5 JAN,2011 HERALD PUBLICATIONS PVT LTD

OHERALDOThe Voice of Goa Since 1900

SHWETA KAMAT

PANJIM, JAN 4

Just five per cent of the total in-vestment is what you now re-quire to start a business in Goa,if you have a Self Help Group(SHG).

Fulfilling the promise madeduring his last budget speech,Chief Minister Digambar Kamathas given his nod for the land-mark finance scheme which willhelp the self help groups tobegin their venture.

Under the scheme, whichwould be funded by IndustriesDepartment, SHGs would begiven one time non-recurringgrant of 50 per cent of the proj-ect cost to the extent of Rs50,000 as a seed capital.

The balance part of seed cap-ital to the extent of 45 per centwould be made ava i lab lethrough village co-operative

banks, Economic DevelopmentCorporation (EDC), Nationalisedbanks or other micro financecompanies, Sameer Salgaoncar,Chairman, Goa Handicraft RuralSmall Scale Industries Develop-

ment Corporation (GHRSSIDC),said.

The self help groups will haveto invest just 5 per cent of thetotal capital. The State has setaside Rs 40 lakh as an initial cor-pus for this scheme.

Government officials claimthat the implementation of thescheme would boost the tradeavenues for the self help groupsscattered across the State.

Chief Minister on Mondaygave his nod for the scheme,which is covering all the tradi-tional business ventures likeagro processing, cashew roast-ing, coconut oil extraction, pro-duction of chicky and biscuits,pickles, papads, home made em-broidery, perfumes and handi-crafts.

Giving a full proof look to thescheme, the government will

Business: Sebi can seek info

of investors SC Pg 12Sports: Sachin scores

51st Test ton Pg 16

Goas Heartbeat: Swipe in to enter

Imrans wedding venue Pg 4

IN BRIEF

Visit us at:www.oheraldo.in panjim, wednesday, january 5, 2011 postal reg. no. Goa 101 priCe rs. 3.00 (air surcharge rs 2.00) pages 16+6

Sorry, no newspapers! I only sell'leaked' Medicine papers. It's amore profitable business.

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JAN 4

Almost a year after the police-drug mafia nexus was exposedin March 2010, a local channelhas telecast latest footage ofa former Anti Narcotics Cell(ANC) police sub-inspector sell-ing drugs to two foreigners.

The video-footage has beenshot at an undisclosed desti-nation showing the policemanselling drugs to two girls. Thenationalities of the girls arehowever not known as yet.

The report claims that theman on the spy-camera is PSISunil Guddlar, who was instru-mental in arresting interna-tional drug dealer DavidDriham alias Dudu with cock-tail of drugs in February, lastyear.

The footage also exposesthe PSI convincing the girls topurchase charas . Po l i cespokesperson Atmaram Desh-pande refrained from speakingon the issue stating that they

will comment only after watch-ing the footage.

Goa ANC earned bad repu-tation after its former inspec-tor Ashish Shirodkar wasnamed by Israeli drug baronYaniv Benaim alias Atala as hissupplier of drugs. Followingthis expose by Atalas formergirlfriend Lucky Amori Farm-house, seven policemen weresuspended and arrested forcorruption and conspiracy.

Atala however managed toget a bail and jumped it leavingback to his home town in Is-rael.

Ironically, PSI Guddlar whois named in the sting operationwas earlier last year awardedcertificate by Director Generalof Police B S Bassi for nabbingDudu. He had also arrestedShirodkar after his links withAtala was exposed by media.

Guddlar recently chargesheeted Dudu before the Nar-cotics Drugs and PsychotropicSubstances Court at Mapusa.

Video-footage trails policeselling drugs

FRANKY GRACIAS

PANJIM, JAN 4

From accommodation rates tofood prices to drinking waterrates, Goa saw more than 100%increase during the Christmasweek and New Year leavingmany of the domestic, low-in-come tourists fuming and fret-ting over the exorbitant pricing,even as the authorities con-cerned failed to have in place asound mechanism to keep acheck over this day-light fleec-ing.

Many of the tourists, whocame on a low-budget and hadplans to ring in the New Year inthe sunny climes, had to cutshort their visit after Christmasto leave for their respective des-tinations. The major reasonthese tourists returned was be-cause even the lowly-pricedguest houses in Panjim hadjacked up their rates from Rs600 per night to Rs 1,500 pernight.

The same was the situationin other tourism hubs and areas

hit with tourists. Some of therestaurants too didnt lag behindwith many of them changingtheir menu for the season. Foodand liquor prices in hotels inthe coastal belt went up enor-mously, leaving the partyingtourists with a limited choice.

Says Roland Martin of GoaCivic and Consumer Action Net-work, In regards to this sea-sonal rise in prices we aredealing with roughly 25 lakhtourists coming into the Stateduring the entire season, includ-ing Christmas and New Year.

Martin mentions in 2009, 25lakh tourists holidayed in Goaand there were only three com-plaints of cheating and defi-ciency in service. This year, manytourists may have felt the needto complain, but whom do theyapproach to address their griev-ances, he questioned.

The Tourism Department hasno complaint format that couldbe kept at hotels, airports, busterminals, railway terminals,etc., from where any complaintcan be registered. These formatscan be pre-paid ones withstamps affixed on them, sameon the lines of the ones that arein possession of the Goa PoliceTraffic Cell, he adds.

The Director of Tourism

Tourists felt cheatedthis XMas, New Year

Now, self help groupsto get 95% govt grantHERALD REPORTERPANJIM, JAN 4

Goa Governor Dr S S Siddhu onTuesday sought immunity underArticle 361 of Indian Constitu-tion to absolve himself from thecase against him with Goa StateInformation Commission (GSIC)for not furnishing informationunder Right to Information (RTI)Act.

Governor has a privilegeunder Article 361 of Indian Con-stitution which states that Gov-ernor cannot be personally heldresponsible for the functions hedoes while discharging his duty,counsel to the Governor, CarlosFerreira told reporters after ap-pearing before the Commission.

State Information Commis-sioner Motilal Keny on Decem-ber 22, 2010 had issued noticesto Governor Dr S S Sidhu andSpecial Secretary to the Gover-nor Dr N Radhakrishnan direct-ing them to appear in personbefore the Commission on Jan-uary 4, 2011 in connection with

the case.By virtue of Article 361 of

the Constitution, there is ab-solute protection, privilege andimmunity to the Governor of aState for the exercise and per-formance of the powers and du-ties of his office or for any Actdone or purporting to be doneby him in the exercise and per-formance of those powers andduties and hence the Respon-dent No 1 (Governor) could notbe arrayed as a party Respon-dent in these proceedings,Narendra Kumar, Secretary toGovernor of Goa stated in theAffidavit before the Commissionon behalf of Dr Sidhu.

The Governor failed to appearbefore the Commission since heis playing host to President Prat-ibha Patil during her four-dayvisit to Goa. But Dr Radhakrish-nan appeared before the Bench.

Advocate Aires Rodrigueshad filed a complaint againstthe duo for not furnishing

RTI case: Governorseeks immunity

PTI

PURNIA (Bihar), JAN 4

Ruling BJP MLA from Purnia RajKishore Keshari was on Tuesdaystabbed to death at his resi-dence here in full public viewby a woman who had earlieraccused him of sexual harass-ment.

Four-time MLA, 51-year-oldKeshari, was meeting visitorsfrom his constituency at hisSipahi Tola residence here whenRupam Pathak stabbed him fa-tally in the spleen, Director Gen-eral of Police (DGP) Neelmanitold PTI in Patna.

The profusely bleeding MLAwas rushed to a nearby hospital,but succumbed to his injurieson the way, doctors said.

Visitors caught 45-year-oldPathak, beat her up and handedher over to the police.

The police admitted thewoman, who had lodged a sex-ual harassment case six monthsago against the MLA, to a gov-ernment hospital.

Neelmani ordered Purnia Su-perintendent of Police N H Khanto ensure that the chargesheetin the case was filed within thenext two days.

Additional Director Generalof Police (Hqs) P K Thakur saidthe murder was premeditatedand not a result of anger byPathak that the police did notlook into her complaint.

He said the woman had re-tracted her statement of sexualharassment against the MLA be-

fore a first class judicial magis-trate and her husband too hadrecorded his statement in sup-port of the MLA.

We are probing the casefrom all angles, he said.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumardirected the DGPs to constitutea high-level probe team, reviewthe security of all legislators andensure that those who visitedthem were frisked.

Kumar, who asked his deputySushil Kumar Modi to rush tothe spot, said the BJP MLAs cre-mation will take place with fullstate honours.

The chief minister also ap-pealed to the people and sup-porters of Keshari in Purnia tomaintain peace.

State BJP president C P Thakurcondemned the killing and saidthe case must be investigatedthoroughly.

We will like a thoroughprobe into the incident, Thakursaid.

He said, In his (Kesharis)death, we have lost a young anddedicated soldier of BJP... wepray to God to give enoughstrength to Kesharis family andfollowers to tide over the grief.

DIG Purnia will probe themurder.

Condemning the killing of hisparty MLA, Modi said the matterwas being thoroughly probed.

All aspects involved in theincident will be looked into inthe course of inquiry, he saidbefore leaving for Purnia.

Woman stabsBihar BJP

MLA to death

Dean confirms topolice of MBBSpapers leakage

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JAN 4

Goa Medical College (GMC)Dean Dr V N Jindal has con-firmed to Agassaim police thatthe medical exam papers Gen-eral Medicine I and II - wereleaked to students prior to theexam.

Agassaim police is inquiringinto a corruption complaintmade by three activists over theleak of two medical exam pa-pers.

The Dean has confirmed thatGeneral Medicine I and II paperswere leaked, Inspector Vish-wesh Karpe told Herald.

In his statement, Dr Jindalsubmitted a conclusion that theleakage could probably be attwo stages moderator (internalexaminer) or examination sec-tion level of the Goa University where each of the three setsof papers were available.

Kashinath Shetye, Ketan Gov-ekar and Atish Mandrakar intheir complaint letter allegedthat the papers were deliber-ately leaked with the motive forwrongful and monitory gains.

Following this, the investigat-ing team sent letters to GMCand GU to reply on the policecomplaint even as the case isyet to be registered.

GU in its reply to the policestated that they cannot offerany statement until the GU com-mittee completes its inquiry intothe paper leak.

GU formed a three-memberinquiry committee following theleakage of two question papersof MBBS final year and cancelledthe two papers, hours beforestudents could appear for Gen-eral Medicine II.

General Medicine-I paper

...to get mallat Margao

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JAN 4

Theres good news in storefor women Self Help Groupsin the State.

The government has ap-proved a shopping-cum-ex-hibition mall for the Self HelpGroups in the CommercialCapital at an estimated costof Rs 3-4 crore.

If Chief Minister DigambarKamat is to be believed, landadmeasuring 1000 sq meters

A video-footage shot at an undisclosed destination.

CBI seeks withdrawal of

case against QPTI

NEW DELHI, JAN 4

Pressing for closure of Boforspay-offs case against Italian busi-nessman Ottavio Quattrocchi,the CBI on Tuesday contendedbefore a Delhi Court there wasnothing new in the ITAT orderthat would obstruct the with-drawal of the over two-decade-old criminal proceedings.

I am not disputing what thetribunal has said. That is thecase of prosecutor (CBI) also andi t i s ment ioned in thechargesheet. There is nothingnew, Additional Solicitor Gen-eral P P Malhotra told Chief Met-ropolitan Magistrate VinodYadav.

The court, which was to passits order on the politically sen-sitive case, started hearing ar-guments again after SupremeCourt lawyer Ajay Agarwal sub-mitted that the matter be lookedinto afresh in the light of theIncome Tax

Appellate Tribunals order onMonday that kickbacks of Rs 41crore were paid to late WinChaddha and Quattrocchi in theHowitzer gun deal.

Christmas night was

chilliest: MetHERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JAN 4

The night of Christmas in Goawas the chilliest for the year2010, with temperature drop-ping down to 17.9 Degree Cel-sius.

The Indian Metrological Ob-servatory Goa in-charge K VSingh said that the northerlywinds dropped the tempera-ture during the season. How-ever, the mercury will remainconstant in January as thewinds have started flowing

The partial solar eclipse cov-ered the sun by 30 per cent seen at the historical DurgianaTemple in Amritsar on Tuesday.

Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan takes a jet ski ride with his grandsonat Benaulim beach on Tuesday. Amitabh, who has a liking for watersports, is on a brief holiday in Goa.

Plea seeks 2G licencescancellation

PTI

NEW DELHI, JAN 4

Janata Party Chief SubramanianSwamy on Tuesday moved theapex court seeking cancellationof the 2G spectrum licences al-lotted during the tenure of for-mer Telecom Minister A Rajaallegedly in violation of all normsand procedure causing huge lossto the state exchequer.

13 perish in NorthIndia cold waveAllahabad and the nationalcapital on Tuesday shiveredunder the intense cold wavethat claimed 13 more lives andcontinued to keep mercuryunder sub-zero levels in thehill states of northern India. The mercury dipped belowthree deg C, the first time inseven years in Allahabad, leav-ing eight people dead due tocold in the district. Also, fivemore deaths were reportedfrom different parts of UttarPradesh two each in Pratap-garh and Jaunpur and one inBarabanki due to cold sinceMonday, officials said. (PTI)

Governor shot deadin PakistanPakistan Peoples Party leaderand Punjab Governor SalmaanTaseer was shot dead by oneof his guards who was an-gered by his opposition tothe controversial blasphemylaw. Taseer, 66, was gettinginto his car in Islamabadwhen the guard from PunjabPolices Elite Force shot himwith an assault rifle pumpingmore than 25 bullets at closerange. (PTI)

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SHAHENSHAH OF THE SEASSHAHENSHAH OF THE SEAS

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); Margao: 2737689. Mumbai Office: 16-A, Bell Building, 2nd Floor, 19 Sir PM Road, Fort, Mumbai - 400001 (Tel: 22840702/22844908). RNI No: 43667/83. HOW TO CONTACT US: [email protected] For press notes, general queries. [email protected] Junior Herald; [email protected] Careers. [email protected] Sunday Mirror. [email protected] For Reporters. [email protected] For Business [email protected] For Letters to the Editor. [email protected] For Sports news. [email protected] For Advertisements. [email protected] For Herald 2day. [email protected] For Tiatr Reviews and Reports. Disclaimer: Except for the editorial above, articles and letters in Herald representthe views of the concerned authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Herald editor, publisher, and/or owners.

!OHERALDO

GOA, WEDNESDAY, 5 JANUARY, 2011

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Pg4GOA, WEDNESDAY, 5 JANUARY, 2011

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JAN 4

Taking serious cognizance ofthe emerging situation in theRumdamol Housing Board lo-cality vis--vis the demolitionnotice issued to the Shri SwamiSamarth Temple, Chief Minister,Digambar Kamat on Tuesdayasked the South Goa DistrictCollector, G P Naik to immedi-ately intervene in the matterand work out a solution.

I have directed the districtCollector, South G P Naik toimmediately intervene andseek details from the DeputyDirector of Panchayats, Southfor issuing directions to theRumdamol Panchayat to ini-tiate action against the tem-ple premises, the ChiefMinister told Herald on Tues-day.

Kamat feigned ignoranceabout the whole situation andsaid he came to know of the no-tice issued by the RumdamolVillage Panchayat to the templecommittee only through themedia.

No sooner my attention wasdrawn to the issue, I have asked

the district collector to seek alldetails from the panchayatdeputy director. I am confidentthat the district collector willmediate into the matter and en-sure that a solution is workedout after consultation with allthe parties, he said.

Sources in the know said thegovernment is wary about thesituation going out of controlon two counts: First, any deci-sion by the village panchayatbody to execute the demolitionorder would only open flood-gates on religious structures be-longing to other communities,some of whom stand on openspaces and even governmentland.

Secondly, the ruling Con-gress party is cautious of thefact that even though the dem-olition notice issued to thetemple committee is done bya BJP-controlled panchayatbody, the issue would finallycome to haunt the party gov-ernment for not interveningin the matter.

Sources in the know informedthat party leaders have alreadyconveyed their sentiments to

DeMoLITIoN NoTICe To rUMDaMoL TeMpLe

Intervene, work out a solution,CM asks South Collector

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JAN 4

District Collector, South G P Naik has wondered how the DeputyDirector of Panchayats, South could direct the Rumdamol Panchayatto initiate action against the Shri Swami Samarth Temple whenthe temple structure is one of the many religious structures alreadyidentified by the government as per the Supreme Court order.

This temple figures in the list of structures which were identifiedby the authorities as per the Supreme Court order. The fate ofthese structures is pending before the Cabinet, but before thegovernment could come out with a policy decision, the deputy di-rector of panchayats has directed the Rumdamol Panchayat toinitiate action against the temple structure, Naik said.

The district collector, however, exuded confidence that a solutionwould be found to the problem at the earliest. It is learnt that thedistrict collector spoke to the deputy director of panchayats asper the chief ministers directions.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JAN 4

Rumdamol Village Panchayat on Tuesdayhas said there are no plans to raze downany structures of the Shri SwamiSamarth Temple after the expiry of thedeadline on Wednesday and made itcategorically clear that the body wouldmeet again in the future to take stockof the situation.

Ruling BJP Panch member and formerSarpanch Ulhas Tuemkar informed thatthere are no such plans to raze down thestructures upon the expiry of the noticeperiod. There are reports doing the

rounds that the Panchayat would razedown the structures after the expiry ofthe notice period. I want to categoricallystate that there are no such plans andthe Panchayat would meet again in thefuture to decide the future course of ac-tion, Tuemkar added.

Admitting that the Panchayats notice ofdemolition issued to the Temple committeeexpires on January 5, he categorically statedthat there is no plan in place to executethe notice, and added that the Panchayatbody had to issue the demolition notice asper the directions from the Deputy Directorof Panchayats, South.

Tuemkar and other members of the Rum-damol Panchayat body were called by theMargao Sub divisional Police officer, DySPUmesh Gaonkar to take stock of the situa-tion since the notice period expires onWednesday. The Panchayat members toldDySP Gaonkar that the Panchayat have notdrawn up any plans to initiate action againstthe structures

Meanwhile, BJP Minority wing leaderShaikh Jina has asserted that the RumdamolPanchayat would not demolish any religiousstructure in the Housing Board, whether itbelongs to the Hindus, Christians or Mus-lims.

Can dy director ofpanchayats direct VP

to initiate action?

the chief minister, promptingKamat to direct the district col-lector to intervene and seek alldetails from the panchayat au-thorities.

GPCC General Secretary VijaySardessai is also reported tohave told the chief minister to

ensure that the authorities ex-ercise caution and respect thesentiments of the people.

The Rumdamol Panchayat hadissued a demolition notice onthe temple committee on De-cember 21 to raze down thestructures within 15 days.

No plans to raze down structures: pyat

HERALD REPORTER

VASCO, JAN 4

Property worth nearly Rs 3 lakh was destroyed, after a house wasgutted in a fire at Headland Sada, Mormugao, on Tuesday after-noon.

According to reports, no one was injured in the incident, as thehouse inmates were not present in the house when the incidentoccurred.

Electrical appliances like TV, washing machine, refrigerator,cash and gold valuables belonging to tenant Vithoba Dabolkar,who was residing in the rented house, were gutted in thefire.

Dabolkar, who had gone to drop his child to school and laterfor shopping, received a call at about 9.30 am stating that fireerupted in his rented house.

However, before he could arrive, Dabolkars neighbours put inefforts to extinguish the fire, fire brigade also rushed to the site.However, due to the congested and narrow approach road to thesite, the fire brigade was forced to attach as many as six hosepipes to extinguish the fire.

After receiving a call from Panjim headquarters, myself alongwith officer Rupesh Sawant and three fire fighters rushed to thesite and extinguished the fire, said Vasco Fire Brigade Station In-charge Bosco Ferrao.

He further said most of the electrical appliances like TV, washingmachine, refrigerator and other electronic items, cash of Rs 10,000and gold chain worth Rs 50,000 and other furniture were completelygutted in the fire.

Ferrao said the damage to property is estimated to be Rs 2.95lakh. The cause of fire is suspected to be a short circuit that couldlead the fire, but the Fire Department would seek a report fromthe Electricity Department.

House gutted at Headland Sada, property worth Rs 3 lakh destroyed

Vasco Fire Brigade officials inspect the gutted house at HeadlandSada, Mormugao. Photo by M Prabhav

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JAN 4

Goa government-run Horticul-ture Corporation in its fresh ini-t ia t ive has begun se l l ingimported fruits on its existingcart at Panjim from today.

At least 10 types of fruitsalongside vegetables will be soldon the same cart. The Corpora-tion has roped in a Mumbai-based firm to supply fresh andhealthy fruits to these carts,which will be chemical-free,Sankalp Amonkar, Chairman ofGoa State Horticulture Devel-opment Corporation told Her-ald.

The franchisees of these cartswill be supplied fruits for saledepending on the demand. Themenu includes oranges, sweetlime, apples, bananas, custardapples, water melon, grapes,chickoos and other varieties.

To start with, the corporation

will pour-in four-to-five tonnesof fruits daily at the outlets. Thecorporation at present runs 336outlets and will open more 50outlets this year.

Corporations Managing Di-rector Orlando Rodrigues saidthat the products would not besold as cheap as other vegeta-bles sold at their outlets.

Not necessary that thefruits will be sold at cheaperrates because ripening costsmore. We have ensured thatthese fruits are ripened chem-ical-free, healthy and fresh,he said.

The Corporation will soonallot separate well-equippedcold carts to sell these fruits.

Around 20 solar carts areplanned in the coastal belt be-ginning with one cart which hasalready started functioning onexperimental basis, Amonkarhad told reporters in December

2010.He said that the first ever cart

is based at their headquartersin Panjim, which is being mon-itored. The Corporations initia-tive is pioneered in India asthese carts harness solar energyto function. Each cart costsabout Rs 80,000.

These solar-powered cartshave the facility to reduce thetemperature of the storing fa-cility by 20 degree celsius whichincreases the shelf life of thehigh-value exotic vegetables andfruits.

Rodrigues had also said thatthese carts would be providedfree-of-cost to the franchiseesand they will have to pay mini-mum maintenance cost for theCorporation.

The new venture is an initia-tive by the Rashtriya Krishi VikasYojna, which will bear 50 percent of the total cost.

Missing file: Lawpanel files

police complaint HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JAN 4

Goa State Law Commission(GSLC) today filed a police com-plaint into the formation of thecommissions missing docu-ments from the Secretariat.

It has been brought to thenotice of the law commissionthrough press reports that thefile related to constitution ofLaw Commission has been miss-ing, Manohar Shetye, officeron special duty to Chairman ofLaw Commission, has said in hiscomplaint letter with DirectorGeneral of Police.

The Commission has said thatimmediate inquiry should beinitiated into the matter.

The State government in areply to the Goa-based socialactivist Aires Rodrigues had con-firmed that the file containingdocuments on the formation ofthe Goa Law Commiss ionheaded by Ramakant Khalap ismissing.

The Law Department has alsoinformed that all efforts to lo-cate and trace the file were fu-tile. The department has issuedcircular to heads of all depart-ments to see whether the filehad inadvertently been receivedby their department with a re-quest to return it at the earliest.

Khalap, when contacted hadtold Herald that a police com-plaint should immediately beregistered in the case of missingfile. There is nothing to hidein the file. It should be like anopen bookIts not on any con-tract or promotion, but aboutformation of the commission,Khalap said.

Horticulture Corp begins sale of imported fruits

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JAN 4

Goa State Horticulture Devel-opment Corporation has limitedthe supply of onion bags to itsfranchises in order to avoid mis-use of the commodity which isin high demand.

To stop the misuse, we havelimited the supply of onions tofour bags (200 kg) per outlet. Itis basically to avoid the possi-bility of purchasing low-pricedonions from our carts and sellingit at higher rates in the openmarket, Corporations Manag-ing Director Orlando Rodriguestold Herald.

Goa Government on Decem-ber 28, 2010 had further slasheddown prices of onions from Rs35 to Rs 25 per kg which aremade available through all 336outlets and 246 mobile vans ofthe Corporation.

Soaring onions prices for thelast more than a month are stillbrining tears to the commonman. The Goa market that com-pletely depends on the importfrom neighbouring States is sell-ing onions not less than Rs 70in the open market.

Rodrigues said that with goodquality onions being sold atlower price at corporationscarts, the panicked consumersare purchasing the commodityin bulk fearing rise in price.

There is a huge rush foronions at all horticulture outlets.The sale finishes by afternoonas our outlets are selling onionsby half a price that of open mar-ket rates. But we want to makeit clear that we will not raisethe price until the Governmentsorder, he said.

The corporation has in-structed its franchises that each

consumer is entitled for two kgonions.

Initially onions were availableat the wholesale rate of Rs 45to Rs 51 when corporation wasselling it for Rs 35. Now sincethe prices have crashed further,the corporation sells it for Rs25.

We now get onion for Rs 35per kg on wholesale rate. We de-cided to pass on this benefit to theconsumer by making it available atRs 25, Corporations ChairmanSankalp Amonkar had said.

Goa gets 40 to 50 tonnes ofonions every day from Nasik andBelgaum. The onion prices havemade several thousand peoplevisit their outlets.

We were having 50,000 footfalls daily on an average butwhen we began giving onionsat lower rates, the foot fall hasincreased to 75,000, he said.

limits supply of onion bags to its franchises

Meet on fire

hydrant system

at Vasco

market todayHERALD REPORTER

VASCO, JAN 4

Mormugao Municipal Council(MMC) Chief Officer GopalParsekar has convened a jointmeeting with authorities onWednesday to take immediatemeasures regarding the dilapi-dated fire hydrant system atVasco Municipal market.

The meeting has been con-vened with the electricity, PWD,fire and MMC officials.

Following a complaint fromDisaster Management In-chargeof Mormugao and Deputy Col-lector Levinson Martins, VascoFire Brigade along with Mormu-gao Municipal Council (MMC)official recently inspected thedilapidated fire hydrant systemof Vasco Municipal market.

Vasco Fire Brigade Station Of-ficer Bosco Ferrao along withMMC CO Gopal Parsekar andcivic Engg John Abreu carriedout joint inspection and noticedas many has seven shortfalls ofthe dilapidated fire hydrant sys-tem and status of the congestedmarket, which suggest that it isvulnerably exposed to fire.

Ferrao in his report has statedthat the main fire hydrant linewhich is connected to the under-ground well with a pump near themunicipal garage is found to benon-operational, while municipalauthority had informed Ferraothat separate fire line has beeninstalled by the PWD, which wasnon-traceable during inspection.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JAN 4

Commuters on the Margao-Pan-jim route now have the optionof travelling in brand new KTCbuses, having FM facility and

hydraulic doors.The Kadamba Transport Cor-

poration has deployed fivebrand new buses on the Mar-gao-Panjim route to cater to thegrowing needs of the travelling

commuters on the busy route.And, if KTC Managing Direc-

tor Venancio Furtado is to bebelieved, the KTC has placed or-ders for 15 more buses to serv-ice other busy routes in the

state.Giving details of the features

of the new blue-colouredbuses, Furtado said each ofthe buses have cost the KTCRs 22 lakh.

MBBS papers leakagewhich was already answered by the students on Saturday was alsocancelled. Second year MBBS, final year MBBS part I and part IIstudents are appearing for the slated exams that began on January1.

The committee today submitted its preliminary inquiry confirmingthat the papers were leaked. A detailed inquiry will be carried outby another GU committee. Herald on Monday had exposed thepaper leakage after which prompt actions were taken by the GMCand GU.

The complainants meanwhile have complaint to the North GoaSuperintendent of Police against Inspector Karpe of threateningthem to withdraw the complaint.

Karpe threatened on the phone to withdraw the complaint orsubmit the leaked question papers. From where we can producethe papers, Shetye said.

Reacting to the allegations, Karpe said that the complainantswere only asked to produce the leaked papers as they have com-plaint against the leakage.

I am not the interested party and therefore it is not true thatI have threatened the complainants, he said.

Governor seeks immunityinformation under RTI Act.

Ferreira said that Governor personally cannot be made party tothe petition because he has not signed the order vis--vis informationunder RTI.

Dr Radhakrishnan in his reply before the Commission said thatGovernor is not a public authority and therefore he cannot becovered under RTI. The Commission has scheduled the next dateof hearing for arguments on January 21.

Strongly opposing this, Rodrigues submitted that the Governorhad to be party to the case to explain to the Commission as tohow he is not a public authority.

He also drew the Commissions attention that even the Presidentof India as a public authority was complying with the RTI Act.

Rodrigues by an application on November 29, 2010 under theRTI had sought from the Raj Bhavan details of action taken oncomplaints made by him to the Governor against Advocate GeneralSubodh Kantak.

He had also sought copies of noting sheets and correspondencepertaining to the processing of his complaints against the AG.

The reply letter undersigned by the Special Secretary on No-vember 30 declined to furnish information stating that informationunder RTI Act could not be furnished as the Governor is not aPublic Authority.

The reply also mentioned that an Affidavit to this effect wasfiled before the Bombay High Court at Goa.

At a public meeting in December 2010, the advocate demandedthat Governor should not hoist the Tricolour on the Republic Dayon January 26, 2011, if the latter claims he is not a Public Author-ity.

SHGs to get 95% granthave arrangement with the customers of self help groups, in case;they fail to repay the loan amount.

The applications under the scheme would be approved by ap-praisal committee consisting of Chairman GHRSSICD, MD NikhilDessai, and representatives from Industries Department and othertrade bodies.

...to get mall at Margaonear the proposed Non-Conventional Energy Park located meters

away from the South Goa District court, has been allocated to theGoa Handicraft Corporation to build the mall.

As per the designs, the ground floor of the proposed mall willbe fully utilised for exhibition of items produced by the Self Helpgroups. The ground floor would be utilised for the display ofhandicraft items produced by the SHGs. The SHGs would beallotted small stalls on the remaining floors in the shopping mall,Kamat told Herald.

He said the exhibition-cum-shopping mall would help attracttourists visiting South Goa, thus giving a big boost to the SelfHelp Group movement. I am happy that the MPs have also offeredtheir support to the SHGs by chipping funds under the MPLADscheme, the Chief Minister added.

Saying that the government is committed to promoting SelfHelp Groups in a big way, Kamat said the government has beenproviding funds to the tune of Rs 25,000 to the SHGs as part ofconcerted attempts to empower women to become independentand appealed to the women in the State to avail benefits of thevarious government schemes for their welfare and upliftment.

Tourists felt cheated...Swapnil Naik said they had no set format as such for receivingcomplaints, even as he adds there are other price-controlling au-thorities to check into this phenomenon. We have so many hotelsregistered with us and these give us a chart of their rates. Thistime we never had a single complaint, he mentions.

President of Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG)Gaurish Dhond says prices shooting up during the crucial time ofChristmas and New Year was a serious matter and stakeholderslike the Tourism Department, Transport Department, etc., needto come together to devise a strategy to keep prices in check.

Dhond, however, adds there is a need to have a strict controlover the tariffs of hotel during this crucial time and they wouldraise the issue with the director of tourism. This time emptyrooms in some hotels, including the ones in Panjim, indicated do-mestic tourists turned up in cars, but never felt the need for aroom. After ringing in the New Year they used the Sulabh toilet inthe morning to freshen up and left the State, he states.

Spokesperson of TTAG and Chairman of the Tourism Committeeof Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ralph DSouza saysfor Christmas and New Year there was a 7-8% increase in the arrivalof domestic tourists. He, however, adds this year the jacking ofprices was not that unruly as seen in the past.

DSouza says there were empty rooms in hotels even on thecoast, some of them very affordable, but the tourists never reachedhere because of the exorbitant rates of one-way flight tickets andthe buses too raised their fares. It is here there needs to be pricecontrolling more than anywhere else, he adds.

Those in the tourism trade feel Goa may lose out on tourists inthe long run if the stakeholders involved dont sit together andhave in place a mechanism to penalise the few people involved indistorting the tourism image by jacking up prices to take advantageof the situation.

Christmas night chilliesteasterly, he said.

The year 2011 has started at a little warmer note with minimumtemperature dropping to 21 degree Celsius on January 3.

There may be drop in temperature sometimes as northern partof the country is facing extreme weather, Singh said.

Goa had recorded minimum temperature on December 14,1945 when mercury scored down to 14.1 Degree Celsius fol-lowed by 14.4 Degree Celsius on January 3, 1991. The thirdlowest temperature 15.2 Degree Celsius was recorded on Feb-ruary 9, 2008.

froM paGe1

Scribe nabs robber in VascoVASCO, JAN 4 (HR) -- A reporter managed to nab a man, who hadallegedly robbed and threatened a flat owner at knife-point inVasco city on Tuesday afternoon.According to reports, PremchandMishra (27) from Palli-Rajasthan along with another person managedto break into the flat of former Navy officer, Balwant Saini, on thethird floor of Sonia Apartment in Vasco city.

Transport chief

stresses on

safe drivingHERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JAN 4

The Directorate of Transport onTuesday observed Traffic SafetyWeek at the Margao KTC Busstand with a message to the busdrivers on safe driving.

Transport Director Arun Desai,KTC Managing Director VenancioFurtado and RTO officials, besidesbus drivers participated in theprogram. In his address, theTransport Director said the ob-jective behind observing thetraffic safety week is to conveya message to drive safely andto observe then dos and dontswhile driving. The message tothe drivers during this roadsafety week will help reduce theaccident rate. Bus drivers needto take all precautions and drivesafely. They should ensure theydont speak on the cell phoneswhile driving. All these measureswill help reduce the accidents,he added.

In his brief address, KTC Man-aging Director Venancio Furtadosaid the posters distributed tothe drivers conveys message tothe drivers to take precautionswhile driving.

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JAN 4

A Herald expose of the MBBSpaper leaks had its full impactwith the Goa University now de-claring examinations of GeneralMedicine Paper-I and Paper-IIheld on January 1 and 3, respec-tively, as null and avoid.

A press statement issued bythe Controller of ExaminationsG P Prabhu Khanolkar NOTES,In view of the observations re-ported by the Inquiry Commit-tee appointed by GU to inquireinto the alleged leakage of thepapers, the examinations havebeen treated as null and avoid.

The statement informs on thefresh dates for the examinationon January 13 (General MedicinePaper I) and January 14 (GeneralMedicine Paper II). For both daysthe exam time is from 10 am to

1 pm.The examination for the re-

maining subjects of MBBS willbe held as scheduled, it notes.

When contacted AssistantRegistrar Rajesh Bhatikar saidthe report was with the ViceChancellor and he may addressa press conference to make itknown to the media.

Sources confirmed that thethree-member committee in theirreport to the Vice Chancellor hasconfirmed paper leakage.

The committee was basicallyto conduct preliminary inquiryon whether the medical paperswere leaked or not. The reporthas affirmed leakage, said thesource.

After studying the first report,Vice Chancellor will form an-other committee to probe intothe details of the leakage.

GU sets fresh datesfor two MBBS papers

5 KTC buses with hydraulic doors launched

GOAOHERALD

OPg5

GOA, WEDNESDAY, 5 JANUARY, 2011

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JAN 4

Has there been fixing with re-gards to reservation of wardsof the Corporation of the Cityof Panjim (CCP) which will gofor elections in March?

Eyebrows have been raisedsince Taleigao MLA, BabushMonserrate who floated hispanel Panjjim City CorporationDevelopment Front (PCCDF) onJanuary 31, 2010. He has notonly declared his candidates buthas also advertised which can-didate will contest from whichward even as State ElectionCommission (SEC) is yet to issuea notification notifying whichwards have been reserved forwomen and OBC candidates.

When this reporter enquiredwith the office of SEC on Tues-day afternoon, she was informedthat they are still in the processof completing the exercise ofreservation of wards and noti-fication will be issued later.

The officer, who did not wantto be named when questioned,said they do not follow any setprocess in reserving wards. How-ever wards which stand reservedwill be thrown open for generalcategory in the coming election.

So, the ten wards which havebeen reserved for women andfive for OBC candidates will bereserved for coming election.

This also means, in the absenceof a notification, one could safelypredict only about 15 wards whichwill be reserved this time.

However, it is reliably that learntthat SEC has tentatively worked outwhich wards will be reserved andnotification to this effect will be is-sued at a later stage.

On the other hand BJP whichhad also floated panel last cor-poration election has not yetdeclared its candidates. Whencontacted CCP Corporator Ru-pesh Haldankar said their panel

will be declared once the reser-vation notification is out.

In this background a pertinentquestion thats being raised ison what basis has Taleigao MLAdecided who will contest fromwhich ward for his panel? Orhas there been a fixing with re-gards to reservation?

When Herald tried to contactTaleigao MLA for his comment,he however was not answeringhis cell. So its interesting to seeif the forecast of Taleigao MLApertaining to reservation ofseats for OBC and women can-didates comes true? And it willbe known only after the SEC is-sues its notification.

CCP ward reservationunder fixing cloud

n Eyebrows have been raised since TaleigaoMLA, Babush Monserrate who floated hispanel Panjjim City CorporationDevelopment Front (PCCDF) on January31, 2010. He has not only declared hiscandidates but has also advertised whichcandidate will contest from which wardeven as State Election Commission (SEC)is yet to issue a notification notifyingwhich wards have been reserved forwomen and OBC candidates.

A group of editors from local dailies called on the President of India, Pratibha Devisingh Patil at RajBhavan on Tuesday.

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, DEC 4

Editors of prominent dailynewspapers made a courtesycall on President Pratibha De-visingh Patil today afternoon.The President is in Goa on aprivate visit along with herfamily.

Ms Patil enquired aboutthe media in Goa and saidthat she was extremely happyto be in the State, especiallywhen the weather was sopleasant.

The President is scheduled toleave Goa for Pune on December6.

Editors make courtesycall on President

Khatib complainsagainst 4

for outragingwifes modesty

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JAN 4

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)Goa Youth President TanvirKhatib today complained againstfour persons of outraging mod-esty of his wife at KTC bus standon January 3 night.

In his complaint letter to Pan-jim Town Police Station, Khatibaccused Swapnil Vaigankar ofMapusa and three others of mis-behaving with his wife andthreatening his family.

The complainant furtherstated that the foursome alsoabused and assaulted him aswell as his brother Shoaib andrestrained the victims from leav-ing the spot.

A case under sections 323(voluntary causing hurt), 504(threatening), 354 (outragingmodesty of a woman), 341(wrongful restraint) and 34 (com-mon intention) have been reg-istered against the allegedculprits.

Inspector Sandesh Chodankarinformed that the issue trig-gered after vehicular accidentand that Swapnil was arrestedand later released on bail.

Saad appeals to Prezto stop sale of alcohol

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JAN 4

Bailancho Saad, which has been protesting against the sale ofalcohol and its promotion on Government premises, is trying tocatch the attention of the visiting President Pratibha Patil to takenote of its complaint against the annual wine festival, Grape Es-capade, scheduled to be held from January 27 for three days atthe INOX courtyard in the capital city.

In a press release issued here, Saad said Goa Tourism DevelopmentCorporation had issued an advertisement inviting application forstalls for festival at INOX which is a government premise. Saad de-mands that alcohol sale and promotion on government premisesbe stopped forthwith, it stated.

The release mentioned that Saad had sent a memorandum seek-ing intervention of the President, who as the constitutional headwas required to uphold the directive principles of the Constitutionprohibiting State governments from promoting alcohol.

Saad has appealed to Patil to direct the State Government touphold the principles of the Constitution and stop the sale ofalcohol on its premises. It reminded the President of one of herpublic speeches where she had expressed her concern over theeffect of alcohol on women and children.

Saad observed womens organisations have been protestingthe sale and promotion of alcohol at INOX. Last year when thewine festival was organised on Republic Day, Saad had called onthe Chief Secretary who promised that hence forth no alcoholwould be sold on government premises, the release states fur-ther.

However, it mentioned, at the International Film Festival heldin November 2010 alcohol continued to be sold and promoted ongovernment premises at INOX as well as Childrens Park whereKingfisher village was set up.

2 more arrested for murdering Bihar native

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JAN 4

The Colva police have arrested two more accused persons in con-nection with the gruesome murder of a construction worker fromBihar at Pedda-Varca on Sunday morning.

The police said the two accused Mukhia Murmu (25) and MunshiMurmu (25), both hailing from Jharkhand, were arrested fromPanjim. The police have so far arrested three persons in connectionwith the murder of the Bihari.Two more accused persons whowere staying in the room when the deceased was axed to deathare still at large.The Colva police are investigating.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JAN 4

Why cant the government makeprovision for helicopters andhelipads to transport VVIPs totheir destinations instead ofclosing roads for hours together,was the common refrain as thevisit of the President of IndiaPratibha Patils to a starred hotelat Benaulim by road threw trafficout of gear and left fuming mo-torists in the Commercial Capi-tal.

Movement of vehicular trafficcame to a complete halt alongthe highway between Nuvemand the Old Market Circle forwell over half and hour. Theentry and exit points of the KTC

bus stand was shut half an hourbefore the Presidents convoywas to head towards Benaulimvia the Old Market Circle.

The situation only worsenedafter the convoy crossed the OldMarket Circle. The city wasplunged into traffic snarls andit took a long time for the trafficpersonnel to restore order.

The situation was no differentin the evening session when thePresident returned from thehotel. All Traffic coming fromthe internal roads to the mainroad came to a halt to make wayfor the Presidents convoy tocross the Old Market-KTC standroad, once again throwing trafficout of gear.

Motorists who tried to takethe internal roads to get to thehighway were stranded in trafficjam. The narrow Nehru stadium-KTC bus stand road witnessedtraffic bottlenecks as private ve-hicles took the road as the OldMarket road was closed for traf-fic.

The traffic arrangements leftmany a motorist fuming withtwo-wheeler rider demandingto know why the President ofIndia was not flown to Benaulimby a chopper instead of closingthe road for hours together. Thepresident spent some time atBenaulim beach amid tight se-curity cover and even enjoyeda short boat ride.

Prezs visit to Benaulim hotel throws traffic off gear

KTC drivers and members of the public seen waiting for the Presidents convoy to cross Margao onTuesday noon. Photo by Santosh Mirajkar

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JAN 4

Claiming that passengers iden-tify the buses based on theircolours, the private bus opera-tors out-rightly rejected StateGovernments proposal of uni-colour for all buses.

The private bus operatorswho met today in Panjim underthe banner All Goa Private BusOwners Association (AGPBOA)unanimously objected to thegovernments proposal to havea similar colour to all their buseson par with buses of KadambaTransport Corporation Limited(KTCL).

AGPBOA General SecretarySudip Tamankar said that buseswith similar colour can lead toseveral problems thus affectingthe business.

Most of our buses travel inthe villages, where people iden-tify buses based on the colour.People in areas like Sattari,Valpoi are mostly illiterate. Theydont read the name plate butthey give preference to colour,Tamankar told reporters.

Giving yet another reason forobjection, Tamankar claimed thatthere are many operators whohave religious sentiments towardsthe colour of their vehicles.

Many feel that having a partic-ular colour will spell good omenfor them in the business, he addedsaying that asking such people tochange colour of their buses is likehurting their sentiments.

The government as part ofstreamlining private bus servicein the State had offered that allthe private buses with All GoaPermits should have similarcolour. The proposal was movedin the recently held meetingwith Chief Minister DigambarKamat and Director TransportArun Desai.

Tamankar, however, allegedthat government does not fol-low rules when it comes tobuses with All India Permits. Asper Motor Vehicles Act, all thebuses with All India Permits

Bus owners reject govts uni-colour proposal

should be white in colour withblue strips but these rules arenot being followed, he statedadding that all such acts are by-passed only after orders fromthe high command.

The Association will be soonwriting to the Chief Ministerasking to take back the portfoliofrom the Transport MinisterRamkrishna Dhavlikar.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JAN 4

Labourers working at the con-struction of the approach roadto the Majorda subway had amiraculous escape following ablast in the underground powercable.

The incident occurred whena JCB was excavating the earthwhen the machine hit an under-ground cable, causing a blast.

Contractor SummerwellDe Gama told newsmen atthe site that around 25 work-

ers who were working in thetrench had just come out forthe lunch break when theblast occurred.

The incident could havecaused a major tragedy at thespot. There were neither draw-ings nor plan given by the au-thorities when the work wasunderway at the site, Gamasaid.

Taking serious note of theincident, which could havecost the lives of the workers,Gama approached the Colva

police for registering a com-plaint, but the police told himthat no case is made out sincethe blast caused no injury orloss of property.

The incident has come as aneye opener since different agen-cies have laid their cables un-derground close to each otherwithout any coordination. In theinstant case, the undergroundpower cable was found laid lessthan a meter inside the groundwhich has been left damagedby the excavation work.

Labourers escape power cable blast at Majorda

The underground power cable that was exposed during the excavation work on the approach road tothe Majorda subway under construction. Photo by Santosh Mirajkar

Panch witness examined in

Russians rape case HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JAN 4

A panch witness was examinedby the South Goa Sessions Courtin connection with the Russianwoman rape case on Tuesday.

The panch witness was ex-amined in connection with theMuddemal property attached bythe police as part of the inves-tigations.The prosecution hasinformed that the victim Russianwoman will be once again ex-amined in the court on the ques-tion of identification of theMuddemal property.

The court has already issuedsummons to the Russian rapevictim to appear in the courtvis--vis identification of the at-tached property.

Meanwhile, arguments on thebail applications filed by thethree accused arrested in theMoti Dongor attack case willcome up for hearing in theSouth Goa Sessions Court onJanuary 7.

Kidnapping case registered

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JAN 4

The Margao police have regis-tered a case of kidnappingagainst a boy, major in age, forallegedly kidnapping a minorgirl, studying in a higher sec-ondary school.

Police said the father of thegirl lodged a complaint statingthat his daughter was kidnappedwhen she had gone to the highersecondary school on Mondaymorning.

The boy Manu Singh hailsfrom Chodan, Old Goa, whilethe girl is a resident of Curtorim,the po l i ce added .The Margao police are investi-gating.

VHP meetHERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JAN 4

The annual meeting of theBoard of Trustee of VishwaHindu Parishad (VHP) isscheduled be held from Jan-uary 5 to 11, 2011 at Ram-nathi.

Around 400 national and in-ternational VHP delegates willbe participating in the conven-tion.

Pg6 GOAGOA, WEDNESDAY, 5 JANUARY, 2011

SHORT TAKES

OHE

RALD

O

UPCOMING EVENTS

Talk on village studyPANJIM (HNB): The Xavier Centre of Historical Research

(XCHR) will organize a talk and discussion on Studying yourvillage: each tiny area holds a story by Dr Themistocles DSilvaon January 7, at 5.30 pm.

Each of Goas tiny areas is packed with history, and storieswaiting to be told. Thats the experience of scientist Dr Themis-tocles DSilva, who has recently worked on a book focusingon the village of Arossim.

US-based Dr Themistocles DSilva has spent several yearsof collecting information from Goa and university libraries inthe United States.

His efforts resulted in a book titled Beyond the Beach: TheVillage of Arossim, Goa, in Historical Perspective. From itspre-Hindu and Hindu past, to its Catholic present, DSilvatraces the geography of his village, its etymology and somelocal social organisations. The talk is open to the public.

St Francis Xavier feast PANJIM (HND): The annual feast of St Francis Xavier at

Portais Chapel will be celebrated on January 16 with the tra-ditional Fama (Maddi) on January 6 at 7 pm followed by Mass.The novenas will be from 7 to 14 beginning with Rosary andlitany at 6.15 pm, followed by Mass, sermon and salve. OnJanuary 16, the feast day, there will be two low masses at 6am and 8 am. The concelebrated high Mass with sermon andprocession will be at 10 am. The feast will be celebrated byMilton, Roy DCosta and family.

Three Kings feast PANJIM (HND): The annual feast of Epiphany of Our Lord,

popularly known as the Feast of Three Kings will be celebratedin the parish of Reis Magos, Verem, on January 6. The firstmass will be held at 7.30 am while the solemn concelebratedfeast Mass will be held at 9.30 am at which Rector of SaligaoSeminary Fr Tony Salema will be the main celebrant. On January7, the feast of Our Lady of Health will be celebrated by LorettaVelho at 8 am, near the chapel of Our Lady of Health at thefoot of the church, with professor of Saligao Seminary FrJoseph Estrocio as the main celebrant. There will be mass inthe church at 5 pm.

Lok Adalat in PanjimPANJIM (HND): Lok Adalat will be held in the court premises

of the Civil Judge Senior Division and Chief Judicial Magistrate,Panjim on January 8 from 10 am onwards to take up the civilcases and cases u/s 138 of Negotiable Instrument Act of KotakMahindra Prime Ltd, pending in Tiswadi taluka for settlement.

Advocates and concerned parties whose cases have beenreferred to the said Lok Adalat may attend the same.

Restricted water supply PANJIM (HND): Due to inter-connection of 1400 mm dia MS

pipeline at Davorlim, there will be restricted water supply toentire Salcette and Mormugao talukas on January 10 and 11.

Dikshit wins award

Dikshit Gopal Naik receiving the best Students AchieversAward 2009 (vocational) at Bhopal.

PANJIM (HND): Dikshit Gopal Naik presently studying in TY-BCom in Dempo College of Commerce and Economics has re-ceived the Best Students Achievers Award 2009 (vocational)at Bhopal recently.

PSS Central Institute of Vocational Education presented thisaward to him. He was also given certificate and demand draftof Rs 2000 at the function in Bhopal. NCERT Award for Excel-lence in Vocational is presented to students, teachers and in-stitutions for their performance in the vocational stream.Dikshit Naik is resident of Bhatlem, Panjim.

Admissions openPANJIM (HND): Admissions are open for English medium,

Madkaikar Navchaitanya KG and Primary School, Corlim,Tiswadi, in nursery, KG I, KG II, std I and std II. Admissionforms are available in the school office during school hours.The school is run by Madkaikar Navchaitanya Trust.

Christmas festivities endPANJIM (HND): The week long Christmas programme of St

Elizabeths Church, Ucassaim came to an end on Sunday withthe Bible quiz competition, prize distribution, and the Parishdinner. The winners of the crib competition were OlavioPereira, Margaret Bosco and Clerance Carneiro. The winnersof the star competition were Olavio Pereira, Charles Martinsand Amberly Noronha. The Bible quiz competition was wonby Agatha Vaz and Manuel Leitao.

Crafts Mela inaugurated

Chairperson of Pernem Municipal Council Dr Vasudeo R Desh-prabhu inaugurates Crafts Mela at Clube Nacional, Panjim.

PANJIM (HND): A crafts exhibition titled Crafts Mela or-ganised by Poompuhar, a state government owned corporationof Tamil Nadu was inaugurated at Clube Nacional, Vaglo build-ing, M G Road, Panjim, on Monday. The Mela will be open tillJanuary 12, from 11 am to 9 pm, including Sunday.

Bronze icons, brass oil lamps, Tanjore paintings, wood carv-ings, incense, perfumes, jewellery, terracotta, Channapatnalacquereware, Moradabad brass ware, leather items, Jaipurpaintings, Madurai sungadi sarees, Kancheepuram silk sarees,Varanasi and Madhya Pradesh sarees, Rajasthan bed sheetsand other attractive handicrafts and handlooms are on display.Discount of 10% is offered on all items.

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HERALD CORRESPONDENT

MARCEL, JAN 4

The Kundaim Nagrik Kruti Samitihas condemned Kundaim Pan-chayats decision to issue a pro-visional NOC to a proposed shipdockyard at Mauzo Wado,Kundaim.

The annual general bodymeeting, which was attendedby about 100 villagers, resolvedto fight against the panchayatsdecision claiming the proposedproject will have an adverse ef-fect on the village.

It may be recalled that vil-lagers during a gram sabha hadraised objection to the proposedproject at Mauzo Wado and hadrequested the panchayat not topermit such type of projects inthe village. The panchayat mem-bers had even signed in favourof the resolution. However, thevillagers were surprised whenthey learnt that the panchayatrecently issued a provisionalNOC to the project.

Villagers claimed that the

project will create health prob-lems and disturb village envi-ronment. Villagers are nowplanning to challenge the pan-chayats order to issue a provi-sional NOC to the proposeddockyard project at MauzoWado in the court of law.

The panchayat has not re-spected our demand. We wereof the opinion that the pan-chayat will think and work inthe interest of villagers, but wewere wrong, said Kundaim Na-grik Kruti Samiti PresidentRitesh Narvenkar.

We will not keep quiet andwill challenge this arbitrary de-cision of the panchayat to issueprovisional NOC to the shipdockyard at Mauzo Wado in thecourt of law. This project willnot benefit our village and Idont understand why the pan-chayat is favouring it, said Nar-venkar.

Few years ago, Kundaim vil-lagers had compelled the pan-chayat to resign when they had

illegally distributed governmentland among their relatives. Ifthe present body do not standby people wishes, then villagerswill decide of their fate, warnedNarvenkar.

Refuting the charges madeagainst the Samiti, Narvenkarsaid: We are selflessly workingand want to protect our village.There are numerous allegationsagainst our committee, whichare incorrect.

We havent done nor will doanything wrong dont and willcontinue working in the interestof our village. People with vestedinterest spread false and fabri-cated news to which our vil-lagers shouldnt fall prey, saidNarvenkar.

Meanwhile, Kundaim NagrikKruti Samiti President Narvenkarwill retain presidents chair, ashe was unanimously elected aspresident for the year 2011-12.Various other issues related toKundaim village were also dis-cussed at the meeting.

Kundaim VP flayed overprovisional NOC for dockyard

HERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, JAN 4

Incumbent senior CCP corpora-tor Surendra Furtado has calledupon the citizens of Panjim tounite and fight the multiplemalaises currently engulfing thecity of Panjim.

Stating that the CCP electionsare an opportunity to makethings right, Surendra opinedthat if the people make onemore mistake, the city will bedoomed forever.

It is time that the people ofPanjim think and take a decisionguided by their conscience, hesaid and added that he has beenin the forefront in this fightagainst corruption and scamsin the CCP and it now upto thepeople to decide very consci-entiously and vote for peoplewith character and commitment.

The CCP has been indictedby the CAG continuously, but

nothing in the nature of correctiveaction has been taken againstnor those guilty have been nailed.It appears that the ruling combineat the CCP does not vouch fortransparency, he lamented andopined that even when the CAGreport could rock the Parliamenton 2G scam, how come the samehas been kept in hiding by theruling CCP combine, which onlyreflects their spirit in probity.

Me any my wife have workedrelentlessly to undertake devel-opment in Ward 9 and 10, de-spite being in the opposition,he added and hoped that thepeople will once again reposetheir faith in them.

Giving a call to restore Panjimto its past glory, Surendra saidthat it is the duty of each andevery individual to use their votejudiciously and not get fooledby empty promises of jobs whichis currently the trend of cam-paign. Let those people prom-ising jobs first show how manyjobs they have given till nowand also explain the reason forthe promises at the times ofelections, he added.

Stating that Panjim has suf-fered enough, Surendra made afervent appeal to elect cleanand honest people who are com-mitted to build a clean, greenand beautiful Panjim.

Furtado calls upon Panjimites to fight against corrupt

n It is the duty ofeach and everyindividual to usetheir votejudiciously and notget fooled by emptypromises of jobswhich is currentlythe trend ofcampaign.

--- Surendra Furtado


SANGUEM, JAN 4

Citizens from Sanguem havecomplained of high turbidity inthe drinking water supplied tothem by the Water Supply de-partment.

The drinking water which issupplied from the Xelpem WaterTreatment Plant at times is notpotable and includes mud par-ticles, complained a citizen.

Citizens also produced to thelocal reporters a sample ofmuddy water collected directlyfrom the tap in the morninghours. The supply of muddywater particularly takes place inthe early morning hours and thecitizens feared of risking theirlives by drinking the pollutedwater.

When local reporters con-

fronted an official at the XelpemWater Treatment Plant, SubhashParab denied of there being any

possibilities for the supply ofmuddy water from the Plant.

Water released from theplant is clean and clear, claimedParab and passed on the buckon the Division XX which dealswith the maintenance work ofthe water pipeline.

There is a possibility of leak-age of foreign particles in thepipeline due to a ruptured orbroken pipeline on the way andthis could possibly the reasonfor supply of turbid water, in-formed Parab.

When contacted, AssistantEngineer at PWD XX Yarnal as-sured to look into the matterby conducting a thorough checkof the pipeline supplying waterto the people in Sanguem. Yarnalsought a weeks time to rectifythe problem.

Sanguem locals complain of high turbidity in drinking water

The bottle showing the turbidwater supplied to some parts ofSanguem constituency.

Photo by Alfred Fernandes

HERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, JAN 4

The Great Royal Circus has beenin Goa, entertaining and pro-viding fun moments to familiesand children alike.

The circus that has travelledglobe extensively and has per-formed in 24 countries be-tween1962 to 1985, is a grandshow with many acts that aredaring and entertaining.

It has been a treat to watchsince it has brought to Goa actswith a local flavor as well as in-ternational acts. This ensuresthat the circus conforms to in-ternational standards. The six-

Great Royal Circus to wind up on Jan 10

member African acrobat troupefrom Nairobi and the Russianartistes are some of the inter-national acts that are a treat towatch.

No circus is complete withoutthe balance-in-trapeze acts. Andthe Great Royal Circus boasts ofone of the best performancesin the country with Nepaleseartist Sushila Arya. Among thespine-chilling acts is the globe-of-death performed by two mo-torcyclists.

The last day of the circus atMapusa is January 10. Presently,there are three daily shows at 1pm, 4 pm and 7 pm at GandhiChowk, Mapusa. The tickets arepriced at Rs 30, Rs 60, Rs 100and Rs 150. Advance bookingfor Rs 150 denomination ticketsonly can be done from 9 am to6 pm daily at the venue.

8 projects from Goa at

national science conferenceHERALD CORRESPONDENT

MAYEM, JAN 4

Eight Scientific projects fromthe State have been selected forthe National Children ScienceConference, which commencedat Chennai.

The selection process was re-cently undertaken by Goa StateScience and Technology Asso-ciation Saligao in associationwith National Science and Tech-nology Association and Scienceand Technology Department,New Delhi.

Different projects on subjectssaving and use of natural re-sources were presented duringthe selection process, out ofwhich projects by Akanksha Mad-kaikar (Spring Valley High SchoolPorvorim), Pratima Tripathi(Adarsh Vanita High School Mar-gao), Saloni Ghadi (MahalaxmiHigh School Kudne), Diksha Ku-daskar (Shri Shantadurga HighSchool Bicholim), Apurva Naik(Wagle High School Mangeshi),Pradnya Nasnodkar (BalbharatiVidhyamandir Ribandar), RupaliGaikwad (Somnath English HighSchool Kirlapal) and Steve Ro-drigues (Pope John High SchoolQuepem) have been selected.

Teachers Swati Malik, JayasriJaan Sawaikar and Ganesh Joshihave been also selected to ac-company the students.

HERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, JAN 4

Marpol achieved another mile-stone by commissioning a stateof the art manufacturing facilityfor small volume powder coat-ings at its Kakoda factory at thehands of Dr V A Pai Panandiker,the executive chairman andmanaging director of the com-pany.

While there is growing de-mand for industrial paints, Mar-pol has taken this step tosupport customers whose de-mand for high value but low vol-ume powders is on the rise.

Marpol has also upgraded itssaturated polyester resin man-ufacturing facility at its Kakodafactory by commissioning aFlaker with the state of the art

technology from South Korea. Marpol has developed a dis-

tinct competitive advantage inIndia due to this in-house in-digenous resin technology de-veloped by Kamlesh A PaiPanandiker, its technical directorbased in the US. Marpol whichstarted production in 1980s inKakoda Industrial Estate in Goa,has the most advanced technol-ogy in powder coatings andresins.

This was based on a firm be-l i e f o f the A tmaram Pa iPanandiker family of giving backthe benefits of advanced knowl-edge and technology to thecountry while contributing tothe state and national exchequeras well as providing employmentto the Goan youth.

Marpol commissions small volume powder coating facility


CANACONA, JAN 4

Adarsh Yuva Sangh and BalramGram Vikas Sanstha, Gaondon-grim-Cotigao, who is organisingthe IXth Lokotsav 2011, con-ducted a daylong awareness rallyin Canacona taluka on Sunday.

The rally was flagged off byPoinguinim MLA and ProjectChairman Ramesh Tawadkar atMushifond, Amona-Poinguinim,the Lokostav 2011 venue. FatordaMLA Damu Naik was originallyscheduled to flag off the rally.

The rally, which had over 50motorcycles, several four-wheel-ers, visited several locations inPoinguinim, Loliem Shristhal andCanacona municipality areas be-fore assembling later in the dayat KTC bus stand at Chaudi.

The rally went through Coti-gao, Dabel, Amona, Hathipal,Dabel, Chiplem, Poinguinim,Maxem, Galgibaga, Talpona, Or-dhofond, Khalwade, Shristhal,Delem, Mastimoll, Ponsulem,Rajbag, Patnem, Sawantwada,Palolem, Devabhag, Gulem andlater converged at the KTC busstand.

At Chaudi, Canacona MLAVijay Poi Khot and CMC Chair-person Ratnakar Dhuri ad-dressed the rally participants,as the two days schedule ofLokostav 2011 to be held onJanuary 7 and 8 was listed out.

The 9th Lokostav 2011 isbeing first time held at Mushi-fond-Amona in Poinguinim vil-lage, where the location is anadvanced stage of developingit as eco-tourism destination.

Mushifond, where over 1lakh of land piece is donated byTawadkars 36-different familiesfor developing it for eco-tourismpurpose will henceforth will bea permanent venue for all futureLokostavs in Canacona taluka,declared Poinguinim ML ATawadkar.

In his address, Canacona MLAPoi Khot declared support tothe Lokostav 2011 and assuredlarge turnout of people from hisconstituency as well.

CMC Chairperson Dhuri tooexpressed appreciation forTawadkars vision of developinghinterlands and at the same timeproviding employment oppor-tunities to local populace.

Let all the people know whatwe are doing at Mushifond,Amona and through this rally, Iextend my invitation to all res-idents to be part of this yearsunique Lokostav presentation,which will be inaugurated byChief Minister Digamber Kamaton January 7. Opposition LeaderManohar Parrikar, Jarkhand ChiefMinister will be in attendancefor valedictory function on Jan-uary 8, he said.

Awareness rally held in Canacona

Pg7GOA, WEDNESDAY, 5 JANUARY, 2011

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PORVORIM, JAN 4

Residents of Porvorim havethreatened to launch an agita-tion if the barricades laid at theOCoqueiro junction are not re-moved within a week.

Given the heavy flow of trafficconverging at the OCoqueirojunction during the Christmasseason and New Year, traffic Po-lice had laid barricade to preventmovement of vehicles from B BBorka r Road to Sa l i gao -Calangute.

Due to the barricades, vehi-cles coming from B B BorkarRoad to proceed towards Sali-gao, Calangute and Mapusa arecompelled to go to District In-stitute of Education and Training(DIET) and then take a turn toproceed towards Mapusa. Alter-natively, they have to route theirvehicles through DefenceColony via Porvorim Church.

Residents of Porvorim, par-ticularly those residing in De-

fence Colony and Alto-Torda,are agitated over laying the bar-ricade again at OCoqueiro junc-tion.

Speaking to Herald, residentsof Defence Colony said trafficpolice has laid barricade at O-Coqueiro junction to make the

life of the police comfortable.It is dangerous to cross the

roads, both near the church andDIET junction, due to the heavyflow of traffic along the high-way, said the residents.

The residents further in-formed that for Sunburn Festival

held recently at Candolim, theState government had postedabout 200 police personnel tomaintain law and order at thevenue.

If only four police personnelare deputed at the OCoqueiroJunction for couple of days, thetraffic can be controlled withoutany difficulty, said the residents.

It may be recalled that lastyear, the traffic police had laidthe barricades at OCoqueirojunction stating that it was atemporary arrangement to takecare of heavy traffic during theNew Year and barricades wouldbe removed shortly.

But the police failed to re-move the barricades for severalmonths and the people had toapproach higher authorities toget the barricades removed.

If barricades laid presentlyare not removed within a week,the residents will have to launchagitation again, warned the res-idents.

Porvorim residents demand removal of barricades at OCoqueiro junction

Barricades laid at OCoqueiro junction at Porvorim. Photo by Anil Shankhwalker


CALANGUTE, JAN 4

Former chief minister LuizinhoFaleiro has called upon theschool managements to impartquality education and moral val-ues to the students.

He was addressing the gath-ering during the annual day ofSacred Heart High School, An-juna.

The students should be im-

parted education in r ightearnest so that they excel notonly in academics but even inother fields, thus bringing lau-rels to the State and the coun-try, said Faleiro, CWC memberIn-charge of party affairs in theNorth East.

Though I held various posi-tions in the government, I some-how cherish the moments aseducation minister, where I tried

Luizinho urges school managements to impart quality education

Former chief minister Luizinho Faleiro gives away the prizes at An-juna. Photo by Thomas Fernandes

my utmost to bring in reformsin the field of education keepingin mind the long-term benefitsof the Goan students, addedFaleiro.

Speaking further, he said itwas the duty of each and everyschool to ensure good resultsby shaping the characters oftheir students with good moralvalues and quality education forwhich the government and of-ficials should also do their bits.

In todays society, educationis of utmost importance, addedFaleiro and called upon the stu-dents to study well and bringlaurels to their schools, familyand society as a whole.

Faleiro showered praises onthe Pilar Fathers for their yeo-man service to the society andsaid that their good work willgo a long way in shaping thesociety.

The students who excelled invarious fields were felicitatedon the occasion by Faleiro. Jen-isha Dias, Anson Fernandes,Joslyn DSouza, Sonia Dongrekar,Kajol Shirodkar and Carissa Pintowere awarded the doctorate asis done at the University levelfor their excellent academicrecords. The novel concept hasbeen introduced at the initiativeof Fr Thomas Gonsalves.

The students of the schoolput up various cultural pro-grammes on the occasion.

Earlier, School HeadmistressIrene Cardozo read out the an-nual report, while Parish Priestof St Michael Church, Anjuna,Fr Thomas Gonsalves sfx whois also the Principal of the schoolwelcomed the gathering and in-troduced the chief guest. Fr Ro-mua ldo DSouza s j a l soaddressed the gathering.


MERCES, JAN 4

With Taleigao MLA Babush Mon-serrate showing interest to con-test in Panjim and deciding tofield his wife Jennifer Monser-rate in Taleigao, the politicalequations have changed in StCruz constituency and it hasopened up openings for severalaspirants to jump the fray in theupcoming Assembly electionsin St Cruz.

And one of the first aspirantsto take advantage of the situa-tion is former MLA Victor Gon-salves who has announced hisplans to contest from St Cruz,though he is yet to publicly de-clare the same.

It may be recalled that in thelast Assembly polls, Victor hadsupported Babushs wife JenniferMonserrate who had unsuccess-fully contested on the UGDPticket.

Speaking to Herald, Victoradmitted that he will be one ofthe candidates to contest in StCruz.

I have yet to publicly declarethe same, but I have already in-formed my near and dear onesabout my intentions to contestthe elections, he said.

When questioned whetherhis candidature is being sup-ported by Babush Monserrate,as being rumoured, Victorreplied in the negative and saidthat he has taken the decisionafter consulting his family,friends and supporters.

If Babush wants to supportme, then I will definitely wel-come his support, he furtheradded and informed that all like-minded persons are also wel-come to rally behind him.

When asked what he woulddo if Babush changes his mind

and decides to contest in StCruz, Victor opined: The ques-tion of Babush contesting in StCruz does not arise as he has al-ready announced his plans tocontest from Panjim. If at all hechanges his mind, then I will askhim to back my candidature.

Meanwhile, the decision ofBabush Monserrate has left hiserstwhile supporters in St Cruzin the lurch and they are nowleft to fend for themselves inthe changed political scenario.After having waited for morethan three years, they had highexpectations that Babush wouldcontest from St Cruz.

While some of Babushs sup-porters have already switchedsides according to their likings,others have preferred to stayneutral as they say that there isno probable candidate thus farworthy of their support.

However, some ardent sup-porters, particularly from IndiraNagar, still have faith thatBabush will surprise everybodyat the last moment by jumpingthe fray in St Cruz.

One such supporter Shahbud-din Shaikh Iqbal from IndiraNagar informed that Babush isknown to keep his cards closeto his chest and that he will di-vulge his plans only at the fagend of the election campaign.

Not only me, but several hun-dreds of voters from IndiraNagar are eagerly waiting tosupport Babush, he further saidand confidently added that hehas full faith that Babush willcontest from St Cruz.

There are also several othersupporters who share the sameview like Iqbal but they are notwilling to come out in the openas they fear that they could bepolitically targeted.

Ex-MLA Victor plans to contest in St Cruz

Babushs supportersremain hopeful


CALANGUTE, JAN 4

Students and villagers of An-juna-Caisua organised a rallyhighlighting the adverse effectsof unplanned development cre-ating an imbalance at Anjuna.

The students of Sacred Heart

of Jesus High School and StMichael Convent High Schoolalong with prominent person-alities and villagers of Anjunatook part in the rally.

The rally was organised tocreate awareness on garbageand other issues affecting the

environment. The Managementsof the two schools led their stu-dents in the rally which had thesanction of the Education de-partment.

The rally which commencedfrom the school premiseswended its way through thestreets of Anjuna-Vagator andculminated in the premises ofAnjuna-Caisua Panchayat.

The villagers of Anjuna alsojoined the students in the rallyto highlight the global warm-ing.

The students carried placardsdisplaying the adverse effectsof unplanned development, etc,while the theme for the rallywas Together Lets Cool It.

The students later put up askit near the Panchayat officedisplaying the ill-effects ofgarbage, which requires urgentand systematic management.

Rally highlights adverse effects of unplanned development in Anjuna

Students, teachers and villagers march through the Anjuna streetshighlighting global warming. Photo by Thomas Fernandes

Don Bosco staff, students visit Hamara

SchoolHERALD NEWS BUREAU

PANJIM, JAN 4

Don Bosco College at Panjimcelebrated Christmas seasonwith a difference, when staffand students visited HamaraSchool at Panjim, a school forthe marginalized and poor chil-dren and Asha Bhavan at Tivim,a home for children with HIV.

The students sang with thechildren and gave the groceries,food items and sweets.

Over the years, Don Boscocollege has been visiting old-aged homes and orphanages atevery Christmas.

The students are sensitized tothe needs of the poor, aged andmarginalized in this manner, andbecome better human beings,said the Principal Dr Marie Raj.

Added a student: If one is notliving with their grandparents andhas no contact with senior citi-zens, this becomes an eye openerand we thus become more sensi-tive towards the elderly.


CALANGUTE, JAN 4

Prasad Arjun Shirodker of Prab-huvaddo-Calangute was recentlyfelicitated for his achievementsin LIC at Calangute.

Shirodker, who is workingas Investment and InsuranceConsultant, LIC Mapusa, wasfelicitated by Senior DivisionalManager Goa Ashok Mod-henkar for his achievement in

LIC. Shirodker achieved thelandmark of TOT (Top of theTable) 2011.

A special function was organ-ised in the Branch premises tohonour Shirodker. Others pres-ent on the occasion were B Maji(marketing manager), AgneloPacheco (sales manager), ChitraNaik (senior branch managerMapusa) and Budhaji Arlekar(branch manager Calangute).

Bicholimschool excelsat NCC camp

MAYEM (HC): The NCC unitof Radhakrishna High School Bi-cholim secured the first twoplaces in different categories atan annual camp of 1-Goa Bat-talion NCC, Panjim, conductedrecently at Duler-Mapusa.

The high school excelled inthe cross country, firing, marchpass and arranging items in thecamp, where it secured firstplaces, while it stood second ingroup dance and volley ball con-test.

Suparna Kudalkar won thegold medal, while AbubkarShaikh and Amir Shaikh won sil-ver and bronze medals in shoot-ing. Akash Jadhav won the goldmedal in the cross country.


CANACONA, JAN 4

The twin turtle-nesting locationsat Agonda and Galgibaga is play-ing host to six turtle nests duringthis breeding season of the en-dangered and near to extinct seaspecies.

According to forest sources,there are four turtle nests pro-tected by its specially engagedpersonnel at Galgibaga and an-other two nests at Agondabeaches.

Besides, about 197 baby turtleshave already been released intothe Arabian Sea.

Sources informed that of the117 of the 134 olive baby turtleswere released into sea at Gal-gibaga, while 80 of the 96 babyturtles survived at Agonda andwere safely turned into the Ara-bian Sea.

The mortality rate is high thisyear as compared to last years70-75%, informed a forest officialwho did does want to be identi-fied.

Incidentally, during last OliveRidley breeding season, 15 turtleslaid eggs on these two protectedshores.

The Olive Ridley turtle, whichhas been declared by world gov-erning bodies as an extinct seaspecies, normally arrives on beachshores from November onwardsfor procreation. It takes between55 and 65 days for the hatchingperiod.

Agonda, Galgibaga play host to six turtle nests

The turtle nest in front of lifeguard watch tower at Galgibaga coast. Photo by Kathy Periera

LIC felicitates Prasad

Prasad Shirodker being felicitated by Senior Divisional ManagerGoa Ashok Modhenkar. Photo by Thomas Fernandes

Youth urged to participate

in sports HERALD CORRESPONDENT

MAYEM, JAN 4

Assistant Director of Physical Ed-ucation and Sports, Goa Univer-sity, Milton Fernandes has calledupon the youngsters to partici-pate in games and other sportsactivities to lead a healthy life.

He was recently speaking asthe chief guest during the prizedistribution of the sports meetof Narayan Zantye College ofCommerce, Bicholim.

In his speech, Principal RajeshAmonkar urged the students toinculcate good values and alsoto participate in different sportsevents.

Shahnawaz Sayed was se-lected as best sportsman, whilePranita Raut as best sportswoman. TY BCom A class wonthe championship trophy.

Earlier Ramchandra Surlikarwelcomed while Satyawan Har-malkar proposed the vote ofthanks.

Ponsulem club gets new

presidentCANACONA (HC): Bismark

Fernandes was recently electedas new president of United BoysClub of Ponsulem.

Other office bearers electedare Lorry Fernandes (vice pres-ident), Carlos Fernandes (secre-tary), Maxi DSouza (jointsecretary), Sucorro Fernandes(treasurer), Domnic Fernandes(joint treasurer), Rodolf Fernan-des and Josepie Fernandes(sports secretaries).

Executive members are EdsonFernandes, Lawrence Fernandes,Gali Fernandes and Roberto Fer-nandes. Benny Fernandes andMichael Fernandes are on theadvisory panel.

HERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, JAN 4

A contingent of 144 scoutsand guides, scoutmasters andguide captains of the BharatScouts and Guides-Goa statehave left to participate in the16th National Jamboree tobe held at Shankarapally, Hy-derabad.

The convoy was flagged offat the Mollem check-post bythe State Chief CommissionerP R Nadkarni in the presenceof State Secretary James Fer-nandes, Diogo Fernandes,Vidhya Shetkar and YeshwantSinari.

The contingent will takepart in various activities likefolk dances, cultural items,

Goa contingent leaves for National Jamboree

pageantry, exhibition of his-tory and culture of Goa,handicrafts, march past, foodplaza before a national gath-ering

5 JAN,2011 HERALD PUBLICATIONS PVT LTD

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