OHERALDOThe Voice of Goa Since 1900

Visit us at:www.oheraldo.in panjim, friday, december 10, 2010 postal reg. no. Goa 101 price rs. 3.00 (air Surcharge rs 2.00) pages 16+4

Sorry Sir, We cant give you 4 op-tions & life lines. You are beingquizzed for your scam.

Business: FM cautions against

volatility in FII flows Pg 12

Sports: India eyes series

whitewash Pg 16

India: Goa more than just a tourist

paradise Abhishek Pg 11

(Continued on page 10)

(Continued on page 10)

AgENcIES

BERLIN, DEC 9

One person in four worldwidepaid bribe during the past yearwhile 54 per cent Indians saythey greased the palms of au-thorities to get things done, saysa study released today to markInternational Anti-CorruptionDay.

Corruption has increasedover the last three years, say sixout of 10 people around theworld, and one in four peoplereport paying bribes in the lastyear, the Berlin-based non- gov-ernmental agency, TransparencyInternational (TI), said.

Releasing the findings of the2010 Global Corruption Barom-eter , a worldwide public opin-ion survey on corruption, TI saidit showed that in the past 12months one in four people paidbribe to one of nine institutionsand services, from health to ed-ucation to tax authorities.

The police are named themost frequent recipient ofbribes, according to those sur-veyed, with 29 per cent of thosewho had contact with the policereporting that they paid bribe.

The biggest number of re-ported bribery payments in2010 is in Afghanistan, Cambo-dia, Cameroon, India, Iraq,

Liberia, Nigeria, Palestine, Sene-gal, Sierra Leone and Ugandawhere more than 50 per centof people surveyed paid bribein the past 12 months.

In India, 54 per cent of usersof services said they paid bribeto receive attention from serviceproviders.

Almost half of all respondentssay they paid bribes to avoidproblems with the authoritiesand a quarter say it was to speedup processes.

Most worrying is the fact thatbribes to the police have almostdoubled since 2006, and morepeople report paying bribes tothe judiciary and for registryand permit services than theydid so five years ago, TI said.

Worldwide, sub-SaharanAfrica was the region reportingthe greatest incidence of briberywith more than one person intwo saying they had made suchpayments to officials in the past12 months.

The Middle East and NorthAfrica were the next most cor-rupt regions with 36 per centof people there reporting havingpaid bribes.

This compared to 32 per centin the former Soviet republics,and 23 per cent i n Sou thAmerica.

54% Indians paid bribe last year

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, DEC 9

Drishti Beach Management Serv-ices has finally acted toughagainst the protesting lifeguardsby issuing show-cause noticesto 308 personnel and terminat-ing 54 trainees.

The objective of lifeguardingservice is to save precioushuman l i ve s .Hence Drishti con-sidered it prudentto i s sue ShowCause Notices to308 personnel.Also, 54 traineelifeguards havebeen issued termi-nation notice astheir conduct doesnot make themworthy of beingappointed as life-guards, said the Chief Operat-ing Officer V Kanwar.

He said that the servicesalong the beach stretch fromBaga to Sinquerim stretch whichhas been affected due to the il-legal strike is being patrolledcontinuously by Rescue Jet Skioperators.

According to Drishti officials,lifeguards administered majorfirst aid to a domestic touristat Calangute who suffered adeep gash in his sole and had

to be rushed to the PrimaryHealth Centre by 108 service.Besides, Drishti lifeguards res-cued three persons at Vagator ,Pallolem and Ashwem today.

Drishti deployed 152 life-guards from October 2008 and268 lifeguards commencingfrom November 2009. In No-vember 2010, 78 trainee life-

gua rds wereinducted for on-job training.

The manage-ment expects thatwith such action,the adamant life-guards would re-turn back to theirwork.

The lifeguardsresorted to strikeon Monday de-manding hike in

salaries, action against seniorlifeguards for assaulting theirjuniors and reducing workhours. Since the negotiationwith them did not work out, themanagement finally decided totake stern action.

The 308 personnel issuedshow cause notice comprisedas under:

30 personnel appointed inJuly 2008 (Total appointed 101)

28 personnel appointed in

India rejects emission cuts

PTI

CANCUN, DEC 9

Cracks have developed amongIndia and three other developingcountries on accepting legallybinding emission cuts at theclimate change summit here,with Environment MinisterJairam Ramesh saying there isconcerted pressure on the coun-try and China to accept suchcuts.

Rejecting legally bindingemission cuts, Ramesh saidIndia, China and the US are notin favour of it though such amove is supported by other de-veloped countries.

Future trading in iron ore?HERALD NEWS BUREAU

NEW DELHI, DEC 9

Future trading in iron ore is onthe card. Two leading commod-ity bourses have approachedmarket regulator Forward Mar-kets Commission (FMC) in Mum-bai to allow future contracts iniron ore to help the steel com-panies manage price risk.

A future contract is a stan-dardised contract to buy or sella specified commodity at a cer-tain date in the future. The priceof iron ore currently is aroundRs 3000 a tonne.

A report says the FMC thatfunctions under the Ministry ofConsumer Affairs headed bySharad Pawar has sought someclarifications about settlementissue for trading in iron ore.

The ministry sources say a fu-ture contract would work effec-tively only when there is acounter-party.

Drishti acts toughagainst lifeguards

PTI

NEW DELHI, DEC 9

The 2G scam today triggered acorporate war with industrialistRatan Tata hitting out at thepolicies of the Bharatiya JanataParty-led National DemocraticAlliance government, and RajyaSabha member of parliamentRajeev Chandrasekhar, who hadalleged that Tatas were one ofthe biggest beneficiaries of thespectrum allocation.

Accusing certain GSM opera-tors, represented by Cellular Op-erators Association of India, andjournalists of trying to subvertpolicies to suit their interests,Tata said many of the flip-flopsin the telecom policy occurredduring the BJP regime.

Stating that the telecom li-cence policy of 2008 helpedbreak the powerful cartel, Tatademanded that 2G spectrum al-location since 2001, a periodthat includes the BJP-led NDAregime, be probed.

Reacting to an open letter byChandrasekhar, a former presi-dent of COAI and an independ-

2G SCAM TRIGGERS CoRpoRATE WAR

Tatas hit out at BJp

Many of the flip-flopsin the telecom policyoccurred during the

BJP regime.

The switch over fromauction to revenuesharing system fortelecom operators

during the BJP regimecould have

caused a loss of Rs 50,000 crore.

Ratan Tata

F R E E H I T Retired judge toprobe policiesfrom 2001-09

PTI

NEW DELHI, DEC 9

A day after the Supreme Courtfavoured widening the probe,the government today askeda retired judge of the apexcourt to look into the spectrumallocation procedures and poli-cies during 2001-2009, a periodthat includes the NDA regime.

Announcing the decision,Telecom Minister Kapil Sibaltold reporters that the one-man committee of retiredSupreme Court Justice ShivrajV Patil, will :examine appropri-a teness o f p rocedures(adopted) by DoT in the is-suances of licences and allo-cation of spectrum during theperiod 2001-2009.

DRISHTI: ALL AT SEA

Its a basic truth

of the human condition

that everybody lies.

The only variable is about

what. The weird thing

about telling someone theyre

dying is it tends to focus their

priorities. You find out what

matters to them. What theyre

willing to die for. What

theyre willing to lie for.

David Shore

ent MP supported by BJP-JanataDal(Secular), Tata said the recentpolicy (2G spectrum allocation

in 2008) broke the powerful car-tel that had been holding backcompetition and delaying im-

plementation of policies.It was in 2008 that Tatas tele-

com arm, TTSL - a key player inCDMA space - entered the GSMplatform dominated by bignames like Airtel and Vodafone.

Rebutting the charges, Chan-drasekhar, an erstwhile telecomentrepreneur, hit back, sayingthat Tata was trying to divertthe issue which is the gapbetween the groups claim onprobity and conduct of theirtelecom venture TTSL.

He alleged that Tata was oneof the biggest beneficiaries ofspectrum policies, contrary toall their claims of fair play andtransparency.

Tatas charge that many ofthe flip-flops in the telecom pol-icy occurred during the BJPregime, drew sharp reactionfrom the BJP which said the in-dustrialist was no judge andhis views will not be given muchimportance as he himself was abeneficiary of United Progres-sive Alliances telecom policy.

Tata alleged that the switch

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GOA, FRIDAY, 10 DECEMBER, 2010

GOA Pg2OHERALD

O

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, DEC 9

After a fortnight the Goa Benchof Bombay High Court pointedout large scale irregularities inthe allotment of 32 sq kms ofland to seven SEZ promoters inGoa, one of the petitioners hasdemanded a Central level probeinto the scam.

Addressing a press confer-ence, Advocate F E Noronha whorepresented petitioner JohnPhilip Pereira in the Public In-terest Litigation in the Courtsaid that the Government shouldhand over the probe to Centralagencies like the CBI.

Goa Industrial DevelopmentCorporation (GIDC) allotted 2.4sq kms of land to SEZ promoterswithin a week without any proj-ect report or processing. More-over, the SEZ applications werehandwritten and neither sealednor stampedIt is a scandal,he alleged.

Pereira, who was also presentfor the briefing demanded im-mediate resignation of GIDCBoard of Directors and connivingbureaucrats who were instru-

mental in the fraudulent landallotments.

The petitioner has also de-manded stepping down of theLegislative Assembly speakerPratapsing Rane, former GIDCdirector Alexio Sequeira and thepresent GIDC chairman Chan-drakant Kavlekar.

Other demands included thatland above a certain limit shouldbe auctioned, Government tostop acquiring lands at VernaIndustrial Estate and to appointprofessionals on the GIDC Boardof Directors.

The advocate besides cited anote by the Chief Minister stat-ing Please help these people inRahejas letter. CM and IndustriesMinister were in support of the al-lotment, he alleged.

Land was allotted at Rs 650per sq mtr which is quite a lessamount. Besides, the open spacewas allotted free of cost earlierwhich was later allotted at Rs100 per sq mtrs, he added.

The scam related to SEZ landallotment to the tune of 32 lakhsq mtrs is spread in seven pock-ets across the state.

High Court on November 26passed an order setting asidethe allotments terming them il-legal and done in undue haste.The Court also ordered that theallotted land be reverted to theGIDC which had allotted theland to the seven promoters.

The procedure adopted inthe allotment is not fair andtransparent. The allotmentsmade by the GSIDC do not standthe test of reasonableness, theCourt had observed.

The opposition meanwhilehas already called for a criminalinvestigation of two former Con-gress chief ministers Prataps-ing Rane and Luizinho Faleirofor favouring SEZ promoters.CM Digambar Kamat in a recentinterview had told reporters thathe has still not read the order.

The State was forced to de-notify the allotment of 32 lakhsq mtrs of land to SEZ promotersfollowing stiff opposition fromthe Goans, years ago. The SEZpromoters then approached theHigh Court challenging the Gov-ernments de-notification, whichis set aside in the recent order.

Central level probe demanded into SEZ land allotment

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, DEC 9

The moratorium on the fur-ther mining leases and re-n e w a l s i s e x p e c t e d t ocontinue for a longer timeas the state government istill waiting for redrafting ofMines and Minerals Devel-opment and Regulation Act(India) (MMRD) by centre.

Goa Environment Protec-tion Council, which met atRaj Bhavan today, was toldby the State government thatthe mining policy could befinalised only after centre re-draft MMRD act.

There is no point in finalisingthe mining policy when MMRDact is undergoing change, ChiefMinister Digambar Kamat toldthe council.

The meeting which waschaired by Governor Dr S SS i d h u w a s a t t e n d e d b yKamat, Environment MinisterAlexio Sequiera, Chief Sec-retary Sanjay Srivastava, Na-t i o n a l I n s t i t u t e o fOceanography (NIO) director

Dr Shetye, Goa State Pollu-tion Control Board directorSimon Dsouza, environmen-talist Dr Nandkumar Kamatand others.

Union Ministry of Environ-ment and Forest (MoEF) hadput moratorium on furthermining leases and i ts re-newals asking the state gov-ernment to draft its miningpolicy.

Sources stated that ChiefMinister told the Councilthat Goa does not want tofinalise its mining policy asit should not be in contra-

diction to MMRD act.During the meeting, Governor

expressed his concern over theafter effects of climatic changeon Goa and emphasized theneed for formulation of the StateAction Plan to protect and con-serve the environment of thestate.

He said that NIO has beenasked to submit the exact situ-ation on Goas coast.

NIO is preparing the report.Also the institute will identifythe spots where extreme impactof climate can happen, sourcesstated.

The Council suggested thatsituation like 35 cm of rain injust seven hours that lashedCanacona on October 2, 2009,should be studied with scientificperspective.

Governor suggested that thereaction time of governmentmachinery in case of calamitieshas to be decreased, sourcesadded.

The Council also deliberatedon the proposal of contractorfor removing M/V River Princess

at Candolim.The contractor has asked

for one acre of land to dumpthe scrap after ship is cut. Thegovernment has been asked toprovide the required land,sources said.

The CM told Council that theCentre and Planning Commis-sion has been asked to releasenecessary funds to meet thecost of removal of the vessel.

The Council suggested theneed to have a rain water har-vesting project at each villagelevel.

The Governor also expressedgratitude to the government forfinalizing Regional Plan (RP)2021, for Canacona and Pernemtalukas.

The meeting was informedthat RP in respect of all talukaswill be notified by 2011.

The CM has informed theCouncil that by December31, RP would be finalised fortwo more talukas, sourcessaid adding that the namesof the talukas were not dis-closed.

Moratorium on mining leases, renewals tocontinue pending redrafting of MMRD Act

nSources statedthat ChiefMinister told theCouncil that Goadoes not want tofinalise its miningpolicy as itshould not be incontradiction toMMRD act.

3 held for possessing

drugsHERALD CORRESPONDENT

BICHOLIM, DEC 9

Bicholim Police arrested twopersons on charges of possess-ing drugs worth Rs 50,000 inseparate incidents in Bicholimtaluka.

According to Bicholim PI Har-ish Madkaikar, in the first casereported at Sanquelim bus standon Tuesday evening, police ar-rested one Nazir AllahabakshaAhmad (74) from Haveri-Kar-nataka on charges of possessingGanja, about 380 gms, worth Rs5,000.

In yet another case, BicholimPolice on Wednesday arrestedone Rameshuddhin Rehman (26)from Assam at Bicholim busstand on charges of carryingCharas, about 4.62 gms, worthRs 45,000.

PERNEM CORRESPONDENTADDS: Pernem Police on Wednesdayevening arrested a 35-year-old Cana-dian tourist on charges of possessingCharas worth Rs 25,000 at ArambolBeach. According to Pernem Po-lice, acting on a tip-off, the po-lice arrested David MichalUnderwood in possession of210 grammes of Charas.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, DEC 9

All eyes are focused on Betal-batim the home village of for-mer Tourism Minister, MickkyPacheco as the Benaulim-Nuvem felicitation committeehas planned a bash on the oc-casion of Pachecos birthday onDecember 12.

While the grand birthday cel-ebrations scheduled on Sundayevening at the Betalbatim foot-ball ground is not somethingnew for the flamboyant legisla-tor, the celebration assumes sig-nificance this time round, withexpectations that the formerminister would convey a mes-sage about his political future,amidst indications that he isgrooming candidates in mostassembly constituencies.

While a host of NationalistCongress Party (NCP) leaders areexpected to descend at Betal-batim to partake in the celebra-tions, sources in the know saidthat many a probable candidateshort listed by the Benaulim

MLA to contest the next assem-bly polls, are likely to share thedais.

In fact, the birthday prepara-tions at the Betalbatim groundson Sunday has made many aCongress leader from Salcete towait and watch the develop-ments unfolding on Sunday asthe former minister has beenpreparing grounds to field can-didates in all the eight assemblyconstituencies at stake in thetaluka.

Incidentally, theres an air ofexcitement amongst Pachecossupporters that their leadermight make a comeback in theState cabinet before the birthdaycelebrations or soon thereafter.In fact, speculations gainedground on Thursday when ChiefMinister, Digambar Kamat re-portedly called on the Governorthis morning, but senior Con-gress leaders said no directionshave come from the party highcommand to induct Pacheco inthe cabinet.

Sources in the know said the

Benaulim-Nuvem FelicitationCommittee 2010 under thechairpersonship of Colva ZillaPanchayat member Nelly Ro-drigues are making hectic prepa-rations for the D-Day on Sunday.Ra i a ZP member DomnicGaonkar and Nuvem ZP memberWilfred DSa are the organizingvice-chairman and organizingsecretary respectively.

Sources said the organizingcommittee has printed thou-sands of invitation cards and theorganizers are expecting noth-ing less than 10-12,000 guestsfor the birthday celebrations.

Inc identa l l y, Pacheco sbirthday celebrations in thelast two years had been alow key affair, with the MLAeven appealing to the peopleto donate generously to -wards his ambitious project-- the mobile mortuaries.

This time round, the MLA saysthat he had no option than tobow to the sentiments of hissupporters spread across theState.

Politicos eye Mickkysbday bash at Betalbatim

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, DEC 9

The Margao police on Thursdayhas claimed to have solvedaround 10 theft case that werereported in the Commercial Cap-ital in the last few days.

The police said the arrest ofmiscreants from the two gangsin the last two days have helpedthe men-in-uniform to achievea breakthrough in the spate ofthefts and burglaries.

Margao Police station in-charge, PI Santosh Desai toldnewsmen said the police has ar-rested two separate gangs in-volved in burglaries.

One of the gangs, he said isbased in Panjim and had madeMargao their base in their op-erations following pressuremounted on them by theirPanjim police counterparts.

He said the eight member

Margao cops claim breakthrough in theft cases

Margao PI Santosh Desai seen with the gang of thieves arrested bythe police last night. Photo by Santosh Mirajkar

gang of thieves have con-fessed having committed

thefts in 10 house breakingthefts in the city.

The Margao police has saidthat another gang was caughtred handed on December 8night when they were trying tobarge into a shop near Cine Vis-hant, Aquem.

PI Desai said that the accusedwere in possession of housebreaking implements to bendthe shutters, and provided thenames of the accused as AntonPillai, Radhu and Chetan Chari,all from Panjim.

He said the accused are beinginterrogated by the police to as-certain their role in similar theftsand burglaries elsewhere in thestate .

Replying to a question, hesaid ruled out the question ofthe two gangs involved in therecent Temple thefts, addingthat the miscreants have beenmostly involved in house break-ing thefts.

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, DEC 9

The Central Bureau of Investi-gation (CBI) will file a reply onallegations by Education Minis-ter Babush Monserrate into themob attack case on Panjim po-lice station in 2008 at Goa Benchof Bombay High Court by Mon-day.Monserrate had filed an appli-cation before a single benchJudge N A Britto challenging theCBI chargesheet that prosecutedhim for rioting, unlawful assem-bly with deadly weapons, caus-ing hurt and grievous hurt topublic servants and mischief. He along with 37 others includ-ing his wife Jennifer, former Cor-

poration of City of Panaji (CCP)Mayor Tony Fernandes, presentCCP Mayor Carolina Po and oth-ers are also charged under sec-tion 3 of the Prevention ofDamage to Public Property Act. Replying to the application, Spe-cial Public Prosecutor for CBIJoseph Vaz sought time to filethe reply either by Saturday orMonday. In his application, Monserratealso alleged that the State hastill date not registered his com-plaint against the police for ran-sacking his house at Miramarand Taleigao and thrashing hisfamily, even after the JudicialMagistrate First Class (JMFC) or-dered to do so.

The High Court has meanwhileordered stay in the proceedings,which is currently before thePanjim Chief Judicial Magistrate. The CBI in its chargesheet hadmentioned that the minister col-lected crowd to launch a protestmarch from Taleigao to Panjimpolice station on February 19,2008. It further said that pro-voking speeches were followedby a clash which injured 41 per-sonnel and others. Stones were also pelted on thepolice station and personnel,some of whom were not armed.T h e 8 0 0 - o d d p a g e schargesheet also charged theunruly mob of burning tyresand motorbikes.

CBI to file reply to Babushs plea challenging chargesheet

Tourist found dead in

hotel room HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CALANGUTE, DEC 9

A 32-year-old tourist from Nasikwas found murdered in a roomat a resort in Calangute onWednesday.

According to Calangute Po-lice, three tourists from Nasikhad checked-in at a resort onDecember 7 by paying an ad-vance of Rs 500.

After spending their day out,the trio entered the resort atabout 11 pm and later paid avisit to the resorts bar & restau-rant, informed police.

Police further informed thatwhen the waiter presented thebill, there was a heated argu-ment among them. The waitersprevailed upon them and thebill was finally paid.

Later, the trio had a quarrelin their room, causing incon-venience to other guests. Theroom boy requested the trio tomaintain peace.

Police said on Wednesdaymorning, two of them went,locking their other friend in theroom and did not return till atabout 11 pm. It was then thatthe resort staff suspected somefoul play and called for the thirdperson in the room, but therewas no response.

The room boy opened theroom with the help of a dupli-cate key and the body of thethird tourist was found underthe bed.The resort staff accord-ingly informed the owner andlater informed the CalangutePolice at around 11.30 pm.

Calangute Police led by PSIMahesh Kerkar rushed to theresort and carried out investi-gations. DySP P L Mapari alongwith SP Arvind Gawas too visitedthe resort to take stock of thesituation. Police further in-formed that the 32-year-oldtourist was strangulated todeath with hands. A hunt hasbeen launched to arrest the ab-sconding tourists.

Labourerfound

dead in wellHERALD CORRESPONDENT

PERNEM, DEC 9

A 58-year-old labourer from Has-san-Karnataka was found deadin a well near the PWD watertank at Chopdem on Tuesday.

According to reports, the de-ceased has been identified asGoda Karrippa Indraju and theautopsy report has confirmedthat the death was caused dueto drowning.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

PORVORIM, DEC 9

Pernem Police and Mapusa Po-lice in a joint operation onThursday afternoon seized 325bags of PDS rice worth Rs 1.27lakh at Patradevi.

Pernem Police have arrestedfour persons and seized the ve-hicle which was used to trans-port 8 tonnes of rice fromMapusa to Vapoli-Sawantwadiin Maharashtra.

According to Mapusa DySPSammy Tavares, after he re-ceived a telephone call from anunknown person stating that ablue-coloured Canter (MH-07-1936) is likely to cross the Goaborder with rice on Thursdays,Tavares immediately instructedall the police stations at the Goaborder to keep a watch on thevehicle.

DySP Tavares also asked thepolice stations to carry outsearch of the vehicle and to de-tain it, as soon as it arrives at

the border.After police stationed at Pa-

tradevi informed Pernem PoliceInspector Uttam Raut Dessaithat the vehicle has arrived atPatradevi, PI Dessai rushed tothe spot and inspected thegoods in the vehicle.

The vehicle contained 8

tonnes of rice and the driver didnot possess the required docu-ments. On enquiry, it was re-vea led tha t the r i ce wasdispatched by Devendra Shinde,owner of fair price shop in Khor-lim-Mapusa, to canter driverSatish Dattaram Gawas ofVapoli-Sawantawadi.

325 bags of PDS rice seized at Patradevi, 4 arrested

Dhupia to bestar invitee

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, DEC 9

Bollywood Actress Neha Dhupiawould be the star attraction forBenaulim MLA Mickky Pachecosbirthday on December 12.

Pacheco would be complet-ing 45 years on that day.Sources close to Pacheco saida massive gathering has beencalled by the legislator at Be-talbatim ground at 6 pm.

Dhupia, who has workedin movies like Action Reply,De Dana Dhan will felicitatePacheco and she will also ad-dress the supporters.

Sources stated that Pachecois likely to announce his futurepolitical plan during the gath-ering.It may be recalled thatPacheco had hosted massiveconvention of Nationalist Con-gress Party (NCP) at Betalbha-tim, last January.

Mapusa DySP Sammy Tavares with other police officials along withthe accused. Photo by Anil Shankwalker

Xeldekarsfamily given

compensation HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CURCHOREM, DEC 9

The family of Swapnesh VinayakXeldekar, who was killed in anaccident involving truck at Cacu-moddi-Curchorem on Wednes-day, was given a compensationof Rs 3 lakh by the concernedmining company.

Quepem Deputy Collector Ag-nelo Fernandes handed over thecheque of Rs 3 lakh during aspecial meeting.

Though the mining trafficwill restart from Friday, severalrestrictions would be imposed,informed Curchorem ML AShyam Satardekar,

It may be recalled that Cur-chorem MLA Shyam Satardekaron Wednesday assured the iratemob assembled at the accidentsite that the mining traffic wouldbe stopped till immediate actionis taken in the matter.

Satardekar had also assuredthat the government would payan amount of Rs 2 lakh to thebereaved family.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, DEC 9

Citizens in the Commercial Cap-ital now face the double troublefrom stray dogs.

While citizens now run therisk of bitten by stray dogs inthe citys lanes and by-lanes,victims are now forced to runfrom pillar to post to get anti-rabies vaccination at the Hos-picio hospital.;

That the rush for anti-rabiesvaccines has been so heavy inrecent times, that the vaccineshave run out of stock at thisgovernment-run hospital.

Thursday saw anti-rabies vac-cines running out of stock atHospicio, leaving many a dogbite victim high and dry.

What left many a victim agi-tated and turn their tiradeagainst the hospital staff wasthe fact that no one was aware

when the stock would be re-plenished by the health author-ities.

As usual, a number of dogbite victims approached the Hos-picio this morning, only to betold about the vaccine shortageand the hospital would receivethe stock at around 10.30 am.

A citizen told Herald that theHospicio staff told him to comearound 12.30 pm, but the stockhad not arrived at that time.When the victims again in-quired with the hospital staff,we were told to come back at3.30 pm. Sadly, the injectionsdid not come to the hospital tillthis evening, the citizen in-formed.

When the victims called onthe Hospicio Public RelationsOfficer, he expressed his help-lessness in the matter, sayingthe company supplying the in-

jections has run out of stock.This explanation is unaccept-able. The hospital has to placeorders before hand and not waitto place orders after the citizensare attacked by the stray dogs,remarked another citizen.

Tempers ran high when a hos-pital nurse told a patient to pro-cure the vaccine from themarket.

The matter was later takenup with the Hospital VisitingCommittee members Damu Shi-rodkar and Andrew Sequeria,who inquired with the Hospicioauthorities about the drug short-age.

Incidentally, Hospicio doctorsin the know informed that thenumber of dog bite patients haswitnessed a substantial rise inrecent times, resulting in theshortage of the anti-rabies vac-cines.

Margao locals face risk as anti-rabies vaccines run out of stock at Hospicio

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, DEC 9

The delays in renewing the ap-pointments have left few PublicProsecutors (PPs) work withouttheir salary since last threemonths.

Sources confirmed that atleast five Public Prosecutors onadhoc basis have not been paidtheir salaries.

We are not paid our salariessince October this year onwards.Our adhoc extensions are twicea year and processing is doneonly the expiry of a term. This

consumes time, said the PP, oncondition of anonymity fearingdepartmental action.

Senior bureaucrats deal-ing with sa lar ies for ad-h o c a p p o i n t e e s t o l dHera ld that the de lay i sb e c a u s e t h e a d h o c a p -pointment is yet to come.

The file has been processed.We are expediting the matterWe have asked them (PPs) tofollow up with the Goa PublicService Commission as well,he said.

The PPs however rued that

the procedure for extensionshould begin two months priorto the expiry of their term. The author i t ies have toprocess our files atleast twomonths before the expiry ofthe term. But they function oth-erwise. Its usual practice tohold back our salaries, a PPsaid.

The set of five PPs who arefacing the problem are onadhoc since 2004, out of whichfour of them have not receivedtheir salaries since October2010.

5 PPs without salaries for last 3 months

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, DEC 9

GOACAN on Thursday joinedconsumers worldwide to fightagainst corruption by organizingan Awareness Action near theCommunidade building, Mar-gao.

The Awareness Action washeld as part of its ongoing Con-sumer rights awareness Fort-n ight by GOAC AN on theoccasion of the internationalanti-corruption day on Decem-ber 9 which has been promotedworldwide by the United Na-tions.

GOACAN Coordinator RolandMartins said todays awarenessaction participated by volun-teers of consumer forums high-lighted the importance ofsupporting the ongoing world-wide fight against corruptionby consumers in their daily lives.

During the Awareness Ac-tion, consumers were remindedthat on a daily basis they usegoods and services provided bythe Goa Govt. controlled De-

GOACAN organises campaign in Margao

GOACAN volunteers outside the Communidade building, Margao as part of an awareness action againstcorruption. Photo by Santosh Mirajkarpartments and Corporationscovering a range of services likewater supply, e lectr ic i ty,kerosene, rations, milk, bustransport, ferry boats, pay toi-lets, pay parking, roads etc, hesaid.

Martins said while many con-sumers grumble about the poorquality of service and

about being over charged,few consumers actually file com-plaints to make a change in thesystem so as to improve service

delivery and put a stop to beingshort changed. The fight for bet-ter services by consumers is inactual fact a fight against cor-ruption which is the primarycause of the problems faced bythem, he added.

GOA, FRIDAY, 10 DECEMBER, 2010Pg 3

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Kharedi Yatraa inaugurated

Director of Women and Child Development Sanjiv Gadkar, inau-gurates Kharedi Yatraa in presence of administrator of Don BoscoHS Fr Willy.

PANJIM (HND): Kharedi Yatraa exhibition of consumer prod-ucts was inaugurated on Thursday at Don Bosco High School,Panjim, at the hands of Director of Women and Child Develop-ment, Sanjiv Gadkar, in presence of administrator of Don BoscoHS Fr Willy. The Yatraa will remain open till December 14 from1.30 pm to 9 pm; on Sunday it will start at 10 am.

80 reputed companies are displaying their latest products -TTK Prestige, Crompton Greaves, Nirlep, Pidilite Industries,Singer, Reebok, Eureka Forbes, Sumeet, Pigeon and many otherwell known name in the field of consumer household productsare participating in the exhibition.

Prize distribution organised

Kalay Sarpanch Santosh Gaonkar awards prize to one of the win-ners.

PANJIM (HND): The prize distribution function of FrontlineAcademy, Kalay was held recently at Govt High School Hall,Kalay. Following prizes were distributed: For Ghumat Arti com-petition, the first prize went to Dev Deveshwar Arti Mandal-Devnamol, second prize to Kalnath Aarti Mandal-Kalay andthird prize to Om Shri Hari Aarti Mandal-Kuinamol.

Mangesh Navlu was awarded the best singer of Ghumat Arti,Prayesh Naik the best Ghumat vadak and Tejal Borkar the bestShamel vadak.

For Narkasur competition, the first prize was awarded toNarkasur K K Star-Khutkarwada, second prize to Junior Boys-Thorlemol and third prize to Junior Boys-Khutkar Wada. Raviki-ran Pawaskar won prize for best Krishna role.

For Akash Kandil competition, the first prize was won by Su-vamraj Borkar, second prize by Prakash Desai and third prizeby Mangesh Kutikar. The prizes were given at the hands ofKalay Sarpanch Santosh Gaonkar.

upCoMInG eVents

upCoMInG eVents

Dhempes PTA meetPANJIM (HND): The general body meeting of the Dhempe

College of Arts and Science Parent Teachers Association(DCASPTA) will be held on December 11 in the college prem-ises at 11am. The meeting will be followed by Open Day. Par-ents may meet the lecturers and collect the mark-sheets oftheir wards.

Yoga classes PANJIM (HND): Ambika Yoga, Shantinagar, Aquem, Baixo will

commence the XXIII Yoga batch on December 12. New partic-ipants may avail maximum benefits of the same. The classeswill be held on Sundays from 6.30 am to 8.30 am and will beconducted under the able guidance of Bala Kakodkar. For moreinformation and admission, contact Bala Kakodkar on2753220, Deepak P Sangodkar on 9822177425, GanapatiMangueshkar on 2766334, Vinda Kakodkar on 9881884228 orShankar Mavlankar on 9422740211.

Golden Jubilee of priesthoodPANJIM (HND): A group of close friends

and well wishers of Fr Richard DSilvaunder the Golden Jubilee CelebrationCommittee will celebrate 50 years of hispriesthood on December 11 at MountCarmel Chapel, Ponda. There will be asolemn Thanksgiving Mass under thetheme, Lead Kindly Light - Lead Thou meon at 6 pm followed by a felicitation func-tion and a Konkani musical show by An-iceto and his group.

Ex-Spiritual Director of the Rachol Seminary Fr Richard iscurrently on a Franciscan mission at Raipur in Chatisgarh andhas been invited by the committee to attend the function.

Sahitya SammelanMARGAO (HR): Shree Nirakar Education Societys S S Angle

higher secondary school will host the 12th Yuva KonkaniSahitya Sammelan on December 11-12 at Dapot, Mashem.

Konkan Bhasha Mandal President Prashant Naik told news-men today that the prestigious event held annually is jointlyorganized by the Goa Konkani Academy and the S S Anglehigher secondary school.

He said over 300 young writers from across Goa and Kar-nataka are expected to participate in the two-day event. S SAngle HSS is the only higher secondary school to host theevent which has traditionally been hosted by colleges over theyears.

Poet and dramatist Shridhar Kamat is the President of theSammelan, while Indranil Chakraborthy will be the chief guestat the opening ceremony. Director of Higher secondary edu-cation Bhaskar Nayak will be the chief guest at the closingceremyh.

Chandor gram sabhaMARGAO (HR): The gram sabha of the village Panchayat of

Chandor-Cavorim will be held on December 12 at 9.30 am inthe Community Hall, above village Panchayat office.

Art of living course PANJIM (HND): Art of living Course designed by Sri Sri Ravi

Shanker, will be organised at Sri Sri Management Studies,Borda, Margao from December 13 to 18, from 7 pm to 9.30pm. The course will teach breathing technique SudharshanKriya which is very effective for stress and stress induced ail-ments as depression, diabetics, hyper tension, etc. Interestedpersons may call Dr Venkatesh Hegde on 9422063255.

Workshop on soft skills PANJIM (HND): The Department of English of Rosary College

of Commerce & Arts, Navelim in collaboration with the LionsClub of Navelim will organise a one day state-level workshopon soft skills entitled Developing a winning personality onDecember 14, from 9.30 am to 4.30 pm in the College SeminarHall. The resource persons for the workshop are Joan Rebello,Wendy Pereira and Dr Celso Fernandes.

CArol SInGInG ConTeSTAt Canacona

CANACONA (HC): Our Lady of Fatima Sports and CulturalClub, Ordhofond-Canacona will conduct the Canacona talukalevel carol singing competition on December 13 at the chapelpremises.

According to the club general secretary Albert Fernandes,the carol singing competition will be held in two groups at'high-school level' and 'open level'.

All participants from the taluka will be suitably reimbursedwith travelling allowance.

Further details of the contest are available with Fernandeson Ph: 9823664384.

At ChicalimVASCO (HR): Chicalim Youth Club will organise an All Goa

Inter School Carol Singing competition at Regina MundiSchool Hall, Chicalim, on December 19.

The competition is open to all the schools from Goa andwill start at 5 pm. Entries may be submitted to Bro Anish John,Headmaster of Regina Mundi School, Chicalim.

Agricultural campsPANJIM (HND): Farmers Training Centre, Ela-Old Goa will or-

ganise training-cum-demonstration camps during accordingto following schedule: on December 10 at 10.30 am at Oxel-Siolim, on December 14 at 10.30 am at Virnoda Bhutwadi-Pernem, on December 15 at 10.30 am at Bhatim-Maula, on De-cember 17 at 10.30 am at VP Volvoi in Ponda.

The agricultural camps will be held at the Panchayat hallsand Home Science Camps will be held at Anganwadi Centres.

lok Adalat at PanjimPANJIM (HND): The permanent and continuous Lok Adalat

will be held in the court hall of Civil Judge, Senior Division andChief Judicial Magistrate, Panjim on December 11 from 10 amonwards to take up the cases of claim petitions arising out ofmotor accidents, civil and criminal matters of District Courtand Subordinate Courts pending in North Goa District for set-tlement. Advocates and concerned parties whose cases havebeen referred the Lok Adalat may attend the same.

power shutdownDECEMBER 10

TALEIGAO: From 9 am to 2 pm. Areas affected are Taleigao,Shankar Wadi, Durga wadi, Odlem bhat, St paula, Amaral Waddo,Fredrick Plastics, Taleigao Market areas and surrounding areas.

KEVNEM: From 9 am to 4 pm. Areas affected are Noble Shelter,Canara bank quarters, Venusta Residency, At Antonio Apt, Part ofKevnem and surrounding areas.

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HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, DEC 9

Close on the heels of the Pil-erne Citizens Forum threat tocome out and agitate claiminganomalies in the regional plansfor Canacona and Pernem, theGoa Bachao Abhiyan onWednesday charged the Gov-ernment of hurriedly declaringFARs for the whole of Goa, butmaintaining silence on the no-tification for eco-sensitivezones.

GBA Convenor Sabina Mar-tins said a report in a sectionof the press and TV news chan-nel quoting Chief Town Planneron application of eco-sensitivecriteria only to Pernem andCanacona and not the rest ofthe State was shocking.

A press release issued bySecretary GBA Reboni Sahaquestioned, When the statusof FARs and zoning has beenhurriedly notified, why haveeco zones been left out? TheGBA demands the Governmentimmediately mark and notifythe eco-sensitive zones for allof Goa, regardless of whenthey complete the RP, Rebonidemanded.

She demanded the finalisedplans should be kept open for30 days prior to notification so

that no new projects whetherunder sec 16/16A, PPP or oth-erwise were introduced with-out public scrutiny.

She said all villages that havebeen put in the ODP areas orhigher VP status has to be keptin abeyance till the eco-sensi-tive zones were notified. Tillthen only VP3 FAR should bemade applicable, she de-manded.

Reboni said it was now obvi-ous the full RP-21 will take along, long time to be ready. Inthe meanwhile, the real estatedevelopers will have a fieldday, she mentioned.

Raising the issue of FAR yetagain, she chided, When thepromise of VP3 at a low FAR of50 was provided in the draftplan, why was it withdrawn.Some villages have been arbi-trarily assigned higher VP sta-tus and in some casesdisappeared into new zoneswith no proper explanation.The new higher VP status willhave implications in terms ofbroader road width for whichland acquisition will takeplace, she observed.

She questioned, Wherehave the new zones comefrom, specifically non-PDAODPs and municipal zones

which suddenly affect the FARof villages?

Why are the documentguidelines silent on the ecozone status as far as thesenew zones are concerned?Does this mean even more ofGoa has been removedfrom the purview of the RPas was stated in case ofODPs? she raised ques-tioned further.

She said the GBA once againdemanded the notified plansbe made available. The officialRP-21 document and villagemaps are still not availablewith the Town and CountryPlanning Department evenafter payment. The GBA wantsto know why the governmentis fighting shy of transparencyeven after the two plans werenotified, she stated.

Reboni said as head of theState Level Committee, theChief Minister owed the peo-ple an explanation of theanomalies in the current re-lease of the RP-21 document.The GBA and representativesof the aggrieved villages seekan appointment with the CMand the SLC members for clari-fications on the various issuesthat have emerged, she de-manded.

GBA fumes at govts stoic silence on eco zones

Demands public scrutiny

of RP before notification

Intels computer mela

inauguratedHERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, DEC 9

Intel India inaugurated theComputer Mela on Thursdayto showcase a range of per-sonal computing devices forfirst-time PC users. The Melawill continue till December 11at Vasco, Ponda and Margao.

At the Computer Mela, a va-riety of personal computing de-vices were displayed, givingconsumers an option to selectthe device best suited for theircomputing needs.

The Intel Atom processorbased entry level desktops andnetbooks are designed to becompact, energy saving, smartand sleek devices which pro-vide a basic computing and in-ternet experience to the usersat affordable prices. If con-sumers want to go for perform-ance, they can choose from amainstream desktop poweredby all new 2010 Intel Coreprocessor family range with theIntel Core i7 processorbased PC being the optimalchoice for high-end gamingand multimedia experiences.

As a special offer on spotbooking of desktops, a com-puter cover, game pad, an-tivirus, 2 GB pen drive andhead phone can be availed. Onlaptops booked at the venue,special offers on head phones,USB mouse, cleaning kit,screen guard, scratch guard,laptop lock, USB light, vacuumcleaner, laptop bag and keyguard can be availed. The of-fers are available at Vascobased Channel Partners C-LibzIt Mall, PC-Station, in Ponda atSoftek Marketing and IT.Com inMargao.

The Computer Mela makes iteasy for people to own theirfirst PC and explore the won-ders of the internet.

HERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, DEC 9

ICGS VIJIT, the second of thenew class of Offshore PatrolVessel (OPV) indigenously de-signed in house and built byGoa Shipyard Ltd (GSL) will beformally commissioned in In-dian Coast Guard by RakshaRajya Mantri M M Pallam onDecember 11 at GSL.

Within a span of ninemonths GSL has delivered twooffshore patrol vessels of thisnew 90m class to the IndianCoast Guard. The first vessel

VIJIT ready for commissioning

ICGS Vishwast was commis-sioned on March 17.

This state-of-the-art offshorepatrol vessel, 90 meter inlength has an Integrated BridgeSystem (IBS) equipped with acontemporary navigation andcommunication equipment andis also provided with a PlatformManagement System. Propelledby two MTU engines, this ves-sel is capable of 26 knots andan endurance of 4500 nauticalmiles. The vessel is alsoequipped with a 30 mm gun tocounter intruders and is fittedout for helicopter operation.

She is the only vessel of thisclass in the world with thelarge range of capabilities forpollution control, fire fighting,search & rescue, surveillanceand patrol provided in a 90meter vessel.

ICGS VIJIT will join the fleetafter commissioning and shallbe deployed extensively forsafety of the nations maritimezones and offshore assets.

Women urged to work

towards social transformation

HERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, DEC 9

Social Welfare Minister Ramkr-ishna Dhawalikar has high-lighted the role of women astorchbearers of the society andcalled upon them to take activepart in social transformation.

Dhawalikar was speaking afterdistributing cheques of financialassistance amounting to 15 SelfHelp Groups under MadhavraoDhawalikar Trust at RavalnathSabhagraha, Kundai recently.

Speaking further, Dhawlikarsaid that the government hasinitiated several schemes andprogrammes for empowermentof women and the real develop-ment of women lies in their selfreliance, which can be achievedby deriving the benefits ofschemes. Women, he said are astrong force to reckon with andshould not confine their activi-ties within the four walls oftheir house, he added.

Marcaim Sarpanch RajendraPhadte, former ZP memberManuja Naik, Kundai dySarpanch Vidya Naik werepresent.

HERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, DEC 9

The Great Royal Circus, one ofthe oldest in the country intoits 131st year, will be inaugu-rated on December 10 at Car-nival Ground, Mapusa, at 7 pmby Mapusa MLA Francis D-Souza in presence of MapusaMunicipal Council ChairpersonSudhir Kandolkar, vice-Chair-person Vijeta A Naik, CCP Com-missioner Elvis Gomes, andGoa Housing Board MD Mel-wyn Vaz.

Apart from the local flavour,the Circus also has few im-ported elements. The high-lights of the show will be aguest performance by a troupeof six-member African artistsled by Anthony from Nairobi,who will perform acrobaticsand the fire dance. A specialfeature is a graceful BonelessAct performed by a Russian

artiste.Among the local flavour is

the balance-in-trapeze actsperformed by Nepalese artistSushila Arya. The circus alsohas the spine-chilling globe-of-death performance by twomotor-cyclists. Additionally,there is the high wheel cupsaucer, cycling trapeze, cycleacrobatics, sky walk and manyother delightful thrills.

There are also the excitingelephant acts such as elephantgirl, elephant cricket and ringdance which are popularamong the audience. The Ara-bian horse, with capacity toidentify colours, is a major at-traction for the children. Thisis an interactive act since theaudience decides the color ofthe handkerchief to be pickedand the smart horse identifiesit, to the surprise of the audi-ence.

The Great Royal Circus opens today at Mapusa

GOA, FRIDAY, 10 DECEMBER, 2010OHE

RALD

O

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, DEC 9

Even four days after there is nosolution in sight for the strikinglifeguards issue.

While more than 50 percentlifeguards in Goa are on strikefor four consecutive days, Dr-ishti Special Response ServicesPvt Ltd and the Governmenthave failed to resolve the matteryet.

While Drishti has refused re-fused to accede to the demandsof the lifeguards, the govern-ment continued to maintain dis-tance.

Tourism Minister NilkanthHalarnkar and Director ofTourism Swapnil Naik are onJapan tour since last month.

200-odd lifeguards attachedto Drishti Services have boy-cotted work since Monday overdemands to hike their pay.

On Tuesday, more than 150lifeguards struck work after abatch of 85 lifeguards manningthe coastal stretch from Mi-ramar to Baga struck workon Monday.

Though some presence ismaintained on the 105-kmbeach stretch and we haveworked out alternative arrange-ments, a Drishti official said.

The negotiations have notyielded results so far, as apartfrom the pay dispute the strikinglifeguards are also demandingsuspension of senior lifeguardsbecause of a scuffle among themat a lunch party on Sunday. Theirthird demand includes reductionof work hours.

The management has how-ever reiterated that the life-guards are misguided by certainelements.

Speaking to Herald, Drishti

Chief Operating Officer (COO)V K Kanwar said that they areinteracting with the lifeguardson one-to-one basis to sort outthe issue.

Some are on flash strikethough some others have de-cided not to join them. Amongthose who are on strike, somehave volunteered to work with-out uniforms and have carriedout minor rescue operations,he said.

The management is howevernot in a mood to give in to thedemands.

They want increase in moneybut we cannot, because we arepaying them as per the con-tract, he stated.

Kanwar mentioned that a newentrant is paid Rs 6,500 withfive percent hike every year, onemonth bonus and promotionsto few of them. At present there

are 40 lifeguards who have beenpromoted as Captains and arebeing paid basic salary of Rs8,500 plus increment.

While, Supervisors are paidRs 12,000 with increments,zonal heads are paid anywherebetween Rs 20,000 and 29,000and Sector Heads are paid uptoRs 35,000 or more.

He said that although few life-guards, Captains and Supervi-sors are on strike, those holdinghigher positions have taken overbeachfront duties till the matteris resolved.

We have called lifeguardsfrom Mumbai to man jet skiesand other activities on thebeach, said the COO.

Lifeguard services on SouthGoa beaches are also hit due tothe strike. A total of 460 life-guards have been appointed byDrishti Services.

Lifeguards stir: No solution in sight

Presentationon DHE

website soonHERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, DEC 9

The Department of Informationand Technology has received in-formation from government andaided colleges of their courseswhich will be fed into a newwebsite of the Directorate ofHigher Education that is in theprocess of being designed.

Director of Higher EducationBhaskar Nayak said a detailedpresentation on the website wasto be done before him on De-cember 2. It is likely the samewill be held tomorrow afternoonor in the next two days afterwhich I will send it to the Gov-ernment for approval, he in-formed.

The website being preparedby DoIT will have a list of 27degree government and aidedcolleges giving all informationon courses available in these in-stitutions making it easy for stu-dents to choose from.

Nayak said the colleges underthe DHE will be listed on thisofficial website as a result ofwhich students need not worryabout the credibility of the in-stitutions or the courses. Thewebsite will be ready before the2011-2012 academic year be-gins, he stated.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

OLD GOA, DEC 9

Social activist Baptist Pereirafrom Corlim on Wednesday ac-cused Archaeological Survey ofIndia (ASI) of its failure of con-serving historical sites of Goawith rapid increase in illegalconstructions within the prem-ises of Basilica of Bom Jesus andSe Cathedral Church at Old Goaand other areas.

Archaeological Survey ofIndia, which is a powerful toolin safeguarding historical mon-uments and its areas, could have

done a lot in Goa protecting his-torical and ancient sites of Goain the last few years, Pereiratold Herald.

But having its base in Goaitself and that too within thepremises of Basilica of Bom Jesusand Se Cathedral, the ASI is notbothered to take a note of anumber of illegal structureswithin its limits and also in theother parts of the State, allegedPereira.

Years prior to April 2010, theASI had its setback limit of 100mtrs from the boundaries of his-

torical sites, where no construc-tions were allowed, informedPereira.

It is shocking for me andpeople of Goa to note thatfrom Apri l 2010, the set-backs have increased to 300mtrs for better protection ofhistorical sites and monu-ments, but for me the majorconcern is whether the ASIwill be capable of maintain-ing the new setback of 300mtrs, as earlier ASI failed totake control of its 100 mtrssetback, asked Pereira.

ASI has failed in protecting historical sites: Activist

HERALD REPORTER

VASCO, DEC 9

The Mother Express Trainthat was flagged off by Rail-way Minister Mamata Baner-jee coinciding with MotherTeresas 100th birthday willarrive at the Vasco Railwaystation on Friday.

The Indian Railways has de-cided to run an exhibition traindedicated to Nobel laureateMother Teresa, giving an insightinto her life devoted to the poorand the destitute.

The Train will showcaselife and philanthropic deedsof Mother Teresa, who wonthe Nobel Peace Pr ize in1979 and India s h ighestcivilian honour, the BharatRatna in 1980 for her human-itarian work.

The Train would comprise

t h r e e a i r - c o n d i t i o n e dcoaches in which photo -graphs, write-ups, etc, willbe exhibited to project thelife, work and message ofMother Teresa.

Mother Teresa founded theMissionaries of Charity inKolkata and worked tirelessly inthe service of the poor, sick, or-phaned and destitute for over47 years.

The Train would halt in Goa

Mother Express train to reach Vasco today

at Vasco on December 10 andon December 11 afternoon, itwould halt in Margao at 3 pmand thereafter leave to Hublistation on December 12 at 11pm.

The entry for public will befree from 10 am to 8 pm.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, DEC 9

Even as the Margao policeclaimed a breakthrough in thespate of thefts with the arrestof two separate gangs, thievesstruck once again in the Com-mercial capital last night, thistime a Cell phone shop, much

to the embarrassment of men-in-uniform.

The latest theft indicates thatthough the police have nabbedaround 11-12 persons in thelast two days, theres stillanother gang on the prowlin the city.

If the shop owner Shrish Kane

is to be believed, the miscreantsransacked the shop after effect-ing entry inside through the ven-tilator.

The miscreants are believedto have decamped with 14 mo-bile sets worth Rs 80,000.

The Margao police are inves-tigating.

Cell phone shop burgled in Margao

Pg 5

Another IFFI is behind us, and once again,subtle use of the film industry to promotethe use of tobacco, has surfaced. Given the

sphere of influence of films, the management ofany tobacco company would be insane not tocapitalise on the marketing potential of the in-dustry.

A WHO study on the portrayal of tobacco inIndian cinema revealed that India produces morethan 900 films per year in various Indian languages;27% of the global volume. These reach 250 millionyoungsters in India alone; apart from huge audi-ences in SE Asia, the Middle East, UK, USA, Europeand Africa. Indian ticket sales cross 5000 million.Then there is the satellite television with tenround the clock local movie channels and fiveEnglish language ones. And finally, an estimated230,000 people watch movies illegally every daythrough cable and compact disk piracy. The to-bacco industry utilises these facts with amazingsubtlety and intelligence.

The concept is not new. Sylvester Stallone re-ceived $ 500,000 to use tobacco products in fivefilms in 1983. Larks paid $350,000 for exposurein James Bonds License to kill in 1989. Smokingis believed to have been first depicted in India in1949, in the film Velai Kari. Raj Kapoor, Dev Anandand Ashok Kumar have all been shown smokingin association with romance tragedy or rebellion.More recently, tobacco usage in films appears tobe directed by wizards in psychology. Audiencestend not to emulate the bad guys resulting ina gradual shift to the good guy or the neutralcharacter (the reformed bad guy) smoking, oftenwith special filmy effects. Rajnikanths antics withtossing a cigarette in his mouth and lighting ithave become a subject of adulation. Good guysmoking has gone up from 22% in 1991 to 53% in2002. With Amitabh Bachchan came the angryyoung man, and in Coolie, Sholay and Deewareven the bidi came into its own. There followedSanjay Dutt and Sunny Deol; and with Shahrukhand Salman Khan, the canvas was complete. Whenhealthy actors with fine tuned physiques andbulging biceps are shown smoking, the associationof tobacco with health is sealed.

But why should there be such a concern aboutsuch creative freedom. The WHO study clarifies;Non-smoking teens, whose favourite stars smoke

frequently on screen, are 16 times more likely todevelop positive attitudes towards smoking.One US study showed, 52% of new smokers inthe age group 12-17 years may be recruitedthrough tobacco imagery in the movies. (Lancet2003, 362(9380):281-285). With 5,500 new Indiansmokers every day, we are in deep trouble as aresult of creative freedom. Surveys in US, Ger-many, Hong Kong, and New Zealand, come tothe same conclusion; the higher the exposure,the higher the likelihood on initiation of the to-bacco habit. When 76% of the most popular filmsshow some form of tobacco usage, that is highexposure indeed. And when stars like Rajnikanthhave temples dedicated to their glory, one wondersof the impact on impressionable young minds.

The context of mood association is interest-ing. The highest incidence of tobacco usage wasshown in scenes associated with tension andstress, followed by scenes linked to relaxation,then wealth/power and finally, rebellious incidents.The audience associates the mood with the actas a panacea. Truly a psychologist was at work.With an increase of the normal guy smoking,the stamp of approval is complete.

India is a signatory to WHOs Framework Con-vention on Tobacco Control and has, in addition,passed its own COTPA (Cigarettes and Other To-bacco Products Act) effective 2004. Section 5 ofthis act places a comprehensive ban on all tobaccoadvertising, promotion and sponsorship. Article

13 of the FCTC provides guidelines for the im-plementation of this ban. It recommends thatthe comprehensive ban should cover traditionalmedia (print, television and radio) and all othertechnologies such as films. If constitutional re-straints exist, a signatory should restrict tobaccoadvertising, promotion and sponsorship on radio,television, print media and other media as ap-propriate. In other words, there is both a nationaland international obligation in place.

The ground realities were alarming. The WHOconducted studies on the depiction of tobaccousage in films before (2003) and after (2005) FCTCand COTPA and found that tobacco imagery, in-cluding brand display increased in the wake ofbans in other media. On 31st May 2005, the rulesof the act were amended to stipulate:-

No individual or a person or a character incinema and television programmes shall displaytobacco products or their use. Programmes pro-duced prior to this notification, shall place ahealth warning as a prominent scroll at the bottomof the television or cinema screen which readsSmoking causes cancer or Smoking Kills forsmoking and Tobacco causes cancer or TobaccoKills for chewing and other forms of tobacco.The health warning shall be in the same language/sas used in the cinema or the television pro-gramme.

Brand names or logos of tobacco productsappearing in a programme shall be cropped or

masked to ensure they are not visible. The Ministryof Information and Broadcasting (MoIB), suggestedflexibility and that freedom of expression shouldnot be impinged. Where there was creative jus-tification for depicting tobacco, Indias CentralBoard of Film Certification should grant an A(Adult) film rating certificate. In October 2006,after numerous inter-ministerial consultations,the MoHFW relaxed provisions of the blanketban to allow depictions of tobacco in some cir-cumstances, with warnings:- Smoking kills,Smoking causes cancer, Tobacco kills or To-bacco causes cancer to scroll under the depictionsof tobacco use.

Anti-tobacco spots, a minimum of 30 sec-onds long, should be screened at the beginning,middle and end of programmes that were pro-duced before publication of the revised rules.Exceptions are programs that i) clearly and un-ambiguously reflect the dangers of tobacco; andii) live television coverage of news, current affairsinterviews, public meetings, etc. in which thereis a purely incidental and completely uninten-tional image of tobacco use.

Where there is a creative justification fortobacco imagery or depiction of a real historicalcharacter who used tobacco, programmes, willbe given an A certification accompanied by: i)a recorded disclaimer from the actor concernedregarding the harmful effects of tobacco use; ii)an anti-tobacco health scroll, starting 60 secondsbefore the scene with tobacco and ending 60seconds after.

The rules were challenged in court in February2008; a two judge bench gave a split verdict. In2009 the High Court struck down these rules.The matter is now before the Supreme Court inan appeal against Mahesh Bhatts petition. TheGovernment of India maintains that the nationalconstitution allows reasonable restrictions topromote public health, and the MoIB is updatingthe nations regulations to strengthen restrictionson tobacco imagery on screen.

In the final analysis, the choice is simple; iscreative freedom more important than the de-struction of 114 Indians every hour from tobaccorelated diseases.

(The author is a member, National Executive com-mittee, Voluntary health Association of India)

Ex-GMC dean clarifies...Dr M N Pal, Panjim

The news item Ex-GMC dean took moneyfrom students, depose doc, (Herald, 4 Dec)is patently false, defamatory and has beenmade without any legal basis. The state-ments made by Dr Edmund Rodrigues, as-sociate professor of forensic medicine(GMC) are the outbursts of his unwarrantedbaseless impulsive annoyance. I have coun-tered that his post mortem report in thecase of Vasant Shastikar as inconsistentand false which was duly backed up withfacts and reasons, during the depositions

made before the court.Besides being an ex-professor of gynae-

cology, I also have knowledge of law andam a holder of LL.M with specialisation inmedical negligence. There are no regula-tions/statues of Medical Council of Indiawherein it is stated that the expert medicalwitness appearing in a criminal case is re-quired to conduct himself without any postmortem autopsy or required to be a MD inforensic medicine.

Policy or hypocrisy?Cedrick Fernandes, Margao

Every individual/organisation has a differentpolicy; from regional plan to national high-way policy and now the land acquisitionpolicy. Goa celebrates the golden jubileeof its liberation on 19 December, and Goans,at large, had experienced many policiesfrom the first MGP government, till date.Most of the central/state government policiesare good, but when it comes to implementation,nothing is being done. The best example is the73rd and 74th constitutional amendments ofthe central government.

The present government celebrated centenaryday of our first CM, but there is no official cel-ebration of Opinion Poll day and Father ofOpinion Poll, Dr Jack Sequeira.

We had agitations commencing from opinionpoll onwards, and now have the land acquisitionpolicy to contend with.

Are all these moves aimed at diverting theattention of the people from the two mainissuesRPG-2021 and the NH realignmentissue?

Whither non violence?Arwin Mesquita, UAE

During post-independent India, key Indian lead-ers preached non-violence and many countriesadmired the stance, taken at that time. But then,why did India use military force in 1961, to in-vade little Goa, instead of pursuing the non-vi-olent option? Is this not hypocrisy? The worseis that the promises made to Goans at that timeto preserve our prized identity are still not ho-noured, and we paid a big price for the non-violent option. It is high time that Goansrealise that we have been taken for a ride,and demand safeguards to preserve our land,demographics, environment and identity.

Reject the overturesCol Cyril P DSouza ( Retd.), Calangute

This is with reference to the news articlein Herald where Velingkar, the staunch RSSprotagonist, was felicitated by Dr Dev, for-mer dean of medical college. During the felici-tations, the speeches were all toned down tosuit the audience, keeping in mind that mostof the students and few faculties, come fromthe minority community.

The Goan public cannot be fooled as Goanvoters are, by and large, peace loving and smartenough to see through the hidden agenda ofcommunal parties. As the time for electionsdraws closer, the efforts to woo the Goan voterwill become all the more evident. Some partiesmay play a different tune and Goans wouldbe well advised to reject these overtures,and vote for a party they think fit.

Killer roadsVishant Shirodkar, Ponda

The latest incident of death on the roadsof Curchorem, once again brings into sharpfocus, the issue of unregulated mining traf-

fic on village/town roads. The people wentout on to the streets and protested againstthe MLA, who is supposedly a stooge ofthe mining lobby. The MLA made good hispresence at the accident site and tried toplacate the angry mob by offering monetaryassistance to the next of kin, but the paltrysum of Rs5 lakh was the most ridiculousamount ever imagined. Is this the sumpayable for snuffing out the life of a human,by a killer mining truck? The public couldhave taken law into their own hands, butfortunately, he got away unscathed.

What is the value of a human life? Ahuman life is precious and cannot be com-pensated even by money. But in this in-stance, a reasonable amount should havebeen given as compensation.

Unregulated mining traffic is the baneof many of Goas villages where its effectsgreatly inconvenience the public and haveproven catastrophic, as on this occasion.

Burglars on Cloud NineAugustus Alphonso, Vasco/Kuwait

With the innumerable burglaries in Goa, it

seems that this trend is on the rise and forburglar, is the easiest way to get-rich-quick.

If the Home Minister wants to be trueto his word, he should work hard to getthe police working round the clock, ontheir toes, and with their weapons.

It seems that our tiny state of Goa is aland of the free! Furthermore, until andunless the Unique Identification Card is in-troduced in Goa, there wont be much roomfor law and order. And, unless fear is in-stilled in the minds of the law breakers,nothing can ever change!

Colour of terrorismSameer P Khutwalker, Vasco Da Gama

After the terror attack in Varanasi whichclaimed the life of an 18 month old childand left over a dozen people injured, itseems that the government is helpless andis not in control of the situation.

Chidambaram owes an explanation tothe whole nation as to what colour hewould subscribe to this form of terrorism.It is high time that the government looksbeyond vote bank politics on the issue ofterrorism which is growing in strength,day by day, and attempts to divide thisgreat nation, on the basis of religion, cultureand unity in diversity. The governmentshould now realise the true enemy and thecultivators of terrorism, and take toughaction against those, regardless of theirreligion, creed and colour.

Drowning death Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco

The unfortunate death of a 15 year oldyouth due to drowning off Calangute beach,could have been avoided, if not for theflash strike by lifeguards of Surf Life SavingGoa. 200 out of the 300 lifeguards, are onstrike. It is impossible for the remaining100 lifeguards to keep a vigil. The govern-ment should intervene and sort out theproblem, or invoke ESMA.

OPINIONwww.oheraldo.in

Pg6Vol No CX No: 309

Goa, Friday, 10 December, 2010

Letters to the Editor

Letter of the Day

Heroes turned into zeroesAngela da Cunha, Panjim

Your editorial entitled Risky Racing (Herald, 6 Dec) had all the trappings of sheer bril-liance. The number of appalling accidents involving youngsters riding two wheelersis distressing. In November, two senior citizen pedestrians lost their lives thanks toreckless bikers. Recently, two 17 year olds on a Bajaj Pulsar motorcycle lost control,which resulted in the death of one of them. What was an expensive Pulsar doing inthe hands of a 17 year old?

Some heroes who ride Honda bikes s are actually, irresponsible zeroes. Maybe itis the parents of these riders, who need to be educated, because they are in-directly responsible for the fatalities. Let your children purchase bikes whenthey have the wherewithal, instead of gifting kids hazards, that have thepotential to kill.

In the Arabian Gulf states, anyone who causes anothers loss of life on account ofa fatal road accident has to pay Diya or blood money to the deceaseds family orlanguish in jail for the better part of his life. Perhaps, if we introduce a heavy fine onthose lines, which accompanies stringent punishment, then parents would think twicebefore buying high power motorcycles, and although they can be used as a convenientmode of transport, youngsters speed recklessly on them which results in loss of lifeand limb. After all, parents, what counts are not the flashy motor bike your son rides,but whether he will still be riding them in future!

Printed and published by Vinayak Pai Bir for and on behalf of Herald Publications Pvt Ltd. Printed at Herald Publications Pvt Ltd, Plot No: L-135, Phase II, Verna Industrial Estate, Verna, Salcete, Goa. Published at PO Box 160, Rua Sao Tome, Panjim, Goa - 403001. Editor-in-chief: Mr R F Fernandes. Editor: Ashwin Tombat(Responsible under PRB Act). Regd Office: St Tome Road, Panjim, Goa. Tel: 2224202, 2228083, Fax: 2222475 (all Editorial); 2230535, Fax: 2225622 (Advertising); Margao: 2737689. Mumbai Office: 16-A, Bell Building, 2nd Floor, 19 Sir PM Road, Fort, Mumbai - 400001 (Tel: 22840702/22844908). RNI No: 43667/83. HOW TO CONTACT US: mail@herald-goa.com For press notes, general queries. junior@herald-goa.com Junior Herald; junioryouth@herald-goa.com Careers. heraldmirror@herald-goa.com Sunday Mirror. reporters@herald-goa.com For Reporters. business@herald-goa.com For Business news.editor@herald-goa.com For Letters to the Editor. sports@herald-goa.com For Sports news. advt@herald-goa.com For Advertisements. 2day@herald-goa.com For Herald 2day. tiatr@herald-goa.com For Tiatr Reviews and Reports. Disclaimer: Except for the editorial above, articles and letters in Heraldrepresent the views of the concerned authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Herald editor, publisher, and/or owners.

The tobacco industry has capitalised on films to boost its marketing potential, says DR GLADSTONE DCOSTA

OHERALDO

By Anthony Simoes

OHERALDO

100 Years Ago

10 December, 1910

Trial orchard to be establishedThe Provisionary Republican Govern-ment is intending to establish a trial or-chard at Assolna in the area of 50hectares and 3 others in an area of 100hectares respectively in Districts ofSanguem, Sanquelim, and Valpoi.

Scarcity of WaterWere replenished to the fullest the watertanks of the Church of Bom Jesus at OldGoa which lately were facing dearth andmore so when the Exposition of SacredRelics of St. Francis Xavier is at its peak.

He saw lines of his palmsIt is reported that on the evening of 29November, a blind postman who hadretired some few years earlier, when hewent to kiss the feet of the revered Sainthe felt a strange sensation on his eyesand was surprised in the presence ofthe pilgrims to see the lines of his palms.

Travel concession grantedThe President of the Municipal Councilstated that as a result of the telegramsigned by the people from Salcette re-questing for rail travel concession duringthe Exposition, the same was granted.

PRIMEIRO DIARIO NAS COLONIAS PORTUGEZAS

The IFFI Smoking Gun

HEALTH HAZARD

Extemporeequanimity

In an unprecedented move, Union Minister for Environmentand Forests Jairam Ramesh announced on Wednesday atthe Cancun Climate Change Conference that India was

open to legally binding commitments for its domestic actionsto combat climate change. At the plenary of the 16th Con-ference of Parties on Climate Change, which concluded yes-terday at Cancun, Mexico, Mr Ramesh said: All countries, webelieve, must take on binding commitments under appropriatelegal form. It made clear that India was also agreeable to in-ternational supervision for its voluntary domestic commitmentson climate change. India has always maintained, as it did atthe Copenhagen conference last year, that its domestic actionson mitigation of greenhouse gases (GHG) are purely voluntaryin nature and non-binding. China, which has recently overtakenthe US as the largest GHG polluter, accounting for 22 percent of global emissions, has also taken a similar position.The US is now second with 19 per cent and India third withfive per cent. But the point is, Indias per capita emissionsare one-twentieth of the US.

However, the USA has been demanding a legally bindingcommitment from emerging powers, particularly from theBASIC group, in which India is a member along with China,Brazil and South Africa. This the BASIC countries have refused,on the very sound reasoning that most of their people donot lead energy-intensive lifestyles, and no commitments arepossible till a basic level of livelihood and infrastructure isguaranteed to each citizen. But the ministers statementwould now open up the country to international monitoringand verification of its domestic mitigation action, which hasalways been stoutly resisted both by peoples organisationsand governments of developing countries globally. Earlierduring the summit, the minister had proposed internationalconsultancy and assessment (ICA), which urged developingcountries with over 1 per cent of global GHG emission toreport and get their emission reduction actions verified byinternational experts. But it met with stiff resistance from otherBASIC members when it was presented in the group meeting.

The most interesting aspect of Mr Rameshs new proposalis that it was not part of his prepared speech, which he wasto read at the plenary, but was made completely extempore.In 17 years of climate talks, India and other developing coun-tries have always held that global warming is a problemcaused by rich countries, and it was up to these countries toreduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions first.

In fact, the statement appears to be a departure fromRameshs mandate given by the Union Cabinet last week,which said that India should not agree to any legally bindingagreement at this stage, stick to second commitment periodfor the Kyoto Protocol and no absolute emission cuts. Indiahas maintained that its domestic mitigation commitment,made as part of the non-binding Copenhagen Accord, withwhich 140 countries associated, was purely voluntary innature and not binding.

The problem is, the European Union and the 40-stronggroup of island nations, backed by the US, circulated a proposalto replace the existing Kyoto Protocol with a legally bindinginstrument for all countries, for what they called long-termcooperative action (LCA) to combat climate change. The pro-posal was backed by 70 nations, including Nepal, Bangladesh,Bhutan and the Maldives from South Asia, and said that thenew instrument should be agreed in the next climate summitin Durban, South Africa, in 2011. Mr Rameshs reasoning isthat if India doesnt agree, it will be isolated. He has admittedthat the move is in response to pressure from industrialisedcountries, applied through the poorest of the developingcountries and those most vulnerable to climate change effects.So, is the UPA government slowly but systematically re-aligning Indias climate change policies with those of its newfriend the United States of America?

RP 2021, Golf & Womens libBreakfast of Champions

Sometimes in Susegad Goa, things move quickly. The stereo-typed Goan can no longer be found in his hammock slungbetween two coconut trees near the beach, la Mario Miranda.

More so if he senses a threat to the ecology / environment. Right now is one such time. RP 2021 has dared to mention the

G word. For a niz Goenkar, it is worse than the F word. Usingthe word GOLF is like waving a red rag at a bull. And not just onegolf-course; RP 2021 talks about two or three golf-courses, sonothing short of a Round Table Conference (RTC) will pacify the Goan.

So on a Sunday, we see all these chariots parked outside theMarriott. Their owners have taken their seats round the table.Their names are familiar. They are seen and heard often at theAzad and Lohia Maidans preaching to the already converted.Another lot are forever pontificating about progress, developmentand modernity being ushered into the state by the governmentthey work for. They were all there; the GTs or government types;the ETs or environmentalist types; the ATs or academic types; andthe FTs or freeloader types.

Charles Correia was also present. He began by explaining howopen spaces can enhance buildings that have been designatedheritage structures by the ASI and Carolina Po. Thats when Prajal

jumped-up to say that the ASI was not the final authority onheritage structures, and they must get an endorsement fromPercival Noronha and Naguesh Karmali. Naguesh, of course, refusedto attend the RTC because of the Portuguese Popot.

Tina complained how the whole RTC was getting male-dominated a typical MCP hijacking of proceedings. She explained how thegame originated in the Scottish highlands 500 years ago. Scotsmentending to flocks of sheep passed the time of day knocking around roundishstones with their staffs, while their sheep dogs chased away wolves.

One day, a round stone was struck and it rolled down a rabbithole. GOLF was born. At St Andrews, the first ever golf course inthe world, they have a stone statue of a shepherd crawling out ofan enlarged rabbit hole triumphantly holding a round rock in onefist and a wooden staff in the other. Now Tina was in full-flow.She explained how this accident evolved into the game as it isnow played with its birdies, bogeys, eagles and tens of thousandsof camp-followers. Scottish shepherds spent weeks and monthswithout female company, and gradually became some of the worldsleading misogynists. This new pastime only made things worsefor their womenfolk, as the pastime became a passion and obsession.

Said Tina, GOLF is an acronym for Gents Only Ladies Forbidden.

The others applauded, expecting she would rest her case havingmade her point. But for TINA, there-is-no-alternative to womenslib whether its drudgery at home or trudgery on the golf course.She said women have taken to GOLF in a big way, and soon it willbe an acronym for Girls Only Louts Forbidden.

The temperature in the conference hall had risen. The tensionwas so palpable one could lean against it. The manager actedswiftly and asked the catering crews to serve the snacks andcoffee. The mood changed quickly, as the delegates fed. Now,GOLF was an acronym for Gourmet Ordered Lunch Feast.

It reminded me of Mrs Pankhursts speech in the English Houseof Commons when she fought for the womens right to vote. Shesaid: We want what men have. It may be much, but we want it allthe same. Too long we have been denied our due. If we cannothave it without friction, we will have it with friction. We will nolonger take things lying down, but with our backs to the wall.What do men mean when they shout from the galleries: Downwith the petticoats? I say, Up with petticoats and down withtrousers. Then we will see things as they stand!

The rest of the speech was drowned in pandemonium, just asmy pen has run out of ink.

Letters should be 150 words or less inlength, and should have the writers name,address and telephone number. The editorreserves the right to edit letters for size andreadability, and to delete any personal at-tacks or libellous /objectionable matter.

Devoted to Almighty AllahBy Samir Khan

Become exclusively devoted to Allah,ascribing Divinity to none other thanHim. Whoso ascribes Divinity to aughtbeside Allah, it is as though he felldown from the sky whereafter eitherthe birds will snatch him away, or thewind will sweep him to a distant place(causing him to be shattered to pieces).Such is the fact of the matter. Andwhoso venerates the sanctity of all thathave been ordained as symbols of Allahsurely does so because it is part of thetrue piety of the hearts.

(Al-Qurn 22:31-32)

The word sky in this parable standsfor the natural state of man whereinhe is the servant of none except Godand his nature recognises no other doc-trine than this, i.e. the doctrine of puremonotheism. When a man embracesthe guidance brought by the Prophets,it helps him adhere to monotheism onthe grounds of knowledge and soundinsight and this carries him to evengreater heights. On the other hand,when

someone embraces polytheism oratheism, he falls away from this naturalstate and is then confronted with eitherof the following two situations. First,that Satan and those who are out tomisguide others, those who aremetaphorically called birds in theabove

account, pounce upon him, each try-ing to snatch him away. Second, thathe is carried to and fro by his lusts,emotions and fancies, all of which arelikened in the above verse to the wind,with the result that he is ultimatelyhurled into some abysmal ditch.

The word sahq signifies a place sodeep that anything that falls into it isreduced to particles. Here, a depravedstate of thought and action is likenedto a ditch, where he who falls in isblown to pieces.

Paths of Wisdom

GOAOHerALd

O

Pg7==

GOA, fridAy, 10 december, 2010

HERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, DEC 9

H.A.B.I.Ts a well-researchedand practical book on exer-cises, especially authored anddesigned for women by thebiggest name in fitness in Goa,Norbert DSouza, proprietor ofthe famed Norberts FitnessStudio - was released at theGoa International Centre, DonaPaula.

Goas prominent or-thopaedic surgeon Dr Mahen-dra Kudchadkar was the chiefguest at the book release func-tion. TTAG Chairman GaurishDhond was the guest of hon-our while Dr Asha Thali wasthe special invitee.

This book, aptly titledH.A.B.I.Ts, describes the areasof bodily concern to a majorityof women hips, abdominals,butt, and inner thighs. Thisconcise and easy-to-followbook is an interesting and rel-

atively straightforward guideto help lose weight and ensurethat those pounds stay off anddo not creep back on.

The exercises in the bookhave been designed keeping inmind the difficulties oftenfaced by first time exercisersand graduate from the simpleto the complex. Each workoutregimen also includes stretchesand flexibility exercises to en-sure injury prevention. The fea-tured exercises also do morethan merely help dissipate theunwanted fat they tone upvarious areas of the body andmake sure that the heart, theorgan upon which all life de-pends, is getting a workoutthat will enable it to pumpwith lesser intensity, and there-fore, last longer.

The book includes answersto Frequently Asked FitnessQueries as well as jiffy work-outs to keep the fat at bay.

Valuable nutrition informationto supplement your weightloss endeavour is also providedin the book, as is a special ulti-mate bridal workout and tipson working out when preg-nant. Although the book is tar-geted at the lady populace,men too can benefit from thebook as the well-illustrated ex-ercises also provide a cardio-vascular workout.

Many people in the fit