OHERALDOThe Voice of Goa Since 1900

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 30

An oil spill scare hit Salcetescoastal belt on Monday eveningas huge deposits of oil substanceinvaded the Colva-Sernabatimstretch of the coastline, posingnuisance to visitors and touristsalike.

Tar balls were also seen insmall amounts at Baina, Velsao,Arrosim and Calangute shoreson Monday.

Locals informed that the oilysubstance was washed ashorearound noon, with the beachstretch playing host to a thickblack layer of the oily sub-stance.

The Sernabatim stretch of thecoastline was the worst hit, withhuge deposits of the oily sub-stance resting on the sandybeach.

Till Monday evening, therewas no sign of any official fromany government agency or thelocal panchayat body makingtheir presence felt at thebeach.

The absence of any officialand the repeated presence oftar balls on the beach have irkedlocal activists who have de-manded the intervention of thegovernment to stop the menace.It is high time the governmenttakes up with the concernedagencies to ensure that shipsstop discharging oil in the highseas, remarked social activist,Judith Almeida.

She said that erring ships can-not be allowed to pollute theenvironment and damage theecology, saying that its hightime that the State governmenttakes up the case with the con-cerned agencies. The TourismMinister should take this matter

very seriously. Few days ago,Calangute beach bore the bruntof the tar balls. If this phenom-enon goes unchecked, it willleave the ecosystem disturbed,Almeida said.

That visitors were caught upwith the tar balls was evidentfrom the fact that the oily sub-stance found its way right onthe culverts over the creek.

A local resident Rosario saidmany tourists and visitors beganwithdrawing from the beachafter the oily substance waswashed ashore since 2 pm.

VASCO REPORTER ADDS: Ac-cording to Drishti Special Re-sponse Service lifeguards, smallamounts of oily substance liketar balls appeared on Baina,Arossim and Velsao beaches onMonday at about 4.30 pm.

The oily substance gradually

surfaced on the beach, but theamount is very less compara-tively to the beaches at Colva,Betalbatim and Benaulim.

Though Bogmalo Beach hasnot witnessed tar balls as ofnow, but in April, the entirestretch of beach turned darkdue to the appearance of tarballs on the beach.

Presence of tar balls mightnot raise an alarm in the tourismdepartment as the beaches havebeen closed for swimming inthe wake of monsoon. The banwould be lifted probably in thefirst week of October, dependingon the sea condition.

CALANGUTE CORRESPON-

DENT ADDS: Tar balls wereseen on Candolim shores inclose vicinity of the strandedRiver Princess on Monday af-ternoon.

According to sources, the tarballs were seen in large numberson the Candolim shores as thearea looked untidy.

Dhristi personnel confirmedthat tar balls were seen in thearea, but failed to provide anyfurther details.

It may be recalled that tarballs were sighted at manybeaches in the State barely threemonths ago.

On May 20, tar balls werefound along the Nuem beach atKhola-Canacona. Four days later,small tar balls appeared over along stretch at the Candolimbeach, near the site of thegrounded River Princess.

On May 27, tar balls mixedwith an oily residue appearedover a 500-metre stretch ofsouthern s ide o f Agondabeach.

Business: GSL net surges

59 per cent Pg 12

Visit us at:www.oheraldo.in panjim, tuesday, august 31, 2010 pRiCe Rs. 3.00 (air surcharge Rs. 1.50) pages 18

IN BRIEF

With such a heavy jacket under-neath, how do you expect me toplay up to my potential??

Sports: Avoid putting pressure

on Yuvi -- Murali Pg 18

Goas Heartbeat: Indian origin

actress wins Emmy award Pg 14

Coming events cast their shadows

before.

Campbell

Pak releases 100 Indian fishermenPakistan on Monday released100 Indians, the first batchfrom the 442 Indian fishermenlanguishing in a jail in Karachi,after rights activists fought alegal battle in the SupremeCourt against their unlawfuldetention. The first batch of442 Indian fishermen to befreed from Pakistani prisonswas released from Malir Jail inthe southern port city ofKarachi today, rights activistssaid. (PTI)

Rajdhani engine derails near KolkataPassengers of the Howrah-bound Rajdhani Express es-caped unhurt on Mondaywhen the engine derailed at astation in Hooghly districtwith the Railways claiming itcould be sabotage and stateDGP (Railways) saying it wasnot. The New Delhi-HowrahRajdhani Express was at aslow speed while it was pass-ing through a platform of theBaruipara station, when twofront wheels of the enginejumped the tracks, EasternRailway CPRO Samir Goswamitold. (PTI)

Part of Charminarminarets fallsCharminar, the iconic 400-year-old monument, became acasualty in the heavy rainsthat lashed Hyderabad citywhen a small portion of oneof its four minarets fell offfrom the historic structure.The incident occurred on Sun-day night. (PTI)

Oil substance which has appeared on the Sernabatim beach on Tuesday. Photo by Sidharth Mehta

Oil spill scare hits coastlineHuge deposits invade Colva-Sernabatim stretch

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 30

Are you a Portuguese passportholder, but your name continuesto be enrolled on the electoralrolls, hold on.

You now run the risk of losingyour voting right or losing mem-bership of any elected body, ifany, as the Foreigners Branchhas submitted a detailed list ofGoan Portuguese passport hold-ers for action under the laws inforce.

In fact, around 1000-oddGoans, who have obtained Por-tuguese passports during thelast three years face the risk ofdeletion of their names fromthe electoral rolls.

Based on the report from theSuperintendent of Police, For-

eigners Branch, Tony Fernandes,the office of the Chief ElectoralOffice has forwarded copies ofthe list to the Assistant ElectoralOfficers across Goa for verifica-tion and action.

Records revealed that around312 Goans had obtained Por-tuguese Passport in the year2008. The number swelled to432 in the following year andaround 433 locals acquired thepassport so far this year.

A perusal of the names re-vealed that most of the Por-tuguese passport holders hailfrom Tiswadi taluka, comprisingthe villages of Agassaim, GoaVelha, Merces, Santa Cruz,Taleigao etc.

Though the Portuguese Pass-port holders hail from acrossthe State, including villages ofpre-dominantly Catholic Salcete,an overwhelming majority ofthe holders are from Tiswadi.

We are in receipt of thenames of Goans from the For-eigners Branch who have ob-tained Portuguese passports.The names will be verified be-fore initiating action under theElectors Rules, informed Assis-tant Electoral Officer, MargaoParesh Faldessai.

The AEO said that the BoothLevel Officers (BLOs) will be en-trusted with the task of verifyingeach and every name of thepassport holder before they arestruck down from the electoralrolls.

In fact, the election branchof the AEO, Margao has startedthe process of verification ofthe names based on recordssubmitted by the Foreignersbranch.

PTI

NEW DELHI, AUG 30

Diluting some of the promises,government on Monday intro-duced in the Lok Sabha the long-awaited Direct Taxes Code Billseeking to increase exemptionthreshold for income tax payersand reduce corporate taxeswhile removing the preferentialtreatment for women.

The 319-clause bill, tabled byF inance Min i s te r P ranabMukherjee, seeks to replace thefive-decade old Income Tax Act,1961, and will come into effectfrom April 1, 2012, one yearlater than promised earlier, ifpassed by Parliament.

Under the Code, the incometax exemption threshold will goup from Rs 1.6 lakh per annumto Rs 2 lakh, while the corporatetax rate will come down from

33.2 per cent to a flat 30 percent.

Income from Rs 2-5 lakh isproposed to be taxed at 10 per

cent; Rs 5-10 lakh at 20 per centand 30 per cent thereafter.Though senior citizens, personsabove 65 years, will get addi-

tional benefit, women tax payerswill not be accorded specialtreatment available to them inthe IT Act.

The new tax slabs will helpsave up to Rs 41,040 for peopleearning more than Rs 10 lakh ayear and Rs 7,660 for incomeup to Rs 5 lakh.

The tax exemption on savingsand as also payment of interestup to Rs 1.5 lakh on housingloan have been retained in theproposed Bill along with the EEE(exempt-exempt-exempt) modeof taxation for insurance andpension funds.

The moderation of taxes to-gether with concessions are es-timated to result in a revenueloss of Rs 53,172 crore in 2012-13 if the present rates were tobe applied. The gross tax rev-enue from direct taxes will come

down from an estimated Rs 5.80lakh crore to Rs 5.27 lakh croreunder the proposed code.

The Bill, which will also re-place the Wealth Tax Act besidesthe IT Act, has been referred toa Parliamentary Committee forscrutiny and suggestions.

The new code will have 319sections and 22 schedules asagainst 298 sections and 14schedules of the existing IT Act.

As per the DTC Bill, the ex-emption limit for senior citizens,is proposed to be raised mar-ginally to Rs 2.5 lakh from Rs2.40 lakh now.

Currently, income from Rs 1.6-5 lakh attracts 10 per cent tax;from Rs 5-8 lakh, 20 per centand beyond Rs 8 lakh, 30 percent.

The proposed tax slabs are

DTC introduced in LS with marginal benefits

Bad news for Portuguese passport holders

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, AUG 30

Municipal elections for elevenmunicipalities which are due inOctober will be held throughElectronic Voting Machines(EVMs).

This will be the first time mu-nicipal elections will be con-ducted through EVMs in theState and notification amendingrequisite Rule of the Municipal-ities Act will be released shortly,a government official said.

The State Government had

though amended the Municipal-ities Act during Monsoon Ses-sion of the Assembly to havemunicipal elections throughEVM instead of ballot paper, oneof the Rules was not correctedwhen amendment was effected

last month.Notification adding requisite

clause to facilitate electionsthrough EVM will be releasedshortly and before the electionnotification announcing date formunicipal election is out, addsa government official.

To have elections throughEVMs State Election Commis-sion (SEC) should have 25 percent of the total requirementof EVMs. It has about 4000EVMs and necessarily more willbe borrowed from Election

Commission, said sources in theSEC.

Every year, the SEC addsabout 200 EVMs to its stock.

Of the fourteen municipalcouncils Ponda MunicipalCouncil (PMC), Sanquelim Mu-nicipal Council (SMC) and Cor-poration of the City of

Panjim (CCP) are not goingfor elections this time as theyare to complete their mandatedtenure. The CCP will go for elec-tions in the March next yearwhen its term ends.

Municipal polls go the EVMs way

Records reveal that of the 312 Goans whoobtained Portuguese Passport in 2008, 432in 2009 and 433 so far this year, majority hailfrom Tiswadi taluka, comprising the villagesof Agassaim, Goa Velha, Merces, Santa Cruz,Taleigao.

Tax savings under proposed DTC Bill

Income Taxpayer (Below 65) Sr Citizens` 5 lakhOld Slab ` 22,600 ` 14,420New Slab ` 15,000 ` 10,000Saving ` 7,660 ` 4,420` 10 lakhOld Slab ` 1,21,540 ` 1,13,300New Slab ` 1,00,000 ` 95,000Saving ` 21,540 ` 18,300` 15 lakhOld Slab ` 2,76,040 ` 2,67,800New Slab ` 2,35,000 ` 2,30,000Saving ` 41,040 ` 37,800

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, AUG 30

Neither M/s Titan Salvage norM/s Madgaonkar Salvage but M/sSalgaonkar Mining IndustriesPvt Ltd, (SMIPL) gets the firstpreference to remove thegrounded M V River Princess offCandolim beach.

The State Disaster Manage-ment Authority (SDMA) headedby the Chief Minister DigambarKamat on Monday decided togive first chance to SMIPL to re-move the vessel even as earlierit had almost finalised on Sin-gaporean company, M/s TitanSalvage which had offered toremove the vessel by breakingit into pieces within a period ofsix months at a tender cost ofRs 125 crore.

Last week, the Advisory Com-mittee after considering opin-ions of legal advisors in-principlehad decided that Titan Salvagewould be the best option to re-move the River Princess.

But the decision of the SDMAtilted in favour of SMIPL as ithas offered to remove the vesselfree of cost. The High Court willbe appraised of the develop-ment on Tuesday when it takesup for hearing a PIL of RiverPrincess Hatao Manch (RPHM).

Speaking to Herald CalanguteMLA, Agnelo Fernandes imme-diately after the meeting, saidin view of conflicting legal opin-ions about tendering processand Salgaonkars offer to re-move the vessel for free, it wasdecided that SMIPL be given afirst preference.

However, the government willalso negotiate with the two bid-ders M/s Titan Salvage and M/s

Madgaonkar Salvage, whichwere finalised from the twelvebids that the Tourism Depart-ment had received in responseto its tender in March this year.M/s SMIPL bid was rejected fornot being in consonance withthe tender conditions.

In its application before HighCourt, M/s SMIPL had also madeits intension clear that it is will-ing to remove the vessel for free.

It must be recalled that M/sSMIPL had also released adver-tisements in the newspapersmaking allegations against thegovernment saying the govern-ment had favoured certain par-ties in the tendering process.

While the government hasdecided to consider SMIPL forremoving the vessel it will alsonegotiate with other two bid-ders and the meeting has beencalled on Wednesday.

The government wants tokeep other options ready in theevent the proposal of SMIPLdoes not materialise, said Fer-nandes.

Salgaonkar Mininggets govt nod to

remove Princess

GBEA to joinnationwide

stir on Sept 7HERALD REPORTER

VASCO, AUG 30

The Goa Bank Employees As-sociation (GBEA) will join thenationwide strike called by dif-ferent Central trade unions onSeptember 7.

According to a press state-ment issued by GBEA GeneralSecretary A M Pereira, tradeunions INTUC, HMS, AITUC,CITU, AIUTUC, UTUC, TUCC andAICCTU have jointly given astrike call over issues like alarm-ing price rise, huge job losses,large-scale disinvestment in pub-lic sector, rampant violation oflabour laws and lack of adequateprotection to unorganised work-ers.

The trade unions, mostly fromoil, coal, steel, transport, de-fense, telecommunication,postal service, banks, insurance,electricity, etc, have decided tojoin the strike, while private sec-tor trade unions too will jointhe strike, besides agricultureand plantation sector workerswill participate in the strike.

In the banking sector, the AllIndia Bank Employees Associa-tion has given the call for strike.

PTI

LONDON, AUG 30

Suspecting widespread corrup-tion in Pakistan matches for lasttwo and half years, ICC will in-vestigate 82 Tests and ODImatches for possible match-fix-ing after more skeletons tum-b led ou t fo l l ow ing thespot-fixing scandal in the fourthTest at Lords, according to a re-port.

A report in the Daily Tele-graph said that InternationalCricket Councils anti-corruptionunit will work with London Met-ropolitan Police which will in-vestigate into the past businessdealings of the fixer of Asianorigin, Mazhar Majeed.

In a tabloid newspaper sting,Majeed had claimed that he hadbeen running a racket withseven players for about twoand a half years and added thatweve made masses and massesof money.

Majeed, who presents him-self as a property tycoon andfootball club owner, has leftthousands of pounds in unpaidbills and a string of companiesthat have closed in his wake,the Daily Telegraph report said.

Faisal Hameed, a former busi-ness partner of Majeed, wasquoted as saying by the news-paper report that three yearsago their Croydon-based com-pany Bluesky Developments,which sponsored some of thePakistan players, was dissolvedafter it began losing money due

to the financial crisis.The accounts of Bluesky, and

Croydon Athletic football club,a non-league team owned byhim, will be studied by detec-tives. We will follow the moneytrail and see where that leadsus, it said.

The inquiry will be led by theSpecialist and Economic CrimeDepartment which has alsoinvestigated MPs suspected ofexpenses fraud.

The report also quoted un-named sources as saying thatthe passports of the Pakistanicricketers under investigationcould be seized and that up toseven players could be ques-tioned on suspicion of conspir-acy to defraud.

The rest of the squad couldalso be interviewed as potentialwitnesses, the report said.

ICC puts 82 Tests,ODIs under scanner

In a tabloid sting,Majeed claims he hadbeen running a racketwith seven players forabout two and a halfyears and added thatweve made massesand masses of money.

(Continued on page 10)

(Continued on page 10)

With Ganesh festival fast approaching, Ganesh idols are on sale at a shop in Panjim.

Photo by Rozario Estibeiro

Pg 1_Layout 1 8/31/2010 12:31 AM Page 1

GOA, TUESDAY, 30 AUGUST, 2010

GOA Pg 2OHERALD

O

SHWETA KAMAT

PANJIM, AUG 30

Environmentalists in Goa have appealedto the people to opt for eco-friendlymethods to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthithis year.

Charting out various ways that canhelp you have pollution-free Chovoth(Ganesh Chaturthi), the environmentalistsfeel that changing social ethos are in-creasingly casting its shadow over thecelebration making it inimical to envi-ronment.

Renowned environmentalist andwildlife expert Rajendra Kerkar feels thatintense modernization has dragged usaway from the conventional practicesfor Chovoth.

Clay Idols being rapidly replaced withplaster of Paris idols is an example ofhow conventional methods for celebrat-ing the festival are shrinking, Kerkar said.

Same is with the natural colourswhich were earlier used to make GaneshIdol, now the artificial non environmentfriendly colours are donning the scene,he added.

No one is concerned about environ-ment. Everyone is busy making merry,he rued.

Chovoth, Goas most favourite festivalcelebrating birth of elephant-headed Godwill be celebrated on September 11. Thefive day long festival will have entire Goa

rapped in festivities.Kerkar, himself living in Keri village,

said that the villagers too have not lostreal sense of Chovoth, which was alwayseco friendly.

In Keri, there are hardly two to threefamilies which celebrate Chovoth in atraditional and eco-friendly way. Theyuse idol made up of clay coloured withnatural dyes, he said.

Kerkar suggested that people shouldgo for Idols made of unbaked natural

clay, natural fibre, or even recycled paper.Ensure that the dyes used to colour theidols are organic or vegetable in origin,he said.

The stress on the use of earthen orclay idols embellished by vegetable dyesis a symbolic way of displaying environ-ment-friendliness in religion, he said.

The use of thermacol or plastic as dec-orations or accessories for Ganpati idolor pandal should be avoided.

Instead, use cloth, wood, paper, andother natural materials that are saferwhen immersed in water, avoiding waterpollution, the environmentalist sug-gested.

He said even use of fire crackersshould be barred to save from noise andair pollution.

Goa has already banned Plaster of Parisidols and provided subsidy to the artisansmaking clay Idols.

Earthworm, states one of the mostcreative green-initiative, has announcedthat they will be selling Ganesh Idolsmade from mud and natural coloursbrought from Maharashtra at their Por-vorim premises.

This is for the first time in Goa thatwe are stocking such idols. We have col-laborated with Ecoexist, a Pune-basedgroup to bring these eco-friendly Ganeshidols to the people of Goa. They aremade of clay and painted with turmeric,

geroo, and multani mitti, says NirmalKulkarni from the Earthworm store.

Ecoexist is one such NGO that hasmade eco-sensitive Ganesha idols forthe third successive year. The best partabout these idols is that they can be im-mersed in a bucket of water, which canbe further used to water the plants.

Nirmalya (flowers and green leavers)offered to Ganesh and left over afterPuja, has also been a concern for the en-vironment.

Panjim-based like-minded environmen-talists have decided to initiate a campaignto educate people from deterring tothrow nirmalya into water bodies.

Tallulha DSilva, a environmental con-cern, said that they have initiated a con-cept of ` Green Chaturthi 2010 in whichthey along with the Corporation of theCity of Panjim (CCP) will be placing binsat various places for collection of nir-malya.

Last year the concept had received asatisfactory response. We accept to makemore people aware about the environ-ment this time, DSilva said.

The Nirmalya pots will be placed atMiramar, Ferry point, old Patto Bridge,Mansher and at Sarvajanik mandals likeBoca de Vaca, Church Square and KTCbus stand, just before a week of GaneshFestival, which will be celebrated on Sep-tember 11.

Greens call for celebrating eco-friendly Ganesh

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, AUG 30

Bombay High Court at Goa onFriday issued show-cause noticeto Chief Electrical Engineer Nir-mal Braganza in connection withthe contempt petition filed by13 individuals.

Justice A P Lavande issued thenotice to show cause as to whycontempt proceeding shouldnot be initiated against him, re-turnable on September 22,2010.

Kashinath Shetye and twelveothers have filed a contemptpetition vis--vis reappointmentsof P V Kadnekar as special sec-retary, law and R A Ghali as elec-tricity inspector, who wereappointed in the month of Mayand July, respectively.

The petitioners have pointedout that the order of extensionof reappointment while thiscourt was seized of the matterconstitutes contravention of theorders of the High Court and ofthe Supreme Court.

They have said that extending

reappointment of Ghali consti-tutes a fraud played by the gov-e rnment when a l ready acontempt petition of similar na-ture was pending.

The petitioner in 2009 hadchallenged the practice of thegovernment of reappointing re-tired officials on contract or ex-tension basis.

The High Court on December1, 2009 had granted the leaveto the government partially fora period of five months in whichtime the government was toframe recruitment rules andmake appointments in termsthereof.

The court had also made itclear that no further extensionwas to be given.

The petitioners pointed outthat till date recruitment rulesfor the post of electricity inspec-tor are not been framed.

Moreover, Kadnekar and Ghalihave been reappointed withoutfollowing the constitutionalscheme as spelt out by theSupreme Court.

Chief electricalengineer gets

HC notice

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, AUG 30

Goans may have to wait forfew more months to taste thedelicious apples, which theGoa State Horticulture Corpo-ration was to exclusively im-port from the scenic valley ofKashmir.

Thanks to the social unrestin the extraordinarily beautifulvalley that has played a spoil-sport.

GSHC Chairman SankalpAmonkar admits that the vio-lence in the valley has stalledtheir venture, but he is deter-mined to resume the project inthe coming months.

Yes, this is one of the reasonswhy we have (delayed) the im-portWe have other marketsat Himachal Pradesh but as faras quality is concerned, Kashmirbeats all other state apples. Wewish to import Kashmiri apples

by November or December de-pending on the situation there,the chairman replied to a ques-tion on the delay.

Had not the valley faced suchcrisis, the Corporation wouldhave sourced Kashmiri applesand sold them through its out-lets by now.

Kashmiri apples -- known fortheir sweetness, nutrition andcolour -- have already forayedinto the Indian market. Themouth-watering apples magnet-ized Goa, as well and, in 2009GSHC imported two truck loadsof the delicious red andgolden apples from the cold

region. While, one load was success-

fully sold out through its 250outlets across Goa, the secondload suffered Goas humid cli-mate bearing a loss of Rs66,000 of the total 1.80-lakhthe Corporation spent on theimport.

The non-availability of aproper cold-storage is also hin-dering GSHC from importingnot just apples but other fruits,as well. Nonetheless, Amonkarasserted that the cold-storagelocated at Panjim market wouldbe functional in a month.

Meanwhile, the Corporationhas already roped in about 12apple growers from Kashmir,with whom the team officialsdeliberated during their last visitto Kashmir.

Now since the GSHC has in-tended a full-fledged import,after a partially successful trial,

it will initially import three tofour tones of Kashmiri applesper day. Depending on the de-mand among locals, the Chair-man said, they will mount theimport to about hundred tones,which will be sold at subsidizedrates at all their outlets.

At the same time, GSHC hasalso planned importing fruitssuch as bananas, oranges, sweetlime and other seasonal fruitsfrom Maharashtra, Karnataka,Jammu & Kashmir and HimachalPradesh.

We are waiting for the coldstorage to become fully func-tional and equipped so thatwe can store the importedfruits for days together evenas maintaining its freshness,he said.

Interestingly, the Corporationhas decided to introduce sepa-rate outlets to exclusively sellthese fruits.

Goa will have to wait bit longer for Kashmiri apples

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, AUG 30

The Cosme Matias MenezesGroup that completed 100 yearsrecently brought three of Indiastop doctors working in the fieldof cancer on a common platformat a continuing medical educa-tion programme at a city hotelto explain the latest trends inthe diagnosis and managementof the feared disease.

Consultant oncopathologistAsian Institute of Oncology, SRLGroup and former head of sur-gical pathology Tata MemorialHospital, Mumbai, Dr AnitaBorges, spoke on Predictive On-cology and the Augury of Sur-gical Pathology.

Dr Anita, who is the daugh-ter of well-known cancer sur-geon late Dr Ernest Borges,observed tissue pathology wasdirectly involved in clinical de-cision making. The informationin a pathology report gives thediagnosis, stage, prognosis,prediction and effectiveness ofthe treatment response, shesaid.

Dr Borges, who is originallyfrom Goa, also spoke about tar-geted therapy, molecular tar-gets, prediction of toxicity andpersonalised medicine. Shehighlighted the role of targetedtherapy in breast cancer, chronicmyeloid leukemia, gastro-in-testinal stromal tumors, lungcancer, colon cancer and braintumours.

Another well-known figure ofGoan origin in the treatment ofcancer, Dr Luzito De Souza,spoke on Lessons learnt in thepractice of surgical oncology.He advised doctors to examinepatients diligently while at thesame time be sensitive to pain.Examine a patient from top tobottom, diagnose with skill, in-vestigate judiciously, take a sec-ond opinion when required,communicate effectively, treateffectively and follow-up, hementioned.

Dr De Souza, who is consult-ant oncosurgeon and formerhead of surgery department,Tata Memorial Hospital, Mum-bai, also spoke about palliation

in cancer patients, palliationwith compassion and compe-tence to take care of the body,mind and soul.

Dr Sanjay Oak, Director andDean Seth G S Medical Collegeand KEM Hospital, Mumbai,spoke about the history andevolution of medicine. Thoughhe didnt elaborate on cancerhe went on to speak on the an-cient code of laws at length giv-ing an insight into medicalpractice of different places inthe world.

The scientific session waschaired by Dr R G WisemanPinto, professor and head ofpathology department Goa Med-ical College. Cesar Menezes,Chairman and Managing Direc-tor of Wallace Pharmaceuticals,welcomed the gathering andRashmi Menezes, Director Salesand Marketing of WallacePharma, gave a brief report ofthe company.

Dr Divya Menezes proposeda vote of thanks. The speakerspaid glowing tributes to theCMM Group.

Top doctors explain latest trends in cancer treatment

Cesar Menezes, Chairman and Managing Director of Wallace Pharmaceuticals, welcomes the CME pro-gramme gathering, while Dr Wiseman Pinto (sitting first from left) and the three speakers, Dr AnitaBorges, Dr Sanjay Oak and Dr Luzito De Souza, look on.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CALANGUTE, AUG 30

Anjuna Police led by Police In-spector Manjunath Dessai out-lined preventive measures to betaken at the temples andchurches in its jurisdiction cov-ering areas like Nagoa-Arpora,Anjuna-Caisua and Siolim at theinteractive meet at Anjuna.

The meeting of the committeemembers of the temples andchurches, which was convenedby PI Dessai, guided and sug-gested the committee membersto go for illumination of the struc-tures to curb thefts at nights.

PI Dessai also suggested in-stallation of CCTVs, if viable, atthe temples to avoid thefts.

Other measures suggested byPI Dessai included securityguards at the religious premises,emptying donation boxes onregular intervals and good andstrong safes. He also suggestedhaving a temple plan in place,particularly the entry and exitpoints, etc.

Addressing committee mem-bers, PI Dessai informed thatthe person arrested in connec-tion with thefts and burglary oftemples had the entire map ofreligious structures in the Stateand have been visiting the placeson regular intervals, perhaps tofinalise their plans.

The Police department is notaverse to paying any volunteer,who comes forward for doingthe security guard duty on dailybasis, PI Dessai told the gath-ering and asked the villagers tomaintain alertness during earlyhours of morning between 2.30am and 3.30 am, as most of thethefts and robberies have takenplace during this period.

Though we try our best topatrol religious places duringthat period, it becomes ex-tremely difficult to be at everyplace, said PI Dessai.

Welcoming the initiative ofAnjuna Police, one of the com-mittee members suggested tothe Police Inspector to have pho-

tos of the wanted persons inconnection with thefts at tem-ples, etc, displayed on the boardoutside the temple premises.

Another committee membersuggested that the governmentshould take initiative for instal-lation of CCTVs at the templepremises rather than paying asecurity guard on daily basis.

Another suggestion put for-ward by the members includedthe begging menace at the tem-ple premises.

PI Dessai asked the commit-tee members not to allow beg-gars at the temple premises. Healso asked the committee mem-bers to have a note book in placeoutside the premises so thatthey can keep a check on pa-trolling at nights.

Earlier, Anjuna Police person-nel Keshav Naik welcomed thegathering, while PI Dessaithanked the villagers and com-mittee members for their coop-eration and assembling at theplace despite a short notice.

Anjuna police outline security measures at temples, churches

Uccasaim,Paliem to elect

sarpanchs HERALD CORRESPONDENT

PORVORIM, AUG 30

Elections to the posts ofsa rpanch and deputysarpanch of Uccasaim, Paliemand Punola Panchayats willbe held in the panchayatpremises on September 3 at10 am.

It may be recalled thatthe post of sarpanch hadf a l l e n v a c a n t , a f t e rsarpanch Deepa l i Kud-nekar was voted out ofpower in a no-confidencemotion, which was passedagainst her on July 30.

The motion was moved byfive panchas Nitesh Gadekar,Manisha Mayekar, Eliza D-Souza, Cosme Martins andPrakash Bandekar.

Later, deputy sarpanchPrakash Bandekar resignedfrom the post.

Since both the posts hadfallen vacant, Bardez BlockDevelopment Officer ap-pointed Block DevelopmentOffice Extension Officer Gu-rudas Bandekar as the admin-istrator of the panchayat.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 30

In a raid, officials of the Forestdepartment on Monday seizedtwo kilograms of Peacock meatand arrested a resident ofNuvem this evening.

Deputy Conser vator o fForests, Shambu told newsmenthat the department arrested68-year-old Rudolf Fernandes,a resident of Murda-Grande,Nuvem based on a complaintfor allegedly killing the Peacock,the National Bird of India.

The forest department has

gathered enough evidence andaccordingly meat weighing twokilograms was seized. The ac-cused was arrested and broughtto the Forest department office,Aquem for further investiga-tions, he said.

Replying to a question,Shambu said that killing of aPeacock is violation of ScheduleOne of the Wildlife ProtectoniAct, adding that necessary pun-ishment will be imposed on theaccused after completing thenecessary inquiry.

Further investigations are on.

Peacock meat seized

Peacock meat seized from a resident of Nuvem has been sealed bythe forest department. Photo by Santosh Mirajkar

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 30

Panchwadi villagers along withFr Rodrigues called on the Min-ister for Environment Alexio Se-queira at his Raia residence onMonday morning regarding con-struction of mining road throughtheir village.

The villagers enlightened theMinister of the ill effects andother problems of dust pollu-tion, heavy traffic in their smallvillage etc. The minister gavethem a patient hearing and of-fered to help the villagers bystopping the construction of themining road meant for a mining

company, but however did notgive a concrete promise that theroad will be scrapped.

The villagers were happy withthe meeting as the minister un-derstood their problem and of-fered whatever help he can.

Villagers maintained that ac-quisition of 40 hectares of man-grove forest will destroy the ecosensitive area, adding that theland acquisition will destroymangroves etc..

The mining company had pur-chased 30 hectares of mangroveforest for mining road and dump-ing of ore, but since this areawas tenented they could not con-

struct the road. Villages allegedthat the company now want theGoa government to buy their30 hectares and another 10hectares from other owners toconstruct mining road and load-ing and unloading of iron ore anthe banks of river Zuari.

The sawant and karapurkarcommitee and TERI report con-forms the existance of mangroveforest in this area. If road is con-structed the moisal dam whichsupplies water to the whole vil-lage and surrounding areas willget polluted and the whole vil-lage will be affected, the vil-lagers added.

Panchwadi villagers complain against building mining road

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 30

Oil companies which allegedly owehuge arrears running into lakhs of rupeesto the Margao Municipality by way ofrent has asked the civic body not to usecoercive action, including closure of thepetrol pumps, warning that the Munici-pality will be solely responsible for anylaw and order problem arising out ofany action.

The Territory Manager of Bharat Pe-troleum also called for the interventionof the South Goa district Collector, be-

sides the Director of Food and Civil sup-plies on the issue.

Incidentally, for the first time, BharatPetroleum asked the civic body to granta months time to deposit the rent, in-cluding arrears, saying the company isin the process of obtaining approval ofhigher authorities for deposit of rent.

Requesting MMC Chief Officer Y BTawde to grant one months time to de-posit the rent, the BP Territory Managerfurther requested the civic body not toproceed with any coercive action, includ-ing closure of petrol pumps as threatened

in the municipal notice dated July 26. In spite of our request, if you unilat-

erally close down the outlets, there wouldbe disruption of supply of petroleumproducts in Margao. Being under essen-tial commodities, the public would beinconvenienced, which might lead to lawand order problem in Margao. The onusof this will then solely lie with the MargaoMunicipal Council, warned the territorymanager.

MMC Chairperson Savio Coutinho,however, said that there cannot be anylaw and order problem when the civic

body is only demanding payment of rentamounting to Rs 34.83 lakh.

He said the civic body has sent a de-mand notice on Bharat Petroleum to payrent to the tune of Rs 21,93,809 and onHindustan petroleum for payment of rentamounting to Rs 12,89,665. This is thetotal arrears of rent upto October 31,2009. The Council has also written tothe District Collector to take necessarysteps for shifting of the petrol pumpssince the Council has not issued NOC tothe oil companies to set up the pumps,Coutinho asserted.

Oil companies urge MMC not close down pumps

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, AUG 30

Panjim town police have assuredthat all necessary measures willbe taken to provide security andhave urged concerned membersto cooperate with the police forthe fo r thcoming GaneshChaturthi festival.

The police team organized ameeting with temple committeemembers and those who will beholding sarvajanik Ganapatiutsav to maintain strict vigilanceand follow security rules.

The members are asked to

install CCTV cameras at the fes-tival venue, mandatory illumi-nation in and around the festivalvenue and appoint volunteerswho would patrol the venue,said an officer.

TO avoid any traffic conges-tion, the police have suggestedparking vehicles away from thevenue, which will also help interms of security. We have alsoasked to keep a vigil over sus-picious people and thingsaround the place. We have askedthem to keep only one entrypoint the officer further said.

Panjim police pledgeadequate security

GOA, TUESDAY, 31 AUGUST, 2010

GOA Pg 3OHERALDO

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 30

Nuvem Zilla Panchayat memberWilfred DSas wife Frida hasmade it to the village Panchayatof Nuvem by defeating her rivalVinod Verlekar by a margin of244 votes.

In the elections held for WardNo IV left vacant after the elec-tion of Wilfred as the ZP mem-ber, Frida polled 340 votes,Vinod had to be content withonly 96 votes.

After her victory, Frida pro-fusely thanked the voters andthe supporters and promised towork hard as per the expecta-tions of the people.

In Curtorim, Luiza Pais waselected Panch member of WardNo II in a triangular contest.While Luiza Pais polled 401votes, her rivals Winee Dias andSarita Dias polled 170 and 58votes respectively. Elections forWard No II were necessitatedafter Veena Lourenco waselected the Curtorim ZP mem-ber.

Luiza has promised to takeup all round development of thevillage.

As far as ward No II of Chin-chinim Panchayat is concerned,Constancio Fernandes emergedwinner in a five-cornered con-test. Constancio polled 290votes, while Valentino Barretto(153), Philip Menzes (54), AlinaDias (46) and Rajesh Coutinho(22) votes.

The seat was left vacant fol-lowing the election of thenpanch member, Sabrina Dias tothe Zilla Panchayat.

After his victory, Constanciosaid he would take personal in-terest to ensure that a numberof development proposals pend-ing in the Panchayat are imple-mented at the earliest.

People were looking for achange in the Panchayat. My aimwas to poll more than 50 percent of the vote, which Iachieved without much diffi-culty, he said, promising to im-plement host of proposals forthe benefit of the village.

Porvorim correspondentadds: Amita Vasudev Kor -gaonkar, Rajesh Ganpat Temkarand Raju R Banaulikar were de-clared elected from Ward 3(Verla-Canca Panchayat), Ward7 (Revora Panchayat) and Ward4 (Oxel Panchayat), respectively.

Polling in three wards tookplace on August 29 and thecounting was taken up on Mon-day morning.

After declaring the results atabout 10.30 am, Bardez Mam-latdar Gaurish Shankhwalkerhanded over the letters of cer-tification to the elected panchmembers.

Amita Vasudev Korgaonkar

secured 310 votes of the 453votes polled in Ward 3 of Verla-Canca Panchayat, while At-maram Bhagat secured 43,Ratikant Korgaonkar (50) andUmakant Korgaonkar (43). Sevenvotes were rejected.

In Ward 7 of Revora Pan-chayat, Rajesh Ganpat Temkarsecured 177 votes of the 318votes polled. Two other candi-dates in the fray Dinesh GanpatTemkar and Rajaram Mandrekargot 7 and 126 votes respectively.Eight votes were rejected.

Raju Banaulikar won the elec-tion in Ward 4 of Oxel Panchyatdefeating his nearest rival Goku-das Bhikaji Dhargalker by a slimmargin of 4 votes.

Raju Banaulikar polled 135votes, while Gokuldas Dhar-galkar secured 131 votes. Theother two candidates in the frayMadhukar Bhikaji Dhargalkarand Srikant M Dhargalkar got82 and 39 votes respectively.

Two votes were rejected.Marcel correspondent adds:

It was a draw of lots that en-sured the success of Suresh Naikin the by-polls of Ward 2 ofTiverem-Orgao panchayat, whileChedo Gaude got elected in theby-polls of Ward 3 in Veling-Priol-Cuncolim panchayat.

Bye-elections to the two seatswere conducted on Sunday afterpanch Gokuldas Naik fromTiverem Orgao Panchayat re-signed after he was elected toNorth Goa Zilla Panchayat (ZP)from Tiverem seat, while ShivdasGaude of Ward 3 from Veling-Priol-Cuncolim Panchayat gotelected from Veling ZP seat.

The counting of votes wastaken up on Monday. SureshNaik was lucky as he was de-clared elected after ReturningOfficer Gourish Kurtikar decidedto hold a draw of lots, afterSuresh Naik and Yuvraj Naik se-cured the same votes (170).

Third candidate Jayesh Naikpolled 31 votes, six votes wererejected.

In Veling-Priol-Cuncolim,Chedo Gaude secured 173 votesand his nearest opponent DasuGaude polled 136 votes. Othertwo candidates MangaldasGaude secured 89 votes, whileMukundas Khedekar secured 59votes.

Suresh Naiks supportersheaved a huge sigh of relief afterthe draw of lots went in favourof Suresh. Naik was greeted byhis supporters outside the dis-trict administration buildingwith colours and flowers.

Naik dedicated his win to hissupporters and Priol MLA DeepakDhavlikar. I am thankful to votersfor having faith in me. I am alsothankful to Priol MLA DeepakDhavlikar for supporting me.

This is the third election Ihave contested and won for thefirst time only because of mysupporters. Since I was thefavourite candidate, my oppo-nents used money power andhad almost succeeded. But withdivine blessings, I made it,claimed Suresh Naik.

Interestingly, all the three can-didates are learnt to be the sup-porters of Priol MLA DeepakDhavlikar.

Chedo Gaude too dedicatedhis win to Priol MLA DeepakDhavlikar, besides North Goa ZPmember and voters from WardNo 3 o f Ve l i ng -P r io l -Cuncolim.

The Tiverem-Orgao Pan-chayats Ward No 2 had recorded81.60 per cent voting, whileWard No 3 Veling-Priol-Cuncolimrecorded 59 per cent voting.

In Tiverem-Orgao Panchayat,a total of 372 out of 462 voteswere polled, while in Veling-Priol-Cuncolim, 463 votes were

Panchayat by-election results declared

Victorious Frida DSa along with her husband Wilfred (a ZP member) and supporters after her electionto ward No IV of Nuvem panchayat. Photo by Santosh Mirajkar

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 30

With opposition to the pro-posed fish meal plant at Cutbonajetty mounting with each pass-ing day, Fisheries MinisterJoaquim Alemao has said he hasno problem if the people areopposed to the project.

Commenting on the opposi-tion building up in the twin vil-lages of Velim and Ambelim tothe fish meal project, the fish-eries minister pushed the ballin the court of the Velim MLAand Minister for Water Re-sources, Filipe Neri Rodrigues,saying Let the local MLA tellme not to go ahead with theproject and I will go by his de-cision.

I will not bulldoze my waywith the project. If the local MLAalso doesnt want the project, Iwill not go ahead with thesame, he added.

Alemao said the fish mealplant was proposed by the de-

partment at the Cutbona fishingjetty not only to help checkwater spillage from fish trans-porting trucks, but to ensurethat all excess fish went into thefish meal plant instead of beingdumped in the river.

The departments intentionswere quite clear on the issue.But, if the people are opposedto the project, than I have nooption than to do a re-think,he added.

Incidentally, while the Fish-eries Minister have more thanone occasion publicly declaredthat the department is acquiringland admeasuring 30,000 squaremeters for the proposed fishmeal plant, the land acquisitionprocess is silent on the purposebehind acquisition of the hugeland.

In fact, the Fisheries depart-ment has not mentioned thepublic purpose for which theland is being acquired, evokingstrong protests from the vil-

lagers and Velim and Ambe-lim.

Says Ambelim sarpanch, CruzSilva: Its surprising that theFisheries department has notmade clear till date the purposebehind the acquiring the land,nor has explained details on thefish meal till date.

In fact, what has agitated thevillagers is the silence on thepart of the Fisheries departmenton the purpose behind land ac-quisition and the failure by theFisheries Director S C Verencarto attend a scheduled meetingwith the villagers to explain theproject.

Says a villager, Melson Luis:The fisheries department ap-pears hell bent in pushing thefish meal plant down thethroats of the villagers. Theresno environmental impact as-sessment report as the fish mealplant will cause environmentaland ecological disaster in thearea.

Joaquim not to go against wish of people on fish plant

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 29

As many as three Margao Mu-nicipal engineers have comeunder the scanner of the gov-ernment following complaintsof corruption from citizens.

Apart from the citizens, evenChief Minister Digambar Kamatis believed to have brought tothe notice of Urban Develop-ment Minister Joaquim Alemaovis-a-vis corrupt activities of theengineers.

A n agitated Alemao hasagreed to shunt out the engi-neers in questions out of Mar-gao, but after a meeting withthe Chief Minister. I have re-ceived many complaints atleast2-3 engineers demanding bribesfrom the citizens to get worksapproved. Even the Chief Min-ister has told me to look intothe matter, he said.

While declining to further gointo the issue, Alemao said ac-tion, if any, would be initiatedafter a meeting with the ChiefMinister.

Sources in the know said thatthe Margao Municipal councilhas been watching the situationas a mere spectator given thatthe engineers come under acommon cadre under the Di-rector of Municipal Administra-tor.

In fact, there were loud criesin the civic body during the firsthalf of the current term of the

3 Margao civic engineers under scanner for graft

Civic body for the transfer of anengineer, but the same fell ondeaf ears of the powers that be.

It not out of place to mentionhere that there were complaintsgalore against the MMCs tech-nical section about the harass-ment meted out to citizens overthe issue of issuance of con-struction licenses.

In fact, even the elected rep-resentatives led by ChairpersonSavio Coutinho had called fora list of construction licensesissued by the Municipal techni-cal section following complaintsthat conditions relating togarbage disposal and parkingspace are being dispensed withby the builders in collusion withthe technical section.

However, though Coutinhoand the ruling MMC group ini-tially made it a matter of pres-t i ge on the i s sue , e venthreatening to get the informa-tion under the Right to Infor-mation Act, the technical sectionis yet to give the details to theMMC Chairperson till date.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 30

Hospicio was once again in thenews on Monday, again for badreasons.

A relative of a dying patientalleged that a hospital servantrefused to provide a glass ofwater to the patient before hebreathed his last on Monday af-ternoon.

Thats not all. The son of thedeceased alleged that the ser-vant even told his sister to getwater from the toilet block.

The incident occurred ataround 1 pm, when the patientBabuso Pandurang Gaonkar un-dergoing treatment in the ICUasked his daughter for water.Just before he breathed his last,my father asked for water. Mysister, who was at the bed side,immediately requested a servantfor water, which she refused,Babusos son Gokuldas toldnewsmen.

He sa id h is s i s ter evenpleaded with the servant to give

Hospicio staff refuses water to dying patientwater since their father was ina serious condition. Instead,the servant told my sister to getwater from the toilet and wentaway after closing the door,Gokuldas claimed.

The serious episode wastaken up with the Acting Hos-picio Medical Superintendent,Dr Nasnodkar, who has prom-ised to take action after a probe.I have ordered an inquiry into

the episode. We have to hearfrom both sides before com-ment ing on the mat ter ,Nasnodkar said, adding that aninquiry into the episode will un-earth the true facts.

The inquiry will find out whythe servant has refused to pro-vide water to the dying patient.I will find out exactly what hashappened this afternoon, headded.

Mickky allowed

travel to DelhiMARGAO: Former tourism

minister Mickky Pacheco onMonday was granted permissionby the South Goa Sessions Courtto travel to Delhi.

Pachecos lawyer Adv Ana-cleto Viegas said the formertourism minister approachedthe court seeking permission totravel to Delhi for eight days forpersonal reasons.

My client had to approachthe court as one of the condi-tions of bail was that Pachecomoves the court for permissionwhile traveling outside thestate, Adv Viegas said.

Notification onmunicipal polls

kicks up row HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 30

The Notification issued by theDirector of Municipal Adminis-tration (DMA) notifying Munic-ipal wards elections to the Civicbodies has kicked up a row ofsorts.

A group of Margao MunicipalCouncilors on Monday pointedout that the notification issuedby the DMA is based on the Mu-nicipal election wards of 2005,adding that the new houses asshown n the electoral roll of Jan-uary 2010 are not included inthe roll.

In this respect, the City Fa-thers petitioned to the SalceteMamlatdar to take steps to rem-edy the situation and advise thegovernment to ensure that cor-rect data is followed and removethe confusions in the minds ofthe electorate.

Councilors Ramdas Hazare,Luis Gonzaco Rebello, LivramentBarreto and Rajendra Azgaonkarstated that house numbershavechanged in most instances fol-lowing the new house tax as-sessment done by the MargaoMunicipal Council. All thesechanges have not been incorpo-rated and the Municipal pollsare sought to be conducted onobsolete data of 2005 when newelectoral rolls and relevant re-vised data is available, they con-tended , add ing Th i s i stantamount to a retrograde ac-tion which will confuse the vot-ers and could result in the fallof voting percentage in the elec-tions to the Civic bodies tenta-tively slated for October 31.

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HERALD CORRESPONDENT

SANGUEM, AUG 30

Even after several decades ofGoas liberation, some villageslocated in the hinterland areasare yet to be provided withelectricity connection.

And this despite being thefact that Digambar Kamat ledaam aadmi government hasmade it specific that no familyshould be denied water andelectricity connection and forwhich purpose necessary pro-visions are made in the HealthAct.

However, even after makingnecessary changes in the Act,some 10 families residing inthe remote Barabhumi ward inSancorda village continues todepend on kerosene-run lampsas a source of power.

The villagers, who otherwisereside on forest land, howeverhad some smiles on their facesrecently, after due efforts ofDharbandora ZP memberRashmi Lambor, the villagerswere provided with solar lamps.

The solar lamps numberingabout 15 are sponsored byMineral Foundation of Goa andit will come as a great help forthe villagers, particularly theschool-going children, who tilldate were solely depending on

kerosene-run lamps for theirstudies.

Given the lack of electricityconnection, the villagers alsodoes not have access to radio,television, computers andother electronic gadgets,thereby keeping the villagers incomplete dark over the newsand events taking place in theirneighbourhood.

The village also lacksproper road facility and the vil-

lagers who mostly hail fromthe shepard community aremade to use kattcha road toproceed to their houses, ZPmember Rashmi Lambor toldHerald.

Lambor while tanking theMineral Foundation of Goa forproviding the much-neededsource of power to the vil-lagers has urged the govern-ment to provide electricity androad facilities to the village.

Sancorda locals depend on lamps to light up the night

The villagers hold solar lamps sponsored by Mineral Foundation. Photo by Alfred Fernandes

NCP president Jose Philip DSouza at the launch of NCPs national level labour federation, in New Delhi.Also present are NCP president Sharad Pawar and other office bearers.

HERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, AUG 30

Veteran Tiatrist William deCurtorim who met with aserious road accident andwas bedridden for nearlyfour months was the chief

guest on the occasion of sil-ver jubilee function of Mila-gres de ChandorsValentines Day.

William de Curtorim pro-fusely thanked Herald for help-ing him and said that whatever

he is today is because of theHerald. It is the only newspa-per in Goa which helps Tia-trists and has beeninstrumental in promotingTiatr from the beginning, heconcluded.

William de Curtorim makes public appearance since mishap

Director Milagres de Chandor speaks on the occasion of Silver Jubilee celebrations of his Tiatr ValentinesDay in the presence of William de Curtorim and other dignitaries.

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

PANJIM, AUG 30

A film depicting the life of theBlessed Joseph Vaz, who iscredited with reviving theCatholic Church in Sri Lanka,had its official premiere amidyear-long celebrations markingthe 300th anniversary of hisdeath. If it wasnt for BlessedJoseph Vaz there would nothave been a Catholic Churchhere, said Father Alex Das-sanayake, vice-postulator ofthe National Joseph Vaz Secre-tariat, which made the film.

He was speaking to 100guests at the premiere ofJoseph Vaz, held at the Caritasauditorium in Colombo on 25August. Some 14 bishops,priests, nuns, lay Catholics,politicians and the movies ac-tors attended the event. Thefilm will raise public awarenessabout the life of Fr Vaz, ahead

of his 300th death anniversaryon 16 January 2011.

It cost SLRs27 lakh ($23,600,INR 12 lakh) to make and is inSinhala, with Tamil and Englishsubtitles. Many Catholics arepraying for his canonisation,and we made the film abouthis life and struggle to intro-duce him to the people of ourcountry, Fr Alex said.

Blessed Vaz was an amazingand inspirational figure, saidfilm director Sanjaya Nirmal. Itried to depict this mans jour-ney towards sainthood, hesaid. Blessed Vaz, known as theApostle of Sri Lanka, was bornon 21 April 1651 in Goa. He ar-rived in Sri Lanka in April 1687,when Catholics were facingpersecution from Dutchcolonists, and died there in1711. He was beatified inColombo by Pope John Paul IIin 1995.

Jose Vaz film premiere in Sri Lanka

Result of music exam

HERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, AUG 30

Thames Valley University, Lon-don College of Music examina-tion is an international bodythat supports the professionaldevelopment of music studentsover 250 centres across theworld. The following studentsof The New Academy of MusicArts and Hindi in Goa have suc-cessfully passed their musictheory exam for the year 2010.

Antonio Jose GomesCoutinho grade 5 distinction,Bruno Fernandes grade 6 dis-tinction, Ari Pereira grade 1distinction, Sanjana DeepakBandekar grade 1 distinction,Flossy Maria Fernandes grade5 distinction, Nigel Adold Fer-rao grade 2 distinction, NadiaKarina de Souza grade 2 dis-tinction, Raisa Annora Jorge grade 5 merit, Chloe De Souza grade 2 merit and Janville Ve-lanie Fernandes grade 3merit.

The Good SamaritanCajetan Parras, via email

I feel deeply moved by Cicero Lourencosconcern for his Muslim brethren on theKabrastan issue in the letter Ingratitude(Herald, 30 August). A lot of Goans, includingmyself, have worked in various parts of theMiddle East. But those who have workedin the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia know itsinhuman laws.

I worked in an oil company and had afew non-Muslim colleagues. We weretaunted as non-believers. Their attitudewas: I am a Muslim. You are a non-believer,and I can put you in trouble.

In such a country, saying the wrong thingsor making a wrong move could mean de-portation or even death, depending onwhich false allegation is levelled againstyou. Anybody who is a non-believer con-stantly lives under the shadow of tauntsand threats.

Dont you think that in certain parts of

the Middle East, as in Saudi Arabia, theyshould have crematoriums and cemeteriesfor minorities or non-believers? But do they?I rest my case.

Weed out Christianity?Jose Maria Miranda, Margao

It is very distressing to learn that KhanapurBJP MLA Pralhad Remani said that Christi-anity must be weeded out, and refused toapologise for these remarks. The Governorof Karnataka has written to the CM to takestern action against the MLA, but nothinghas been done, though the CM has ex-pressed regret at the remarks.

Shouldnt the Government of Karnatakatake action against the MLA for remarksthat spread communal hatred? Or are thelaws for MLAs different from those appli-cable to the common man?

Can the BJP ever succeed in wooing theminorities when it has in its fold such fanaticelements? It needs to weed out such ex-tremists first, and talk to the minorities later.

Writer & fighter Aires Rodrigues, Ribandar

In Ravindra Kelekars death Goa has lost atrue, tall and outstanding Goan. The voidcreated by his passing will never be filled.He always led a very simple, modest andhumble life. A prolific writer, a very pas-sionate speaker and a relentless fighter, hehad the patience to listen to others, but al-ways spoke, wrote and did what he felt wasright. He fearlessly practiced what hepreached.

He was the first Goan civilian to be cre-mated with a guard of honour. That therifles misfired is not surprising; it only sym-bolises how rusted the system has become.Ravindrabab rightly deserved the guard ofhonor. But many others, who abdicate theirduty to protect and save Goa, will be be-stowed the aam admis curses when theybite the dust.

More visa worriesJill Killick, Siolim

As if the visa rules are not harrowing enoughalready, the Home Ministry has now added

another little nasty into their list of Fre-quently Asked Questions about visas. On atourist visa of one year or more, one is re-stricted to a maximum single stay of 180days.

One used to be able to go to a neigh-bouring country for a short break and thenreturn to India, and this reset the 180 days.Short breaks to neighbouring countries arestill allowed (though one needs a re-entrypermit) but do not reset the 180 days; theykeep running. The only way of resettingthis is to stay away for two months. Howmany foreigners are unaware of this ruleand are, in fact, overstaying?

Recognising loveBonita Maria Menezes, Vasco

The article Gods love is wonderful by Ar-lette Azavedo (Herald, 30 August) is trulyamazing and touching. It is such a beautifulstory of a mans selfless act of love for theone he adores.

Many times, someone comes into ourlives with selfless love to offer, but we areso preoccupied with our own judgementsthat we look on such selfless love with anegative attitude, because of the past bit-

terness or failures. As Don Williams, the versatile country

singer tells us in Thats the thing aboutlove: You hope and pray the right onecomes along, some fools dont know whattheyve got till its gone

Justice and peaceFelix P da Cruz, Aldona

Luis Fernandes gets it wrong in What isPeace and Justice? (Herald, 26 August). Theprogramme organised by the Council forSocial Justice and Peace (CSJP) was on VillageSelf Rule: Our Right. Therefore, to dwellon village panchayats, land, cultivation, etc,was very relevant.

Soter DSouza is a member of the CSJPteam and an expert on Panchayati Raj. FrMaverick Fernandes did explain the topicat length in the beginning. Leaving any sit-uation purely in the hands of God will noteffect any change, as God works onlythrough humans.

Implement Language ActSamir Kelekar, Margao

The fighter who became a writer, Ravin-drabab Kelekar, has left us. He took Konkani,

which people were ashamed to call theirlanguage, into the Eighth Schedule of theconstitution. But one thing remains.

Konkani, our official language, is not im-plemented by the Goa government. Its realtribute to Ravindrabab would be to conductGoa government business in Konkani. Gov-ernment affairs in Karnataka are in Kannada,in Maharashtra in Marathi, in UP in HindiWhy does Goa run its government in English?

It is time this government implementsthe Official Language Act; that would be areal tribute to Ravindrabab. Or do we needto start a movement to force it to do so?

Justice, peace & SoterLuis Fernandes, Aldona

I thank and appreciate Soter DSouza (Mis-chievous, Herald, 28 August), but my com-plaint was that we had come to listen to FrMaverick Fernandes and not to him. Did Imention anything of caste?

Leader of the Opposition Manohar Par-rikar recently produced data to show thatChristians are being deprived of governmentjobs. Does the Church sincerely mean tostand up and protect unne Kristanv(lesserChristians)?

I enjoyed Soters talk. But does he meanto say that all people like to work in thefields? I pray that many more may followhim. Our fields are barren, but job oppor-tunities too are meagre. So, Soter, let usstart a green revolution in Goa. Behold, Iam with you always! (Mt 28:20).

Double Standards?Nigel Figueiredo, Aldona

Recent comments by Sudeep Tamankar, Gen-eral Secretary of the Bus Owners Associa-tion, smack of double standards. On onehand, private bus owners claim to be suf-fering losses. On the other, they want totake over Kadamba?

Allegations of harassment of private busesby KTC must be taken with a fist full ofsalt. It is a well known that a major reasonfor KTCs losses, especially on village routes,is private buses that engage in time-wastinguntil they see a KTC bus and then obstructit while they grab the passengers, as over-taking is almost impossible on narrow village

What you saying men?

In April 1984, the Government of India (GoI)gave the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE)clearance for a grandiose scheme to produce

10,000 MW of power by the year 2000, at a costof Rs14,000 crore. Twenty-six years later, in 2010,after spending Rs84,000 crore, Indias atomicpower plants are producing only 4,200 MW. Sothe DAE has taken 60 per cent more time toachieve just 42 per cent of its target, at six timesthe cost!

In the last dozen years, 6,000 MW of windpower capacity has been installed in India, ascompared to 4,200 MW of nuclear power in halfa century, even though the DAE has grabbed thelions share of government finances. In 2002-03,for example, the DAE was given Rs3,300 crore,while the Department of Non-Conventional EnergySources was allocated a meagre Rs475 crore.

Nuclear power plants account for barely 2 percent of the installed electrical generating capacityin the country, even as they consume hugeamounts of finance, as shown in the beginningof this article. Apologists for this massive fraudpoint to the fact that our nuclear power plantshave been de-rated to operate at about 45 percent of their capacity. The excuse trotted out isthat fuel is not available. This begs the question;why were these plants built in the first place?

After all, India expectedly attracted sanctionsafter Pokhran I and II. In any event, our intransi-gence about signing the Nuclear Non-ProliferationTreaty (NPT) and the Comprehensive Test BanTreaty (CTBT) was always going to leave us vul-nerable when it came to fuel supplies.

Nuclear fuel supplies are tightly controlled bya strong, well-cartelised group of 45 nations. Anyone of these nations can veto a decision to supplynuclear fuel to India. Yet, in the face of all thesepotential sanctions and vetoes, we are about togo out on a limb and install 40,000 to 60,000MW of nuclear power generation capacity overthe next dozen years! Does it make any senseat all? Why is Indias leadership so hell-bent onnuclear power generation?

Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs behaviourvis--vis nuclear power gives me a feeling of DejaVu. In 1960, when I was in college, the head ofour Physics Department also did research at theBhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai.He taught me nuclear physics and was enthusiastic

about nuclear power, like his boss Dr HomiBhabha.

I remember Jawaharlal Nehru and Dr HomiBhabha telling the nation that nuclear powerwould be so cheap and plentiful that there wouldbe no need to meter it. Everyone would pay asmall flat rate and the nation would save thecost of metering equipment and reading/billingcosts.

Many years later, I realised both these gentle-men were parroting the favourite lines of thethen Chairman of the US Atomic Energy Com-mission Dr Lewis Strauss. By then, I had alreadywitnessed the funeral of Nehru and the sad, pre-mature end of Dr Homi Bhabha in an air-crash onthe snow-bound slopes of Mount Blanc in Europe.

The great disillusionment vis--vis nuclearpower came when Bechtel / General Electric /Honeywell / Blue Star (Italy) commissioned Indiasfirst Atomic Power Plant at Tarapur in the late60s. I had seen things at very close quarters, andlearnt my first major lesson of life: The devil is inthe details.

In his Letter from America, Vijay Prashad, writ-ing in World Affairs of 29 August 2008, talksabout the post-Three Mile Island nuclear accidentscenario in the USA. During the last two decades,there has been growing talk of a nuclear renais-

sance in the US. He says most of this is buzz isfrom the nuclear industry itself, notably firmsthat build reactors (such as Westinghouse) andthose that run power plants (such as Entergy andDuke Electric).

One reason for this jubilation is a new reactordesigned by Westinghouse, the AP1000, and com-parable technology from General Electric. Newtechnology, it is argued, avoids the dangers as-sociated with Three Mile Island-type plants. Onthe strength of its designs, Westinghouse hassold reactors to Japan and China, and hopes toenter the Indian market as well.

Head of GE India Tejpreet Chopra told Busi-nessWeek: At this point, were just waiting tosee how much capacity the government is willingto add and where. The US-India Business CouncilsRon Somers invoked the phrase nuclear renais-sance in light of the vast profits to be gainedfrom Indias potential nuclear expansion (the costis estimated at $150 billion).

This is post-Lehman Brothers and the economicmeltdown in the US. The nuclear industry world-wide needs the Indian market badly. TejpreetChopra is the Indian face of GE. He has learnt hislessons well from his predecessor Scott Bayman,who massaged a few Indian egos on the golfcourses of New Delhi, and got GE / Bechtel into

the Enron scam. Now Tejpreet Chopra has beenhanded the baton in this rip-off relay.

Ron Somers was hounded out of India about adecade ago by Maneka Gandhi, when she got ridof Cogentrix, which was going to build a 1000-MW coal-fuelled power-plant in Mangalore, usingcoal imported from Australia, Africa and Indonesia.Ron Somers was CEO of Cogentrix.

The estimated cost of $150 billion adds up toa gargantuan Rs7.5 lakh crores. Just the intereston it is enough to buy every politician, bureaucratand technocrat in our establishment.

When the Enron fraud was perpetrated, PMManmohan Singh was Finance Minister. HomeMinister P Chidambaram was standing counselfor Enron. Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar wasMaharashtra CM (he brought Enron to Guhagar,near Dabhol), and Planning Commission ViceChairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia was Secretaryof the Department of Economic Affairs in the Fi-nance Ministry. All of them facilitated the fraud-ulent Enron. Now, like the Phoenix, they are allrising from Enrons ashes.

Today, all these gentlemen have climbed muchhigher in the Government of Indias pecking order.And now, they are busy facilitating an even moremassive fraud, of imported nuclear power plants.Enron was estimated to cost Rs9,056 crore in1992. In 1998, it was commissioned after spend-ing Rs19,500 crore. It has never worked since.Now try to imagine Rs7.5 lakh crore as the esti-mated cost!

They will be aided and abetted by the captainsof Indian industry. Reliance, Tatas, L&T, Essar,BHEL, Siemens, et al, are licking their chops think-ing of the lucrative contracts for fabrication, ma-chining, erection, commissioning, engineering,procurement and construction.

Fairy tales generally have a happy ending (andthey lived happily ever after). But this fairy talecan only lead us to a Hell on Earth. We donteven need to contemplate a China Syn-drome type of catastrophic failure. Nuclearpower, with its ever-present threat of radiationleaks, leaves no room for trivialisation or face-tiousness.

As far as I can tell, we have only two options.We can all stand-up for our rights and becomePRO-ACTIVE. Or we can sit back and watch ourgrandchildren become RADIO-ACTIVE.

OPINIONwww.oheraldo.in

Pg8Vol No CX No: 220

Goa, Tuesday 31 August, 2010

Letters to the EditorLetter of the Day

Bluffing the farmers?Charles DSouza, President, Progressive Farmers Club, Merces

I am a young farmer, cultivating around 15,000 sq metres of land. I produce 40 to 50quintals of paddy every year and 50kg vegetables per day in summer. I was happy onreading reports in the press about the Kissan Credit Card and other facilities forfarmers.

But when I visited the Syndicate Bank in Merces, the manager told me that they donot have any scheme for farmers in Goa, but only in Karnataka. Then I visited theState Cooperative Bank in Merces, whose manager told me that I will have to get twogovernment sureties to avail the Kissan Credit Card!

I feel the government is bluffing the farmers of Goa by giving big advertisementsabout agricultural schemes. The ground reality is that farmers are not given anyfacilities to improve agricultural production. I request the government to genuinelyimplement these schemes by calling a joint meeting of Agriculture Departmentofficials, bank officials and representatives of the farmers.

Also, over Rs2 crore is generated every year by the auction of the sluice gates ofthe Tenants Association in Tiswadi taluka. This money can be utilised to improve andmechanise farming in Tiswadi. But alas, this money is being frittered away by thecommittee of the Tenants Association.

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Paths of Wisdom

indias experience with nuclear power plants should tell us that were being ripped off, says aNTHoNY J SiMoES

OHERALDO

Radio Ga Ga

The accidental activist

By Venita Coelho

OHERALDO

Natures BeautyA priest was in charge of the gardenwithin a famous Zen temple. He hadbeen given the job, as he loved flow-ers, shrubs, and trees. Next to thetemple, there was a smaller temple,which housed a very old Zen master.

One day, when the priest was ex-pecting some special guests, he tookextra care in tending to the garden.He pulled the weeds, trimmed theshrubs, combed the moss, and spenta long time meticulously raking upand carefully arranging all the dry au-tumn leaves. As he worked, the oldmaster watched him with interestfrom across the wall that separatedthe temples.

When he had finished, the prieststood back to admire his work. Isntit beautiful, he called out to the oldmaster. Yes, replied the old man,but there is something missing. Helpme over this wall and Ill put it rightfor you.

The priest lifted the old fellow overand set him down. Slowly, the masterwalked to the tree near the center ofthe garden, grabbed it by the trunk,and shook it. Leaves showered downall over the garden.

There, said the old man, you canput me back now.

(Source: Spiritual Short Stories)

100 Years Ago

31 August 1910Pledges approvedThe Pledges of the Confrarias of theBlessed Sacrament and that of Lady San-tana from the Church of Ponda wereapproved.

Staff laudedThe Director of Public Works and itstechnical staff, entrusted with the con-struction of the bridges at Arpora andBicholim, were lauded.

In search of conspiratorsFollowing the arrest and subsequentconfession of one Ramirez, who had es-caped to Brazil, the Portuguese Policeis in the know of all 1,948 conspiratorsdenounced for the regicide of King Car-los of Portugal and his Crown Prince in1908.

PRIMEIRO DIARIO NAS COLONIAS PORTUGEZAS

Spot fixing isblot risking

Youth is the time when one is supposed to be guided byprinciples, rather than practicality. That is when idealsare the bedrock of ones being. Who has not heard the

old joke that says: If you are 20 and you are not a Communist,then you have no heart. If you are 30 and you are still a Com-munist, then you have no head.

Then what prompts young men to betray their country?

Mohammad Asif is a seasoned campaigner, who has gotinto trouble before, most notably when he was arrested byDubai Police for minuscule traces of drugs in his baggage. ButMohammad Aamir is an 18-year-old sensation; one of themost exciting new finds among pace bowlers.

Yet, both bowled very obvious no-balls almost exactly aspredicted by bookie Mazhar Majeed, who allegedly bribedPakistani pacers Asif and Aamir during the Lords Test againstEngland, which the visitors lost by an innings and 225 runs.The scandal, however, does not stop at these two. PakistanTest Captain Salman Butt and wicketkeeper Kamran Akmalare also under the scanner. Besides, British police have recoveredlarge amounts of cash from the rooms of Pakistani cricketerswhom they have declined to name.

Without doubt, this is Pakistan crickets biggest match fixingscandal. It also reveals a new trend that cannot be good forthe game. Its called spot fixing, and involves a player agreeingto do mid-match performance blips for money. A bowler mightdeliberately bowl consecutive wides in his second over, or abatsman could make sure he does not reach double figures.

Some players justify this kind of in-match fixing, becausethey say it does not impact the final result of the game. Butthis kind of lesser evil justification can lead to a completebreakdown of all the values and traditions that cricket holdsso dear.

Betting on cricket matches is a hugely lucrative business.Fortunes can be made or lost. And, if a gambler knows inadvance what a particular bowler or batsman is going to do,it can make him a fortune. And now, since bets can be placedon every delivery, we have spot-fixing.

We thought that following three international captains Hansie Cronje (South Africa), Salim Malik (Pakistan) and Mo-hammed Azharuddin (India) being banned for life in 2000for match-fixing, that the malady was mostly cured. The Inter-national Cricket Councils (ICC) Anti-Corruption and SecurityUnit (ACSU) apparently monitors all international matches.But obviously, the stakes are much too high. When one canearn 10,000 (Rs7.5 lakh) to bowl just one or two no-balls,the pride of playing for the country begins to lose its sheen.

The Pakistani cricketer may be an underdog, preventedfrom earning as well as his Indian counterpart by being excludedfrom the moneyspinning Indian Premier League (IPL). However,if relative loss of affluence was to be made a justifiable excusefor crime, one cannot say whether the rot would at all stop.

As Pakistani cricket legend Imran Khan has demanded, ex-emplary punishment needs to be meted out to any playerfound guilty of spot fixing. He said: I think there is a need tosend out a message to youngsters... that crime does not pay.Those consumed by the lust for money must be made to pay.

Otherwise, cricket will forever be consumed by the shadowof suspicion. No longer would we say: Bad luck, if someonedropped a difficult catch. Every missed stumping would bemet by millions of raised eyebrows. A poor shot by a goodbatman would cause ripples of whispers to roll across theground like a Mexican wave. A gentlemans game would beoverrun by distrust and deceit. It would not be the BCCI orthe ICC that runs the game; instead it would be the bookies.It simply wouldnt be cricket anymore.

Nuclear Power Fairy Tales

AHindi feature film with my name on it as writer, hits the hallsthis week. The question I get asked very often is: As awoman, how difficult was it to get work in the industry?

The problem was never the gender. The problem was always thename. In every single interaction, two seconds after I was introduced,I would be asked: Coelho? Can you speak Hindi?

Brought up between Lucknow, Bareilly and Kolkata and with amother who was a Hindi teacher, of course I could. But each timeI was asked the question, I would fume about the stereotyping ofGoans. Until I came and lived in Goa, and discovered that thisstereotype was, unfortunately, largely true. It still amazes me thatmost Goans are unable to put three sentences of Hindi togethercorrectly.

Does it have to do with strongly trying to hold on to a separateidentity? Does it have to do with bad teachers? Does it have to dowith a Portuguese hangover? I have run through all kinds of sce-narios, but am yet to come up with a satisfactory answer to explainthe attitude that pidgin Hindi is more than enough to get throughlife on.

Goans are ever ready to argue to the death, the script thatKonkani should officially be in. They see Konkani as crucial to their

identity as Goans. There is obviously a political slant to theirattitude towards Hindi as well, but I am yet to fathom it. All I cansee is the disastrous fallout.

I sometimes lecture at media institutes in Goa. Each time I lookat the rows of shining, hopeful faces, all dreaming of glamorouscareers in film, television and advertising. They all ask about whatkind of jobs they can get once they finish their courses. Each time,I ask them the same question: How good is your Hindi?

Without adequate Hindi-speaking skills, your chance of a careerin media is non-existent. At the most, you will hover on the fringesof mainstream media, working in the tiny slice that designs com-munication entirely in English.

The emphasis used to be on speaking great English. But overthe years, I have seen a dramatic shift. Speaking good English ishelpful, but to really get ahead, you need to speak Hindi. And hereis where Goans fall between two stools. Because the sad truth is,the majority of Goans speak awful English. But dont you darepoint it out to them; you will be at the receiving end of a barrageof indignation all expressed in really bad English. One angrygentleman told me: Why do you say we Goans say men all thetime? What do you mean by it, men?

When the call centre boom began, wouldnt you have expectedit to flourish here in Goa? Everyone speaks English after all. But Ispoke to one of the pioneers who set up call centres in Bangaloreand he laughed: We would have had to spend too much moneytraining Goans to speak correct English.

Thats how we lose jobs that require good English skills. Andwe lose jobs that require good Hindi skills too. This basi