OHERALDOThe Voice of Goa Since 1900

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, APRIL 27

Former tourism minister,Mickky Pacheco on Wednes-day found himself in the dockafter a court of Judicial Mag-istrate First Class, Margao con-victed and sentenced him toone year simple imprisonmentin the Jr Engineer Kapi lNatekar assault case.

JMFC, Margao DevidasKerkar further d i rectedPacheco to pay a fine of Rs5000 or in default to undergo

one months simple imprison-ment. If the fine amount waspaid, the court ordered thatit should be forfeited in thename of Government.

The court, however, sus-pended the sentence for amonth to allow the BenaulimMLA to file an appeal in thehigher court.

Whi le the Court he ldPacheco guilty under Section353 of the IPC, he was acquit-ted of the charges of wrongfulconfinement and threats.

Judge Kerkar said the pros-ecution has proved that onJuly 15, 2006 at about 10.55am in the office of the Ministerfor Agriculture and AnimalHusbandry, Pacheco slappedon the face of the complainantKapil Natekar whilst he wasperforming his lawful duty,thereby causing hurt to himand committing an offencepunishable under Section 353of the IPC.

In this case, the electricity

IN BrIef

Visit us at:www.oheraldo.in panjim, THURsday, apRiL 28, 2011 postal Reg. no. Goa 101 pRiCE Rs. 3.00 (air surcharge Rs 2.00) pages 16 + 4

World: Obama releases his

birth certificate Pg 13

Anybody can cut prices,but it takes brains to

produce a better article.

P. D. Armour

Sports: Fletcher Indias

new cricket coach Pg 16

High Tide: 0806; 2006Low Tide: 0151; 1333

T I D E S T O D A Y

Goas Heartbeat: Jennifer Aniston to

spend millions on new home Pg 4

(Continued on page 8)

sD iceire rvcto Serate of Health sD iceire rvcto Serate of Health

OF THE DAY

Husband, wife or any other person

seeking sex confirmation of the child

before birth is punishable under

PC-PNDT Act.

fidbH

.htlaeHfoetar eSotc vreri eciD s

rrtcATDNP-CP

rednuelbahsinusihtrtiberoffoeb

dlihcehtfonoitamrriffinoc

xesgnikeesnosreprehtoynroeffeiw,dnabsuH

FREDDY REBELLO

POINGUINIM, APRIL 27

Their life was ruined even beforethey entered the world and theyhave been condemned to an un-certain future in their motherswomb itself.

Official records from 2005 till2010 availed under Right to In-formation reveal that there are131 children born to motherswho had contracted AIDS. More-over, there were two motherswith HIV who delivered twins.

The data of those womenwho had conceived with AIDS

is only from Government hos-pitals.

It is learnt that many private

RTI info reveals 131 infants are HIV positive

l Many private clinics dont report HIV positive casesto the Directorate of Health Services.

l From April 2005 to December 2010, 4,340 patientswere screened for ART eligibility. Of these 97 werechildren and 82 of them are alive on ART.

l In 2008, 46 children were born to HIV positivemothers. In 2009, the figure was 58 while in 2010 itwas 27.

faCts & fIGUres

2G: ED to attach properties In more trouble for telecomcompanies involved in the 2Gspectrum scam, the Enforce-ment Directorate told theSupreme Court that propertiesworth Rs 2,000 crore each oftwo firms will be attachedsoon. Property worth Rs2,000 crore each has to be at-tached relating to these com-panies, senior advocate K KVenugopal, appearing for theED, submitted. (PTI)

Jilted lover beheadsgirl in collegeA teenaged girl student wasbeheaded in the campus of theprestigious St Xaviers College,Ranchi by her jilted lover, po-lice said. Kusum Kumari (17)was beheaded with a sharpweapon in the campus of StXaviers College by a youngman who was identified as Vi-jendra Prasad, Superinten-dent of Police Sambhu Thakursaid. Police said Prasad hadthe intention of committingsuicide after killing her butwas overpowered by studentsbefore he could do that. (PTI)

PTI

NEW DELHI, APRIL 27

An all out political war brokeout today with the Public Ac-counts Committee (PAC) comingdown heavily on the PMO, Cab-inet Secretariat and faulting thePrime Minister in the 2G scamwhile the Congress and DMK hitback demanding Chairman MurliManohar Joshis resignation.

Riled by critical commentsagainst Prime Minister Manmo-han Singh, the ruling coalitionaccused Joshi, a veteran BJPleader, of having malafide in-tentions to destabilise the Gov-ernment after he circulated adraft report of the Committeewhich criticised the PMO andCabinet Secretariat for not tak-

ing corrective action.The report will be discussed

tomorrow at meeting of the PACwhich is likely to be stormy.With the strength of the twosides delicately balanced in the21-member committee, the roleof SP and BSP, which have amember each on the PAC, willbe important.

The PAC has seven represen-tatives from the Congress, fourfrom BJP, two each from AIADMKand DMK, and one each fromShiv Sena, BJD, JD(U), SP, BSPand CPI(M).

Joshi is keen on pushing thereport before the term of thecurrent Committee ends on Sat-urday. But the ruling coalitionmembers are expected to stall

the report by seeking furtherdiscussion and calling more wit-nesses, including former Tele-com Minister A Raja in a bid toprolong the process.

They may insist on a vote onthe issue in tomorrows meet-ing. An indication was availablewhen Congress member K S Raosaid the ruling coalition has amajority in the PAC and youwill see it tomorrow.

The report did not spare evenSingh for some unfortunateomissions that led to the 2Gspectrum allocation scam beingdubbed by the Opposition asthe biggest scandal in independ-ent India.

The report also attacked thethen Finance Minister P Chi-

dambaram for recommendingto the Prime Minister to treatthe matter as closed instead

of taking action against thoseresponsible for loss to the ex-chequer.

WAR OVER PAC REPORTCong, Opposition head for showdown

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, APRIL 27

Rejecting a plea by his lawyerAdv Srikant Nayak to take alenient view and to releasePacheco on admonition, JudgeDevidas Kerkar said that no-body is above the law and no-body can use his politicalpower to commit illegal acts.

Judge Kerkar said the courtcannot take into considerationthe submission made by thedefense that Pacheco has beenconvicted for the first time,saying the offense committedby the accused under Section

353 of the IPC is a serious of-fense.

Maximum punishmentshall be awarded to the ac-cused in order to deter himnot to commit such type ofoffense in future. Nobody isabove the law and everybodyhas to obey the law and no-body can use his politicalpower to commit i l legalacts , Judge Kerkar ob-served.

In his submission on thepoint of sentence, Pachecoslawyer, Adv Nayak submittedthat the accused has not been

convicted at any point of time.Accused was a minister soalso political leader in thestate of Goa and he got re-spect from the public, AdvNayak said, while praying thatthe court take a lenient viewat the time of granting sen-tence.

On the other hand, Assis-tant Public Prosecutor, sub-mi t ted tha t max imumpunishment be awarded tothe accused as per the provi-sion of law so that he will notcommit such type of offencesin future.

I respect the order: Mickky

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, APRIL 27

Soon after the JMFC pro-nounced the conviction andsentence, Benaulim MLAMickky Pacheco told waitingjournalists that he respectsthe order of the court.

The Benaulim MLA, whohas been bracing up to floathis own political party in theState, later told newsmen that Benaulim MLA Mickky Pacheco outside the Margao Old court

building soon after the verdict. Photo by Santosh Mirajkar

Mickky gets jail

Nobody is above the law: judge

PTI

NEW DELHI, APRIL 27

Striking Air India pilots weretoday directed by Delhi HighCourt to return to work forth-with, as the managementquickly terminated the servicesof six of their leaders and dere-cognised their union while Gov-ernment said the airline cannotbe held at gunpoint.

At least 40 Air India flightswere cancelled till late tonighton the first day of the strike byits pilots causing enormoushardship to thousands of trav-ellers.

Notwithstanding the Courtorder directing the agitating pi-lots to resume duties forthwith,leaders of the Indian Commer-cial Pilots Association (ICPA)made up of 800 pilots of theerstwhile Indian Airlines andspearheading the stir said we

are continuing with our agita-tion as of now.

The leaders, who are demand-ing a pay hike and better work-ing conditions, said tonight theywere in consultations with theirlegal team following the courtorder.

There were indications thatthe ICPA cou ld move theSupreme Court tomorrow, butthe ICPA leaders said we willtake a decision after our legalconsultations are complete.They were expecting to get finallegal opinion by tomorrowmorning.

Following an urgent hearingof A I management s p leaagainst the strike, Justice GitaMittal of Delhi High Courtbarred the pilots from resortingto any kind of demonstrationand directed them to report forwork.

Court cracks whip on striking pilots

Devotees move the transparent casket containing the body of Sathya Sai Baba inside Prashanthi Nilayam in the village of Puttaparthi, onWednesday.

PTI

PUTTAPARTHI, APRIL 27

Sathya Sai Baba, who had a phe-nomenal following across theglobe with his message of uni-versal love and brotherhood,was bid adieu at a solemn cer-emony today when he was laidto rest at the very spot fromwhere he used to meet and ad-dress his disciples for years.

The Sai Kulwanth Hall in Pras-anthi Nilayam, the abode fromwhere Sai Baba ran a spiritualempire, reverberated withhymns from the vedas andchants of Om Sai Ram as thelast rites were performed by theBabas nephew R J Ratnakar.

The Kurnool Battalion ofAndhra Pradesh Special Policepresented a 21-gun salute as a

mark of respect to the spiritualleader for whom the govern-ment declared a state funeral.

Watched by a galaxy of polit-ical personalities includingAndhra Pradesh and Karnatakachief ministers N Kiran KumarReddy and BS Yeddyurappa, Gov-ernors ESL Narasimhan and Shiv-raj V Patil, and hundreds of hisfollowers, Sai Babas body was

laid to rest amidst chanting ofSai mantras.

Once the last rites were per-formed by vedic pandits, redcurtains were drawn around9:45 am and the process startedfor laying the body in a pit cre-ated at the spot in Sai Kulwantwhere he used to make hispreachings for his followers fora number of years.

Sathya Sai Baba laid to rest

SHWETA KAMAT

PANJIM, APRIL 27

In what could be bad news forlegislators and parents lobbyingto include English as medium ofinstruction, the Law Departmentwhich vetted the Right to Edu-cation (RTE) rules has retainedKonkani and Marathi as themedium to be taught in schools.

Sources from Directorate ofEducation confirmed this devel-opment.

We cannot change the sys-

tem. As decided, the Govern-ment will retain the existing sys-tem of primary education inmother tongue and upper pri-mary education Std V to VIII in English, an official said.

In the recently concludedBudget session of the LegislativeAssembly, Education MinisterBabush Monserrate had said thatprimary education in Goa willcontinue to be in the mothertongue.

Presently, elementary edu-

cation in the State is differentfrom the rest of India, and isgoing on for the last 50 years,Monserrate had told the Statelegislative Assembly.

The Government of late isunder immense pressure fromdifferent sections of society overthe medium of instruction.

The Government was also puton the backfoot after some ofits own legislators were foundlobbying for English. Thousandsof parents had also supported

the issue. Protests were also held by

Bhartiya Janata Party and Bhar-tiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch,headed by former chief ministerShashikala Kakodkar, who unan-imously demanded use ofmother tongue at primary level.

Meanwhile, Government hasalso decided to maintain the ex-isting system with Std I to IVbeing retained as primary sec-tion.

Konkani, Marathi to stay as medium!

A bleak future for these babies!

l Std I-IV to be retained as primary section

l Schools with proper infra can change to full-day

The Prime Minister on January 3, 2008wanting to keep the PMO at armslength seemed to have given anindirect green signal to Raja to goahead and execute his unfair,arbitrary and dubious designs.

The then Finance Minister PChidambaram recommended to thePrime Minister to treat the matteras closed instead of taking actionagainst those responsible for lossto the exchequer.

What the draft report says

Sanquelim toSakhali?

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

BICHOLIM, APRIL 27

Sanquelim Municipal Council hasasked North Goa Collector to re-name Sanquelim town to Sakhali.

In a letter dated April 14, SMCChairman Anand Naik has askedthe North Goa Collector to re-name Sanquelim to Sakhali.

It was a unanimous decisiontaken by us during the municipalmeeting to rectify the name ofthe city as the word Sanquelimis a Portuguese word, said Naik.

Five villages of Harvalem,Gauthan, Parye, Karapur andVirdi form a Sakhali (chain) andwe feel that it is the right wordfor the city, added Naik.

(Continued on page 8)

(Continued on page 8)

(Continued on page 8)

JUNIOR ENGINEER ASSAULT CASE

GOAOHERALD

O

Pg2GOA, THURSDAY, 28 APRIL, 2011

Mickky defies Churchill, opens Majorda subway HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, APRIL 27

Taking the Churchill Alemaocamp completely by surprise,Benaulim MLA Mickky Pachecoand his supporters on Wednes-day morning inaugurated thelong-delayed Majorda Sub Way,leaving his bete noire and PWDMinister fuming far away inKuwait.

PWD Executive Engineer, AnilRinge immediately lodged acomplaint with the Colva policeupon instructions from his po-litical masters, but before themen-in-uniform could reach Ma-jorda and stop the inauguration,the subway was already thrownopen for traffic and pedestriansby the local MLA.

The Benaulim MLA along withZP members Nelly Rodriguesand Wilfred DSa, MajordaSarpanch Visitation da Silva andpanch members came to theSub Way at around 11 am in abig group, wherein the founda-tion stone was blessed by aPriest. Later, speaking to news-men, the Benaulim MLA said hethought of inaugurating the subway along with the people as itwas ready since the last threemonths.

He said work on the Rs 1.90crore sub way should have beencompleted three years ago, andfelt that PWD and its agenciesshould take care of water log-ging in the sub way during themonsoons. I had proposed thebridge in 2003. Let us see thesituation during monsoons, but itwould be the responsibility of thePWD and its agencies to take careof water logging, he said.

Lamenting that work on thesub way ought to have beencompleted three years ago,Pacheco said the work shouldhave been completed long ago.Moreover, he said it was nearly

Benaulim MLA Mickky Pacheco inaugurates subway in the presence of his supporters at Majorda. Photo by Savio Dias

one month and half since list ofnames were asked by the au-thorities, adding that he thoughtof inaugurating the sub way withthe local people.

Meanwhile, the Benaulim MLAhas said the PWD Minister ChurchillAlemao is obstructing the processof tendering road works in his Be-naulim constituency to the tune of

Rs 14 crore.He said the works have re-

ceived all approvals from thegovernment and wondered whythe PWD is not tendering hiswork. I have briefed the ChiefMinister on the issue and I willagain take up the issue withKamat to direct the PWD Sec-retary ensure that basic ameni-

ties are made available to thepeople of Benaulim.

I fail to understand why thePWD Minister is obstructing mydevelopment work. My familymembers are not contestingfrom Benaulim, but the PWDMinister should understandthat I represent Benaulim,he added.

It will be officially inaugurated: Churchill HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, APRIL 27

Terming as illegal the inaugu-ration of the Majorda Sub wayby Benaul im ML A MickkyPacheco, PWD Minister ChurchillAlemao has said that the subway would be officially inaugu-rated by the government afterwork is completed in all re-spects.

A fuming Alemao demandedto know how the Benaulim MLAcan inaugurate the Sub way be-fore the government could of-ficially throw open the roadunder bridge for traffic.

The PWD had planned the

formal inauguration by invitingthe Chief Minister DigambarKamat and all other concernedpersons. Now, the governmentwould set a fresh date for theformal inauguration, he said.

Alemao admitted that thePWD officials has lodged acomplaint with the Colva po-lice on the matter since theinauguration ceremony wasillegal.

He also refuted Pachecos al-legations of obstructing devel-opment work in Benaulim.People all over Goa havepraised me for ushering in de-velopment work under thePWD. I have taken up so manyprojects in Benaulim, he said,adding that whatever pendingworks in Benaulim would betaken up for the benefit and wel-fare of the constituency.

2 hoursordeal for

4-yr-old boyat Hospicio

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, APRIL 27

Believe it or not, it tooknearly two hours for the Hos-picio hospital to attend to afour-year old boy at the Hos-picio hospital on Wednesdayevening.

The boy was taken to thehospital at around 7 pm afterhe complained of pain in oneof his ears. However, insteadof attending to him promptlyby the Hospicio doctors, thepatient was made to wait fortwo long hours at the hos-pital on the plea that the ladydoctor was on her way to at-tend to the boy.

MMC Councilor Raju Naik,who also rushed to the Hos-picio, expressed his angerover the very functioning ofthe hospital. Just imagine asituation if the serious pa-tient was brought to the hos-pital and the doctor his owntime to come and attend tothe victim, he said, addingthat the government shouldimmediately devote atten-tion to the functioning ofthe hospital.

I am a witness to the in-cident since the boy happensto be hailing from my ward.For two hours, the boy wasnot attended on groundsthat the ENT doctor was onher way, he said, while call-ing for toning up of the hos-pital services for the benefitof the common man.

AITUC demands benefitsfor BSNL contract staff

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, APRIL 27

In a sternly written letter, theAll India Trade Union Congresshas demanded that BSNL Goaensure that employees con-tracted in the realm of construc-t ion and ma intenance o ftelecom systems through vari-ous contractors be given thebenefits of statutory labour wel-fare legislations.

We wish to bring it to yourkind attention that being theprincipal employer it is statuto-rily obligator on the part of themanagement of BSNL-Goa to en-sure that these workmen areprovided/extended the benefitsof statutory labour legislations

such as Provident Fund, Em-ployee State Insurance Scheme,Payment of bonus, payment ofminimum wages, leave paidweekly off, holidays and pay-ment of overtime for workingon extended hours of worketc., the letter to the GeneralManager of BSNL reads.

They have demanded that un-skilled workmen be paid Rs 224per day, semi-skilled Rs 248 perday, skilled/clerical is Rs 273 aday and highly skilled is Rs 297per day.

These workmen employedunder the BSNL Goa are notpaid the above wages as notifiedby the central government forthe above categories of work,

the letter reads.The letter however stops

short of threatening a strikeor warning of any action ifthe BSNL management failsto comply.

Copies of the letter have beenforwarded to the Union ministerfor Human Resource Develop-ment Kapil Sibal, General Sec-retary of the AITUC Gurudas DasDupta, PF commissioner and ESIcommissioner, both based a Pan-jim.

There are total of 350 workersemployed under the BSNL forthe works, who have found sup-port of General Secretary of GoaState Committee of the AITUC,Christopher Fonseca.

NGOs hold solidarity meet at Cavrem HERALD CORRESPONDENT

QUEPEM, APRIL 27

The Cavrem Adivasi BachavSamiti in coordination withother NGOs from the State onWednesday convened a solidar-ity meeting near Cavrem PrimarySchool at Cavrem-Quepem.

About 300 villagers fromCavrem and other parts of Goaattended the solidarity meet-ing.

Addressing the meeting,C a v r e m A d i v a s i B a c h a vS a m i t i P re s i d e n t N i l e s hGaonkar claimed that all min-ing companies at Cavrem hadobtained Environment Clear-ance from the Ministry of En-v i ronment by submitt ingfalse and distorted Environ-ment Impact Assessment Re-port, where they stated thatthere is no ST population.

The villagers are planning tostop further mining in Cavremand also to close down the ex-isting one, stated Gaonkar.

The mining which hasstarted in Cavrem about 4 yearsago has destroyed agriculture,which is the lifeline of majorityof the villagers. Presently, dueto dust pollution people are con-

stantly suffering from healthproblems which is not gettingcure, added Gaonkar.

The way the police aresupporting the mining trans-port appears as if they areoperating the mining trans-port themselves. The miningcompanies are constantlyt r y ing to d i v ide the v i l -lagers, claimed Gaonkar.

Rajendra Kakodkar of GavRakhon Manch appreciated the peo-ple for their unity, determinationand leading the agitation in a differ-ent way. He urged the villagers toremain united in their fight.

Rama Vel ip of ColombaBachav Samiti stated that once

hills are destroyed for miningpurpose, then water resourcesand forests would be destroyed.

He requested the villagers tofile their objections to the ForestPolicy notified by the govern-ment.

Zerina of Goychea XetkarachoEkvott said: Nature is ourmother, which nurtures us byproviding water, air and ourfood. She appealed the villagersto protect mountains, forest,water resources and agriculturefor the well-being of future gen-eration.

In his speech, GXE PresidentDeelip Hedge blamed the Stategovernment for the mining messin the State.

To promote mining, theState Government is destroyingthe dairy industry, as both can-not go together, he said.

Incidentally, while the meet-ing was in progress at about 6pm, a loaded mining truck wasstopped and sent back by theCavrem villagers.

Other who addressed themeeting included MaheshGaonkar, Yetin Pai and oth-ers.

nThe way the policeare supporting themining transportappears as if they areoperating the miningtransport themselves.The mining companiesare constantly tryingto divide the villagers.

-- Gaonkar

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, APRIL 27

Goa government has finally de-cided to seek intervention ofNational Coastal Zone Manage-ment Authority (NCZMA) to di-agnose the crucial issue of tarballs appearing on the statesbeaches.

Goa Coastal Zone Manage-ment Authority (GCZMA) Mem-ber Secretary Michael DSouzasaid that the issue has beenraised with the NCZMA, who inturn will seek help from theirconcern authority.

We were incidentally in NewDelhi, when this issue was re-ported by newspaper in Goa.The issue was discussed withNCZMA in detail, DSouza said.

The authorities were per-plexed because the tar ball phe-nomenon that used to surfacebefore the monsoons have sud-denly started appearing in thesummer season.

Recently the beaches likeVarca and Benaulim in SouthGoa had faced this phenome-non.

Officials from Tourism De-p a r t m e n t s a i d t h a t t h ebeaches were cleaned butwith the high tide, the ballssurfaced again on Saturday.

We are constantly cleaningthe beaches by collecting thesethick oily balls, he said.

Last year, when such tar ballshad arrived on the long stretchesof Beaches, Nagpur based Na-tional Environmental Engineer-ing Research Institute (NEERI)was given the task to study theissue.

However, officials said thatNEERI is yet to get back withthe study report.

After the recent case, offici-ating director Science, Environ-ment and Technology LavinsonMartins had written to the In-dian coast guard to give the list

of the ships that had passed bythe ocean during those days.

Martins had said that the re-leasing of oil in the sea is a se-rious offence and rough shipscan be booked, if they are foundguilty.

Indian coast guard (ICG) hasthe jurisdiction from the shore-line to 20 nautical miles, whichis guarded by them.

Officials said that ICG can as-certain whether any ship hasdischarged the oil by checkingships log book, which has therecord of oil present on the shipand other essentials of the ves-sel.

Goa govt to seek NCZMAs help to tackle tar balls

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, APRIL 27

The High Court of Bombay atGoa on Wednesday admittedthe criminal appeal petition chal-lenging acquittal of two accusedin the infamous 2002 TanujaNaik murder case that hadrocked the temple town ofPonda.

The Court has further orderedto issue warrants to both theaccused, who are at their nativeplaces at present. North GoaDistrict and Sessions Court hadacquitted Rajnish Singh aliasRaju Bhayam Bhagel and RamAvtar Singh alias Ram in May2009.

The state police had chal-lenged the acquittal in Decem-ber 2009 and finally, the petitionwas admitted today on April 27.

The matter which came upbefore the double bench of Jus-tices S C Dharmadhikari and FM Reis is kept for final hearingin June.

Special Public Prosecutor RRivankar contended that thelower Court totally discardedthe evidences including the dep-osition of the eye-witness whohad seen one of the accusedrunning with the fire arms.

Even the recovery of the firearm from the accused has beenturned down because one of

the panch witnesses to the re-covery turned hostile. But theCourt did not consider otherpanch-witness who was firm onhis deposition, Rivankar ar-gued.

On July 15, 2002, 22-year-oldTanuja was shot dead by un-known persons at Caranzal-Mar-caim when she was returninghome. On August 7, 2006, theCrime Branch arrested Raju andsubsequently arrested his ac-complice Ram, both from Mad-hya Pradesh.

The police claimed that themotive behind the crime wasrobbery of a gold chain thatTanuja was wearing.

HC admits plea challenging acquittals in Tanuja murder

Hubby gets remand for

murder HERALD CORRESPONDENT

PORVORIM, APRIL 27

Ganpat Shetye, who was ar-rested by Mapusa Police in con-nection with the murder of hiswife, has been remanded toseven days police custody forfurther investigation.

It may be recalled that onTuesday evening, Ganpat Shetye,a native of Pernem but residingat Nachinola, was arrested byMapusa Police on charges ofmurdering his wife Sneha.

Mapusa Police on Wednesdayafternoon had produced ac-cused Ganpat before JMFC andobtained a remand of seven daysfor further investigation.

When contacted, Sneha's father,Dilip Pednekar stated that his daugh-ter Sneha had married Ganpat fiveyears ago and were blessed with ason and daughter. It was love mar-riage and since there was some op-position from his parents, both wereresiding with us at Nachinola. Snehawas working in a private firm at Pan-jim. She used to leave for office inthe morning and return by 7 pm,informed Dilip.

State to challenge Dudus bail HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, APRIL 27

The Narcotics and Drugs Psy-chotropic Substances (NDPS)Court, Mapusa on Wednesdaydismissed the States applicationopposing the bail granted to Is-raeli drug dealer David Drihamalias Dudu.

On February 3, Special JudgeP V Sawaikar had ordered Dudusrelease after he spent over 11months in custody, on conditionof furnishing a personal bondof Rs one lakh and two local

sureties in like amount. TheCourt also restricted Dudu fromleaving the State.

State representative MaheshAmonkar said that they will nowapproach the High Court seek-ing to cancel Dudus bail.

During the hearing of thecase, Adv Amonkar submittedto the Court that the Judge didnot consider merits of the casealthough there was sufficientevidence against the Israeli forprosecuting him, as he wasfound with commercial quantity

of narcotics. On this ground,the State had approached theNDPS court requesting the can-cellation of Dudus bail.

Raju Poulekar, counsel appear-ing for the alleged accused, ar-gued that Dudu was grantedbail on technical grounds andhe abided by all his bail condi-tions.

A team of Anti Narcotics Cell,on February 21, 2010 arrestedDudu with several kilograms ofnarcotics near his rented bun-galow at Anjuna.

Kudemmining firmgets GSPCB

notice HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, APRIL 27

The Goa State Pollution ControlBoard (GSPCB) has issued showcause notice to a mining firmat Kudem in Sanquelim for con-ducting mining activity withoutfollowing water and air pollutionnorms.

In a notice issued to J Srinivasof Noor Mohammad Ladji mines,the GSPCB has said that thereare several complaints that oredumped at the plots are causingdust pollution and health hazardin the vicinity.

The notice was issued onApril 20, 2011. The pollutioncontrol board had directed themining firm on March 18, 2010to furnish the details of theiractivities, which they preferredto ignore and instead continuedto operate.

GSPCB has said as per theirrecords, the mine has not ob-tained consent to operate theplot for stacking ore as requiredunder the Water (Prevention andControl of Pollution) act, 1974and Air (Prevention and Controlof Pollution) Act, 1981.

The mining firm has beenasked to show cause within 15days as to why appropriate ac-tion as per the provisions of theacts should not be initiatedagainst them for operating inthe plots without obtaining con-sent to operate.

It can be recalled that earlierlast month, the board had given60 days ultimatum to 41 mines,operational in talukas likeSanguem, Sattari and Qupeme,to submit all the documents in-cluding forest clearance, wildlifeclearance and other documentsbefore applying for renewal oflicences.

HC stays SPCA probe in Ciprianos death case

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, APRIL 27

The High Court of Bombay atGoa on Tuesday ordered to stayproceedings of the State PoliceComplaints Authority (SPCA) intaking cognizance of offensesin the sensational Cipriano Fer-nandes death case.

The Division Bench compris-ing of Justices S C Dharmad-hikari and F M Reis was hearinga petition filed by a suspendedpoliceman Sandeep Shirvaikarchallenging that SPCA has noright to take suo-motto pro-ceedings in the matter.

In his petition, Shirvaikar alsosaid that the SPCA has no powerto record statements of wit-nesses under the oath. SPCAhas no power to punish but rec-ommend departmental enquiryand direct filing of an FIR, fur-ther reads the petition.

SPCA has taken Suo Motocognizance of the news reporton the 38-year-old seafarersdeath on January 9. SPCA chair-man Justice Dr Eurico Santana

da Silva had directed its officeto register the news reportdated January 12 on Herald asSuo Moto Inquiry Proceedingsagainst Panjim police officers ofgross misconduct.

The SPCA during its inquirylast month found that there wasenough material suggesting di-rect involvement of eight po-licemen in the custodial death.

Cipriano, 39, a seafarer backon a holiday in Goa was arrestedon January 7 after his lady friendGeorgina complained against

him of threatening her with aknife. Later he died on January9 while being in the police cus-tody.

The crime branch is investi-gating the custodial killing,which has been confirmed bysub divisional magistrates(SDM) report.

Three officials inspectorSandesh Chodankar, Sub Inspec-tor Radhesh Ramnathkar andShirvaikar were suspended forprocedural lapses.

Meanwhile, the SPCA, in itsorder dated April 19 has primafacie found serious misconductin the conduct of the Panjim po-lice while investigating the case.

The SPCA was hearing a pe-tition filed by an activist thatAgassaim police inspector wasnot registering his case againstthe Panjim police staff on dutyon the fateful day.

Justice Silva observed thatpolice should have compliedwith the legal mandate and di-rections of the Supreme Courtand get the case registered.

nCipriano, 39, aseafarer back on aholiday in Goa wasarrested on January 7after his lady friendGeorgina complainedagainst him ofthreatening her with aknife. Later he died onJanuary 9 while beingin the police custody.

Illegalstructures demolition

delayed HERALD REPORTER

VASCO, APRIL 27

Thirty-three illegal structureson a private land at Adarshna-gar-Chicalim got a lease of lifefor two more weeks, after theencroachers asked MormugaoMunicipal Council (MMC) chiefofficer to grant them two weeksextension to vacate their houseson their own.

It may be recalled that on March18, 2011, while dismissing on en-croachers appeal, the urban devel-opment minister had asked MMCto demolish all the illegal structures,which had cropped up in a shortspan of time on a private land ofone Mahadev Naik.

After Naik produced the ordercopy last month, MMC had set April28 and 29 as the demolition dateand had sought assistance fromDemolition Squad and Vasco Police.

The municipal staff dealing withcouncils legal matter informed thatthe encroachers had sought twoweeks time from the chief officerand had requested him to extendthe demolition date for the anothertwo weeks.

Farmers demand hike in purchase price of milk HERALD CORRESPONDENT

MARCEL, APRIL 27

Members of Akhil Goa Dudh Ut-padak Utkarsh Sanghatana onWednesday met Goa DairyChairman Madhav Sahakari todemand a hike in the purchaseprice of milk.

Milk farmers said the GoaDairy had hiked selling price ofthe milk by Rs 3 since February21 after a rise in purchase priceof milk in neighbouring states.

However, the State farmersfrom whom the dairy purchasesmilk were not given any rise.Goa Dairy sells about a lakh litreof processed milk everyday inthe Goan market. Goa Dairy pur-chases half of the total raw milkfrom the neighbouring states.

On Wednesday afternoon,about 50 members of Akhil GoaDudh Utpadak Utkarsh Sanghatanamet Goa Dairy Chairman MadhavSahakari and demanded for a pricehike in milk purchase prices.

Members claimed that on twodifferent occasions, the Sang-hatana had approached GoaDairy with the demand, but didnot yield any result.

When the dairy hiked milkprice on February 21, we learntfrom media reports that thefarmers will also be given pricerise from April 1. Since Goa Dairydidnt act in the matter, we metthe Goa Dairy chairman request-ing him to look into the matter,Akh i l Goa Dudh UtpadakUtkarsh Sanghatana PresidentBabu Komarpant said.

We made another represen-tation on April 25, but there wasno specific assurance. However,we have gain come today withthe same demand and wants toknow why we have been neg-lected, said Komarpant.

The members during themeeting demanded an assur-ance from Goa Dairy ChairmanSahakari, to which the chairmansaid that it will decided by theBoard of Directors. Sahakari alsoinformed that the decision ofthe board will be informed tofarmers by May 31.

Since the time I took over asboard chairman, whenever therewas a price hike, it was also extendedto farmers, which was not happeningearlier, he said.

GOAOHERALD

OPg3

GOA, THURSDAY, 28 APRIL, 2011

We will continue with existing system of admissions: Jindal

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, APRIL 27

Goa Medical College and Hos-pitals Dean Dr V N Jindal onWednesday said that guidelinesof Medical Council of India (MCI)for national entrance test are inthe draft form and they wouldcontinue with the existing sys-tem as state government hasnot informed them about anychanges.

Jindal said that they will holdGoa state entrance test for theMBBS as being done in the pastyears.

We will continue with ourexisting system which has statelevel CET and for Post Gradua-tion we take the merit list, hesaid.

MCI in its recent decision hassuggested that National En-trance Test should be made com-pulsory for students seekingadmission in for graduate andpost graduate courses in med-ical science.

The Draft notification has al-ready been uploaded on the MCIwebsite which will be notifiedin the month of August, thisyear.

The medical fraternity in thestate has said that the state gov-ernment should give its opinionon the draft before its taken upfor finalization.

Once its finalized, then itwill be difficult to modify andGoa will have to follow whatcentral policy decides, a seniordoctor said.

Dr Jindal confirmed that thestate government is yet to formthe committee to study the mat-ter. Chief Minister DigambarKamat during the demands on

the Health department had as-sured that a committee of ex-perts would be formed to studythe issue.

As per the draft placed byMCI during national meet onimplementation of reforms inundergraduate and post gradu-ate medical education, the Na-tional Eligibility-cum-EntranceTest for Post Graduates (NEET-PG) will be held from 2012. Thesame would be notified in Au-gust 2011 with applications col-lected from September end.

Candidates who have com-pleted internship or those ex-pecting to complete by March31, 2012 will be eligible to takethe examination.

The admit cards will be dis-patched by middle of November2011.

In case of national Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for SuperSpecialties (NEET-SS) for 2012,the candidates who have com-pleted post-graduation (MD/MS)or those expecting to completepostgraduate by June15, 2012will be eligible.

The same will be notified inFebruary 2012 .

nDr Jindal confirmedthat the stategovernment is yet toform the committee tostudy the matter. ChiefMinister DigambarKamat during thedemands on theHealth department hadassured that acommittee of expertswould be formed tostudy the issue.

GARD backs suspended doctor Praises her for saving life of mother HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, APRIL 27

The Goa Resident Doctors As-sociation (GARD) has come outin support of suspended seniorresident doctor Vanita Pereirawho was accused of botchingup caesarean deliveries resultingin injuries to the baby and thechild.

They have instead chosen topraise the doctor for her timelyintervention, which has savedthe life of the mother.

In the said incident, the cae-sarean section was performedas an emergency at the 7thmonth of pregnancy in the in-terest of saving the motherslife and uterus after taking aninformed consent of the patient.Since the patient had already

undergone a caesarean sectionin the past, she had a high riskof uterine rupture during thispregnancy which posed a greatthreat to her life. The situationwas further complicated bybabys pre-maturity, with an es-timated weight of 900 grams),abnormal dorsoposterior posi-tion of the baby encounteredon table and low lying placentawhich separated promptly ongiving uterine incision, leavingvery little time for the operatingsurgeon to deliver the baby(within three minutes) to avoidbabys death, a press not re-leased by President of GARDDheeraj Lambor said.

As it is a known surgical com-plication of the caesarean sec-tion in the literature, it does not

amount to negligence. We ap-preciate the sincere efforts ofthe concerned senior residentdoctor to save the mother andthe baby, the press note reads.

The association has condemnedthe criticism, the doctor faced andhas in the past threatened to go ona strike demanding that the doctorbe reinstated.

Meanwhile, in a press release,GARD has said that the suspen-sion of Dr Vanita Pereira wouldbe revoked soon. This followsan emergency meeting with theHealth Minister Vishwajeet Ranewherein GARD presented all thetrue facts of the case before theminister.

The minister has assured usto revoke the suspension soon,the release adds.

22-yr-oldbooked for rape

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, APRIL 27

A 22-year-old youth was onWednesday arrested for al-legedly raping a teenaged girlat her residence, police said.

DySP Deu Benaulikar said thatShabbir Maulana Saab Walikar,a resident of Panjim has beenarrested and remanded for cus-todial interrogation.

The victim girl (20), who liveson the outskirts of the city, wasalone at home when the accusedentered her house and raped her.The incident is one month old.

According to the police, thevictim and the accused werefriends, and were supposed totie-knot shortly.

Families from both sides hadagreed to the marriage. Fewdays later, the accused went ona vacation to his native in Bijapur(Karnataka) and severed contactswith the girl. She made repeatedattempts to get in touch withhim, but he ignored her, whichprompted the girl to file a com-plaint, the officer said.

The accused has been bookedunder section 376 (rape) of theIndian Penal Code.

MPT yet to receiveore from Karnataka

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, APRIL 27

Mormugao Port Trust (MPT)has said that they are yet toreceive ore from Karnatakaalthough the Supreme Courthas already lifted the ban onexport of iron ore from theneighbouring state.

The exports of ore fromMPT, which had faced a com-parative s lump af ter Kar-nataka ban, were expectedto take off this month.

Traffic Managers office atthe Port confirmed that theyare yet to get ore from Kar-nataka.

Dont ask me why. I canjust say that we are not get-ting the ore, traffic managerreacted.

Supreme Court order hadcome as a respite for themining firms in Karnataka,who were also exporting theore through MPT besidesseveral other ports in NorthKarnataka.

Of the total 50 odd millionmetric tonnes ore exportedfrom Goa, almost eight mil-

lion metric tonne was fromKarnataka as per the roughestimates.

While Goa Port is waitingKarnataka ore, as per the re-ports from the neighbouringstate, after SC giving its nodfor the export of iron ore ac-cumulated at major ports,around 27,000 tonnes of ironore was loaded and left forexport to China from theNew Mangalore port.

The lifting of ban are showingsign of recovery for many ironore firms. Sesa Goa has an-nounced that they expect theirsales volume to go up anywherefrom 15 percent to 20 percent,this year.

In the March quarter, the com-pany went down by 21percentdue to the ban of exports fromthe southern state.

In July last year, Karnatakabanned shipments of ironore from 10 of its ports inorder to fight against illegalmining and a general needto keep raw materials withinthe state for local steelmak-ers to make use of.

Implement RTE soon: KaziHERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, APRIL 27

Goa State Commission for Pro-tection of Child Rights has urgedGoa Government to implementRight to Education (RTE) Act inthe state as soon as possible.Talking to reporters, Commis-sion Chairperson Sameera Kaziconfirmed that the letter hasbeen forwarded to the govern-ment demanding immediate im-plementation of RTE in the state.The commission has been re-ceiving several complaints fromthe parents that their kids aredetained in the same standard,she said adding that there werealso complaints of few schoolsdenying admissions for the kids. Kazi said that government needsto take firm decision over im-plementation of this act, whichwill come as respite to manyparents.

We have also come across thecomplaints that childrens arescreened before admissions inthe school, which is banned bythe law, she added.The Education Department,which is planning to implementthe act in phase manner has putup a proposal before the min-istry that no student would bedetained in the same class fromfirst to eighth standard.The RTEs section 16 reads that,no child admitted in the schoolshall be held back or expelled

from school till the completionof elementary education. Thedepartment officials had saidthat no detention policy envis-aged in the RTE would be im-plemented in Goa, possibly fromthe forthcoming academic year.With the implementation of thispolicy the criteria for the ad-mission or promotion of a childwould be based on age and noton merit.

St Augustine Tower: Activists decry restoration worksVIBHA VERMA

PANJIM, APRIL 27

Archaeological Survey of Indias(ASI) project to restore 16th cen-tury old St Augustine Tower hasmet with the skepticism by thelocal heritage activists, who haverued the concretization of thisstructure.

ASIs Goa Circle has pulled upits sleeves to restore this towerwhich has crumbled thrice inpast. But the heritage activistshave said that the way centralgovernment agency plans to re-store will snatch UNESCO affil-iation of this structure.

ASI Superintendent Shivdas

said that they will be carryingout lime concrete flooring ofthis tower, this year, for easymovement of several lakhtourists visiting it. The expertshave decided to concrete floor-ing where the movement oftourists is more.

The work would also in-clude consolidation of thestructure, which is locatedat Old Goa.

ASI, which has been lookingafter upkeep of this tower, saidthat the structure has gone weakand it had collapsed under pres-sure thrice earlier. Shivdas saidthat the work proposed at thistower is a part of their contin-uous restoration process.

We are strengthening thestructure so that there is no fur-ther collapse. We have takencare to such an extent hesaid

State level heritage activists,however, are wary of ASIsmoves.

Noted historian and heritageactivist Prajal Sakhardande saidthat the world heritage site can-not be destroyed in the nameof renovation.

The activity by the ASI is ablatant destruction of the WorldHeritage monument and thiswould lead to de-recognizationby the UNESCO, he feared.

The ASI has said that they aretreating St Augustine tower withutter care as they know the im-

portance of this place.In the last fiscal year, the ASI

team had cleaned the debris andconsolidation of structures.

The incomplete work wouldre-start this financial year soonafter they are allotted funds,Shivdas said.

The work last year also in-cluded pointing work (filling inthe gaps between the bricks)and some missing portion ofthe walls were reconstructed.

The tower and the churchwere built in 1602 by the Au-gustinian friars who arrived inGoa in September 3, 1572. Theyfounded a small convent on thehill and built the convent andthe Church and completed in1602.

With the religious suppres-

sion in 1835, the Augustiniansdeserted the church and theconvent.

The latter was used forsome time by the charitableinstitution of the Misericor-dia. The buildings fell intoneglect resulting in the col-lapse of the vault on Septem-ber 8, 1842.

The Government appropri-ated the property, selling thematerials the following year.The facade and half of thetower fell in 1931 and somemore parts of it collapsed in1938.

ASIs Mini Circle conductedconservation work in the St. Au-gustine Church complex. Thecrevices found in the exposedwalls, pillars and pilasters wereconsolidated. Water-tighteningwas also carried out on the ex-posed walls of the adjacent con-vent.

During the conservation workcarried out by ASIs Mini Circle,on one of the side altars of theSt. Augustine Church complex,a burial chamber was discoveredbelow the floor in front of thealtar.

The chamber with a flight offive steps was built of lateriteblocks and plastered in lime-mortar and had a vaulted roof.A grave pit, which containedbones in three places, was foundin the chamber which was alsolime-plastered.

Two held at Dabolim airport

nKazi said thatgovernment needs totake firm decision overimplementation of thisact, which will comeas respite to manyparents.

HERALD REPORTER

VASCO, APRIL 27

Immigration Police at Dabolim airport on Wednesdaydetained Nigerian and Tamilian in separate incidents,while they were trying to board flights to the Gulfwith fake documents.

According to reports, the Nigerian,Ferdinand Luchi Onyeoziri, who hadarrived in India on fake visa and resi-dential permit, had landed in Hyder-abad few days ago. However, he wasdetained while he was leaving thecountry from Dabolim airport.

While undergoing immigrationclearance to board a Goa-Doha flighton Wednesday morning, the accusedwas caught as his visa and residentialpermit were found to be fake. Immi-gration Police detained Onyeoziri andlater handed him over to Vasco Po-lice.

Later in the afternoon, ImmigrationPolice detained one more person fromTamil Nadu on charges of possessinga fake passport.

GOAOHERALD

O

Pg 4SHORT TAKESUPCOMING EVENTS

POWER SHUTDOWN

We have all watched the devas-tation caused by the tsunamirecently in Japan, and in Indonesiain 2004. So what exactly is atsunami? And how does it hap-pen?

Tsunami is a Japanese word mean-ing harbor wave that refers to aseries of large ocean waves that hita shoreline. These waves may beas long as 100 km and travelacross the ocean at speeds of up to800 kmh. There may be a constantstream of waves that that batterthe shore between 10 and 60 min-utes. Tsunamis are caused by sud-den movements of the earth thattake place under the sea. Often themost destructive tsunamis arecaused by earthquakes but causescan also include vol-canic eruptions, land-slides or even a comethitting the sea.

The earth sits on about a dozentectonic plates. These are largefloating pieces of hard rock thatare constantly moving, and fit to-gether around the world like a jig-saw. Undersea earthquakes occurwhen one of these plates rubsagainst another at a plate bound-ary. The two plates may get stuck,as the heavier plate tries to slideunder the lighter one. This causesa build up of pressure in a processknows as Subduction.

As the heavier plate continues toslide beneath the lighter plate, itcauses the lighter plate to benddownwards with the pressure. Itreaches a point when the lighterplate can no longer take the in-tense pressure and suddenlysnaps back up to the surfacewhere it had been before. The in-credible force of the Earths plateshooting upwards in the watercauses huge rise in sea level anda vast body of water moves up-ward, very much like a hugemountain of water in the sea.

Everybody knows that what goesup must come down. This is partic-ularly true for water which alwayslikes to form a nice flat surface. Soonce the mountain of water hasrisen up the next step is for the seato level itself out causing atsunami.

As the mountain of water comesback down, it pushes the waterthat was underneath it outwards.The force of the water movesthrough the ocean causing an un-derwater force that travels for hun-dreds of kilometers. The force ofthe water can reach speeds of up to800 kmh as it surges through theocean.

A tsunami causes considerabledevastation to a country. It de-stroys every thing in its path andcompletely levels a countrys infra-structure. It isstrong enoughto move housesand cars, andeven breakbridges.

Comments or queries? Bouquets or brickbats? Talk to us!Email Junior Herald at junior@herald-goa.com or join our Facebook fan page

http://www.facebook.com/Herald.Jr. Our readers are invited to rave, rant, chat oreven contribute. No message will go unanswered!

Contact Us:

Natural World

What is a Tsunami?

How do undersea earthquakes occur?

How does the tsunami develop?

What are the effects of a tsunami?

GOA, THURSDAY, 28 APRIL, 2011

Yuva Gaurav award for ParabBICHOLIM(HC): The Shiksha Vikas Parishad (SVP) has selected

Shrirang Arjun Parab from Bi-cholim for the prestigiousState level Yuva GauravAward in the field of educa-tion for 2011.

The SVP is a State and Na-tional Awardee Teachers As-sociation. Shrirang has beenawarded for the same, as atthe age of 16, he has com-pleted his Masters Diplomain Computer Engineering,Software Developing, Hard-ware and Networking. He hasalso completed Diploma inMovie Editing and Diploma in 3D MAX.

The award will be presented to Shrirang in October 2011on the occasion of the 17th National Level Educational Con-ference to be held in Karnataka. The award includes shawl,shripal, memento and a certificate.

GRAs public rallyPANJIM (HND): Goemchea Rakhondarancho Awaz (GRA) will

organise a massive public rally on April 29 at 2.30 pm at LohiaMaidan, Margao, to give opportunity to the people of theState affected by the mal-governance to express their angerand press for corrective actions to redress chronic woesplaguing them.

Panelim feast on May 8PANJIM (HND): Novena of Our Lady of Miracles Panelim -

Sao Pedro will start on April 29 at 6 pm. The feast will be cel-ebrated on May 8. There will be only one mass on the FeastDay at 5 pm.

Priyanka Dance Academy function

PANJIM (HND): Priyankas Dance Academy, Mapusa will cel-ebrate its 14th annual function cum Anandotsav on April 30at Hanuman Natya Graha at 4:30pm. For entry passes, call9657107721.

Language quizPANJIM(HND): Communicare Cultural Centre will organise

Kaleidoscope a language quiz in Konkani, Hindi, Portugueseand French for the students of Higher Secondary Schools,where the final round of the Portuguese quiz will be aired onApril 29 at 2 pm with repeat telecasts at 4 pm and 10:30 pmon Prudent. Quizmaster Clifton Afonso will take the four par-ticipating teams through a series of questions based on gram-mar, culture, and spelling skills.

The four participating schools for the second round of thePortuguese leg of Kaleidoscope are Our Lady of Rosary HigherSecondary Dona Paula, Fr Agnel Multipurpose Higher SecondarySchool Verna, Chowgule College Higher Secondary School Margao, St Xavier Higher Secondary School Mapusa.

Anti-rabies drive vaccinationCURCHOREM(HC): A free anti-rabies vaccination and free

sterilization programme will be conducted at the Animal CareCentre in Curchorem.

Dr Jayram Dessai of the Goa Animal Welfare Trust, Bansai-Curchorem branch, told Herald that healthy male and femalepuppies would also be available for adoption at the AnimalCare Centre in Curchorem.

Further details of the programme are available with DrDessai on Ph: 2653677 from 10 am to 6 pm.

Hindi workshop organisedPANJIM (HND): Directorate of Census Operations recently

conducted a Hindi workshop in its premises. Joint Director(official language) office of the Registrar, New Delhi, DineshKumar Pandeya, was the chief guest while Devkinandan Pathak,Pradhyapak, Hindi Teaching Scheme, Panjim, presided overthe function.

Pandeya, while speaking on the occasion, stressed on theimplementation of official language Hindi in the day-to-dayofficial work. He also talked on official language rules andregulations. Devkinandan Pathak given a lecture on Hindigrammar and also highlighted the importance of noting anddrafting and letter writing.

Hindi translator Raghoba R Sawant, welcomed the guestsand proposed the vote of thanks.

APRIL 28

KUMBARJUA: From 9 am to 2 pm. Areas affected are Kumbarjuavillage, St Estevam village and Gaudalim.

SIRIDAO: From 9am to 2pm. Areas affected are Modlo waddo,Jeju Nazareth, Firguem Bhat, Sea view bar and restaurant, Zuarivillage.

DONA PAULA: From 9 am to 3 pm. Areas affected are Raj Bhavan,Marvel colony, Marvel village, Dona Paula and surrounding areas.

KERIM: From 9 am to 2 pm. Areas affected are VP Paliem and VPKerim.

PORVORIM: From 9 am to 2 pm. Areas affected are Bhutki wado,Sangolda Morod, Mae de dues Sangolda and surrounding areas.

PORVORIM: From 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm. Areas affected arePorvorim Bazar, Waddem, Kharrem, Ticlo petrol pump and sur-rounding areas.

PWD Minister Churchill Alemao and wife Fatima along with TonyGonsalves, promoter of Goan cultural shows in Europe, tiatr or-ganiser Rafael and others on the occasion of staging of DaddyHi Tuji Sun tiatr in Dubai, written and directed by comedianSally. Fatimas birthday coincided on the same day.

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, APRIL 27

Several representatives ofwomens organizations and in-dividuals deliberated on the in-creased trend of insultingwomen through di f ferentmedium.

The members also discussedwhether under the freedom ofexpression one can infringe onthe rights of others.

The meeting took strongobjection to the language andcontent of writers who vio-la te the human r ights ofwomen. More particularly incase of persons holding po-sitions and availing govern-ment grants.

In this context, the writingsof the President of Goa Konkani

Academy came in for critique.The meeting unanimously con-demned his objectionable writ-i n g s n a m e l y, t h e p o e t r yCheddi which is a local abusein Konkani and the poetry itselfis against commercial sex work-ers.

Former chairperson of GoaState Commission for WomenPramod Salgaoncar, academician

Radhika Nayak, and otherwomen activists including ShailaDesouza, Tara Kerkar, Auda Vie-gas, Jyoti kunkolienkar, SabinaMartins, Hyacinth Pinto, AdvSwati Kerkar, Adv Shanti Fon-seca, Adv Caroline Collasso,Monica Dias, Amol Morajkar,Afrose Shaikh, Suman Naik andothers were present for themeeting.

Speakers deliberate on insult to women through writings

nThe writings of the President of GoaKonkani Academy came in for critique. Themeeting unanimously condemned hisobjectionable writings namely, the poetryCheddi which is a local abuse in Konkaniand the poetry itself is against commercialsex workers.

NCP plans to aid SHGsHERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, APRIL 27

NCP Mahila Congress met at Por-vorim office of Mahila Front onTuesday.

The meeting was attended byNCP President Surendra Sirsat,Vice President Pandurang Raut,Mahila President FermeenaKhaunte, Goa Mahila Observer,Bharti Chavan and Ganjanan NaikTari. Around 400 women partic-ipated in the meeting that washeld to encourage Self HelpGroups. It was informed thattraining will be conducted in bak-ery, jute bags, home science,poultry farms, dairy farming tohelp women to achieve self re-liance.

Chavan elaborated on allschemes of State and CentralGovernment, while ProfessorSurendra Sirsat praised theMahila Wing President Fer-meena Khaunte.

HERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, APRIL 27

In order to improve the qualityof Konkani films, the producersand directors must take themaking of a Konkani film seri-ously so that the Konkani filmmaintains a certain standardsaid Rajendra Talak, producerand director of one of the com-mercially successful Konkani filmO Maria. He was speaking asthe chief guest on the occasionof Konkani Cinema Day jointlyorganised by Tiatr Academy Goa(TAG) and Dalgado KonknniAkademi (DKA) on Sunday atTAGs Conference Hall, Campal,Panjim.

Speaking further he appealedto all involved in the productionof Konkani films to shed off thecrab mentality and work to-gether for the development ofKonkani Cinema.

President of DKA, Prem-anand Lotlikar in his welcomespeech stated that the sacri-fices of the pioneer of KonkaniCinema A L Jerry Braganzawho is known as Father ofKonkani Cinema for produc-ing and releasing the 1stKonkani film Mogacho An-

vddo in 1950, should not goin vain and that he should beremembered for his efforts topromote Konkani Cinema indifficult times.

Tomazinho Cardozo, Presi-dent of TAG stated that KonkaniCinema has not become com-mercially successful not becauseall of them are below standardbut because of the negative at-titude of Goans towards Konkanicinema. If we love Konkani andlove Goan culture, then it is theduty of every Goan to witnessKonkani cinemas by paying tick-ets. When this attitude is im-bibed in us then only KonkaniCinema will rise to greaterheights. He also proposed thevote of thanks.

Earlier Rajendra Talak gar-landed the portrait of A L JerryBraganza as a mark of respectto the Father of Konkani Cinema.Walter Menezes compered thefunction.

The formal function was fol-lowed by a cultural programmeof songs from old Konkani Cin-emas. The immortal songs wererendered by Socorro de SantaCruz, Sonia Fernandes, Clarissaand Maria Cardozo.

Maintain standard of Konkani films: Talak

Rajendra Talak, producer and director of Konkani film O Mariaspeaks as the chief guest on the occasion of Konkani Cinema Dayat TAGs Conference Hall, Campal, Panjim, recently.

HERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, APRIL 27

Around 300 contract workmenemployed by Bharat SancharNigam Ltd (BSNL Goa) in its var-ious divisions and exchanges allover Goa held a protest demon-stration and Dharna at KrantiCircle, Opp KTCL Bus stand, Pan-jim, on Wednesday morningpressing their demands for im-mediate implementation of re-vised Minimum Wage, coverageunder provident fund scheme,ESI scheme and implementationof other Statutory WelfareLabour Legislations.

According to a press release,the protest which was heldunder the banner of All IndiaTrade Union Congress (AITUC)was addressed by Com Christo-pher Fonseca, R D Mangueshkar,Suhaas Naik, Govind Pednekarand others, according to a pressrelease issued here.

Though the Central Govern-ment has enhanced and revisedthe minimum wages of contractworkmen vide Notificationdated 25.03.2010, BSNL GoaManagement still pays these

workmen much below the pre-scribed Minimum wage. BSNLGoa is now in the process ofinviting tenders from variouscontractors for continuing theseworkmen who have been askedto quote for rates below theminimum wage prescribed bythe Central Government.

BSNL being the principal em-ployer is statutorily liable to ensurethat these contract workmen aregiven benefits and welfare meas-ures that they are legally entitledto under Labour Legislations. De-spite the assurances of Ministerfor Human Resource Developmentand Union Minister for TelecomKapil Sibbal, these contract work-men are denied the benefits of re-vised Minimum Wage and otherStatutory Labour Welfare Legisla-tions referred above.

The contract workers afterholding demonstration at KrantiCircle, proceeded to the officeof Asst Provident Fund Commis-sioner, at Patto, Panjim andhanded over a representation de-manding immediate coverageunder Provident Fund Schemefor all the contract workmen.

BSNL contractworkers hold dharna

Piles cure at Apollo Victor hospital PANJIM(HND): Apollo Victor Hospital, Goa launched a new

Proctology Clinic which offers services of a leading procto-surgeon Dr Ashwin Porwal from Ruby Hall clinic and PoonaHospital who is the first procto-surgeon in Maharashtra toperform the STARR surgery, a surgical treatment for chronicconstipation. This surgery is performed through the naturalroute without any cut outside. Also the patient is dischargedwithin 24 hrs and can join on duty from 3rd day.

Dr Ashwin Porwal has successfully treated over 450 hem-orrhoid patients with the advanced and relatively painlesssurgical technique MIPH, popularly known as Stapler Surgeryfor piles.

Ashwin Porwal will be available for consultation on piles,prolapse and constipation on last Friday of every month atApollo hospital, Margao, from 9 am to 11 am.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

MAYEM, APRIL 27

Speaker Pratapsing Rane hasstated that Internet has offeredvariety of benefits for the com-mon man and the biggest ben-efit of it can be seen in theeducational sector.

He was speaking during thefunction organised to release asouvenir by Parents Teachers As-sociation of Shri Bhumika HigherSecondary School.

Highlighting the importanceof Internet, Rane further saidthat educators can obtain learn-ing material from the Internet.

Educators can preparecourses online and deliveraudio/visual information to thestudents. For instructors, it is avaluable source for referencematerial, he added.

Rane stressed the need toprovide WiFi connection to theschools and colleges in theState. He lauded the efforts ofPTA committee members fortheir dedicated service for thebetterment of Shri BhumikaShikshan Sanstha.

Rane released the souvenirBhumika in the presence ofPrincipal Dr Sadanand Hindeand PTA President KashinathMajik.

Shivaji Rane, school manager,Shankar Chari, secretary, TanujaKhanolkar, treasurer, HarshaRane, Bhimrao Rane, Jackie Fer-nandes and other committeemembers graced the function.

Ratnadeep Verekar comperedthe function, while BhimraoRane proposed the vote ofthanks.

Benefits of Internetvisible in educational

sector, says Rane

Speaker Pratapsing Rane releases a souvenir at Poriem.Photo by Vishant Vaze

Two eminent Women Lions, Ezilda Sapeco, Chairperson, GoaState Womens Commission and Nelly Rodrigues, chief of GoaMahila Shakti Abhiyan felicitated for outstanding service to thecommunity at the 35th Lion Ladies Axillaries District Conven-tion of District 324- D2. Also present are Kiran Bhatkule, FirstLady of District Ln Rita Maganlal, Leticia Belchoir, SunitaSawant, Aurea Noronha, Aparna Palekar and Madhushree Tim-ble

Funds for cultural institutionsHERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, APRIL 27

Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi has made operational itsscheme for the year 2011-12 for the grant of financial assistanceto cultural Institutions engaged in training activities in music,dance, drama and in developing new theatre productions. It alsoprovides for assistance to folk and tribal performing groups invarious regions and supports works such as community singing,childrens theatre, research and survey in music, dance or drama,purchase of stage and other technical equipments.

Application forms should be submitted at the office of KalaAcademy, Panjim, by May 25 so that the same can be forwardedto Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi by May 30.

The details of the scheme and application forms are availableon Sangeet Natak Akademys websites www.sageetnatak.org andwww.sangeetnatak.gov.in.

GOAOHERALD

OPg 5

GOA, THURSDAY, 28 APRIL, 2011

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CANACONA, APRIL 27

The motorized fishing canoeswill net enhanced kerosene sub-sidy of Rs 30,000 from currentfinancial year as against previousyears Rs 18,000 subsidy perannum.

According to extension officer(fisheries) Anand D Mhalshi inCanacona BDO, the subsidy forpurchase of fishing nets is alsoenhanced from Rs 8,000 to Rs20,000 in the current financialyear, besides financial assis-tances (subsidies) for purchaseof new canoe (Rs 40,000), mo-torization of canoe (purchaseof new motor) Rs 30,000 andother horde of existing benefitsto fisher folks of Canacona.

According to Canacona BDOsources, there are approximately4,000 fishermen families inCanacona alone eligible for var-ious government benefits.

Approximately, 369 fishingcanoes are registered in Cana-cona taluka since the last 8years, sources informed.

Of which, 160 canoes are mo-torized, while 209 canoes arenon-motorized (manually oper-ated for sailing and other fishingactivities).

Henceforth, each motorizedcanoe is eligible for kerosenesubsidy of Rs 30,000 per yearfrom the financial year 2011-12as against the present Rs 18,000(2010-11).

Mhalshi further informed thatgovernment is extending sub-sidy of Rs 40,000 each for newcanoe construction (but only be-tween the lengths of 26-36 ft).

Kerosene subsidy for motorized canoes enhanced from this fiscal

Left out fishing community aggrieved

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CANACONA, APRIL 27

Some aggrieved residents from Canacona have pinpointedgovernment delinquency in clear violation of constitution ofthe country in implementation of various schemes meant forfishing occupation in the State.

According to sources in Canacona BDO office, governmentis extending schemes and benefits only to OBC communitymembers and no other community people (even though theyhave attained the fishing trade as part of their occupation) areeligible for these government doles.

An OBC caste certificate besides a letter of confirmationfrom the fishing community association is prime necessity forany citizen of Goa to avail benefits of subsidy and schemesmeant for fishing occupation, informed the source at CanaconaBDO.

Interestingly, the same criterion is not followed by the Stategovernment if any citizens of Goa want to purchase fishingtrawlers or enter into a large-scale mechanized fishing activ-ity.

According to sources, the only criterion is that the applicantshould be a citizen of Goa and no caste certificate or any as-sociation is required.

Then, why discrepancy only to low income and hard-working common men Aam Admi', questioned sources.

Residents demanding the extension of these facilities to allwho are already in trade or wants to enter fishing occupation,feel that the discrepancies of demanding OBC caste certificateand other related documents are untenable and unconstitutionalin nature as any citizen irrespective of his caste or creed canearn his/her livelihood by adopting any occupation of his/herchoice.

So far, 37 fishermen from Cana-cona have benefited from thescheme in the last three financialyears - 2008-09 (13), 2009-10(11) and 2010-11 (13), he said.

Mhalshi informed that 33 fish-ermen had also availed benefits

of Rs 30,000 each subsidy forcanoes under motorization, forpurchase of new motors 2008-09 (9), 2009-10 (13) and 2010-11 (11) and the scheme is stillavailable for grabs.

Fishermen in the taluka are

also eligible for subsidy of Rs20,000 enhanced from previousRs 8,000 for purchase of fishingnets. So far, only 17 fishermenfrom Canacona have availedthese subsidy benefits - 2008-09 (8), 2009-10 (6) and 2010-11(3).

Sources in Canacona BDOhowever informed that there isa lukewarm claim for housingscheme to fishermen, wherethey get Rs 50,000 after com-pletion of their house.

It is learnt that so far onlyfour have reaped housing ben-efits and the poor response isreportedly attributed due to var-ious CRZ restrictions, as the fish-ermen community houses aremostly situated on the talukascoastline.

Fishermen are also reapingthe saving-cum-relief schemebenefits, where beneficiary hasto pay Rs 75 per month for 8months (Rs 600) and get Rs1,800 in return and 1,500 fish-ermen from Canacona are ben-efiting from the scheme.

Besides, fishermen between18 and 60 years can also benefitfrom group insurance scheme.The returns are Rs 70,000 foraccidental death and Rs 30,000for natural death cases.

Government is also extend-ing 75% subsidy for those fish-ermen purchasing insulatedboxes for their day-to-day usageand the subsidy is eligible forpurchase of boxes of capacityof 50 ltrs (for fish vendors), 100ltrs (canoe holders) and 220 ltrs(to boat owners of 3 and 4 cylin-ders).

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

PORVORIM, APRIL 27

Some culprits from Mumbaiduped a goldsmith from Be-naulim of Rs 18.50 lakh atKaraswada-Mapusa on Tuesdayevening.

In h i s compla int , D i l ipVernekar from Benaulim toldMapusa Police that one JagdishGovekar from Margao told himabout a party from Mumbaiwho is selling gold cheaperthan the market value, if boughtin kilos.

Vernekar decided to buy onekilo of gold from the party at aprice of Rs 18,60,000, the cur-rent market price of which is Rs22,20,000.

Accordingly, Jagdish Govekarcontacted the Mumbai party andfixed an appointment at Mapusaon Tuesday afternoon, statedthe complainant.

Vernekar along with his col-leagues arrived at Mapusa.Jagdish Govekar contacted theparty and informed him thatVernekar has arrived along withthe cash of Rs 18.50 lakh and itwas decided to meet at aDhabha near petrol pump atKaraswada.

Benaulim goldsmith duped at Mapusa

The representative of theMumbai party alighted from hiscar and went to the Dhabawhere Vernekar was sittingalongwith Jagdish Govekar. Therepresentative showed Vernekara gold bar and also informedthat remaining gold is in thecar, states the complaint.

Satisfied with representa-tives explanation, Vernekarhanded over the bag containingcash and proceeded towards thecar to collect gold from theMumbai party. In the meantime,a Scorpio suddenly came in andstopped between them and thecar, adds the complaint.

The representative of theMumbai party entered the carswiftly along with the bag andfled from the site.

Realizing that he has beenduped, Vernekar later filed acomplaint with Mapusa Police,who registered the complaintunder Section 420 of IPC againstunknown persons.

Meanwhile, Mapusa Policehave detained Jagdish Govekar,who had fixed an appointmentwith the Mumbai party for saleof gold.

Mapusa Police on Wednesdayproduced Govekar before Judi-cial Magistrate First Class andobtained seven days remand forinterrogation.

Bethora residentdies from tree fall

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

MARCEL, APRIL 27

A 65-year-old man from Kodar-Bethora died, after he acciden-tally fell from a coconut tree atKodar on Tuesday morning.

According to Ponda Police,Baburao Gaude had climbed acoconut tree to pluck coconuts.However, he reportedly lost hisbalance and fell on the ground.He was rushed to ID Hospital inPonda, where the doctors de-clared him dead. PSI Sachin Lokreis investigating the case.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CURCHOREM, APRIL 27

Swami Ramdev along with hisfollowers will stage an indefinitehunger strike in New Delhi fromJune 4, to press the central gov-ernment to enact laws to checkcorruption and black money.

Swami Ramdev announcedthis during his Yoga camp at Cur-chorem on Wednesday morning.The Yoga camp was held at Gov-ernment Complex Ground, Cur-chorem, and was organised byBharat Swabhiman Trust, SouthGoa. Thousands of people at-tended the camp which startedat 5 am and ended at 7.30 am.

During the camp, SwamiRamdev demonstrated variousYoga positions, Asonas andPranayama, which if practicedregularly, will keep one free fromdiseases and sicknesses, saidSwami Ramdev.

Yoga and Ayurveda maintainsthe body energy which keeps 99%

sickness away and avoids medi-cines. Black money, corruptionand corrupt system are the ill-nesses of our country and inorder to end this illness, enact-ment of stringent laws is the needof hour, stated Swami Ramdev.

A death sentence or life im-prisonment should be the pun-ishment for corrupt persons.Only then will one stay awayfrom corruption, said Ramdev.

I dont want politics or pres-tige. But we have to save thecountry at any cost. The politicalsystem and the education sys-tem left behind education whichwill create right Samskaras onthe children is to be imparted.Rastra Dharma is above all dhar-mas, said Swami Ramdev.

Interacting with media afterthe camp, Swami said presentlyabout 10 crore people are involvedis his movement which is goingon throughout the country.

Indirectly, it will be the in-

volvement of hundred crorepeople through indefinitehunger strike. We shall force thegovernment to concede to ourdemands of enacting stringentlaws to end corruption, he said.

Iron ore was the strength ofGoa, but it has now become theweakness of the State, he added.

He further said that as far asthe work of Bharat SwabhimanTrust is concerned, Goa has be-come an ideal State.

Earlier, the camp was inaugu-rated by businessman and socialworker Nilesh Cabral in the pres-ence of several dignitaries.

Quepem MLA Babu Kavlekar,CCMC Chairperson Alifa Fernan-des, Vijayan Menon of ACM andseveral other dignitaries soughtblessings of Swami Ramdev.

Later, Swami Ramdev inter-acted with the donors and Yogateachers and entertained theirsuggestions and heard the griev-ances.

Death for corrupt: Ramdev

People participate in the Yoga at Curchorem. Photo by Suresh Naik

One arrested for assaulting

Agonda womenHERALD CORRESPONDENT

CANACONA, APRIL 27

Canacona Police on Tuesday ar-rested a retired gram sevak oncharges of assaulting a womanfrom Agonda.

In her complaint, Urmila Velipof Agonda told Canacona Policethat she was assaulted by ShashiNaikgaunkar while she was re-turning from Devalaya cashewplantations which she hadrented for this season.

According to sources, Velip,who reportedly suffered bruisesand some injuries on her body,complained of unprovoked assaultat an isolated spot by the accused.

Acting on the complaint, po-lice arrested Shashi Naikgaunkarunder Section 151 in connectionwith the assault. He was laterreleased on bail bond on theorder of SDM, informed Cana-cona PI Raju Raut Dessai.

PI Dessai further informed thatNaikgaunkar during the courseof investigation informed thathe had caught hold and pushedVelip for stealing cashew nutsfrom his plantations and deniedany sexual assault in the case asmade out in some quarters.

However, it is learnt that Velipstrongly denied the allegationsand charged that she had noteven gone closer to Naik-gaunkars cashew plantations.

She said that she along withanother girl was walking backto her home after daylong workin her rented cashew plantationswhen she was assaulted andpushed by Naikgaunkar simplyon his wild imagination that shehad stolen cashew nuts from hisplantations.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CURCHOREM, APRIL 27

Curchorem MLA Shyam Sa-tardekar recently inauguratedthe three vehicles purchased byCurchorem Cacora MunicipalCouncil (CCMC).

The three vehicles include aluxurious car for the council, avan with crane and ladder tomaintain street lights and a vanto catch the stray dogs.

MLA Satardekar inauguratedthe vehicles in the presence ofCCMC Chairperson Alifa Fernan-

des, Vice Chairperson BaburaoFatto Dessai, councillors, ex-councillors and citizens.

Speaking on the occasion,Satardekar said the much re-quired vehicles are now withthe council and hence all thecouncillors should unitedlywork for the development ofmunicipal area.

Councilor Pradip Naik said:Though we have political dif-ferences with the ruling group,we are with them as far as de-velopment is concerned.

Newly purchased CCMC vehicles inaugurated

Curchorem MLA Shyam Satardekar inaugurates the three new vehi-cles purchased by CCMC.

CM to openKonkani

Sammelan atKarwar

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

POINGUINIM, APRIL 27

Chief Minister Digambar Kamatwill inaugurate the three-day20th Akil Bharatiya KonkaniSahitya Samelan at Sadashivgad-Karwar on April 29 at 3.30 pm.

Various programmes in thefield of art, culture and literaturewill be organised and the artisteswill perform will be from Goa,Karnataka, Maharsthra, Kerala,Gujarat and other places of India.

Konkani Sanskrit Mandal ofSadashivgad-Karwar is the or-ganizer of the mega event andthey expect about 50,000 par-ticipants for the event.

According to the organizingSecretary Adv Ramkishna Naik,noted Konkani writers, poetsand traditional artistes from allover the country will be on stageto show their talent and en-lighten the people in preservingtheir rich culture and traditionof the Konkani-speaking peoplespread all over the world.

Discrediting CMTulsidas Malkarnekar, Margao

The ministers in Goa Government are airingviews in public which is in bad taste. It re-duces the credibility of the government ofwhom they are a part. This gives a badname to the CM. Earlier, one minister castdoubts on the working of CBI and now an-other minister is publicly accusing the chiefsecretary of Goa. The moment these bu-reaucrats do not entertain the whims ofthe ministers they become useless. If at allthere was a genuine issue, the same shouldhave been brought to the notice of CM inthe cabinet meeting held on 28th instant.The minister should have been sensibleenough to adhere to ethics before airingthe views which brings discredit to the

Chief Minister.

FORCE is a farceAllwyn George, Carmona

Misleading and conflicting media reportsfrom politicians and FORCE inaction hasput parents into a quandary. Deadlinesfrom FORCE and Mickky have expired with-out any end result or action. It looks likethe parents are let down by FORCE andonly fooled by certain politicians from Sal-cete. The same politicians are buying timeas the next academic year will commencesoon and everyone will forget the issueand FORCE will slowly fade away.

The same politicians will rake up theissue during the elections by promising toSave Goa from enforced Konkani mediumto polarise Goans. With time running out,the struggle of FORCE seems to have be-come just a farce.

Radiation riskRoger Fernandes, Candolim

This is with regards to the US nuclear sub-marine USS La Jolla which has docked inGoa.

A few months ago, our so-called freedomfighters had protested against the arrival ofthe Portuguese ship NRP Sagres which wason a goodwill visit. Why? Because, it was thePortuguese, eh? USS La Jolla is a nuclear pow-ered submarine. A similar nuclear poweredaircraft carrier USS Nimitz was in India, andthe people of Tamil Nadu protested againstit. This was a protest for a good cause.

Where are the people of Goa and the free-dom fighters? Dont they realise the dangersof having a nuclear submarine docked in Goa?Or would they carry out the exercise of goingto Khariwado and purifying the sea with HolyWater, after the submarine has departed?

Wise decision, butAdelmo Fernandes, Vasco

In a major decision, Kadamba TransportCorporation Limited (KTCL) has decidedto take private buses on contract and runthem on a trial basis from May 1. It is un-derstood that the bus crew would be fromKTCL and the buses would display theKadamba logo. This is a win-win situation

for all stakeholders. The KTCL will add rev-enue to its depleting resources. The privatebus owners, who were crying hoarse overthe financial losses being incurred, willalso get a steady income. More importantly,commuters will heave a sigh of relief sinceprivate bus owners often go on strike.However, KTCL should ensure that theseprivate buses are road-worthy. In hindsight,it would be prudent if KTC purchases theseprivate buses instead of taking them onrent.

Bury the pastMarcos Alemao, by email

Like the Portuguese, India was ruled bythe English for some 300-odd years. Thereare lakhs of freedom fighters in India whofought the English along with MahatmaGandhi. However, India and Great Britainmaintain good relations, post independence.But in Goa, it is not understood as to whythe so-called freedom fighters Naguesh Kar-mali and Prabhakar Sinari are against the Por-tuguese. Report entitled ( Close twoPortuguese institutes or face action : FreedomFighters, Herald, 27 April).

Today, Portugal is a democratic countryand maintains good relations with its erstwhilecolonies. The two institutions Fundacao Orienteand Institute Camoes are doing very good job

in Goa. They unite all the people of Goa. Theassociation has embarked on a senseless mis-sion to demand the closure of PortugueseConsulate in Goa.

Senseless diatribeD Justin, Panjim

The Goa Freedom Fighters Association whoare in cahoots with the corrupt Congress gov-ernment say that Those Goans who opt forPortuguese citizenship should not be allowedto Goa. The chamchas also said that if thegovernment doesnt close the two Portugueseinstitutes, then they will come on to thestreets and prevent the Portuguese consulatefrom functioning.

The reality is that they should come on tothe streets and fight the government injusticeto the people.

Did these individuals ever realise whyGoans opted for Portuguese citizenship andwork abroad? The Goa government shouldthank the Portuguese government for allowingGoans to get Portuguese citizenship.

System addictMahesh Kumar, New Delhi

Becoming a hero is of no interest to me. Iwork because I believe in working to improvea system. I cant get away simply with writing

letters and complaining says Rahul Gandhi.Rahul is already a hero, even more than ahero, though not a filmi hero. The rottensystem can be improved by politicians onlyif they wish as they have the power, butsadly, the will is lacking, since they takeadvantage of a rotten system and a weaklaw. They do not wish to have strong laws;as otherwise, they will be caught in thetrap of law.

Accord justice to allJonas Correia, Aldona

This refers to the letter Justice needed byElsa Borges (Herald, 26 April). I would liketo state that whatever I have written in myletter Govt ploy (Herald, 18 April) is basedon facts and figures on the basis of inter-views with government employees, MLAsand ministers.

The contract workers were employedfor a specific purpose over a certain periodunless it was envisaged in the contract thatthey would be absorbed in regular service.What does the writer mean that new postswere created for them in various Healthdepartments? You do not employ someonefirst and then create the post. What doesthis signify? And why only personnel fromone constituency (and community) weretaken? Arent citizens from other Goanconstituencies worthy of employment? Isthis democracy?

Finally, what about justice to the thou-sands of Goans some of whom are wellqualified and enrolled in the employmentexchange but await placements. Shouldntjobs be created for them too?

The RTI twistFrancisco A Soares, Santa Cruz

The Right to Information Act 2005 is a verypowerful tool for a citizen to collect infor-mation from various departments to stopcorruption.

If information is not given within 30days, one can appeal before the State In-formation Commission.

But there is no judge for the last sixmonths in court rooms allotted. Who is tobe blamed?

This arduous wait renders RTI seekerspowerless.

People living in Goas urban and semi-urbanareas besides those residing in mining lo-calities face serious health hazards a plenty,

because the air contains a variety of toxic gaseswhose effects are intensified during a dry season.Officials from the Goa State Pollutions ControlBoard (GPCB) say that their periodic air monitoringhad shown a high level of air pollution in thestate, caused mainly by motor vehicular emissionsand dust.The Board measured the air quality index value(AQIV), an indicator of the daily levels of pollution.From December 2010 till March this year, theAQIV in the state ranged from 170 to 200. AnAQIV of above 100 is considered unhealthy.

Officials say the air is very unhealthy and un-likely to improve till the monsoons. In a dry sea-son, the air remains stationary and dust as wellas other toxic pollution levels increase. At present,the air has high levels of carbon monoxide, hy-drocarbons, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, ben-zene, etc. Most of these gases are emitted bymotor vehicles.

Thousands of ill-maintained vehicles ply Goasroads, turning it into a virtual gas chamber. Poorlysupervised construction sites and haphazard min-ing activities are constantly spewing dust intothe atmosphere.

Various mining units that operate mainly duringthe dry season, contribute to the creation ofharmful smoke and tremendous amount of dustpollution. As a result, a large quantity of gaseousand particulate waste constantly enters into theatmosphere.

GSPCB officials say rapid and unplanned ur-banisation is turning the state into huge concreteslab, engulfing green areas and water bodies.When particulate matter falls on earth or wet-lands, it gets absorbed quickly. But when it fallson concrete, vehicular movements make it air-borne, this affects the respiratory system of peo-ple, particularly of children, an official said.

Goa, with a population of more than 14 lakhpeople, is an environmental disaster zone. TheStates chock-a-block roads are clogged with ap-proximately six lakh vehicles and that figure risesby 200 every day.

About 60 per cent of these are really to blame,since they spew more than their share of carbonmonoxide and other pollutants into the alreadytoxic air.

As a pollution-control measure, the Goa gov-ernment laid down and implemented PollutionUnder Control (PUG) regulations.

PUG centres were opened in various places inthe state, but pollution levels continue to increaserapidly. The primary reason for this is negligenceon the part of vehicle owners.

The other reasons are the bogus certificatesissued by the PUG centres to vehicle owners with-out actually checking the exhaust levels of thenumerous tourist vehicles as well as the trucksthat bring goods from various other parts of thecountry, that enter the state.And the condition gets only worse, as the in-creasing levels of pollution in Goa has made theentire state akin to that of gas chamber.

Data available with the st