The Voice of Goa Since 1900

PTI

BANGALORE, JAN 8

Opener Gautam Gambhir todaybecame the costliest cricketerin the IPL by fetching a whop-ping USD 2.4 million (approx Rs11.04 crore) on the first day ofthe auctions where Indian play-ers proved to be the biggestdraw with three others goingfor more than USD two million.

In a high-profile auction,where Bollywood stars and cor-porate bigwigs were locked ina bidding war, Kolkata KnightRiders bought Gambhir for themind-boggling sum, beating theprevious high set by the Englishduo of Kevin Pietersen and An-drew Flintoff (USD 1.55 million)last season.

Shah Rukh Khan was not pres-ent in person but proved to bethe big spender of the day byalso buying hard-hitting all-roundersY u s u fP a t h a n(Rs 9.66crore) andJacquesKallis( R s

5.06 crore) for the fourth editionof event to be held from April 8to May 20.

Gambhir, who was captain ofthe Delhi Daredevils last season,

saw his price skyrocket 12times from his base price ofUSD 200,000 (Rs 92 lakh)while three other Indian

players Yusuf (USD 2.1million), Rohit Sharma(USD 2 million) and Robin

Uthappa (2.1 million) crossedthe two million mark.

Yusuf s younger brother Irfan,who has not played any cricketthis season, was taken by DelhiDaredevils for a surprisingly highamount of USD 1.9 (Rs 8.74crore) million.

But there were some surprisenames in the unsold list withformer India and KKR captainSourav Ganguly, West Indies bat-

ting star Chris Gayle and thelegendary Brian Lara failing tofind a buyer.

There is still a slim chance ofthese players finding a teamafter their names come up againin the second round of bidding.

The bidding trend at the auc-tion at times appeared to defylogic but what was certain wasthat the franchises were willingto spend big money on the In-dian players. Mahela Jayawar-dene was the most expensiveforeign player going to Kochi atUSD 1.5 million (Rs 6.90 crore).

Cricket aside, Bollywood starsPreity Zinta and Shilpa Shettyprovided the glamour quotientwhile liquor baron Vijay Mallya,his son Siddharth, Nita Ambaniand Nusli Wadia added the cor-porate aura at the auction.

Cricketing brains such as AnilKumble, Stephen Fleming, GeoffLawson and Darren Lehmann,who have been roped in eitheras coaches or mentors by thefranchises, helped them workout the bidding strategies.

As expected, big money wasspent but the way it was spent

IPL-IV AUCTION: HITs & mIssEs

GAUTAm Rs 11.04 cr

yUsUfRs 9.66 cr

ROBIN Rs 9.2 cr

ROHITRs 8.74 cr

Yet tO finD a buYerGANGULy, LARA,

BOUCHER & GAyLE

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JAN 8

The person behind the stingwherein police sub-inspectorSunil Gudlar was seen negoti-ating with two foreigner girlsover the sale of drugs, has fi-nally come out in open. AyalaDriham, the sister of jaileddrug lord David Driham aliasDudu has alleged that IndianPolice Service officer VeenuBansa l demanded br ibethrough Gudlar.

In her statement to CrimeBranch, Ayala who shot Gudlaron spy-cam in a hotel roomsaid Gudlar had approachedher at the behest of Bansal.

A senior officer which Gud-lar is seen mentioning in thetapes is Superintendent of Po-lice Veenu Bansal, reads thestatement to the Crime Branchon Saturday.

Ayala told the investigatingteam that she had to conductthe sting as the former ANCmen including former ANC PSI

Gudlar falsely framed herbrother in the drugs case.

The probe in the drugnexus is underway. We are alsocarrying on the inquiry intoGudlar matter, said a CrimeBranch official.

Gudlar was caught on tapeselling drugs to two foreignergirls and during a conversa-tion, was also seen demandingbribes revealing that even hisseniors were involved with him.

Gudlar had told me thatmoney is the only option tobail out Dudu. Also, Dudu waskept in a room next to Bansalscabin in the ANC office. If hewas arrested, why was he notin the police lock-up, she stated.

She claims to have neces-sary evidence to prove her al-legations against both ANCofficers. She has also handedover the entire sting footageto the Crime Branch.

A series of three tapes ex-posing fresh police-drug nexuswas revealed through a localnews channel. Even last year,seven policemen including apolice inspector were sus-pended and arrested for cor-ruption after their links withDudu and another Israeli drugbaron Yaniv Benaim alias Atalawas exposed.

Atalas jilted girlfriend haduploaded Atalas confessionon social websites wherein hebragged of links with Goa po-lice. This resulted in their ar-rest in March 2010 while Duduwas earlier arrested in Febru-ary 2010 with several kilo-grams of narcotics. Atala hasjumped bail and reached Israelwith Goa police still searchingfor him.

PTI

NEW DELHI, JAN 8

Lending a helping hand to theIndian diaspora, Prime MinisterManmohan Singh today an-nounced a special facility to en-able them life-long visa-freeentry into the country and par-ticipation in business and otheractivities here.

Singh said the governmenthad decided to merge the Over-seas Citizen of India (OCI) andthe Persons of Indian Origin(PIO) cards into a single facility.

Addressing a gathering of In-dian diaspora here, he pointedout that the Government hadintroduced the OCI and PIOcards to facilitate visa-free travelof NRIs and Indian Origin peopleto India as well as to providethem rights of residency andparticipation in business andeducational activities.

We have reviewed the func-tioning of these schemes, andhave decided to merge the OCIand PIO cards into a single fa-cility. We hope to iron out someof the problems that have arisen

in the implementation of theseschemes, he said.

Later, Overseas Indian AffairsMinister Vayalar Ravi said Gov-ernment will only issue OverseasCitizen of India card which willbe a kind of life-long visa.

We have to finalise the nitty-gritty. But it has been decidedthat it will be OCI card and

holder of the card will have life-long visa free entry into thecountry, he said.

PIO cards are given to Indianswho have migrated permanentlyto other countries in a bid toencourage them to visit and in-vest in the country of origin.

A PIO card holder does notrequire a visa to visit India andthe card is valid for 15 years. APIO card holder enjoys severaleconomic and educational benefits.

On the other hand, the OCIcard is a kind of life-long visaand any India origin person canapply for it if his host countryallows dual citizenship.

Talking about the Indians whoemigrate for work, Singh saidtheir welfare is a matter of spe-cial concern for us.

To improve the conditions formigration, India has signed So-cial Security Agreements with12 countries and finalizedLabour Mobility Partnershipswith two others, he said, addinga generic arrangement is alsobeing negotiated with the Eu-ropean Union also.

Sports: Well give our best in T20 Dhoni Pg 16

Goas Heartbeat: Work some fat off, Kareenas way Pg 4

World: Al-Qaeda plotting Mumbai-style attack in UK Pg 12

(Continued on page 10)

(Continued on page 10)

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Gambhir @ Rs 11 crore MBBSstudentcaughtcopying

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JAN 8

As if the medical paper leakagewas not enough, Goa MedicalCollege (GMC) on Saturday facedyet another embarassmentwhen a final year MBBS studentwas caught copying.

The identity of the studentwas, however, not disclosed butsources say that the student wasasked to discontinue answeringexams pending inquiry.

The paper chit has beenseized by the examiner. The stu-dent was asked to stop writinghis paper (Surgery I paper) andthat he will be barred from an-swering other papers as welluntil the inquiry report is sub-mitted, said the source.

If found guilty, the studentwill be suspended from the GMCfor one-year, the source added.

Incidentally, two question pa-pers of the final year MBBS wereleaked a week ago, which came

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JAN 8

Tourism Departments ambitiousInternational Beach Cricket Tour-nament scheduled later thismonth at Miramar is facing hur-dles.

The Government is now find-ing it difficult to get sponsorsin view of the forthcomingCricket World Cup and thefourth ed i t ion o f the IPLTwenty20.

With an eye on tourism, theDepartment had scheduled the

International beach cricket doubtful?

International beach cricket tour-nament from January 27-29. TheWorld Cup is scheduled betweenFebruar y and ear ly Apr i l ,whereas IPL-IV will begin imme-diately after the World Cup.

With the given situation, theDepartment may now be com-pelled to defer its schedule if itis unable to find sponsors in time.

Confirming this, Director ofTourism, Swapnil Naik said theywere indeed finding it difficultto get sponsors due to theWorld Cup and the IPL and as aresult had not started advertis-ing the event.

Expecting to attract a largenumber of tourists, the Depart-ment had engaged an advertis-i ng agency wh i ch wasnegotiating with companies forsponsorship.

The budget for the event isaround Rs 3 crore whereas theGovernment investment will belimited to Rs 20-25 lakh.

India, Sri Lanka and NewZealand will participate in the

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JAN 8

The Transport Department staffwill now have to be wary of athird eye that will keep a con-stant watch on their behaviourand activities during office hours.

Transport Director Arun Desaisaid that all the RTO offices willnow have Close Circuit Televi-

sion (CCTV) cameras installedwhich will grab frame by frameaccount of the staff and the peo-ple coming to the offices.

He said that these cameraswould be in place within a fort-night which will help to keep avisual record of things happen-ing in the RTO offices.

The watch will be on both,

employees as well as public,he said.

The Department will alsoconnect all its border checkposts to the main office in Pan-jim via Goa Broadband, an am-bitious project launched in2008 by Prime minister DrManmohan Singh.

CCTVs to watch rTo staff

PTI

MUMBAI, JAN 8

Former Bombay High CourtJudge J A Patil will head the Com-mission to probe alleged irreg-ularities in Adarsh HousingSociety scam that has seen theresignation of Ashok Chavan asChief Minister.

The Commission will submitits report in three months, ChiefMinister Prithviraj Chavan toldreporters here.

Former Maharashtra ChiefSecretary P Subramanian will bethe other member of the Com-mission. The decision to set upby the two-member judicialcommission was announced bythe Government during wintersession of legislature last month.

The inquiry Commission toprobe irregularities in Adarshwould be headed by formerBombay High Court Judge J APatil which will have formerChief Secretary P Subramanianas its second member, Chavansaid.

The Commission has been setup under the Inquiry Commis-

sion Act, 1952, he said.The Commission would look

into the matter of land owner-ship of Adarsh society, if theland was reserved for Kargil warmartyrs, reservation of flats, ex-pansion of (nearby) PrakashPethe Road, change in reserva-tion of the BEST (civic) plot, vi-olation of Coastal RegulationZone norms and role of bureau-crats, the Chief Minister said.

The Commission would alsomake recommendations toavoid any such cases in future,he said.

Adarsh: inquiry panel named

Life-long visa-free entry for overseas Indians soon

OCI, PIO cards to bemerged into singlefacility.

Social SecurityAgreements with 12countries.

Labour MobilityPartnerships with twoothers.

Generic arrangementwith EU soon.

Indian CommunityWelfare Fund at allIndian Missions.

REACHING OUT

Gudlar asked bribe forBansal: Dudus sister

A senior officer whichGudlar is seen men-tioning in the tapes isSuperintendent of Po-lice Veenu Bansal. Ayalas statement to

Crime Branch

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

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Pg2GOA, SUNDAY, 9 JANUARY, 2011

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JAN 8

Chief Minister Digambar Kamaton Saturday assured all out gov-ernment support and assistanceto NGOs working for the pro-tection and welfare of streetchildren in the state.

He was addressing a functionorganized by NGO El Shaddaistreet child rescue after launch-ing a school bus donated byMoulana Ibrahim of QualityFood and Quality Exports at theRavindra bhavan, Margao.

Saying that the children arethe future pillars of the country,the Chief Minster underlinedthe need to groom the childrenin a conducive environment toensure they dont go astray. Thecountry is progressing at a fastpace, but it is sad that the gapbetween the rich and the poor

is also growing, he said, whilecomplimenting NGOs workingwith street children and specialchildren in the state.

In his address, MoulanaIbrahim of Quality Foods sug-gested to the Chief Minister togrant 100 percent income taxexemption to businessmen do-nating for charities. The gov-ernment should explore thepossibility of exempting the en-tire donations from Income Tax,he said.

Saying that El Shaddai Char-itable Trust is doing noble jobfor providing shelter for thehomeless, health facilities andeducation for orphans, streetchildren and children comingfrom underprivileged sections,Ibrahim appealed to the gath-ering to donate generously tothe noble cause of El Shaddai

Charitable Trust and help themexpand its wings to the nookand corner of the state andcountry.

It is said that poverty is theparent of revolution and terror-ism. If orphans and street chil-dren are left alone on the streetswithout care and love today,they would get into antisocialactivities and become antisocialelements of tomorrow, Ibrahimsaid.

Incidentally, Ibrahim had do-nated a van to El Shaddai char-itable trust last year and hasdonated a Tata Winger to beused by the NGO as a schoolbus for the street children.

Margao Municipal Chairper-son Sushila Naik also spoke,while co-founder of El ShaddaiCharitable Trust Mathew Kurianalso addressed the gathering.

CM assures to help NGOs working for street children

Chief Minister Digambar Kamat and Moulana Ibrahim of Quality Foods with street children at the Ravin-dra Bhavan, Margao. Photo by Santosh Mirajkar

2 held for Nepali

labourers murderHERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JAN 8

A breakthrough has beenachieved in the murder case ofa Nepali labourer as the Panjimpolice have arrested two personswho have confessed to the crime.

The accused have been iden-tified as Rajendra Bhandari (52)of Central Nepal and MaktumBharoti alias Babu (42) of Dhar-wad, Karnataka.

According to the police, theaccused rag-pickers have con-fessed of killing Ramesh Lal Ba-hadur Dangui (31) with a stoneon a footpath, early on Fridaymorning.

Both accused have confessedto have committed the crime,which was a result of a physicalfight between them under theinfluence of alcohol. They arehabitual drunkards and theywould often fight with eachother over petty issues like grab-bing food, Inspector SandeshChodankar said.

Body of the 31-year-old dailywage labourer was found withhis head smashed near the foot-bath, which is hardly metersaway from the Panjim policeheadquarters. The victims headwas smashed with a stone,which is used for a pillow.

The cause of death has con-firmed death due to head injury.The trio would spend theirnights on the footpaths and wan-der about places during the day.

The investigating team isrecording statements of wit-nesses in the case even as 10suspects were rounded up forinterrogation, late on Fridaynight. The accused have been re-manded to 10-day police custody.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JAN 8

PWD Minister, Churchill Ale-mao on Saturday inspectedwork on the Telaulim-Varcabridge under constructionover River Sal and set January31 as the deadline for thecontractor to complete theongoing works.

He later told newsmen thatthe PWD would go aheadwith the construction of theSinquetim-Benaulim oncepermission is received fromthe Union Ministry of Envi-ronment and Forests.

After inspecting the bridge

along with Principal Chief En-gineer, J Rego and other sen-ior officials, Alemao told thecontractor that he would nottolerate any further delay inthe completion of the worksand want all work to be com-pleted in all respect by Janu-ary 31.

The PWD Minister furthertold the contractor to makeprovision for a pathway forthe benefit of pedestrians.

When newsmen askedhim on the fate of the con-troversial Sinquetim-Be-naulim bridge, Alemao saidthat work on the bridge

would commence once thePWD receives the necessarypermission from the UnionMinistry of Environment andForests.

Let me make it categori-cally clear that work on theSinquetim-Benaulim wouldcommence no sooner thegreen signal comes from theUnion Ministry of Environ-ment and Forests. I am con-f i d e n t t h e n e c e s s a r ypermission from the UnionMinistr y would come nosooner the PWD submits allthe relevant details concern-ing the project, he added.

Churchill sets Jan 31 deadline for Telaulim-Varca bridge completion

PWD Minister Churchill Alemao inspecting work on the Telaulim-Varca bridge over River Sal. Photo by Santosh Mirajkar

SVM hopes AG appearsat Rahejas SLP case

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JAN 8

Even as the Special Leave Petition(SLP) filed by Raheja Corporationwill come up for hearing in theSupreme Court on Monday, theSEZ Virodhi Manch has said itexpects the Advocate General ofthe government of Goa to bepresent for the hearing in theApex court on January 10.

The absence of the AdvocateGeneral of the Goa Governmentfor the hearing will only exposethe government of Goa of itsconnivance with the SEZ pro-moters, asserted SVM Con-venor Charles Fernandes.

Raheja has filed the SpecialLeave Petition in the SupremeCourt seeking interim relief fromthe high court Judgment datedNovember 26, 2010.

Members of the SEZ VirodhiManch (SVM), which spear-headed a successful agitationagainst Special Economic Zoneprojects in Goa, had expressedsatisfaction and rejoiced overthe verdict of the High Court ofBombay at Goa on November26, 2010 in the SEZ land case.

The court in its judgmentquashed the allotments of landto the promoters of SEZ projects Meditab Specialities at Kerim,Peninsula Pharma at Sancoale,and Raheja Corporation, Para-digm Logistics, Inox Mercantile,Planetview Mercantile and Max-growe Finlease at Verna.

Fernandes said the courtpassed strictures against theGoa Industrial DevelopmentCorporation (GIDC) Board forallotting approximately 39 lakhsq m of land illegally and inundue haste.

HERALD REPORTER

VASCO, JAN 8

The eleventh edition of the bi-lateral Indo-French naval exer-cise Varuna would help combatglobal anti-piracy effectively andstrengthen ties between bothcountries, claimed the com-manding officers of the Indo-French exercise.

Rear Admiral R K Patnaik,flag officer commanding Indiaswestern fleet and Rear AdmiralJean Louis Kerignard, com-mander of the French MaritimeForce stated that Varun wouldstrength the ties of both coun-tries, creating a platform forofficers and sailors of bothnavies to understand the op-erational capabilities of eachother.

Addressing a joint press con-ference on board Indias onlyaircraft carrier INS Viraat onSaturday, Rear Adm. Patnaik saidover 300 officers and 1500sailors are engaged in the exer-cise.

For India, the Viraat, frigates

Godavari and Ganga and a sub-marine Shalki are participat-ing, said Patnaik.

The Indian and the FrenchNavy have been conducting suchbilateral exercises since May

1993. Such exercises are in thelong-term interest of both na-tions, he added.

The MG-29K will not be partof the exercise, but the British-made Sea Harrier fighter, fixedand rotary wing aircraft also par-ticipate in exercise.

Rear Adm. Kerignard told re-porters that the exercises in-clude the entire gamut ofmaritime operations, rangingfrom aircraft carrier operations,anti-submarine warfare exercisesand maritime interdiction op-erations exercises.

Such exercises help duringjoint anti-piracy operations orhumanitarian missions, headded.

The naval exercises, whichcommenced from January 7 tillJanuary 14, are being conductedoff Goas coast.

The French navys aircraft car-rier Charles de Gaulle is alsoparticipating in the exercise,along with the newly-inducteddestroyer FNS Forbin.

This is FNS Forbins first de-ployment. It has just been in-ducted into service, Rear AdmKerignard said.

Indo-French naval exercise to help combat piracy

Rear Admiral R K Patnaik, flag officer commanding Indias western fleet and Rear Admiral Jean LouisKerignard, commander of French Maritime Force at a joint press meet onboard INS Viraat.

Photo by M Prabhav

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JAN 8

Medical Education Cell (MEC) ofthe Goa Medical College (GMC)is slated to hold series of eventsat the medical institute premise.

The newly constituted MEChas planned out extensive aca-demic activity for 2011 and 2012in form of workshops and train-ing by renowned visiting faculty.

The visiting faculty will befrom all over the country andwill consist of stalwarts whohave done pioneering work inrespective specialty, ContinuingMedical Education (CME) coor-d inator and Head of (Or -thopaedics) Department Dr S MBandekar told media persons at

a press conference late on Fridaynight.

The faculty members will alsoconduct difficult surgeries andfor this, the Cell is contemplat-ing approaching the Indian Med-ical Association for eminentspeakers.

The series of events will up-date the knowledge of othersincluding medical practitioners,he said adding that they havealready conducted a CME oncritical care, recently.

The Cel l has invited DrSunaina, attached to a renownedhospital in US to conduct aworkshop on how to detectdeafness in early childhood, onJanuary 13.

This will be followed by an-other workshop on liver trans-plant by Dr Rahul Kakodkar,attached to Jupiter Hospital inMumbai. Dr Rahul handled thesensational Nadia Torradocase, last year when she wasshif ted to Mumbai beforebeing transported to Chennaihospital where she died fromcomplications after consumingratol.

GMC meanwhile, will be cel-ebrating its golden jubilee yearon March 12, 2012. GMC DeanDr V N Jindal said that both theseyears will also be full of pro-grams for the general public anddoctors on various health re-lated issues.

GMC to host series of events to update medical knowledge

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

BELGAUM, JAN 8

While colorful kites adorn theBelgaum skies, a new chapterin the history of the relationshipbetween Belgaum and Goawould be scripted during thefirst Belgaum International KiteFestival, which is being held hereon January 16 and 17.

Adept arrangements aremade on war footing to hostthe festival, while Belgaum(South) MLA Abhay Patil whohas organized this festival alongwith kite expert K V Rao, is leav-ing no stone unturned for thesuccess of this festival.

A large numbers of foreigntourists from Goa have con-firmed their visit to the festival.

Many kite enthusiasts fromGoa and other parts of India areexpected to take part in this fes-tival which could be termed asthe first venture of its kind of-ficially connecting Belgaum andGoa.

Speaking to reporters afterlaunching the official websiteof the festival www.belgaumkite-fest.com on Friday, MLA AbhayPatil said the festival is aimedat promoting the relationshipbetween Belgaum and Goa.

This festival is aimed at pro-moting and strengthening theage-old bilateral relationship be-tween Belgaum and Goa, Patilsaid adding that Goa TourismDevelopment Corporation(GTDC) has extended full co-op-eration in the venture.

All the free arrangements, in-cluding five Volvo buses, havebeen made for the foreigntourists. We have also made freetransport arrangements forGoans, who would like to witnessthe two-day extravaganza whichis poised to strengthen the rela-tionship between Belgaum andGoa, MLA Patil ascertained.

About 30 international kite-flying experts have confirmedtheir participation. Some kite

flyers from France and UK shalldisplay their dexterity by flyinga number of kites simultane-ously with both the hands, saidPatil adding that about one lakhpeople from Belgaum, Goa andnorth Karnataka and other partsof India are expected to witnessthe festival.

Already, various teams acrossthe country as also those of for-eigners will be participating inthe two-day festival.

Interestingly, flyers will fly thekites at night as well near KoteKere (Fort Lake) at Belgaum Fort,which is a first of its kind ex-periment in the entire country.Flying kites attached withlamps/lights during the night onJanuary 16 will be the star at-traction of the unique festival.

A number of stalls displayingthe local products such as hand-loom sarees, sweets, food-stuffs,processed food products differ-ent types of kites including de-signer kites will be openedaround the venue.

We propose to take the vis-iting foreign tourists and digni-taries to the nearby tourismspots so that this shall automat-ically culminate in a regular an-nual feature of Belgaum city inthe years to follow, stated Patilurging people of Goa to takepart in the festival in big num-bers.

Belgaum kite festival to boost ties with Goa

n This festival is aimedat promoting andstrengthening theage-old bilateralrelationship betweenBelgaum and Goa.Goa TourismDevelopmentCorporation hasextended full co-operation in theventure.

--- MLA Abhay Patil

Cong playing politics on

temple issue, says BJP

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JAN 8

The Navelim BJP Mandal haslashed out at the Congress fortrying to make politics out ofthe Shri Swami Samarth Templeissue in the Rumdamol HousingBoard.

In a press note issued on Sat-urday, the Mandal said that theCongress tried to make inroadsin the BJP dominated Panchayatbody by pressurizing govern-ment officials to direct the Pan-chayat body to issue demolitionnotice to the temple manage-ment.

The Mandal said that it isclearly evident that the Congressgovernment tried to capitalizeon the situation by again direct-ing the Deputy Director of Pan-chayats to keep the matter inabeyance.

Asking the Congress partyand the leaders not to make apolitical capital out of the reli-gious issue, the BJP said thatthe party would regularize thetemple once its governmentcomes back to power in thestate.

2 held for causing noise

pollutionHERALD CORRESPONDENT

CALANGUTE, JAN 8

Two persons were arrested oncharges of causing noise pollu-tion on Friday.

An juna Po l i ce a r res tedPrasad Sandip Chimulkar ofMazi l Vaddo, Anjuna andPradeep Colvalkar of HudoVaddo, Anjuna, and confiscatedthe musical instruments fromtheir commercial premises onFriday. Both were later releasedon bail.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CANACONA, JAN 8

About 50 people who had booked a plot in theproposed Shristhal Housing Board at Mokhardin 1989 are in for a rude shock.

According to sources, they have received aletter dated December 20, 2010, from Goa Hous-ing Board (GHB), asking them to pay a demanddraft for Rs 5,000 drawn in favour of Goa HousingBoard Margao within 25 days or else, they wouldforfeit their right to the plot.

Many residents in the taluka had deposited Rs1,500 in 1989 as booking amount of a housingplot in the proposed Shristhal Housing Board.

Interestingly, the rates quoted by GHB for theplots are cited at Rs 1,700 per sq mtr and thesize of plots ranges between 211 sq mtrs and369 sq mtrs.

The letter further warns that non-payment ofa DD for Rs 5,000 within the stipulated time willforfeit the right to own the housing plot.

The letter signed by GHB Managing DirectorMelvyn Vaz states that the balance cost amount

of the plots will be recovered after due deductionof the deposits of Rs 1,500 (applicant had madewhile booking the plots in 1989) and accrued in-terest of this deposit.

The area of the housing plot ranges between211 sq mtrs and 369 sq mtrs.

Sources told Herald that other conditions havealso been imposed by the GBA. Those with a max-imum monthly income of Rs 12,600 and annualincome of Rs 2 lakh are only eligible for the plots.

Sources further informed that the exorbitantrates and other restrictions have left several ap-plicants in the lurch.

Said an applicant, who want to remain anony-mous: There were no conditions other thanbeing a resident and the rates that were deemedreasonable in 1989 were never above the two-figure mark.

Even private plots in the area were recentlysold at Rs 500 per sq mtr a year ago. A housingplot which is being sold for Rs 1,700 per sq mtris beyond our imagination, observed anotherapplicant.

Pay up 5K or forfeit plots, GHB tells allottees

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CANACONA, JAN 8

Hitting out at the police forcefor stooping to such low levelsin the police-drug peddlernexus, Opposition LeaderManohar Parrikar has said someof them were even capable ofselling off their parents to earnmoney.

Addressing a massive rallyduring the concluding two-dayIX Lokostav-2011 at Amone-Canacona, Parrikar also took adig at some politicians involvedin mining activities.

Parrikar was originally to pre-side over the concluding func-tion, but ended up being thechief guest as Jarkhand ChiefMinister Arjun Munda was re-portedly preoccupied at theBJPs national Guwahati conven-tion and did not turn up.

In his inimitable style, Parrikarraked up the police-drug ped-dler nexus and miners-politi-cians nexus.

Before reaching here, I at-tended a meeting of the PublicAccounts Committee (PAC),where the main issue was thatof mining. I was devastated tosee some of the then greenmountains in Sanguem talukanow turned to red-hordes ofmud, said Parrikar.

You Canconkars are lucky.There are nine mining leases inCanacona, but there isnt a singleone operative in this part of thestate. In North, even a Police in-spector is engaged in operatingtrucks for mining activities, headded.

Sanguem, which was once

Goa states bowl-of-water is nowturned into a mining reject yard.Greed has made politicians moreinclined to mining than minersthemselves, remarked the op-position leader.

Commenting on the policeforce, Parrikar said: I feelashamed to talk about the policenow, as lately someone caughta PSI on camera selling drugs. Idont know what they will donext. Some must have alreadysold even their parents to earnmoney.

Now, someone has come for-ward with a claim that Goa hasgold reserves. I am told that ameeting was immediatelychaired in the State, and at least5-6 ministers/politicians are ina hurry to buy land. They areinquiring into the gold reservesin the State, so that they canbuy the land, stated Parrikar.

Earlier, Dr Uday Gaonkar, en-vironmentalist Rajendra Kerkar,local singer Sulaksha Velip andCMC Chairperson RatnakarDhuri were felicitated by Par-rikar.

In his speech, PoinguinimMLA Ramesh Tawadkar claimedthat Canacona could not longerbe considered a backward areaanymore.

It is blessed with unmatchedrichness along its coast, hillsand rivers. We are even moreblessed because we have nomines in Canacona, he said.

Sanguem MLA Vasudev MengGaonkar, Shiroda MLA MadhavNaik, ZP (Khola) Krishna Velipand Subhash Velingkar were alsopresent as special invitees.

Parrikar hits out atpolice for shameful

role in drug peddling

Srinagar native held for drugs

possessionHERALD CORRESPONDENT

CALANGUTE, JAN 8

Anjuna Police arrested a native of Srinagarbut residing at Calangute on charges of pos-sessing drugs worth Rs 80,000 at Anjuna onSaturday.

Acting on a tip off, Anjuna Police arrestedMohammadar Ghulam Rasood (29) at Bagawhile he was waiting for prospective cus-tomers. The raid was carried out by AnjunaPolice Inspector Manjunath Dessai and histeam late Friday night.

After rounding up Rasood, Anjuna Policeseized from him 802 grammes of Charas val-ued at Rs 80,000. Anjuna Police is investi-gating the case.

TN native killed inDabolim mishap

HERALD REPORTER

VASCO, JAN 8

A 55-year-old native from Tamil Nadu but residing atGalinth-Bogmalo was killed on Saturday afternoonwhen a speeding car rammed his parked scooter alongthe Bogmalo road at Alto-Dabolim.

According to Vasco police, George Mayday hadparked his scooter (GA-02-L-5348) along the Bogmaloroad and was waiting for his child to receive him afterschool.

A speeding car Maruti Ritz (GA-06-D-2680), drivenby Rohit Prakash Pandey (18), rammed into the scooterfrom the rear and Mayday was killed on the spot.

An eye-witness to the incident said the car was ata high speed, when it rammed into the scooter.

The man was flung to a distance of nearly 10metres and banged his head on a stone. The car laterwent off the road, said Dharamveer.

GOAOHERALD

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GOA, SUNDAY, 9 JANUARY, 2011

Chowgule Education SocietysSt. Josephs Institute

Primary Section Vasco-da-Gama, Baina Goa

ONLINE ADMISSIONS FOR CLASS I of 2011 - 2012

To make the admission process as transparent, hassle free and easy, we have introduced on-line admission for

Class I at St. Josephs Institute Primary Section.

KINDLY NOTE:These admissions are for children who are

born on or before 30-11-2005

On-line admission procedures will be open till 14th January 2011.

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GOA, SUNDAY, 9 JANUARY, 2011

GOAOHERALD

OPg 4short takes upcoming events

GPCC President Subhash Shirodkar welcomes Uttar PradeshCongress Committee President Dr Rita Bahuguna Joshi toCongress House, Panjim. Also present are Gen SecretariesArtur Sequeira and Nitish Kavlekar and Mahila Congress Presi-dent Monica Dias.

Just Girls excel at Vem Cantar

PANJIM(HND): Just Girls of Our Lady of Rosary High School,Dona Paula recently secured the second place in Vem Cantar-the Portuguese singing competition organised by RosaryCollege of Commerce and Arts, Navelim together with FundacaoOriente.

Ana Karina Diniz, Whitney Godinho, Darlene Fernandes andShaina Rodrigues accompanied by Phil Marie Dos Santos on thekeyboard and Nigel Dos Santos on the guitar, expanded theirgroup to include Eamonne Dias, Jodanne Pereira, Sheena Britto,Sasha Rodrigues, Kimberly Gomes, Twyla Ferrao and ShannonDSouza and enrolled for the three carol singing competitionsorganized by Goa 365, YMCA and Mapusa Merchants Association,they managed to secure second position in all three.

Just Girls and Nigel spread the Christmas cheer for the oldwhen they visited Mae de Deus, an old age home for womenand Christ Raj Bhavan, for men, both in Saligao and sang carolsfor them.

They also performed at the Clube Nacional Childrens Christ-mas party and had the little kids dancing and singing alongwith them. For Just Girls, it wasnt the winning that was im-portant, but just knowing that they had reached out and madethis Christmas a memorable one for a lot of people, says apress release.

Blood donation camp heldVALPOI(HC): Phoenix Socio-Cultural Association (PSCA),

Valpoi, in collaboration with Dr Ashok Amshekar recently or-ganised 28th annual blood donation camp at Dr AmshekarHospital, Valpoi.

Besides association members, prominent people from Valpoiincluding VMC Vice Chairperson Fehmida Khan and CouncillorDarmendra Salonke voluntarily donated blood.

About 50 units of blood were donated. The camp wassuccessfully conducted under the supervision of Dr ClareDMello and other staff of GMC Blood Bank, which includedShashikant Bhosle, Daya Naik, Dhanashree Shirodker andSunil Gaonker.

Kraftwork Nite at St CruzPANJIM (HND): Kraftwork Nite a traditional musical beat

show will be held on January 26 from 7 pm onwards at StAgustinho Grounds, St Cruz. This show is being organised forthe 22nd consecutive year by Jose Fernandes in memory ofhis late brother Anton Joao Fernandes.

Live music will be provided by Goa's leading bands - Status4, Brothers-In-Arms, India, Open Highway, William Rodrigues(one-man-band). The show will be compered by Cedric and DJKelly Cruz will also rock the show.

This year the show is sponsored by Alor Grande, Candolimand Furtado's, Panjim. There will be lots of prizes and gifthampers from Alor Grande, Candolim.

Adequate security and parking will be arranged by the or-ganisers for smooth running of the show. The sound and lightswill be provided by Cas-ant Power. Information and detailswill also be released through advertisements in all the localdailies of Goa.

VHP meet at FarmagudiPANJIM (HND): Vishwa Hindu Parishad Gomantak will organise

a public meeting on January 9 at 4.30 pm at EngineeringCollege Ground Farmagudi, Ponda. International President ofVHP Ashok Singhal, International General Secretary Dr Prav-inbhai Togadia, and other Leaders of VHP will address theMeeting.

Konkani Musical ShowPANJIM (HND): Goykaranchi Konkani Bhas Songit, Kala ani

Sonskrutai Kendr, Merxe Goy, will organise a free Konkani Mu-sical Show with Goa's top most Konkani singers of the stageand a comedy skit by Aniceto Lourenco and his Troupe on Jan-uary 16 at 6.30 pm near Merces Church, on the occasion ofOpinion Poll Day (Goychi Osmitai Dis) in memory of Father ofthe Opinion Poll, Dr Jack de Sequeira. The programme is sup-ported by Tiatr Academy of Goa.

Miraculous Cross feast at AnjunaPANJIM (HND): The feast of Miraculous Cross at Anjuna Hill

will be celebrated on January 10 at 4.30 pm with the Eucharisticcelebration. This year, the feast will be celebrated by PlacidoCarvalho, Agnes Carvalho and Pearl Carvalho.

PANJIM (HND): The ChristmasFestivities were concluded withParish get-together at St Eliza-beth s Church, Ucassaim.Crispino Marcello was the chiefguest and Benny Baretto, theguest of honour.

The highlight of the pro-gramme was the Bible Quiz com-petition, Kaun Banega PovitrPustokacho Premi which was wonby Agatha Vaz and Manuel Leitao.

Crispino Marcello lauded theefforts of the parishioners and

encouraged them to participatefully in such parish activities.The Parish Priest Fr Ave MariaAfonso himself acted in a hu-morous play which was well re-ceived by the audience. Afterthe cultural programme tradi-tional rice, sambarachi koddi,melgor and vonn (sweet dish)were served to about 400parishioners. Prizes were givento the winners of the variouscompetitions held during theweek long Christmas season.

Get-together held at Ucassaim parish

Parish Priest Fr Ave Maria Afonso along with the chief guestCrispino Marcello, Benny Baretto and others.

HERALD NEWS BUREAU

PANJIM, JAN 8

Director of Health Services DrRajnanda Desai has stated thatfaulty eating habits is a majorcause of poor health amongadolescents.

Dr Desai was addressing agathering at the concludingfunction of the Nutrition Aware-ness Program (NAP) of NestleIndia Limited organized at theGoa College of Home Science.

The NAP in Goa was jointlyorganized by Nestle India Lim-ited in collaboration with GoaCollege of Home Science.

"Creating awareness aboutfood habits and a healthylifestyle is the need of the hourand such awareness programswill go a long way in combatingthe malnutrition scenario," saidDr Desai.

"Many adolescents have im-paired nutritional status due tofaulty food habits and anemiais widely prevalent among ado-lescent girls," she added.

Dr Desai said that making

good and in fo rmed foodchoices is vital for improvingthe nutritive value of the dietand nutritional status of thecommunity.

She later distributed prizesto the winners of various com-petitions held during the NAP.

Earlier, Rajal K Shinkre, prin-cipal of Goa College of HomeScience introduced presented abrief report of the NAP in theState.

The NAP under the aegis ofthe Global Healthy Kids Programwas launched by Nestle IndiaLimited to create awareness ofgood nutritional practices,healthy lifestyle and greaterphysical activity amongst ado-lescent school girls in rural andsemi-urban areas.

The NAP which consisted of6 modules spread over 6 ses-sions each of 2 hours durationonce a week, covered 1,020 stu-dents, from eight schools in Bi-cholim and Ponda.

In the beginning of the firstsession, folders (including pro-

gram content) along with gen-eral guidelines were distributedto each participant. Pre-andpost-programme evaluation wascarried out with a pre-struc-tured test to evaluate theknowledge increment of theparticipants.

During the programme, anumber of competitions wereorganized for the participants.

Officials from Nestle IndiaLimited who participated in theprogramme included FactoryManager (Ponda) Arun Pan-theeradi,Factory Manager (Bi-cholim) Nirmala Shahapurkarand Corporate Affairs ManagerSanjay Bhandari.

Others present included GauriMishal, Zimaida D'Costa andVandana Kakodkar, school rep-resentatives, participants of NAPand students and staff of GoaCollege of Home Science.

On the occasion, students ofTYBSc Home Science (Food, Nu-trition and Dietetics) performeda skit on Balanced Diet andHealthy Lifestyle.

Faulty eating habits cause of ill health among youth

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

PORVORIM, JAN 8

Justice Nelson A Britto retiredon Saturday after serving fornearly seven years as judge ofthe Bombay High Court.

A resident of Porvorim, JusticeBritto (62) passed BA (Economicsand Political Science) fromChowgule College, Margao, in1969. He stood first in Consti-tutional Law in the first Year LLBfrom Poona University in 1970and bagged the Dr AbhyankarConstitutional Law Prize.

In the third year LLB, he stoodfirst in criminology in BombayUniversity in 1972. He joinedthe Bar on July 14, 1972. Hestood first in the written andoral examinations held by Gov-ernment for the post of AssistantPublic Prosecutor (APP).

He joined as APP from August3, 1973 and since then, he hasworked as APP, Public Prosecutorand Government Pleader till join-ing judicial service in the State.

He began his judicial careeras civil judge, (Junior Division)on January 7, 1982 and was pro-moted as C.J.S.D in August 1986.

He stood first in oral inter-views for the post of AdditionalDistrict Judge in December 1993and was appointed as AdditionalDistrict and Assistant SessionsJudge on March 3, 1994.

He was appointed as Presi-dent of Administrative Tribunalfrom June 5, 1995 to August 30,1997 and was appointed as Dis-

Justice Britto retires

trict and Sessions Judge on Sep-tember 1, 1997.

He was later elevated as judgeof the high court on March 15,2004.

Speaking to Herald, PorvorimResidents Welfare Association Sec-retary Juino De Souza said: "JusticeBritto had no airs, but only graces.He is simple, unassuming and hisvaluable service to the Stateshould continue."

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

OLD GOA, JAN 8

Residents of Corlim and sur-rounding areas have been out-raged over the absence of adoctor at the Primary HealthCentre (PHC) in Corlim.

Since the past three days,there has been no doctor at theCorlim PHC and patients visitingthe hospital have had to returnhome without availing of anytreatment.

"I had gone to check my dia-betes at the Corlim PHC onThursday and I was surprisedto know that there was not asingle doctor in the hospital.When I checked up with thestaff, I was told that the doctorhad gone out," complained Pan-durang Parvatkar.

"I don't know what the healthminister or the health depart-ment are doing in the matter.Poor people like us are the worstaffected," he added.

When contacted, Director ofHealth Services Dr RajnandaDessai informed that Dr KedarRaikar has been given the dutyat the Corlim PHC.

"He should be taking chargeany time now, but I can't com-ment on why there was not asingle doctor on Wednesdayor Thursday and I will lookinto the matter," said Dr Des-sai.

Dr Dessai also stated that theHealth Department is in theprocess of recruiting 15 newmedical officers in different cen-tres in the State.

Absence of doctor at Corlim PHC angers locals

Awareness on kidney

diseases held at Canancona

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CANACONA, JAN 8

CHC Canacona recently conductedInformation and Communication(IEC) programme at Amone-Poinguinim to create awarenessamong the residents on upcomingsurvey by medical teams for EarlyDetection and Management ofChronic Kidney Diseases project.

The kidney ailments detectionproject is being vigorously under-taken in the taluka by health au-thorities, as widespread chronickidney ailments allegedly affectingtaluka residents continue to takeprominence in the State.

The health team consisting ofMedical Officer Dr Vandana Dessaiand health educator spoke to thepeople on kidney diseases and re-lated problems and requested peo-ple to whole-heartedly cooperateby giving correct answers to thequeries posed by visiting surveyorsat their residences and localities.

Poinguinim Sarpanch Te-jaswini Deikar requested thepeople to take benefits and sub-ject themselves to the surveyteams for their own health sake.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

COLLEM, JAN 8

Mollem School Complex re-cently organized its annual BalAnand Melava at Satpal-Mollem.

Primary schools students fromMollem, Zambaulim, Dhat-San-god, Suctol im, Palaskata-Kasaval im, Bondumal andstudents of Std 5 of Abhinav VidyaMandir High School Mollem par-ticipated in the melava.

Mollem Sarpanch GovindGaonkar, who was the chief

guest, garlanded the portrait ofPt Jawaharlal Nehru in the pres-ence of Headmaster of AbhinavVidya Mandir SharadchandraKhandepar and others.

Speaking on the occasion,chief guest Gaonkar appealedthe students to participate invarious programmes and com-petitions for their all-round de-velopment. He also stressed onthe importance of teachers rolein the moulding the students.

About 200 students and 15

teachers participated in themelava. Forester Lambor ex-plained the importance medicalplants in the present age. He alsoshowed some plants which areuseful for various diseases likeHIV/AIDS, Blood Pressure, etc.

During the melava, various com-petitions, entertainment gamesand programmes were organized.Teachers Kiran, Sanam Gaonkarand Ranjita Maselkar taught thestudents dances songs and someentertainment games.

Bal Anand Melava held at Mollem

GOAGOA, SUNDAY, 9 JANUARY, 2011

Pg5OHERALD

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HERALD CORRESPONDENT

MAYEM, JAN 8

Bicholim MLA Rajesh Patnekarhas called upon the people andpanch members to coordinatewith the government officialsto get knowledge of differentgovernment schemes.

He was addressing the gath-

ering during cheque distributionprogramme conducted by Socialand Welfare Department underRajiv Awas Yojna for the bene-ficiaries from Mayem, Bicholimand Pale at BMC Hall, Bicholim.

Mayem MLA Anant Shet, PaleMLA Pratap gawas, BMC Chair-person Anisha Vernekar, Deputy

Cha i rpe r son Shash ikan tHalarnkar and Vivek Naik werepresent on the occasion.

About 220 beneficiaries fromall the three constituencies weregiven the cheques.

Mahadev Tirodkar comperedthe function and also proposedthe vote of thanks.

People urged to interact with officials on govt schemes

Bicholim MLA Rajesh Patnekar distributes cheques to the beneficiaries under Rajiv Aavas scheme atBicholim. Photo by Vishant Vaze

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

MAYEM, JAN 8

Mayem MLA Anant Shet recentlyinaugurated the hot-mixing of6-km stretch of road from Dhat-wada to Kudchirem Temple andPoriem junction to Maulingemin Mayem constituency.

The road will be hot mixedat a cost of about Rs 1.47 croreand it will be completed soon,informed MLA Shet.

He further said that other sur-

rounding roads will also be hotmixed before the monsoon.

Other infrastructure likepower, water, etc, will be alsomade available to the people asearly as possible, said Shet.

PWD (roads) engineer Vel-l auddin , jun ior eng ineerParyekar, Daji Warak, RajanUsapkar, Shankar Chodankar,Gurudas Kerikar and RajanRane were present on the oc-casion.

HERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, JAN 8

Home Minister Ravi Naik hassaid that a world without com-puters cannot be imagined.Computer he said has becomevery important nowadays be-cause it is accurate, fast andcan accomplish many tasks eas-ily. Otherwise to completethose tasks manually muchmore time is required. More-over it can store huge amount

of data in it. Home Minister Ravi Naik was

speaking after inaugurating atwo-day computer awarenessworkshop organized by PESCollege of Education at Far-maguddi on Friday as part ofSilver Jubilee of Ponda EducationSociety.

Speaking further, Naik saidwe also get information on dif-ferent aspects using internet onour computer. Today he said,

Computers a necessity today: Naikthe computers are used inbanks, communications, busi-ness, medical science, educa-tion, media, travel and ticketing,weather predictions, sports,music and others. He compli-mented the College for organ-izing this workshop for thebenefit of the teachers and

urged the teachers to impartknowledge they acquire withthe students.

Earlier, Principal of PES Col-lege of Education Geeta Iyerwelcomed the gathering whileLecturer Udesh proposed a voteof thanks. Kumari Vidhya Shik-erkar compered the function.

Home Minister Ravi Naik inaugurated a two-day computer aware-ness workshop on Friday organized by PES College of Education atFarmaguddi as part of the Silver Jubilee celebration.

Hot-mixing work onMayem roads begin

Mayem MLA Anant Shet inaugurates the hot mixing work at Kud-chirem-Bicholim. Photo by Vishant Vaze

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CANACONA, JAN 8

Saniya Fernandes was crownedLions Queen at the CanaconaLions XI traditional New YearsDance at Molyma Resorts openhall.

Saniya emerged winner fromamong several other girls whoattended the New Years dance

Saniya crowned Lions Queen

party and participated in theLions Queen contest.

Shamanta Larina Gracias wasthe runner-up, while Saniya (16)was crowned by Canacona Lionsfirst lady Fransquinha Fernandesin the presence of PresidentMotesino Fernandes, TreasurerLawrence Barretto and othersenior lion members.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

PORVORIM, JAN 8

The Penha da Franca panchayatrecently conducted a six-daymedical camp on ayurveda,naturopathy, accupressure andmagneto the rapy a t theDhadeshwar Community hall atBritona.

Over 100 people attended themedical camp and magneticequipment were given to thepatients at concessional rates.

Dr Vinay Borkar examined thepatients, while Pooja Naik as-sisted the doctor.

"Most patients who attendedthe camp were found sufferingfrom diabetes, arthritis and acid-ity. They are suffering from thesediseases because of the modernlife style they have adopted. If

they consume nutritious foodand exercise regularly, most ofthe diseases can be prevented,"Dr Borkar told Herald.

"More people are slowly turn-ing towards Magneto-therapy,which is based on nature's Law.The human body is made up ofcells and tissues. Cells are mag-netic units and high magneticfluctuations take place in thehuman body and they stimulatethe cells. Hence, a number ofdiseases can be treated with dif-ferent magnetic equipment,"said Dr Borkar.

Penha da Franca EknathBorkar said the panchayat haddecided to organise the campfor the benefit of a large num-ber o f poor peop le f romBritona.

Penha da Franca pyat organises health camp

Dr Vinay Borkar examines a patient at a medical camp. Photo by Anil Shankhwalkar

Curchoremschool

principal fetedHERALD CORRESPONDENT

CURCHOREM, JAN 8

Guardian Angel Higher Second-ary School Curchorem PrincipalFr Frank Mendes was recentlyfelicitated at Kupamoddi Hod-dar, Curchorem.

Social worker Nilesh Cabralfelicitated Fr Mendes during aspecial function, which was apart of the three-day New Yearcelebrations organized by St Se-bastian Sports and Cultural Clubof Cupamoddi.

Sanvordem Parish Priest FrJames Torres E Silva, Club Pres-ident Cajetan Fernandes andothers were present on the oc-casion.

In his speech, Fernandes saidFr Mendes was felicitated inrecognition of his 17 years ofselfless and dedicated servicesto the villagers as priest of StSebastian Chapel, Hoddar.

Earlier, Cabral inauguratedthe three-day function in thepresence of other dignitaries.Various competitions were or-ganized during the three-dayprogramme.

Mathew DCosta, Babajin Fer-nandes, Dnyaneshwar Naik andDatta Naik were the judges.

Computer literacy test HERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, JAN 8

The computer literacy test of the candidates who have applied forthe posts of Data Entry Operator in North Goa Collectorate, willbe held from January 10 to 14 at the Goa Education DevelopmentCorporation, DIET hostel building, near Teacher Training College,Porvorim, from 10 am onwards. Interviews of short-listed candidateswill be conducted later, the schedule of which will be informed bysending call letter and publication in newspaper. Those who havenot received their call letter for computer literacy test may collectthe duplicate copy from the Collectorate Office, Panjim.

Furtadosplanning to

contest CCP pollsBY HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JAN 8

The Corporation of the City ofPanjim (CCP)corporator Suren-dra Furtado who fiercely foughtagainst wrong doings of someof the ruling corporators duringthis term, is now planning toget into the corporation elec-tion scheduled in March withfull force.

His wife Ruth Furtado is al-ready a corporator representingward 10, his entrepreneur son,Vladimir Furtado is also set tocontest CCP election. He willcontest from ward 11 thatmostly covers Panjim marketarea.

When contacted SurendraFurtado said he has decided tofield his son to have more handsto fight corruption in the CCPas he felt helpless before brutemajority of the ruling panelwhich had on side 19 corpora-tors.

Denying the charge that hewants to have dynastic rule byhaving wife and son in the cor-poration, he said, they want todo social service as he and hiswife have done work in theirrespective wards and peoplewill vouch for them.

Vladimir Furtado will be pit-ted against Kabir Pinto Makhijaof Panjim City Corporation De-velopment Front(PCCDF)-- thepanel which has been floatedby Taleigao MLA Babush Mon-serrate.

While Furtado will be con-testing for the fourth term andhis wife, for the third term.

This corporation election thistime is likely to become morethan challenging for all the con-testants involved due to changein power equations.

Ex-Mayor Ashok Naik whohad wowed not to stand for cor-poration election again haschange his stance. He is likelyto contest from ward 14 againstdeputy mayor Yatin Parekh.

However, picture will be moreclear once BJP announces itspanel which it is likely to doimmediately after reservationnotification is released.

Taleigao MLA Babush Mon-serrate has already declared hispanel and has also joined handswith St Cruz MLA, Victoria Fer-nandes.

The Lion Queens contest wasanchored by Tony Martins, whileRichard was the mood-setter forthe annual lions New Year danceas Music Waves and Sensationwere the two bands in attendance.

According to Martins, the an-swer provided by Saniya in ex-plaining the inner beauty of aperson did the trick for nettingmaximum marks from the benchof three judges.

The Canacona Lions XI tradi-tional New Years dance is theonly one a year fund-raising ac-tivity of the Lions Club of Cana-cona.

Canacona Lions President Fer-nandes said: We do one fund-raising activity annually, butconduct several people-orientedprogrammes which includehealth camps and other activi-ties for the needy strata of thesociety.

INDIAPg 6 OHERALD

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GOA, SUNDAY 9 JANUARY, 2011

PTI

NEW DELHI, JAN 8

In an unprecedented develop-ment, chiefs of the army andthe Air Force will appear beforeparliament's public accountscommittee (PAC) on Wednesdayin connection with alleged ir-regularities in the canteen storesdepartment (CSD) supplies.Naval chief Admiral NirmalVerma, who has also been calledalong with his counterparts ofthe army and the Air Force toappear before the PAC, would,however, be representedby Vice Chief Vice Admiral D KDeewan as he will be travelingto Indonesia on a pre-sched-uled four-day visit beginningtomorrow, sources said today.The PAC had called the chiefs

of the three defence servicesfor a hearing on January 12based on a CAG report whichhas pointed out irregularities in

the supply chain managementof rations by CSD.The Defence Ministry, which re-ceived the communication, ad-vised the service chiefs toappear before the PAC appar-ently to underline the commit-tee's immense significance at atime when the government isseeking to project it as a bodyas important as the Joint Parlia-mentary Committee in the 2Gspectrum issue, the sources said.Accordingly, the PAC has beeninformed that army chief Gen-eral V K Singh and Air Force chiefAir Chief Marshal P V Naik wouldbe appearing before it, they said.This would be the first time

that the chiefs of armed forceswould appear before the PAC asusually the defence secretaryattends such meetings of theparliamentary committees alongwith vice chiefs of the Services.However, soon after the Defence

Ministry received the PAC letter,army sources had said that theservice chiefs were unlikely toappear before the committeeand instead vice chiefs and quar-ter master general equivalentswould represent their forces.The army chief had also won-dered if there was any extrarequirement for the chiefs toappear before the PAC.Highlighting the irregularities

in the CSD, the CAG had said,The existing procedure for pro-visioning of dry rations failedto assess the requirement real-istically. The failurewas mainly due to systemic de-ficiencies due to which differentquantities were worked out atdifferent echelons applying dif-ferent parameters...The report had said that the riskof existence of cartels affectingthe quantity and quality of ra-tions is too serious to be ig-

nored.The Ministry of Defence shouldset clear targets regarding ex-pansion of vendor base andprogress should be closely mon-itored. The list of vendorsshould be put on the websiteof the army service corps, ithad said. General Singh said on Thursdaythat he had no problem in ap-pearing before PAC if the min-istry wanted it even as hewondered "if there is an extrarequirement" for the Chiefs togo before the Committee.There are two-three issuesraised by the CAG on which thePAC wants to ask or clarify var-ious points. It depends on whatthe ministry wants from us. If itwants us to go andclarify, we have got no problemin doing that, he said whenasked if he would appear beforethe PAC.

Sikh devotee spits fire as he performs during a religious procession taken out by community members ahead of the birth anniversary of the tenth Guru of the Sikhs,Guru Gobind Singh, in the northern Indian city of Jammu,on Saturday, Guru Gobind Singh Ji was the last Sikh Guru who initiated the special order or sect of the Sikhscalled the 'Khalsa Panth.'

Army, IAF chiefs to appear before PAC

PTI

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JAN 8

Left parties in Kerala have re-sented the Supreme Court orderupholding the state High Court''sban on organising road-sidepublic meetings and rallies, ar-guing it would amount infring-ing on Constitutional rights.

The court order amounted tobreach of democratic and con-stitutional privileges like free-dom of expression, the CPI-M,which heads the ruling LDF, said.

The party wanted the govern-ment to convene an all-partymeet to consider legal options,including a legislation, to restorethe rights.

The apex court on Thursdayupheld last year's High Courtorder banning public meetingson road sides on a petition byan individual who contendedthat road side meetings causedsevere inconvenience to publicand constricted traffic.

A statement issued by CPI-MState Secretariat here yesterdaysaid the Court order not onlyignored the specific features ofKerala but also transgressed therights of the executive and leg-islature.

CPI State Secretary C K Chan-drappan said the order did notgo well with the spirit of democ-racy and banning way-side pub-lic meetings would amount toshackling the freedom of ex-pression.

Considering the geographicalpeculiarities of Kerala, it hadbeen a long practice for all par-ties to organise public meetingson road sides, he said.

If the court order was meantto curb difficulties posed by suchmeetings to the public it wouldhave been taken as sensible. Im-posing a blanket ban on all sortsof roadside meetings would notbe practical in a State like Kerala,the CPI leader said

Left resent ban on roadside meetings PTI GUWAHATI, JAN 8

Dubbing the 2-G spectrum issueas the mother of all scams, BJPPresident Nitin Gadkari todaywarned that the government'sstubborn and confrontationistapproach to the legitimate de-mand for a JPC probe will costit dearly.

If the prime Minister is sovery confident that he is notguilty, why should he be so stub-born in opposing the legitimatedemand of JPC? This stubborn-ness is reminiscent of

the pre-emergency days. BJPcondemns this approach, Gad-kari said in his presidential ad-dress at the B JP nat iona lexecutive meet here, the firstsince the 2-G scam surfaced.

Alleging that the huge lossto the exchequer due to thismother of all scams is almostequal to the budget outlay ofsome states, he warned the gov-ernment that such a stubbornand confrontationist approachwill cost the UPA extremelydear.

It is the stubbornness that

Govts stubborn stance will cost it dearly: BJP

PTI

GUWAHATI, JAN 8

Senior BJP leader and PACChairman Murli Manohar Joshitoday criticised Telecom Minis-ter Kapil Sibal for debunkingCAG estimates of losses of Rs1.76 lakh crore on account of2G spectrum allocation, sayingit was "improper" and demon-strated his "very casual" ap-proach.

Joshi said Telecom SecretaryR Chandrashekhar had appearedbefore the PAC but never ques-tioned the CAG''s projection ofpresumptive losses.

"In my opinion, it is highlyimproper. The CAG has neversaid that it is the exact amount.Mr Sibal should have read thereport carefully," Joshi said herewhile reacting to the Telecom

Minister''s contention that thepresumptive losses projectedby the CAG was "erroneous".

Joshi noted that the CAG hasalways maintained that the lossfigures were presumptive andnever said the figure of Rs 1.76lakh crore was final.

The CAG had given three lim-its of the presumptive loss tothe exchequer in its report andSibal''s attack on it showed that"he has been very casual and illbeholds of the Minister to talkill of the CAG, the PAC Chairmansaid.

Joshi, who is here to attendBJP''s National Executive meet,pointed out that the TelecomSecretary "was examined by thePAC" and "he never said that this(the loss figure) was erroneous."

He said it was not proper for

the Minister to say such thingswhen the PAC inquiry into thereport is underway and "What-ever he wants to say, his Secre-tary can come and say (beforePAC)."

Joshi said Sibal''s party, Con-gress, or its representativescould have also come and pre-sented their views before thePAC.

Sibal had yesterday rejectedCAG estimates of losses of Rs1.76 lakh crore on account ofallocation of 2G spectrum totelecom operators saying it "hadno basis and was utterly erro-neous".

The CAG in its 77-page reportof CAG, tabled in Parliament inNovember last year, had saidthat due diligence was not fol-lowed and even the recommen-

dations of the telecom regulatorTRAI were "not followed inspirit".

The report said the "presump-tive" loss caused to the excheq-uer through spectrum allocationto 122 licensees and 35 dualtechnology licences in 2007-08was Rs 1,76,645 crore. It arrivedat the figure on the basis of 3Gauction held earlier this year inwhich the government moppedup over Rs 67,000 crore.

The 2G scam has become amajor political issue with theopposition demanding a jointparliament committee to probethe issue. The demand, however,was rejected by the governmentleading to disruption of almostthe entire winter session of par-liament.

Sibal didnt read report properly, says Joshi

PTI

JHARGRAM (WB), JAN 8

Uneasy calm prevailed atNetai village in Lalgarh policestation area of West Midnaporedistrict today where eight per-sons were killed and 18 othersinjured in firing by suspectedCPI(M) armed cadre.

The joint security forces wereon patrol in the village yesterdaywhen CPI(M) armed cadre stay-ing at party leader Ranjit Dan-dapat's house allegedly openedfire on villagers when they re-fused to receive arms trainingand act as night guards.

Trinamool Congress chief Ma-mata Banerjee, who rushed toMidnapore town yesterdayevening and visited the injured

in hospital, will take out a pro-cession with the bodies of thosekilled in Lalgarh in the after-noon.

Condemning the killings, Gov-ernor M K Narayanan had lastnight said that it was a day ofsorrow and shame for the State.

No democracy can allowsuch violence: no civilized soci-ety can accept such mindlessdiscord ... a decisive stage hasbeen reached for the govern-ment to act, before it becomes

a point of no return.Home Secretary Gyan Dutta

Goutama, however, had said thatthe killing was the result of apolitical clash between the Tri-namool Congress and the CPI-M.

Home Min i s te r P Ch i -dambaram had yesterday writ-ten yet another letter to ChiefMinister Buddhadeb Bhattachar-jee asking him to rescheduleall appointments and visit Delhiimmediately.

Describing the violence in Lal-garh as a grave incident, Chi-dambaram had said he hadreceived information that eightpeople were killed in the firingand 18 others were injured.

I have written a letter to thechief minister and drawn his at-tention to this grave incidentand requested him to kindlyreschedule all (his) appoint-ments and visit Delhi immedi-ately, he had told reporters inDelhi.

Uneasy calm in Netai after 8 killed

PTI

NAGPUR, JAN 8

A local singer Sunil Wagh-mare, who achieved a rare featby singing for 93 hours and20 minutes, thereby creatinga new non-stop singing record,was hospitalised here follow-ing exhaustion.

Waghmare had set a targetof 101 hours of continuoussinging but was forced to stopafter doctors attending on himfound him unfit for furthersinging yesterday, as his phys-ical condition deteriorated.

He was immediately rushedin a waiting ambulance to aprivate nursing home lastevening where he is recover-ing, the organisers claimedhere.

During his four-day recital,Waghmare did not suffer fromany ailment except that he wascompleted exhausted follow-ing his singing was cut short

abruptly.Waghmare's singing event

was earlier inaugurated by for-mer MP Banwarilal Purohit andsenior scribe Umesh Choubeon January 3.

He rendered all popularsongs of late legendary singerMohammad Rafi. Now his featand video recordings will besent to Guinness Book ofWorld Records for their ap-proval and entry into the book,organisers added.

Youth sings for 93hours, hospitalised

PTI

PUNE, JAN 8

An official of the Central Excise

and Customs department was

arrested while taking a bribe of

Rs one crore from a businessman

here, a top CBI official said

today.

Acting on a tip-off, a trap

was laid and K B Mahadik, a su-

perintendent in the Central Ex-

cise and Customs department,

was caught while accepting the

bribe from the businessman yes-

terday," CBI Joint Director Rishi-

raj Singh said.

About Rs 6.8 lakh cash, United

States dollars 800, a revolver

and 80 files pertaining to Ma-

hadik's property deals were re-

covered during searches at his

residence, Singh said.

The businessman is associ-

ated with a steel rolling mill, he

said, adding the investigating

agency was working on the case

for the last two months.

Central Exciseofficial caughttaking bribe

PTI

NEW DELHI, JAN 8

Heavy fog across north Indiatoday threw train traffic out ofgear with 100 trains runninglate and five of them beingrescheduled.

Northern Railway officials saidin view of the dense fog in manyareas of Punjab, Haryana andUttar Pradesh, train traffic hasbeen disrupted.

The Lucknow Shatabdi hasbeen cancelled from both sideswhile five trains have beenrescheduled including the NorthEast Express and Puri Express.

At least 100 trains are runninglate.

All trains are running at asnail's pace and a speed restric-tion on running of trains hascome into force in some sectionsbetween Delhi and Kanpur, theysaid.

100 trains runlate as fog hitstraffic services

A police personnel on duty at the Central Park at Cannaught Place on a chilling foggy morning in New Delhi on Satur-day.

38 childrenrescued fromUP food joints

PTI

LUCKNOW, Jan 8

Thirty-eight child labourerswere rescued from various foodjoints here during a drivelaunchedby the Labour Depart-ment and Childline.

The department carried outa drive with an aim to rescuechildren working as labourersin restaurants and food jointsin different parts of the city, in-cluding Vikas Nagar, Aliganj andRajajipuram, officials said.

The raids were carried out ina phased manner from Decem-ber 29, they said, adding thatlegal notices have been issuedto the restaurants and food jointowners from where these chil-dren were rescued.

MUZAFFARNAGAR: A fasttrack court here has convictedeight persons and sentencedthem to five years of imprison-ment for cow slaughtering, po-lice said.

The Fast Track Court JudgeShukla also imposed a fine ofRs 5,000 on each of the accusedidentified as Hashim, Shahid,Meharban, Sajid , Hanif, Mehdi,Israil and Hasan after holdingthem guilty yesterday, they said.

Eight persons were arrestedwhen police recovered cowmeat and skin from their pos-session at Khawajanpur villagein the district on November 7,2004. (PTI)

Eight fined for

cow slaughter

PTI

LUCKNOW, JAN 8

Three persons were arrested forallegedly kidnapping a 13-year-old son of a city transporter,who was later rescued by thepolice from Kakori area, officialssaid here.

Mohd Asif alias Talib, a classeighth student at Bright CareerConvent School, went missingfrom New Haiderganj in Thakur-ganj locality while he had gonefor some work on Thursdayevening, they said.

Later his father Chand Babureceived a ransom call demand-ing from an unidentified person,who demanded Rs 50 lakh forhis son's safe release.

Police said that the kidnap-pers called the Chand Babu todeliver the amount near BhuwarSuraj Kundan road in Kakori.

A police team followed ChandBabu and nabbed Jamal, whocame to collect the ransommoney.

Three held for kidnapping boy

The dictionary definitionof the word surreal is hav-ing the disorienting, hallu-cinatory quality of a dream;unreal; fantastic. The artstyle, surrealism, followsthis definition fairly closely.

Surrealism is a culturalmovement and artistic stylethat was founded in 1924by Andr Breton. Surreal-ism style uses visual im-agery from thesubconscious mind to cre-ate art without the inten-tion of logicalcomprehensibility.

The movement wasbegun primarily in Eu-rope, centered in Paris,and attracted many ofthe members of theDada community. In-fluenced by the psy-choanalytical work ofFreud and Jung, thereare similarities be-tween the Surrealist move-ment and the Symbolistmovement of the late 19thcentury.

Some of the greatestartists of the 20th cen-tury became involvedin the Surrealistmovement, and thegroup included Gior-gio de Chirico, ManRay, Ren Magritte,and many others.

The Surrealist movementeventually spread acrossthe globe, and has influ-enced artistic endeav-ors from painting andsculpture to popmusic and film direct-ing.

The greatestknown Surrealistartist is the world fa-mous Salvador Dali.

Born on May 11, 1904,Salvador Dali i Domenechwould become one of theworlds most recognizedsurrealist artists. Raisedby his lawyer/notary fa-ther and a mother who en-couraged her artistic son,Dali grew up in Figueres,Catalonia, Spain, having

been told by his parents that hewas the reincarnation of hisolder brother, Salvador, who died

just nine months beforeDalis birth.

In 1921, Dali moved tothe student residences atthe School of Fine Arts inMadrid. He spent severalyears studying there andthen shortly before hisgraduation, he was ex-pelled for declaring that

no one on the faculty of theschool was competent enough toexamine him.

By 1931, Dali had col-laborated on a shortfilm with surrealist di-rector Luis Bunuel; il-lustrated a book calledThe Witches of Liers,a poem written by hisfriend and classmateCarles Fages de Climent;

met hismuse and fu-ture wifeGala; andpainted ar-guably hismost famouswork ThePersistenceof Memory.

In 1940, Dali and Gala movedto the United States, and it wasduring this time that Dali re-claimed his Catholic faith.

In the late 1940s, Dali andGala returned to Spain. Dali con-tinued a prolific career in art,being one of the first artists touse holography and taking greatinspiration from his Catholicfaith and the events of the day.From this time period, two ofDalis most famous works, Hal-lucinogenic Toreador and LaGare de Perpignan were created.

King Juan Carlos of Spain be-stowed upon Dali the title Mar-quis of Pubol in 1982. By thistime, Dali was seriously ill, andon January 23, 1989, SalvadorDali died from heart failure. Heis buried in a crypt at his TeatroMuseo de Figueres, just stepsfrom his childhood home.

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INDIAOHE

RALD

OGOA, SUNDAY 9 JANUARY, 2011

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opinionated

Kakule-Ads

Theannualstateofmind

Adv Cleofato Almeida Coutinho

Christmas is just over! The festival celebrated aroundthe globe, though inherently a Christian festival forcenturies, over the period from 25 to 31 December has

evolved into a season of festivities and has become a traditionin itself. The manner in which people around the world havebeen involved with the festivities of Christmas during the lastweek of December leading to New Year, from generation to gen-eration has made Christmas a social tradition.

The greeting Merry Christmas is exchanged among all com-munities and the entire Christmas season is now an extendedfestival of goodwill and greetings. Greeting Merry Christmasdoes not offend non-Christians because, with the passage oftime this greeting has got the approval of the society. There isno denying that the Christian flavour and the tradition of cele-brating the birth of Jesus Christ, is getting diluted due to com-mercialisation of the festival. Christmas and New Year celebrationshave grown and the season has seen a commercial boom evenin countries like India, where the Christian population is in aminiscule minority. Japan, with less than one per cent Christianpopulation, is full of Christmas trees, Christmas buntings and il-luminations this season. Even if it is said that all religiousfestivities have now come to have non religious traditions andthat anyone can adopt without affecting the religious sentiment,Christmas and the season connected with it, has travelled beyondthe normal expected change. This is not to deny the religiousorigin the day that is traditionally celebrated as the birthdayof Jesus Christ.

The entire second half of December is big business. The com-mercialisation of Christmas began in the 20th century with re-ligious traditions mingling with non religious ones. In the US,the Thanks Giving day, (which otherwise serves as a preludeto the greatest shopping weekend of the year) was moved in1939, by President Roosevelt, the date of thanks giving back tothe third Thursday of November to increase the Christmas shop-ping season as different business houses depended on theChristmas economy. That was bound to happen as the con-sumerist society was hungry for such a direction. That commercialexploitation would happen is a different matter all together.The season is now used as the pious based, commercial expansion,with huge spending on Christmas and New Year gifts, which byitself has become a secular/social tradition that has attainedthe spirit of giving. The spirit of giving has given a new di-mension to the Christmas season. Gifts to children, gifts to theirteachers, gifts to postmen, gifts to the milk vendor, gifts toneighbours has also contributed to this new tradition whichhas evolved over the centuries.

This great tradition of giving gifts in keeping with the spiritof giving, has contributed to business and commerce in a bigway. With hundreds of millions (in whichever currency) spent instores and malls, it is the new age Christmas of today. It may besaid that it is no longer about Jesus anymore. It is more aboutSanta. It is no longer being holy but about fun, not about thechurch but about the mall.

Whichever way we look at it Christmas waves a magic wandover the world and as Mary Ellen Chase said it, Christmas isnot a date; its a state of mind. Christmas is a great mixture ofPragmatism and being holy, the latter providing reason andmeaning and the former providing the vibrancy to the reasonand meaning.

These traditions that have evolved over centuries would begood in a number of ways. It boosts the economy both nationaland international and commerce flourishes. A flourishing economywould be good for development of countries and the people.The second half of December gets filled with the spirit of Christ-mas and the eagerness to step in the New Year. The sight ofcolourful Christmas decorations adorning houses all over providesa feeling of festivity and fun. Everybody waits for the year endholidays and those who claim to be agnostics may prefer towish happy holidays but all enjoy the year end. It is the timefor fun, joy and laughter.

From the beginning of December one cannot forget thatChristmas is approaching and the year end, too, is nearing. Thestreets, the shops, the houses are lit with colourful decorativelamps and Joy to the World, Silent Night or Holy Night fillthe air heralding the arrival of the spirit of Christmas. It offendsnobody. The warmth and joy of Christmas and New Year bringsfriends and family together. It is a time to connect with thosewho are near to our heart and are yet far away.

Christmas and New Year cards (Christmas cards were manu-factured in large numbers in the second half of the 19th centurywhen Britain came out with the concept of unsealed envelopefor half price of ordinary letter) kept friendships alive. Thesending of cards one lists new friends and also writes to thosewhom one otherwise misses.

The year end Christmas season also provides a family bondingtime which could be a stress buster after the hard and tiringwork throughout the year. For the children who have grown upwith Santa, knowing all about them and that their good deedswould be rewarded with good gifts provide incentive to domore good. There is a great tradition of feasting with friendsand family. It is a time to rejoice, enjoy and have fun. It couldbe argued that it is part of the hospitality business but thereligious angle could be, Jesus loved to share his meals withthose whom he loved. Therefore, Christmas is all about givingand sharing.

Tradition may change from country to country and differ incustom and societal standards. The evolution of Christmas as ayear end festival is here to stay with no turning back. Christmasand New Year celebrations can never stop now on (the attackon the festival between 16th and 18th centuries has been over-come in a big way). The state of mind that looks forward tocheer, happiness and goodwill to all must flourish eternally. Thesecular credentials of this festive season should be nourishedby one and all.

PTI

BANGALORE, JAN 8

In a major milestone, light com-bat aircraft Tejas is all set to at-tain initial operational clearanceon January 10, taking its laststep before induction into theAir Force.

This is the first time that anindigenously designed and de-veloped military fighter aircraftwould be certified for Air Forceoperations," a Defence ResearchDevelopment Organisation(DRDO) release said here.

Defence Minister A K Antonywill hand over a formal Releaseto Service Certificate of Tejasaircraft to the Chief of Air Staff,Air Chief Marshal P V Naik at afunction here on

January 10.The occasion marks a very

important achievement in thedesign and development of Tejasin particular and military avia-tion in the country on the wholeas Tejas aircraft will be availablefor use by Air Force Pilots.

There is a likelihood of de-l iver ing a l together sevensquadrons of Tejas aircraft tothe IAF, the release said.

Meanwhile in Pune, Air ChiefMarshal P V Naik said he wouldvisit Bangalore tomorrow in con-nection with the initial operativeclearance of the Light CombatAircraft (LCA).

By June, the first LCA will beavailable," he told a press con-ference at the Air Force station.

To a question, Naik said Mig-21 fighter jets would be phasedout by the next year and notedthat pilots graduating on Hawk,

an advanced aircraft, would bebetter prepared.

Naik said Pune Air Force sta-tion was an important IAF baseand it would be upgraded interms of infrastructure andavionics.

To a query, he said Pune air-port, jointly used by the AirForce and civil sector, neededan improved coordination andhe had conveyed this to CivilAviation Minister Praful Patel.We are encouraging creationof a separate civil airport atChakan near the city.

On a proposal sent to De-fence Ministry about flying bat-ting legend Sachin Tendulkar -who is also brand ambassador

of the Air Force - in supersonicSukhoi aircraft, Naik said

Sachin at present is busyscoring centuries. We plan toput him in a sortie after theWorld Cup when he would belittle relaxed.

Earlier, President PratibhaPatil witnessed a ceremonial pa-rade at the Air Force station andalso an air show displaying for-mations of Sukhoi 30 fighterjets.

She awarded the PresidentialStandard to 31 Squadron andColours to 9 Base Repair Depot(BRD) and also released a postalstamp on the recipients, in ac-knowledgement of their loyaltyand courage.

IAFtoinductTejasaircraftsoon

PTI

PATNA, JAN 8

Under attack from the opposi-tion for allegedly influencingthe probe into the murder ofPurnia MLA Raj Kishore Keshri,Bihar Deputy Chief MinisterSushil Kumar Modi today urgedChief Minister Nitish Kumar toorder a CBI inquiry into the case.

Though the Bihar police iscompetent enough to carry for-ward the investigation, it willbe better to hand it over to CBI,"Modi said in a letter to Kumarbefore leaving for

Guwahati to attend the na-tional executive meeting of theBJP.

Both Modi and the slain leg-islator Keshri belong to BJP,while Kumar, who holds thehome department, is from JD(U)in the coalition government.

It (CBI probe) is also the de-mand of BJP and the family mem-bers of Keshri," he said.

I know it well that Bihar po-lice is more competent than theCBI to probe the case, but since

OrderCBIprobeintoKesrimurder:Sushil

Keshri is from the ruling party,the opposition will continue toraise fingers against the fair andindependent probe by Bihar po-lice, Modi pointed out in hisletter.

Alleging that his political op-ponents were engaging in hischaracter assassination, Modisaid "concocted allegations arebeing levelled by them againstKeshri who is not alive to givea befitting reply".

"The family members of theslain legislator now also feelthat the case should be handedover to the CBI," he said.

Chief Opposition RJD-LJP, be-sides Congress and left partieshave accused Modi of influenc-ing the course of the police in-vestigation and called for a CBIprobe.

Modi's letter to the chief min-ister is being seen as an attempt

Teacherheldforremovingstudentsveil

PTI

RANCHI, JAN 8

A college teacher was today ar-

rested for allegedly removing

the veil covering the face of a

girl student, sparking strong

protests here.

Trouble started when a local

newspaper published the pho-

tographs in sequence showing

how the teacher removed the

girl's veil to identify her during

a students' protest on Friday de-

manding that they be allowed

to fill up forms for intermediate

examinations.

The photos sparked off

protests on the arterial Main

Road here following which po-

lice forces were rushed to main-

tain law and order.

Senior Superintendent of Po-

lice Praveen Kumar Singh too

rushed to the spot to control

the situation. When contacted,

the college authorities refused

to make any comments but said

the media had played up the

matter.

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PTI

SALEM, JAN 8

A sub-post master in the districthas been suspended after a com-plaint that he had misappropri-ated Rs 26,000 from the postalsavings account of a retiredteacher, officials said today.

Senior Superintendent ofPot C Sundararajan said the re-tired teacher had lodged a com-plaint stating that Rs 26,000 hadbeen withdrawn from his sav-ings account without his knowl-edge.

After preliminary inquiry,Kalian (55), sub-postmaster ofSitheri in Thalaivasal was sus-pended.

Postsofficial

suspended

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WORLDOHERALD

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GOA, SUNDAY, 9 JANUARY, 2011

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PTI

WASHINGTON, JAN 8

The US will provide Pakistanwith more military, intelligenceand economic aid; even thoughtop officials of the Obama ad-ministration feel that the coun-try is not doing enough to crackdown on terror havens in itstribal belt.

Vice-president Joseph Bidenwill deliver the message outliningthe new aid package when hevisits Pakistan next week, TheWashington Post reported today.

Bidens visit, the paper said,is considered significant asWashington feels frustratedover delay by Pakistan army inmounting operations in NorthWaziristan, the area whichAmerican security agenciesfeel is hotbed of al-Qaeda, Tal-

iban, Haqqani network andother radical Islamic groupsconfronting NATO forces inAfghanistan.

The vice-president, during hisvisit, is expected to meet thepowerful Pakistan Army chiefGen Ashfaq Kayani and top gov-ernment leaders.

Biden will challenge the Pak-istanis to articulate their longterm strategy for the region andindicate exactly what assistanceis needed for them to moveagainst Tali