OHERALDOThe Voice of Goa Since 1900

PTI

PATNA, JUNE 12

In a clear snub to its coalitionpartner, an angry Bihar ChiefMinister Nitish Kumar today can-celled a dinner for the top brassof the BJP in disapproval of anadvertisement featuring himwith Gujarat Chief MinisterNarendra Modi and another onGujarats aid during the floodstwo years ago.

There was bad blood betweenthe two sides, which run a coali-tion Government for the lastnearly five years, after Kumarattacked those who released an

a d v e r -t i s e -

mentfea-

turing him with Modi, aboutwhom he was always uncom-fortable as a political ally.

The JD(U) leader, who has aneye on Muslim votes, has fash-ioned himself as a secular leaderand in the past had avoided shar-ing any dais with Modi in Bihar.

The dinner he had plannedfor the BJP leaders attendingthe National Executive becamea casualty in the midst of a viti-ated atmosphere and BJP leadersalso expressing their reluctanceto attend the dinner.

A BJP leader, who declined tobe identified, accused Nitish ofover reacting by attacking Modi.

He is overreacting. This isnot the way to treat your part-ner. He said that opinion wasbuilding up against attendingthe dinner. Modi was one of theinvitees to the dinner.

Earlier, Kumar lashed out atModis Government for its ad-vertisement yesterday on its

liberal donation to Biharduring the 2008 Kosi

floods, saying it wasuncivilised to talkabout help given dur-ing times of tragedy.

He a l so tookstrong exception tothe use of his photo-

graph with that of Modi in an-other advertisement publishedin local dailies and said he wouldtake legal action against thoseresponsible for it.

The Gujarat Governmentsclaim (on flood relief) is un-civilised and against Indian cul-tu re . Nobody c l a ims o fbestowing favours on those whoface tragedy caused by naturalcalamities, Kumar, who headsthe JD(U)-BJP Government inBihar, told reporters here.

He said he would return theunutilised money to the ModiGovernment. I do not knowthe exact amount contributedto the Relief Fund by Gujarat. Iwill go through the details andimmediately return the moneyreceived from Modi which waslying unspent in the CM Reliefaccount, he said.

Kumar said he or his officewas not consulted on the useof his photograph with that ofModi.

It has caused a great embar-rassment to me, Kumar said inreply to a question.

I have no knowledge aboutthe agency advertising my pho-tograph along with that of Modias published in newspapers

PTI

NEW DELHI/BANGALORE, JUNE 12

Amid continuing blame-gameover the Bhopal gas tragedy, thethen Chief Justice of India A MAhmadi was at the centre of thecontroversy with Law Minister Veer-appa Moily saying the SupremeCourt verdict had reduced theincident to a car accident.

Ahmadi, who is blamed fordiluting the charges in the case,reacted by saying that the Gov-ernment could not escape theresponsibility when such an in-cident happens.

The spat between Moily andAhmadi came even as the thenMadhya Pradesh Chief MinisterArjun Singh continued to be tar-geted by Congress leaders overWarren Andersons escape.

Senior Congress leaderSatyavrat Chaturvedi said Arjun

Singh had earlier admitted thatthe decision to allow Andersonto leave the country was takenat State level and said he shouldspeak out so that the namesof others are not unnecessarilydragged into the issue.

Singh remained incommuni-cado and did not even turn up

at a function held by a mediagroup to honour him with Life-time Achievement Award for hiscontribution to Urdu language.

Moily regretted in Bangalorethat judiciary had diluted thecharges in the gas leakage case.

CBI had filed charges under(IPC) Section 304 (II) under

which the maximum punish-ment is 10 years. But the highestcourt (headed by Ahmadi), in areview petition, converted it to304 (A) which is actually meantfor a car accident, truck acci-dent, the Law Minister told re-porters in Bangalore.

Section 304 (II) of the IPC isculpable homicide not amount-ing to murder while 304(A) iscausing death due to negligence.

The offence of this dimen-sion, I am very sorry, it has beenreduced, Moily said.

Reacting to efforts to put theonus of responsibility on him,Ahmadi said, the Governmentis always responsible. Whensomething of this nature hap-pens to the people of the coun-try, does the Government say ithas no responsibility? I am un-able to understand that.

Goas Heartbeat: Jodie accused

of assaulting teenager Pg 12

Sports: Yusuf helps India

down Zimbabwe Pg 11

Region: Grandmothers stem

cells cure rare disorder Pg 4

Visit us at:www.oheraldo.in panjim, sunDaY, june 13, 2010 pRiCe Rs. 3.00 (air surcharge Rs 1.50) pages 16+6

SUNDAY

(Continued on page 10)

(Continued on page 10)

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MARADONA BACK IN A DIFFERENT ROLE

Blame-game over Bhopal snowballsVerdict reduced incident to a car accident: Moily

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JUNE 12

Days after the Centre deferredits decision to hike prices of pe-troleum products, the UnionSecretary for Petroleum S Sun-dareshan has stated that the pe-t ro leum companies wereincurring heavy loses due toGovernment subsidy and indi-cated that a hike was imminent.

The Centre had constituteda high-powered committeeunder the chairmanship of Fi-nance Minister Pranab Mukher-

jee to look into the matter butno decision could be reacheddue to the absence of manymembers.

However, the union secretarytoday indicated that the rise inprices of petrol and dieselseemed imminent. There is nojustification for subsidies forpetrol at least, the secretarysaid while addressing a pressconference, here, this evening.

Substantiating his claim, Sun-dareshan said, the oil companiesare losing Rs 3.50 on every litre

of petrol, Rs 3.40 on diesel, Rs18 on kerosene and Rs 280 perLPG cylinder.

He said international crudeoil prices rose from $28 per bar-rel in 2003 to $147 per barrelin 2008 and now quotes ataround $75 per barrel (159 litresmake a barrel), putting majorburden on Government re-sources, as also on State-run oilfirms.

Oil marketing companieshad to contend with under-re-coveries of Rs 46,051 crore last

fiscal, for which the Governmentprovided them assistance of Rs26,000 crore, while the up-stream oil companies con-tributed around Rs 14,430crore, Sundareshan said addingthe balance had to be absorbedby the oil marketing compa-nies.

The secretary said while thesubsidy on LPG and kerosene isunderstandable, there is no jus-tification for subsidy on petroland diesel. Three to four cars

Petrol, diesel subsidy not justified

WAR-OF-WORDSCBI had filedcharges underSec 304 (II)which the

maximum punishment is 10years. But the highest courtin a review petition,converted it to 304 (A) whichis actually meant for a caraccident, truck accident.

Veerappa Moily

The Govt isalwaysresponsible.Whensomething of this naturehappens to the people of thecountry, does theGovernment say it has noresponsibility? I am unableto understand that.

Ex-CJI A M Ahmadi

Kids realityshow

banned in Andhra

UNI

HYDERABAD, JUNE 12

Andhra Pradesh Human RightsCommission today banned withimmediate effect telecast of atafive (play-5 series), the child re-ality show telecast by ZEE TV,saying such shows violated therights of children.

In its direction, CommissionChairman, Justice B SubhashanReddy directed Hyderabad CityPolice Commissioner A K Khanto also look into similar realityshows on other entertainmentand news television channelsand take appropriate action toprohibit such telecast whichwere indecent and obscene andviolated the inalienable right ofthe child.

The Commission asked theHyderabad City Police Commis-sioner to report by June 14 theaction taken report and the sta-tus of such reality shows on thetelevision.

The Commission also fixedJuly 3 for public hearing andwould issue notices to the printand electronic media for a widerdiscussion before taking furtheraction.

Justice Reddy said HumanRights activists and NGOs in-volved in child welfare toowould also participate in thepublic hearing.

The Commission, JusticeReddy said was also looking intoobscene advertisements andcited few of them during the In-dian Premier League CricketTourney and the World Cup T-20 Cricket Championship.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JUNE 12

The police conducted a seriesof raids in Colva, Nuvem andMajorda in the last 24 hours insearch of former tourism min-ister Mickky Pacheco, who hasbeen eluding the Goa police forquestioning in the Nadia Torradodeath case.

The Colva police on Saturdayevening searched a house at Ma-jorda and maintained a closevigil on a house at Colva.

It is learnt that the police hadconducted a search of a houseof an elected representative atNuvem last night as part of theexercise to lay their hands onthe former minister.

Sources at the Colva policestation disclosed that the policeled by station incharge, PI Tush-sar Vernekar had proceeded toBetalbatim and Majorda late thisevening in search of the elusiveMLA.

The team also maintained astrict vigil at Colva as to nabPacheco, even as the police teamreturned without much success.

The raids come a day afterthe Crime Branch with the assistanceof the local police raided the busi-ness premises of Pacheco at Be-talbatim last evening as part ofthe investigations into NadiaTorrado death case.

Sources in the know said thepolice also searched the houseof a close supporter from Nuvemlast night.

Incidentally, the police hadraided a hotel earlier this weekwhere Pachecos legal counselswere putting up with the hopeof nabbing the Benaulim MLA,but in vain.

Though the police could notsay whether they had any intel-ligence inputs indicating thepresence of the former ministeralong the coastal belt, sourcesin the police headquarters saythe raids and searches are partof a strategy to put pressure onthe elusive MLA and force himto surrender to the investigatingagency for his interrogation.

Sources in the know, however,say the question of any surren-der by the Benaulim MLA willbe known only on Monday giventhat the courts were closed dur-ing the weekend and that theappeal filed by his OSD LyndonMonteiro will come up beforethe High Court on June 14.

Cops raid severalplaces in search

of Pacheco

UNI

VILLUPPURAM, TN, JUNE 12

A major train tragedy likeGyaneshwari Express derailmentwas averted when more than1,500 passengers of the super-fast Trichy-Chennai Rockfort Ex-press had a miraculous escapeafter suspected pro-LTTE sup-porters blew up a portion of therailway track at Chithani villagenear Perani station in Tamil Naduin the wee hours of today.

The blast left a huge craterand the three metres of the trackwas missing.

Only a fortnight ago, morethan 100 passengers were killedand scores others injured when13 coaches of Mumbai-boundGyaneshwari Express derailed

in West Bengals West Midna-pore district early on Friday. Fiveof these coaches were also hitby a speeding goods train. Theincident occurred at 1.30 amwhen the train was running be-tween Khemasoli and Sardiyastations, about 135 km fromKolkata.

Police and Railway sourcessaid the blast had taken placeafter the Salem-Chennai Expresspassed Mundiyambakkam Sta-tion at around 0200 hrs and fewminutes before the Rockfort Ex-press was to pass the stretch.

The driver and guard of thetrain felt a rude jolt when thetrain was passing throughChithani after crossing theMundiyambakkam station

whose Station Master alertedthe driver of the Rockfort Ex-press and the higher officials.

On being asked to proceedwith caution, the driver of Rock-fort Express slowed down con-siderably and was proceedingat a speed of 20 km per hourwhen he noticed a portion ofthe track missing and immedi-ately stopped the train, therebyaverting a deadly disaster.

This was the second time theRockfort Express was being tar-geted by miscreants.

On March 15, 1987, over 50people were killed when the ac-tivists of Tamil Nadu LiberationArmy (TNLA) blew up the tracknear Marudayatrupallam inAriyalur.

LUCKY ESCAPE FOR PASSENGERS

Train tragedy averted afterdriver spots missing tracks

l Crime Branchquizzes Viola in Nadia case

ON PAGE 2

Nitish blows hot over photo with Modi

Snubs BJP leaders, cancels dinner

Argentina's coach Diego Maradona in different moods during their Group B first round 2010 World Cup football match on Saturday atEllis Park stadium in Johannesburg. Argentina defeated Nigeria 1-0.

2 BKI terrorists arrestedPolice arrested two suspectedBabbar Khalsa International out-fit terrorists and recovered apistol and 10 live cartridges fromtheir possession. Police said Bal-winder Singh and ManjinderSingh, residents of Bijliwal vil-lage, were arrested from a fuelpump at Khanowal. (PTI)

GOAHERALD

Pg2GOA, SUNDAY, 13 JUNE, 2010

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JUNE 12

Noted social activist Adv Aires Rodriguestermed appointment of Lyndon Monteiroas vice president of Goa Tourism Develop-ment Corporation (GTDC) as illegal.

The appointment was done in completeviolation of law, Rodrigues said.

While briefing the media, Rodriguesinformed that Section 274(1) (d) of theCompanies Act mandates that a personshall not be appointed director of a com-pany, if he/she has been convicted by acourt of any offence involving moral turpi-tude and sentenced in respect thereofto imprisonment for not less than sixmonths and a period of five years hasnot elapsed from the date of expiry of

the sentence.The said law was not followed, while

appointing Monteiro, who was convictedand sentenced to 15-month imprisonmentin case of frauduary, as a vice president ofGTDC, he alleged.

Rodrigues confirmed that in 2002, Mon-teiro was convicted and sentenced to im-prisonment by a Margao Court in six casesunder Section 138 of the Negotiable Instru-ments Act for issuing six bounced chequesof Rs 6 lakh to a Vasco-based businessmanRudradevan Ellath.

In view of the sentence imposed by theCourt, Monteiro was not allegeable for thesaid post, he maintained.

Rodrigues demanded that all the expen-diture incurred on Monteiro by the GTDC

be recovered from him and that he be pros-ecuted in accordance with law.

Rodrigues further said that as per theCompanies Act if the director is appointedin contravention of law, then he is liable torefund to the corporation the entire amountreceived and perks or enjoyed by him atthe cost of the corporation.

The violation of law also leads to im-prisonment upto 3 years and also fine ofRs 500 for every day of default, he added.

Monteiro, also officer on special duty(OSD) to former tourism minister MickkyPacheco, is been declared as a co-accusedin Nadia Torrados mysterious death case.The anticipatory bail plea of Monteirowill be heard on June 14 in the HighCourt.

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JUNE 12

The Goa Police Crime Brancho n S a t u rd a y q u e s t i o n e dMickky Pachecos close friendViola in the Nadia Torradodeath case.

Viola arrived at Crime Branchon Saturday morning and wasbeing quizzed by investigatingofficer till evening.

She was given a one-hourlunch break though.

Violas lawyer Yatish Naik laterspeaking to reporters here saidthat she was not allowed to beaccompanied by her counsel.

We had made an applica-tion that a lawyer be allowedto accompany her, which wasrefused by Crime Branch, herlawyer Yatish Naik told re-porters outside Crime Branchoffice.

Police sources told Heraldthat Viola was quizzed on therelation between Nadia and theformer minister.

Pacheco has been on the runafter tendering his resignation

a day after he was questionedby the police in the case.

Meanwhile, sources in thepolice said Pacheco had metNadia for two days before sheallegedly consumed poison onMay 15.

There are several contradic-

tions in the statements givenby Nadia's family and Pachecoduring the questioning, sourcesstated.

According to Crime Branch,the ex-minister had met Nadiaon May 13 and 14. It is alsoprobing whether the 46-year-

old lawmaker was present ather house when she took ratpoison.

Crime Branch has also foundthat Nadia's mother was not inher house when her daughtertook the extreme step, a claimdenied by Sonia.

Crime Branch quizzes Violain Nadia death case

Viola a close friend of former Tourism Minister Mickky Pacheco arrives at the Crime Branch at DonaPaula on Saturday. Photo by Rozario Estibeiro

Aires terms Lyndons appointmentas GTDC vice-president illegal

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JUNE 12

The Union Petroleum SecretaryS Sundareshan on Saturdaystated that the gas pipelinewould be ready by mid-2012.

The work of laying of 175-km pipeline in Goa by tappingthe Dabhol-Bangalore net-work at Gokak in Karnatakais taken up by GAIL at a costof Rs 400 cr and would becompleted by mid-2012, saidthe Union secretary while ad-dressing a press conferencehere on Saturday.

The estimated cost of the en-tire network of the Dabhol-Ban-galore pipeline, including a spurline to Goa, is Rs 4,543.43 crore.

The spur line to Goa will orig-inate from Gokak and end atZuari Industries passing throughKarnataka, Maharashtra and Goa.

The length of the pipeline inGoa is 36 km.

The pipeline will pass throughthe talukas of Bicholim, Pondaand Mormugao.

On completion the pipelinewill supply gas to existing com-panies and also new gas basedindustries, Sundareshan said.

Asked whether the gas canalso be used for domestic pur-pose, he said, The Petroleumand Natural Gas regulatoryBoard will list the cities whichwill be supplied gas in whichGoan cities also have to be in-cluded.

Thereafter, he continued, theprivate companies will have toplace their bids and start supplyof domestic gas.

Sundareshan said that the in-dustrial requirement of gas inGoa is to the tune of four millioncubic metres a day.

The MoPNG secretary saidthat GAIL will be charging thecompanies to provide the gasat their doorstep through thepipeline.

He said such a facility will pro-vide impetus to the gas-basedindustries in Goa.

Gas pipeline to be ready bymid-2012: Union minister

Says 14 per cent rise in petrol consumption

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JUNE 12

Goa has seen an increase of 14 per cent in the consumption ofpetrol, a senior petroleum official said here on Saturday.

S Sundareshan, secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and NaturalGas, said that while there is increase of 14 per cent in petrol con-sumption there is increase of six to seven per cent rise in dieselconsumption.

Also, he said, there is an increase of 10 per cent per annum inthe consumption of LPG.

With four lakh LPG connections we have covered the entireGoan population with the LPG connections, he said.

There is adequate supply of fuel to the state, the secretarysaid.

He said Goa is one of the few states where the people do nothave to wait for new LPG connection or a refill.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

PORVORIM, JUNE 12

Mapusa Police has deployed two policeteams at the Mapusa Municipal Market andKadamba bus stand to monitor the law andorder in these two places.

The presence of police teams, which com-prises two policemen equipped with a wire-less set, was necessitated due to the growingthefts in the market area.

A year ago, a daylight theft had oc-curred in the Mapusa market, whereproperty worth Rs 1.7 lakh, includingcash of Rs 92,000, was stolen from thedrawer belonging to a lottery seller.Since then, shopkeepers have been de-manding the deployment of police atthe market.

Speaking to Herald, Deputy Superinten-dent of Police Sammy Tavares said the policeteams will be deployed at Mapusa Marketround the clock and at the Kadamba busstand till 9 pm.

The presence of police teams at thesetwo vital places will act as a deterrent toantisocial elements and help prevent theftsand crimes. Shopkeepers and the public

will be able to approach the police in caseof any need, said DySP Tavares.

Meanwhile, Vibhag Pramukh of Shiv Sena(Bardez) Philip DSouza has thanked Ma-pusa police for providing police teams atMapusa Municipal market and at Kadamba

Bus stand.He has suggested that the police should

seek a room or kiosk from Municipal au-thorities or Kadamba Transport Corporationto enable the police on duty to dischargetheir duties effectively.

BMC approvesRs 8.84 cr citydevelopment

planHERALD CORRESPONDENT

MAYEM, JUNE 12

The Bicholim Muncipal Council(BMC) on Friday approved a citydevelopment plan to the tuneof Rs 8.84 crore.

At the BMC meeting, it wasdecided to beautify the city withthe help of the funds providedby the central government.

It was decided to have arailing on both sides of theroad from Shantadurga HighSchool to the KTC bus stand.Besides, it was also decidedto have a better drainage sys-tem and to maintain and con-struct gutters to avoid floodsin the city.

BMC Cha i rman Sa t i shGaonkar told Herald that thegarbage treatment plant wasbeing managed by a companyfrom Pune for a year.

The contract has ended andthe locals have got the expertiseto handle the plant. From thisyear, we will look after the plantwhich would save us about Rs6 lakh, said Gaonkar.

Police deployed at the Kadamba bus stand in Mapusa. Photo by Anil Shankhwalker

Cops deployed at Mapusa market,bus stand to monitor law and order

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JUNE 12

Saying that he has not neglectedMargao after assuming the postof Chief Minister three yearsago, Digambar Kamat on Satur-day said that many a major proj-ects would soon see light of theday in the Commercial Capital.

Addressing Margao blockCongress workers on the occa-sion of the completion of threeyears as Chief Minister of Goa,Kamat said that Margaos devel-opment is on the right track andpeople would soon wonderwhether theres anything left tobe developed in the city.

He said actual work of thestate-of-the-art inter-state busstand will begin 2-3 months time,while the government would ten-der work on the seweragescheme for the southern part ofthe city within two months.

Kamat said the District Col-

lectorate building would be in-augurated in the next 4-5months, adding that work is infull swing of the district hospitaland the hospital will see thelight of the day within the nexttwo years.

On the power front, the ChiefMinister said the balance workof underground cabling will betaken up in the city in the areasof Khareband and Comba in thenext two months at a cost of Rs70 crore.

After assuming the ChiefMinisters post, I had to lookafter entire Goa. But, I have en-sured that neither Margao northe Congress workers were neg-lected during the last threeyears, he added.

The Chief Minister calledupon the workers to gear up forthe ensuing Municipal polls, say-ing the workers should ensurethat party backed candidates

are elected for the progress anddevelopment of the town.

Saying his government hasaccorded top most priority forthe upliftment of women, Kamatsaid the woman mahila mandalshave been further strengthenedin the city during the last threeyears to make women independ-ent.

He outlined the variousschemes formulated by the gov-ernment during the last threeyears, especially the Indira BalRath Yojana for the benefit ofthe students belonging to theST Community. He said thescheme will now be extendedto students of the OBC commu-nity from the current academicyear.

GPCC President Subhash Shi-rodkar, Margao Municipal Chair-person Savio Coutinho andothers leaders spoke on the oc-casion.

Major projects will soon see light of day in Margao: CM

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CURCHOREM, JUNE 11

A group of parishioners have threat-ened to seek legal recourse in connec-tion with alleged irregularities at theGuardian Angel Church at Curchorem.

Refuting claims of those parishionerssupporting the Parish Priest Fr Ligor-inho D'Costa, the group has stated thatlegal notices will be issued to the entireFabrica Committee in connection withthe alleged Rs 30 lakh lottery scam.

Speaking to Herald, the GuardianAngel Church Parish Pastoral CouncilModerator Desmond Cardozo andPaixao Pereira said the parish priesthad stated that 50,000 lotteries wereprinted, all sold and that Rs 50 lakhhad been collected.

A bill for printing of 80,000 lotterieswas discovered in the accounts, butthe priest clarified that only 50,000lotteries were printed, said Cardozo.

The New Age Printers at Verna said

60,000 lotteries were ordered andprinted. However, the parish priesttook 25,000 lotteries and rejected35,000 others as advertisements werenot printed as desired.

An additional 20,000 lotteries wereprinted at the request of the parishpriest, who later wanted another 5,000lotteries. As the printers were unableto do so, 840 sheets (5040 lotteries)from the rejected lot were taken bythe parish priest.

Thus, 80,000 lotteries were actuallyprinted. On enquiries, we were toldthat the printers had burnt the balance30,000 lotteries, allegedly rejected bythe parish priest.

We want to know who authorizedthem to burn the lotteries, for whichthey have received payment for print-ing, thus becoming the property of thechurch? Why were 840 sheets of lot-teries, rejected in July 2009, taken backby the parish priest in December 2009,

asked Cardozo.Commenting on the purchase of

chandeliers for the church, Cardozosaid the accounts for 2009-10 revealedan invoice/bill for Rs 1,95,694 towardspurchase of eight chandeliers.

These were never seen in thechurch, nor were parishioners informedof such purchase. No entry about thesechandeliers was made in the InventoryRegister updated till March 2010. Theparish priest claims that the chandeliersare in safe custody and will be enteredin the Inventory Register, before heleaves the parish, said Cardozo.

Reacting to another controversyabout the prayer room, the PPC Mod-erator said the prayer room was con-structed and blessed by the archbishopin 2000-01 as an Oratory.

The parish priest did announce thatthe Prayer Room would be kept closedfor some time due to ongoing con-struction work and we never objected

to this. But we never expected thatthe sacred prayer room would be con-verted into a cement godown.

Why was the office, opposite theprayer room, also not closed duringthe construction work? Even if re-quired, as is done on all constructionsites, a temporary godown could havebeen constructed to protect the cementfrom possible rains, argued Cardozo.

Commenting on the appointment ofthe Fabrica Committee, Cardozo statedthat the parish priest conducted theprocess by holding elections by secretballot.

The winners, except one who gotmaximum votes, were not recom-mended by the parish priest. The list,including a woman who got only 2votes, were recommended by the parishpriest and appointed by the diocese.Why were elections conducted by se-cret ballot if the priest did not want tohonour the elections, asked Cardozo.

Disputing claims of the former at-torney Gabriel Fernandes that the devo-tees had increased due to the influenceof the parish priest, Cardozo informedthat Curchorem has grown over theyears and this has led to an increase inparishioners and catechism students.This is a progressive trend and hasnothing to do with the parish priest,he said.

Cardozo also claimed that churchauthorities did little to resolve the dif-ferences between the two groups.

While admitting that the parishpriest has done a lot of developmentby way of construction work, Cardozo,however, insisted that the priority of apriest is to build hearts and not struc-tures.

They expressed regret that the priesthad stopped the 80-year-old processionlinking Curchorem and Sanvordemtowns and had refused to offer prayersat the graves of the dead.

By Dr Jose de Sousa

Come June 13 and the feast ofthe glorious St Anthony is cele-brated all over the world, par-ticularly in Portugal where he isa popular saint and in Goa, peo-ple throng the sanctuaries in atestimony of strong faith of thepeople in the saint.

Festivities are held on a grandscale in Siolimwhere he is thepatron saint. InSalcete, thefestivities arehe ld a tDeussua , ahamle t o fChinchinim vil-lage, where aChapel of StA n t h o n ystands for thelast four cen-turies.

Anguishedpeople whohave lo s tsomething, frightened ones whohave been robbed, lonely onesneeding a partner to settle inlife and so on all roads leadto St Anthony sanctuaries forhis intervention.

In 1752, a Portuguese noble-man Dom Joao Antonio deMalo, who had lost his eyesight,was being taken by a machila(palanquin) from Agassaim toRibandar. When his bearersneeded rest at Goa Velha belowthe Pilar hillock, they made a

stop beneath a mango tree andtold the nobleman that a statueof St Anthony was placed in aniche carved at a wayside logof a coconut tree at Goa Velha.Immediately the noblemanprayed to St Anthony, You areknown as the Saint of miracles,you are here in the open, in thesun and rain; if you restore my

e y e s i g h t , Iwil l build ab e a u t i f u lc h a p e l t oke e p y o u rstatue in.

On the re-turn journey,Dom Joaoaga in waslowered at thesame p laceand there themiracle is re-por ted tohave oc -curred. AndDom Joao

could see the statue of the saint.When the nobleman was backhome, without any help heclimbed the steps of the palace.As his wife could not believe,he came out in the veranda andcounted the vessels he couldsee in the bay.

Fa i thfu l to the vow, hebrought the copies of best altarsfrom Portugal, built the Chapeland placed the life size statuteof St Anthony, which still existsin the Chapel at Goa Velha.

St Anthony, thepopular saint

Parishioners to seek legal recourse over Curchorem church irregularities

Goa Niwas inDelhi portrays

Goan ethosHERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, JUNE 12

The new Goa Niwas which isconstructed at an estimated costof Rs 17 crore in the total areaof 4195 sq meters at Plot No.14, B i r T ikendra j i t Marg,Chanakyapuri in New Delhi por-trays the Goan ethos.

The Goa Niwas was throwsopen by Member of Parliamentand UPA Chairperson SoniaGandhi on Friday in the presenceof Chief Minister DigambarKamat, Speaker Pratapsing Rane,Home Minister Ravi Naik, PWDMinister Churchill Alemao,Transport Minister RamkrishnaDhavlikar, Revenue Minister JosePhillip DSouza, Power MinisterAleixo Sequeira, Education Min-ister Antanasio (Babush) Mon-se ra te , Hea l th M in i s te rV ishwajeet Rane, DeputySpeaker Mauvin Godinho, MPsFrancisco Sardinha, Rajiv Shuklaand Shantaram Naik, MLAs Pan-durang Madkaikar, Chairpersonof Law Commission RamakantKhalap, In-charge of Goa desk,B K Hariprasad, former ChiefMinister Luizinho Faleiro, Pres-ident of GPCC(I) Subhash Shi-rodkar, and other dignitariesfrom Goa.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JUNE 12

A visibly upset Fatorda MLADamu Naik on Saturday ques-tioned the Margao MunicipalChief Officer for keeping him inthe dark over the recent inspec-tion of the Sonsodo dump yard.

The MLA re-minded the ChiefO f f i ce r Y BTawde that he isa member of theHouse Commit-tee constitutedto so l ve thegarbage issueand demandedto know why hewas no t i n -formed aboutthe Sonsodo in-spection.

Accompaniedby the B JP -backed Coun-cilors NarayanFondekar andRaju Shirodkar,the MLA inspected the site andinteracted with Fomento ChiefExecutive Officer ShridharKamat.

Kamat explained him the var-ious precautionary measurestaken at the dumping site in

view of the ensuing monsoonsand the future plans chalked outby the Company at the site.

During the interaction, theMMC Councillors said thatgarbage from a Betalbatim re-sort finds its way at the Sonsodosite. Councilor Raju Shirodkar

pointed out thatthe truck-load ofwaste from theresort is f irstdumped in theMunicipal binsnear the Metro-pole area andlater collectedand disposed offby the MargaoMunicipal vehi-cles.

Replying to aquestion, Naikexpressed hissatisfaction overthe precaution-ary work carriedout at Sonsodo,but suggested

that the agency collect watersamples of drinking wells ad-joining the dumping site duringthe monsoons.

He asked the MMC CO to en-sure that work at the site is mon-itored by the Civic body on a

daily basis and demanded thatthe Civic body take the con-cerned councilors into confi-dence on the issue.

The Fatorda MLA remindedthe Chief Officer that thereshould not be any encroachmenton private property adjoiningthe dumping site and called forexpediting the land acquisitionprocess to acquire additionalland for the waste dumping.

Upset Fatorda MLA questionsMMC CO over Sonsodo inspection

The MLA remindedthe Chief Officer YB Tawde that he isa member of theHouse Committeeconstituted tosolve the garbageissue and de-manded to knowwhy he was not in-formed about theSonsodo inspec-tion.

Man found dead

near Nagorcem

railway quartersHERALD CORRESPONDENT

CANACONA, JUNE 12

A man believed to be in his for-ties was found dead near theRailway quarters at NagorcemCanacona on Saturday morning.

According to Canacona po-lice, the deceased, suspected tobe a non-Goan, was found deadnear the railway quarters, whichis in close vicinity of KonkanRailway Station at Canacona.

The body is preserved at theGMC mortuary in Bambolim andfurther investigation is inprogress under the supervisionof Canacona PI Raju Raut Des-sai.

Valpoi yet totake up

pre-monsoonworks

HERALD CORRSEPONDENT

VALPOI, JUNE 12

Pre-monsoon works, includingdigging of roads and cleaningof drains, are yet to be com-pleted in many parts of Valpoitown.

Speaking to Herald, sourcessaid the Valpoi Municipal Coun-cil (VMC) had asked the GoaState Infrastructure Develop-ment Corporation (GSIDC) tocomplete the pre-monsoonwork before the onset of mon-soon.

Incidentally, the GSIDC hasundertaken a project in Valpoiand the road-widening workis going on since the last oneyear.

The trenches dug near theValpoi JMFC court oppositeUnity High School to widen theroad have been filled with rainwater, thereby posing a threatto students, motorists andpedestrians.

A passenger bus had recentlyskidded off the road at the spotsame, but fortunately no onewas injured. A week ago, a riderwas also injured when hisscooter skidded off the road atsame place.

Parents, teachers, studentsand locals have requested au-thorities to complete the worksoon or at least to barricade thedug portion of the road to avoidfurther mishaps.

MARGAO (HR): The All Goa ToddyTappers Association PresidentGaspar Afonso has instituted ascholarship to the top ranking stu-dent of the toddy-tapping com-munity of Goa. Students securing50% and above marks in MarchSSC exam of Goa Board may pro-duce certified copy of the marksheets to the village toddy-tappersleaders by June 15 for the purposeof scrutiny. The top ranking stu-dent thereafter will be selectedfor the scholarship, stated the As-sociation President Gaspar Afonso.

Scholarship for toddy-tapper

pg2:Layout 1 6/13/2010 12:34 AM Page 1

GOA, SUNDAY, 13 JUNE, 2010

GOAHERALD

Pg3

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JUNE 12

Village Groups of Goa have warned the gov-ernment not to take the NGOs fighting tosave and protect Goa from destruction forgranted any more.

Representatives of various village groupshave cautioned that they will no longertake things lying down if the governmentis hell bent in destroying the State.

Briefing newsmen, the village groupsquestioned Cortalim MLA Mauvin Godinhofor his remarks on the NGOs and remindedhim that the recent clearance given to hous-ing projects in Chicalim and Sancoale wouldalter the demography of these two villages.

Edwin Mascarenhas said the allegationsmade by the Cortalim MLA against the NGOsrelating of the Chicalim park are false andbaseless.

He said the village groups of Goa had in-spected illegalities in Cortalim on the oc-casion of World Environment Day and foundmany illegalities, including hill cutting nearUpasnagar. I fail to understand why God-

inho is so aggressive when the NGOs areonly exposing the illegalities. The MLAshould name the person from the local NGOinvolved in illegalities, he added.

Mascarenhas took strong exception tothe government decision to include the vil-lages of Mormugao Taluka under the purviewof the Planning and Development Authority.The villagers have been deprived of ourright in participatory planning. Our villagesshould be immediately excluded from thePDA and allow the villagers to participatein the Regional Plan 2021, he demanded.

Saying that the PDA has been imposedon the villagers, Mascarenhas sough toknow why the local MLA is so adamant toinclude the villages under the PDA. He al-leged that the PDA has done planning insome pockets of the Taluka only to suit cer-tain people. For instance, he said C1 zoneshave been earmarked behind BITS Pilaniand near the old grazing ground, addingthat records indicate that only the realestate developers will benefit from the zonechanges. These zone changes will not suit

the growth of the local people, it will onlysuit the requirements of the builders, hesaid, adding that the government ought tofirst develop basic infrastructure includingpower, garbage disposal and water supply.

He feared that the population of Chicalimvillage would increase by two-fold in thenext 2-3 years once the construction plansapproved by the authorities takes concreteshape.

Edwin Pinto said the slum at Zuari Nagaris housing approximately 40,000 population,but lamented that theres no basic sanitationfacilities, thus polluting the ground water.

He demanded to know the connectionbetween the MLAs and the real estate de-velopers, be it in Carmona, Chicalim etcand charged the elected representatives forpromoting and protecting mega housingsocieties. Our MLAs are destroying Goa.The people will have no option than tocome on the streets and stop the destructionof Goa, he warned.

Judith Almeida and Crydon Madeira alsospoke.

NGOs warn govt not totake them for granted

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JUNE 12

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Goaunit termed Bhopal gas leak ver-dict as Justice delayed , justicedenied and condemned Con-gress hand in letting Warren An-derson, leave the country.

The party activists on Satur-day held demonstration in thecity against the verdict.

BJP spokesperson, RajendraArlekar said that its a shamethat the former top managersof the company, blamed for themassive Bhopal gas leak, wheresentenced to only two years im-prisonment and that too after25 years.

Its a mockery of judiciary,the activists alleged.

The Bhopal court on June 8,2010 found seven guilty, whowere all sentenced to two yearsin prison and ordered to pay afine of Rs 100,000.

BJP has demanded to conducta thorough inquiry in the entirecourt verdict as well as in theinvestigation part.

The activists have also de-manded to investigate the War-

ren Anderson matter.Anderson, American then-

chairman of the Union Carbideparent group, was among theaccused but was not named inthe verdicts after the Bhopalcourt declared him as abscond-ing.

It has been hinted that ArjunSingh, then Madhya Pradeshchief minister in commence withthen Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhihad taken the decision to releaseAnderson out of country.

Proper investigation isneeded in this aspect, BJP ac-tivists said.

The said tragedy happenedin December 1984, when theUCIL (Union Carbide India Ltd)plant in Bhopal released thehighly volatile toxic chemicalcalled Methyl Isocyanate, storedat the pesticide plant owned bythe company.

15,000 people died in thetragedy and atleast five lakh oth-ers got inflicted by grievous in-juries. Millions were left sickand the affected passed on theharmful effects of the gas to thenext generations.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JUNE 12

With the authorities turning ablind eye to the assembly ofmigrant labourers behind theMargao Municipal building, theGreen Goa Foundation hasserved a seven-day deadlineon the Margao Civic body tokeep away the labourers offthe road.

The NGO has threatened tomove the court of law if theCivic body fails to initiate actionwithin the deadline.

In a petition, the Foundationstated that a large group of mi-grant labourers assemble behindthe Municipal building and oc-cupy the road at the peak traffichour.

Chairman of the Foundation,Raison Almeida contended thatthe presence of the labourerson the road causes considerabletraffic obstruction, as the labour-ers solicit daily wage work from

MMC served 7-day deadlineto keep labourers off the road

the passersby.Thats not all. He said the

labourers chew tobacco and spiton the road, thus causing nui-sance.

Incidentally, the Margao Mu-nicipal council as well as thedistrict traffic committee hadrecommended in the past tomaintain the stretch entire

road behind the Municipalbuilding free from the labour-ers.

If fact, suggestion made tothe Margao Civic body by the

district authorities and the traf-fic department to allot thelabourers a fixed place in thecity have fallen on the deaf earsof the Civic officials.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JUNE 12

The monsoons have almost setin the State, but mound of wasteis awaiting clearance from Goaslone wholesale fish market inthe city here.

A visit to the market ownedby the South Goa Planning andDevelopment Authority re-vealed that tones of waste layaccumulated in the market

premises for want of clear-ance.

SGPDA officials had no answerwhen asked over the delay indisposing off the waste. Inci-dentally, miscreants had dis-posed off the waste by burninglast year, causing an environ-mental hazard.

Local residents feared thatthe waste might find its wayinto the adjoining paddy fields

during the monsoon as wasthe case in the past and de-manded that the PDA step inand clear the waste from themarket area. In the past, allthe thermocol waste found itsway in the fields, causing nui-sance to the farming commu-nity. The PDA should act fastand clear the waste immedi-ately, remarked a local resi-dent.

Mound of waste awaits clearance from wholesale fish market

Mound of waste lying unattended at the wholesale fish market, Margao. Photo by Savio Dias

BJP terms Bhopal gas leak verdict

as justice denied

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CALANGUTE, JUNE 12

The sculpture of fish in front ofthe St Alex Church, Calangutehas been damaged by miscre-ants barely a month after it wasinaugurated.

The miscreants broke the tailand fins of the fish sculpture,which had been erected by theCalangute panchayat and HotelGoan Heritage.

The Calangute panchayat isin the process of filing a policereport in this connection.

The sculpture, displaying theidentity of the village, at theentry point of Calangute whichwas a dream project of theCalangute panchayat and hadbeen financed by Hotel Goan

Heritage, Calangute, at an esti-mated cost of Rs 7 lakh.

The sculpture was inaugu-rated on May 11 by CalanguteSarpanch Laxman Parab Palyekar,who incidentally had celebratedhis birthday on the same day.

Speaking to Herald, formersarpanch Joseph Sequeira saida few disgruntled elements areobstructing developmental ac-tivities in Calangute.

The fish sculpture, which wehad constructed at an estimatedcost of Rs 7 lakh and sponsoredby Hote l Goan Her i tage ,Calangute, has been broken. Wetry to bring in development forour village, but some disgruntledelements are trying to createproblems for us, Sequeira added.

Miscreants damage fish sculpture at Calangute

The sculpture broken by miscreants at Calangute. Photo by Thomas Fernandes

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

QUEPEM, JUNE 12

A resident of Cavrem-Quepemhas accused forest officials atthe Maina-Quepem Range andCanacona Range of threateninghim and pressurising him tosign a statement against hiswish.

In a complaint with theQuepem police, Tulshidas Velipclaimed that he had sent a letterto the prime minister claimingthat a tiger had been spottedin Cavrem-Maina.

Since then, forest officialsare harassing and pressuring meto issue a statement that thereis no tiger in the area, statedVelip.

Velip claimed that on June9, a forest guard from theMaina Range along with twoof f i c i a l s , c l a iming to be

from the Canacona range,w e n t t o h i s h o u s e a tCavrem.

They started threateningme and wanted to know whyI had filed a complaint re-garding the presence of atiger at Cavrem to the primeminister. They also forced meto sign a statement whichthey had written and I re-fused to do so. They refusedto give me a copy of thestatement and neither werethey ready to read the con-tents, stated Velip.

The complainant claimedthat villagers of Cavrem werealso harassed by forest offi-cials during the alleged bison-killing incident and fearedthat they could harass him byfiling a false complaint againsthim.

Cavrem local accusesforest officials of harassment

One held for assaulting

traffic policeHERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JUNE 12

In a bizarre incident, one DineshGovekar, 31, was arrested by thePanjim police for physically as-saulting a traffic police constablein the city.

The complainant, constableYadav Chari, 40 yrs, attached toPanjim traffic stated that the in-cident took place after the ac-cused, resident of Merces, wasbrought to the traffic cell for al-cohol test.

Police said the accused wasriding his motorcycle in a rashmanner near Customs House,when he was accosted by Yadavand his officer and brought tothe cell for alcohol test.

After the test was done theaccused assaulted the com-plainant and caused tooth biteinjuries on both his thighs, po-lice said.

Govekar was arrested imme-diately and will be produced forremand tomorrow, police said.

Free medicalcamp at Assolda

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CURCHOREM, JUNE 12

The Assolda Welfare Trust in col-laboration with the Forum forSenior Citizens of India and As-solda panchayat will conduct afree medical camp for senior cit-izens and needy people of Assoldaat the Assolda panchayat on June13 from 8.30 am to 1.30 pm.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

BICHOLIM, JUNE 11

Stray cattle have become a men-ace in Bicholim town and littlesteps have been taken by au-thorities to address the issue.

The stray cattle are frequentlyseen squatting on the roads,posing a threat to motorists andpedestrians. The problem is ag-gravated during the weekly mar-ket day, as a number of straycattle rummage through themarket area in search of food.

This practice had been min-imised to some extent some years

ago when authorities had decidedto impound the stray animals.

Incidentally on Saturday, acow died on the road near theBicholim petrol pump shortlyafter giving birth to a calf.

When this correspondentwent to the site in the morning,the cow was found strugglingafter having given birth to a calfby the roadside. The owner ofthe cow was crying foul overthe unavailability of a veterinarydoctor.

Later, the owner called AnimalRescue Squad Chief Amrut

Singh, who was seen searchingfor a person who would helpthe ailing cow. The animal, how-ever, died a short while later.

Bicholim Muncipal Councilworkers acted swiftly andquickly carried away the deadanimal to avoid any further con-troversy.

When informed about thestray cattle in the city, DeputyCollector Narayan Gad said hewould look into the matter.

We need to follow the earlierguidelines and I will look intothe matter, he told Herald.

Stray cattle causing menace in Bicholim

REGIONOHeRAL

dO

Pg4GOA, sundAy, 13 june, 2010

==

PTI

BANGALORE, JUNE 12

Law Minister M Veerappa Moilytoday attacked a top aide ofRajiv Gandhi for suggestingthat the then prime ministermay have had a role in the re-lease of former Union Carbidechief Warren Anderson accusedin Bhopal gas case, saying hewas a new convert to BJP-ShivSena camp.

"I think he (P C Alexander)had joined BJP, and with ShivSena's support he became aRajya Sabha member. He is anew convert to the BJP-ShivSena and anti-Congress campbecause he was not consideredfor Presidentship. It is a moti-vated statement," he told re-porters here.

He said many persons likeAlexander, former principalsecretary to Rajiv Gandhi,suddenly wanted to be mar-tyrs. "I think he is responsible(for Anderson's sudden re-lease after his arrest in De-cember 1984) because he wasthe then Principal Secretary,"he added.

Alexander had hinted thatRajiv Gandhi may have had arole in the release of Andersonas the then prime ministercould have agreed with the de-cision on letting him off.

Moily said there was need

for a law to fix responsibilityon persons responsible for dis-asters such as the Bhopal gastragedy.

He said the CBI which inves-tigated the worst ever indus-trial tragedy that claimedthousands of lives bookedcases under IPC section 302,but the supreme court con-verted it into 304 A (culpablehomicide which provides forlesser punishment). "Unfortu-nately the judiciary did it," hesaid.

Moily said the Governmentwas working on codifying lawsto ensure that disasters weretreated as disasters only. Healso said the Government was

working on a set of guidelinesthat would facilitate fast track-ing of cases related to majordisasters in the light of theBhopal case.

"Our courts are very conser-vative. Hence we are workingon new set of laws to deal withsuch disasters", Moily said.

Referring to the case againstformer chief of Union CarbideWarren Anderson, he said ithad not been closed. "We arepursuing it."

When his attention wasdrawn to Anderson's wife say-ing that her husband was tooold, he said everyone wasequal in the eyes of law andage did not matter.

Moily slams Alexander for remarks on Rajiv Gandhi

n I think he (P CAlexander) hadjoined BJP, andwith Shiv Sena'ssupport he becamea Rajya Sabhamember. He is anew convert to theBJP-Shiv Sena andanti-Congresscamp because hewas not consideredfor Presidentship. It is a motivated statement

--- M Veerappa Moily

PTI

MUMBAI, JUNE 12

Rejecting Shiv Sena's criticismof MNS for voting in favour ofruling Congress-NCP alliance inthe just-concluded Maharash-tra Council polls, its chief RajThackeray today said his movewas in favour of his party.

"It is important for me tosend my four suspended MLAsback into the Assembly as theywere elected by lakhs of vot-ers. It would be injustice withtheir constituencies if they re-main out of the House," he toldreporters here.

The MNS legislators weresuspended in November lastyear for attacking SamajwadiParty MLA Abu Azmi in Assem-bly for not taking oath inMarathi. On MNS legislatorsvoting for Congress in the June10 polls, Raj said "we tookwhatever step needed to getsuspension of our four MLAsrevoked."

Rubbishing Sena's allegationof vote-for-money during thepolls, Raj questioned the BalThackeray-led party's stand tosupport NCP in Pune MunicipalCorporation elections.

"Did Sena get money to sup-port NCP in Pune MunicipalCorporation polls despitefighting the elections withtheir ally BJP?" he asked.

Raj asked why Sena, whichhe left in 2005 to float his own

outfit, is silent over MNS's sup-port to them in the municipalcouncil polls in Ambernath inadjoining Thane.

Spelling out his stand, hesaid "no one is my friend orenemy in politics. I am notbound to anyone and would dothings for the good of my partyand Marathi people."

The estranged nephew ofBal Thackeray mentioned pastincidents, where according tohim, Sena had helped "outside"candidates like Congress

leader Murli Deora, who be-came Mayor of Mumbai withtheir support.

Asking Sena to "mind theirown business", Raj said "myparty is an independent entityand Sena should not tell mewhat to do. Why we are beingblamed if they lost in the Coun-cil polls?"

Raj questioned Sena's sup-port to businessman RajkumarDhoot and poet-journalist Pri-tish Nandy in Rajya Sabha pollsand Lalchand Rathod in Coun-cil elections in the past. "Werethese people any social ac-tivists that Sena supportedthem?"

He criticised Sena for send-ing Bharatkumar Raut, a jour-nalist, to Rajya Sabha and partyspokesperson Neelam Gorheto the state Council, saying thesaffron outfit should field peo-ple who are loyal to it.

Terming the saffron outfit'scriticism of his party as "unnec-essary", Raj said it is their(Sena's) old habit of blamingothers for their defeat.

"After Maharashtra Assemblypoll defeat (in 2009), Senablamed Marathi manoos andnow they are blaming my party.They never accept their mis-takes. Why did they field sec-ond candidate (in Councilpolls) when they did not havesufficient votes?" he sought toknow.

Vote for Congress was to get MLAs suspension lifted: Raj

n It is important for meto send my four sus-pended MLAs backinto the Assembly asthey were elected bylakhs of voters. Itwould be injusticewith their constituen-cies if they remain outof the House

--- Raj Thackeray

PTI

MUMBAI, JUNE 12

Schools in Maharashtradenying admissions to chil-dren in primary educationfor any reason would have topay fine under the Right toEducation Act, the StateGovernment has said.

A decision taken recentlyby the School Education De-partment made it compul-sory for all private andGovernment aided schoolsto admit all students.

"Schools cannot conductscrutiny for admissionprocess. It has to be trans-parent and by a lottery sys-tem, else Rs 25,000 wouldbe fined for first violationand Rs 50,000 for each sub-sequent violation," an officialrelease said.

The schools would becharged 10 times theamount of donation takenfor admission by the schoolauthorities, the release said,adding, admission formsshould be given to all thepeople in the nearby area ontheir demand.

"The State Government isvery serious about the im-plementation of the Right toEducation Act and theschools cannot ignore suchan important decision,which we are posting on theGovernment website," an of-ficial from Education Depart-

ment told PTI.The period for the school

admissions has been ex-tended up to September 30and students would be enti-tled to get entry in theschools after that also, aGovernment order said.

The Government has alsoreduced the age limit of thechildren to five years fromsix for admission in firststandard.

In order to bring childrenoutside ambit of school ed-ucation into the classrooms,the Government has askedall the schools to admitthem in the standards suit-able for their age even ifthey haven't got earlier edu-cation.

"A 10-year-old childshould be admitted in fifthstandard even if he hasnever attended school ear-lier. It would be the respon-sibility of the teachers andthe schools to give specialtime to him/her to completethe earlier studies," theorder said.

Special or handicappedstudents would be given op-portunity to complete theirprimary education till theage of 18 years, it said.

It is also the responsibilityof parents to ensure thattheir children are given com-pulsory primary education,it said.

Schools in Mrashtrawill be fined for

denying admissions

During holidays, the second PUC students of Hasanath College missed their campus. Now, they are back on track.

UNI

BANGALORE, JUNE 12

The Southwest monsoonwhich arrived a week late hasadvanced into most parts ofMaharashtra, Karnataka andAndhra Pradesh.

The Northern Limit of Mon-soon continues to passthrough Lat.19 deg N/Long.60deg E, Lat.19 deg N/Long.70deg E, Mumbai, Pune, Osman-abad, Hyderabad, Vishakapat-nam, a report from local officeof the meteorological depart-ment said.

Conditions were favourablefor further advancement of themonsoon into remaining partsof north interior Karnatakaduring the next 48 hours.

The low pressure area overWest Central Bay of Bengal offCoastal Andhra Pradesh per-sisted.

During the last 24 hoursending 0830 today, the mon-soon was active over north in-terior Karnataka. Rainfalloccurred at most places overCoastal Karnataka and at a fewplaces over South interior Kar-nataka.

Reports said heavy rainswere lashing the south coastaldistrict of Dakshina Kannadaand Udupi continuously sinceThursday evening, throwingnormal life out of gear.

The forecast for the next 48hours said rain/thundershow-ers would occur at most placesover Coastal Karnataka and atmany places over interior Kar-nataka. Moderate to ratherheavy rain would occur at mostplaces over all the districts ofCoastal Karnataka and at manyplaces over all the districts ofnorth interior Karnataka andSouth interior Karnataka.

Southwest monsoonadvances acrosspeninsular India

Rains claim two lives

UNI

GULBARGA, JUNE 12

The South West monsoonrains lashing many parts ofKarnataka, have claimed twolives since yesterday.

Police said two personwere killed when lightningstruck them at Jogur Villagein Gulbarga Taluk whileVeerappa of Kamasur Tandain Fardabad Police Stationlimits was killed due tolightning last evening.

In another incident, a 14year-old boy Mosin Babawas killed on the spot whena tipper truck ran over himwhen he was asleep nearRing Road in the city lastnight.

PTI

PUNE, JUNE 12

One can go beyond offeringjust lip service to the cause ofwildlife conservation by adopt-ing an animal and ensuring itswell being.

An animal adoption schemeis being given final shape at thesprawling Rajiv Gandhi Zoolog-ical Park at Katraj on the cityoutskirts which also houses asnake habitat. The zoo has asmany as 24 species of wild an-imals and is regarded as a bigattraction for tourists in the re-gion.

Under management of thePune civic administration, thezoo authorities have mootedthe adoption scheme for ani-mals which will be open to in-dividuals, institutions,families, schools and corpo-rate houses.

The proposal put up beforethe civic body recently for ap-proval said the scheme wouldserve the interests of wild life

lovers who despite their strongurge cannot visit forests fre-quently to spend time with an-imals.

Now with prescribed pay-ments varying with the speciesat the zoo, the sponsor canadopt the animals for a specifictime frame and see his nameput up on the board outsidethe cage of adopted animalsand also carry a certificatealong with photographs of theadopted ones.

Explaining the features ofthe animal adoption schemeat Katraj zoo, its director KUmrigar told PTI "There arelots of people who want tocontribute to their mite forwild life conservation andthis would offer them the op-portunity to do so. Apartfrom serving this purpose,the scheme will also generaterevenue for Pune MunicipalCorporation (PMC) in the bar-gain."

She said the zoo authorities

expected a good response tothe proposal, to be given effectin a few weeks time, from theburgeoning corporate sector inPune which is alive to its socialresponsibilities.

"We expect the corporatehouses to adopt entire speciesin the zoo as part of their con-servation projects. Individualand institutional donors toocan pitch in for the cause", sheadded.

Those participating in thescheme will be entitled to in-come tax benefits. Citizens canadopt the zoo animals with theapplicable charges for a day, amonth, a year, three and fiveyear period and also for lifetime.

The adoption fees are beingworked out on the basis of thecost of feeding the animals andtigers could fetch maximumrevenue for the zoo with a pro-posed amount of about Rs 50lakh per annum, sources inPMC said.

Pune zoo for animal adoption to promote wildlife conservation

Woman found dead in trunk

UNI

MUMBAI, JUNE 12

A young unidentified womanwas found dead in a lockedaluminium trunk, near theHub Shopping Mall on West-ern Express High Way at Gore-gaon, a western suburb.

Assistant Commissioner ofPolice (ACP) Jayant Hurgudesaid the trunk, lying near Hubshopping mall since lastevening, was noticed by anearby 'garagewala' whoopened it out of curiosity andfound the body of a woman be-lieved to be in her mid-to-late20s.

He got scared and rushed tohis residence at Govandi late atnight, from where he calledone Latit Shah, a contractor,and narrated the whole inci-dent to him.

Thereupon, Shah asked himto inform the police, but he de-clined. So, Shah informed thepolice about the incident thismorning.

UNI

BANGALORE, JUNE 12

A grandmother's stem cells have cured a rarebleeding disorder in a four-year-old at theNarayana Hrudayalaya Multispeciality Hospitalwhich conducted the transplant successfully.

Tarun from Kolar District in Karnataka, wasdiagnosed with Glanzmanns Thrombastheniaat the age of 10 months when he was evaluatedfor severe bleeding from the nose requiringblood transfusion.

The rare bleeding disorder is genetically ac-quired and autosomal recessive in nature.

Less than 100 cases have been reported fromIndia so far with the largest series of 42 casesfrom South India, according to a release here.

Tarun comes from a family where consan-guineous marriages (uncle-niece and firstcousins) were common. His father married hissisters daughter and incidentally, the childs

grandparents are also first cousins.Glanzmanns Thrombasthenia is a genetic

defect in the platelets, with the absence of areceptor as a result of which, blood does notclot though the platelet numbers are normal.

This child had been having recurrentepisodes of severe bleeding from the nose withvomiting of blood leading to severe anaemiarequiring blood transfusions.

The bleeding sometimes was so severe thatthe patient used to be brought to hospital inshock.

The child had to receive regular blood andplatelet transfusions to stop the bleeding.

Gradually the child stopped responding tothe platelet transfusions due to alloantibodiesafter repeated blood transfusions.

Meanwhile as a desperate measure, the ENTsurgeons were called in and they attemptedcauterizing the bleeding vessel but this was not

successful. After this attempt, the interven-tional radiologists were consulted and em-bolization of the bleeding vessel wasattempted, but nothing worked.

The only available treatment option at thistime was to attempt a bone marrow transplant(BMT) and replace the platelets in the child withsomebody elses normal platelets permanently.

BMT for this disease has been attemptedsuccessfully in only about 25 patients all overthe world and none has been successfully re-ported from India till date.

This is a very expensive treatment optionand needs a donor to donate stem cells.

Dr Sharat Damodar, Consultant Haematolo-gist and Head, Bone Marrow Transplant Unit ofNarayana Hrudayalaya Multispeciality Hospitaland Mazumdar Shaw Cancer Center said ''For-tunately Tarun was fully matched with his fa-ther and hence we undertook this treatment of

bone marrow transplant for this child. Tarununderwent BMT.

''Unfortunately Tarun rejected the cells trans-fused from the fathers bone marrow andhence was back to his original disease.

''In a desperate measure, we searched otherfamily members for a matched donor and toour surprise we found the grandmother to befully matched.

''The child hence underwent a second trans-plant using the grandmothers stem cells andengrafted successfully. ''Post transplant bloodtests have confirmed that 100 per cent of theblood cells are the grandmother's and theplatelet function tests have confirmed thatthe platelets are functional.''

Dr Damodar said ''This is the first case reportin the world where a child with this rare dis-ease has been cured by stem cells from a grand-parent.''

Grandmothers stem cells cure rare bleeding disorder

UNI

MUMBAI, JUNE 12

Prasad Group, a pioneer inpost production serviceshas launched the latest 3Dmovie cameras for film pro-ducers.

The Group, founded byfilmmaker L V Prasad hastied up with Toronto-based3D Camera Company(3DCC) to acquire four spe-cialized stereoscopic cam-eras available for lease tocapture visuals in 3D.

The basic advantage 3Dimagery gives to audience isdepth in visual field that iscreated by shooting sceneusing two lenses similar towhat the human eye sees.The rentals range from Rs50 lakhs to Rs three crore.

Speaking to UNI here yes-terday, Prasad Group, direc-tor, Sai Prasad said after

James Cameron's ''Avataar'',3D is making rapid inroadsin Indian cinema, and wason its way to change howmovies are viewed.

''Every exhibitor is awareof 3D cinema after Avataar,even those from the smallercentres. Although there areonly 85 screens out of thou-sands of screens across thecountry that are equippedto show movies in 3D, thetechnology is rapidly chang-ing the game. The Indianaudience has got a taste of3D and conversion ofscreens to 3D format is hap-pening,'' he said.

He said workshops werebeing conducted on thetechnical and operationalaspects of the system. Itwill also provide stream-lined post production serv-ices, he added.

Prasad Group introduces 3D movie cameras for film producers

UNI

MUMBAI, JUNE 12

A 22-year-old youth wasstabbed to death by a 30-year-old neighbour following aheated argument over the useof mobile at Sakinaka in thewestern suburbs.

Earlier, Afzal Ansari had usedmobile of the victim, VeeruRampal Jath, resident of Hed-mand D'Souza compound atSakinaka, to talk to his familymembers in Uttar Pradesh, po-

lice said today.At around 2330 hrs yester-

day, a quarrel started betweenthe duo over the use of mo-bile that ended up in a fight.Ansari attacked Veeru with aknife.

Injured Veeru was rushed tocivil hospital, where doctorsdeclared him brought dead.

A case of murder was regis-tered against Ansari and asearch has been launched toarrest him, police added.

Youth stabbed to death

UNI

MYSORE, JUNE 12

One person was killed and an-other seriously injured whenthe Bangalore-Mysore Passen-ger train hit a truck at an un-manned level crossing nearSiddalinga Pura on the out-skirts of the city today.

Police said the truck driverwas trying to cross the levelcrossing before the train

passed, when the accidenttook place.

The truck was completelydamaged.

The injured were rushed toa private hospital, where thetruck driver died.

Railway sources told UNI fol-lowing the accident, all trainsproceeding to Bangalore andincoming trains would be de-layed for four to five hours.

1 killed in train mishap

UNI

MYSORE, JUNE 12

Hundreds of school childrenparticipated in the ''jatha''taken out in the city for aware-ness on Child Labour Act onthe eve of the World Anti-childLabour Day.

The jatha was held under thejoint auspices of District LegalServices Authority, District Ad-ministration, Police Depart-ment, Labour Department,

Rashtriya Baala Karmika YojanaSociety and various NGOs.

The ''jatha'' was flagged off byPrincipal District and SessionsJudge H P Sandesh at the TownHall. A programme was alsoheld later to mark the occasion.

As part of creating publicawareness on child labour,Judge Sandesh stuck stickerswith the message on ChildLabour Act on shops locatedalong the procession route.

School kids take part in Jatha

PTI

BANGALORE, JUNE 12

The transfer of Karnataka HighCourt Chief Justice P DDinkaran, facing impeachmentproceedings for land grabbingcharges, is likely to take placeshortly, Union Law and JusticeMinister M Veerappa Moily in-dicated today.

"The Supreme Court Col-legium has sent a recommen-dation to the Union LawMinistry proposing transfer ofJustice Dinakaran to the HighCourt of Sikkim and Chief Jus-tice of Uttarakhand High CourtJagadish Singh Kher to Kar-nataka," he told reportershere.

"We are already moving inthis direction. The file hasbeen moved," Moily said when

asked about Justice Dinakaran,who has come under renewedattack from Justice D V Shylen-drakumar of the state HighCourt for continuing to exer-cise administrative functionsand staying away from thebench.

The advocates of the HighCourt have also been demand-ing an early decision on JusticeDinkaran.

Karnataka Law Minister SSuresh Kumar in a letter toMoily yesterday sought theCentre's intervention to endthe "unpleasant stalemate" inthe High Court in the wake ofJustice Dinakaran staying awayfrom the bench since Decem-ber 17, after allegations ofland grabbing surfaced againsthim.

Justice Dinakarans transfer soon

INDIA GOA, SUNDAY, 13 JUNE, 2010

Pg 5

PTI

WASHINGTON, JUNE 12

Days after ruling out any `newinquiries against Union Carbidein the wake of the Bhopal courtverdict, the US today said it isprepared to give "fair consider-ation" to any fresh request fromIndia for extradition of the com-pany's former chief Warren An-derson over the 1984 gasdisaster.

"We have an extradition treatywith India. And if India makesan extradition request to us, wewill give it fair consideration,"State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said.

If the government of Indiamakes such a request, the USwill "carefully evaluate" it, hetold reporters in response to aquestion.

Crowley, however, said he wasnot in a position to verif ywhether the US had already re-ceived such requests or whetherit had responded to them, ar-guing that all such issues wereconfidential.

A day after the Bhopal courtconvicted and sentenced to twoyears former Union CarbideIndia Chairman Keshub Mahin-dra and six others on Monday,the US had ruled out any `newinquiries against the company

and also hoped that the verdictwould bring "closure" to the fam-ilies of the gas leak victims.

On that day, responding toa specific question on whetherthere was a request by Indiafor Anderson's extradition, As-sistant Secretary of State forSouth and Central Asia RobertBlake had said: "As a matter ofpolicy, we never discuss extra-dition, so I cannot commenton that."

Crowley today also noted thatit was hard to draw a compari-son between the Bhopal gastragedy that left over 15,000dead and the BP's oil spill in theGulf of Mexico now, saying theAmerican companies were "verymindful and respectful" of therules of the land when they op-erated overseas.

"It is hard to necessarily drawa direct comparison to -- in thecase of Bhopal, there was a set-tlement realised a number ofyears ago... though I don't ex-press that I have all the factshere in front of me," Crowleysaid.

"You have an ongoing situa-tion here. BP, as a private com-pany, has stepped up andindicated that it will take itsown steps, since it owns thewell, to stop the leak and to pay

for the mitigation of the impact,"the S ta te Depar tmentspokesman said.

He said he would not "neces-sarily feel comfortable compar-ing what happened in themid-80s and what's happeningtoday."

Meanwhile, Anderson's wifeLillian said the family had noth-ing else to say in the matter.She also said that her husbandwas not well.

Early this week, US Congress-man Frank Pallone, the founderand former co-chairman of theCongressional Caucus on Indiaand Indian Americans, had sup-ported Anderson's extraditiondemand.

"All those responsible for thisdisaster, including the formerchairman of Union Carbide War-ren Anderson, should stand trialin India and receive punishmentthat reflects the devastation andpain they have caused for thou-sands of people.

"Warren Anderson absolutelydeserves to be extradited fromthe US and punished for the fullextent of his crimes. As Chair-man of Union Carbide at thetime of the Bhopal gas disaster,Anderson was ultimately respon-sible for his company's actions,"Pallone said.

US will consider fresh plea for Anderson's extradition

PTI

PATNA, JUNE 12

With the Congress on the backfoot, the BJP today asked it tocome clean on its role in allegedlyproviding safe passage to thenUnion Carbide chief Warren An-derson after the Bhopal gas dis-aster in 1984 and demanded thatit apologise to the nation.

"Why is the Congress silent onthe issue? Why is Arjun Singhsilent? Why has the country notbeen informed about what hap-pened? The silence is eloquent,"BJP chief Nitin Gadkari said inhis inaugural address at the two-day party national executive here.

Terming Bhopal tragedy as asaga of "treachery, backstabbingand betrayal", he said the gov-ernment should move theSupreme Court and "aggressively"seek review of its judgement.

A retired CBI official B R Lallhad stated earlier that the thenCongress government at theCentre had tried to protect theUnion Carbide management.There are reports alleging thatArjun Singh, then chief ministerof Madhya

Pradesh, helped Andersonflee at the behest of then PrimeMinister Rajiv Gandhi.

"Anderson was booked underSection 304 IPC (culpable homi-cide not amounting to murder)....Government helped the main cul-prit in the accident in which

20,000 people died. Congressmust apologise to the nation,"BJP spokesperson Ravi ShankarPrasad quoted Gadkari as saying.

He termed Congress-led UPAas "Union-Carbide ProtectionAgency". Gadkari raised theBhopal gas tragedy case to argueagainst the government's moveto pass the Civil Liability for Nu-clear Damages Bill in Parliament.

"After the recent verdict onBhopal gas tragedy, the dangerof capping the liability throughsuch legislation has becomemore pronounced," Gadkari said.The BJP president also main-tained that the compensationgiven and the delay in theprocess was a "cruel joke".

"The Bhopal gas verdict is acruel joke by our criminal justicesystem. BJP demands that thegovernment should again knockthe doors of the Supreme Courtand aggressively seek review ofits judgement... Bhopal tragedyis the saga of treachery, back-stabbing and betrayal," he said.

"No words are powerfulenough to condemn all those whomishandled this issue," the BJPchief said. "The Congress owesan explanation to the nation andvictims of Bhopal Gas Tragedy asto who instructed that Andersonbe allowed to leave the country,"senior BJP leader Syed ShahnawazHussain told reporters on thesidelines of the meet.

BJP asks Cong to come clean on Anderson issue PTINEW DELHI, JUNE 12

Attack from within Congressmounted on Arjun Singh on War-ren Anderson's escape issue, withsenior party leader SatyavratChaturvedi today saying the thenMadhya Pradesh Chief Ministerhad earlier admitted that the de-cision was taken at state leveland asked him to speak out.

"Arjun Singh should break hissilence and come forward to tellwhether he stands by the threestatements he had made afterAnderson left the country, whichclearly bring out the fact that thethen Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhihad no role into it," he told PTI.

Chaturvedi, who is a CongressWorking Committee memberand hails from Madhya Pradesh,said, "On December 8, 1984,Arjun Singh had said that An-derson was allowed to leave thecountry because the police felthis presence was not required.

"On December 9, Singh saidthat there was no pressure onhim from anybody (to allow An-derson to fly out of the country),while on December 14, he saidhe briefed the then Prime MinisterRajiv Gandhi on the circumstancesthat led to Anderson's arrest andthen leaving the country."

These three statements,Chaturvedi said, "clearly showthat Rajiv Gandhi had no role inthis decision, which was takenat the level of local administra-tion and state government."

He said Arjun Singh should

Arjun Singh should speak out: Satyavrat Chaturvedi

"endorse" these three state-ments he made earlier, other-

wise if he "has any new facts,he should say".

Newly- commissioned officers after the Passing Out Parade (POP) of the Indian Military Academy (IMA)in Dehradun on Saturday.

Eunuch commits self immolation

PTI

GHAZIPUR (UP), JUNE 12

A eunuch allegedlycommittedself immolation after her mar-riage proposal was turned downby her live-in partner.

Eunuch Laxmina, 23, allegedlyset herself afire in Mardah Bazarvillage yesterday and was rushedto a hospital where she suc-cumbed to injuries, police saidtoday.

Laxmina was living with a 24-year-old youth Santosh Rajbharfor the last two years. RecentlySantosh's marriage was fixed byhis family, police said.

When Laxmina came to knowabout this, she asked Santoshto marry him but he refused.Following this, the eunuch com-mitted suicide, they said.

PTI

NEW DELHI, JUNE 12

A Delhi court today extendedby 14 days the judicial custodyof Madhuri Gupta, arrested forallegedly passing classified in-formation to Pakistani intelli-gence officials.

Metropolitan Magistrate Gau-rav Rao remanded Gupta, 53, tojudicial custody till June 26.

The woman of f icer wasbrought to the Tis Hazari lock-up where the duty MetropolitanMagistrate extended her judicialremand. She was produced be-fore the court on May 31through video-conferencing.

The court had earlier rejectedthe bail application of the diplo-mat on the ground that someofficials were yet to be examinedby the investigators in respectwith the case registered againsther. Forensic reports with re-gard to the computer seizedfrom her were not yet received.

The Delhi Police had also sub-mitted that they were awaitinggovernment sanction for pros-

ecuting the lady officer.Gupta was arrested on April

22 after being called back fromIslamabad -- where she was

posted as Second Secretary inthe Press and Information wing-- for allegedly violating the Of-ficial Secrets Act.

The official came under thescanner after she showed "ex-traordinary" interest in areas be-yond her role in the informationwing of the mission.

Central security agencies thenbriefed senior MEA officialsabout her activities in Pakistanwhich included allegedly sup-plying sensitive and classifieddocuments related to Indian ac-tivities in that country andAfghanistan.

A promotee officer of Ministryof External Affairs, Gupta wasworking in the Mission fornearly three years.

She was well-versed in Urduand her services were utilisedfor translation and interpre-tation. Earlier, she was postedin the Indian Mission in KualaLumpur and worked with'India Perspective', a magazineof the External Publicity wingof MEA.

Court extends custody of Guptaby 14 days in espionage case

nThe court hadearlier rejectedthe bailapplication of thediplomat on theground that someofficials were yetto be examinedby theinvestigators inrespect with thecase registeredagainst her.Forensic reportswith regard to thecomputer seizedfrom her werenot yet received.

Dacoits rob Rs 2 lakh worth jewels in train

PTI

VIJAYAWADA, JUNE 12

A five-member gang of dacoitsrobbed passengers of Rs twolakh worth gold ornaments inSecunderabad-Gudur SimhapuriExpress near Madhira in Kham-mam district in the wee hourstoday.

The dacoits fled from thenight train after pulling the chainbefore the train ticket examiner(TTE) and other passengersreach the scene. There was nosecurity to the night train.

According to Vijayawada Gov-ernment Railway Police (GRP)the train was passing Madhirastation around 3.30 am whenthe dacoits entered S-12, S-8,and S-7 coaches and snatchedgold ornaments from the pas-sengers.

Some passengers woke up tothe dacoits' act and raised alarm.A TTE came to the passengersrescue, but by then, the dacoitshad already pulled the chain andjumped out of the train, but onlyafter robbing Rs two lakh worthornaments.

PTI

NEW DELHI, JUNE 12

Abhishek Bachchan is back withMani Ratnam in 'Raavan' and thestar feels that the filmmaker isthe only one in the industry,who know his true potential asan actor.

"I think Mani is the only onewho knows my true talent. Heknows it better than I know my-self. He shows me what I am ca-pable of. After I did 'Yuva', I couldnot believe it was me on thescreen doing a character likeLallan. Same goes with 'Guru',"Abhiskek said in a video confer-ence from Mumbai.

In a decade long career of his,Abhishek, who made his debutwith JP Dutta's 'Refugee' 2000, hasgiven some of his career's bestperformances in Ratnam's filmslike 'Yuva' and 'Guru'. In fact, itwas 'Yuva' in 2003, which estab-

lished Abhishek as a performer.Before 'Yuva' happened, the

34-year-old actor was having arough patch in the industry witha string of flops like 'Refugee','Dhai Akshar Prem Ke', 'TeraJadoo Chal Gaya', 'Shararat' and'Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost'.

In 'Raavan', their third outingtogether, the actor says he isonce again playing a role thatchallenges his very limit.

"If any other filmmaker wouldhave come to me with a scriptlike 'Raavan' I would have said nobecause I know that I am not ca-pable to do a character like Beerabut it is Mani who always showssuch confidence in my talentwhich is unbelievable," he added.

Ratnam, who is known to bemedia-shy, said that the role wasmeant for Abhishek only.

"Half of my work is done afterI decide my star cast.

Every time I come with Ab-hishek it is about doing some-thing different which he has notdone before. It is challengingfor both me and him and we al-ways start from the scratchwhen we start something new."

Giving an instance from theirrecent outing 'Raavan', Ratnamsaid, "Like for Beera I was soworried because Abhishek is soproper. Beera is this badly be-haved character and I had to askAbhishek to learn bad wordsand be abusive all the time...just let go to get right."

The star cast of the film, Ab-hishek, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan,Vikram along with Mani Ratnamwere interacting with media per-sons in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai,New York and Dubai throughthe new technology of videoconferencing, from Mumbai andChennai.

Only Ratnam knows my true potential: Abhishek Bachchan

Dalai Lamathanks

Nitish KumarPTI

PATNA, JUNE 12

The Dalai Lama has thankedBihar Chief Minister NitishKumar for the warm hospitalityextended to the Tibetan spiritualleader during his recent visit to

Patna to attend the inauguralfunction of Buddha Smriti Parkas part of the commemorationof 2550th anniversary of Maha-parinirvana of Lord Buddha.

"I was very touched by thewarm friendship with which youand your government receivedme. I shall be pleased to assistin any way I can in making thisproject successful," the DalaiLama said in a letter to Kumar.

He said therefore the BuddhaSmriti park with all its facilitieslike the library, meditation andlearning centre can help in play-ing a significant role in impartingeducation about this philosophy.

OHE

RALD

O

GOA, SUNDAY, 13 JUNE, 2010

INDIAHERALD

Pg 8

Coast Guard rescuesLankan

boat crewPTI

CHENNAI, JUNE 12

Five crew members of a SriLankan fishing boat were res-cued by Indian Coast Guard( ICG) of f Andhra Pradeshcoast three weeks after theylost communicat ion withtheir vessel owner.

The coas t guard whichlaunched a search and rescueoperation in response to a re-quest from Sri Lankan DeputyHigh Commission here to locatethe fishermen sighted the boat41 nautical miles off Kalingap-atnam yesterday, an ICG releasesaid today.

The boat, 'Pearl Ishara-3',which departed Dondra fishingharbour in Matara Distict of Srilanka on May 6, had lost com-munication with the boat ownersince May 23.

ICG, Maritime Rescue Co-or-dination Centre, Chennai wasrequested by the Sri LankanDeputy High Commission here,to initiate a search and rescuethe boat.

After a coordinated search in-volving ships and aircraft of thecoast guard, the boat was foundby its ship `Sagar.

The boat was safely towed toVishakhapatnam and the boatcrew would be repatriated oncompletion of formalities, therelease said.

It, however, did not mentionwhy the boat crew lost commu-nication and drifted to Indianwaters.

PTI

PATNA, JUNE 12

Alleging that CBI was being used to target "specific state govern-ments", including Gujarat, BJP chief Nitin Gadkari today demandeda JPC probe into the working of the investigative agency, whichhe dubbed as "Congress Bureau of Intimidation".

"While the nation is facing innumerable threats to its internalsecurity, government is forcing CBI to work for its political designs.The CBI has become a tool of intimidation ..... The postmortemof its working is necessary," he said in his Presidential address tothe two-day National Executive of BJP which began here.

According to party general secretary Ravi Shankar Prasad, Gadkarialleged that the CBI is "misused" by the Congress against non-Congress leaders, including Mulayam Singh Yadav, to suit theneeds of the ruling party at a given time.

"The CBI is being misused in Gujarat where some brave policeofficers are being dragged in cases....CBI is targeting specific stategovernments. This is not proper," he said.

Gadkari said the government remains silent "even if there are70 to 80 encounters" in Uttar Pradesh. BSP, which is in power inthe state, had bailed out the UPA on the floor the Lok Sabha withits 21 MPs abstaining from voting in the cut motions.

"The latest disclosure by an officer in the context of the Bhopalgas tragedy has reinforced our fear that the Congress is continuingthis strategy to cow down opponents or free from our law theiracquaintances - Ottavio Quattrochi and Warren Anderson. Thisproves that their commitment is not for the people of India. Wein the BJP strongly demand a JPC probe into the misuse of theCBI," he said.

BJP for JPC probe into CBI misuse

PTI

IMPHAL, JUNE 12

Buses and trucks of Manipur willnot ply through Nagaland untilthe Centre and the Nagalandgovernment pay compensationfor the damaged vehicles duringthe ongoing indefinite economicblockade on national highways,the transporters and driverscouncil (TDC) said today.

"Several non-government or-ganisations and militant outfitshave been extorting money andharassing drivers, vehicle own-ers and passengers from Ma-nipur in Nagaland for many yearsbut we (TDC) have been toler-ating it," TDC spokesman andgeneral secretary N G Haridastold reporters here.

Several vehicles were de-stroyed during the ongoing eco-nomic blockade on NationalHighway 39 (Imphal-Kohima-Dimapur) passing through amajor portion of Nagaland andNH-53 (Imphal-Jiribam-Silchar)by All Naga Students Association

Manipur vehicles not to enter Naga

PTI

SRINAGAR, JUNE 12

Apprehending "breach of peace",police today detained Chairman ofhardline faction of Hurriyat Confer-ence Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

A police team headed byDeputy Superintendent of PoliceBashir Khan detained Geelanifrom his Hyderpora residenceand took him to Humhama po-lice station at around 7.15 AM,official sources said.

The step was taken as a pre-cautionary measure in view ofapprehension of breach of peaceduring a special prayer meetingconvened by Geelani at Hazrat-bal Shrine later today, they said.

A Hurriyat spokesman con-demned the police action saying"government resort to cheaptactics and arrest our leaderson flimsy grounds".

"Geelani was leaving for Soporeto attend funeral of his close friendMohammad Akbar Bisati, whopassed away this morning. Geelanipleaded that he be allowed to attendthe funeral of Bisati in police custodybut they refused and took him tothe police station," the spokesmansaid.

Geelani had planned a specialprayer meeting at Hazratbalshrine later today for improve-ment of weather conditions inthe valley.

Manipur (ANSAM), Haridas said.The decision not to ply trucks

and buses was taken during anemergency meeting of the coun-cil last evening.

Several NGOs and militantoutfits have been issuing dik-tat to Manipur-based vehicleowners at their whim be-sides security personnel col-lecting various `illegal taxesin Nagaland, the TDC generalsecretary said.

The ANSAM, United NagaCouncil and Naga Students Fed-eration (NSF)