OHERALDOThe Voice of Goa Since 1900

Goas Heartbeat: Lindsay Lohan

turns fashion reporter Pg 12

Sports: Sania enters US

Open main draw Pg 16Goa: Churchill for merging

Karwar areas into Goa Pg 3

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SUNDAY

(Continued on page 10)(Continued on page 10)

IN BRIEF

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, AUG 28

The Union Environment Ministryhas revoked the clearancegranted to an iron ore projectat village Pirla in South Goawhich it found to be based onwrong information.

The withdrawal came amonth after the National Envi-ronment Appellate Authority re-jected the nod given by theMinistr y to a private f irmCareamol Iron Ore Limited.

The NEAA order said that theproject proponent had submit-ted false data and concealeddata in respect of distance ofriver, archaeological sites from

the project site, forest cover inproposed mining lease area inits Environment Impact Report.

The appeal against Jaisinh Ma-ganlal owned mining projectwas filed by Gomantak ShetkariSanhatana through SupremeCourt lawyer Ritwick Dutta.

Mr Dutta said that the miningproject was granted environ-mental clearance in September2007 by the Environment Min-istry even though the projectproponent had given wrong in-formation.

He claimed that the companymisled the government by de-claring in its EIA that the river

Kushawati is at a distance of 2.6kilometres of the project sitewhereas actually it is at a dis-tance of only 50 metres. Simi-larly, the EIA document wasmade available only in Englishand the public hearing venuewas nearly 40 kilometres awayfrom the project site. There isalso an archaeological monu-ment within a distance of 500metres which was never dis-closed to the NEAA.

The NEAA had directed theEnvironment Ministry to placethe project before the StandingCommittee of the NationalBoard for Wildlife as it is locatedwithin 10 km of Cotigao and

Netraval wildlife sanctuary a factallegedly hidden by the firm.

After conducting a site visiton July 15 and 16 to ascertainthe sites distance from the riveras well meeting the affectedpeople, the NEAA rejected theenvironmental nod given to it.

Environment Ministry in itsorder said that in complianceof the tribunals order and takingnote of the fact that the projectproponent has concealed factualinformation which is essentialfor appraisal of the project pro-posal in terms of environmentalintegrity, the clearance is re-voked.

Centre revokes nod to mining

project at Pirla

H I D D E N FA C T S ?n The company declared in its EIA that the River

Kushawati is at a distance of 2.6 kilometres of theproject site whereas actually it is at a distance ofonly 50 metres.

n The EIA document was made available only inEnglish and the public hearing venue was nearly 40kilometres away from the project site.

n There is also an archaeological monument within adistance of 500 metres which was never disclosedto the NEAA.

Colourfully dressed youngsters dance through the streets of Piedade-Divar as part of the Bonderam 2010 celebrations on Saturday. (Report and more photos on Page 2) Photo by Rozario Estibeiro

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, AUG 28

The private buses in the Statehave threatened to remain offthe road on September 6, if theirdemand to have a coordinationcommittee to stop harassmentby Kadamba Transport Corpo-ration Limited (KTCL) is not fulfilled.

All Goa Private Bus OwnersAssociation, general secretarySudip Tamankar told a press con-ference that the government hasbeen dragging its feet over the issue.

We had submitted the mem-orandum to State Transport Min-istry way back in Februaryseeking to have a coordinationcommittee to fix the issue boil-ing between the KTCL and pri-vate bus operators, Tamankar said.

Transport department hasfailed to form the committee,which was supposed to haverepresentatives from KTCL, thedepartment and private bus op-

erators.The private bus operators

rued that they have been at thereceiving end due to unduefavours granted to KTCL by theState government.

KTCL claims to be facing

loses every month although ithas its own infrastructure whichwas built by the State govern-ment. All the bus stands are con-s t ruc ted by the S ta tegovernment for them but theState does not earn a singlepaisa from it, Tamankar pointedout.

KTCL is not spending a singlepaisa on maintenance of thesebus stands, still they earn therevenue in a form of parkingfees at the stand, he alleged.

However, as per the statisticsavailable from KTCL it is beenstated that since last three yearsKTCL has spend nearly Rs 8 croreon the maintenance of all tenbus stands in the State.

Tamankar said that KTCL hasbeen receiving undue favoursfrom the government. In 2001,Parrikar-led government hadformed a subsidy scheme forthe private buses. Till date 150

private buses have received thesubsidy but simultaneously, 90KTCL buses too have been ben-efited by it, the bus operatorssaid.

The Corporation is the winnerof Kilometer Per Litre Fuel Con-sumption Efficiency awardwhich is constituted by Maha-rashtra, Karnataka and Goa gov-ernments.

If they are having such highfuel efficiency than there is noreason for them to have revenueloses, he claimed.

The private bus operatorswho had appealed the State totake over their business as itruns in losses, today said thatthey are ready to take over theKTCL.

Give us KTCL for two monthswithout any liability like Chair-man or Managing Director. Wewill bring it in the profit,Tamankar said.

Bus owners threaten stir on Sept 6

PTI

NEW YORK, AUG 28

In a quiet move, Pakistan ishanding over de-facto controlof the strategic Gilgit-Baltistanregion in the Occupied Kashmirto China in an area witnessinga simmering rebellion againstIslamabad.

The New York Times said thatthere were two important newdevelopments in Gilgit-Baltistan;a simmering rebellion againstthe Pakistani rule and the influxof an estimated 7,000 to 11,000soldiers of the Chinese PeoplesLiberation Army in the area,which is closed to the world.

China wants a grip on thestrategic area to assure unfet-tered road and rail access to theGulf through Pakistan, thepaper said, and for this purposeis building high-speed rail androad link.

The link up would enable Bei-jing to transport cargo and oil

tankers from eastern China tothe new Chinese built PakistaniNaval base at Gawadar, Pasniand Ormara in Balochistan, justeast of the Gulf in 48 hours.

Many of the PLA soldiers en-tering Gilgit-Baltistan are ex-pected to work on the railroad.Some are extending the Karako-ram Highway, built to linkChinas Xinjiang province withPakistan. Others are working ondams, expressways and otherproject, the paper said.

It said that mystery surroundsthe construction of 22 tunnelsin secret locations, where evenPakistanis are barred. Tunnelswould be necessary for a pro-jected gas pipeline from Iran toChina that would cross theKarakorams through Gilgit.

But they could be also usedfor missiles storage sites, theTimes said.

So far, the paper quoting for-eign intelligence sources, Pak-

istani media and PakistaniHuman Rights groups, said thePLA construction crews hadbeen living in temporary en-campments and went homeafter completing their assign-ments.

But now they are building abig residential complex, clearlydesigned for a long term pres-ence, and the New York Timessaid what is happening in the

region is a matter of concernfor Washington.

Coupled with support for Tal-iban, Islamabads collusion infacilitating Chinas access to theGulf makes it clear that Pakistanis not a US ally, the New YorkTimes said.

The paper said that there waswidespread brutally-suppressedlocal movements for democraticrights and regional autonomy

in both Gilgit and Baltistan,where Sunni Jihadi groups alliedwith the Pakistani army havesystematically terrorised thelocal Shia Muslims.

Gilgit and Baltistan are infact under military rule, thepaper said, pointing out thatthe local people are aspiring forlegislature and other institutionswithout restrictions like thoseimposed in other parts of PoK.

The Times said in PoK theelected legislature control onlyfour out of 56 subjects, coveredin the state constitution, therest are under the jurisdictionof a Kashmir Council, ap-pointed by the President of Pak-istan.

In comparison, the paper said,India gives more power to thestate government in Kashmir;elections there are widely re-garded as fair, and open discus-sion of demands for autonomyis permitted.

Pak giving China de-facto control of area in PoK?

Talasha firstGoan in

CWG team HERALD SPORTS REPORTER

PANJIM, AUG 28

Goas swimming sensation,Talasha S Prabhu created his-tory as she became the firstState sportsperson to clincha place in India swimmingteam for the forthcomingCommonwealth Games tobe held in New Delhi.

Talasha bagged yet an-other gold, her second, inhe r pe t even t , 100mfreestyle (0:59.23) on theconcluding day at 64th Sen-ior National Aquatic Meet inJaipur on Saturday. Winnerof silver medal in 2008 andbronze in 2009, she stayedahead of Maharashtras Jy-otsana Pansare and Kar-natakas T Sneha in a close finish.

Talasha, who is DempoBrand Ambassador, provedher mettle in the champi-onship winning a medal ineach event she participated.Her tally stands at two gold,two silver and a bronze.

The talented swimmerwas in the race for the indi-vidual title, but with Richasetting a new record, Talashawas pushed to the second spot.

The Swimming Federationof India (SFI) has finalised alist of 13 boys and 7 girls forthe National aquatic team.

The final preparatorycamp is due to start atShyama Prasad Mukherjeepool on September 1.

PTI

MUMBAI, AUG 28

The crew, including two pilots,of a Chennai-bound Jet Airwaysplane Friday night were sus-pended on Saturday after aprobe indicated serious proce-dural lapses in an emergencyevacuation carried out by themsuspecting fire that was not there.

14 passengers sustained in-juries in the evacuation when141 passengers, including an in-fant, were deplaned using emer-gency chutes and services afterthe pilot reported fire in one ofthe aircrafts engines when itwas on the taxiway for take-off.

The handling of the situationby the crew came under attackfrom passengers some of whomsaid they were virtually thrownout of the aircraft. Proper evac-uation procedures were not fol-lowed and in the sudden surgeof passengers, many of them re-ceived injuries.

After a preliminary probe, theDirectorate General of Civil Avi-ation (DGCA) found serious

procedural lapses in the emer-gency procedures carried outFriday night by the cockpit andcabin crew, took them off dutyand later suspended them.

Those suspended are boththe pilots, including the com-mander, four cabin crew mem-bers and four additional cabincrew members.

The preliminary fact-findingby the DGCA has indicated se-rious procedural lapses in deal-ing with the emergency andevacuation situation as per ex-isting procedures laid down inaircraft rules and regulations,by the operating aircraft crewmembers of the Jet Airwaysflight 9W2302, an official state-ment said here.

The DGCA has removed theCockpit Voice Recorder and theDigital Flight Data Recorder toanalyse recordings of voices andother parameters of the Boeing737 aircraft.

Jet Airways, however, main-tained that the crew of the Mum-bai-Chennai flight initiated aprecautionary evacuation on thetaxiway due to a suspected firearound the left engine.

The precautionary evacua-tion was carried out in the in-terest of safety of the guestsand the crew. The crew carriedout the evacuation in accor-dance with standard operatingprocedures. Subsequent inspec-tion of the engine has indicatedthat there was no fire, the air-line said.

The DGCA said it was treatingthe incident as serious andadded that a formal investiga-tion would be carried out by ateam comprising Director Airsafety Mumbai, Flight OperationInspector and Cabin Safety In-charge of DGCA.

2 pilots, 8 crew of Jet flightsuspended for serious lapses

Mining firm raidedA mining firm owned byCongress Rajya Sabha mem-ber Anil Lad and his brotherSanthosh Lad, MLA wasraided by officials of the For-est and Mines and Geologydepartments on Saturday, of-ficial sources said. Accordingto sources, a 50-memberteam, including survey offi-cials led by Sandur RangeForest Officer Mahesh Patilconducted a raid on the min-ing areas of V S Lad & Sonsin Bellary District and alsoquestioned some employeesof the firm. (PTI)

Union minister escapes unhurtUnion Minister of State forPower Bharat Solanki es-caped unhurt when his carcollided with the pilot vehi-cle leading his convoy nearBorsad town in Gujarat, po-lice officials said. The acci-dent took place when theminister was on his way toattend a programme in Um-reth town, they said. A cowcame in way of Solankisspeeding convoy due towhich the pilot vehiclesdriver applied suddenbrakes, leading to the colli-sion, the officials said. (PTI)

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

MARCEL, AUG 28

A huge number of people fromdifferent walks of life bade atearful farewell to veteranKonkani writer Ravindra Kelekar(85), as his mortal remains werecremated with full honours nearhis residence at Priol on Satur-day.

Those who visited the resi-dence to offer condolences tothe bereaved family includednumerous politicians, writers,freedom fighters, activists andacademicians.

They included Chief MinisterDigambar Kamat, OppositionLeader Manohar Parrikar, min-isters Jose Philip DSouza,Joaquim Alemao, Churchill Ale-mao and Aleixo Sequeira, MLAsDeepak Dhavlikar, Babu Kavlekar,Victoria Fernandes, LaxmikantParsekar, Damu Naik and Ma-hadev Naik, former chief minis-ter Shashi ka l a K a ko d ka r,former ministers NirmalaSawant and Matanhy Sal -danha, Goa University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dilip Deobagkarand Registrar Prof Sangodkar,

Ravindrabab cremated

Girish Kelekar lights the pyre and consigns the body of his father,Ravindra Kelekar, to flames. Photo by Amresh Parab

MARCEL: It was an embarrass-ing situation for the Goa Po-lice, as one rifle malfunctionedwhile other rifles misfired dur-ing the guard of honour cer-e m o n y f o r d e p a r t e dveteran writer RavindraKelekar.

There were, in all, four riflesbeing handled by the police-men. One rifle began to mal-function and the policemanhandling the rifle quickly with-drew from the guard of honour

ceremony.To make matters worse, the

three other rifles were misfir-ing on at least four occasions.

The policemen handling therifles were seen changing thecartridges in a desperate at-tempt to complete firingrounds outside the Kelekarresidence.

According to sources, therifles are from the Portugueseera and are often in need ofrepairs.

Rifles misfire during guard of honour

Man arrested for killing

receptionistHERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, AUG 28

Panjim police on Saturday ar-rested a former manager of aguest house at Dona Paula forkilling a male receptionist andcritically injuring his wife in afit of rage.

Shamsunder Anchan, 27, whotried to flee after killing Sid-dharam Alure, 30 and Alureswife, Rajashree, was appre-hended at Kadamba bus standSaturday morning, few hoursafter the crime.

Police said that Anchanwanted to avenge Alure, forsacking him from the job at theguest house. He doubted thatSiddharam and his wife werebehind his suspension, police said.

According to police, Anchancame to the guest house thismorning and killed Alure by slit-ting his throat, on the secondfloor of the guest house. He alsocalled Rajashree upstairs andstabbed her in the stomach andran away.

The private busoperators claim theyhave submitted amemorandum to StateTransport Ministry inFebruary last seekingto have a coordinationcommittee to fix theissue boiling betweenthe KTCL and privatebus operators. But tilldate, the Transportdepartment has failedto form the committee.

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GOA, SUNDAY, 29 AUGUST, 2010

GOA Pg 2OHERALDO

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 28

Carmona villagers battle againstmega housing projects in thevillage has reached a decisivestage with Mumbai-based Ms KRaheja International seekingpermission for construction ofbungalows without the manda-tory 10-meter approach road inplace.

The 10-meter wide road normhas assumed significance giventhat the Town and Country Plan-ning Department had made itcategorically clear to the Ra-hejas at the time of issuing pro-

visional NOC for sub-division ofplots that secondary develop-ment of the property would bepermitted only after acquiringand developing a 10-meter wideroad.

In fact, while issuing provi-sional NOC to the Real EstateDeveloper for sub-division ofthe property, Town Planner Ra-j e sh J Na ik had imposedamongst other conditions thatany secondary developmentwill be permitted only after ac-quiring and development of a10-mts road R/W and shall begoverned as per rules in force.

Based on the TCPs provi-sional NOC, Raheja has com-p le ted work on thesub-division of the propertyand has approached the Car-mona panchayat for construc-tion licence for the bungalows.Sarpanch Estaquio DCosta saidthe panchayat has carried outinspection of the property onFriday, adding that the pan-chayat would now forward Ra-hejas plan to the Town andCountry Planning Departmentfor further action. We havecarried out the inspection. Itis for the TCP to take a final

decision, now, the sarpanchadded.

The ball now lies in the TCPdepartment, having permittedsub-division of plots sans a 10-meter wide approach road afterPWD Minister Churchill Alemaoput up a note directing PWD of-ficials to acquire land for widen-ing of the existing road to a10-meter wide road.

Sources in the TCP admittedin private that the provisionalNOC for sub-division of land wasgranted to Rahejas based onAlemaos note issuing directionsto PWD officials. It is not clear

whether the PWD has put foracquisition of land for wideningof the approach road as theresno change in the road width onground since the PWD Ministerput up the note on November30, 2009.

Anti-mega housing activistsfrom the village are gearing upfor yet another round of battle,with the activists reminding theTCP to ensure that all conditionsimposed on the builder at thetime of granting provisionalNOC for property sub-divisionare honoured.

Says Panch Orlando Da Silva:

The existing approach road isnot even five meter wide whenthe building norms mandate a10-meter wide road. The vil-lagers will now approach theTCP demanding it not to enter-tain the construction plan as thecondition on the road width hasnot been fulfilled till date.

Rahejas had initially mootedconstruction of around 612 res-idential apartments on the80,000-odd property facingRiver Sal at Carmona, but thefile was withdrawn followingagitation from the local popu-lace.

Carmonas battle against mega housing at decisive stage

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CANACONA, AUG 28

The State government mayhave declared Saturday a publicholiday due to the death ofveteran Konkani writer Ravin-dra Kelekar, but an aided schoolin Canacona made it compul-sory for its students to attenda school programme on Satur-day.

Some angry parents saidthat the decision to hold a pro-gramme on a public holidayamounted to disrespect to therenowned Konkani writer.

Parents at Loliem were sur-prised to learn that childrenwere ca l l ed to the Sh r iDamodar Vidyalaya at Loliemon Saturday, although the Stategovernment had declared Sat-urday a public holiday and amourning day as a mark of re-spect to veteran Konkani writerKelekar.

"When parents confrontedthe headmaster, he said it wasfully his responsibility that hehad called the students for a

cultural programme on the dayand said he was aware thatgovernment had declared theday as a public holiday," saidAjay Lolienkar, a PTA memberof the school.

When contac ted , Shr iDamodar Vidyalaya Headmas-ter Shambu Prabhudessai triedto justify his decision, claimingthat the programme had beenfixed in advance.

"The chief guest was comingfrom a distance. This was nota cultural programme but anobservation of 'Sanskrit Day'by the school, which is part ofcelebrations of 'Narali Poorn-ima' held earlier," said Prab-hudessai.

"We did nothing wrong. In-stead, we paid homage to thegreat personality, RavindraKelekar, dur ing the pro -gramme," he added.

The headmaster claimedthat he and the school hadgreat respect to the departedsoul.

"We are part of the govern-

ment's observation of statemourning for the veteranKonkani writer and philanthro-pist Kelekar," added Prabhudes-sai.

"No classes were taken norwere other activities held. Thestudents were sent back homeimmediately after the pro-gramme."

"During the programme, weall paid homage to the greatwriter, Ravindra Kelekar. Wehad no intention either to hurtanyone's feelings or to disobeythe government's directives,"he said.

"We could not cancel theprogramme nor inform thechief guest who travelled froma distant place at the last mo-ment. So we decided to goahead and complete the pro-gramme as soon as possible."

However, the headmasterevaded commenting on thefact that Chief Minister Digam-bar Kamat had on Friday de-c lared Saturday as statemourning day.

Loliem school holds cultural event on a day of mourning

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 28

Margao Municipal Councilsgarbage collection system hashit a block, with overflowingbins literally the order of theday in the Commercial capital.

Chief Minister DigambarKamats Friday morning tour ofthe city and his directions toChief Officer Y B Tawde is apointer that things are not rosyon the garbage collection front.

Even as Fomento to gearingup to install the waste treatmentplant and machinery at Sonsodoafter the monsoons, MMCgarbage collection system seemsto have gone haywire.

Inquiries only revealed thatnearly half the fleet of garbagecollection trucks are down inthe garage with major technicalsnags. The proposal to buy fournew garbage compactors havejust been okayed by the Civicbody and the Chief Minister, andit would take some time before

the new vehicles take the placeof the worn out vehicles.

Secondly, reports suggest adivide between the sanitary sec-tion and the garbage truck driv-ers for quite some time. Thesanitary section, sources say,has no control over the drivers,and this has had a bearing ongarbage collection.

That the MMC chief officerfinally issued a memo to agarbage truck driver indicatesundercurrents in the civic body.

Sources in the know said thatthe civic body also falls short ofmanpower requirements. It islearnt that the civic body is help-less to attend to any emergencywork in the evenings as thereare no workers to work in theevening session.

A Civic official admitted thatthe question of men and ma-chinery was overlooked by theCity Fathers and the powers thatbe for a long time, resulting inthe present state of affairs.

Margao garbagecollection in disarray

An overflowing garbage bin in the commercial capital. Photo by Savio Dias

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

PORVORIM, AUG 28

Residents of Calvim on Fridaythwarted attempts by the staffof the River Navigation Depart-ment (RND) to tow away a ferryto the workshop for repairs byusing a ferry plying along theCalvim-Aldona route.

According to reports, the Ferry'Vagaor' plying along the Calvim-Aldona route suffered a break-down on Friday at about 4.30pm, when water began to seepinto the ferry due to a hole.

The RND later dispatched an-other ferry 'Bandora' in replace-ment of the 'Vagator' ferry thatevening. However, the staff on'Bandora' was directed by someRND officials to tow away theferry 'Vagator' on Saturday morn-ing to the workshop at Brittonato carry out repairs.

When commuters learnt onSaturday morning that the staffwas planning to use the ferry'Bandora ' to tow away thestranded ferry 'Vagator', they re-fused to alight from the 'Bandora'ferry in protest.

RND staff informed the agi-

tated commuters that they hadbeen instructed by their superiorsto tow away the 'Vagator' ferrybut the commuters did notbudge.

The news spread like wildfireas other residents also gatheredat the site.

Some locals then contacted Al-dona MLA Dayanand Narvekarand narrated the events to him,stating that ferry services alongthe route would be paralysed ifthe lone ferry 'Bandora' was tem-porarily withdrawn from theroute.

Narvekar then spoke to Min-ister for River Navigation SudinDhavliker and requested him notto take away the 'Bandora' ferry.

Accordingly, Dhavaliker di-rected the RND not to disruptthe ferry service at Calvim.

"This is the second time thatsuch incident has taken place atCalvim. The Ferry is the onlyquickest and convenient meansof transport for villagers to travelout of village. If the ferry serviceis disrupted, the office goers suf-fer the most," said Calvim PanchFreddy Pontes.

Calvim locals thwartferry diversion

Merces youth drowns off Baga beach

Traffic cops crack down at Bicholim

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

BICHOLIM AUG 29

A number of motorcycle riderswere penalised following swiftaction by the Mapusa Traffic cellat Bicholim on Saturday evening.

The Mapusa Traffic Cell per-sonnel, who cover Bicholimtaluka, were seen at about 4 pmnear the Shantadurga HighSchool Bicholim, catching a num-ber of motorcycle riders by sur-prise.

Such was the panic that manytwo-wheeler riders parked theirvehicles away from the highschool and preferred to walkrather than being caught andfined.

Several of them who did notcarry their driving licenses werefined upto Rs 500. There weresome who neither had a licencenor any money, prompting thetraffic police to confiscate theirvehicles.

The drive lasted til l lateevening and even relatives ofsome prominent persons fromBicholim were fined. MapusaTraffic Cell PI Uday Parab carriedout the drive.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

OLD GOA, AUG 28

Thousands of revellers wit-nessed the annual Bonderamfestival organised by the PiedadeYouth Association at Divar onSaturday.

Bonderam derives its namefrom the Portuguese word 'Bon-dera' signifying flags and is cel-ebrated every year on the fourthSaturday of August.

The Bonderam festival beganwith the march past which con-sisted of a number of flags, in-cluding the Indian tri-colour,Portugal flag and the PiedadeYouth Association flag.

The march past was accom-panied by a brass band and thiswas followed by the all-GoaFancy Dress competition.

Though Tourism MinisterNilkhant Halarnkar was to bethe chief guest for the festivaland Cumbarjua MLA PandurangMadkaikar the guest of honour,both Halarnkar and Madkaikardid not attend the function dueto the state mourning over thedemise of veteran writer Ravin-dra Kelekar.

The other guest of honour,former minister Nirmala Sawant,said the Bonderam had keptalive Goa's rich traditional cul-

ture, even though the State hadchanged over the years.

Later, the floats were pre-sented by the five groups ofDivar. The 'Stars and Goan Arti-facts' float by Romantic won thefirst prize, followed by 'AmcheaPurvozacho Dondo' by Vitojem(second),

'Gavan Gauia Vazoia Nachuia'by Maddant (third), 'African Cul-ture, the Rhythm of Unity' byPremeiro (fourth) and 'Sportsand Youth Power' by Divar Cen-tre (fifth).

As the floats wended theirway through the main road, thecrowds lined on both sides of

the street cheered the partici-pants by chanting "Viva Bon-deram" and dancing on thetunes of the music.

Said Goltim-Navelim SarpanchMario Pinto: "The Bonderam fes-tival is a festival of joy, happinesswhich has been kept alive tilldate by the Piedade Youth As-sociation. I appreciate the peo-ple of Divar for supporting thePYA to make the Bonderam Fes-tival a great success."

Old Goa police and the trafficpolice had made elaboratedarrangements to maintain dis-ciple and traffic order duringthe Bonderam festival.

Thousands throng Divar for Bonderam

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, AUG 28

The State has completed the de-marcation of High Tide Line(HTL), 200 mts line and 500mtsline along the coast onto theCadastral Survey Plan.

A press release issued by thePress Information Bureau statesthat the HTL has been demar-cated by the State Directorateof Settlement and Land Recordswith the technical assistancefrom National Institute ofOceanography (NIO), Dona Paulaand Goa Coastal Zone Manage-ment Authority (GCZMA).

The methodology adopted isin conformity with the guide-lines framed under the CoastalRegulation Zone Notification,1991, the release says.

Further, it says, the CoastalRegulation Zone maps are avail-

able to the public which are withthe Directorate of Settlementand Land Records.

The village-wise CadastralSurvey Plans are also providedto the coastal panchayats, whichare available on request andpayment of requisite fees, itsays.

The State has already initiatedsteps to put up the maps on thewebsite of the Department ofScience, Technology & Environ-ment, and Government of Goa.

When contacted, Director ofScience, Technology & Environ-ment told Herald that it wouldtake some more time to updatethe website.

We will need at least twomore months, he said addinghowever, the maps are read-ily available on payment of req-uisite fees, he said.

HTL demarcated on Cadastral Plan

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

PORVORIM, AUG 28

Elections to decide the fate of11 candidates, including twosets of brothers, contesting theby-polls in three wards of threepanchayats in Bardez taluka willtake place from 8 am to 5 pmon August 29.

All three wards are reservedfor OBC candidates.

In Verla-Canca panchayat, twobrothers are among the fourcandidates contesting in Ward3. They are Amita Korgaonker,Atmaram Bhagat, Umakant Ko-rgaonker and his brotherRatikant.

This seat had fallen vacant

due the resignation of Panch Va-sudev Korgaonker who gotelected as ZP Member. Thereare 580 voters in this ward, ofwhich 299 are males and 281females.

In Oxel-Siolim, the four can-didates in the fray to the Ward4 seat are Raju Banauliker,Gokuldas Dhargalker, SrikantDhargalker and Madhuker Dhar-galker.

This seat fell vacant due toresignation of Deepak Dhar-galker who got elected as ZPmember.

In Revora panchayat, threecandidates namely RajeshTemkar, Dinesh Temkar and Ra-

jaram Mandrekar are contestingthe elections to the Ward 7 seat.

Rajesh and Dinesh Temker arebrothers and this seat fell vacantwhen the earlier panch of thisward resigned after he got a jobin the government.

When contacted, BardezMamla tda r Gaur i shShankhwalker told Herald thatnecessary arrangements havebeen made for the smooth con-duct of the elections.

"One executive Magistrate hasappointed for this task and hewill supervise the elections.Counting will take place onMonday in the office of Mam-latdar," said Shankhwalker.

Panchayat by-polls today

HERALD REPORTER

VASCO, AUG 28

After breaking into a residentialcomplex barely a day ago, bur-glars continued to torment theport town when they brokeinto two shops on Friday night.

Cash and mobile phonesworth Rs 1.6 lakh were stolenfrom two commercial estab-lishments in Vasco, while prop-erty worth nearly Rs 1.3 lakhwas damaged on Friday night.

In the first incident, burglarsentered a ship repair office nearMPT Institute hall, barely 200metres from the Vasco policestation.

They ransacked the entireoffice and damaged the safelocker, two cupboards, drawersand door, before decampingwith cash of Rs 65,000.

The proprietor, ShaikhAshraf, mentioned that prop-erty worth nearly Rs 1.3 lakh

Burglars strike rich at Vasco again was damaged in the office.

In the second incident, bur-glars broke into the office of aprivate mobile service providerand stole cash of Rs 86,000 andthree mobile phones worthabout Rs 8,500.

The proprietor, Shamshun-dar Nayak, informed that bur-glars had ransacked his officeas well.

Burglars also damaged theshutter of a shop located atRose Mathias Chamber buildingalongside the F L Gomes Roadin the heart of the town.

Vasco police pressed a policedog squad and fingerprint ex-perts into service, but were un-able to obtain further clues intothe two burglaries. Investiga-tions are in progress.

The broken door of the ship repair office in Vasco that was burgledon Friday night. Photo by M Prabhav

Children perform at the Bonderam festival on Saturday.

A boy is dressed up as a coconut plucker. People play potters at the festival. Photos by Rozario Estibeiro

3 arrested for cheating,

forgery HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CALANGUTE, AUG 28

Anjuna police on Saturday ar-rested a man from Anjuna oncharges of cheating and forgery.

According to Anjuna Police,three persons, Sarjie S (Russian),Gurudas Govekar (Anjuna) andAlexandr M (Russian) came to-gether to form a real estate com-pany under name 'CosmicResorts Pvt Ltd' in 2004 and itwas subsequently registeredunder the Companies Act.

Thereafter, Sarjie left for Rus-sia while Govekar and Alexandramanaged the business in Goa.

However in 2008, AnastatiyaTripeka replaced Sarjie S as di-rector of the company and whenSarjie tried to call the other twodirectors to enquire about thebusiness in the State, they didnot respond to his calls.

Accordingly, Sarjie deputedAnna Rojavskaya (Russian) toGoa with his Power of Attorney,where it was learnt that Sarjiehad allegedly resigned as thedirector of the company and theother directors had allegedlymisappropriated an amount ofRs 1.64 crore from the com-pany's account with a privatebank in Mapusa. The balance ofthe company account nowstands at Rs 5,898.

After investigations, Anna Ro-javskaya lodged a complaint atthe Anjuna police station, claim-ing that Sarjie's signature hadbeen forged on the alleged res-ignation and misappropriationof funds.

Anjuna Police arrested Gov-ekar, while the others are ab-sconding. Further investigationsare in progress.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CALANGUTE, AUG 28

A 25-year-old man from Mer-ces Vaddy drowned in the seaoff Baga on Saturday.

According to Calangute Po-lice, Succorro Blacio D'Saalong with his Brother Savioand two cousins had gone toBaga for a picnic on Saturdaynoon.

After their lunch, Saviowent for a swim but began tostruggle in the sea.

Drishti lifeguards laterbrought him to the shore andhe was rushed to the Can-dolim Primary Health Centre,where he was declared dead.The body has been preservedat the GMC mortuary in Bam-bolim and PSI Gaurish Parabis investigating the case.

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HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, AUG 28

After abandoned by transportdepartment, the tourist taxi op-erators fear that they would losetheir business, as their all Goapermits await renewal.

Addressing a press conferencetoday evening, North GoaTourist Taxi Owners Association,Vice President Ravindra Ven-gurlekar claimed that since lastthree months, the transport de-

partment has not renewed theirAll Goa Tourist Taxi permits de-spite categorical assurance bythe government.

There are nearly 2000 reg-istered vehicles whose permitsare supposed to be renewed bythe department. The numberwill increase by November, hesaid.

Vengurlekar stated that a taxioperator is issued with All IndiaTourist taxi permit for nine years

and on expiry, they are renewedfor another five years but onlygiven All Goa Tourist Taxi per-mit.

But now, the departmentsays that the permits would beissued to only those vehicleswhich are above 1000cc. Theyhave asked us to change our ve-hicles from 800cc to 1000cc ifwe want the permits, he added.

The taxi operators say thatthey have loan liabilities running

for nine years, which makes itimpossible for them to buy an-other car.

Our livelihood depends onthis business. If the governmentdoesnt issue us permit, thenhow will we survive? ques-tioned a taxi operator.

The association has also al-leged that the department hasincreased the permit fees by 200times.

Information obtained under

Tourist taxis fear losing biz after delay in renewing permits RTI by the Association revealsthat the permit fees have beenincreased from Rs 150 to Rs2000 for 800cc vehicles andfrom Rs 300 to Rs 5000 for1000cc vehicles.

Vengurlekar said that theissue was raised before Chief

Minister Digamber Kamat, Trans-port Minister RamkrishnaDhawalikar, Transport SecretaryNarendra Kumar and Directorof Transport Arun Desai.

It was assured to us that thepermits for all the union mem-bers would be renewed after

August 15, Vengurlekar said.The association has also

urged South Goa Tourist TaxiOwners association as well asMapusa Tourist Taxi Owners As-sociation to submit the list ofnames of their members to thedepartment for the renewal.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 28

Claiming that Jnanpith awardeeRavindra Kelekar had supportedinclusion of Konkani speakingareas into Goa, PWD Minister,Churchill Alemao has calledupon the leading lights of theKonkani movement to fulfilKelekars dream by merging theareas of Karwar, Supa into theState.

I am opposed to Vishal Go-mantak. But, I agree withKelekars thought of includingKonkani speaking areas of Kar-war, Supa etc in Karnataka tohelp form a bigger Goa, Alemaotold newsmen on Saturday.

Incidentally, Alemaos similarstatement made at Karwar overa year ago had kicked off a bittercontroversy in the State ,prompting the Navelim MLA toissue a clarification, blaming themedia for misquoting him onthe sensitive issue.

Asked in what way a biggerGoa with Karwar and Supa willhelp Goans when the inhabitantsof these areas have different tra-

ditions and culture, Alemao shotback people of these areas hadmigrated from Goa centuriesago. The people there speakKonkani. Bringing these areasinto Goa will help the futuregenerations.

Reminding that prestigiousprojects such as Kaiga nuclearpower plant and the SeabirdNavy centre are located in Kar-war, Alemao said Goans can getpower from the Kaiga nuclearplant, adding that the naval baseat Dabolim can be shifted to theSeabird if Karwar is includedinto Goa.

Today, Goas total area is putat 3750 sq kms, while Karwarstotal area is 3600 sq kms. Kar-war and the other Konkanispeaking areas in Karnatakahave around three lakh popula-tion. If these areas are includedinto Goa, we will get the landas well as the facilities, headded.

Goans cannot fo rge tKelekars thought on this issue.Konkani lovers and the KonkaniAcademic should help to realizehis dream. It now depends onGoans to fu l f i l Ke lekar sdreams, Alemao added.

Incidentally, the PWD ministerwas silent on the inclusion ofKonkan speaking areas border-ing Maharashtra and only spokeof the merger of Karwar andother Konkani speaking areasfrom Karnataka into Goa.

Churchill calls formerging areas ofKarwar into Goa

House burgledMARGAO: Unknown culprits

barged into a residential houseat Novangully-Varca last nightand decamped with a laptopand other items all worth Rs52,000. The miscreants effectedentry into the house throughthe veranda door and decampedwith a laptop, a mobile phone,besides and other items, all val-ued at Rs 52,000.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

PERNEM, AUG 28

A 70-year-old woman died ofburn injuries at her residencein Varchawaddo-Morjim on Sat-urday morning.

According to reports, akerosene lamp fell on Sita BabloKhot while she was preparingtea at about 8 am. The flamesquickly engulfed the hut, trap-ping her inside the place. Shedied on the spot.

Pernem fire services rushedto the site and extinguishedthe fire. The body was later re-covered from the destroyedhut.

Pernem police has ruled outany foul play in the incident asshe was alone at home when

Woman dies in firethe incident took place.

The body was later sent foran autopsy to the GMC mortu-ary at Bambolim, before beinghanded over to relatives forfinal rites.

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WEATHER REPORTMax Temp: 29.90C Min Temp: 23.50C

Humidity: 89%

Rainfall past 24 hrs: 022.0 mm

Seasonal Total: 2864.1 mm

Forecast: Occassional spells of rain or thundershower would occur in some areas.

Duo wounded inSarvan accident

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

BICHOLIM, AUG 28

Two persons were seriously injured in anaccident involving three vehicles at Kara-pur-Sarvan, Bicholim, recently at about12.10 pm.

According to reports, the incident oc-curred when the Sumo (GA-01-R-4520),which was proceeding from Sanquelim to-wards Bicholim, collided against an on-coming truck (GA-04-T-2288) on the rearside. Later, the Sumo driver lost controland dashed against the bus (GA-01-U-3009).

In the accident, Sumo driver Dilip Gawasfrom Pilgao and Shadaf Yakab Jaddi fromKudal were seriously injured and were shiftedto GMC Hospital in Bambolim. Head Con-stable Ganesh Joshi is investigating the case.

shoRt taKesArt of Living course

PANJIM(HND): Art of Living course will be held at Mapusafrom August 31 to September 4, between 6:30 pm to 9:30 pmat Saldhana complex, Opp Old Marys High School, Mapusa.Those above 18 years can register for the course. For regis-tration and details contact Ganesh Zantye on 9326123654and 9421194343.

Dine and dance at SheelasPANJIM (HND): Dine and dance at Sheelas Restaurant and

Bar, near St Jacinto Island on the occasion of its silver jubileecelebrations on August 29. Live music by A&F Band (a 2-manband) will be in attendance for the first time, besides dinnerbuffet the real Goan way and lots of games for the young andold. Established in 1985, proprietor of Sheelas Nicolau DSouzastarted this bistro along with his wife Luiza DSouza on August29 and since then they have been serving the people of andaround Vasco, the most appetising food.

Medical camp at MargaoPANJIM(HND): A specialized medical camp for the patients

suffering from knee camp due to osteo-arthritis has been or-ganized at Gujarati Samaj Hall, Near Maruti Mandir, Aquem-Margao from August 29 to 31. The camp timings will be from9 am to 1 pm and 3 pm to 6 pm.

This camp is organized by PNR Society for relief and reha-bilitation of the disabled, a well-known organization in theservice of disabled people from Bhavnagar, Gujarat. Thepatients will be examined by Dr Vijay G Naik, renowned Pros-thetist and Orthotist of India, who has developed a polycentricknee brace to be used by the patients externally over the af-fected leg. The patients will be examined on first come-firstserve basis. No prior appointment is required. Each brace issubsidized and will be available at the rate of Rs 2,600 at thecamp. For details, patients can contact 9823030900 or9890188459.

Book releasePANJIM(HND): Selma Carvalho's book 'Into The Diaspora

Wilderness' will be released on August 29 at 11 am at theRavindra Bhavan, Margao. The London-based author will bedown for the launch, which is open to the public. Decadesafter impoverished Goans first scoured the world, a newbook traces some of the most fascinating stories from thediaspora that saw thousands from here get scattered acrossthe continents, says a press release.

Felicitation function PANJIM(HNB):Tiswadi Taluka Gomantak Bhandari Samaj

Committee will felicitate 25 students from the Bhandaricommunity students in Tiswadi taluka who have excelled atthe recent SSC, HSSC and graduation levels.

The felicitation programme will take place on Sunday, Au-gust 29 at 9 am at Mahalaxmi Temple, Panjim.

Director of Civil Supplies Gurudas Pilarnkar will be thechief guest, while Tiswadi Mamlatdar Mahadev Arondekarwill be the guest of honour. Other guests include Presidentof Gomantak Bhandari Samaj Madhukar Poku Naik and GeneralSecretary Advocate Jaiprakash Naik.

Scholarship presentationMAYEM(HC): Gomantak Maratha Samaj Bicholim will or-

ganize scholarship distribution programme for the beneficiarystudents at Rotary Hall, Bicholim, on August 29 at 9.30 am.

The programme will be followed by election of new com-mittee members for the next two years. Exhibition of differentimages of Bhausaheb Bandokar will be also held on the dayto mark the birth centenary celebration.

Taluka secretary Somnath Pilgaonkar has called upon theselected students and committee members to remain presentat the venue.

TBZ Jewellery expo

Asha D Kamat seen going around after inaugurating the jew-ellery exhibition of Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri & Sons at HotelNanutel, Margao in the presence of Managing Director PratapZaveri, Director Chaitanya Zaveri and Manager Rohit Kapadia.

PANJIM(HND): Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri and Sons, OperaHouse, the name which is synonymous with exquisite goldand diamond jewellery, recently inaugurated their exhibitionat Hotel Nanutel, Margao, at the hands of Asha D Kamat in thepresence of Managing Director of TBZ & Sons, Pratap Zaveri,Director Chaitanya Zaveri and Manager Rohit Kapadia of TBZ& Sons from Mumbai.

The 2 day exhibition coinciding with the coming GaneshChaturthi festival, will be open until Sunday, and has showcasedhandcrafted and designer jewellery. The exhibition is openbetween 10.30 am to 7.30 pm. The exhibition will later moveto Panjim at Hotel Fidalgo for 3 days beginning from August31 to September 2 .

TBZ carries on the tradition of adding immaculate shine ofbeauty and class. Their pioneering range of artistic and trendsetting jewellery specially crafted for this festive season isskillfully juxtaposed with various precious stones like diamonds,rubies, emerald and pearls. The dexterously designed uniquearray of long earrings by TBZ & Sons, Opera House has trulybecome the city style icon. These designs, also studded withprecious stones just give the ears a sheer gleam of glamourthat one always fancied, says a press release.

HERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, AUG 28

Ever since the English commodehas replaced the Indian com-mode, it has only added to peo-ples woes. It is practicallyimpossible to maintain a 100per cent sanitized toilet seat allthe while. The biggest challengeis mainly faced by hotels, re-sorts, airports, hospitals, spas,health clubs, nursing homes, of-fices or any general public toiletblocks where the English com-mode is in use.

Each use of the toilet bringsin millions of bacteria that thriveon the moist seat. Dependingon the persons using the toiletand the diseases they suffer from,makes it impossible to sanitizethe seat after every use. Everwondered why many of us sufferfrom urinary tract infection, dis-comfort near the groins, eczema,venereal diseases? It is becauseof the humble toilet seat. Andwe suffer this in silence.

People try various methodsto safeguard themselves beforeusing the toilet seat by eitherwiping the seat with a tissuepaper or spraying water onto itor simply sitting with theirhaunches, Indian style on thiscommode. Through all thesemethods they have merelywiped the seat of any residuefrom the previous user, but thebacteria are still very muchthere. What is worse is everyBacterium divides three times

every hour. One can just imaginethe millions of Bacteria invadinga Toilet Seat and sadly, nobodybothers.

Even after the Janitorial teamcleans the toilet seat, the nextmoment the seat is subjectedto attack by bacteria. Thus, asanitized toilet seat seemed tobe the biggest challenge for theHousekeeping and HospitalityIndustry.

Fortunately with the advance-ment of technology this chal-lenge has been overcome withthe introduction of Eyegiene,the automatic revolving selfcleaning and sanitizing toiletseat developed in the Nether-lands and brought to India byM/s Only The Best Hygiene Prod-ucts and Consumables.

Now with just a wave of yourhand over the sensor you cansay goodbye to contaminationand rest assured. The good newsis that this wonder product ismade rugged for everyday useand does not cost the moon. Itis easy to install and practicallyfits every commode which doesnot have a cistern tank. It takesjust 30 minutes to set it up.Once installed regular use costsjust Rs 1 per use.

The product is used exten-sively all over the world it hasbeen recently introduced inMumbai. You can see the prod-uct in action at the India Hospi-tality Expo being held at Panjimfrom September 3 to 5.

eyegiene, a solution to contaminated

toilet seats

CFL bulbs launchedPANJIM(HND): Forest Anion, a Singapore based company is

introducing their range of CFL bulbs and Tubes which is alsoa negative ion generator. Besides the savings on electricity,these bulbs emit negative ions when switched on. These neg-ative ions have a multitude of benefits which is good for con-sumers, says a press release.

The generation of negative ions continues till the bulbfuses. The average life span of these bulbs and tubes is 25per cent more than the average CFL bulbs. The product isbeing launched in India and distributed through M/s Only TheBest Hygiene Products and

Consumables. The bulbs, tubes are available in varioustypes depending on the many application of use.

Lawry Travassos New Love Album (Vol 64) released at thehands of PI Santosh Desai.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

SANGUEM, AUG 28

Former Sanguem municipalcouncil chairman Sanjay Raikar,who was instrumental in high-lighting the condition of theGovernment High School atBhati-Sanguem, has lauded theeducation department for de-ciding to urgently repair theschool building.

Raikar has, however, disputedthe clarifications issued by theeducation department in theHerald and has stated that ed-ucation department officialswere unaware of ground reali-ties at the school.

Raikar complimented ChiefMinister Digambar Kamat andEducation Minister Babush Mon-serratte for taking necessarysteps in the matter and directingthe officials to repair the schoolbuilding.

"However, mere preparationof the budget and sanction is notenough. The government shouldact at the earliest to allocate workorder for the repair and mainte-nance work," said Raikar.

Raikar also expressed surpriseover the clarifications issued bythe Education Department,claiming that they were notbased on facts.

"A close-up of the room,where classes are conducted forhigh school students, revealsthat classes are indeed held inthe bathroom and not in thestoreroom as cited by the Edu-cation Department," said Raikar.

"In fact, a tap connection isnow dismantled in the room.Ceramic tiles solely used in bath-

Sanguem ex-mayor disputesclaims of education dept

Two different classes are conducted in the same room, even thoughthe education department claims it is partitioned with cupboards.

Photo by Alfred Fernandes

rooms and latrines are still seenin the room. Why would a storeroom have ceramic wall tiles,"asked Raikar.

The room has a width ofabout one-and-half metre andlength of about 3 mtrs and canonly accommodate five-sixbenches.

Speaking to Herald, schoolHeadmaster Tonke said sincehis taking charge of the school,the room was used as a store-room. I am not aware as towhether it was used as a bath-room or latrine earlier, addedTonke.

Raikar also rejected the edu-cation department's denial that

students of different classeswere made to sit in the sameplace.

Though the departmentclaims the room to have beenpartitioned with cupboards, thereality is quite different. Stu-dents of two different classescan see each other while classesare going on. Where is the ques-tion of partitioning the roomwith cupboards, asked Raikar.

Before issuing clarifications,the department should haveseen the ground realities andshould not have blindly issuedthe clarifications, claimedRaikar.

Instead, the departmentshould penalize the concernedofficials for giving false infor-mation to the media, statedRaikar.

bhati

school woes

Felicitation function heldMAYEM(HC): Goa Medical College and Hospital Dean Dr

Jindal called upon the students to retain cultural heritage ofGuru-Shishya (teacher-disciple) tradition, which has gone intooblivion, as it is overpowered by money.

He was addressing the gathering during the felicitationfunction of the students of Shri Shantadurga Higher SecondarySchool Bicholim, who have sought admissions at GMC.

The function was organized by Bicholim unit of Indian Med-ical Association (IMA) at Hirabai Zantye Memorial Hall Bicholimon Sunday.

Dr Jindal also advised the new comers to serve the peopleby accepting this noble profession.

Dr Medha Salkar, Dr Shekhar Salkar, Dr Suresh Mandrekar,Dr Shubhangi Bandekar, Dr Kalpana Chodankar and Dr ArchanaKamat were present on the occasion.

A rare 6 inches Rock Crab which is blue in colour was spottedat Pilerne by Shashi Kumar. Photo by Rozario Estibeiro

Pre-Ganeshotsav programmes at Sanguem,

QuepemHERALD CORRESPONDENT

CURCHOREM, AUG 28

Fomento Resources CuddegalMine will organise an eight-daypre-Ganeshotsav programmesin different parts of Sanguemand Quepem talukas.

Addressing the media, Cud-degal Mine Deputy General Man-ager D R Vaze said this is theseventh year of Fomento Re-sources Ganeshutsav celebra-tion, which was started with anaim of providing services to thecommunity, including education,health, self dependence, coun-seling, personal developmentand entertainment.

Deputy General Manager (en-gineering services) RaghuvirDhaimodkar, Sanjay Gupta (com-munication) and Indira Pai werepresent during the press brief-ing.

During the pre-Ganeshutsav,a one-day workshop for teacherswill be held at Sarvodaya HighSchool, Curchorem. The directorof the school managementDeepak Apte will deliver a talkon Secrets of Guru.

Apte will also deliver a lectureon Awakening Inner Giant forhigher secondary students at Sar-vodaya High School Hall, Cur-chorem. Lectures facing the examchallenge and building smartteam for executives will be or-ganized for Hirabai TalaulikarHigh School students and officersof Fomento, respectively.

Educationalist Dilip Bhatikarwill deliver a lecture on Learnto Learn for the students ofSharda High School, Sanvordem,New English High School, Panch-wadi and Government HighSchool, Shigao.

Dr Mithun Bondre will give atalk on Benefits of OrganicFood for the people of Capxem,Savargal and other villages atSomnath High School, Savargal.Dr Prakash Prabhu Dessai willalso talk on Diabetic Care.

A culinary competition forMahila Mandals and self helpgroups will be organized at Som-nath High School, Savargal.Aruna Satish Naik will give a talkon the occasion.

An inter-school Spelling Beecontest for high school studentswill be organized at SomnathHigh School.

A programme of Bool group-ing for high school studentswill be organized at SomnathHigh School, Savargal, under thesupervision of Dr Joshi and DrParesh Kamat.

A counseling programme forstudents will be held at Govern-ment High School, Kavrem, andNhavelin High School, Sanque-lim, by educationist PrabhakarTimble.

Passport applications clearedPANJIM(HND): The Passport Office at Panjim, during the

week ended on August 20 has cleared all the applications forfresh passports received up to July 26 (F011602/10), whichwere found complete in all respects and police clearance re-ceived. During the same period, all the applications for renewalof passports received up to August 13 (R003703/10) and forMinors passports received up to August 3 (C002881/10)have also been processed and ready passports have been dis-patched to the applicants concerned.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CALANGUTE, AUG 28

The third annual event ApnaCir-cle-APREE 2010 organised bySpotlight Event and Entertain-ment Pvt Ltd got underway atHotel Riveira de Goa, Arpora,with its agenda Tools in a Surg-ing Economy.

The APREE Interactive Mar-keting Seminar is an experimen-tal and innovative platformaimed at advertising, public re-lations, entertainment and eventmanagement companies for dis-cussions and exchange of ideasfor a wider range of participants.

APREE is also a learning ex-perience, imparting essentialtools and techniques lookingahead at key challenges and op-portunities in the related field.

The third edition of APREE2010 has its association withonline business and career net-working site ApnaCircle.com.

A host of prominent speakersfor the seminar includes HarishBijoor (CEO Harish Bijoor Con-sults Inc), Maniv Arcot (Exe Cre-ative Director Leo Burnett),Anand Nair (Audience Matters),Vineet Gupta (22feet Commu-nications Pvt Ltd), Kapil Gupta(Myway IPTV), Subhomoy Sen-gupta (Digital at RediffusionY&R), Abhinav Dhawan (Staffingfunction for Manpower in India),Charles P Carneiro (WatsonWyatt Worldwide), Piyush (DishTV India Ltd) among others.

Addressing a press confer-ence, Salama Yamini, operationhead, APREE organizing com-mittee, outlined the aims andobjective of holding such a sem-

ApnaCircle-APREE 2010gets underway in Arpora

Sanjay Suri, Yogesh Bansal and Salama Yamini address the pressconference. Photo by Thomas Fernandes

inar for over 100 participants.APREE is an industry forum

aimed at bringing different pro-fessionals under one roof to shareand exchange through learningfrom their particular industry.This year, the focus of APREE isto concentrate on tools in thesurging economy, said Yamini,who hoped for better yields atthe APREE 2010 seminar.

Yogesh Bansal, Founder andCEO of ApnaCircle.com said: Ibelieve in networking, sharingand evolving through experi-ences. We are engaged in net-working events and by being apart of the offline networkingAPREE, we are trying to utilizethe platform for business andprofessional networking and ac-tivities.

I consider online and offlinenetworking a great way to reachout to people, said Bansal.

Actor and producer SanjaySuri said: I have raised fundsand sourced talent using socialnetworking sites for our film IAM produced by me and Onirand presented it at the APREE2009.

At the APREE 2010, I am hereto share the success of our filmthrough the medium of socialmedia. The association of Ap-naCircle.com and APREE 2010is a great example of online andoffline networks to create op-portunities, he said.

The three-day ApnaCircle-APREE 2010, which commencedon August 26 at Hotel Riveirade Goa, Arpora, is being at-tended by film personalities likeHiten Pantal, TV actors SumeetSachdev, Sandeep Baswana,Aslesha Sawant, Eijaz Khanamong others and it will con-clude on August 29.

RCCF meetPANJIM(HND): The Raia Civic

and Consumer Forum (RCCF) willhave its monthly general meet-ing of consumers on August 29at 4 pm at Our Lady of SnowsHigh School, Raia.

The meeting will focus on var-ious civic and consumer issuessuch as rights of LPG con-sumers, prevention of vectorborne diseases, road safety andtraffic management, health andsanitation, environment protec-tion and consumer literacy andparticipation.

Various service related issuesof the post office, electricity,BSNL telephones and PWDwater supply will also be dis-cussed.

BY JAGDEEP POKLE

PANAJI, AUG 28

There should be more exchanges withinthe literature and languages from differentstates for the mutual growth of literatures,stated renowned Malayalam film maker andwriter M T Vasudevan Nair.

Nair was in Goa to present the awards ofKendriya Sahitya Akademi. Speaking exclu-sively to HCNs Jagdeep Pokle, PadmaBhushan recipient Nair said that with lesserexchanges, people from the literary worldfrom across the country were not beingable to relate to one another.

Ironically, we know what is happeningin UK, American and Latin American litera-ture, but due to fewer exchanges, we haveno knowledge about what is happening toliterature from other states of the country,or to the languages, Nair said. Translatorsare now getting importance and due recog-nition after the initiatives taken by theKendriya Sahitya Akademi of institutingtranslation awards. Agreeing, Nair says thatnow with increased awareness, translatorsare getting respect and proper compensa-tion as compared to olden days when theyused to be neglected.

In this regard though, Nair says that Keralawas an exception. Fortunately, both thereaders as well as publishers from Kerala

have from long being receiving works fromother languages very warmly.

Translators from Kerala have been indi-vidually doing the good work, he said.

Nair, who has won the National Film Awardten times, and the Kerala State Film Awardtwenty five times, for direction as well asscreenplay, however says his first love is lit-erature. While making films, most of thetimes you have to consider the commercialviability of the project, since the producerhas invested crores of rupees in it. I took along gap of seven years when I stayed awayfrom films, until 2008. I had got fed up ofthe gambling sense of films, Nair said. Iget more satisfaction in writing novels. I amalso contented with the royalty I get paidfrom my books, says Nair. The acclaimedwriter says that his novels clicked with thereaders from Kerala as they touched theissues of the present day and were basedon human sensibilities. With books, I hadthe liberty to write about the issues I believedin and they gave me an opportunity to ad-dress the realities of life, Nair said. At thesame time, writing for readers from Keralais not simple, asserts Nair.

Readership is exceptional in Kerala, butthe readers are very sensitive. Novels andeven poetry books are selling, but the issuesand the theme should appeal the readers.

You cant fool them cautions the celebratedwriter. Nair, the recipient of the prestigiousJnanpith Award, the highest literary awardin India, has penned numerous novels andshort stories, and is known to be one ofthe most prolific and versatile writers inmodern Malayalam literature. His booksspeak of the pain and anguish of the Keralasociety in the post-independence India.

Need for more exchange between literature, languages from other states

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HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 28

Legal Coordinator of the Savethe Child India, Adv NandiniThakker has said that politicalwill together with implementa-tion of the Code by the stake-holders in the Tourism industrywill help to combat humantrafficking in the country.

Delivering a talk on humantrafficking organized by theSouth Goa Journalists Associ-ation, Nandini said thathuman trafficking for com-mercial sexual exploitation isthe second largest illegaltrade in the world and addedthe country should put inmore efforts to address theburning issue.

Only recently, the Uniongovernment has approved acode for the various stakeholders of the tourism indus-

try. Once implemented, thecode will help spread aware-ness amongst the stake hold-ers, including hotel owners,tour and taxi operators, shackowners on illegal human traf-ficking for sexual exploitation,Thakker added.

Saying that India falls in TierII in illegal trafficking, Thakkersaid the country is not doingenough to arrest human traf-ficking in the country. Wehave to put in more efforts toaddress the burning issue ofhuman trafficking. , she as-serted.

She said that the situation inprogressive looking Goa is rel-atively well as compared toother states, where genderbias is still prevalent. Stressingon the need for awareness inthe society on human traffick-ing, she said that people

should be aware that humantrafficking is existing in society.

Saying that migration per seis not bad, she, however,sounded caution and laidstress on safeguards to avoidinnocent women forced intotrafficking.

Disagreeing for the need forempowering the agencies withmore powers to arrest traffick-ing, Thakker, however, calledfor meting out exemplary pun-ishment to the accused asagainst nominal punishment todiscuss

Terming it as a myth thatsome of the victims are intoprostitution because of money,Thakker said the syndicatesmake lot of money and not thevictims. The victims are re-duced as mere commercial sexworkers in the hands of thesyndicate.

Political will needed to combat human trafficking: advocate

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 28

The Voice of Villagers (VoV) hasurged the government to holda power point presentation in-dicating the exact and precisealignment of the NH-17 in eachaffected village detailing thehouses, property and struc-tured that will be affected, tobring clarity in the minds of theaffected people.

The NGO suggested that thepresentation could perhaps beheld at the Ravindra bhavan tofacilitate the affected people ofSouth Goa to get their griev-ances redressed.

Spokesman Edwin Pinto ex-pressed deep distress at thefailure of the government, theMinisters and MLAs in protect-ing the interests of their peopleagainst the acquisition of landfor this proposed expansion,which undoubtedly goesagainst the interests of the verypeople that the government isobligated to protect.

He said the people do not

Clarity needed on NH17 alignment: VoVunderstand the reason behinddiverting the alignment tospare institutions by goingthrough a cluster of homes,thus displacing so many of theaam aadmi, who have theirlongstanding roots in the placeand will be put through muchtrauma and upheaval.

Pinto said while the Commit-tee constituted by the Govern-ment of Goa to examine theissues thrown up by the align-ment of this proposed expan-sion, publicly declared that thewidth of the highway would be45 metres and in congestedareas 35 metres, the plan thathas been subsequently shown

to various people who were in-vited for hearings in the SouthGoa Land Acquisition office inMargao, show 60 metres widthand in many places like nearHotel Maharaja, the width is asmuch as 120 metres.

On July 12, a delegation in-teracted with the PWD Minis-ter at Nanutel, when heassured us that no homeswould be affected by this pro-posed expansion of NH 17. Thenext day, he sent his team toMatol, near the Agnel Ashramin Verna, who showed us an al-together different alignmentplan from what we are nowshown, Pinto added.

HERALD REPORTER

VASCO, AUG 28

Discord among ruling council-lors in the Mormugao Munici-pal Council (MMC) over thealleged misuse of the chairper-son's official car has opened upa can of worms.

MMC Vice ChairpersonKashinath Yadav has allegednumber of illegalities in thecouncil and claimed that MMCchairperson Shekhar Khadap-kar's car is being misused.

Accusing fellow councillorArnold Rego of using abusivelanguage on Friday, Yadavspoke to reporters on Fridayand narrated a number of ille-galities in the council.

"The present council is in-volved in many illegalities, butmost annoying is the blatantmisuse of the chairperson's of-ficial vehicle by most council-lors," said Yadav.

"If the chairperson refuses toaccede to their request, theyeven go to the extent of threat-ening to dislodge the chairper-son and such pressure tactics

have been going on for sometime," he added.

Yadav alleged that except forfive councillors, the other 14councillors use the chairperson'sofficial vehicle for personal useto travel to Panjim, Margao,Canacona and other places.

Yadav informed that on Fri-day morning, he had soughtKhadapkar's permission to usethe chairperson's car alongwith driver since he was unwellto drive his own car.

"Besides, I wanted the car tomonitor some developmentwork in my ward," said Yadav.

"Councillor Rego abused mein front of Khadapkar in his of-fice and in the presence of for-mer Vasco Block Congresspresident Vaman Chodankar,who was present in office," saidYadav.

MMC sources informed Her-ald that the vehicle registerbook is not maintained andthat the chairperson's car in-curs more fuel expenses thanother cars in the council.

Rego reportedly alleged that

Yadav along with his twogroups of supporters werebusy collecting money fromtraders during recently con-cluded Saptah festival.

He claimed that he couldprove that Yadav was involvedin illegal activities during therecent Saptah.

When contacted, Rego re-futed Yadav's allegations. "Idon't require the council car asI have two cars for my personaluse," said Rego.

"Yadav must be annoyedwith me because I have askedhim to vacate the vice-chair-man's post since he waselected after a mutual under-standing that he would stepdown in 15 days," he added.

Meanwhile, Khadapkardownplayed the rift betweensome councillors, claiming thatboth, Yadav and Rego weremaking baseless allegations.

"The chairperson's car is notbeing misused and no moneywas extracted from tradersduring the recent Saptah festi-val," said Khadapkar.

Mormugao council chiefs official car misused: councillor

Kelekars deathis loss to literary

world: NCPHERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, AUG 28

The Nationalist Congress Partyhailed noted writer RavindraKelekars contribution to theKonkani language as immenseand termed his demise as amajor loss to the literary worldthat has left behind a big vac-uum in Goan society.

NCP Spokesperson TrajanoDMello, who attended the finalrites of Kelekar on Saturday,called upon the youth to pickup his qualities and imbibe hisvalues. They may not be able toachieve his great virtues, but atleast they could try to follow inhis footsteps, he said.

DMello said Ravindrababsmemories would live in everyheart and mind forever.Words, however great, wouldfall short of praise for this greatman who upheld Konkani till hedied, the NCP Spokespersonextolled.

Hearing on Cotigao Sanctuary

as CWHPANJIM (HND): A public hear-

ing of the State level expertcommittee will be held at theCotigao Panchayat hall on Sep-tember 30 at 11.30 am to dis-cuss the proposal to declareCotigao Wildlife Sanctuary ascritical wildlife habitat (CWH) forthe purpose of Scheduled Tribeand other Traditional ForestDwellers (Recognition of ForestsRights) Act, 2006. All personswhose rights are affected bydeclaration of CWH are re-quested to attend the hearingalong with relevant documents.

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Pg8GOA, sundAy, 29 AuGusT, 2010

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muRAD KAROL, NAvELim

I fully agree with the letter 'What doMPs really get?' by John Eric Gomes (Her-ald, 25 August). MPs lead a luxurious life,while the common man struggles to sur-vive, as prices of essential commoditiesare going up day by day.

MPs and other politicians behave des-picably, and do nothing for the benefit ofthe common man. Most are corrupt andhave hidden assets. They should be ex-posed and made accountable. Themoney that the government spends ontheir luxuries should be used for the de-velopment of the country.

MP-inspired!RODNEy DSOuzA, ASSAgAO

Inspired by the demand of MPs for ahuge increase in salary and perks, Pan-chayat members in Goa have demandedan increase in their stipend from Rs1,500to Rs 10,000 per month. There was atime when villagers worked as Panchayatmembers sincerely, without expectingany remuneration or compensation. Buttimes have changed and, in view of infla-tion, their demand is justified, since theirpresent stipend is peanuts.

But Panchayat members should im-prove their performance. In villages, ille-gal construction, garbage disposal,maintenance of roadside drains, non-payment of house tax dues, etc, are is-sues that Panchayat members shouldtake the initiative to address. Theyshould also attend the Gram Sabha meet-ings regularly.

One rupee moreAiRES RODRiguES, RiBANDAR

Politics was meant to be a mission, butit has sadly become worse than the old-est profession. The manner in which ourMPs have wrangled their own astronom-ical pay hike, says it all. If only the MPshad known that the Goa governmentpays its Advocate General Subodh KantakRs5 lakh a month plus perks, they wouldhave demanded Rs500,001!

Selfish MPsTuLSiDAS mALKARNEKAR, mARgAO

Great parliamentarians like PanditJawaharlal Nehru, Kamalnayan Bajaj,Chintamanrao Deshmukh, and evenGoas first CM Dayanand Bandodkar, didnot take any pay except for a tokenamount of Re1. Even today, Navin Jindalis in that category.

Unfortunately, Lalu Prasad and Mu-layam Singh Yadav allegedly followersof Jayprakash Narayan are in forefrontto seek a pay hike.

More than two thirds of MPs arecrorepatis. Yet, they were not contentwith the rise given. Worker gets in-creases of just 30 per cent after five to

ten years. But our great MPs get a three-fold hike in one go. Have they gotelected to serve themselves?

Grossly overpaidWiLLiE SEvERES, mAjORDA

The Union Cabinet has agreed to raisemonthly allowances of MPs by Rs10,000,just after a three-fold hike in theirsalaries last week. This is an absolutewaste, as they really do nothing for thecountry, except looting the nations mea-gre resources. I cannot think of any pro-fession in India other than politics,

where peoplelike Lalu Prasadand MulayamSingh Yadavwould be ableto earnRs50,000 a

month!

Govt employeesorphaned?STEPHEN DiAS, DONA PAuLA

Just because MPs have powers tomake and change laws, it is not appropri-ate for them to raise their own salariesthree times. This is loot of the public ex-chequer.

Strangely, the government has no sym-pathy for government employees:

(1) There is a ban on filling up the postsof those who retire, resign or take volun-tary retirement. There is also a ban oncreation of new posts. The governmentsaves a lot of money by putting increasedburden on the available staff. These jobsare not only difficult to complete in time,but mistakes are noticeable, especially inaccounts and administration.

(2) Old rules, especially medical rules,are still in force with no revision. Medicalreimbursement rules do not favour em-ployees. After spending their ownmoney, there are always deductions.

Before hiking MPs salaries, the gov-ernment should revise the service rulesand lift the ban on creation of posts, sothat young Goans get jobs.

Now for performance!DOmiNgOS S DE SOuzA, CALANguTE

The massive rise in their salariesshould finally instil honesty and disci-pline in MPs, as well as responsibility to-wards their constituents. Also, the hugehike in allotments to Village Panchayatsand Zilla Panchayats is the right boost fordevelopmental projects at village level.

However, it is necessary to monitor, andmake these incentives strictly performancebased, so that performers are rewardedand vice versa. How about performance-

based incentives and promotions to thepolice force, so that they remain robust,incentive-conscious and transparent?

Why pay MPs? CAPT EDDiE viEgAS, CANACONA

In the old days, we had Regidors andAdministradors in Goa, who did wonder-ful service to their communities; very ef-ficiently and with no corruption. Eventoday we have social workers, religiousworkers, priests and nuns, and even pro-fessionals such as teachers and doctors,who render selfless service without anydemands or pressure tactics.

Instead of tackling the numerousproblems in their constituencies, MPs arehaggling over their own salaries. Do wereally need such netas, who cannot lookafter themselves without milking thepublic? Workers who genuinely deserveincrements have to wait years for deci-sions of pay commissions, so how cannetas decide their own pay rise?

Elected members should not get anysalaries at all. Only actual expensesshould be reimbursed.

Pampering MPsmARCOS ALEmAO, vARCA

The three fold increase in MPs salariesis not justified by squeezing the commonman. During Congress rule, the cost ofpetrol and diesel has peaked, and thecommon man is struggling to survive.But MPs, MLAs and ministers enjoy lifeat the cost of the common man.

Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukher-jee refused to roll back petrol and dieselprices, in spite of protests all over thecountry, because he said the oil companiesare losing money. And now the FinanceMinister wants to empty government cof-fers for the lavish life of MPs? Is the Con-gress government more concerned aboutMPs than about the common man?

Cheers 4 em,tears 4 usROHiT ANAND, CuRCHOREm

How far it is justified that MPs them-selves decide how much salary theyshould draw, and then pass a resolutionapproving a huge 300 per cent rise? As ifthat was not enough, they increased an-other Rs10,000 in allowances.

This is daylight robbery of taxpayersmoney. God save this country, where onelot works hard day and night, but ishardly able to get a complete meal, whilethe rulers of the country, whose pocketsare full, lockers are full, and propertiesabundant, do not feel ashamed of sayingthat they are under-paid. It is enough tomake a normal taxpayers blood boil.

Do MPs deserve a pay hike?

SUNDAYMAIL

By SAmiR KELEKAR

Ravindra Kelekar, who happensto be my uncle, used to say: Iam first a fighter; that is why Ibecame a writer. He passedaway at the age of 85 on Fridayat 11.30am in Goa.

Ravindrakaka was more of aLohia-ite than a Nehruvian. Atage 21, he decided to dedicatehis life to Konkani, Goa and thenation. And he did so till hislast moment.

He was decorated with aPadma Bhushan, and was a fel-low of the Sahitya Academy, be-sides winning the GnanpeethAward, the highest literary ho-nour in the country.

Always frank and straightfor-ward, and someone who neverminced any words, politicalcorrectness was simply not inhis vocabulary. But he didnthate anyone.

He told me in one conversa-tion: Dont blame the Por-tuguese, even though theyruled Goa for over 450 years.Even they had a dictator rulingover them, so the position of

A tribute to Ravindra Kelekar

First a fighter, then a writertheir citizens was no differentthan ours.

As his nephew (Ravindrababwas my father's second cousin),I was completely in awe of thisman. In his last speech, madewhile accepting the GnanpeethAward for which he wastaken in an ambulance andbrought onto the stage in awheel chair he made a fer-vent appeal to people to writein Indian languages, saying thatEnglish has only given us bon-sai intellectuals. Bonsai plantsare short, and cant reproduce.

Most loved by Goans, Ravin-drababs influence made manyof my uncles, and even my fa-ther plunge into the freedommovement. Indeed, the Kelekarfamily today is associated withsocial work in Goa, and Ravin-drabab was the tallest of themall. He fought for Konkani whenit wasnt even recognised as alanguage, and people wereashamed to speak it.

From one and two people es-pousing its cause, today,Konkani is the official languageof Goa, and is in the EighthSchedule of the Indian consti-tution. Every currency note ofRs10 and up bears its denomi-nation in Konkani, among thecountrys 18 recognised lan-guages. It puts the countryssmallest state firmly on the In-dian map. And I am proud tosay that Ravindrabab played asignificant role in this achieve-ment.

Special meet at Canacona on disaster

managementHERALD CORRESPONDENT

POINGUINIM, AUG 28

Considering the constant disas-ters confronting Canaconataluka due to its topography,Canacona Deputy Collector andChairman of Disaster Manage-ment Committee of CanaconaDipak Desai has convened aspecial meeting at the Cana-cona Municipal Hall on Sundayat 3 pm.

This meeting of all villagecommittee members will be ad-dressed by a member of Na-tional Disaster ManagementAuthority, Delhi J K Jha.

Those attending the meetinginclude Canacona MLA Vijay PaiKhot, Poinguinim MLA RameshTawadkar, South Goa CollectorG P Naik, Editor-in-Chief of Pru-dent Media Sandesh Prabhude-sai.

All residents of Canaconahave been invited to attendthis 'Orientation and Installa-tion' programme, where the vil-lagers are most affected andare witnessing damage to theirproperties and also loss tohuman lives.

On August 10, a meeting wasconvened at Mashem-Loliem,which was organized by Prab-hudesai and the orientation tothe gathering was given by Di-rector of National Institute ofOceanography Dr SatishShetye, Director of Departmentof Science, Technology and En-vironment Michael D'Souza andother personalities.

The topography of this placeis such that there are dwellingplaces over 700 metres fromthe sea level and the worst af-fected are those living from thesea level to 50 meters abovethe sea level.

This was revealed by thecommittee formed by the gov-ernment and NGO's to studywhy Canacona taluka isplagued by natural disasters.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CORTALIM, AUG 28

Elected representatives of various com-munidades in South Goa have ex-pressed their dismay to Chief MinisterDigambar Kamat over non-inclusion ofthe communidades' representative inthe "High-Level Committee" constitutedby the government.

The "High-Level Committee" compris-ing Finance Secretary, Revenue Secre-tary and Administrator ofCommunidades South Zone has beenconstituted by the government to studythe issue of payment of salaries of theadministration office and their absorp-tion as government employees.

In an e-mail to the chief minister,they observed that the 90-odd commu-nidades of South Zone have a majorstake in the affairs and business of thesaid Administration and as a matter offact that comnunidades have fully andentirely funded the said AdministrationOffice of Comunidades for the lastmany decades.

"In fact, the root cause of the currentcrises and mess in the AdministrationOffice of communidades of South Zone

has been the failure and neglect of thegovernment to take the commu-nidades into confidence on importantissues. Non-representation to the com-munidades in the "High-Level Commit-tee" constituted by your goodself willonly perpetuate the problem andwould invariably end in further litiga-tion and problems," they said in the e-mail.

They gave instances of "mal-adminis-tration, financial irregularities and ille-galities" committed by theAdministration Office as follows: Non-audit of accounts of the AdministrationOffice from 1982 to 2002; consequentlyno accountability for the Rs 2.35 crorepaid by communidades as "derrama"during the period. Sham audits beingconducted from 2003 onwards. TheUDC looking after cash and financialmatters of the Administration Office forthe last several years has been chargedwith offences involving moral turpitudein course of discharging official dutiesby Vasco court.

26 persons were appointed illegallyas LDCs & peons on regular basis during2000-2006 in total contravention of

statutory procedures. Services of persons employed on

`daily-wages' were surreptitiously reg-ularised without ascertaining their com-petence and requirement. Nocompliance of "Employment Exchange(Compulsory Notification of Vacancies)Rules 1960". No examinations con-ducted as required under the rules. Noreservations for SC/ST/OBCs mandatoryunder the government's reservationpolicy.

Appointments of said 26 personsmade without ascertaining the work-load of the office. The affairs of the Ad-ministration Office can be managedwith 17 UDCs/LDCs/ Peons; thus render-ing about half of the current employeessurplus and redundant. The DemandsRelated Ad-Hoc Committee on Financehas suggested in its first report submit-ted to the State Legislature on03.08.2010 that the Government mustexamine the issue of downsizing thenumber of employees of the Adminis-tration Office of communidades ofSouth Zone.

Salaries of the employees of the Ad-ministration Office of communidades of

South Zone have been raised and paidas per Pay Commission recommenda-tions without prior consultation withthe communidades as expressly man-dated under Art 643/644 of the Code ofComunidades in force. Consequently,the Comunidades are unable to bearthe burgeoning salary bill (currently Rs50 lakh a year) leading to the currentfiscal crises and non-payment ofsalaries.

They also brought to the notice ofthe chief minister that the issue of func-tioning and re-organization of Adminis-tration Offices of Comunidades andtheir staffing pattern considering thepresent workload as well as implemen-tation of provisions of Art 643/644 re-garding payment of salaries toemployees is `sub-judice' being underconsideration of the High Court ofBombay at Goa in WP No 406/2009 (Ce-lestino Noronha & ors VS State of Goa& ors).

On this backdrop, they hoped thatthe government would have to considerthe views of the Comunidades of Southby giving due representation in the said'High-Level committee'.

Communidades demand representation in panel

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CALANGUTE, AUG 28

Though the tourism sea-son is yet to take-off inthe coastal belt ofCalangute, the Calangutebeach has been fre-quented by thousands ofIndian tourists.

There are loads oftourists frequenting thebeach, while the Drishtilifeguards are having atough time controllingthem.

The tourists, mostlystudents of colleges, etc,are eager to venture intothe rough seas despiterepeated requests fromthe Drishti team not todo so to avoid any unto-ward incident, but theirrequests frequently fallon deaf ears.

With the new tourismseason hardly days away,the high light mast is yetto become functional.

If concerned authori-ties are to be believed,the high light mast will

hopefully become func-tional before the GaneshChaturthi festival.

Speaking to Herald,Calangute Electricity De-partment Assistant Engi-neer Aras Chari informedthat the contract for re-pair of the high lightmast has been awardedto a contractor.

Hopefully, the highmast will see the lightsbefore the GaneshChaturthi festival, hesaid.

The tourists and localswho have been frequent-ing Calangute beachhave been facing hard-ship due to non-func-tional of the high lightmast for more than ayear despite the matterbeing highlighted timeand again.

Few untoward inci-dents were also reportedon the beach, forcing thetourists to abandon theirplans of staying late onthe beach due to fear.

This high mast yet to glow!

The non-functional high mast at CalanguteBeach. Photo by Thomas Fernandes

GOA,SUNDAY, 29 AUGUST, 2010

Pg 9

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OPinionatEDA Message to All on National Sports Day

By GUsTAvo sTEPHEn GoDInHo,

Every year, India celebrates August 29 as National Sports Day.On this day, the President of the country presents awards likethe Arjuna Award (sportspersons), Dronacharya Award (sportscoaches) and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award (for outstandingachievement) to those sportspersons of the country who haveachieved success at the highest levels in their chosen sport.

This particular day is the birth anniversary of legendary Indianhockey player Major Dhyan Chand. A passionate, skilful playerand one of hockeys greatest, he won three Olympic gold medalsfor the country in this sport in 1928, 1932 and 1936. He scoredmore than 1,000 international goals for the country. He remainsthe only Indian hockey player to receive the Padma Bhushan.This day is dedicated to him and his achievements for thecountry in Hockey.

On this day, we also pay tribute to all those who work hardto keep the National Flag flying up high in the sky in the fieldof sports; when we salute those Indians who prove to the worldthat our country still has the power to rule the world throughsports. They truly deserve to be felicitated on this day, whichis dedicated to them only once a year.

Today I salute all sportspersons who have given an identityto this country with their hard work and dedication. I want tosalute all sports legends of our country, past and present, whohave brought great laurels to India with their talent and hardwork.

Sports stars like Vijender Kumar, Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhu-pathi, Saina Nehwal and Sachin Tendulkar need to be honouredfor their untiring efforts to show the world that the nation hastalent. There are hundreds of others who work hard to bringsuccess to the nation in the field of sports, and I want to salutethem all on this day. You need not be a someone to pay tributeto legends. All you need is a mind and a heart that appreciatestheir efforts, right?