining

CALANGUTE (HC): Calangute Police arrested a 49-year-old Germanwoman Regina Nevendorff on charges of overstaying in Indiawithout valid documents. Nevendorff s Visa expired on August 1,2010. She was produced before JMFC Mapusa, who levied a fineof Rs 5,000 and directed her to leave the country within 8 days.

German eve arrested

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, AUG 12

Joel Vaz of Shantadurga Scien-tific Traders in Margao allegedlycharged with storing spuriousBorosil glasswork products hasrefuted reports in the mediathat he was into manufactureof the seized items.

Vaz was arrested by the CrimeBranch on Wednesday and laterreleased on bail.

Vaz further mentioned his ar-rest by the Crime Branch waslike a blot on his business whichhe has been running for the last35 years in partnership with oneGajanan Keni. We both havebeen supplying, and not manu-facturing, Borosil glass productsto most of the school labs inGoa and none of these havemade a single complaint againstus, he claimed.

The Borosil dealer maintainedthey used to buy the glassworkproducts from several stockistsin Mumbai and some in Goa.When I dont manufacturethese products how can they be

spurious? he questioned. Vaz maintained he has the

original receipts for the productsbought from the stockists and Ihave nothing to hide to save myreputation as the only dealer ofthe company. The police saythe seized items are worth Rs50,000, but they shouldnt costmore than Rs 12,000, he as-serted.

Vazs counsel Adv Rajiv Gomesobserved the police should nothave rushed for an arrest with-out having any scientific confir-mation of the complaint lodgedby officer of Borosil Glasswork Ltd.

Adv Gomes said the seizeditems have now been sent to alab for analysis and the reportis expected in the next fewmonths. What if the report isnegative? How is my client sup-posed to react? he asked.

Vaz was arrested on a com-plaint that he was manufacturingthe glasswork products in thename of Borosil Glasswork Ltdlocated at Kandivli in West Mum-bai.

Borosil dealer denies charges

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 12

The South Goa Sessions Courton Thursday sentenced a resi-dent of Ambaulim-Quepem tolife imprisonment for the mur-der of a resident of Ambelim.

Additional Sessions Judge, BP Deshpande on Monday sen-tenced Anton Luis Fernandes(55) for the murder of CaitanFernandes (42) from Ambelimon April 28, 2008.

The accused was further di-rected to pay a fine of Rs 10,000or in default to undergo furtherimprisonment.

In this case, the Quepem po-lice had charged accused Antonfor causing Caitans murder witha sharp weapon.

Investigating Officer, PI San-tosh Desai said the deceasedfrom Ambelim had gone to Am-baulim for some work on thatfateful day. However, instead ofgoing to the right house, thedeceased decided to sleep on amat outside the house of theaccused.

Ambaulim residentgets lifer for murder

After heated argumentsbetween the duo, the ac-c u s e d b r o u g h t a s h a r pweapon to kill the deceased,PI Desai added.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

BICHOLIM AUG 12

Sighting danger to the newlyconstructed water tank at Shir-gao, residents of Shirgao-Bi-cholim have expressed angerover the mining work carriedout in close proximity to thetank.

We always face severe watershortage and despite this, themining company has started itswork close to the newly con-structed water tank, therebyposing serious threat to it, com-plained Chandan Gaonkar ofShirgao.

It may be recalled that peoplefrom Shrigao face acute watershortage even during rainy sea-son, as the village is completelysurrounded by mining. Theproblem was serious, as the vil-lage had only one water tankthat supplied water to the entirevillage.

We are facing water shortagesince the last over four yearsand the water was suppliedthrough tankers. At times, evenduring rainy season, we had to

s t rugg le for water, sa idGaonkar.

After several attempts, thePWD constructed a new watertank with a capacity of about300 cubic mts of water. The tankwas inaugurated by PWD Min-ister Churchill Alemao on June20. The tank did serve the pur-pose and it provided water tothe people.

But, recently the mining ac-tivities close to the water tank

has become a matter of concernfor the villagers.

The mining activities aregoing on at a distance of about150 mtrs from the tank and infew days, they will come so closethat they would damage thetank, informed the villagers.

Says another villager, EknathGaonkar: If this happens, thenwe will have to face the sameproblem we were facing for allthese years.

The villagers, who have nowbecome suspicious about thework of the PWD, sought toknow why tanks are build nearthe mining.

The tanks have a l readystarted showing small cracksdue to heavy mining work car-ried out in the area and the vil-lagers feel that the PWD mightshift the tank, causing huge fi-nancial loss to the government.

It is surprising how miningactivities could be carried outin the government property andif this is allowed, we will againface water shortage problem,said Eknath.

nWe always facesevere watershortage anddespite this, themining companyhas started itswork close to thenewlyconstructed watertank, therebyposing seriousthreat to it. --Chandan Gaonkar

Cash, gold, silver ornaments stolen

GOA Pg 4SHoRt tAKeS

GOA, FRIDAY, 13 AUGUST, 2010

uPComing eventSOHE

RALD

O

AUGUST 13DONA PAULA: From 9.30 am to 1.30 pm. Areas affected are Car-

dozo Wado, St Paul, Ideal School and Rawalnath, VP Taleigao andsurrounding areas.

POWER sHuTdOWN

WEATHER REPORTMax Temp: 30.60C Min Temp: 23.60C

Humidity: 90%

Rainfall past 24 hrs: 000.6 mm

Seasonal Total: 2445.7 mm

Forecast: Occassional spells of rain or thundershower would occur in some areas.

Sewing machines donated

Inner Wheel President Supriya Sinari, Secretary Bhavana Raikar,Rtn Gaurish Dhond, Rtn Dinesh Sinari and some of the recipi-ents.

PANJIM(HND): Inner Wheel Club of Panaji distributed 21sewing machines to the needy at a function held in Panjim re-cently, at the hands of the President Supriya Sinari.

Blood donation camp held

Dr Dalvi addressing the gathering at the blood donation drive atPark Inn Hotel.

PANJIM(HND): Dr Dalvi said, it is very safe to donate blood,it is the best gift from ones heart to another, that everyoneshould volunteer for this noble cause a life saving act. Re-member, he said, blood is not manufactured in any factory.There is no substitute for human blood.

Dr Dalvi was speaking at the blood donation drive organizedby Park Inn Hotel staff and the PHC, Candolim.

Dr Govenkar, Dr Chandrakant Parab and Dr Pal from BloodBank, GMC also spoke on the occasion.

M K Rane, HR Manager, encouraged the staff to donateblood and thanked the PHC Candolim, Dr Sanjeev Dalvi andthe Blood Bank, GMC. This was the second consecutive yearthat blood donation camp was organised by him at PhoenixPark Inn Hotel. 34 voluntary donors donated blood which in-cluded 7 ladies.

Win a Rio at RamadaPANJIM(HND): The Ramada Caravela Beach Resort, Varca

and Premier Ltd has initiated a promotional drive whereinguests of the hotel or Casino Goa Nugget stand a chance towin a brand new SUV Rio.

The promotional draw is part of Goas first International 5-star beach-front resorts endeavour to provide the best in termsof service and facility.

The draw is open to guests, who choose to participate bypaying Rs 1000 per coupon. There is no limit to the quantitypurchased by an individual.

The Goa Nugget Casino guests can also participate by pur-chasing non-negotiable chips worth Rs 10,000 in advance tohave one complimentary raffle coupon amounting to Rs 1000.

Participation in the raffle is voluntary. The draw will takeplace on December 24, 2010 at 6 pm, says a press release.

Awards functionPANJIM(HND): V M Salgaocar Foundation will be having the

V M Salgaocar Awards presentation to top rankers of SSC andICSE Board exams held in Goa, April 2010 at the hands ofchief guest Speaker Pratapsingh Rane, on August 18 at 5 pmat the Grand Ballroom, Goa Marriott Resort, Miramar, says apress release.

Guirim chapel feastPANJIM(HND): Our Lady of Assumption Chapel, Guirim parish-

ioners will celebrate the Feast of Assumption of Mother Maryat Guirim Chapel on August 15. On this feast day, low masswill be held at 7 am and the solemn concelebrated mass willbe at 9:30 am.

The Dean of Mapusa deanery, Fr Caetano will be the maincelebrant and will preach the sermon, followed by traditionalprocession of the statue of Mother Mary.

Popular science lecturePANJIM(HND): The year 2010 is being celebrated as The In-

ternational Year of Biodiversity with the central theme Bio-diversity: Connecting with Nature. To commemorate the event,Goa Science Centre will be organizing various programmesand activities for students as well as general public. As a partof this, they will be organizing a series of Popular Science lec-tures on different aspects of Biodiversity from August to De-cember, 2010. All together, ten lectures by the experts fromGoa University, NIO, Goa and other institutions will be held atGoa Science Centre.

The first popular Science Lecture is on the subject MarineBiodiversity in India by Dr Baban Ingole, Scientist, NationalInstitute of Oceanography, Goa on August 13 at 3:30 pm inthe auditorium of this centre.

It will be an opportunity for the students, teachers andpublic to know more about the marine biodiversity. Theprogramme is open for all and entry is free, says a press re-lease.

Multilingual poets meet PANJIM(HND): The Institute Menezes Braganza, Panjim will

organise Multilingual Poets Meet on August 14 at 4:30 pm atthe Gomantak Sahitya Sevak Mandal Hall, Institute MenezesBraganza Building, Panjim.

Earlier, Kavi Sammelan was organized at State Museum Hall,Patto, Panjim. The venue of the same has been shifted to Go-mantak Sahitya Sevak Mandal Hall, Institute Menezes Braganzabuilding, Panjim.

Feast at CandolimCALANGUTE(HC): Parishioners of Candolim will celebrate

the feast of Our Lady of Assumption at Our Lady of HopeChurch, Candolim, on August 15.

Masses on the Feast Day will be at 6 am, 7 am and 9 am(Feast Mass). In keeping with India's Independence Day cel-ebration, a flag hoisting ceremony will be held at 8 am in StTheresa's School premises.

In the evening, a Konkani Drama 'Xelli.....Punn Sandleli'by Pal Soares will be staged at St Theresa's School Hall at7.30 pm.

HERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, AUG 12

Relevance of trade mark is notrestricted to the owners of thetrade mark but it is the commonman who is most affected if areputed trade mark is misusedand spurious drugs and otherconsumer commodities are soldto the public, said ShantaramNaik in the Rajya Sabha recently.

Mr Naik who initiated a dis-cussion on behalf of the Con-gress Par ty on the TradeMarks(Amendment) Bill, 2010said that the authorities underConsumer Protect ion Actshould sou motto take cog-nizance of the misuse of trademarks in order to protect theconsumers.

Stating further Naik said, onecan get any number of fansmarked as Usha, Khaitan, Bajajin the market. United SindhiAssociation (U.S.A) are wellknown for manufacturing fakegoods, he added.

Mr Naik referring to the re-marks made by US Senator

Charles Schumer calling InfosysTechnologies as Chop Shop, saidwhen US was under economicrecession we could have calledAmerica as banana republic, con-sidering the situation prevailingthere, but no one in India saidso.

Mr Naik further said that ifInfosys was a Chop Shop then,Union Carbide could be calleda slaughter house.

Mr Naik explaining the pro-visions of the bill said that atpresent a person desirous of ob-

taining registration of his trademark in other countries has tomake separate applications indifferent languages and pay sep-arate fees.

The present bill will permitregistration of trade mark by fil-ing a single application in ap-plicant's country which will thenbe transmitted to other 84 coun-tries who have signed MadridProtocol, he added.

Mr Naik said that a trade markis a symbol of honour of a com-pany, a family honour, a symbolof emotions and it can be valuedand can at the same time, bepriceless too for some.

Mr Naik said that there aresome well known trade markslike Tatas, Bajaj, Maruti Suzuki,Mercedes Benz, Omega, Rolexin whose case the owners of thetrade marks can sue others forinfringement even if the trademark is not registered.

Mr Naik said that Trade Marklitigations are increasing everyyear and quoted certain famouscases which are in the news.

Trade mark infringementhits common man: Naik

HERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, AUG 12

Sajawat shopping festival currently underway at Kala Academyin Panjim is drawing large crowds of festive shoppers.

People are making a beeline to shop for Ganesh Festival. Thereare exclusive imported and local items on display at the largenumber of stalls and the organizers have witnessed huge gatheringseven during the rains.

This is the major lifestyle shopping exhibition cum festival inthe state during the monsoon.

Various lifestyle and household items by major market leadersin the corporate sector are on display and sale. Major furniturehouses have put up designer furniture stalls with imported furnitureat competitive prices.

The customers can choose from various brands of jewellery,home, office and children furniture, kitchenware, fitness equipments,special Magic Mop, cutworks, decorative wall hangings and paint-ings, office and complete home furniture, range of home appliancesand electronics, health and herbal products, artificial flowers, mag-netic health care products with money back facilities if unsatisfied,frames, ladies fashion items, garments, ladies purses, mens wear,kids wear, suits, foldable plastic tables, Korean ladies hand bags,doormats, magic mops, toys, shoes, paintings, Punjabi pulkaris,dress materials, Gujarat handicrafts, and lots of other indoor aswell as outdoor lifestyle items.

The exhibition which will be on open till August 9 has turnedout to be a major crowd puller and is open to the public from10.30 am till 9 pm, say a press release.

Sajawat shoppingfestival opens

at Panjim

HERALD NEWS DEK

PANJIM, AUG 12

Synthesis 2010 the 2-day culturaland literary event of Don BoscoCollege, Panjim, in which studentsof BCA, BBA, BTTM , BSW, BA(Mass Media) and the BPEd dis-played their innovative and cre-ative ideas concluded at DonBosco hall, here on Thursday.

The students showcased theirtalents, apart from bonding withthe rest just at the beginning ofthe academic year, in groupsinging, quiz, ad making, col-lage, stress interview, 60-sec-onds to fame, mute beat, flagpainting, short film, photogra-phy and short story.

Fr Wilfred Fernandes, man-ager and administrator said thatDon Bosco is an institution thatinjects academics with healthyco-curricular activities aimed atthe development of lateral in-telligence so that the youth isprovided with a healthy platformto unwind themselves for theall-round development and alsoto develop a competitive spirit.

Stezia Rodrigues, literary

sec re t a r y o f t he co l l egepointed out that such eventsbring out creativeness, innov-ativeness which are necessaryin this highly competitiveworld.

Cultural secretary, TasneemSayed, felt that this being thefirst-ever event of the year, thestudents were looking forwardto the same so that they couldcome to know all the housemembers of Don Bosco.

Creativity thrives on novelty,stated Dr Marie Raj, principal,and added that the eight mul-tiple intelligencies as describedby Howard Gardner offer plentyof options for the novelty-seeker. We are all endowedwith all eight of the multipleintelligences, but generally werely on the same few. Wechoose the ones that work bestfor us or that draw our interest.Synthesis is, as such, aimed atlooking at the hidden ones,she pointed out as she ex-plained the objective of theevent right at the start of theyear.

Synthesis 2010sconcludes at

Don Bosco College

Don Bosco College students participating in Synthesis 2010 at DonBosco College hall, Panjim recently.

HERALD NEWS DEKPANJIM, AUG 12

Parishioners of Guardian AngelChurch, Sanvordem-Curchoremaccorded a warm farewell to theirParish Priest Rev Fr Ligorinho daCosta who served them for 8 years.

After thanksgiving mass, Fr Au-relio Rodrigues inaugurated thenewly renovated Parochial Housein the presence of Shyam Satardekar,MLA Curchorem Constituency, BettyPereira, Councillor CCMC and hostof other priests and dignitaries.

The parishioners kept glued totheir benches as they watched theproceedings live on screen insidethe church.

Shyam Satardekar congratulatedthe Parish Priest Fr Ligorinho daCosta for his untiring service to the Lord and offered him his warmwishes. Mementos were given away to all the guests.

The farewell programme was a mixture of prayer dance, goodbye songs and instrumental dedication. Sunny Pereira in his speechappreciated the all round development of the church premiseswhich will be enjoyed by many generations.

Fr Trinidade Monteiro, Asst Parish Priest, said, he was privilegedto work under such a devout priest. The programme was ended bya speech from Fr Ligorinho da Costa, whereby he thanked all thosewho helped him in his Mission of Christ. About 300 parishionersaccompanied Fr Costa to his new posting at Aquem- Margao.

Fr Ligorinho accorded farewell

Fr Aurelio Rodrigues inaugurating the renovated Parochial House inthe presence of Shyam Satardekar, MLA Curchorem Constituency,Betty Pereira, Councillor CCMC and host of other priests and dig-nitaries.

Smart Minds

programme

at MargaoHERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, AUG 12

Play Group Margao, a renownedcultural and social organisationwill organise Goas first academ-ically devised personality devel-opment programme for childrenunder the title Smart Minds

After getting an overwhelmingresponse for Smart Minds pro-gramme last year is fully gearedup to start a new batch on August14 at Mahila and Nutan HighSchool Margao at 4 pm.

Smart Minds is open for allchildren from Standard I to Stan-dard IX. This programme willbe held at Mahila and NutanHigh School, Margao on everySaturday, starting on August 14from 3 pm to 6 pm.

for details and brochure, par-ents should contact Vibha Swaron 9422442838, Manisha Naikon 9881999629, Vitney DSouzaon 9764218750, Ruvina Khanon 9823081269 or Kohinoor Op-ticians, Caf Tato and M/SDamodar V Swar, Station Road,Margao and at Panaji KohinoorOpticians, Al Durado Plaza,Panaji on 08322423695.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CALANGUTE, AUG 12

King of duets of Konkani stagelate C Alvares, who was instru-mental in giving Konkani stagethe first lady artiste, was re-membered through musicalshows at Margao, Saligao andVasco.

C Alvares, who was a greatartiste of the Konkani stage,contributed significantly for theuplift of Konkani dramas. Healso produced VCDs, besidessinging and acting.

On his 89th birth anniversary,Mil-Mel-Nel in collaborationwith Tiatr Academy of Goastaged three musical shows at

Margao, Saligao, which is hisnative place, and Vasco.

The show at Saligao drew alarge crowd. Professional stageartistes like Anthony San, Succor,Mil-Mel-Nel, Bonny, Jessie Dias,Suzette Pereira, Ivy Pereira,Maria Cardozo, Livia D'Silva andElina Fernandes sang popularsongs, which were composedand sung by C Alvares.

The music was provided bymaestro Luis Cotta and his team,while Agnelo de Borim com-pered the programme. Comedyscenes by Sheikh Amir andMathew D'Souza kept the audi-ence tickling and giggling.

Fr Domnic Alvares, nephew

of C Alvares, who was the specialinvitee for the function, praisedthe artistes for coming togetherto liven the audience with mem-ories of his uncle late C Alvares.

Fr Alvares had a word ofpraise for Jessie Dias who hadworked with his uncle and hadnow come to pay tribute to himby rendering his compositions.

Earlier, TAG President Tomaz-inho Cardozo appealed to theSaligao sarpanch to ensure thata road is named after late C Al-vares in Saligao.

Cardozo also called upon theyouth to emulate the goodworks of C Alvares as a fineartiste of Konkani stage.

Thousands throng to witnessmusical show on C Alvares

Artistes perform on stage at Saligao. Photo by Thomas Fernandes

I-Daycelebrations

in StateHERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, AUG 12

Goa will join the rest of thecountry in celebrating India'sIndependence Day on August15. To commemorate this im-portant national event, prepa-rations are in full swing in theState.

Chief Minister DigambarKamat will lead the people ofGoa in celebrating the Independ-ence Day. As usual, the mainstate level function will be heldin front of the Old Secretariat,Panjim where the Chief Ministerwill hoist the National Flag andwill inspect the Guard of Honour,address the people and presentawards to outstanding person-alities and institutions at 9.15am.

On his arrival at the venuethe Chief Minister will be re-ceived by Minister for TransportRamkrishna Dhavlikar, Chief Sec-retary Sanjay Srivastava and Di-rector General of Police BhimsenBassi.

Independence Day functionswill also be organized at districtlevel and taluka headquarters.The Flag hoisting ceremony atMargao will be performed byPWD Minister Churchill Alemaoin front of the South Goa Col-lectorate building, at 9.15 amat Ponda, while Home MinisterRavi Naik will unfurl the nationaltricolor at Kranti Maidan, at 9.15am. Minister for Revenue JosePhilip D'Souza will hoist the na-tional flag at Tilak Maidan, Vascoat 9.15 am.

After the main function theChief Minister along with thefreedom fighters and other dig-nitaries will lay wreaths at theMarty'rs Memorial at Patradevi,Pernem at 11.30 am.

Governor Dr Shivinder SinghSidhu will host a state receptionat RajBhavan at 5 pm on Inde-pendence Day.

CSE workshops at GU

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, AUG 12

The regional media briefingworkshop on Coasts, CoastalPopulations and their Concerns,Organised by Centre for Scienceand Environment (CSE) and theGoa Union of Journalists, will beheld on August 13 and 14, atConference Hall (Main Building),Goa University, Taleigao plateau.

The workshop will focus onthe vulnerability of Indiancoasts, which on one hand arefacing unprecedented pressuresfrom industrial and urban de-velopment and on the other,they are threatened by climatechange-related devastation.

Fishing communities whichinhabit these coastal areas arebeing hit by a similar double-whammy ironically, from con-servation on one hand anddevelopment on the other.

Several experts will delivertheir speech on the issues con-cerning the Coasts and Oceans.

The two-day workshop willcover topics like The State ofIndias Coasts Conflicts and Reg-ulatory Challenge; The State ofCoastal Regulations in India;Whither Ports or Beaches?; Loca-tion-Specific Amendments; Flash-point Goa Tourism, Mining,Fisherfolk and the Regional Plan;Developing the Indian Coasts Industry, Conservation or Liveli-hoods; Climate Change, Vulnera-bility and the Coasts; ManagingOur Coasts The Way Ahead.

KA invites applications

HERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, AUG 12

Kala Academy Goa has invitedapplications on the plain paperto fill up vacant posts of 'B' grade,'C' grade and 'Trainee' Artistes inthe Rangmel. The students whohave successfully passed theThree Years Diploma Course inSchool of Drama will be eligiblefor applying the post in 'B' gradewhereas other young and tal-ented theatrical artistes who areinvolved in the Amateur and pro-fessional theatre groups are el-igible to apply for the 'C' grade.The educational qualificationand age limit will be on par withother regular artistes. The can-didates applying for the TraineeArtist' should have passed KalaAcademy's School of Drama's'One Year Certificate Course'.

As per the approved norms ofKala Academy, besides theatricaltraining and experience he/sheshould have passed Std XII inany stream with age limit of 18to 35 years. A monthly consoli-dated remuneration of Rs 7,000,Rs 6,000 and Rs 3,000 is paid to'B' grade, 'C' grade and 'Trainee'artistes respectively. Though thegeneral working hours are from5:30 pm to 9:30 pm there is everypossibility of prolonged timingduring play productions. The se-lected artistes will have to un-dergo an annual agreement withKala Academy.

The initial appointment will befor the academic year 2010-11 i.efrom July 1 to June 6. The inter-ested candidates should submittheir applications to Kala AcademyGoa on or before August 20 alongwith one passport size photo andphotocopies of educational qual-ification, age, theatrical experi-ence and telephone/mobilenumber with residential addressfor correspondence to the KalaAcademy, Campal, Panjim.

Fr Ligorinho da Costa

GOAGOA, FRIDAY, 13 AUGUST, 2010

Pg 5OHERALD

O

ELVINO ARAUJO

PANJIM, AUG 12

Taking a dig at Luizinho Faleiro,PWD Minister Churchill Alemaohas asked the Congress workingcommittee member to focus onresponsibilities assigned to himinstead of dreaming of contest-ing next assembly election fromNavelim constituency.

Even after giving him twochances to serve the State aschief minister by the party pres-ident, Faleiro failed miserablyto live up to the expectationsof the party president and thepeople of Goa, said Alemao inan interview with HCN.

As a result, the constituentsof Navelim rejected him duringthe last assembly election. Outof the 36 polling booths duringthe last assembly election,Faleiro lost in 34 booths, statedAlemao.

During the forthcoming as-sembly election, I will work withChief Minister Digambar Kamatand win 28 seats in favour ofCongress, claimed the PWDminister.

As far as his daughter Valankais concerned, he said Valanka isgoing to contest the forthcom-ing election from Benaulim con-

stituency, as people and espe-cially the youth of Banaulin arewith her.

When asked on which partyticket Valanka will contest theelection, Alemao said Congressparty had given a written assur-ance at the time of his joiningthe Congress from UGDP thatthe party will give a ticket tohis daughter to contest theforthcoming assembly election.

With regard to water short-age problem in North Goa, headmitted that there is waterproblem in North Goa, but thishe attributed to the 50 MLDwater treatment problems atAssnora.

To the demand of Aldona MLADayanand Narvekar that thepeople of North Goa should getwater supply at least 6 hours aday, Alemao said: I can providewater supply for not only 6hours, but for even more.

There is no water shortage,there is enough water, but noproper infrastructure is in placefor supply of water, said Alemaoadding that there is no properinfrastructure to meet the de-mand of the MLA.

He further said that he isgoing to start new reservoir in

North Goa and commission ad-ditional 10 MLD of water sup-ply on August 17, which willsolve the problem to some ex-tent.

When asked about the SuperExpress and the six-lane high-way, Alemao said he has beenobjecting to it from day one, asdue to the proposed highwayand the Super way, about 2,500houses and some religious struc-tures were facing the axe.

I had even brought the issueon the floor of the House duringthe last two assembly sessions,but there were some MLAs whoare least bothered about the de-struction as their houses weresafe, said Alemao.

He further said he has fore-seen the destruction at the in-ception stage, which the MLAsrealized now.

Alemao said the committeehas decided to widen the widthof the highway to 45 mtrs inless populated areas and 35 mtrsin densely populated areas.

Further details of the inter-v i ew w i th P WD Min i s t e rChurchill Alemao will appearon HCNs Face to Face pro-gramme on Friday, August 13at 5.30 pm.

PWD Minister takes potshots at Luizinho

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

MARCEL, AUG 12

Taking potshots at politicians,Home Minister Ravi Naik saidelected representatives havefailed in their responsibilitiestowards the society.

Naik was speaking at the pro-gramme organized by Veling-Priol Panchayat to felicitatepanchayats past members andschool uniform distribution.

Every year on the death an-niversary of Bahusaheb Bandod-kar, Veling-Priol Panchayatdistributes uniforms to primaryschool students. This year beingthe birth centenary year ofBahusaheb Bandodkar, Veling-

MLAs have failed in duties towards society: Ravi Naik

Priol Panchayat felicitated itspast members.

Without naming any politi-cians, Naik said they lack in lead-ership qualities and that it isthe people who should decideduring the elections.

I think it is the duty ofelected representatives (MLAs)to raise their voice for develop-ment. New laws, rules shouldbe enacted for the welfare ofthe community, but its not hap-pening here. They (MLA) areonly interested in creating con-troversies. I call them fake lead-ers, stated Naik.

Every citizen enjoys freedomand politicians should not curtail

it. I urge them to work for theoverall development of theState, added the minister.

North Goa MP shripad Naikcongratulated Priol-Veling Pan-chayat and said politics shouldbe kept away from local self gov-ernment.

It is of utmost importancethat politics should be kept awayform panchayats. There should

be no differences betweenelected representatives when inpanchayat. One should dedicat-edly work without any differ-ence towards ove ra l ldevelopment, MP Naik.

Prof Subash Velingkar spokeon the life of late BahusahebBandodkar. Priol MLA DeepakDhavlikar also spoke on the oc-casion.

Home Minister Ravi Naik felicitates Hemavati Dessai, ex-panch ofVeling-Priol-Cuncolim Panchayat. Photo by Amresh Parab

HERALD REPORTER

VASCO, AUG 12

Revenue Minister Jose Philip D-Souza said the much-awaitedunderground cabling work ofelectricity line to beautify theport town is expected to becompleted by next annual LordDamodar Saptah festival.

DSouza was speaking tomedia on the sidelines of in-auguration of newly erectedelectricity poles and installedC F S l i g h t t o i l l u m i n a t eSwatantrapath road which willbe main attraction during LordDamodar Saptah festival inVasco, commencing from Au-gust 15.

Underground cabling of elec-tricity line and making Vascocity a wire-free city is an oldproposal, but things havent ma-terialised in the last few years.I had pursued the matter withthe power minister often and iti s expected tha t by nextDamodar Saptah festival, under-ground cabling of electricity linewill be completed, assured D-Souza.

Underground cabling is com-pleted in Panjim, Margao andeven in places like Loutolim. Wehope that Vasco, being primetown in the State, also deserves

Underground cabling to be completed by next Saptah

Revenue Minister Jose Philip DSouza installs CFS light on thenewly erected electricity pole along the Swatantrapath road, Vasco.

Photo by M Prabhav

to get such development, saidDSouza.

The dilapidated metal elec-tricity pole, which was posingdanger to commuters andpedestrians along the Swana-trapath road, was snapped afterthe roadside age-old Ashokatree came crashing on the elec-tricity wires.

After the incident, DSouzaand Mormugao Municipal Coun-cil made a proposal to replace

the metal pole with a concretepole and to install new CFS lightto illuminate Swatantrapathstretch.

Vasco electricity depart-ment Ass i s tant Eng ineerGopinathan Pillai said about32 poles were erected alongthe Swatantrapath road, while72-odd CFS lights were in-stalled to illuminate the placeat an estimated cost of aboutRs 7 lakh.

Bicholim Khazanpanel to challenge Mamlatdars order

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

BICHOLIM, AUG 12

The 64 members, including therecently expelled president ofthe Bhaileshet Khazan TenantAssociation Amona, claimed Bi-cholim Mamlatdars judgementas baseless and have decidedto appeal to the deputy collectorclaiming that he is the memberof the association since 1991.

Addressing a press confer-ence, Bhaileshet Khazan TenantAssociation Amona PresidentShashikant Ghadi stated Bi-cholim Mamlatdar Pramod Bhathas given the decision withoutinvestigating into the matterand without taking into consid-eration the documents given bythe earlier Mamlatdar.

It may be recalled that oneperson from Amona through arepresentation to the BicholimMamlatdar dated March 5, 2010had stated that Ghadi was notthe member of the Associationand therefore he cannot stay asthe president of the Associa-tion.

Accordingly, Bicholim Mam-latdar Bhat through an orderdated August 2 stated that Ghadiceases to be the member andpresident of the Association andcannot continue to be the pres-ident.

Ghadi was also directed tohand over documents, books ofaccounts and other relevant doc-uments to the existing commit-tee immediately.

After the decision, Ghadi hasnow decided to approach thedeputy collector. The 64 mem-bers of the association have alsosubmitted a letter to the Mam-latdar stating all the details andGhadi being the member of theassociation.

According to Ghadi and othermembers, Ghadi became themember of the association in1992. Later, during the tenureof the then Mamlatdar Borkarin 1993, through a joint orderthey divided the entire land ad-measuring 2,30,340 sq mtrsamong 64 members with eachgetting about 3,060 sq mtrs.

The then mamlatdar gave thesanad to all the 64 members, in-cluding Ghadi, and stated the 64members would get one part ofthe land, which is between Sur-vey No 159 and Survey No 159/2.

But, in the order there wasa typing mistake as he wrotetwo instead of to while divid-ing the property among 64members, claimed Ghadi.

We all have the same type ofsanad with the same number andif I cease to be a member andtenant of the association, then allthe other 64 members also ceaseto be the members, he added.

I am the president of the asso-ciation since 1992 and my namewas included in the Khajan com-mittee in January 1991 after my fa-thers death, he said producingthe documents before the press.

HERALD REPORTER

VASCO, AUG 12

American Nuclear Scientist ProfCarolyn Heising visited BITS Pi-lani K K Birla Goa Campus todeliver a guest lecture on Nu-

clear Energy - The Primary So-lution to Global Climate Changeon Wednesday.

According to a press release,Media Affair Coordinator AnkitHatalkar stated that Prof Heisingalso discussed the highly con-troversial and much-hyped Indo-US Nuclear deal.

American NuclearScientist visits

BITS PilaniThe guest lecture was the first

in a series of lectures and work-shops being organized during theAnnual International Techno-Man-agement and Innovation FestivalQuark 2011 at BITS, which isscheduled on February 3 to 5, 2011.

Prof Heising is currently a pro-fessor of Industrial, Mechanicaland Nuclear Engineering at theIowa State University. She haspreviously taught at the Massa-chusetts Institute of Technology,North Eastern University andthe University of Florida.

She has research expertise inareas like reliability and qualityengineering, Probabilistic RiskAnalysis (PRA), Statistical QualityControl (SQC), Total QualityManagement (TQM), and Tech-nology Safety Assessment.

She has been elected twiceas a member of the NationalBoard of Directors (BoD) of theAmerican Nuclear Society (ANS)and has also been the actingteam leader for nuclear poweranalysis at the US Departmentof Energy in Washington, DC inthe office of Nuclear Energy.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CANACONA, AUG 12

Former minister Sanjay Ban-dekars birthday celebrations isused by politicians to predictdeclining fortunes of BJP, notonly in Goa, but also at the Cen-tre, besides proposing thedownfall of Karnataka state gov-ernment.

With Bandekar himself rakingup the issue, he publicly re-quested his son-in-law and Kar-nataka s B JP governmentCabinet Minister Anand As-notikar to re-join the Congressparty to which he originally be-longs before he resigned andgot re-elected on saffron partysticket from Karwar.

The issue was then providedfurther push by Goa PradeshCongress Committee PresidentSubhash Shirodkar and thensuitably responded by the Kar-nataka Minister of Science andTechnology.

Given the past glorious as-sociation of Asnotikar familywith the Congress, I requestAnand Asnotikar to leave BJPand re-join Congress to whichhe originally belongs, said Ban-dekar.

Asnotikar, who attendedthe birthday celebrations withhis family and several of hisclose aides, including KarwarDevelopment Authority Chair-man R G Naik, almost readilyreacting to his father-in-lawspleas, said: I joined BJP tobring development to thepeople of Karwar, who unlikeGoa regions otherwise has totravel over 600 kms to meetthe chief minister at Banga-lore.

Asnotikar, who had armed

Bandekar urges son-in-lawto re-join Congress party

Karnataka Minister for Science & Technology Anand Asnotikarspeaks at the birthday celebration function of his father-in-law San-jay Bandekar. Photo by Kathy Pereira

commando (wearing black out-fits) security cover movingaround him said in pure KarwariKonkani: Ami party fattleandhanvche goroz nam, punn amioxe popularity anick base estab-lish korchi, party amchea fattleandhuvan evunchi. Amkam partynhi, pun party-k ami zai, oxemami lokam pasot kama korchim.

Asnotikar further said due tohis joining BJP, he has becomethe youngest cabinet ministerat 27 years, not only in Kar-nataka but also in the entirecountry.

There may be some whohad become state ministersin their states at an lesser age,but at 27, I am the youngestcabinet minister in Karnatakastate government, he said.

Earlier, Subhash Shirodkarhad directed his attack straighton the BJP, saying: Come nextassembly elections, BJP by itselfwill be reduced to 12 from the

present strength of 14 MLAs, astwo assembly segments repre-sented by their MLAs are merg-ing with others in the newdelimitation already takenplace.

With Churchill Alemao, my-self, Sanjay Bandekar and fewothers actively taking on thesaffron brand, BJP strength postthe next assembly elections inGoa will be in single digit, saidShirodkar.

Centerak tor Congress as-sach asa, pun fudlea elec-tionachea uprant, BJP-partychonumber atam assa tacheanordho zatolo, added Shirodkar.

Ex-MLC (Karwar) and motherof Anand, Mrs Asnotikar, SouthGoa ZP President Maria Rebello,sarpanchas, panchas, PCC mem-ber Sanju Naik, Karwar PDAChairman R G Naik, besidesPWD Minister Churchill Alemaoand his wife were present onthe occasion.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 12

Beware, thieves are in the prowlin the Commercial Capital. Res-idents of Madel were shockedto know that unknown miscre-ants made an abortive bid toburgle two flats in the Mahana-gar housing complex in broaddaylight.

Information revealed that theburglars managed to break openthe latch, but were unsuccessfulto open the locks of the maindoors.

Unable to barge into the flats,the miscreants lifted away a bi-cycle from the verandah.

A complaint in this regard has

been lodged with the Margaopolice.

What has raised concernamongst the local residents wasthe fact that the burglary at-tempt was made during broaddaylight between 10 am to 11am.

This is a serious issue andthe police should intensify pa-trolling in the Madel locality toavert a major burglary, re-marked local resident Savio Dias.

Incidentally, a number ofhouse breaking thefts havetaken place in the Margao policesub-division in recent timeswhen the inmates had gone outof the house.

Burglars make presence felt in Madel locality

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 12

Konkan Railway will run a specialtrain between Dadar- Kochuveliin co-ordination with CentralRailway and Southern Railwayfor the benefit of devotees at-tending the annual Vailankanifestival as well as for the con-venience of its most valuableand esteemed passengers.

The train will reach Dadar onSeptember 11 and will halt atThane, Panvel, Roha, Khed,Chiplun, Sangameshwar, Rat-nagiri, Rajapur, Vaibhavwadi,Kankavali, Sindhudurg, Kudal,Sawantwadi, Pernem, Thivim,Karmali, Madgaon, Cancona,Karwar, Bhatkal, Udupi, Thokur,Mangalore Jn, Kasargod, Kan-hangad, Payyanur, Kannur, Tha-lasery, Vadakara, Kozhikode,Tirur, Kuttipuram, Shoranur Jn,Thrisur, Aluva, Ernakulam Town,

Kottayam, Tiruvalla, Chengan-nur, Kayankulam and Kollamjunction.

The train will have 15 coachescomprising of eight SleeperCoaches, One AC 3-Tier, One AC2-Tier, three General Coachesand two SLR Coaches.

Special train for Vailankani festival

Condolence meetBY HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 12

A condolence meeting to payhomage to former Principal ofChowgule college, Margao De-vidas Malkarnekar, who expiredon August 1 will be held on Au-gust 13 at 6 pm at the confer-ence hall, Goa Woodlands hotel,Margao.

Convenor of Chowgule col-lege Alumni Association, AdvRajiv Shinkre has appealed toall the past students to attendthe meeting.

MOTORS

GOA, FRIDAY, 13 AUGUST, 2010

Pg7OHERALD

O

Kerala cops willhelp arrest

Madani: KodiyeriPTI

KOCHI, AUG 12

Kerala Home minister, KodiyeriBalakrishnan, today said statepolice will render all help to itsKarnataka counterpart to arrestPDP leader Abdu l NasserMadani, an accused in the Ban-galore blast case, but where andwhen the arrest would be madewill be decided by the Karnatakapolice.

When and where Madani hasto be arrested will be decidedby Karnataka police Balakrish-nan told reporters here. Keralagovernment or police had notbeen informed about the moveof the Karnataka police to arrestMadani, he said.

This is a case which hap-pened in Karnataka. We do nothave any details of the case ex-cept what has been reported inthe media. Kerala had been in-formed of the details only yes-terday, the minister said. Aftergetting information, instructionshas been issued to provide allhelp to Karnataka police to ar-rest Madani, he said.

Kerala DGP Jacob Punnonse,said there was no confusion be-tween Karnataka and Kerala Po-lice with regard to Madanisarrest. We are in close touchwith Karnataka police. Madaniwill be arrested at the appro-priate time, Punnose told re-porters at nearby Aluva.

Karnataka Police has beencamping in the state since thelast two days with speculationrife that the arrest was likely tobe delayed following securityreasons.

Mumbai harbour reopens

after 5 daysPTI

MUMBAI, AUG 12

Mumbai harbour reopened fortraffic today, five days after itwas suspended following a col-lision between two cargo shipsthat led to an oil spill, with theIndian Navy escort ing 12freighters in and out of the port.

The traffic resumed after theCoast Guard and other agenciesinvolved in salvage effortscleared the navigational channelof containers that were adriftafter falling off Panaminan vesselMSC Chitra, which ran agroundas a result of the Saturday crash.

The Indian Navy commencedescorting a convoy of merchantships to and out of Mumbai portfrom 1000 hours, DefenceSpokesman Capt M Nambiartold PTI.

Seven ships have been es-corted out of the harbour whilefive are being escorted into theharbour, he said.

The freighters were given aer-ial assistance in navigating thesea by a helicopter while aminesweeper ship with two sur-vey boats equipped with sonarscanners ensured that the chan-nel was clear for the convoy, hesaid.

The ships were trailed by theIndian Naval Ship ` Matanga, hesaid.

10 kg ovarian

tumour

removed PTI

BANGALORE, AUG 12

A 10 kg ovarian tumour has beenremoved from a 32-year-oldwoman at a leading woman andchild care hospital here.

According to `The Cradle,the hospital where the surgerywas carried out, the woman haddelivered a baby 18 months ago.

She mistook the weightgain as a post-pregnancy phe-nomena and tried many waysto reduce the ` weight. The ladyalso joined a weight loss pro-gramme at one of the slimmingcentres in the city to reduce the`flab.

When none of these worked,she underwent a medical check,where the massive ovarian tu-mour was detected.

Dr Prakash Kini, senior ob-sterician and gynaecologist, whodetected the tumour, said Thetumour is more than a babysweightit is almost like she de-livered triplets.

These ovarian tumours arerelatively uncommon and nor-mally present themselves at anearly stage. This woman to havepresented the tumour at such alate stage is very very uncom-mon, he said.

Dr Kishore Kumar, CEO andMD of the hospital, said the tu-mour is believed to have grownafter delivery. It is very rare thattumours develop this fast tosuch a size, he said. Usually tu-mours detected are around 500gms or less than a kg.

pg7_Layout 1 8/12/2010 10:14 PM Page 1

Parrikar, clever?Jerry Fernandes, Saligao

Mirror, Mirror in the Hall, is Manohar Parrikarthe cleverest of them all? Or has he beensimply hyped as the cleverest Mr Clean bythe local media? I find his speeches boring.If he has managed to grab the limelight, itis not because he is clever (as PratapsinghRane says) but because most ruling partyMLAs have no guts to challenge him.

If they are so scared of Parrikar, it is timethey retire and make way for others. I saluteVishwajeet Rane and Babu Azgaonkar forputting up a brave fight against the so-called Mr Clever, and proving that theytoo are just as clever.

Mr Know-it-allCol Cyril P DSouza (Retd), Calangute

Plenty of letters have praised the cleverManohar Parrikar. No doubt he is quick-wit-ted and speaks for almost everybody andon everything in the Assembly. But he isjust a Mr Know-it-all who loves the sound

of his own voice. But where was his voice when goons

went about smashing nameplates, azulejosand other Portuguese insignia in Fontainhasduring his tenure as CM? Where was hisvoice when some of todays ministers, thenin his cabinet, were no less corrupt? Wherewas his voice when a systematic pogromwas carried out against Muslims in Gujarat?Mr Parrikar did not utter a word he wastoo busy imposing the first IFFI on the peo-ple of Goa!

Praise & criticismCamilo DSouza, Ponda

Pratapsingh Rane is an old and experiencedpolitician. Manohar Parrikar is not as senior,but much sharper. We never expected MrRane to revel in triumph after winning theno-confidence motion, in which he was ad-vising, praising and criticising Mr Parrikarto give his other party members a chanceto speak. Mr Rane will have to rely on hisexperience and get ready to face eventougher questions in the sessions ahead.

Forward to CBIPravin U Sardessai, Adpai

It is praiseworthy to note that Roy Naik him-self had stated during his press conferencethat he is innocent in this case. If he has noinvolvement whatsoever, then his father theHome Minister should not hesitate to handover the case to the Central Bureau of In-vestigation (CBI). If this happens, the factswill emerge. Whoever is found guilty mustget appropriate punishment as per law.

What Public Purpose?Joaquim Correia-Afonso, Benaulim

On 11 August, your daily has published aNotification No. 23/39/2009-RD dated05/08/2010 from the Revenue Departmenton page 13, stating that the land in theSchedule appended was likely to be neededfor a public purpose.

This so-called public purpose was de-scribed as L.A. of Land Admeasuring 30,000Sq. mts at Survey No. 82, 83 Part village ofVelim at Cutbona. Could someone be kindenough to explain what this so-called publicpurpose is?

A family man!Peter Gama, Margao

In Churchill spits fire, says ready to takeon Luizinho (Herald, 9 Aug), Mr Alemaosays that besides him, Vijay Sardessai is allset to contest from Fatorda. Are the Assem-bly election tickets decided by Churchill inGoa, that he has announced the candidatureof his daughter Valanka from Benaulim?Why doesnt he give the Nuvem ticket tohis wife, and the Cortalim ticket to hisyounger daughter? Let the next governmentbe run by him, his brother, his wife and hisdaughters!

Luizinho Faleiro was the best Chief Min-ister after Pratapsingh Rane. He tried tosafeguard the interest of Goans for employ-ment in all industries coming to Goa. Peoplelike Digambar Kamat and Churchill havesold Goa for a loss. Shame on both of them.

Churchills big talkAlvaro Noronha, Margao

Of late, the ravings and ranting of ChurchillAlemao are without any substance. Is heslowly realising that his goose is truly

cooked? Whatever he stood for on the SaveGoa Front ticket is forgotten. Now he saysexactly the opposite

Churchill has insulted Goans, saying theyare squealing pigs for opposing mega proj-ects. He now supports Mopa; the expansionof Dabolim airport has taken a back seat.Churchill should realise that he cant foolall the people all the time.

Viva KonkaniKajal Chatterjee, Kolkata

The editorial Konkani joins the big league(Herald, 2 August) shows that after the recog-nition of Konkani cinema, when LaxmikantShetgaonkars film Poltodcho Munis wonthe Critics Award at the Toronto Interna-tional Film Festival, it is the turn of Konkaniliterature to get its place in the sun. Kudosto Ravindra Kelekar for being conferred theJnanpith Award.

Just as Indias Cricket World Cup victoryin 1983 gave a big boost to the countryscricket, I hope that Konkanis cinematic andliterary success will bring a renaissance inGoas cultural scenario and inspire young-sters to dive deep into the sea of Konkani

culture and bring up pearls. I wish the cultural authorities translate

Mr Kelekars gems into English and otherIndian languages, so that non-Konkanis canalso appreciate his writing.

Mamlatdar woesEfigenio Dias, Colva

The government must bifurcate the func-tioning of the administration and judiciaryin the powers of Mamlatdar and Joint Mam-latdars, and nominate additional Mamlat-dars, because they are overloaded withcases mundkar tenancy, land revenue code,etc, plus administration matters and evenelection work.

There is not even sufficient space tomaintain files and records, and there areno cabins or court halls for the Mamlatdarand Joint Mamlatdar to conduct cases, dueto which litigants and the public are suf-ferers.

Ban unsolicited callsVenan B Dias, Santo Estevam

Recently, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjeegot a call in the midst of a Parliament session,from a bank canvassing for a home loan. Itcaused a big hue and cry. Thousands of cit-izens are subjected to similar unsolicitedcalls day in and day out, in midst of work.But their complaints are not dealt with se-riously.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(TRAI) must firmly implement the Do NotDisturb guidelines. All organisations in-volved in making unsolicited calls shouldbe penalised.

Tough teachersIrineu Dias, by email

I was quite shocked to read the threats inseveral letters by teachers aggrieved bytheir school managements. I feel it is wrongon the part of an employee to do that. Anyproblem should be solved with the man-agement.

Those who are not happy with the workenvironment should resign. Things canbe solved systematically if there is an un-derstanding between employer and em-ployee.

The Gift of Life

The psychology of a Goan need not be enun-ciated, as the science by itself is self-ex-planatory. One need not dig too deep to

garner the answer that is full of evidence. Weknow quite well that Goans, being gullible to thecore, can easily be taken for a ride, even today.We must accept this melodramatic fact.

I may be rabid in my insinuations, but the truthcannot be denied. We have to live with it, irre-spective of our preferences and disillusions. Ihave always prayed that Goans would one daywake up to the bitter reality, instead of succumbingto manmade circumstances, and face the poignanttruth.

India, with all its might, is in absolute possessionof this realm that we call Goa. Those who disagreecan check the Supreme Court ruling of 26 August1981 (1981 AIR 1946, 1981 SCC {4} 226, 1982SCR (1) 392, 1981 SCALE (3) 1459), in which ithas been clearly mentioned that the territory ofGoa has been annexed to India by conquest. Sofar, no one has appealed against that judicial fiat.

However, as of now, the matter remains stet,for some to avail of uncalled-for governmentalsops, while others exult in delight for no realreason whatsoever. Whatever the case may be,after the conquest of Goa, promises were madeto Goa by the Government of India that this ter-ritory would retain its unprejudiced flavour andbe able to preserve its unique and unquestionableidentity.

It was nothing but lip service. Goans are beingdislodged and booted out from their own houses,properties, and their own environmental milieu,to pave the way for non-Goan outsiders to usurpwhat is not theirs, thanks to this vote-seekinggovernment, which is rendering its unstintingaegis to encourage these usurpers.

The grand fanfare of the politicians is akin tothe Liberation-era promises that will never befulfilled. They are in cahoots with the perpetratorsfrom across the border who are ravaging theGoan countryside in the name of progress, whichreally means: Fill Goa with unscrupulous elementsand let the culture and traditions they have fol-lowed from times immemorial be vanquishedfrom the face of this Earth.

Progress clubbed with development is a com-pulsory element for a country to march towardsself aggrandisement. But we Goans are doingnothing about it; only waiting meekly for outsidersto play a decisive role in the matter, when in ac-tuality it is we who should take the initiative torule our own land, and firmly shun outsiders from

interfering in our personal and internal matters.We should ensure that Goa becomes a Shangri-La of dreams for its own people, not for outsiders.

But Goans in their sleep-mode method havemajor differences within their own reasoning,allowing others to avail of the opportunitiesthat are to be found at their own doorstep.This commutes Goans to differentiate withtheir own squealing and braying, while outsidersare whooping and gorging on the forbiddenfruit brought forth from our own cherishedsoil.

Goas PWD Minister Churchill Alemao thinksthat Goans, especially the NGOs, squeal like pigswhenever any housing project is proposed. I can-not understand the nuance of that expression; itgoes way beyond my limited reasoning. ThoughI fathom that people are objecting to multi-storiedbuilding projects as they do not want outsiders

soiling their environment, and though I presumethat Churchill Alemao and the GovernmentalBadge of Honour which includes our builder-and-miner Chief Minister are wholeheartedlyencouraging these very projects that are beingthrust on the peaceful village of Carmona andother places, whose people are untarnished nortainted by greed.

For my own sanity, I must opine that differ-ences arise when there is a clash between com-prehension and rhetoric, while the people inbetween are squeezed to the maximum by re-maining mere silent spectators. To simplifymatters, I must state that though Goa is beau-tiful in the eyes of its beholders, it is a turfwhich is adored by every Goan, who views withrepulsion the elements that are sleazing thesame. So, is it not obvious that apprehensionand resentment will occur, and squealing, to

ward off the outsiders with their own brand oflanguage and culture, which is not the rightthing for this land? And what does Churchill,the self-proclaimed Godfather of Goan tradition,have to say about this?

As for NGOs, it is said that if the concernsraised by the Bangalore-based Environment Sup-port Group (ESG), which had opposed the con-struction of the table-top runway at Bajpe Airportin Mangalore, had not been summarily dismissedby the competent authorities, the 158 ill-fatedpassengers aboard Air India Express Flight 182might have yet been alive. Still, we cast aspersionson NGOs.

I concur that all NGOs are not what they seemto be. But there are those that are absolutelyabove board. The objections raised by the NGOsand Panchayat bodies about environmental andecological damage are plainly justified. Yet ourPWD Minister clamours that they squeal like pigs.This is making me wonder; who is barking upthe wrong tree?

The dilemma of accommodating outsiders iscosting the people of Himachal Pradesh verydearly. There is a boiling cauldron of resentmentover the Tibetan community, which seeks morefrom its adopted land. It has been over 50 yearssince the Tibetans led by the Dalai Lama fledChina to make India their home in exile. However,the newcomers are raising banners of protest asthey want everything to be equal; if not more forthem. The Indian Government is seemingly ac-quiescing to their demands, which Himachalilocals see as plain browbeating.

In Goa, the pestilence is overpowering,with the outsiders and their moneybags try-ing to usurp the fundamental rights of theGoans and purchasing property left, right,and centre whatever is available and, some-times, even whatever is not. The Goans aremeekly surrendering their meagre holdingsfor a pittance.

And since the NGOs and local Panchayat bod-ies are objecting to the sale of land, the politi-cians claim that Goans are squealing like pigs.What is wrong with that? The same politicians,during election time, bark like dogs and braylike donkeys! Will they preserve the uniqueGoan identity, nurtured for so long by theirGoan ancestors but which is being swept asideby the influx of outsiders? Can the politiciansjustify their methods? Are we going downhillthe way the people of Himachal Pradesh havealready gone?

OPINIONwww.oheraldo.in

Pg8Vol No CX No: 204

Goa, Friday 13 August, 2010

Letters to the EditorLetter of the Day

Std X: Some clarity please!Maria DSouza, St Inez

In his letter Wrong is Right (Herald, 12 August), student Mario Fernandes definitelyhas a point. With the introduction of the grading system and continuous internal as-sessment in Std X, the authorities need to ensure that the guidelines and rules are ob-served.

This year, many schools had two unit tests a day followed by regular classes for StdX. Others encouraged their students to do well by holding only one unit test per day,with no classes.

We are already three months into the school year, but many schools have notbothered to call a meeting with Std X parents to enlighten them about the new gradingsystem. The SSC syllabus remains Top Secret, available only to Board employees andschool heads.

Parents and students would also benefit from knowing the portion. Could theEducation Department or the Goa Board or whoever is in charge, chalk out rules toensure that corrections and assessments are done fairly and uniformly, with no prejudiceor partiality whatsoever?

Parents, please wake up and demand your rights for yourselves and your children.By our silence, we are permitting our childrens futures to depend on the whims ofour leaders

Printed and published by Vinayak Pai Bir for and on behalf of Herald Publications Pvt Ltd. Printed at Herald Publications Pvt Ltd, Plot No: L-135, Phase II, Verna Industrial Estate, Verna, Salcete, Goa. Published at PO Box 160, Rua Sao Tome, Panjim, Goa - 403001. Editor-in-chief: Mr R F Fernandes. Editor: Ashwin Tombat(Responsible under PRB Act). Regd Office: St Tome Road, Panjim, Goa. Tel: 2224202, 2228083, Fax: 2222475 (all Editorial); 2230535, Fax: 2225622 (Advertising); Mar