OHERALDOThe Voice of Goa Since 1900

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IN BRIEF

Afzals file moves to and froThe file on Afzal Guru, sen-tenced to death in Parliamentattack case, went back andforth today within Delhi Gov-ernment with the Chief Minis-ter unambiguously backingthe execution but at the sametime asking the Centre to takecare of the law and order situ-ation. -- (PTI)

I have fought a goodfight, I have finished

my course, I havekept the faith

II Timothy

Don't get excited to the minister'spromise and stop messing aroundwith my stick.

4 CRPF men killed in

Lalgarh blastPTI

MIDNAPORE, MAY 19

Four CRPF personnel were killedand two others, including aDeputy Commandant, seriouslyinjured in an IED blast triggeredby Naxalites at Lalgarh in WestBengal today, the second day ofa bandh called by the left wingextremists in five states.

The blast comes a day afterUnion Home Minister P Chi-dambaram asked the Naxals toabjure violence and come for-ward for talks.

Official sources said the CRPFmen had set out from their campat Goaltore market to patrolnearby villages and to visit an-other camp when the blast tookplace at Ramgarh in Lalgarh po-lice station area in West Midna-pore district at 11.30 am.

Four CRPF jawans were killedand two were injured in an IEDblast set off by Naxals, MNageswar Rao, CRPF InspectorGeneral of Police, told PTI.

The deceased have been iden-tified as constables B Santara,D K Samanta, D Ramesh andRakesh Kumar. Among the in-jured is CRPF Deputy Comman-dant B P Singh.

The personnel were travellingthrough the state highway. Assoon as they crossed a smallbridge, the vehicle in the frontwas blown up, sources said.

RCom, Bharti big winners

in 3G bid PTI

NEW DELHI, MAY 19

The auction for 3G mobile li-cence ended today with RCom,Bharti and Aircel bagging 13 cir-cles each, and will leave the gov-ernment with a Rs 67,710 crorerevenue windfall.

However, no single operatormanaged to bag all 22 circles onoffer the total bid price forwhich touched Rs 16,750.58crore on the 34th day of bidding.

Anil Ambani-led RCom will payRs 8,585.04 crore towards the3G licence, but the single largestoutgo would be from Bharti thatwill pay Rs 12,295.46 crore.

Vodafone, which is second interms of fee outgo, would bepaying over Rs 11,617 crore forlicence to offer high-speed voiceand data service in nine circles.

Key circles Mumbai and Delhiwent to Bharti, Vodafone andRCom.

Bharti complained that theauction format and severe short-age drove up the prices beyondreasonable levels.

The government had fixed areserve price of Rs 3,500 crorefor 3G spectrum and had origi-nally estimated to raise Rs35,000 crore from the sale.

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, MAY 19

The long queues in TransportDepartments office will be athing of past with pilot projectVahan and Sarathi being im-plemented in the office in theCapital City.

The new software is ex-pected to reduce interface be-tween people and the officials,Transport Director Swapnil Naiksaid.

He said that the data is beingfed in the computers and it willbe launched from Panjim officeon pilot basis.

Governor Dr S S Sidhu hadannounced the implementationof this unique software duringhis speech in the State Legisla-

tive Assembly session, this year. The State has 7.27 lakh vehi-

cles registered.The State Government-run

Goa Electronic Limited (GEL) ismanaging this software whichis designed and licensed to Na-tional Informatics Centre (NIC).

Naik said that with the soft-ware most of the process willbe computerised so the datacollection will become very easy.

This will help the departmentin being more efficient, headded.

Also those who purchase ve-hicle now may not have to visitTransport Department office asentire process can be completedat dealers place including pay-ment, receipts and also the reg-istration number.

With the software in place,the dealers can also work onSaturdays when Transport De-partment offices are usuallyclosed.

Interestingly, the softwarewill also plug the revenue leak-ages for the department,which is one amongst thehighest revenue earner for the

Vehicle registration at showrooms soon

PTI

NEW DELHI, MAY 19

In a far-reaching decision, thegovernment today raised naturalgas prices by more than doubleto USD 4.20 per mmBtu, a movethat will result in a rise in powerand fertilizer production costand rise in CNG rates.

The Cabinet hiked price of gassold to power, fertilizer and citygas projects from Rs 3,200 perthousand cubic metres (USD 1.79per million British thermal unit)to Rs 6,818 per thousand cubicmetres (USD 3.818 per mmBtu),Information and BroadcastingMinister Ambika Soni said.

After adding royalty, the pricefor user industries would be Rs7,500 or USD 4.2 per mmBtu,at par with the rate at which Re-liance sells its gas.

Apurva Chandra, Joint Secre-tary in Oil Ministry, said the de-cision that would come intoeffect once the decision is no-

tified in the next few days,would result in a rise in fertilizerproduction cost, power gener-ation tariff and CNG price.

Fertilizer prices will not beincreased as the governmentsubsidises the sector. But todays

decision would result in rise infertiliser subsidy by Rs 3,500crore. The Government standsto gain (in royalty) an amountlarger than this subsidy payout,he said adding the impact to thegovernment would be positive.

The new gas price on an over-all basis would result in 2.75per cent increase in power tariffand up to 20 per cent hike inprice of compressed natural gas(CNG) sold to automobiles incities like Delhi. CNG in Delhicurrently costs Rs 21.90 per kg.

State-run ONGC and OIL pro-duce 54.32 million cubic metresper day or about 40 per cent oftotal gas produced in the coun-try, from fields given to themon nomination basis. This gasis sold on government con-trolled rates - about 50 mmscmdto power and fertilizer units andcity gas projects at USD 1.79per mmBtu and rest to other in-dustries at USD 4.75 per mmBtu.

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, MAY 19

The cyclonic storm Laila whichis expected to hit the AndhraPradesh coast by tomorrow willskip Goa but it is likely to affectthe monsoon pattern in theState.

The depression that formedover the Bay of Bengal on Mon-day turned into a full-blown cy-clonic storm by Tuesday.

Official from the Indian Me-teorological Observatory saidthat the monsoon pattern of theState is likely to be affected asthe cyclonic storm has startedmoving towards the Andhracoast. But later it will changethe course and hence it wont hitthe Goa coast, an official said.

An official explained that withthis cyclonic storm, the moistureand the wind pattern are likelyto change thus affecting the ar-rival of monsoon.

Even the fissure patternchanges, thus causing a low rain-fall during monsoon, officialstated.

However, the official refusedto predict whether the monsoonarrival will be late or early, asagainst predicted by them ear-

l ier. The department hadclaimed that the monsoons willhit the Goa coast by first weekof June.

The official also said that asthere is time for the monsoonarrival, the impact might not bemuch. Laila is likely to passwithin this week and the mon-soon pattern will get enough

Laila may affect Goa rain pattern

Rains batterTN, alert in AP

PTI

CHENNAI/HYDERABAD, MAY 19

Two persons were killed andfour fishermen injured asheavy rains under the influ-ence of a cyclone batteredcoastal Tamil Nadu while ahigh alert was sounded inAndhra Pradesh where thewindstorm is likely to makea landfall tomorrow morning.

Normal life was throwninto disarray in several partsof Tamil Nadu as widespreadrains and strong winds, trig-gered by cyclonic stormLaila, which lay centred inthe Bay of Bengal, lashedthese areas.

Cabinet hikes natural gas prices

Power tariff to go upProphet

cartoons:Pak bans Facebook

PTI

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE, MAY 19

Pakistani authorities today cutoff access to Facebook followinga courts order to block the pop-ular social networking websiteover a page featuring blasphe-mous caricatures of the ProphetMohammed.

Justice Ijaz Chaudhry of theLahore High Court issued theorder to temporarily block Face-book till May 31 while actingon a petition filed by the IslamicLawyers Forum, which hadsought a complete ban on thewebsite.

The court directed the foreignministry to raise the issue ofthe blasphemous caricatures atinternational forums.

It also asked the Foreign Sec-retary to register a protest withthe concerned countries.

FUELLING A HIKEThe new gas price onan overall basis wouldresult in 2.75 per centincrease in power tariffand up to 20 per centhike in price ofcompressed naturalgas (CNG) sold toautomobiles.

(Continued on page 10)

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GOAHERALD

Pg2GOA, THURSDAY, 20 MAY, 2010

HERALD REPORTER

VASCO, MAY 19

Chief Secretary Sanjay KumarSrivastava has stated that theState government has plans toengage retire naval and coastguard officials to train the StateMarine Police, which has beenequipped with High Speed In-terceptor Boat (HSIB) to securethe states coastline.

The chief secretary wasspeaking to reporters along thesidelines of the launching of the12-tonne HSIB boat at Goa Ship-yard Limited (GSL) on Wednes-day afternoon.

The Marine Police has beenallotted five HSIB boats and the

latest 12-tonne HSIB boat willbe deployed at Betim, while twoHSIBs have been stationed atBetul and one each are at theHarbour and Siolim.

Some Marine Police staff hadundergone training conductedby the GSL in the operation ofthe boats.

S o m e M a r i n e P o l i c estaffers are not well versedin the technical aspects ofthe boats, hence the govern-ment plans to seek the serv-ices of ret ired personnelf rom the navy and coas tguard to train the marine po-lice, said Srivastava.

We need a trained staff as these boats required a

b o a t m a s t e r a n d o t h e r

technical staf f, sa id Sr i -vastava.

He also informed that thestate government has pro-posed to construct six jettiesin the State and initially, twowill be built at a cost of Rs 2crore.

It is learnt that as part of thecontract, the GSL has trainedthe Marine Police from differentstates.

In the last one year, 180police personnel from thewest coast have been trainedin 17 batches to operate theboats , whi le po l ice s ta f fwould also be imparted withmaintenance aspects in thefuture.

Govt plans to hire ex-servicemen to train marine police: CS

nSome MarinePolice staffers arenot well versed inthe technicalaspects of theboats, hence thegovernment plansto seek theservices of retiredpersonnel fromthe navy & coastguard to train themarine police,

HERALD REPORTER

VASCO, MAY 19

As part of an initiative of theMinistry of Home Affairs (MHA)to strengthen the coastal secu-rity, Goa Shipyard Ltd (GSL) de-livered a High Speed InterceptorBoat (HSIB) to the Goa MarinePolice on Wednesday.

This is the third in the se-ries of six 12-tonne boats al-lotted for the State and tilldate, a total of five boatshave been allotted, includingtwo 5-tonne boats.

Chief Secretary Sanjay KumarSrivastava flagged off the 12-tonne category boat built byGSL in the presence of Chairmanand Managing Director of GSLRear Adm (Retd) Vineet Bakhshi,DIG R Yadav, SP South Allan DSa,Captain of Ports A Mascarenhas,officials from Marine police andGSL.

Ministry of Home and Affairhas entrusted with responsibilityto GSL to build 116 HSIB tostrengthen the coastal securityin western coast states (Goa,Gujarat, Maharastra, Karnatakaand Kerala) and union territories(Lakshadeep and Daman andDiu).

GSL delivers interceptor boat to Goa Marine police

Chief Secretary Sanjay Kumar Srivastava flags off the state-of-art interceptor High Speed InterceptorBoat built by GSL

The 12T boat is 13mtrs longcapable of operating at 35 knotson full load. The boat can carryfour crew members along witha patrol party of 16 persons andfully equipped with life saving,fire fighting and communicationfacilities.

The wheel house of theseboats is fitted with ballisticpanels for protection of pa-trolling crew to withstand athreat of an AK47 assault

rifle at 10 meter range, whileits powerful equipment willmake search and chase easierfor marine policemen as itcan outperform any smallvessel with its high speedand superb maneuverability.

Speaking to reporters, GSLCMD Bakhshi informed that GSLhas ensured delivery of 66 HSIBsto various states and union ter-ritories, of which 32 are of the5-tonne category and 34 are of

the 12-tonne category.The delivery rate is one boat

per week and GSL is well onschedule in delivery time. HSIBare the one of the finest boatsin the world in their class, con-sidering various features,added Bakhshi.

The chief secretary expressedgratitude to the GSL for deliv-ering boat on schedule to theGoa Marine Police to strengthenthe coastal security.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, MAY 19

Asserting that Hospicio willsee a complete turn around andbecome one of the best hospi-tals in the state by July15, ChiefMinister, Digambar Kamatwarned doctors, nurses and ser-vants that they will have to moveout if they do not fall in linewith the ongoing efforts to im-prove the health of the districthospital.

I have personally decidedthat by July 15, Hospicio will be-come one of the best hospitalsin the state. This is my respon-sibility. I have committed myself to the people of the state,he said, while addressing healthworkers and citizens after inau-gurating the Advocacy work-shop on Vector Borne diseasesorganised by the Margao UrbanHealh Centre here today.

Saying that enough is enough

with patients and relatives com-plaining of the ills plaguing Hos-picio, the Chief Minister said itis a fact that when I became theChief Minister, I was not gettingenough time to devote time forHospicio. But, now I have de-cided to personally monitor thehospital functioning on a day-to-day basis.

Saying that the governmentis making available free medi-cines to the patients to the tuneof nearly Rs two crore annually,he said these medicines shouldreach the needy and lamentedthat patients are made to evenprocure cotton from the mar-ket.

I will henceforth sit andcheck up with patients on theavailability of medicines. I havethat capacity to put things inorder, Kamat said and ex-pressed confidence that the hos-pital would be in the right

tracks.He warned that no indisci-

pline would be tolerated fromany quarter, whether doctors,nurses or servants, adding thatthe hospital staff has been con-veyed the right signal that hemeans business.

If these people dont fallin line, then it is high time,they move out of the hospi-tal, he said, adding that thefunctioning of the hospitaldirectly affects the health ofthe common man.

Complimenting the MargaoUrban Health Centre for the pro-active measures initiated tocombat vector borne diseasesin the city, the Chief Ministersaid the situation has improvedconsiderably in the last twoyears and reiterated his govern-ments commitment to improvethe health of the citizens, espe-cially the common man.

In his address, MMC Chair-person Savio Coutinho said thatMargao would be free of vectorborne diseased due to the per-sistent follow ups by the ChiefMinister and the Margao UrbanHealth officer.

The Margao Health OfficerDr Geeta Kakodkar has beensparing no efforts to tackle vec-tor borne diseases. She has beenpersonally monitoring on healthrelated issues, he a

The Margao Urban Health Of-ficer Dr Geeta Kakodkar theworkshop is being organised tospread awareness amongst thepeople on how to combat theproblem of vector borne dis-eases.

She thanked the politicalsupport from the Chief Min-ister and Fatorda MLA DamuNaik, besides the Collectorto tackle vector borne dis-eases in the city.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, MAY 19

This security man took shelterin the state after committing adaring heist in Bangalore, beforehe was nabbed by the KonkanRailway police at the Margaorailway station in the wee hoursof Wednesday.

Police said that Ishwar Raj Ba-hadur, a security man engagedby a timber merchant, lootedgold ornaments worth Rs eightlakh, besides cash of Rs 2.10lakh from his owner along withhis accomplice before headingfor Goa to enjoy with the booty.

The accused is believed tohave had a jolly good time inthe state with the stolen bootyduring his brief stay. He is learntto have purchased a brand newcell phone, besides costumes.

On Wednesday morning, theaccused was found at the Mar-gao railway station to board theDelhi-bound Mangala Express,before personnel of the KonkanRailway police detained him onsuspicion after he was carryingcash of Rs 83,600, besides thecell phone. During interroga-tions, the accused spilled thebeans and he was immediatelyplaced under arrest under sec-tion 41 of the IPC.

This evening, the policesought a three day remand forthe accused from a local courtand have intimated their Ban-galore counterparts over the ar-rest of the accused.

The Bangalore police are ex-pected to arrive in the state totake the accused into custodyfor further investigations.

One held forburglary inBangalore

The accused security man who was nabbed by the Konkan Railway police at the Margao railway station.Photo by Santosh Mirajkar

Curtorimlocal held

guilty HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, MAY 19

The South Goa Sessions Court onWednesday held guilty a resident ofCurtorim for culpable homicide notamounting to murder in the deathof Reshma Redkar.

Additional sessions Judge, PV Kamat held the accusedMinguel Fernandes guilty undersection 304-A of the IPC insteadof murder. The incident hadtaken place on May 15, 2008when the accused had allegedlyhit the victim causing injuries.

Curchorem HSS puts upimpressive show

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CURCHOREM, MAY 19

Smt Chandrabhaga TukobaNaik Higher Secondary Schoolat Curchorem has excelled inthe HSSC exams at the Cur-chorem centre.

While Shrusthi Karpe toppedthe Curchorem centre and se-cured the seventh rank in theState in Commerce with 514/600marks (86%), Shweta Marathebagged the 10th rank with507/600 (84.5 %).

The Smt ChandrabhagaTukoba Naik HSS secured apass percentage of 72.34%in Arts, 89.81% in Commerce,95% in Science and 91.55%in vocational section, 88.8%in Mreeda, 94.7% in O.S.S and91.1 % in A.A.

The dominance of the HSS atthe Curchorem Centre was evi-dent as it secured 12 of the 16distinctions (Science), four dis-tinctions (Commerce), two dis-t i nc t ions (A r t s ) and 11distinctions (Vocational) at theCurchorem Centre.

Of the 285 students from allfour streams who appeared forthe board exams, 253 studentswere successful with distinctions(29), first class (112), secondclass (96) and pass class (16),securing an overall percentage

of 88.46%.In Science, Gayatri Pradip

Kudchadkar topped the Cur-chorem centre with 512/600marks (85.3%).

Other students who se-cured a d is t inct ion wereMur i e l Fe rnand es ( 4 5 9 ) ,Pooja Pradip Dalv i (473) ,Shruti Parashuram Maralap-p a n a v a r ( 4 6 1 ) , S h w e t aParashuram Maralappanavar(487), Saurabh Somnath Naik(458), Gaurak Madhu PhalDessai (502), Aparna AnandTiloji (459), Gaurav Shan-taram Varde (473), ShridharShashidhar Halali (477).

In Commerce, students whosecured a distinction were ShrutiSanzgiri (469) and Tanvi Shenoy(462).

In Arts M G Ashodi (465)stood first in the Centre,while others meritorious stu-dents were Kalpita SawantDessai (462), Faria Precilla(669) and Saniya Datta RautD e s s a i ( 6 2 3 ) i n O . S . S ,Dabekar Saheel Umesh (643),K a l p e s h K a m a l a ka r N a i k(606) and Abhijitsingh PutuGaonkar (605) in Mreeda,Babi ta Kumar i (652) , Ab-hishek Ashok Kutre (646),Ann ie Rebe l lo ( 630 ) andRaghunath Nilu Gauns Dessai

(630) in A.A. School principal Vaman

Bhadri expressed happiness overthe results of the students.

Despite the new syllabus,the result has been excellent.Credit goes to the teachers fortheir untiring efforts and coop-eration, the students and themanagement of the school,Bhadri said.

Manovikas achieves

100 pc results HERAL DREPORTER

MARGAO, MAY 19

Manovikas English Mediumschool, Margao has achievedcent per cent result in the ICSEexamination 2009-10.

A total of 59 students hadappeared for the ICSE ClassX examination, of which 39secured distinctions, firstclass (13), second class (5)and two students passing inpass class.

Sailee Simant Sansgiri andAmruta Pai secured 93 per cent,while Nevin Zachariah Mathewsand Tanya Dattakukar Nadkarnisecure 92 per cent marks.

Dattakukar Nadkarni secuired91 per cent marks.

pavements inaugurated at CalanguteHERALD CORRESPONDENT

CALANGUTE, MAY 19

Calangute Sarpanch LaxmanParab inaugurated the newpavement at Shree ShantadurgaTemple and Holy Cross Chapel,here, in the presence of largenumber of devotees and vil-lagers.

Others present on the occa-sion included former sarpanchasJoseph Sequeira and Albert Fer-nandes, former deputy sarpanchAna Marie DSouza, PanchasSubhash Salgaonkar and SnehaSalgaonkar and Shree Shan-tadurga Temple Committeemembers.

Palyekar offered prayers andsought blessings for the workat the Holy Cross Chapel andShree Shantadurga Temple,Naikka Vaddo, Calangute.

He later broke the tradi-tional coconut to throw openthe new pavements in anda r o u n d t h e H o l y C r o s sC h a p e l a n d S h re e S h a n -tadurga Temple premises.

The floor has been givena new look with interlockingtiles for the stage area, pave-ments along the temple andthe chapel and surroundingareas.

The estimated cost of the ex-penditure for the works doneby the Calangute panchayat isRs 10 lakh. The panchayat hasalso installed lights at the tem-ple premises.

Besides the temple andchapel works, the CalangutePanchayat also carried outworks on internal roads in everyward of the village.

The Dongorpur to Dharwad-kar Hospital road work has beendone with estimated cost of Rs7.5 lakh, while new roads havebeen laid in Gaura Vaddo (East

Calangute Sarpanch Laxman Parab, former sarpanch Joseph Sequeira and others at the inaugural cere-mony of the new pavments. Photo by Thomas Fernandes

& West) to the tune of Rs 60lakh, which includes culvertsand drains.

A drain to take care of themonsoon water has been laidalong the Naikka Vaddo roadat an estimated cost of Rs 7lakh.

Speaking to Herald, Sequeirasaid the Calangute panchayathas done work on roads anddrains in a planned and system-atic manner considering the in-frastructural needs of the villageand villagers.

"A footpath from St AlexChurch, Calangute to the Ban-dodkar statue at Umtta Vaddo,Calangute, has also been pro-

posed and we intend to beginthe work very soon.

We have also proposed toput up TY CFL lamps on the link-ing road named after Dr Fran-cisco Leao Pinto for the benefitof motorists and pedestriansmaking use of the new road,Sequeira said.

Besides, we have a lsoproposed a market complexwhich is in final stages, a by-pass road from Agar VaddoKidnian to Cobra Vaddo, aChildrens park cum parkingbehind the Ronil Resort andhosts of other projects forthe benefit of the Calangutevillagers, he added.

Discussionon terror

todayHERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, MAY 19

A one hour panel discussion onCountering Terrorism hosted byJuino De Souza in Straight-Talk willbe telecast on Thursday 20 May at9pm on HCN, Goas leading 24 hournews and entertainment channel.

The panellist comprise: Com-missioner for NRI Affairs, Ed-uardo Faleiro, General Secretary,BJP, Govind Parvatkar, GeneralSecretary, NCP, Adv AvinashBhonsle and Superintendent ofPolice, Atmaram Deshpande.

Among the other issues dis-cussed are: What is terrorismand what are its causes andwhether terrorism will stop orcontinue? Whether Goa a touristdestination will also become aterrorist destination? How safeare the goans from terror at-tacks? Is Goa becoming a hide-out for Naxals?etc. The repeattelecast will be on Sunday.

Two enumerators issued show case

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, MAY 19

The Salcete Mamlatdar hasserved show cause notices ontwo census enumerators for thedelay in submitting the reporton the census work.

Mamlatdar Paresh Faldessaiserved the memos on the twoenumerators, with a copy to thehead of the parent departmentfor necessary action against thetwo employees.

Sources said though the oneand half month long census ex-ercise ended on May 15, thetwo enumerators failed to sub-mit the report of enumeratingthe households to the Mamlat-dar office. Appropriate actionwill be initiated by the depart-ment against the two employeesfor the delay in submitting the

nAppropriateaction will beinitiated by thedepartmentagainst the twoemployees for thedelay insubmitting thereport

report, Faldesai told Herald.Meanwhile, Faldesai said the

enumerators and supervisorsengaged for the census workare submitting their reportsfrom their respective areas afterthe May 15 deadline. Theprocess of receiving the censusdetails is on right now. The en-tire exercise will be over in thenext few days, he said.

Builder issuednotice for hill cutting

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, MAY 19

The Margao Municipal Coun-cil (MMC) has a notice on abuilder for cutting the Paji-fond hillock to show causewhy his construction licenceshould not be revoked forviolating the TCP rules.The MMC Chief Officer Y BTawde has also lodged a com-plaint to the Margao police toinitiate appropriate actionagainst the builder for cuttingthe hillock.MMC Cha i rpe r son Sav ioCoutinho has informed that the

action against the builder wasinitiated as he did not possessthe necessary permission forthe hill cutting.The Civic body has taken

serious note of the violation.Thats the reason, the ChiefOfficer has served a showcause notice for revocationof the construction license,he added.

The hill cutting was going onfor quite some time right underthe nose of the authorities andthe action follows following acomplaint lodged by a localNGO.

CM sets July 15 deadline, wants Hospicio in pink of health

CMC issuesstay order

on bungalow HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, MAY 19

The Cuncolim MunicipalCouncil on Wednesday issued astop work order to stop con-struction activity on the contro-versial bungalow at Adiband,even as Cuncolim MLA andUrban Development MinisterJoaquim Alemao promised tostand by the people in their ag-itation.

CMC Chief Office Shivaji Desaiissued the stop work order tothe builder to stop constructionwork and has called for a hearingof the parties on Monday.

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GOA, THURSDAY, 20 MAY, 2010

GOAHERALD

Pg3

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, MAY 18

Chief Minister Digambar Kamathas found himself in the centreof a controversy over his state-ment I am not dependent onyour votes to a delegation offive women from the villagegroups who went to see himover land-use violations on Mon-day.

Addressing a press confer-ence, Edwin Pinto, who is oneof the persons in the forefrontopposing land illegalities, said,This is serious. We are Goansand the women who went toput forth their grievances to theCM were Goans. If he is not de-pendent on Goan votes, howwill he look after Goan peoplesinterests, Pinto questioned.

He said the five women mem-

bers were furious and angry andcame and told us what had tran-spired between them and theCM in his chamber at the Sec-retariat. The CM has to clarifyon what he meant by his state-ment that he was not dependenton our votes. Then we have tosee whether he was riding onthe wave of migrant votes,Pinto asserted.

Carmen de Miranda fromLoutolim, who was one of themembers who went to see theCM, narrated, He refused tolook into our demands and saidwe had no appointment to seehim. At that point of time I askedhim during elections they nevertook appointment to come tosee us for votes. He told us pointblank he wasnt dependent onour votes at which we were con-

fused and didnt know what tosay. He further said do whatyoull want and didnt care.

Zarina da Cunha, Judy Re-bello, Swati Kerkar and CarmenCorreia were the other fourwomen who were part of thedelegation. They said the CMsbehaviour towards them wascold and bitter.

They said the CM was respon-sible for unleashing a reign ofterror on the people, who hadgone to redress their grievances,by using the police force. Wewere taken to the police stationwhere the men and womenwere kept in one cell and werenever even offered food, theynarrated.

Neri Fernandes said he hadaccompanied the women to theCMs chamber. After the meet-

ing when we were walking backthree political leaders SubhashShirodkar, Deepak Dhavilkar andReginaldo Lourenco also gaveus a cold shoulder, he men-tioned.

Croyden Madeira said thewater provided at the Porvorimpolice station was muddy. Ourbasic human rights were nottaken care of, he stated.

The village groups have calledfor action against Porvorim PIDevendra Gad who has been ac-cused of manhandling womenactivists time and again.

Goa Bachao Abhiyan memberPrajal Sakhardande said the peo-ple had elected the Governmentso that it will look into theirproblems. But the opposite washappening. The people are leftto fend for themselves. Hills are

being cut down blatantly andthe authorities are turning a Nel-sons eye to the activity, hementioned.

The vil lage groups haveridiculed the flying squads stat-ing the same were mere eyewash and pressed for somemembers of the village groupsto be included in them.

Edwin Pinto said the villagegroups had come together in astrong way to save Goan hillsand fields for the next genera-tion. We are sure to take thisfight to its logical conclusion.The CMs statement has bol-stered us to take up the chal-lenge and wage a war againstthe illegalities in our villagesand in between if there was ag-gression the Government willbe responsible, he observed.

I am not dependent on your votes: CM Digambars words draw ire of village groups

Woman rescued, paramour drowns

A crowd gathered at the Zuari River near the Sanvordem Bridge. Photo by Suresh Naik

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CURCHOREM, MAY 19

A woman who jumped into theZuari River near the SanvordemBridge was rescued, but herlover who tried to rescue herwas feared drowned on Wednes-day evening.

According to reports, the twolovers were engaged in a con-versation on the footbridge forquite some time and they werenoticed by crew on nearbybarges and some women whowere washing their clothes inthe river.

Suddenly, the woman jumpedinto the river and her loverraised an alarm, before he

jumped into the river in a bidto rescue her.

A woman, Supriya, who waswashing clothes at the site,jumped into the water and man-aged to rescue the woman fromthe river. Other women threwsarees but the man could notcatch them and disappeared intothe river.

The woman rescued from theriver was later shifted to Hos-picio at Margao in a serious con-dition.

Curchorem fire services andsome divers searched franticallyin the river but could not locatethe man. PI Bhanudas Dessai isinvestigating the case.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, MAY 19

The police has said that inves-tigation into the Cuncolim girlshooting case is progressing inthe right direction and exudedconfidence of achieving a break-through soon.

South Goa Superintendent ofPolice, Allan De Sa said that thepolice have got a vital clue inthe case and are working on thelead collected by the speciallyconstituted police teams.

He said the police are inves-tigating into two aspects, onethe possible enmity on familymatters and the victims enmitywith her friends. During inves-tigations, we have come toknow that she had a friend inAgassaim and was staying there.A police team was dispatchedto Agassaim. The police has also

summoned her friend fromCalangute as part of the inves-tigations, SP, De Sa said, addingthat the police are analyzing thereport collected by the teamwhich was sent to Pernem lastnight.

Expressing confidence thatthe police would detect the caseat the earliest, he said the policehas completed the preliminarywork of ascertaining and ana-lyzing the facts that could givevital clues in the detection ofthe crime.

When asked whether the as-sailant could have been con-tracted to execute the killing,the SP said the background ofthe accused would be knownonly after the all the possibleangles are probed into by thepolice.

The deceased girl, Wilma Co-

Girl shooting case: Copsconfident of breakthrough

laco was shot dead point blankon her chest in the balcony ofher house on Tuesday eveningby an unknown assailant.

Cuncolim police said theyinterrogated the girls friendfrom Agassaim, while inter-rogation of the friend fromCalangute was in progresslate Wednesday evening atthe police station.

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, MAY 19

The heritage activists todayprotested against the decisionof the Corporation of the Cityof Panaji (CCP) to constructstructure behind Fontainhasspring in the city.

In a letter to Corporation ofthe City of Panaji, the Goa Her-itage Action Group (GHAG) hasasked not to go ahead with theconstruction behind FontePhoenix (Mala spring).

The spring has been de-clared as a heritage structureand as such any developmentin its surrounding will affectthe beauty of this structure,Goa Heritage Action Groupmember Prajal Sakhardandesaid.

When we came to knowabout this construction, we in-quired with the Corporation ofthe City of Panaji commissionerElvis Gomes, who said that thework is been undertaken by thecorporation, Sakhardandeadded.

However, the activists arenot aware about for what theconstruction is been under-taken.

Meanwhi l e , the phonecalls made to the Mayor Car-olina Po and Gomes for thereaction on the issue wentfutile as they were not avail-able.

The spring in Mala at the footof Marutigad of the Altinho

Heritage activistsprotest CCP moveto build structure

hillock is ancient one. The Portuguese, gave due

importance to the naturalsprings, in this developingtownship and with an inten-tion to preserve these waterbody, constructed the en-veloping structures aroundthem, and which have beenpreserved till date.

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, MAY 19

The development of St Inezwater body faces a major hurdleas it needs to be notified as acreek to get funding under cen-tral scheme.

The sub-committee led byManohar Parrikar on Tuesdaypassed the resolution asking thestate government to notify thewater body as creek for its de-velopment. Sources from thesub-committee said that fundsunder Jawaharlal Nehru NationalRenewal Mission (JNNURM) willbe sanctioned only after thewater body is notified as creek.

The union ministry hadclearly said that the amount willbe awarded for the developmentof creek, a water body and notfor drainage, sources said.

The committee had also de-cided to carry out site inspectionof the water body to check theillegal developments, only afterits notification as creek.

Unless the state governmentcomes out with a proper notifi-cation, we cannot go ahead withthe inspection as the water bodyis not officially declared as creek.And hence, we cannot raise ob-jections to the illegal develop-ments, that have mushroomed

nUnless the govtcomes out with anotification, wecannot go aheadwith theinspection as thewater body is notofficially declaredas creek.

along the bank of the creek,sources maintained. Once it isdeclared as creek, we can check thedevelopments, whether they havecome-up within no developmentzone, sources added.

The beautification of StInez creek project has beenhanging fire since the timeit has been taken up underJNNURM.

Meanwhile, the committeehas decided to take up the beau-tification of the creek in threedifferent phases, as the entireproject cannot be cleared thisyear.

As we dont have enoughtime left to forward the en-tire project, the committeedecided to go in phases-creek functioning, de-silta-t i o n p r o c e s s a n d

beautification and protec -tion of the creek, sourcesexplained.

Sources said that the com-mittee will be soon forwardingthe first phase DPR, which willinclude removal of all the struc-tures which are above the heightof the creek and will be alsochecking the stagnation process,to the union urban developmentministry for the sanctioning offunds.

It seems that the develop-ment work at the first phase it-self will be taken up at anestimated cost of Rs 15 crore.

st Inez water body development faces major hurdle

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, MAY 19

PWD Minister, Churchill Alemaohas strongly demanded thatChief Minister, Digambar Kamatcome out with a policy on megahousing projects, even as hefavoured low cost housing tomeet the requirements of thecommon man.

I have asked Chief Ministerto work out a clear-cut policyon housing projects. Many aGoan builder is in the souptoday because of opposition.We need housing projects. Howcan anyone just object to proj-ects. How will this benefit thestate, the PWD Minister soughtto know, while making a strongcase for a government policy onmega housing.

Saying the governmentshould work out a policy,whether ground-plus two orthree storey building for thecoastal belt, Alemao batted forhousing projects, adding Weneed housing projects. Without

development, you want to finisheveryone.

Claiming that around 1000Goan builders have been af-fected by the ongoing opposi-tion to mega housing projects,Alemao said Construction ac-tivity is the occupation of thesebuilders. Around two lakh peo-ple are employed by thesebuilders. They are in trouble andsome even want to commit sui-cide because there is no pol-icy.

While urging the Chief Min-ister to come out a clear policyon the mega housing, Alemaosaid that development of thestate cannot be paralysed be-cause of the opposition to thehousing project.

Supporting low cost housingscheme for Goans, Alemao saidordinary Goans cannot affordto buy flats and houses at hugerates. The low cost housingshould meet the demands ofthe ordinary people, he added.

Strongly coming out in favour

of the Rajeha project in Carmonavillage, which has been opposedby anti-mega housing activists,the PWD Minister criticized Car-mona Panch member OrlandoDSilva for opposing the project.DSilva had supported a hous-ing project when he was thepanch member. Why is he op-posing the project now whenthe whole panchayat body andvillage is supporting the proj-ect, he questioned.

Claiming that villagers haveno problem with the Rahejaproject, Alemao said only thisone man (Orlando) is opposingthe project, which will benefitthe villagers. When newsmenasked the PWD Minister in whatway people will be benefited bythe project, Alemao said jobs ofwatchman and other vacancieswill be created by the project.

Charging Orlando for distrib-uting pamphlets stating that theproject would invite Muslims inthe village, Alemao said he hasasked the Superintendent of Po-

lice, South and the District Col-lector to take action against thepanch member. How can youdiscriminate against other reli-gious communities. The landbelongs to all communities. Or-lando had tried to stop the proj-ect through various means, butthe villagers of Carmona knowsChurchill well and are support-ing the Rajeha project, he as-serted, adding that the villagershad even confronted Orlandofor opposing the project at thegram sabha meeting.

Claiming that Orland is heright hand man of formerML A Luizinho Faleiro, thePWD Minister said that thehousing project was f irstpassed during the tenure ofthe former MLA.

When newsmen a skedwhether the village has ade-quate infrastructure to host theRajeha project, Alemao said theGudi-Orlim water pipelinewould solve the water problemin the area.

Churchill backs Rahejas projectAlso claims Carmonkars support for project

Householdgoods gutted

in GuirimHERALD CORRESPONDENT

PORVORIM, MAY 19

Household goods worth aboutRs 3 lakh were destroyed in afire that broke out in a house atPrasad Waddo in Guirim onWednesday afternoon.

Pradeep Vasant Haldankeralerted the Mapusa fire servicesof a fire in his house at Guirimat about 4.40 pm.

Fire Station officer NitinRaiker along with a fire tenderand his team rushed to the spot.Since the house was located ata remote place, they had somedifficulty in reaching the house.

Firemen managed to douse theflames within about 90 minutes withthe help of two fire tenders.

The kitchen was destroyedand firemen managed to removethe gas cylinder and prevent fur-ther damage at the site.

The items destroyed in thefire included two TVs, twofridges, utensils, furniture andclothes, all worth Rs 3 lakh.

The exact cause of the fire isnot known and investigationsare in progress.

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, MAY 19

The environmental NGO in thestate has requested Union Min-istry of Environment and Forest(MoEF) to cease the encroach-ment in the Mhadei wildlifesanctuary.

We appeal that the encroach-ment in Mhadei wildlife sanc-tuary be dealt with and the landbe turned back to forest,Sandeep Azrencar, Nisarga, hassaid in his memorandum toMoEF.

The memorandum says that noaction has been taken, though thefact finding report on this aspectwas submitted by the Assistant Con-servator of Forest (ACF) way back in2006-07.

The memorandum was sub-mitted to the MoEF officials onTuesday during the interactive

session between the miningfirms and the environmental-ists.

The NGO have pointed outthat of the 1200 sq km forestland, nearly 4882 hector of for-est is been encroached in Goa.These are official figures butit is believed that the actual en-croachment is even more thanthese figures, the NGO added.

The area of Mhadei wildlifesanctuary is the same placewhere the incident of tigerpoaching is recently booked bythe forest department. Even dur-ing recent animal census the ev-idence of animal is found,Azrencar said.

The memorandum has beensubmitted along with Googleimages of this sanctuary, whichclearly shows denudation of for-est in several patches.

stop encroachmentin Mhadei sanctuary

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

PORVORIM, MAY 19

Residents of St Jose Vaddoand Khodapa Vaddo in Cuchelimward of Mapusa Municipal Coun-cil (MMC) have objected to themovement of heavy vehiclesalong the road from GotnichoVau to the Cuchelim Churchjunction.

In a memorandum to theBardez Deputy Collector, theymentioned that there is contin-uous movement of heavy vehi-cles carrying building materialslike sand, laterite stones, cementand tiles along the stretch ofroad every day from 4 am to 8pm.

Vehicles proceeding to theirdestinations such as Siolim,Sodiem, Anjuna and Tivim, Ass-nora, Mumbai and elsewheremake use of this road. Over 200

n ... Over 200heavy vehiclesply along thisstretch of roadeveryday,threatening thesafety of villagersincluding schoolchildren whocommute alongthis road

heavy vehicles ply along thisstretch of road everyday, threat-ening the safety of villagers in-cluding school children whocommute along this road, thememorandum stated.

Further the constant honkingof these vehicles right from thewee hours till night is causing a

noise pollution. Recently, thisstretch of road has been hot-mixed, which is why heavy ve-hicular traffic has increased andthe smooth road has encour-aged drivers to drive their ve-hicles in high speed.

Earlier, heavy vehicles wereplying from the Kharaswadajunction to the Duler junction,before proceeding to their re-spective destinations. Heavy ve-hicle drivers use this route toreach their destination faster sothat they can make large numberof trips per day, the memoran-dum added.

Residents have demanded theclosure of the stretch of roadto heavy vehicular traffic andhave sought the deployment oftraffic policemen at the churchjunction and at the entry pointof Gotincho Vau.

Cuchelim residents object to movement of heavy vehicles

GOAOhErAL

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Pg4short takes

GOA, thurSdAy, 20 mAy, 2010

==

Annual Day observedPANJIM (HND): The children of Prerna School for Life Skills,

Zuarinagar celebrated its Annual Day with an exhibition oftheir own handicrafts. There were beautiful table linen, stitchwork, embroideries, personal articles, bags and toys made bythe children.

A nice show was presented of performing arts with dancesfrom Rabindra Sangeet and regional folk songs.

Kalashree Mahila Mandal president Asha Kamat inauguratedthe program and gave away prizes to the deserving childrenand Jaikisaan Ladies Club President Sonali Datta presided overthe proceedings.

Led by a dedicated group of ladies from the Jaikisaan LadiesClub, Prerna is dedicated to the financially challenged girlchild.

The children are imparted the following vocations of lifeskills: stitching, sewing & needlework, handicraft/toys making,art & craft, interiors, beauticians, filling in studies, performingarts - music & dances, elocutions and computer studies.

ICICI opens new branchPANJIM (HND): ICICI Bank opened its 10th branch in Goa at

Curchorem to cater better services to the areas nearby. Withthis, the total number of branches of ICICI Bank has reached2000 all over India and with KhayalAapka campaign going onall over, it is more stressing now on customer service.

ICICI bank has plans to open up 7 more branches in Goawithin the next few months which would take its figure to 17branches in Goa and a total of 37 ATMs in Goa.

The Curchorem branch was inaugurated in the presence ofRegional Head for Goa, Kolhapur and Konkan Region TrevorBarreto.

Also present were Regional Marketing Manager for Goa andKolhapur Saurav Ghosh, Branch Manager Venkatesh Sheshadri,Nilesh Kande and Deepti Naik.

Hem Tumkam on HCNPANJIM (HND): Babit De Zuari is an

upcoming writer, director and haswritten and directed 13 shows. Hiscast always include amateurs and areselected from the village. His latestshow Hem Tumkam Sogleank wasstaged recently at Goa Velha. Thesame show will now be telecast onHCN Channel May 20 at 11 pm.

The artists who have acted in thisdrama include Ruzai, Savita, Joshell,Melissa, Agnelo, Joeboy, Anthony, JrReagan, Jerry, Tony de Agassiam, Ig-

natius de Xelvon, Rosario de Benaulim and Babit de Zuari.

Legal literacy camp heldPANJIM (HND): A legal literacy camp was held at Cumbharjua

in Vasant Bhuvan, near bus stand. Counsellor Madhuri Raospoke on the subject rights of women.

Advocate Harsha Naik spoke on the subject Domestic Vio-lence Act and benefits of Legal Aid.

The camp was attended by Bharati Prabhudessai and 40women of All India Womens conference-Goa branch.

There was an open question answer session in which a num-ber of women participated. The camp was attended by 40 peo-ple from the locality.

The vote of thanks was proposed by Sharmista S Naik. Thefunction was held under the auspices of Tiswadi Taluka LegalServices committee, Panjim.

Cheques distributed PANJIM (HND): Cumbarjua MLA and ex-transport minister

Pandurang Madkaikar distributed cheques under vegetablevendors scheme to 21 beneficiaries from St Mathias panchayatjurisdiction at Divar, recently.

Madkaikar also distributed certificates to 57 women fromthe village, who attended five-day fruits and vegetables preser-vation camp.

While speaking on the occasion, Madkaikar urged the gath-ering to take advantage of various government schemes avail-able with the help of the panchayat. He also praised the panchmembers for being active in helping the needy.

On development of the island, he said that a lot of develop-ment has taken place, such as road repairs, drainages, improve-ment of water supply, and promised to bring in moredevelopment in the near future.

Earlier, deputy sarpanch Tulsidas Kundaikar welcomed theMLA in the presence of panch members Ludovina Ataide, AshaPai, Ramdas Bhomkar, Prashant Harvalkar and Jerry DSouza.Later, Jerry DSouza proposed the vote of thanks.

Hot mixing works inauguratedMARGAO (HR): Chief Minister Digambar Kamat on Tuesday

inaugurated road hot mixing works in the Aquem area of hisMargao constituency.

He broke the sacred coconut to mark the commencementof the work costing Rs 8.5 lakh.

Margao Municipal Councilor Ganashyam Shirodkar andother citizens were present at the inauguration.

Meanwhile, Goa Pradesh Congress Committee Vijay Sardes-sai today inaugurated drainage works costing Rs 23 lakh nearthe Arcanjo hospital.

The works was inaugurated in the presence of ward Coun-cilor Ramdas Hazare and acting MMC Chairperson Raju Naik.

Speaking on the occasion, Sardessai said that Councilor Haz-are has taken up and completed works more than the workscarried out by the Fatorda MLA.

He said all sections of the society have supported the devel-opment work undertaken by the ward councilor.

Construction of speed breaker PANJIM (HND): The District Magistrate, North Goa district,

Panjim has ordered the construction of Speed Breaker overfeeder roads at a distance of 10 meters on either of the mainroad within the premises of Housing Board Colony at Har-valem, Sanquelim in the jurisdiction of Sanquelim Municiapalarea in bicholim Taluka.

The District Magistrate also authorized the erection of cau-tionary sign boards Speed Breaker at appropriate distanceson either side of the speed breaker and at the placement ofthe speed breaker in consultation with the concerned trafficauthorities showing the sign Speed Breaker in order to regu-late the motor vehicular traffic.

Construction of rumblers PANJIM (HND): The District Magistrate, North Goa district,

Panjim has ordered the construction of Rumbler Strips nearthe house of Chandrakant Pawse at Keskarwada in front ofChandrakant Pawse house and near the house of Noorja BiMurad Khan in front of Noorja Bi Murad Khans house in thejurisdiction of Village Panchayat Morlem in Sattari.

The District Magistrate also authorized the erection of cau-tionary sign boards Rumblers Ahead at about 40 mts in ad-vance of the first rumblers and traffic sign board showing thesign Rumblers at the placement of the rumblers in order toregulate the motor vehicular traffic.

Anti-Terrorism Day PANJIM (HND): AntiTerrorism Day will be observed on May

21 in the State. Chief Minister Digambar Kamat will administerthe anti-terrorism pledge in the Secretariat at Porvorim on May21 at 11 am.

All the officers and staff members in the Secretariat havebeen instructed to remain present in the Secretariat at 10.55am to take the pledge.

Balotsav programme PANJIM (HND): Bal Bhavan, Panjim in collaboration with Di-

rectorate of Art & Culture will organise the 4th State LevelBalotsav (Children Festival 2010) on May 20 at Master Di-nanath Mangueshkar Kala Mandir, Kala Academy, Panjim at 2.45pm.

An exhibition of art, craft and clay modelling items preparedby the children will be held from May 20 to 22, in the ArtGallery of Kala Academy. This Balotsav will consist of colorfulcultural programme of dance and songs. The programme willbe held in the presence of MP Francisco Sardinha and NationalBal Bhavan Director Amita Shaw.

Workshop on tobacco control PANJIM (HND): The Voluntary Health Association of Goa in

collaboration with GOACAN, the Goa Union of Journalist andthe International Centre-Goa will organise a workshop on to-bacco control and role of the media, on May 25 at InternationalCentre-Goa, Dona Paula from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm.

The workshop will examine the role of media in the contextof the 'Global and Indian scenario of tobacco control advocacyand current tobacco control legislation in India & Goa.' Theworkshop also seeks to draw up a media plan of action keepingin mind the health effects of consumption of tobacco productsand the importance of effective control on their promotion andsales.

To register for the workshop, interested individuals may call0832 2221012 or send an email to vhagoa@gmail.com by May21 with name and contact number.

Aptitude Testing Program PANJIM (HND): The Goa Education Development Corporation

will conduct an Aptitude Testing Program for students of StdXth on May 22 at the Teachers Training College, Porvorim.

The test will be conducted by experts from Jnana PrabodhiniSanshodhan Sanstha, Pune. This test will help parents in de-ciding the correct career path for their child.

A fee of Rs 500 per head will be charged for the same. Forbooking and details contact Goa Education Development Cor-poration on 2411187/94.

upCoMInG eVents

power shutdownMAY 20

COLVALE: From 8 am to 5 pm. Areas affected are Revora,Nadora, Bombay centre, Colvale and areas under Chicalim, Ca-murlim panchayats and surrounding areas.

VASCO: From 9 am to 2.30 pm. Areas affected are HTC-Hansa.TALEIGAO: From 9 am to 2.30 pm. Areas affected are Shankar-

wadi, Borbhat, part of Chincholem and surrounding areas.CARANZALEM: From 9 am to 2.30 pm. Areas affected are Purva

apt, Martins Morod and surrounding areas.BRITONA: From 9 am to 4 pm. Areas affected are Kadamba

depot, Salai-Quitla, Ekoxim, Donwado, Britona, Manas and sur-rounding areas.

MAY 21

TIVIM: From 8 am to 2 pm. Areas affected are Limathod, Tivimpanchayat office, St Anna colony, Dhanva, Auchutwado, Major Bak-ery, Madel Damade and surrounding areas.

CORLIM: From 8 am to 11.30 am. Areas affected are Diwar vil-lage, Chorao village and Vaxim village.

VASCO: From 9 am to 2.30 pm. Areas affected are Birla Petrolpump, Goa Carbonic, Queeny Nagar, Upasnagar, Cansaulim, Vel-sao, Zuarinagar near Pump house and Housing board Zuarinagar,Cortalim Church, Shantadurga temple and surrounding areas.

PANJIM: From 9 am to 3 pm. Areas affected are Dempo tower,Fish market, Bank of India and surrounding areas.

BICHOLIM: From 8 am to 10 am. Areas fed from Bicholim s/swill be affected.

HERALD REPORTER

VASCO, MAY 19

The Mormugao MunicipalCouncil (MMC) has been con-stantly complaining of insuffi-cient funds, but when funds docome its way, they often gounutilized.

According to reports, theMMC was in receipt of Grant-inaid (GiA) for developmentalwork, but nearly Rs 1 crore hasbeen unspent between 2002-03 and 2008-09.

From 2002 to 2008, nearlyRs 2.3 crore had been sanc-tioned of the form of GiA,while an additional Rs 37 lakhhad also been sanctioned. Ofthese funds, the amount uti-lized was Rs 1.67 crore.

These observations weremade by the Comptroller andAuditor General (CAG), Goaslast report for the period April1 till September 30, 2009.

Incidentally, the MMC had

presented three consecutivedeficit budgets, as a majorchunk of receipts was spent onsalaries, pension and gratuityof staff and daily wage workersand administrative expendi-ture, thus creating a vacuumfor major development worksin the last three years.

However, in the currentbudgetary provision, develop-ment work worth Rs 2.2 crorehas been proposed in all 20wards.

As per rules, the council hasto utilize the GiA within oneyear of sanction and the un-spent balance, if any, needs tobe refunded to the sanctioningauthority.

The CAG observation furtherstates that since the grantswere sanctioned by the gov-ernment on submission of de-tailed estimates passed by thecouncil, any delay in utilizationof grants lacked justification.

The council often faces dif-ficulty in utilizing GiA fund fordevelopment works. Whereverthe council has decided to takesome minor developmentwork, either the landlord does-nt give us the NOC or otherproblem arises, explainedMMC Chairperson ShekharKhadapkar.

He said the council had re-cently refunded some unuti-lized amount.

Councilor, Daji Salkar, whohas mobilized help to beatifythe footpath, claims the previ-ous chief officers never madean effort to guide councilorson how much the GiA hadbeen granted and how to uti-lize it.

Since the GiA was not suffi-cient for major developmentworks, the council tried othermeans to mobilize funds by in-volving corporate houses inthe port town, added Salkar.

Mormugao council lags behind in utilising funds

HERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, MAY 19

Stressing on the need to saveenergy by adopting energy sav-ing technologies and practices,Non Conventional EnergySources (NCES) Secretary Ku-marswamy urged people to useenergy judiciously since Goadepends on neighbouring

People urged to use energy judiciously

NCES Secretary Kumaraswamy inaugurates life long learning (3L) programme on efficient energy, at GoaInternational Centre, Dona Paula on Wednesday.

states for its energy require-ments.

Kumarswamy was speakingafter inaugurating a one-daylife long learning (3L) pro-gramme on adoption of en-ergy efficient processtechnologies & practices andimplementation of energy con-servation Act 2001 in ECBC inhotels & buildings, pharmaceu-ticals, mining and foundry sec-tor, organised by Goa EnergyDevelopment Agency in collab-oration with Bureau of EnergyEfficiency for industrial sectorat the Goa International Cen-tre, Dona Paula.

Speaking further, Kumar-swamy expressed happinessfor organising workshop onthis important subject and saidefforts should be directed tocreate awareness on energysaving equipments and prac-

tices. He said proper educationand motivation to people willresult in saving energy.

Vice President Goa Chamberof Commerce and IndustryMangirish Raikar said that thesaving energy by industries willboost the profitability of theunits. This will be positive as-pects for industrial sector aswell as the government, he in-formed.

Travel and Tourism Associa-tion President Gaurish Dhond,Dr N P S Varde, Saurabh Yadavalso spoke on the occasion.

73 delegates representingECBC in hotels and buildings,pharmaceuticals, mining andfoundry sectors participated inthe day long workshop.

Earlier Ashok Kumar wel-comed the guests. Anil Sharmaand Sheikh proposed the voteof thanks.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, MAY 19

Its exactly a fortnight since theMargao Municipal Councilpassed a resolution to five awrit petition in the high courtto direct former Chief OfficerPrasanna Acharya to divulgethe names of the Councilorsextorting money from thebuilders.

However, neither the peti-tion has been filed by the Civicbody till date nor the Munici-pal Chairperson has soughtlegal opinion from the Munici-pal legal counsel on the matter.

In fact, when MMC Chairper-son Savio Coutinho was ques-tioned on the matter, he saidhe has resumed office only thisevening, having proceeded onleave since the last five days.

Moreover, Coutinho said he

has received minutes of thespecial meeting held a fort-night ago to decide on the cor-ruption allegations made bythe former Chief Officeragainst the Councilors. I havereceived the minutes onlytoday. The same would bechecked and forwarded to theChief Officer to take necessaryaction, Coutinho added.

Incidentally, Coutinho isstrongly in favour of seekinglegal opinion from the Munici-pal lawyer on the question offiling a writ petition in the highcourt, even as he has comeunder fire from the oppositiongroup in the Council for seek-ing legal opinion on the matter.

Incidentally, though theCivic body is dragging its feeton the question of going to thecourt to direct the former Chief

Officer to divulge names of thecouncilors involved in extort-ing money from the builder,the only positive thing thatmay emerge from the specialmeeting is that technical sec-tion has agreed to furnish in-formation on constructionlicenses cleared by the Civicbody since 2008.

In fact, Chief Officer Y BTawde told Herald that theprocess of compiling informa-tion relating to the construc-tion licenses is almost over andthe same would be handedover to the Chairperson as andwhen he resumes charge.

Sources in the know say theChief Officer may hand overthe information to the Chair-person in the next two days aswork on compilation of therecords is almost complete.

MMC yet to file writ on former COs allegations

Fr Maverickdenies

addressingmeet

HERALD NEWS BUREAU

PANJIM, MAY 19

Council for Social Justiceand Peace Executive (CSJP)Secretary Fr Maverick Fer-nandes has clarified that hedid not address activistsand villagers at the meet-ing on Verna plateau inCortalim on Monday.

In a letter, Fr Fernandesinformed Herald that hewas at the CSJP office in In-stitute Piedade at Panjimfrom about 9.25 am to 2pm and had been continu-ously holding meetingswith different groups.

Herald had inadvertentlyreported in its Tuesdaysedition that Fr Fernandeshad addressed activists andvillagers at the meeting,prompting Fr Fernandes toissue the clarification.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

PORVORIM, MAY 19

Goa Civic and Consumer ActionNetwork (GOCAN) organizedan exhibition on waste man-agement in the conference hallat Mamlatdar building at Ma-pusa.

Different plastic materialsand other waste such as usedbattery cells and medical wastewere displayed in this exhibi-tion.

GOACAN Convenor RolandMartins explained to the visi-tors the toxic aspects of thewaste and conveyed the mes-sage that solid waste manage-ment by people is a low costsolution to keep the Stateclean.

Speaking to Herald, Martinssaid the purpose of holding anexhibition is to create publicawareness that everyoneshould take the initiative toprotect the environment bydisposing off waste throughenvironment friendly methods.

He also mentioned that seg-regation of waste at source isimportant.

Tetrapacks can be recycledinto roofing material, note-

books, tissue paper, etc. Plasticbottles can generate slingbags, school bags, etc. GoaDairy has introduced a take-back scheme of the empty milkpackets. If 60 empty packetsare returned to Goa Dairy, onegets a milk packet free. If othercompanies also introduce suchtake-back schemes, therewould be drastic reduction ofwaste material, said Martins.

Martins stated that as perGoa NonBiodegradable

Garbage (control) Act 1996 andRules of 1997, every panchayatand municipal council is re-quired to set up a garbagecommittee and members ofthis committee can be pro-vided training in waste man-agement.

GOACAN is willing to coop-erate with the municipal coun-cil or panchayat to conductsuch training programmes forits councilors or panchayatmembers, Martins added.

Exhibition creates awareness on waste management

Roland Martins is seen explaining the ill-effects of waste. Photo by Anil Shankhwalker

Awareness on courses in

polytechnicsHERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, MAY 19

All polytechnics in Goa will cel-ebrate an Awareness Weekfrom May 31 to June 4. Thepolytechnics have tied up withschools so that SSC studentsvisit the institute everyday.

Such as scheme is workedout considering the poorawareness among school stu-dents about the avenue for em-ployment. There are fivepolytechnics affiliated to Boardof Technical Education. Theyare Government Polytechnic-Panjim, Government Polytech-nic-Bicholim, GovernmentPolytechnic-Curchorem, AgnelPolytechnic-Verna and Instituteof Ship Building Technology-Vasco.

The awareness week will beheld in all polytechnics simul-taneously. There are two hotelmanagement institutes affili-ated to the Board. They are FrAgnel Institute of Food Craft &Culinary Sciences Verna andGuardian Agnel Institute ofHotel Management and Cater-ing Technology, Curchorem.The admission eligibility forhotel management course isXII standard (any stream) andfor polytechnic it is Xth stan-dard.

Diploma in Pharmacy held atGoa College of Pharmacy-Pan-jim is also affliated to theBoard and suitable arrange-ment for awareness week isbeing made.

Presentation will be madeon diploma education in Goaby expert teachers from 10 amto 11 am everyday. Thereafterstudents will be taken aroundthe institute to show variouslaboratories and other facili-ties. Sufficient teachers will bemade available to answer alltypes of queries from theprospective candidates fordiploma admission. The after-noon session also will be opento all parents and other admis-sion seekers.

HERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, MAY 19

An ancient brass Ganeshasculpture was found while dig-ging, in the house of JagganathChodankar of Aradi, Parra. Theidol of Ganesha seated on sing-hasan holding an axe in theright arm and a noose in leftare representative of symbolsof his ability to cut through ob-stacles.

The idol was found after di-vine appearance of the lord inthe dream of 18-year old Poojaalias Baby Chodankar, daughterof Jagganath for the past sev-eral years. The lord apparentlyconveyed to her that he wassuffocating underneath. Theidol was incidentally found onVaisakha Suklapaksa 2067 ShakSamvat 1932 Punarvasunakshetra as per Hindu calen-dar.

Chief Minister DigambarKamat visited the residence ofChodankar and had darshan ofthe Lord Ganesh and also madeinquires about the idol. Heevinced keen interest in the an-

cient artifact.Pooja Chodankar told the

Chief Minister how they foundthe statue and washed it to getrid of the mud. She told himthat the Lord appeared in herdreams and said that he is suf-focating and hungry under-neath. After removing the idol,the lord again visited her in herdreams and suggested that his

temple should be built at thesame place where he wasfound.

Kamat was accompanied byInspector General of PoliceSundari Nanda.

The news spread by word ofmouth and devotees startedvisiting them, wanting to havedarshan and to offer theirprayers.

Ancient Ganesh idol found at Parra

Chief Minister Digambar Kamat pays a visit to the house of JagganathChodankar at Aradi, Parra for darshan of the newly found Ganeshaidol. IGP Sundari Nanda and Pooja Chodankar are present.

pg4 5/19/2010 9:19 PM Page 1

SUPPLEMENTGOA, THURSDAY, 20 MAY, 2010

HERALD Pg 5

Academy of Culinary Edu-cation (ACE) was estab-l i shed in 1995 by

Foundation for Education, Workand Environment Society pro-moted by Cidade de Goa withan objective to provide anunique career opportunity tothe aspiring chef who would like

ACE building exciting careersto make a career in CulinaryArts.

ACE offers a unique oppor-tunity to earn while learningand provides the environmentto serve the guest and learn thehospitality skills which are nec-essary to satisfy customers. ACEhas the infrastructure which is

required in the contemporarytimes. This helps the studentsto acquire hands on skill setsthrough latest technology.

ACE be ing a t t ached toCidade de Goa, provides stu-dents an ideal environment ofa Five Star hotel kitchen andencourages them to take overresponsibilities of managing ahotel kitchen before the begin-ning of their career preparingthem for their future responsi-bilities in operations. Studentshave a rare opportunity of train-ing and grooming under watch-

ful supervision of experiencedchefs. They are offered anunique opportunity to be partof a team managing themeevenings, special cuisines, bar-becues and on site providingthem experience.

Students trained in ACE getwell placed with high degreeof skills sets and proficiency.Before they complete thecourse, students are providedopportunities to be placed withhotels assuring a bright and se-cure career with potential forgrowth.

Shree Devi Education Trustwas established in the year1992. Shree Devi Institute

of Technology offers BE, MBAand MCA courses.

The following branches of En-gineering are offered ComputerScience, Information Technol-ogy, Electronics and Communi-ca t ion and Mechan i ca lEngineering.

Shree Devi Col lege andSchool of Nursing is recognized

by Indian Nursing Council. Thecollege is attached to 1000bedded Govt Hospital, 500bedded Medical College Hos-pital and 150 bedded parenthospital.

Shree Dev i Col lege ofHotel Management has thecredit of bagging the FirstRank in the Mangalore Uni-versity examination duringthe academic year 2003,2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008

and the college has 100%placement record . ShreeDevi College of Interior De-sign has the credit of bag-g i n g F i r s t R a n k i n t h eMangalore University exam-ination during the academicyear 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007,2008 and the college hasachieved 100% results. ShreeDevi College of Fashion De-sign has the credit of bag-ging the first prize in many

inter-collegiate fashion showcompetitions.

Shree Devi College of Phys-iotherapy established in theyear 1993 is the pioneer inPhys iotherapy educat ionwhich offers BPT and MPTcourses.

Shree Devi College of Phar-macy has the credit of 100% re-su l t i n the Ra j i v Gandh iUniversity of Health Sciencesexamination.

Shree Devi Education Trust offeringwide career opportunities

Karavali Group of Colleges,which made an impressiveentry into the field of pro-

fessional education in the year1996 by introducing the firstUniversity affiliated designcourse in India. Since then ithas registered a trailblazingtrack record of success. The students of Karavali Col-leges have obtained universityranks every year by establishing

Karavali Group of Colleges:Revolutionizing professional education through excellence

outstanding records in the fieldof education. With a 100% con-tinuous success rate in almostall its courses and 100% place-ment for students after comple-tion of the courses, the collegetoday attracts students from allover India and also from foreigncountries like Uganda, Maldives,Duba i , Nepa l , S r i L anka ,Bangladesh, Kenya, Tibet, Iran,Sudan, Tanzania and Kuwait. Abrainchild of its founder chair-man and eminent educationistMr. S. Ganesh Rao, recipient ofInternational Award in recogni-tion of extraordinary servicesrendered in new untapped areasof professional education.

Karavali Group of Colleges hasthree independent own cam-puses at Kottara Chowki, Vaman-joor and Neermarga inMangalore city with excellent in-frastructure on par with inter-national standards. College haswell equipped modern state-of-art Mechanical Engineering Labs,Civil Engineering Labs, Com-puter Labs, Physics Lab, Chem-istry Lab, Central Workshop,Mechanics and Kinematics Lab,Materials Testing Lab, ElectricalScience Lab, Electronics Lab forEngineering Courses, Pharmachemistry Lab, PharmacognosyL ab , Pharmaceut i c s L ab ,Anatomy & Physiology Lab, Ma-chine Shop, Microbiology Labfor Pharmacy Course. DesignStudio for Interior DesignCourses, Fashion Lab, GarmentWorkshop and Computer Labwith internet for Fashion DesignCourses. For Nursing Course bestlab facility is provided like Fun-damental Nursing Lab, Commu-n i ty Hea l th Nurs ing L ab ,Nutrition Lab, Psychology Lab,Bio-Chemistry Lab, Anatomy Mu-seum. College offers clinical fa-cility for Nursing students in 750bedded multi-specialty Hospital.

The College has very good fa-cilities for Hotel Managementcourses with practical Restau-rant, House Keeping Lab, ServiceLab, Nutrition Lab and Food andBeverage Production Lab com-parable with the standards ofFive Star hotels. College organ-izes two months summer place-ment in Five Star hotels for HotelManagement students. The col-lege has up-to-date well-stockedlibraries with national and in-ternational books and journals.

The college has highly qual-ified and experienced profes-s ional faculty compris ingDoctorates and P.G.s with ex-cellent academic standards intheir respective fields. Collegeruns separate hostels for boysand girls with all facilities. Lotof care has been taken to makethe hostel a home away fromthe home. In order to give prac-tical exposure to students andalso to ensure 100% placements,the college has entered intoMemorandum of Understanding(MoU) with connected industriesand institutions. College alsoruns hygienic canteens and pro-vides xerox facility, telephonefacility, banking, internet facility,transportation facility and alsoprovides indoor and outdoorsports facilities with professionalcoaching to all the students.

Karavali Group of Collegesoffer B.E. Courses in InformationScience and Engineering, Elec-trical & Electronics Engineering,Computer Science and Engineer-ing and Electronics & Commu-n i ca t ion Eng inee r ing ,Mechanical Engineering, CivilEngineering, B.H.M. (Bachelorof Hotel Management), B.Sc.Nursing, M.Sc. Nursing, P.C. B.Sc.Nursing, B. Pharm., Pharma D.,M. Pharma, Polytechnic

Diploma Courses in ComputerScience, Electronics, Mechanical,Electrical and Civil, M.B.A.,M.S.W. (Masters in Social Work),B.Sc. Interior Design, B.Sc. Fash-ion Design, B.C.A. (Bachelor inComputer Applications), B.Sc.Hospitality Science (Hotel Man-agement), B.B.M. (Bachelor ofBusiness Management), B.Ed.,D.Ed. (Diploma in Education).Above courses are affiliated toRGUHS, Bangalore / MangaloreUniversity / VTU, Belgaum alongwith all mandatory recognitionlike All India Council for Tech-nical Education (AICTE), NewDelhi, Indian Nursing Council(INC), Karnataka Nursing Council(KNC), National Council forTeacher Education (NCTE) &Pharmacy Council of India (PCI).The college also independentlyoffers Diploma Courses in Inte-rior Design, Fashion Design andHotel Management.

For further details please con-tact : Karavali Group of Colleges,N.H. 17, Near Kottara Chowki,Bangra, Mangalore 575 013.Tele/Fax (0824) 2455656, Mo-bile:094802 65857, E-mail:info@ karavalicollege.ac.in,info@karavalicollege.com, Website:http//www. karavalicollege.ac.inand www.karavalicollege.com.

GOA, THURSDAY, 20 MAY, 2010

HERALD

Pg7

Girls top ICSE results

PTI

NEW DELHI, MAY 19

It was girls all the way on top inthis year's Council for IndianSchool Certificate Examinationsthat saw three students fromMumbai, Kolkata and Agra attheir academic best.

The class X examination orthe ICSE has been topped na-tion-wide this year by Mumbaigirl Jhanvi Vipul Phoshani, whooutshone other students secur-ing 98.80 per cent marks.

Jhanvi is a student of SrimatiLilavati Poda High School, Mum-bai.

The class XII examinationmeanwhile was topped by twogirls who scored a joint 98.75per cent aggregate marks.

One of them Shreya Daga rep-resents the Mahadev Birla ShishiVihar school from Kolkata, whilethe other Sumedha Rai is fromthe St Anthony's Junior College,Agra.

Maintaining the trend, girlsagain outshone boys in the over-all results securing better passpercentages in the Class-X andClass-XII boards exams.

As many as 55,760 candidatesappeared for the Class-XII examswhile 1,12,820 students tookthe test for Class-X in March thisyear. The pass percentage ofgirls in Class-X was 98.77 percent as against 97.95 per centof the boys. Similarly, the passrate for girls stands at 98.26 percent in Class-XII as against 96.17per cent in case of boys.

Common link between SRK,

Leonardo PTI

NEW DELHI, MAY 19

What connects Bollywood su-perstar Shah Rukh Khan and Hol-lywood heartthrob LeonardoDicaprio besides their actingskills?

The love for Formula One rac-ing.

DiCaprio, an avid racing fan,recently kick-started the TagHeuer's Odyssey of Pioneers- aunique roadshow travelling to15 destinations, with a speciallydesigned Tesla's special electricsports car in Basel, Switzerland.

After making the rounds incities like Monaco, Milan, Bu-dapest and Warsaw the road tripfinally reached New Delhi andShah Rukh along with FormulaOne driver Karun Chandhok,launched it further to its nextstop Beijing here today.

44-year-old Khan, who is thebrand ambassador for Swisswatch brand, expressed his lovefor the sports and said, "I havealways been an avid fan of au-tomobile marvel. It's exciting towelcome the road trip to Indiawhich shows that our countryis finally making its foray in For-mula One racing."

Terrorists slip through LoC: intel inputs

PTI

SRINAGAR, MAY 19

Intelligence inputs suggest thatsome hardcore Lashker-e-Toibaterrorists including a dreadedmilitant 'Furqan' have sneakedinto Kashmir valley raising ques-tions over claims that infiltrationacross the Line of Control (LoC)have declined sharply.

Sources in the state home de-partment have said the inputsof wireless intercepts suggestedthat Furqan, whose actual namewas not known, had infiltratedinto the valley to muster supportamong the local population andto streamline the operations ofthe terror outfit.

The intelligence inputs comesin the face of repeated asser-tions by Army that infiltrationhad reduced along the LoC andhad come down drastically.

However, during internalmeetings, officials of the MilitaryIntelligence and other seniorArmy officials were taken abackwhen they were briefed aboutthe intercepts showing heavypresence of Lashker militants inhigher reaches of Kupwara andUri. Besides Furkan, five battle-hardened terrorists of Pakistan-based LeT were among them,the sources said.

The state police and centralsecurity agencies provided spe-cific credible intelligence includ-ing tell-tale signs of the presenceof nearly a dozen militants inNichnai forests in higher reachesof Yusmarg in Central Kashmir.

While Army has been main-taining a studied silence overthe issue, sources said intelli-gence about infiltration of mil-itants, who managed to escapethe Army vigil at LoC, was pickedup by the local police leadingto various encounters across thestate.

Oh for the month of May and mangoes. Itwas were all going on a summer holidayto the muluk, that is Goa. How expectantly

we waited for those May holidays. No moreLatin, no more French, no more sitting on thosedirty old benches. Actually, that was the icingon the cake.

So, it was a quantum switch from the urbangrind to that quaint old world of rustic beautyand solitude of Goa. It was the 1950s and thepace was easy like the words of the song summertime and the living is easy. No, lets not get intothat susegado mould. Its a word flogged todeath, but still often misunderstood. It meanscomfortable and not lazy as is often miscon-strued. Death is the end of life, ah why shouldlife all labour be, the Goan feels in the words ofthe great nature poet Alfred Lord Tennyson.

Or at least that was what the Goa of the 1950sunder the Portuguese rule, was. Many of us likedto be associated with Western culture and somewere even anti-Indian with the common theseIndians refrain. Not that the Portuguese did verymuch for us, and many had to go to India to earna living, and the few schools in Guirim, Arporaand Parra were able to provide an English educa-tion for jobs in Africa and elsewhere, but letsleave it at that.

But then came Liberation in 1961. And, by theend of the 1960s the hippies discovered Goa.Ever since, life has never been the same. It soonbecame a tourism paradise with its swayingpalms and virgin beaches. For the hippies it wasmake love, not war and they were seen invarious stages of undress, taking the tan whilealso being subjected to the domestic touristslecherous gaze. Restaurants and hotels sprungup like mushrooms, motorbike pilots ferried folksaround and slowly but surely, life and the hos-pitable nature of the Goan changed. Fast forwardto 2010 and the same pristine Goa had changeddiametrically. It was make a fast buck Goan thatemerged from the ashes of the once hospitableGoan. Politically, the two main parties the UnitedGoans Party (UGP) and Maharashtrawadi GomantakParty (MGP) made way for the Congress and theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and it became a Statewith no political conscience. Floor crossing wasthe order of the day, and in the 1980s Chief Min-

isters changed like ladies changed their fashion.They say small states suffer from this malaise,but nowhere in India do we have such a mindless,conscienceless band of legislators as in Goa, oftenreferred to the Chalis Chor with wordatarianDigambar Kamat as Ali Baba. The depths to whichthe Chief Ministers chair had dropped, has neverbeen so low.

All he does is give assurances. This has givenrise to activism, and in this respect the Goa BachaoAndolan (GBA) is the most prominent. It wasformed in the context of the 2011 Regional Plan.In between, it laid low due to infighting. But in2009, it was revived and they have made it apoint to be at the heels of the Chief Minister toget things done. GBA secretary Reboni Saha re-cently said that it was convinced that the an-nouncement of flying squads to halt hill-cuttingand filling of low-lying land, was a damp squib,given the fact that nothing much had happened

after the first assurance was given by Chief MinisterDigambar Kamat on March 4, 2010 that the Re-gional Plan 2021 would be completed in sixmonths.

The Goa Town & Country Planning Act 1974was not in sync with Article 243, especially 243G,243N and 243ZD and the Eleventh and TwelfthSchedules thereunder. The Goa Law Commission,which was entrusted with the review of the TCPAct, is not known to have done anything in thecontext of Section 16 and 16A amended in March2008 itself. Hence, it is the well known formulaof letting things lie, till they are forgotten about.

I t th i s a gove rnment tha t works?One plus point, however, is the government handin getting the Supreme Court ruling to upholdthe High Court, directive that the subsidy paidto the power-guzzlers should be recovered be-cause the notification was not as per law. In thisrespect, Power Minister Alexio Sequeira must be

lauded for engaging top lawyers and getting theguilty to pay for their crime. I clearly rememberthose days in 1994 when the Soccer World Cupwhich was won by Brazil was on, and powerfailed for long periods, even over a day with foodstocks getting spoiled thanks to the then PowerMinister Mauvin Godinho.

But an interesting facet of this discussion, wasthe slinging match between former Chief MinisterMonohar Parrikar and the then Power MinisterGodinho. When Parrikar accused Godinho of pay-ing Rupees 12 crores to some power-guzzlersGodinho turned back and told Parrikar that duringhis regime they had paid Rs 15 crores to a certainpower-guzzler to which Parrikar had no answer.And pray who was the Power Minister then. Noprizes for guessing correctly. He was none otherthan our own all-time low Chief Minister DigambarKamat. Now Godinho was known to be corrupt,but what about Parrikar and Kamat. Werent theycaught with their pants down?

Well, then this only shows the sad way in whichthe Government operates. One step forward andthen three steps back. There is no enforcing au-thority or vigilance or anti-corruption body atwork. The common man or aam admi referred toso much in Ministerial rhetoric is left to fend forhimself between the devil and the deep blue sea.On my way to Goa by the day train on KonkanRailway I had to raise a hullabaloo over the absenceof air-conditioning and mine was the only dis-senting voice. In fact I lost my cool and told myco-passengers that they took everything lyingdown- such as the buses packed like sardinesand other such misdemeanours. No wonder, theservice on the KR has vastly deteriorated and youget more than the required passengers in the re-served section. That the TCs use the berths meantfor the passengers.

Thats why public prosecutor Winnie Coutinhowho was sacked on February 14,2008 (ValentinesDay) got another order on the same day keepingthe first order in abeyance, and she continued inoffice for over a year before Aires Rodrigues PILconvinced her to call it a day, Thats why the Mar-gao Municipal ropes in as sopo contractor withoutinviting bids. Thats why so many things takeplace to make nonsense of a government thatworks. Are you listening Digambar Kamat?

Not learnt the lessonAdelmo Fernandes, Vasco

It has been nearly a fortnight since thetragedy occurred at the Baina beach whereina slab of an old structure fell on two littlechildren who had a miraculous escape.

Till this day nothing has been done bythe authorities to bring down the remainingstructure which seems beyond repairs. Eventhe slab that came crashing down has notbeen removed and serves as a grim reminderof the tragedy that unfolded on that day.

It must be said that children of migrantlabourers are seen playing around this place.Last week the Mormugao Municipal Councilorganized a week long summer festival atthe beach which attracted huge crowds.Unfortunately nothing was done to removethis dilapidated structure.

Are the authorities waiting for anothermishap to occur before acting? The con-cerned authorities would probably haveacted if the falling slab had caused deathon that fateful day. Will we ever follow thedictum Prevention is better than cure?

The modern day Nero(s) SND Poojary,Miramar

The proverbial Nero fiddled when Romeburnt. The Central government appears tobe in similar mode in dealing with Naxalism.On May 17, one more entry is added to thegovernment statistics when the Naxals blewup a bus killing some 44 people, mostly se-curity personnel. For the government, theyare just numbers. However the impact isfelt by the members of the families of thosewho were butchered by the killing machines.These families are left to mourn the deadfor the rest of their lives.

We have a Home Minister who wishes totake on the Naxals, but he is stopped bythe fratricidal attacks on him by his ownfellow travelers, who are surreptitiously en-couraged by his own Party. Now he appearslike a wounded lion nursing his wounds,but unable to protect his men. It is hightime that he puts his foot down or puts hispapers.

Detrimental to KonkaniunityFr Mousinho de Ataide, Seminary ofRachol

If Konkani is one language and it is one it would have been preferable for the lateDr Olivinho Gomes to have written a com-prehensive history of Konkani literature inall scripts. It would also have helped readersto have an overall view and make a com-parative study.

However, as the book has been commis-sioned by the DKA, it could not but have asectional slant, very detrimental to the unityof the Konkani Samaj. I mean no offence tothe hallowed memory of Dr Olivinho.

Need to adopt rightapproachGregory Fernandes, Mumbai

At last Ajmal Kasab is awarded a death sen-tence. Whether he is executed or not doesnot really matter when seen in the broaderpicture of tensions in the sub-continent.

Elements remain very much alive andstronger than ever for terrorist attacks tobe carried out in India. Because of the ten-

sion gripping them, both India and Pakistanspend billions of dollars for military pre-paredness and maintaining border security.By all count they must be serious to put afirm end to the public war of words andengage in confidence-building measuresleading to meaningful dialogue. That is theonly way ahead for the two sides if theywere to hope for an end to the perpetualthreat of terrorism regardless of its source.

End the monopoly at NSFBy Rocky Dias

The decisive action of the Sports Ministerin introducing new guidelines for the Na-tional Sports Federation on the tenure ofthe officials is very encouraging and bold.The reduction of the term of tenure willcertainly help the country produce moreprofessional sports managers who have newinnovative ideas and thus help improve andexplore new ideas for the benefit of thefederation.

The uncontrolled powers given to bureau-

crats, politicians and businessmen in publicinstitutions must be limited. Honest and de-serving people must be given a chance onmerit. This will not only help to bring in aclean governance but also help open a newdimension for transparency and accounta-bility. The monopoly in the NSF must bebrought to an end as quickly as possible.Also, those who have been occupying theseat for 15 to 24 years must be asked toresign immediately. The retirement age forthe officials must be fixed at 70 years.

The threats of the old guards must simplybe ignored even if they go on the offensive.Even the International Committee will notsupport them, as long as the