The Voice of Goa Since 1900

PTI

NEW DELHI, NOV 27

A local Court on Saturday di-rected the Delhi police to lodgean FIR against hardline Hurriyatleader Syed Ali Shah Geelani andwriter Arundhati Roy on chargeof sedition for their alleged anti-India speeches here recently.

Metropolitan MagistrateNavita Kumari Bagha also camedown heavily on the police fortheir prolonged inaction andweird reply that no offencewas made out against Geelaniand Roy, whose speeches hadtriggered a controversy.

After giving my thoughtfulconsideration to the submis-sions made and the material onrecord, I have come to the con-clusion that the complaintlodged with the police, clearlydiscloses commission of cog-nizable offences, the court said,acting on a petition.

The court asked the police toconduct the investigation andsubmit a report on January 6.

While slamming the police,the court said But, in the pres-ent case, the police has utterlyfailed to register the FIR for noreasonable justification, thoughthe complaint of the com-plainant clearly discloses thecommission of cognizable of-fence.

Besides the Hurriyat hawkand the noted writer, other fiveaccused, against whom the FIRwould be lodged, are S A R Gee-lani, an accused in the Parlia-ment attack case who was lateracquitted, Sheikh Showkat Hus-

sain, Shuddharbrata Senguptaand Sujato Bhadra.

They would he booked undervarious provisions of the IPCand the Unlawful Activities (Pre-vention) Act relating to sedition,waging war against Governmentof India, promoting enmity be-tween classes and imputationsagainst integrity of the nation.

Complainant Sushil Pandit inhis petition had alleged that theHurriyat leader and Roy hadmade anti-India speeches in aconference on Azadi-the OnlyWay held here on October 21.

Roy had termed India ascolonial ...upper caste Hindustate, the complainant alleged,adding that he was forced toapproach the court for remedy

as the police chose not to act.The court was critical of the

delay in lodging the FIR in thecase saying despite the grantof time till November 26, no sta-tus report was filed by police,rather a weird reply was given...in which they have either ad-mitted or denied the contentsof the complaint.

Though, the police have ad-mitted that the totality of thespeech made by Geelani was re-garding the independence ofthe people of Jammu andKashmir, yet surprisingly ithas been stated that no FIRcould be registered because oflack of motive and evidence ofmalafide intention of Geelaniand Roy.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, NOV 27

A visibly agitated PWD Min-ister Churchill Alemao on Sat-urday asserted that he wouldcontest the next Assembly pollsfrom Navelim constituency.

Reacting to news reports ina section of vernacular pressthat the high command has de-cided to nominate former MLALuizinho Faleiro in Navelim forthe coming Assembly polls, Ale-mao asserted that he does notrequire the ticket of any partyto contest the polls.

He reminded newsmen thathe had won the Navelim seaton the opposition banner,adding that it makes no differ-ence for him whether he is giventhe Congress ticket or not.

The PWD minister said thathe has not received any com-munication from the high com-mand on any decision to fieldFaleiro in Navelim and he in Be-naulim. In a lighter vein, Alemaosaid may be the high commandhas communicated such a deci-sion to the vernacular media.

For Churchill, ticket is notreally an issue. Last time round,I had contested the polls on theSGF and won the Navelim seat.It makes no difference whether

the Congress ticket is given ornot, he asserted.

The PWD minister, however,conveyed a message that no oneshould ever dream that hewould contest the coming pollsfrom Benaulim. I am confidentthat the Congress leadershipwill give me the ticket to contestthe polls from Navelim. No oneshould dream that I will be toldto contest from Benaulim, headded.

Meanwhile, the PWD Minister

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Dancers perform during the closing ceremony for the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou on Saturday.

File FIR against Roy,Geelani: Court to cops

VIBHA VERMA

PANJIM, NOV 27

Even as drug peddling on theStates beaches is considered asa biggest challenge for the Statepolice force, the use of snifferdogs to sniff out narcotics seemsto be minimal.

A reply under Right to Infor-mation, Superintendent of Po-lice (Crime Branch) M K Desaistates that between September2009 to September 2010, dogsquad was used only twice tosniff narcotics.

This is at a time when Goahas got a dubious distinctionafter the police-drugs mafianexus expose.

Further, the information re-veals that Goa Police has onlyone dog who is trained in sniff-ing narcotics as against threedogs for explosives, three fortracking theft and murders andtwo are newly trained and yetto be classified.

The State has nine traineddogs who have attended 652calls in last one year, which vir-tually makes for average twocalls a day.

But the police record indi-cates that the dogs are used ex-tensively to track down theftcases and election duty.

Of the nine existing dogs, thesenior is Koki, 8.6 years old dog.The youngest ones in the clanare Pooja and Goldy, both agedone-year-nine months.

Five dogs Nappy, Lebro,Preeti, Bunty and Jenny, are agedthree years each while Rani isfour years and four months.

Police department data re-

veals that 327 election relatedcalls were attended by the dogsquad in last one year while 301calls were of theft tracking.

The probable bomb threatwas diffused by dog squad 22times throughout the year.

Dog squad, which is underCrime Branch, is headed by twoassistant sub inspectors, 10 headconstables, six police constables,four cooks and two sweepers.

What is more shocking is thatthe department has no trainerto train the dogs. Instead, theyare trained at government train-ing centres. Even their procure-ment i s done th roughgovernment agencies.

58 years may be ideal age fora policeman to retire from theservice but when it comes totheir skilled assistants, there isno specific age for superannuation.

State police department hasclarified that there is no specificage of retirement.

Lone dog to sniff out narcotics!

PTI

GUANGZHOU, NOV 27

The skies lit up with dazzlingfireworks as an emotional Chinabrought the curtains down onthe biggest Asian Games in ariot of colour, foot-tappingmusic and a cultural extrava-ganza at the Haixinsha Islandon the Pearl River here on Sat-urday.

If the opening ceremony heldat the same riverside venue onNovember 12th was high ontechnical wizardry, the closing

was a heart-touching display ofwarmth by the people of thisSouth China city whose infra-structure has improved tremen-dously as a result of hosting theGames which saw India recordtheir best-ever medal haul tilldate.

India finished sixth on themedal rostrum with a record 14gold, 17 silver and 33 bronzefor an overall tally of 64, eclips-ing their earlier record of 57medals in the 1982 Asian Gamesin Delhi.

The closing ceremony wasalso used by the Games hoststo present cultural segmentsrepresenting the different re-gions of the continent, includingSouth Asia in which Indiansingers Ravi Tripathi and TanyaGupta enthralled the capacitycrowd.

Hosts China were unstop-pable in their relentless marchto titles and at the end of theGames had an incredible harvestof 199 gold in an overall haulof over 400 medals, proving

once again that they are in thetop-most echelons of worldsports.

Korea finished way behind insecond place while Japan werethird.

The prelude to the officialpart of the ceremony waspunctuated by dance of Qil-ing (a legendary animal sym-b o l i s i n g g o o d l u c k ) t ocelebrate the success of theGames that was followed by anexhibition of acrobatics anddance.

Curtains come down on Games with a bang

With Cong or not,will contest from

Navelim: Churchill

For Churchill, ticket isnot really an issue. Lasttime round, I hadcontested the polls onthe SGF and won theNavelim seat. It makesno difference whetherthe Congress ticket isgiven or not.

- Churchill Alemao

PTI

LONDON, NOV 27

Indian and other non-Europeanmigrants wishing to join theirpartner or spouse in Britainwill have to pass a new Englishlanguage test.

Applicants will need to showthat they can speak and un-derstand English to a basiclevel. They will usually meetthis requirement by passing anEnglish language test with aUK Border Agency-approvedtest provider as the govern-ment seeks to integrate mi-grants into British society.

According to an official an-

nouncement, applicants needto pass this language test be-fore they apply for a visa andsubmit an original test certifi-cate with their visa applicationfrom Monday.

The new language require-ment is intended to help mi-grants integrate into Britishsociety - to open up more op-portunities, help prevent ex-ploitation, and allow them tobenefit from, and contributemore to their communities.

It is also possible to meetthe English language require-ment by having an academicqualification equivalent to a

Bachelors degree in the UKwhich was taught in English.

Applicants will need to pro-vide the original qualificationcertificate with their visa ap-plication.

This English language re-quirement does not apply tovisitors or the spouses andpartners of those in the UKwho are on a temporary visa,such as workers and studentsunder the points based system.

In a decision earlier thisweek, the government an-nounced a cap of 21,700 onthe number of skilled workersfrom India and other countries

outside the European Unionfrom April 2011, a decisionlikely to adversely impact thou-sands of Indians seeking tomove to the UK.

The figure is a cut of 6,300on the equivalent figure for2009.

Once the figure of 21,700 isreached, it is envisaged thatno further employment visaswill be granted during the year.

The cap excludes employeestransferred by their companiesfrom another country. TheInter-Company Transfer visaroute is mostly used by Indiancompanies.

New English test for seeking UK visa

After giving my thoughtful consideration tothe submissions made and the material onrecord, I have come to the conclusion that thecomplaint lodged with the police, clearlydiscloses commission of cognizable offences.

- Metropolitan Magistrate Navita Kumari Bagha

PTI

MUMBAI, NOV 27

Key papers pertaining to thescam-ridden Adarsh housing so-ciety are missing from the UrbanDevelopment Department here,police said on Saturday.

Police have registered a caseof theft after a secretary of thedepartment, Gurudas Bajpe,gave a written complaint tothe Marine Drive police Fri-day night about the missingdocuments.

We have registered a caseagainst unknown persons. Ac-cording to the Urban Develop-ment department officials,

several papers from the 10 fileson Adarsh society were miss-ing, DCP Cherring Dorje said.

The disappearance of the pa-pers was brought to the noticeof CBI, which is investigatingthe multi-crore scam.

The department had submit-ted to us 10 files pertaining toAdarsh society. During perusalwe realised that four noting pa-pers were missing from the files.We brought this to the attentionof the department, a senior CBIofficial said.

The papers include the re-marks of the State governmentofficials and chief minister, the

official said.Investigations are on. We are

questioning authorities of theUrban Development depart-ment, Dorje said.

The Adarsh society, originallymeant to be a six-storey struc-ture to house Kargil war heroesand war widows, was convertedinto a 31-storey building, vio-lating a number of laws. Theflats were allotted to bureau-crats, politicians relatives anddefence officers.

Meanwhile, facing criticismfrom BJP with reports about keypapers related to the AdarshHousing Society scam going

missing, Congress on Saturdaysaid it was a serious issue if ithas really happened.

If papers have gone missing,it is definitely a serious issue.But only a State government of-ficial can answer on it. The issueconcerns the State and is notrelated to the Centre, partyspokesperson Shakeel Ahmedtold reporters here.

Accusing the Congress of try-ing to cover up the scam, BJPsaid reports of key papers per-taining to the scandal goingmissing was a deliberate moveto protect important people in-volved in it.

Key Adarsh society papers go missing

Kiran extends olivebranch to JaganNew Andhra Pradesh ChiefMinister Kiran Kumar Reddyon Saturday extended anolive branch to rebel MP Y SJaganmohan Reddy as Con-gress appeared to be in nohurry to take any actionagainst him despite mount-ing criticism of the anti-partycampaign by his TV channel.Kiran Reddy, who is here fordiscussions with the HighCommand on the constitu-tion of his cabinet, said itwas for the party high com-mand to decide on any disci-plinary action against Jaganand not for him. PTI

OHERALDOS U N D A Y

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GOA, SUNDAY, 28 NOVEMBER, 2010

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46-yr-old man jumps to death in well at Khola

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CANACONA, NOV 27

A 46-year-old government employee committed suicide by jumpinginto a well near his house at Saleri-Khola on Friday night.

According to police sources, Jayendra Uttam Pagi had reportedlygone missing from his house at Saleri-Khola on Friday night.

On Saturday morning, some people noticing Pagis wallet andhis footwear near a well in the locality and alerted the police.

Police along with the fire services later retrieved the body fromthe well and sent it for an autopsy.

The body was later handed over to relatives on Saturday eveningfor final rites.

Sources told Herald that the deceased, who was working in theState Governments local office at Chaudi, was reportedly disturbedfor some time.

MOrE OBITS ON PAGE 10

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, NOV 27

The All Goa Private Bus OwnersAssociation (AGPBOA) on Satur-day elected a new committeeamidst heated discussion to oustSudip Tamankar.

The association comprisingof 361 members had less than100 members for the electionat T B Cunha hall.

A 14-member committee wasfinally formed with Vishal Desaireplacing Shivdas Kambli as theassociation president. VenkateshNaik has been elected as thevice-president, Sudip Tamankaras General Secretary, two jointsecretaries and nine executivemembers.

The new committee hasdecided to hold its first meet-ing on December 13, whenit registers itself with the Reg-istrar.

The meeting simmered whensome attendees including Chim-bel bus owners who participated

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, NOV 27

Agitated over the decision to notify the pick-up stand road as no parking for four-wheelers,Margao New Market traders stopped trafficflow on the busy road this morning, throwingtraffic out of gear in the city.

Traffic was restored only after Margao SubDivisional Police Officer, DySP Umesh Gaonkarrushed to the spot and persuaded the agitatingtraders to withdraw their stir, promising to re-dress their grievances with the district magis-trate.

Led by Vinod Shirodkar, the tradersblocked the traffic flow this morning inprotest against the no parking boards

erected along the Pick-up stand betweenRoyal Foods and Borkar Super Stores.

They demanded the immediate removalof the boards meant for parking only fortwo-wheelers along the busy road or threat-ened to take the law in their hands.

This stretch of road is being utilised bythe traders for unloading of goods. Wewould face problems if the stretch is notifiedfor two-wheelers, he said.

An agitated Shirodkar demanded to knowhow and the basis on which the authorities,including the district magistrate and trafficofficials decided to denotify the area forfour-wheelers.

If the authorities are so serious in ad-

dressing the parking issue, they should firstcrack a whip against the multi-storey build-ings, which have come up in violations ofall parking rules, he demanded.

DySP Gaonkar, however, told the tradersto submit a detailed memorandum listingout their grievances and promised to finda solution after discussions with the districtmagistrate. The parking boards cannot beremoved as per the whims and fancies sincethey are notified by the district magistrate,DySP Gaonkar told Shirodkar and other traders.

A large posse of police, including armedpolice personnel were deployed near thepick-up stand area as a precautionary meas-ure.

DySP Umesh Gaonkar seen in heated arguments with the president of New Market traders Vinod Shirodkar over parking boards. Photo Santosh Mirajkar

New Market traders throwtraffic off-gear in Margao

Film Fraternity of Goa upset with ESG

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, NOV 27

The Goa-based filmmakers under the banner Film Fraternity ofGoa who are screening their movies on the sidelines of the ongoing41st International Film Festival of India (IFFI) are upset with En-tertainment Society of Goa (ESG).

The film federation has said that the ESG assured written per-mission for screening Konkani movies across villages in Goa butESG CEO Manoj Srivastava has stalled the proposal.

The written complaint by Srivastava against a filmmaker SanjivPrabhudesai to Panjim Town Police apparently is the fallout ofsame bitterness. Prabhudesai said that Srivastava was not movingthe file giving them written permission for screening the movies.

The Government has given us verbal permission to screen theKonkani movies in interiors of Goa on the sidelines of IFFI. On ourrequest, Chief Minister Digambar Kamat had appointed a bureaucratto prepare a written permission for screening of movies andforward the same to the ESG, the filmmaker said.

However, ever since then, the members have been shuttling be-tween different offices to get the permission even as the screeninghas already begun.

When we went to follow up on our request, to our surprise wewere told that ESG CEO has not moved the file, Prabhudesaiadded. The fraternity has selected 25 Konkani movies of the 21stCentury for screening in villages, the project for which has alreadyembarked. The filmmaker also stated that the Government hasverbally sanctioned Rs 40 lakh for the project.

Srivastava on Thursday had filed a complaint against Prabhudesaifor threatening him. A non-cognizable complaint under Section506 (threatening) is registered against the latter.

The filmmaker has refused claims by Srivastava and said that hewill approach the Chief Minister to inform the truth behind theincident.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, NOV 27

Two residential houses were leftdamaged after the structurescollapsed on late Saturdayevening in the Comba area ofthe city here.

The inmates of the twohouses escaped unhurt. How-ever, the incidents have caused

an estimated loss of Rs 2 lakheach. Police said householditems including computers weredamaged in the incidents.

Chief Minister DigambarKamat along with Margao Mu-nicipal Chairperson Sushila Naikvisited the spot and inquiredabout the incident with houseowners.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

MARCEL, NOV 27

Two robbers assaulted a caretaker and stole cash of Rs 14,300from the Sai Baba temple at Adpai in Durbhat-Ponda on Saturdayevening.

According to Ponda police, two unknown persons as-saulted Raghuvir Naik (70) in the temple at about 3.30pm and decamped with cash after breaking open thecupboard.

The injured has been admitted at Goa Medical College and Hos-pital at Bambolim.

This is the fifth theft in temples within the jurisdiction of Pondapolice. PSI Laxi Amonkar is investigating the case.

2 residential houses damaged at Comba

Chief Minister Digambar Kamat inquiring about the incident withowners of the house at Comba. Photo Santosh Mirajkar

AGPBOA elects panel amidst heated debate to oust Sudip

Pvt bus owners to go on indefinite fast

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, NOV 27

The newly-formed AGPBOA has resolved to go on an indefinitehunger strike against the Governments decision on shutting theOld Margao bus stand.

Tamankar said that the association will present a notice on thesame to the Government on Sunday.

If the Government fails to concede to our demands by thethird day of the strike, then we will intensify our agitation and re-quest all transporters to remain-off road across Goa, he said.

in the election were not infavour to take Tamankar intothe committee again.

They complained that thecommittee discards Chimbelgroup from being members inthe committee.

The committee did not dis-tribute membership forms tous. We will not support the com-mittee as long as Tamankar isin it, said one of the Chimbel

bus owners.To this Tamankar reacted

that the members havenever approached the com-mittee with their grievancesearlier.

They always give anti-com-mittee statements. If theywanted membership then whydid they not approach us? Theymay have personal grudgeagainst me, he alleged.

Smoking in public has reduced, says Dr Salkar

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, NOV 27

In what could be the fallout of fines being issued to those delegatesfound smoking at IFFI venues, smoking in public places has wit-nessed a steady drop, claimed National Organisation for TobaccoEradication (NOTE) General Secretary Shekhar Salkar.

I feel that less people smoke at the IFFI venues and come outto smoke, which is allowed. The adamancy among smokers puffingcigarettes in public places has declinedI am happy with theaction taken by concerned authorities, he said.

Panjim police received constant complaints that few delegatesincluding a lady jury member was found smoking at IFFI venue.Soon thereafter the team identified the offenders and issued thechallans to many.

Of the 32 cases so far, the police station received 16 cases thisweek as compared to 20 cases last week.

We are maintaining a close vigil on the visitors at the ven-uesthose found smoking are being challaned, inspector SandeshChodankar told Herald.

A senior journalist working with a national news channel, in acandid talk with Herald said that a Goan stopped him from smokingin the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) premise.

A person came to me and asked me to stop smoking or else Iwould be fined by the authorities. I did not know the rules here he said.

Celebrities like Ajay Devgan, Arsad Warsi and few others whowere found smoking in the ESG premise earlier have already beenfined.

NOTE recently took objection to film posters of Sanjay LeelaBhansalis Guzaarish showing Aishwarya Rai Bachchan smoking acigarette.

Goa Dairy staffdefers mass

leave decisionHERALD CORRESPONDENT

MARCEL, NOV 27

The Goa Dairy employees havedeferred their decision to go onmass leave on November 29, afterGoa Dairy Chairman Madhav Sa-hakari assured to discuss the SixthPay Commission in the board ofdirectors meeting on Wednes-day.

It may be recalled that GoaDairy employees had begun anagitation since November 22 de-manding Sixth Pay implementa-tion of wages.

The employees had decidedto go on mass leave on Novem-ber 29 to protest against thenon-implementation of the sixthpay wages.

Since Goa Dairy ChairmanMadhav Sahakari has assured totake up the matter during theboard of directors meeting, thedecision to go mass leave hasbeen postponed. However, wewill decide on the future courseof action only on Thursday, saidWorkers Union leader PutiGaonkar.

Caretaker assaulted, Adpai temple cash stolen

NH4A WIDENINGShop burgled HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, NOV 27

Unknown culprits burgled ahardware shop in the Madel areaof the city here last night anddecamped with cash of Rs 3000,besides a pressure pump worthRs 15,000.

The miscreants effected entryinto the shop by bending theshutters.

The Margao police are inves-tigating.

Theft complaint MARGAO, NOV 27 (HR) -- A hotelowner has lodged a complaintagainst a person, who was pre-viously working as a room boyin the establishment for de-camping with a gas cylinder, abrass lamp and flower pots fromthe hotel premises.

S R Ramnathkar lodged hiscomplaint with the Margao po-lice stating that the CCTV in-stalled in the premises hasclearly shown the accused en-tering the hotel at 2.10 am onNovember 26. The complainanthas requested the Margao policeto nab the culprit hailing fromKarwar. Investigations are on.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

OLD GOA, NOV 27

Cumbharjua MLA PandurangMadkaikar on Saturday ex-pressed satisfaction over theState governments decision tokeep on hold the land acquisi-tion process to widen the NH4Aalong the Old Goa-Corlim route.

It may be noted that theHouse Committee meeting onFriday had given its nod to fi-nalise the alignment of 35-kmstretch between Panjim andUsgao, but had kept on hold thedecision on the alignment forthe stretch between Old Goa-Corlim and Bhoma.

Though the House Commit-tee had unanimously decided

to impose Section 3(D) of landacquisition, it had suggesteda bypass from Old Goa toBhoma, which could save manystructures.

Speaking to Herald, Mad-kaikar who is also the HouseCommittee member on theNH4A and NH17 said he waspart of the House Committeemeeting, chaired by Chief Min-ister Digambar Kamat, on Fri-day.

At that meeting, I hadpointed out the affected housesalong the NH4A route betweenOld Goa and Corlim, which fallsin my constituency, said Mad-kaikar.

I had requested the commit-

tee to keep the land acquisitionprocess on hold, as we do notwant even a single house or any-one to be affected with thewidened NH4A, he added.

Commenting on the issueof a road divider, Madkaikartold the House Committee thata divider in the middle of theroad would end up dividing avillage.

In Corlim, if a divider is putup it would not only divide thevillage but will also divide oneward of a village.

Due to this a lot of religiousprogrammes would be affectedand hence, I have suggested notto have road dividers in theseareas, the MLA said.

Madkaikar satisfied over decision to keep land acquisition on hold

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, NOV 27

Fatorda MLA Damu Naik onSaturday inspected the Madelarea of the constituency andassured the residents that thework of hot-mixing of roadsand the nullah would beginsoon.

During a visit to the ward thismorning, the MLA said that he

had never ignored Madel duringhis 7-8 year tenure as MLA andadded that his biggest achieve-ment so far has been the com-pletion of the sewerage projectin Madel area.

The sewerage project is al-most complete. The nullah fromthe Red Roof side, besides hot-mixing of roads at Madel willbe taken up immediately, he

added.Saying that some people are

misguiding the people just totake credit for taking up theseworks, the Fatorda MLA saidany lay person can seek detailsfrom the PWD and see for them-selves the proposals and the fol-low up action taken by him toget the projects sanctioned andexecuted.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, NOV 27

The State Police Complaint Authority has calledfor further action in respect of the complaintfiled by social activist Anthony DSilva againstMargao Police Inspector Santosh Desai.

We have gone through the facts on record andheard both the petitioner Anthony DSilva and therespondent PI Santosh Desai. In view of the contra-dicting stand taken by both parties on material factswhich may be relevant to adjudicate the complaint,we direct that further action be taken in order toascertain the truth of the matter, ordered SPCAChairman Justice Dr Eurico Santana da Silva.

Briefing newsmen, Anthony DSilva said the prelim-inary order pronounced by the SPCA proves beyond

doubt that picking up of any citizen and detaining himat the police station for hours in a shabby manner isno more an unchallenged act of the police.

I am happy for the people of Goa that mycomplaint has been accepted and admitted forarguments, he said.

DSilva had complained to the SPCA that hewas detained by the Margao police on Independ-ence Day while he was peacefully seating nearthe Margao Municipal garden.

He contended that the police after detaininghim at the police station did not allow him tocelebrate the Independence Day function at theDistrict Collectorate building nor allowed him toeven call his family or lawyer to convey to themabout his detention.

Hot-mixing of Maddel roads soon: Damu

COMPLAINT AGAINST PI

Police Complaint Authority calls for further action

GOA, SUNDAY, 28 NOVEMBER, 2010

GOAOHERALD

OPg3

Rangarachana Enterprises

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, NOV 27

Decks are now clear for the Union Ministry ofCommerce to denotify the three notified SEZ inGoa, said Shantaram Naik MP who has been vig-orously pursuing the issue of denotification forthe last two years.

In a statement issued Naik expressed his hap-piness over the judgement pronounced by BombayHigh Court at Goa declaring allotment of land tothe SEZ developers in Goa as illegal.

Naik said in the talks that the three developersof notified SEZs had with the then union ministerof commerce Kamal Nath about two years back,indicated to him in presence of Chief MinisterDigambar Kamat, myself and South Goa MP Fran-cisco Sardinha that they were willing to give uptheir SEZ proposals as they were convinced ofthe commerce ministers argument that they can-not go on with the SEZ in Goa against the wishesof the people and the government.

He alleged that the developers thereafter cun-ningly filed petitions in the court when in factthey were supposed to discuss the matter ofcompensation or some alternate smaller plot fornon-SEZ activity as one of the developers soundedthe minister about the same.

Naik said that to the misfortune of Goa, UnionCommerce Ministry took a stand after their clearassurance to Goa delegation that the three SEZs

will be denotified after the minister acceptedNaiks argument that as per law, authority whichhas power to notify has, an inherent power todenotify, although under SEZ Act there was nospecific power to denotify an SEZ, that the gov-ernment took a stand that they would wait forthe disposal of the pending petition.

Naik said that he argued with Anand Sharmawho had taken over the Commerce Ministry thatthere was no order of injunction issued againstthe Centre by the High Court restraining themfrom denotifying the said three SEZs but Sharmadid not appear to be in a mood to do anythingwhile petitions were pending on the subject inthe court.

Naik further added that he would meet Sharmaon Monday and insist on issuing the notificationsto denotify the three SEZs.

It may be recalled here that Goa requestedthe Commerce Minister to denotify the saidthree SEZs after an agitation started in Goaand the people of the State realised that SEZdevelopers are only interested in land grab-bing without any assurance to give jobs toGoans.

It was also discovered that the area of landthat they sought was many times more than theiractual requirement thus indicating that the de-velopers had a hidden plan to use most of theland for commercial purpose.

Decks clear for Centre to denotify 3 SEZs: MP

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, NOV 27

The Goa Pradesh Congress Com-mittee (GPCC) wants a ban on saleof agricultural land to foreigners.

GPCC president Subash Shi-rodkar said that a special legis-lation is necessary to ban saleof agricultural land to foreignersand non-Goans considering theland resource crunch.

Shirodkar said he would meetChief Minister Digambar Kamatand urge him to speed up passingof the legislation in the State As-sembly which is aimed at safe-guarding the scarce land resourcesand help the State maintain itsunique identity.

Such legislation is definitelyneeded. I will ask the Chief Min-ister to speed up the process,Shirodkar said.

Goa has been looking at Ut-tarakhand-style legislation, ban-ning the sale of agricultural landto those who dont belong tothe State, including foreigners.

Civil society groups have beenprotesting the inability of theState Government to stop in-discriminate construction ofmega housing projects in coastalvillages, fearing such a rapid in-flux of non-indigenous popula-t ion cou ld upse t thedemographic profile of Goawithin a short span of time.

GPCC demands ban on sale of agro land

to foreigners

Surla woman falls in

well, dies HERALD CORRESPONDENT

BICHOLIM, NOV 27

A 45-year-old woman fromDingne-Surla died after acciden-tally falling into a well on Sat-urday.

According to Bicholim po-lice, Ujwala Vaman Ghadi (45)from Dingne Surla went tothe nearby well to drawwater in the morning atabout 9.15 am.

As the well had no fences,Ujwala lost her balance and fellinto the well. The body was laterretrieved by villagers.

Bicholim police sent thebody for an autopsy and laterhanded it over to relatives forfinal rites.

Bicholim PSI Ditendra Naik isinvestigating the case.

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, NOV 27

While, the Anti-Narcotics Cell(ANC) is already facing seriousstaff shortage, the Goa Policehave transferred ANC Police Sub-Inspector Sunil Gudlar to secu-r i t y o f f i ce a t po l i ceheadquarters.

It is also learnt throughsources that PSI Meera DSilvais also being transferred to Im-migration but the relieving orderis yet en-route.

Ironically, some of the existingstaff has been diverted for IFFIand forthcoming Old Goa feaston December 3, literary bringingdown the staff here to negligi-ble.

After surviving so long with-out an officer to the rank of Po-lice Inspector, the PSI Gudlarwho arrested the internationaldrug dealer David Driham aliasDudu is now being shunted.

Even as tourism season hasmounted the worries of in-creased narco trade in the State,

the ANC - formed to counter thedrugs - is feeling weak in itsknees.

It may be recalled in the lastmonth, Superintendent of PoliceVeenu Bansal had left on a fort-night long leave. With thetourist season picking up, its aknown secret that drugs arepushed into the State duringthis time and kept hidden atseveral places only to be ped-dled later.

ANC which is having two po-lice inspectors posts sanctionedpresently does not have evensingle one. The sanction islooked after by two PSIs, a headconstable and 11 constables,which are much lesser than theactual sanctioned strength.

Meanwhile, ANCs fresh pro-posal to start a unit at Margao,which was rejected earlier,seems a distant dream noweven as the chief minister hadasked to put forth the proposalintending to start a unit inSouth.

ANC facing staffshortage,

PSI Gudlar shunted

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CANACONA, NOV 27

Canacona Police have given a27-point guideline to tourismentrepreneurs of Canaconataluka in connection with theongoing tourism season.

Those engaged in tourismbusiness have been asked toprovide names, addresses andothe r de ta i l s o fKashmiris/Nepalese putting upany shops, stalls within theirpremises of shacks/hotels to thepolice and are also advised toinstall CCTVs at their establish-ments.

Narcotics and drug activ-ities should be immediatelyinformed to the police andinformant will be suitably re-warded, while his/her identitywill be kept a secret, assuredCanacona PI Raju Raut Des-sai.

In a briefing at Canacona Po-lice Station on Thursday, whichwas attended by about 100coastal residents and others en-gaged in tourism, PI Dessaiguided the concerned to furnishproper information of workersemployed and guests.

There wont be any le-niency in filing C forms andsubmitting it to the police sta-tion in respect of each foreigntourist with special emphasison their passport number andvisa details, etc, within 24hours of their check in, saidPI Dessai.

Dessai also mentioned aboutkeeping information of Indiantourists upto date and asked toobserve any suspected activitiesand intimate it to police for fol-low-up.

Arrival of Indian touristgroups having girls as membersshould be observed minutelyfor their character and policeshould be informed before al-lotting them rooms, if their be-haviour is found suspicious,Dessai told the gathering.

They were also warned onchild labour (under 14 years)and over-lapping with the tim-ings of shacks/hotels/restau-rants by keeping it openbeyond the given timings to

avoid untoward incidents, be-sides playing music beyond 10pm to avoid nuisance to lo-cals.

Sound systems will be seizedby police, warned PI Dessai.

Tourists/customers, espe-cially foreigners, may also beasked to observe certain deco-rum and may be advised to avoidmoving out of hotels after 12pm and in odd hours, he said.

Also no details of foreignersshould be disclosed to any per-son at any cost who is unknownand such enquiries should beimmediately reported to police.While reporting such incidents,identity of police staff shouldbe asked for, he added.

Establishments are also askedto keep a watch over foreigntourists inside their rooms andreport it to them, if anythingsuspicious is noticed.

While asking the establish-ments to provide fire extinguish-ers at their hotel /shacks,entrepreneurs are advised toengage private security to pro-tec t cus tomers andhotels/shacks property.

Cyber Cafs in the talukahave also instructed to installCCTVs and maintain registerwith all details, besides collect-ing photo copies of identityproof of the visitors.

Taxi drivers/rickshaw driversand motorcycle pilots are alsoasked to communicate to thepolice station if any suspiciousinformation is observed by themwhile travelling through theirvehicles.

In an interesting observation,police asked entrepreneurs tokeep garbage bins away fromcrowded places, as explosionshave mostly occurred in garbagebins.

People are asked to contactCanacona Police on 2633357,2633688 and SDPO Quepem on2663900, while Canacona PIDessai can be contacted on9423886876.

Further speaking to Herald,PI Dessai said: Police will makeevery effort to make this tourismseason safe and enjoyable tothe visitors in Canacona.

Canacona cops give 27-pt

guideline to entrepreneurs

GOAOHerALd

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ASHWIN TOMBATPANJIM, NOV 27

Planning is a job for specialists.Or is it? How do the concernsof the aam admi get reflectedin a plan; only by relying on so-called peoples representa-tives, too many of whom havedeep vested interests? Or isthere a way in which plans canbenefit both from the grass-roots perceptions of themasses, as well as from thewisdom of specialists? Indiassmallest state Goa seems tohave found an answer.

In 2003, it passed the GoaChildrens Act. This unique leg-islation on children was basedon inputs from grassrootsmeetings held in each of thestates 11 talukas, followed bydistrict level and state levelmeetings of stakeholders,which distilled the publics in-puts into guidelines. A broad-based committee, whichincluded NGOs, then submit-ted suggestions that the LawDept finally formulated intolegislation.

A peoples planIn 2010, Goa has done it

again, with the Regional Plan2021. After a huge peoplesmovement forced the formerPratapsingh Rane governmentto suspend Regional Plan 2011 which sought to virtuallyhand over the entire coastalarea of the state to the real es-tate lobby one of the first de-cisions of the new DigambarKamat government, in July2007, was to set up a taskforce comprising eminenttown planners, architects andrepresentatives of the GoaBachao Abhiyan (GBA), whichled the mass movement, todraft a new plan in a transpar-ent and representative manner.

There were many hiccups onthe way, but the Task Force fi-nally submitted a draft regionalplan in September 2008. Thepublic was to submit com-ments within 90 days, but thispublic participation processtook over eight months. Over8,500 individual comments,plus inputs from 176 VillagePanchayats out of 188, andeight out of the nine MunicipalCouncils were digitised andput up on the governmentwebsite, for transparency.

These were considered bythe State Level Committee(SLC) that, apart from the CM,Town and Country Planning(TCP) officials and other keybureaucrats, included eminentarchitects Charles Correia,Dean DCruz, Bryan Soares andRahul Deshpande. They cameup with the final plan on 24November 2010. It includesland use policies and develop-

ment recommendations for theentire state, as well as the landuse plans for the talukas ofPernem and Canacona. Theland use plans for the othernine talukas will be announcedin the coming months, aspreparing each one is an ex-tremely laborious exercise.

Fraud-proof mapsThe SLC has adopted a

unique, new land use mappingprocess with which it hopes tocreate fraud-proof maps. By in-tegrating existing land surveymaps with Survey of India toposheets, all impermissible gradi-ents of greater than 25 percent have been identified andshown on the new land usemaps. Anomalies have beenidentified and eliminated. Thiscombination was then com-pared with Googles high-reso-lution satellite photo imageryto identify and include roadnetworks, paddy fields, waterbodies, other natural features,as well as existing settlementsthat were not on the earlierplans.

It also enabled the SLC to re-move marked settlementzones that fall within eco-sen-sitive areas such as low-lyingpaddy fields, steep slopes,water bodies, private forests,government forest, etc.Wooded areas contiguous toforests were marked naturalcover, pending a survey by theForest Dept to determinewhether they are orchards orforests.

The survey numbers havebeen super-imposed on themap and CRZ lines drawn. Thiseliminates ambiguities. A landowner, developer or NGO ac-tivist will now be able to in-stantly identify what zone aparticular survey number fallsunder, and for what reason.

What this also does is to endthe earlier multiplicity of mapsthat enabled a nefarious nexusof builders, politicians and pli-ant officials to wrongly zoneareas and create concrete jun-gles. This feature alone makesthe three-year wait for the Re-gional Plan worthwhile. Buttheres more, much more.

Eco-sensitive zonesTo protect areas of ecologi-

cal importance, two eco-sensi-tive zones have beenidentified. The Eco 1 Zonecomprises forests, mangroves,water bodies, paddy fields andkhazan lands, where no struc-tures can be built. The Eco 2Zone comprises salt pans, or-chard, cultivable land, naturalcover and CRZ areas, whereonly strictly limited activity ispermitted.

Together these two eco-sen-sitive zones cover over 70 per

cent of Goas total area. Mostimportant, they will also be ap-plicable to the areas that comeunder the Outline Develop-ment Plans (ODPs) and ZoningPlans, which will now be mod-ified accordingly to excludethese areas from development.

Population-based increaseRequests for change of zone

to settlement from Panchayatswere often unacceptably huge.First, all areas under Eco-IZone were dropped. Applica-tions for up to 1,000 sq metreswere considered, only if it wasin the Orchard zone and con-tiguous to existing settlementareas.

For other applications ofchange of zone, the projectedpopulation growth by 2021was studied. Additional settle-ment area zoned was purely onthis basis.

Floor area ratio (FAR)Earlier, Goa had a blanket

Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 80[per cent of land area] for allvillages. In RP2021, FAR for vil-lages has been rationalised.Urban villages now fall in theVP1 category, with a permissi-ble FAR of 80. However, this isnot for big builders. Mega-pro-jects in VP1 villages on a plotsize of more than 4,000 sq me-tres get an FAR of only 60.

All other villages fall in theVP2 category, with an FAR of60. But even here, mega-pro-jects on plots larger than 4,000sq metres get an FAR of only50.

Height of structuresHere is where the RP2021

scores a six. Under the oldplan, structures in all villageshad a maximum permissibleheight of 11.5 m. Later conces-sions allowed FAR-free stiltparking, raising this close to 15m, and allowing inappropriatemini high-rises to come up invillages.

While this continues in VP1villages, RP2021 prescribes amaximum a height of not morethan 9 m, including stilts, in allVP2 villages. FAR-free stilts willnow only be available for sin-gle family dwelling units(houses or bungalows), not forapartment buildings. This willsignificantly reduce the densityof new developments in vil-lages.

Hinterland corridorThe plan recommends

widening of existing statehighways to create a new four-lane super-highway from Tivimto Usgao and from Usgao toBalli. This will not only be a vi-able alternative route for vehi-cles that want to transitthrough Goa, but also a devel-opment corridor connectingthe hinterland towns of Bi-

cholim, Sanquelim, Dharban-dora, Usgao, Curchorem andQuepem.

The object is to boost devel-opment of industry and createjob opportunities in this belt,as well as put exhausted min-ing areas along the route to al-ternative productive use. Newgrowth hubs are proposed atPernem, Usgao-Dharbandoraand Quepem.

Eco-tourismA new eco-tourism policy for

both the coast and the hinter-land, envisages very low-den-sity resorts. The minimum plotsize prescribed is 2 lakh sq me-tres, with a maximum FAR of10. Only ground-plus-onestructures are permitted. Nomatter how much the land,total built up area in such re-sorts cannot exceed 40,000 sqmetres.

Micro-industrial zonesAs if to fulfill Mahatma

Gandhis dream of a village-based economy, micro indus-trial zones (MIZ) have beenplanned in each village pan-chayat to create proper infra-structure for the village as wellas generate self-employmentand jobs within the village.

Each MIZ will be approxi-mately five hectares for villagepanchayats of projected popu-lation up to 10,000 by 2021.Bigger panchayats can havelarger MIZs. These will haveplots from 600 sq metres to1,600 sq metres in size with allbasic infrastructure.

Tax on second homesIt has become extremely

fashionable for the rich fromIndias metros to own a secondhome in Goa. Goas towns andcoastal villages have many ofthese second homes and gatedcommunities, which remainlocked up for most of the year.This phenomenon has caused aspurt in speculative develop-ment, and rising real estateprices have put even a modesthome out of reach of the aver-age Goan.

RP2021 has recommendedthat the government levy a stifftax on these unoccupied sec-ond homes, to be collected byPanchayats and used to im-prove the village habitat.

Knowledge EconomyGoa gets investments mainly

in tourism, pharma and min-ing. It desperately needs in-vestment in the knowledgesector, which is almost non-ex-istent. RP2021 recommendsthat the state can become asought-after education hub, ifgovernment policies encour-age industry, academia andknowledge partners to build aworld class knowledge societyin Goa.

Regional Plan 2021: A boon for Goa

HERALD CORRESPONDENTCALANGUTE, NOV 27

Anjuna-Caisua Panchayat Sec-retary Laxman Parsekar wouldhave become a soft target byan arbitrary transfer due to po-litical pressure, but luckfavoured the secretary and thetransfer order was stalled.

According to reports, thetransfer was forced on the sec-retary for allegedly being peo-ple-friendly in providing therequired information under theRight to Information Act.

The information providedunder the RTI Act related to 3-4 mega projects, which havebeen in the eye of a storm.

All the projects are yet to becompleted, but permissionfrom the Town and CountryPlanning, Health Services andAnjuna-Caisua Panchayat havereportedly been issued.

Surprisingly, nobody is readyto accept the blame for the il-legalities with authorities pass-ing the buck on each other.

Incidentally, the vigilancedepartment has, till date, failedto act on a complaint by vil-lagers of Anjuna-Caisua high-lighting the illegalities withphotographic evidence.

The matter of issuing per-mission without completion ofthe projects was being hotlydebated at the recent gramsabha, which was adjourned byAnjuna-Caisua Sarpanch LavinoRebello.

The panchayat takesprompt action into the illegalor wrong doings by the poorvillagers but when the matterhighlighting the illegalities ofthe mega projects or builders,there is no action forthcoming.The matter is settled by under-

hand deals, says Balbim.The panchayat says that the

permission was issued basedon the clearances by Town andCountry Planning and Healthauthorities, but was the pan-chayat unaware of incompleteprojects of the company,asked Naik.

The panchayat could havestalled the occupancy for thesimple reason that the projectsare still incomplete, he addedfurther.

When contacted, Anjuna-Caisua Sarpanch Lavino Re-bello said the occupancypermission was issued by thepanchayat based on the no-ob-jection certificates, etc, issuedby the Town and Country Plan-ning and Health authorities,who are the best to judge thereadiness of the buildings orprojects.

The department musthave acted judiciously as pernormal procedures. However,the occupancy was issued be-fore I could take over as An-juna-Caisua sarpanch, headded.

According to sources,Parsekar was asked not to en-tertain the villagers under theRTI Act in providing the re-quired documents relating to aconcerned project, but the sec-retary provided the requiredinformation to the villagers asand when asked by the vil-lagers.

This is the precise reasonfor targeting Parsekar, saidsources.

When Herald undertook asite inspection of the con-cerned projects, work wasbeing carried out and the samewere not ready for occupation.

Anjuna VP secretary nearly becomes victim of politically motivated transfer

Mayem VP to elect deputy

on Dec 2HERALD CORRESPONDENT

BICHOLIM NOV 27

Election to the post of deputysarpanch of Mayem panchyatwill be conducted on Decem-ber 2 at 10.30 am.

The post fell vacant follow-ing the resignation of SuhasiniKinalkar.

Kajal Karbotkar is tipped tobe the next deputy sarpanch.

In the 11-member panchayatSarpanch, Nilkhant Nagvekar,Kajal

Karbotkar, Reshma Sawant,Vinita Gaonkar, TulshidasChodankar and Sanjay Aron-dekar are in the ruling group,while Suhasini

Kinalkar, Santosh Dhatkar,Krishna Chodankar, DikshaPitre and Anita Lamgaonkar arein the opposition.

HERALD CORRESPONDENTBICHOLIM, NOV 27

Even as the Bicholim PrimaryHealth Centre and BicholimMunicipal Council havestepped up their campaignagainst malaria, there are stillplaces near the KTC bus standleft unattained by authorities.

It may be recalled that theauthorities had recentlystepped up their campaignagainst malaria after about 28cases were reported in Bi-cholim.

The PHC has also issued anotice to a construction site ofthe new PHC building after 22

cases of Malaria were detectedat the site.

The deputy collector hadalso instructed the BMC to ini-tiate action and form commit-tees in every ward to maintaincleanliness in the area.

Despite these initiatives,many places in the city are stillbreeding grounds for mosqui-toes.

Near the KTC bus stand,garbage and plastic have beendumped and the BMC has nottaken any steps to removethem.

Besides, there are severaltyre re-moulding sites near the

bus stand and old tyres havebeen abandoned near the dust-bins, thereby providing anideal breeding ground for mos-quitoes.

These tyres have been lyingnear the dustbin since last sev-eral days and neither BMCworkers nor PHC officials havetaken any steps to removethem.

When Herald had earlierhighlighted the matter a fewmonths ago, the BMC immedi-ately removed the tyres. Butafter some months, the oldtyres have been dumped againnear the dustbin.

Malaria breeding sites thrive in Bicholim despite campaign

Tyres piled up near a dustbin outside the KTC Bus stand at Bicholim. Photo by Sameer Umarye

GGEA meet to chalk out future plan

HERALD NEWS DESKPANJIM, NOV 27

A joint meeting of the workingcommittee and taluka commit-tees of Goa Government Em-ployees Association (GGEA) isconvened on November 28 at 3pm at the Patto office of GGEAto plan strategies for the possi-ble indefinite strike from De-cember 6, including paralyzingthe essential services and theentire administration in theState of Goa until the govern-ment issues order of upgrada-tion of pay scales to all the leftout categories in view of sud-den selective upgradation car-ried out by the government.

All the members of the work-ing committee and the talukacommittees are requested toattend the said meeting.

HERALD CORRESPONDENTBICHOLIM, NOV 27

The Bicholim Muncipal Council(BMC) and electricity depart-ment have turned a blind eyeto the malfunctioning streetlights in several wards of thecity.

According to residents, thestreet lights in the ward repre-sented by BMC Deputy Chair-man Shashikant Halarnkar arenot operating since the lastthree months. The areas fromPajwada to Gaonkarwada andfrom Atilpeth to Gaonkarwadaare in darkness since a longtime.

Several pleas by residents ofthe area to the electricity de-partment have failed to pro-duce any result.

It may be stated that the en-tire stretch is a major trafficarea and there is also a privatebank operating and other es-tablishments in the area.

The residents have fearedthat some culprits might takethe advantage of this darknessto indulge in criminal activities.

"We contacted the Junior En-gineer of the electricity depart-ment, Burye but he is justgiving us assurances and formost of the time the streetlights are not operating," com-plained B R Natekar from Pa-jwada.

"We demand that BMCDeputy Chairman ShashikantHalarnkar should immediatelylook into the matter," headded.

Street lights in BMC areas not functioning

!!

Comets are small, fragile, ir-regularly shaped bodiescomposed of a mixture ofnon-volatile grains andfrozen gases. They have el-liptical orbits that bring themvery close to the Sun andswing them deeply intospace, often beyond the orbitof Pluto.Comet structures are diverse

and dynamic, but they allhave a cloud of diffuse mate-rial, called a coma, thatgrows in size and brightnessas the comet nears the Sun.Usually a small, bright nu-cleus is visible in the middleof the coma. The coma andthe nucleus together consti-tute the head of the comet.

What are Comets?

In the middle of Delhi city, there isa compound of huge orange struc-tures known as Jantar Mantar.These structures were built in 1974by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Jaipur,and one of five similar setups in thecountry. They have become pro-tected UNESCO World Heritagesites.

These strange structures were orig-inally used as astronomical de-vices, and the entire complex of 13

structures was intended to be anobservatory. The instruments wereused to chart out the astronomicaltables, and to predict the move-ment of the sun, moon and stars.

The individual instruments wereused in different ways and for dif-ferent purposes. The tallest one isknown as the Samrat Yantra(Supreme Instrument) and is in theobvious shape of a sundial. It isaligned to the Earths axis andpoints towards the North Pole. It issignificantly more sophisticatedthan other sundials of its time, as it

is able to measure other facets ofthe heavenly bodies.

Of course, the Jantar Mantar struc-tures are no longer used for astro-nomical observations, but theyremain an important part of astro-nomical history nonetheless.

Jantar MantarStar-Gazing

MARGAO (HR): The two dayjewellery exhibition organizedby Chintamanis got underwayat Hotel Nanutel on Saturday.

The exhibition will be laterheld at Hotel Mandovi, Panjim

for two days on November 30and December 1.

Chintamani said the objec-tive behind holding the exhibi-tion is to bring the very best ofhallmark Gold jewelry and cer-

tified diamond jewelry in Goa.The Chintamanis is a

favourite destination of all ex-clusive diamond and gold jew-ellery known in Goa. Wespecialize in high-end cus-tomized jewellery according tothe needs of customers. Chin-tamanis brings you a range ofbridal gold and diamond jew-ellery for this wedding sea-son, the organizers said.

The Chintamanis have alsointroduced authentic Templejewellery from South India atthe exhibition. A special offerhas been worked out for theold customers, while the or-ganizers will accept old goldagainst exchange of new orna-ments.

Jewellery expo underway in Margao

Anthony Gonsalves

to be honouredat heritage jazz festival

HERALD NEWS DESKPANJIM, NOV 27

The 1st international Her-itage jazz festival will opentoday at 7 pm with the fe-licitation of Goas musicicon, Anthony Gonsalves.

He will be accorded theprestigious KarmaveerAward for lifetime achieve-ment.

Pyarelal Sharma will bepresent at the awards func-tion which will take place atKala Academy today, andwith this, the InternationalHeritage Jazz Festival willcommence with the highenergy Austrian band K3.

The band comprises Her-bert Knighofer (sax,flutes), Robert Kainar(drums, percussion, elec-tronics), Klaus Kircher (dou-ble-bass, e-bass, guitar)

They will perform withRanajit Sengupta, a highlyaccomplished Sarod per-former who will also be ac-companied by a tablaplayer.

On Monday, the equallyenergetic Mexican band,the Teresa Estrada band willperform.

The next band on offer isthe Alex Stuart Quartet,which also consists of Guil-laume Perret on saxophone,Yoann Serra on drums andMunir Hossn on bass.

The show is being held inassociation with the Enter-tainment Society of Goa,Tourism, Art and Culturedepartment of Goa. Moreinformation can be got atwww.heritagejazz.com

The Herald is the mediasponsor of the programmeand the hospitality spon-sors are Resort Rio, Estrelado mar. The show is also ac-tively supported by the Aus-tralian High Commissionand the Austrian CulturalForum.

Jewellery on display at the jewellery exhibition organised by the Chin-tamanis at Hotel Nanutel on Saturday.

GOAOHerALd

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GOA, sundAy, 28 nOvember, 2010

Authorities chided for stopping religious sacrifice

HERALD REPORTER

VASCO, NOV 27

The state unit of the Jammat-E-Islami Hind has criticised au-thorities in Vasco for stoppingMuslims from fulfilling their re-ligious obligations of symbolicsacrifice, at the behest of anNGO.

In a press note, SyedBasheer of Jammat-E-IslamiHind has also condemned the"criminal treatment meted outto the organizers and the ar-rest of members of the com-munity."

"The thoughtless action hasdeeply hurt the feelings of thecommunity and has created lotof ill-feelings and mistrust,"said Basheer.

"Jammat-E-Islami Hind ap-preciates the maturity and thecalm shown by the communityleaders and youngsters despitethe provocation."

"The State governmentshould either make arrange-ments in and around major

cities and towns for theslaughter of animals or al-ternatively, give permissionto set up temporary slaugh-

ter houses for three daysevery year during Eid-ul-Azha," the press noteadded.

PFI also condemns actHERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, NOV 27

The Popular Front of Indiahas strongly condemned theact of law enforcing authori-ties for arresting 35 membersof Kurbani committee atBaina-Vasco and for confisca-tion of 29 buffaloes instead ofhaving all the permissions asrequired under the law.

The Front said the harass-ment and discrimination ofminority community is in-creasing day by day, not onlyby politicians, administration,bureaucracy etc but also bythe so called secular fabric ofGoa. The fascist forces insti-gated Angela Kazi in Vasco tofurther their goal, the Front

said.The Front has called upon

the government to check andcurb such discriminatory ac-tion against the minority andhelp them celebrate their fes-tivals with religious fervourand gaiety. Islam stands forpeace and preaches peace,the government of Goashould protect this peace,the Front said.

Sayign that Eid-Ul-Adha is afestival of sacrifice, the Frontsaid the Goa governmentshould declare Eid day andthree days after that as daysof sacrifice in Goa to helpMuslim community to cele-brate Eid without any hin-drances.

HERALD NEWS BUREAU

PANJIM, NOV 27

The Vibgyor Charitable Trustrecently contributed Rs25,000 to Asro, a care homerun by Caritas-Goa at Dame-dem-Tivim for children withHIV/ AIDS.

The Asro centre presentlyhouses around 25 children,mostly orphans, afflicted withthe deadly virus, for no faultof theirs.

The contribution was to-wards the medical expenses ofthe children. The Trustees feltthat although funds are chan-nelised for the adult HIV/AIDSvictims, mostly the or-phaned/single parent afflictedchildren are not fully sup-ported to meet their medicalexpenses.

The amount was handedover by the President FrankyViegas to the Superior of theHome.

Ian Zuzarte, AgneloOliveira, Paul D'Souza, Lour-des Kapoor, Genevive D'Souzaand Arun Kapoor, trustees andvolunteers were also presenton the occasion.

The Vibgyor CharitableTrust conducts fund raisingevents and programmeswhose proceeds go towardssupporting few children fromorphan homes and also sup-porting the lives of the underprivileged, the less cared forsenior citizens and other cat-egories of less privileged

Bandora Sarpanch

steps downHERALD CORRESPONDENT

MARCEL, NOV 27

Bandora Sarpanch DamodarNaik on Thursday tendered hisresignation from the post dueto family matters.

Naik said his resignation isunconditional and due to fam-ily matters, he decided to stepdown from the post.

It may be recalled that Naikwas elected unopposed assarpanch in January, this year.Before Naik, Dinesh Naik,Sukhanand Kurpaskar, P K Naikand Prabhakar Gaude haveserved as the sarpanchas. Naikwas the fifth sarpanch duringthe current tenure.

I stepped down due to fam-ily matters and I dont have anyissue. During my tenure assarpanch, various developmen-tal activities were undertaken,said Naik. I also tried to bringin many schemes to the needy. Igot all the support from thepanch members and hope the fu-ture sarpanch concentrate on de-velopmental activities and workfor the welfare of the people, headded.

MARGAO (HR): The NationalTrust for the welfare of dis-abled persons in collaborationwith ONGC held an awarenessprogram in Margao on Satur-day as part of Badhte Kadam2010 campaign.

The All India discoverabilitycampaign was launched by theNational Trust for the welfareof persons with autism, cere-bral palsy, mental retardationand multiple disabilities.

The campaign was inaugu-rated by Margao MunicipalCouncilor Pratima Coutinho inthe presence of additional dis-trict Collector PrasannaAcharya and others.

Awareness program held on disabled persons

A representative of the TrustLiby Mendonsa said the cam-paign has highlighted the factthat the disabled persons enjoyvarious rights.

Vibgyor gives donation to Asro

within its ambit of social serv-ice.

The public are requested tosupport the activities of theTrust, which has been granted80G 5 of the Income Tax Act,either through depositing di-rectly to their A/c at the IDBIBank, Mapuca Branch, or atthe Trust office at No 1,Harshidd Bldg. opp. ParraTowers, Jacknim, Parra.

Further details are availableon Ph: 2473155, Lourdes (Ph:9822588823) or OlympioAlmeida (Ph: 9822168112).

Toddy Tappers hold litany,

prayer service HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, NOV 27

The All Goa Toddy Tappers As-sociation held a litany andprayer service at its Margao of-fice on Friday.

On the occasion, the presi-dent of the Association GasparAfonso disbursed financial as-sistances to a group of toddytappers who met with acci-dents in recent times.

Afonso said the litany andprayer service is organized an-nually to seek the blessings ofthe Patron Saint of Goa, StFrancis Xavier.

Toddy tappers and their fam-ilies attended the prayer serv-ice in the Association office.

Exhibition onAIDS, TB

HERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, NOV 27

On the occasion of World AIDSDay, the Tuberculosis Associa-tion of Goa will organise its19th annual exhibition on AIDSand TB, from December 1 to31 in its premises at 403, NizariBhavan, Menezes BraganzaRoad, Panjim.

The exhibition will consist-ing of national and interna-tional publications, posters,stickers, leaflets, magazines,press clippings, video cassettesand CDs on HIV/AIDS and TB,collected since 1981 by theHonorary Secretary of the As-sociation Dr Damodar Bhoun-sule.

This exhibition is intendedto create awareness regardingthe lethal association betweenHIV and TB as in India 55-60%of reported cases of AIDS hadTB which is one of the leadingcauses of death in people livingwith HIV/AIDS.

INDIA Pg 6GOA, SUNDAY, 28 NOVEMBER, 2010

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This is the second part of what David Coleman Headley confessed to NIA sleuths. It was obtained by Dinesh Sharma of Zee News from highlyplaced sources in the agency and first appeared on Zeenews.com.

"I arrived in India for the first time on September 14 in 2006 at the Mumbai airport. I stayed at Hotel Outram and never called myPakistani contacts from my new cellphone. This was done for me by Tahawwur Rana in Chicago. Here I submitted a form with RBIto open an immigration office for which I even appointed a Parsi woman as my secretary. This was a cover for me as I was supersecretive no one in India could imagine what I was up to.

I made extensive photographs of places like the Brihan Mumbai Corporation building, Haji Ali, Gateway of India, Hotel Taj, Statepolice HQs, Azad Maidan, Marine Drive, VT Railway Station, Mumbai Central Railway Station, Leopold Caf, etc. My reconnaissancevideos were appreciated by ISI and LeT and were crucial in carrying out attacks in Mumbai in 2008. Qahafa and I did a seriousstudy on Google Earth to conduct the reconnaissance of Hotel Taj. We plotted the entire route and spot that the attackers woulduse.

I also made videos of targets in Delhi, Pune, Goa and Pushkar. I shot some things on a camera given to me by my Pakistanimother-in-law. But I mostly used my mobiles camera to do the recordings from April to June 2008 as well as in 2009 in India andDenmark. It has been seized by the FBI.

The Mumbai attacks were financed and supported by the ISI. Every important LeT member is handled by ISI officials. Myhandlers were Major Iqbal and Major Sameer Ali. Lakhvi was controlled by Brigadier Riyaz who is based in Muzaffarabad. MajorIqbal provided money for my surveillance in Mumbai. The Rs25 lakh used to buy the first boat used to reach Mumbai was ISImoney. This boat was used in September to reach Mumbai but that attempt failed. The boat hit a rock and the attackers had tobe brought back in another one.

I was the one who apprised the ISI officers of our complete plan to attack India in my first meeting Major Iqbal and his boss LtCol Hamza. After 26/11, LeT has created a naval wing under Yaqub which will be used against targets in India. They even had afrogman a trained diver who can be used for combat called Abdur Rehman, and I think he was from the Pakistan Navy.

Initially, it was planned to target only Hotel Taj. Till at least my sixth reconnaissance visit to the Taj, it was planned that two orthree LeT men will attack the hotel and will enter through Nepal or Bangladesh. After March in 2008, the plan of multiple attacksin Mumbai and the use of sea route began to appear in LeT discussions. The plan was to attack during an annual conference ofsoftware engineers there.

I briefed my ISI handlers and LeTs Sajid as well as Lakhvi about my first sojourn to India. Before leaving again for Mumbai in2007, I was briefed by the ISI men. I landed in India on Feb 21, 2007 but soon returned to Pakistan as there were some issues Ineeded to sort out on personal front.

My LeT handler Sajid wanted me to conduct extensive work at the Taj. I did so in September and also videographed the ShivSena Bhawan for him. I even chatted with some security guards posted outside the building. I tried to get close to the PRO ofShiv Sena, Rajram Rege during this period.

Lakhvi and a frogman that I believe was from the Pakistan Navy discussed various landing options on the Mumbai coast. Lakhviwanted me to explore entry through Taj Hotel side and the frogman said I must verify if there were any Indian vessels so as toavoid a gunfight with them.

Some more targets were discussed the Taj Presidency, World Trade Centre, Naval Air Station, Siddhi Vinayak Temple, ChabadHouse, Assembly building, BSE, etc. It was planned that the attackers would take a train or a bus and reach Kashmir after theattacks, where they would lie low. But this option slowly died out and it was decided that Chabad House would rather be usedas a stronghold by the attackers. Chabad House as a target delighted everyone from Major Iqbal to Pasha.

On my seventh trip to Mumbai, I also carried out reconnaissance at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) for the ISI. Iconducted four boat rides at different places on the coast to decide on landing sites for the attackers. On April12, 2008 I visitedCuffe Parade area and was convinced that the attackers could land there, which eventually they did. I also caught some fish whilelooking for suitable locations!

On my eighth trip, I visited the Osho Ashram in Pune. I bought some red threads that Hindus wear on their wrists to be usedfor attackers it was my idea which was appreciated by Sajid and applied as well.

I once told Sajid that the attack on VT Station may lead to killing of a number of Muslims. He dismissed it saying they wouldattack during iftaar, making that improbable. In August 2008, I checked SIM connections for the attackers whether they wouldwork in India. This I did at Wagah post.

During this duration, when I thought the Mumbai project had fizzled out, Sajid and ISI men discussed an operation in Denmark.We wanted to target the cartoonist who had caricatured Prophet Mohammad and also the editor of the paper. Sajid gave me3000 for a trip to Denmark.

An attempt to reach Mumbai by the attackers in the first week of November 2008 failed as they could not capture an Indianboat. But on November 26, I got an SMS from Sajids mobile asking me to switch on the TV. The attack on Mumbai had begun.

After the attacks, Lakhvi was put under arrest at the Udial jail where ISI DG Shuja Pasha visited him to understand the Mumbaiattack conspiracy. Lakhvi gets home-made food in the prison and his family members as well as LeT members meet him regularly.

I made a final trip to India in March last year. This was to videograph various Chabad Houses in India as also the Israeli embassy.I stayed at a hotel in Paharganj. On this visit I carried out a detailed reconnaissance of the German Bakery in Pune. I told Pashaon my visit back to Lahore that we could kill more Indian Army officers in an attack on the National Defence College that hadbeen killed in all the wars between India and Pakistan.

Sajid told me they had got clearance for more attacks in India, probably at the Jamnagar oil refinery. I was told not to contactmy ISI handlers as Kasab was singing in an Indian prison. But I moved on to the Denmark project which was being coordinatedby Ilyas Kashmiri and Pasha, till I got arrested while trying to fly out of Chicago. I volunteered myself as a suicide bomber for thisattack, as a Mumbai-type option didnt seem too viable.

But I was arrested by FBI on October 3, 2009, while I was going to Pakistan to meet my LeT handlers." (Concluded)

David Coleman Headley Confessions - II

How I waged war on IndiaPTI

HYDERABAD, NOV 27

The CBI today began interro-gation of Swami Asimanand, anaccused in the 2007 MeccaMasjid bomb blast case, aftertaking him into their custodyfrom Chanchalguda CentralPrison here, official sourcessaid.

After the XIV Additional ChiefMet ropo l i t an Mag is t ra te(ACMM) court here had yester-day remanded Asimanand inseven days police custody. Hewas today handed over to theCBI officials for further interro-gation, they said.

According to CBI, the 59-year-old Asimanand whose real nameis Naba Kumar Sarkar, who hadbeen on the run since 2008, wasarrested on November 19 fromHaridwar in connection with theblast at the historic masjid hereon May 18, 2007, that killednine.

The Central investigationagency has claimed that the

complicity of Asimanand in thecriminal conspiracy in the blastcase came to light recently.

As part of further interroga-tion, we will also take Asi-manand to Gujarat, Delhi andother places," a senior Investi-

gating Officer told PTIThrough the interrogation of

Asimanand, the CBI wants to ex-tract details on the whereaboutsof other accused including twoprime accused in the MeccaMasjid case--Sandeep Dange andRamchandra Kalsangra aliasRamji, both natives of Indore,who continue to remain elusive,he said.

The CBI in its case diary (CD)filed before the court had sub-mitted that Asimanand gaveshelter to his co-accused afterthe Mecca Masjid blast.

"Such places had to be lo-

cated, and also ascertained ifAsimanand provided financialassistance to the co-accused,"the agency said. The CBI has sofar named five persons, all al-legedly having links with a right-wing Hindu outfit, as accusedin the case and brought twoAjmer blast accused, DevenderGupta and Lokesh Sharma toHyderabad on June 17, as partof investigation into the MeccaMasjid case. Gupta and Sharmaare presently under judicial re-mand in a prison here.

The CBI officials had recov-ered few false documents fromthe "hideout" of Asimanand atBhadurabad in Haridwar besidesRs 39,350 from his possessionand it wants to ascertain thesource of the amount.

The CBI and Maharashtra ATShad earlier carried out searchesat various places in MadhyaPradesh and Gujarat as he wasalso wanted for his suspectedrole in connection with Male-gaon bomb blast case.

CBI begins quizzing Swami Asimanand

mecca masjid

blast case

PTI

JAMMU, NOV 27

Normal life was affected heretoday due to a three-hour'chakka jam' called by BJPprotesting the surrender policyfor youths who went to PoK forarms training and demandingthat Chief Minister Omar Abdul-lah withdraw his statement onaccession of Jammu and Kashmirwith India.

Public and private transportwas off the roads and shops andbusiness establishments re-mained closed, hitting the nor-mal life from 0800 hours to 1100hours in the city. There was verythin attendance in governmentoffices, banks and educationalinstitutions due to lack of trans-port facilities.

BJP activists staged sit-ins invarious parts of the city andblocked the Tawi bridge onJammu-Srinagar National High-way raising anti-governmentslogans. They also burnt effigiesof government at severalplaces.

"The agitation passed offpeacefully. There was no unto-ward incident reported from

anywhere during the period ofth ree hour s , " a po l i cespokesman said.

"There was complete bandhtoday for three hours in protestagainst the statement of Omaron the floor of Assembly lastmonth over accession of Jammuand Kashmir with India and alsoagainst return and rehabilitationof the militants from

Pakistan-occupied Kashmir,"BJP state president ShamshirSingh Manhas told reportershere.

The much-talked about sur-render policy for youths whohad exfiltrated from Jammu andKashmir between 1989 and2009 for arms training and havea change of heart now wascleared by the state cabinet onNovember 22.

Manhas said BJP warns theChief Minister "not to competewith secessionists by makingstatements about the status ofJammu and Kashmir". NC andomar is "in competition" notonly with PDP but with sepa-ratists to become "champion of

Kashmir-centric approach,"he charged.

BJP's 'chakka jam'agitation paralyses

life in Jammu PTINEW DELHI, NOV 27 New Andhra Pradesh Chief Min-ister N Kiran Kumar Reddy todayheld meetings with CongressPresident Sonia Gandhi, PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh anda host of party leaders, duringwhich the names of his Cabinetmembers are understood tohave been finalised.

Reddy arrived here this morn-ing on his maiden visit to thecapital after assuming office onThursday. He met Singh, Gandhi,Home Minister P Chidambaramand other Congress leaders andsought their cooperation in run-ning the government.

During his meeting withGandhi and Singh, the 50-year-old Chief Minister thanked themfor choosing him for the toppost and told them that his ad-ministration will be "transparent"to the people.

With Sonia, Kiran Reddy isalso believed to have discussedthe probable candidates for min-isterial berths.

The Cabinet is likely to beconstituted tomorrow, a day be-fore the Winter Session ofAndhra Pradesh Assembly starts.

The Chief Minister has alreadyheld one round of discussion

on the Cabinet formation withLaw Minister Veerappa Moily,who is also the in-charge of partyaffairs in the state, in Hyder-abad.

On his arrival, Kiran Reddytold reporters: "I am here to meetMadam Sonia Gandhi and otherhigh command members to con-vey my thanks for the responsi-bility they have given to me.

I have come for Cabinet con-sultation with them.

"My agenda will be to try togive a clean and transparent gov-ernment," he said in reply to aquestion.

Reddy will also meet VicePresident Hamid Ansari, LokSabha Speaker Meira Kumar, De-fence Minister A K Antony andUrban Development Minister SJaipal Reddy, who also hails fromAndhra Pradesh.

Moily has already announcedthat the state will have a deputychief minister from the sensitiveTelangana region.

Lobbying for ministerialberths has already begun andthere is speculation that sup-porters of Y S JaganmohanReddy will also be given minis-terial berths, a move aimed atmollif ying the bell igerentKadapa MP.

New Andhra CM meets Sonia, PM

Hindu devotees from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) participate in a religious ceremony for Lord Hanuman for the construction of a RamMandir in Ayodhya at NTR grounds in Hyderabad,on Saturday.

PTI

KOCHI, NOV 27

An extremely complex OpenHeart surgery was performedon a 5 day old new born babyboy suffering from a complexand critical birth defect of theheart at the Amirta Instiute ofMedical Sciences (AIMS) here.

This was the first successfulStage 1 Norwood operation inKerala. The baby's left ventricleand aorta were completely un-derdeveloped as a result of acongenital anaomaly, Dr G SSunil, Chief Pediatric CardiacSurgeon, Dr Balu Vaidyanathan,Chief Pediatric Cardialogist ofAIMS and Dr Edwin Francis, In-ternventional Pediatric Cardiol-ogist, told reporters here.

The blood corculation to thebody was maintained throughan embryonic communciationbetween the lung artery and theaorta called PDA.

The operation was performedon Oct 27 by Dr Sunil G S, Pro-fessor, Pediatric Cardiac Surgeryin collaboration with Dr BaluVaidyanathan, Dr Edwin Francisand Dr Mahesh Pediatric

cardialogists and Dr SureshNair and Dr Rakhi Cardiac

Anesthesia/intensive care.Dr Sunil performed a complex

reconstruction of the narrowedaorta, relieving the obstruction inthe aorta completely. The bloodflow to the lung was maintainedby the surgical insertion of a tubecalled BT shusnt, inserted betweenthe aorta and the lung artery. Theprocedure helps in regulating theflow of excessive blood to thelungs and provide adequate bloodsupply to the whole body, he said.

The baby has been dischargedfrom the hospital.

The operation is consideredto be the most complex and dif-ficult of all surgeries for children

with birth defects of the heart.The critical nature of the heart

defect requires the procedureto be carried out in the neonatalperiod itself.

The Pediatric cardiac pro-gramme at Amrita has so farperformed over 7500 open heartsurgiers in children, including500 newborn heart surgeries.

The team has also performeda similar number of catheterbased procedures (closure ofheart defects without scar).AIMS has one of the most ad-vanced facility of diagnosingheart defects before birth bythe technique called fetalechocardiography.

By this technique many com-plex, difficult defects can be pre-vented by early diagnosis andtermination of pregnancy whilecorrectable problems can be of-fered treatment by a planneddelivery in a cardiac facility.

Complex Open Heart surgery performed on new born baby

Tawangmonastery faces

danger due tolandslides

PTI

ITANAGAR, NOV 27

The famous Tawang Monasteryin Arunachal Pradesh is underimminent threat of collapse fol-lowing massive landslidesaround it.

The 330-year-old monastery,also known as Gaden NamgyalLhatse, which stands on the spurof a hill about 10,000 feet abovesea level, is witnessing massivelandslide around it since Mon-day, officials said.

The landslide had already dam-aged the plantation and someelectr ic posts around themonastery located in Twang-chuvalley of Tawang district, they said.

Chief Minister Dorjee Khanduvisited the site yesterday to assessthe damage and asked the districtadministration and public worksdepartment to put their men andmachine in place to contain fur-ther damage to the site.

Khandu also said he wouldtake up the matter with the Cen-tre to save the monastery, oneof the biggest in the world.

Step-fatherleaves child to

starve, arrestedPTI

KOLLAM, NOV 27

A two-year-old girl left aloneallegedly by her step-father tostarve in a shed with antsswarming around her was res-cued and rushed to hospitalby people at a village nearhere.

The incident took place atMeeyannur village yesterday.

After rescuing the skinny childwith rake-thin limbs and hermother, the villagers informedthe police and admitted thechild to a hospital.

The step-father of the childhas been taken into custody anda case registered against himfor cruelty towards the tot, po-lice said.

The child was living with hermother and step-father, bothdaily wage earners, who hadcome to the area only about amonth ago.

PTI

PANAJI, NOV 27

Sound technician Resul Pookutty was fas-cinated with physics as a child and dreamtof winning a Nobel Prize but ended up bag-ging an Oscar for his work in Danny Boyle's"Slumdog Millionaire".

"I wanted to be a physicist and win aNobel for India, but I ended up winning anOscar instead. I'm just as happy," Pookuttysaid during his master class on 'Art of Soundand Music' at IFFI here.

"When I came into this field, I realizedthat sound engineering was not so muchengineering but a craft. We choose everysound very carefully because we want theaudience to hear what we wanted themto," Pookutty said.

Pookutty said that it was Boyle, whoinspired him to go beyond the bound-aries and experiment with new soundsin the movie, which won eight Oscarsincluding two for musician A R Rah-man.

"During the riot scene in 'Slumdog Mil-lionaire', Danny came to me and said thathe wanted to hear the sound when Jamaalcomes out of the water. He was the first di-rector who visualized the sound becausenot many directors care about it eventhough they are great with the camera,"said Pookutty.

When asked to name the most importantelement of sound in cinema by filmmakerGoving Nihalani, who was in the audience,Pookutty promptly replied "silence".

"Silence is the most important elementin sound and how we use it can create adifferent impact. I learnt the effective useof silence from Govindji, he was one of thepioneers of it and he is a great camera-man.

"I remember that in the climax of 'Ghajini'I convinced both the director and Aamir tomake certain scenes soundless. But silenceis not without sound, we use certain soundsto convey the feeling of silence," saidPookutty.

Oscar winner Resul Pookutty dreamt of Nobel prize

PTI

CHENNAI, NOV 27

In his near five decade long career, actorKamal Hassan has always stayed away fromendorsements, but has now hinted at achange of mind, only if revenue from themhelps a noble cause.

'This (cinema) industry has given me theconfidence that I can sustain a livelihoodfrom its own source of income even duringthe low-paid days,' Kamal, as he is calledby his fans, said at a media interaction here.

Stating that brand endorsement hadnever been his cup of tea, the nationalaward winning actor said he was nottempted to endorse brands even when otheractors had spoken in support of them.

'As a matter of policy, I had stayed awayfrom doing advertisements since I cannotendorse a product with which I am not as-sociated with,' the veteran actor noted.

However he now seems to have had achange of mind, lending his image for var-ious AIDS-related activities by Tamil Nadu

State AIDS Control Society (TANSACS), whichhad organised the interaction in associationwith private radio station Hello FM and

Population Services International (PSI), anNGO.

The actor, who has interacted with AIDS-affected children and would be sharing hisexperiences on air through Hello FM as partof a campaign to raise funds for such chil-dren, said he may act in advertisement filmsif revenue from them could be useful forsuch causes.

'If I can give the entire money (receivedas wages) with tax free benefits, I can workin advertisement films,' he said, even asmany younger cinema colleagues, men andwomen, are brand ambassadors for variouslocal and international brands.

TANSACS Project Director P Amutha saidthe prevalence rate of AIDS in the state haddropped from 1.13 per cent in 2003 to 0.2per cent now and credited the dip to grow-ing awareness and proper treatment facil-ities offered by the state government.

She lauded the media for playing an activerole in disseminating awareness on AIDSand HIV.

Kamal Hassan to endorse brands only if revenue helps noble cause

INDIAGOA, SUNDAY, 28 NOVEMBER, 2010

Pg 7OHERALD

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Of inaction, double standards and luxury

By ColIn SavIo Coelho

With the advent of the rule, nay misrule, of our lais-sez-faire Chief Minister Digambar Kamat; we havefaced numerous double standards and ineffective

governance. While he does not seem to know, or pretendsnot to know, what exactly is the factual position of any ad-ministrative matter, there seems to be a conceited emphasison non-action on his part.

This is very sad considering the high expectations we hadwhen he took over as Chief Minister in June 2007. He hasbeen bitten by the appeasement bug. In fact, all the infor-mation and my subsequent views are coming forth becauseof the information provided by a little birdie with knowl-edgeable antecedents!

I remember about three years ago, when a group of musi-cians and entertainers approached the CM on the issue ofsound restrictions, he was quick to defend the governmentsunrealistic stance, We now have the Police Reforms Com-mission. Police officers are not ready to go against the rulesbecause they can fall into trouble. But this double speak isvery common with our now double-edged Chief Minister.What baffles me, though, is how Goa could reach a levelwhere even the chief minister needs to be questioned anddoes this new trend need to grow into a die-hard habit?

The authorities have decided to stop all entertainmentaround the IFFI venue by 10 pm. This is fair enough consideringthe law of the land and the directives for its strict implemen-tation by the Supreme Court. We, as Goans, may have adifferent view to this restriction. It holds no water becausewe are bound by the rules of the land, unless someone findsa way to convince the SC about our views. But until suchtime, we are bound by the laws on sound. But is the law ap-plicable only to places on the shores of Goa? What happensoff-shore? While Panjim is silenced at 10 pm, as far as enter-tainment on the land goes, the Casi