-
OHERALDOThe Voice of Goa Since 1900
PTI
LONDON, FEB 20
Indians may get up to 20,000United Kingdom visas a yearunder a
deal it is negotiating withthe European Union and in returnIndia
has put forward an annual4 billion pounds trade with theEU, media
reported today.
Under the proposed deal,Britain will have to accept thou-sands
of workers in exchangefor potentially lucrative exportdeals,
despite figures showingthat the number of unemployedin the UK stood
at 2.5 million,The Sunday Telegraph reported.
Negotiations for the EU-Indiafree trade agreement have seenNew
Delhi lobbying for between35,000 and 50,000 visas a yearacross the
27-member States,the report said.
Quoting sources, the reportsaid Indians wanted Britain togive
between 15,000 and 20,000visas to its citizens every year,compared
with 3,000 for Franceand 7,000 for Germany.
Only highly-skilled workerswould be eligible for the visas.
Under the deal, Britain is pre-dicted to win about half of
theproposed 4 billion pounds trade.
If the European Union acceptsthe plan spearheaded by JoseManuel
Barroso, the presidentof the EU Commission, it wouldbe the first
time any country hasgained access to a fixed numberof British visas
every year.
Britain would be expected totake vastly more Indian workersthan
the newest EU countries.
Estonia is scheduled to acceptjust 19 Indians, while Lithuaniais
down for 33.
A spokesman for the Depart-
ment of Business, Innovationand Skills said: The UK
stronglysupports the conclusion of anambitious free trade
agreementwhich is currently being nego-tiated by the
commission.
The long-term benefits forboth parties would be consid-erable
and will deliver significanteconomic benefits to the UK, re-ducing
both tariff and non-tariffbarriers to trade. Negotiationson the
free trade agreement areongoing and we expect a con-clusion this
year.
He said The governmentsapproach will be consistent withour
commitment to limit levelsof economic migration to theUK. Strict
criteria are being ne-gotiated to ensure there is afocus on
highly-skilled andhighly qualified professionalsentering the UK
temporarily.
Nearly 30,000 Indian workerscame to Britain last year, 19,000of
whom arrived through theintra-company transfer (ICT)scheme, which
is also exemptfrom the coalitions interim im-migration cap.
PTI
NEW DELHI, FEB 20
Putting aside its winter fiasco,parliament is all set for a
smoothbudget session from tomorrowwith government telling the
op-position that an
announcement on the con-stitution of a joint parliamen-tary
committee (JPC) into the2G spectrum will be made onTuesday.
Leader of the house in theLok Sabha and Finance MinisterPranab
Mukherjee gave the as-surance to opposition leadersat a meeting
convened by theSpeaker Meira Kumar that thegovernment will make the
an-
nouncement in the house onJPC on Tuesday when actualproceedings
of the budget ses-sion start.
Sources said there could bediscussions between the gov-ernment
and the opposition par-ties before the announcementor after it
about constitution ofthe committee, representationon it for parties
and the termsof reference following which thehouse is expected to
adopt aresolution.
Tomorrow, the session getsa formal start with the presi-dents
address to the joint sittingof both houses of parliament.Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh
expressed the hope that thebudget session would be fruit-ful and
productive.
With the entire winter ses-sion disrupted, there was all-round
criticism and expressionof concerns that led both sidesto think
ways of finding a wayout of the impasse.
According to one estimate,over Rs 150 crore was spent ona
session that did not transactany business.
The General Budget for2011-12 will be presented onFebruary 28
while the RailwayBudget on February 25. The pre-budget Economic
Survey willalso be tabled on February 25.
Business: G20: compromise deal
to correct economic flaws Pg 13
Careers & Education: Wear
the right attitude to work Pg 10
It's time we stop giving elec-tric shocks.The new com-puterised
power bills haveshocked us all!
Visit us at:www.oheraldo.in panjim, monday, FEBRUaRy 21, 2011
postal Reg. no. Goa 101 pRiCE Rs. 3.00 (air Surcharge Rs 2.00)
pages 18
Sports: Jayawardene hits
fastest ton for Lanka Pg 18
Indians may get 20,000 UK visas under EU deal: Report
HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, FEB 20
The Central Bureau of Investi-gation (CBI) has said that Edu-ca
t ion Min i s te r BabushMonserratte, his wife Jenniferand others
were not assaultedin police custody and insteadthey suffered bodily
injuries atthe time of taking them intocustody.
CBI Inspector Ashok Yadav, inhis affidavit before the BombayHigh
Court at Goa, earlier thismonth, has also rubbished alle-gations of
theft at Babushs Mi-ramar bungalow levelled againstthe
policemen.
Monserratte had allegedly leda mob which attacked the Pan-jim
police station on February19, 2008.
On the same day, Babush,Jeniffer, Prakash Oli and BabajiGadkari
were arrested and de-ta ined. CBI has sa id thatBabushs son, Amit,
was also de-tained in the police station for
few hours but re-leased later.
All of them sustained bodilyinjuries at the time of takingthem
in police custody. Injurywas caused due to scuffle andreasonable
force used by policefor effecting their arrest, theaffidavit
mentions.
The CBI has also recom-mended departmental actionagainst Police
Inspector SudeshNaik, Sub Inspector Tushar Lot-likar, lady police
constable SavitaMorje and police constable AnilPilgaonkar for
lapses in theirduty on the eventful day.
Babush, others not assaultedin police station attack: CBI
Minto Road at Connaught Place in Delhi remained waterlogged
after heavy showers accompanied by a thunder squall lashed the
capital onSunday evening, catching citizens unawares. For Delhites,
the rains came as a welcome relief as they were experiencing
relatively warmerweather for the past few days. REPORT ON PAGE
11
HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, FEB 20
The political situation in Goa isexpected to take a spin with
Na-tionalist Congress Party (NCP)supremo Sharad Pawar summon-ing
Goas legislator MickkyPacheco to Delhi on Monday.
NCP sources stated thatPawar, who was in Dhaka for theinaugural
match of ICC WorldCup, has returned to Delhi. Hehas decided to take
up the issueof Mickkys induction on prior-ity.
I t has been a lmost twomonths that the matter of drop-ping two
NCP ministers -JosePhilip DSouza and NilkantHalarnkar - has been
hanging
fire. Both NCP legislators haveremained stubborn and even
re-fused to attend NCP State exec-utive committee meetings.
For Pacheco, the Delhi meet-ing is a do or die situation ashis
reputation is at stake afterhe gave a deadline for his in-duction
in the cabinet. The for-mer tourism minister had issueda deadline
of last Saturday forthe party to induct him in thecabinet.
But his induction did not hap-
Parliament all set for asmooth budget session
BY JAL KHAMBATA
NEW DELHI, FEB 20
In a new embarrassing twistfor the government trying toset up a
Joint ParliamentaryCommittee (JPC) on the 2Gscam, arrested former
Tele-com Minister A Raja wants toattend the Lok Sabha and
par-ticipate in the debate ex-pected on Tuesday on anofficial
resolution for the com-mittees constitution.
Even if he is unable to par-ticipate in the debate, he wantsto
exercise his right to make aclean breast of the scam alle-gations,
exercising the rightunder the Lok Sabha Rule 357that a member may,
with thepermission of the speaker,
make a personal explanation,although there is no questionbefore
the house.
He had refrained from mak-ing a personal statement inthe house
in November as al-lowed to any minister on res-ignation because
that wouldhave embarrassed the gov-ernment, but he wants to
ex-ercise the right as a MP now
Raja wants to attendparliament !
Prime Minister Manmohan Singharrives for lunch after the
all-partymeeting in New Delhi on Sunday.
Its Pawar play: Mickkysmeeting in Delhi today
Babush, wife & son not assaulted inpolice custodyInjuries
caused due to scuffle withpolice at the time of taking him
intocustodyNo valuables stolen from BabushsMiramar houseNo damage
was caused to the carsparked near the bungalow at MiramarBabush had
collected a crowd tolaunch a protest march from Taleigao to the
Panjim police station onFebruary 19, 2008
WHAT THE AFFIDAVIT SAYS...
5 vehiclescatch fire atFarmagudi HERALD CORRESPONDENT
MARCEL, FEB 20
Five vehicles which were parkednear the venue of a
religiousfunction at the Goa EngineeringCollege ground,
Farmagudi-Ponda, caught fire on Sundayafternoon, causing an
estimatedloss of about Rs 25 lakh.
According to sources, thecause of the fire is allegedly due
Bollywood actresses MahimaChaudhary and Prachi Desai dur-ing the
Tollywood Vs Bollywoodexhibition cricket match at Kun-chan Junga
Stadium in Siliguri onSunday.
HIGH VALUE SWAP
Only highly skilledworkers eligible
Deal in exchange forlucrative export deals
Britain to win half of 4billion pounds trade
30,000 Indian workerswent to UK last year
(Continued on page 15)(Continued on page 15)
(Continued on page 15)
(Continued on page 15)
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HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, FEB 20
Monday being the last day tofile nominations for March 13CCP
elections, five more can-didates from NCP backed panelwill file
their papers to-morrow, February 21.So far 179 candidateshave filed
their nomi-nations for the civic elections.
NCP leader Avinash Bhoslesaid that 10 candidates from hispanel
have already filed theirnominations. The panel may bebacked by NCP
but they are in-dividuals who are concernedabout the city and
development,he said.
The CCP elections have twomajor panels Panjim firstbacked by BJP
and Babush Mon-serratte panel. NCPs Togetherfor Panjim is emerging
as thethird force.
I wont say that we will winall the 15 seats. But for sure,
wewill pull out 5 to 6 seats withcomfortable margin, Bhosle
said.
Interestingly, social activistAires Rodrigues, contestingfrom
ward number 30 is sup-ported by NCP. Aires is not
an NCP members but he is partof the panel. I had approachedhim
to contest, Bhosale said.
The NCP leader said that theywill not support the Mayor
can-didate of Babush Panel after the
polls. When asked whether they
would support BJPs Ashok Naik,Bhosle said, We will have to
seewho gets elected and who doesnot. It can be someone else, hesaid
adding that his panel wontmind supporting someone likeSurendra
Furtado or some newface like Ashley Rosario, a jour-nalist.
The forthcoming CCP electionhas a blend of social
activists,sitting corporators, party work-ers and journalist in the
fray.There was a buzz that Goan Ob-server Editor Rajan Narayan
willbe contesting from Dona Paula.But he gave it a second thoughtat
the last minute.
Sources stated that like-minded citizens like Oscar Re-bello,
Patricia Pinto and others
have also decided to support fewof the candidates. There was
ameeting at a hotel in Panjim littlebefore announcement of
theelection dates and it was decidedthat people who would work
for
the good of city should besupported irrespective ofthe party
affiliation, asource stated.
The meeting held over a dinneralso had BJP Mayor CandidateAshok
Naik attending it. The par-ticipants unanimously decided todefeat
Babushs might.
Meanwhile, the scrutiny ofnominations will be done onTuesday
(February 22), andWednesday (February 23) from11 am onwards.
The last date for withdrawalof candidature would be Febru-ary
25, 2011 from 10 am to 3pm. The List of Contesting Can-didates with
symbols allotted tothem will be published on Sat-urday (February
26). Poll will betaken by EVMs on Sunday March13, 2011 from 8 am to
5 pm.
Counting of votes will be doneon Sunday (March 13) from 8
pmonwards at Government Phar-macy College Panjim.
HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, FEB 20
Entertainment Society of Goa(ESG) will discuss the expendi-ture
incurred on the recentlyheld International Film Festivalof India
(IFFI) 2010, on Monday.
ESG sources said that the ex-ecutive committee chaired byChief
Minister Digambar Kamatwill discuss the expenditure in-curred in
hosting the IFFI 2010threadbare.
Some of the ESG membershave already expressed their
dis-satisfaction over the delay.
We are supposed to give sug-gestions on corrective measuresas
far as IFFI 2010 is concerned.If the meeting had been
heldimmediately (after the last edi-tion of IFFI), we would
havegiven better suggestions. Twomonths is a big time gap, a
sen-ior member said.
Goa government has scaleddown the expenditure on IFFI2010 whose
bill is expected tobe at Rs 6 crore.
The state will also pool in fi-nances through various spon-sors
like Kingfisher, who hadused the event as their brandbuilding
exercise.
The meeting on Monday is
also expected to discuss, YoungJury Award, which was
institutedduring IFFI 2010 and never givento the winning
director.
Delhi-based Neel MadhabPanda has won the award forhis film I Am
Kalaam. It wasconstituted with the help ofnewspaper group,
Lokmat.
Lokmats resident Editor RajuNayak, who is also ESG mem-ber, has
said that the date forgiving award could not be fi-nalised as there
was no meet-i ng he ld a f t e r I FF I . Theexecutive committee is
likelyto decide on the date and fi-nances for this award.
GOAOHERALDO
Pg 2GOA, MONDAY, 21 FEBRUARY, 2011
CIVIC FORUM
PANJIM POLLS
ADELMO FERNANDES, VASCO
The man, as seen in the above picture, sells medicines that hasa
cure for all types of skin diseases at the Vasco market, on
aSunday. The selling of medicinal cures by the road side forvarious
skin ailments, or for that matter, any other, should notbe allowed
to continue in the state. Incidentally, some quackscarry out this
trae in a clandestine manner. In the process, theycause obstruction
to the free movement of the general public.The concerned
authorities need to crack down on this illegaltrade which is
usually carried out during weekends.
This is too much! INACIO FERNANDES, CANDOLIM
One senior citizen aged 85 years, hailing from Bamon
Vaddo,Candolim, has been running from pillar to post since 1984,
toshift the electricity poles, the wires of which, pass over
herhouse. She first approached the then PWD minister Dr
WilfredDSouza, Chief Minister Pratapsing Rane, the Sarpanchas
ofCandolim panchayat, Tomazinho Cardozo and Tukaram Naik.Nothing
has materialised. The electricity department then de-manded Rs
14,000 to shift each pole. The electric wires wererouted over her
house while she was residing in Mumbai.
I have now taken up the matter with the help of village
pan-chayat, but the electricity department has been demanding
Rs72,000! She cannot even afford to pay Rs 72. Is there anyonein
the government who can help her and get the poles shifted,so that
she is saved from further embarrassment?
Navelims garbage...
Impose a crack down
RICHARD FERNANDES, NAVELIM
They say a picture speaks more than a thousand words. Theabove
is a perfect example. It depicts the volume of the garbagemenace
that we face in Navelim village.
This is especially true behind the church, and on the wayto
Aquem-Baixo and the railway station road. But this time,the MMC is
not to be blamed.
I have personally seen people drive by in their cars or ontheir
motorcycles, who dump garbage indiscriminately. Perhaps,we too
should start a blame and shame campaign like othervillages. People
need to be educated about dumping garbageon the streets. As long as
their homes are clean, they don'tseem to care about their
surroundings. Also, in some placesthe garbage bins are broken. The
MMC should take care ofthis. The stray dogs and cattle tip over the
bins in order to getat the refuse within. As a result, the garbage
gets knockedover and spills on to the road. This dog and cattle
problem isalso responsible to some extent, for garbage finding its
wayon to the streets. It is high time that we wake up before
itturns more and more worse.
And Siolim is no betterGABRIEL D'SOUZA, SIOLIM
Various types of trash ranging from food waste,
discardedtetra-packs and plastic straws stuffed in improperly
fastenedgarbage bags, some of which have spilled out, are
beingdumped by unscrupulous shack operators during the weehours
along the Siolim-Anjuna road. This is disgusting andmost
deplorable, to say the least.
Obviously, as the same is done under the cover of darkness,it is
extremely tricky to nab the culprits. However, the policeon its
night patrol need to be extra vigilant and keep a checkat the
crossroads, in order to prevent these nefarious activi-ties.
Give 2-wheeler for postmen PRAVIN U SARDESSAI, ADPAI
The role of a postman has gained much importance in recenttimes.
He has been delivering important mail at every nookand corner of
the concerned locality, with great interest andresponsibility. With
a sizeable increase in the number of build-ings that have come up
in major cities and towns, the postmanis confronted with greater
pains in finding new occupants fordelivering important mail.
Travelling on a bicycle consumes alot of time and the work of every
postman is delayed, to agreat extent. Many a time, he is unable to
even have his lunch,as he is on his toes and battles the clock.
Under these circum-stances, it would be advisable for the postal
authorities toprovide two-wheelers to postmen deputed in various
locations,including remote ones. This will not only expedite
quickerdeliveries of important mail, but will also improve on the
ef-ficiency and productivity of the concerned postman. There isno
doubt that this class of people deserves a better deal, inwhich
they and the common citizens, will stand to benefit.
(Dou have a complaint against some authority or service?
Arethere any violations of the law that you would like to bring to
thenotice of the public? Do you have any suggestions for
improvementand/or redressal of services?
If you do, then write to us at [email protected]. With
theaim of improving the quality of our civic life, every Monday,
Heraldwill publish the best letters on these subjects received
during theweek. This is in addition to our regular Letters to the
Editorcolumn.)
HERALD CORRESPONDENT
CANACONA, FEB 20
Improper management of grassfire by fire brigade
personnelshowing its delinquency whileattending fire calls
reportedlyresulted in destruction of partof cashew plantations in
fire atKeri-Agonda, causing a loss ofover Rs 25,000 on Sunday
af-ternoon.
According to fire servicessource, they received a secondcall on
Sunday afternoon thatcashew plantation is engulfedin fire, after
they had alreadyattended to a call just one hourbefore to put off
grass fire inthe locality.
In the first case, fire services
personnel informed that theyhad doused-off fire after a callwas
received from some passingmotorists on Agonda-Canaconaroad,
reporting grass fire in theisolated forests/thick vegeta-tions of
Keri.
However, sources informedthat soon after fire personnelleft,
apparently believing theyhad brought the fire under con-trol, the
fire re-started and soonengulfed vast nearby area havingfreshly
flowered cashew plan-tations.
By the time fire brigade re-turned with second water tank,the
thick flowered cashew plan-tations were already burnt andbadly
damaged.
Fire services provided thecashew plantations ownernames as one
Guresh Rane andRupesh Rane, and the antici-pated losses suffered by
themas Rs 25,000.
Even as fire brigade had leftthe area second time, somepeople
carrying water bucketswere seen trying to put offtraces of fire and
smoke left inthe area.
When contacted, fire person-nel informed that they are notaware
as to the source of fire atKeri cashew plantations, but ear-lier
attended a grass fire call alittle north of cashew planta-tions
fire incident at in the sameKeri vicinity.
Incomplete job by fire personnel leads to destruction of
plantation
Some people with water buckets putting-off traces of fire, after
fire-personnel had left the area for thesecond time without fully
dousing-off the fire at Keri-Agonda. Photo by Kathy Pereria
ESG to discuss IFFI expenditure today
Five more NCP backed men to file papers today We are supposed
to
give suggestions oncorrective measuresas far as IFFI 2010
isconcerned. If themeeting had beenheld immediately, wewould have
givenbetter suggestions.Two months is a bigtime gap.
-- ESG member
Nilkanthrules outprojects
under PPPHERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, FEB 20
Tourism Minister NilkanthHalarnkar has ruled out takingany
project by the Tourism de-partment under the Public Pri-vate
Partnership mode.
Halarnkar was reacting to theprotests by the Calangute blockBJP
against the departmentplans for an eco-friendly hotelin
Calangute-Baga.
I agree the proposal is for-warded to the government bythe Goa
Tourism DevelopmentCorporation three months ago,however, we have
not taken anydecision on that, Halarnkar toldHerald.
The Calangute block BJP pres-ident Michael Lobo had said
thatthey will oppose the projecttooth and nail.
He said the 52,000 sq mtrgovernment land in question isa prime
land in Baga worth Rs100 crore and to boost tourism,the tourism
department shouldutilise it for developing themuch-needed
infrastructure likeamusement park, good aquar-ium, adventure
sports, Sulabhsouchalayas and bathing rooms.
HERALD CORRESPONDENT
POINGUINIM, FEB 20
The committee members ofLoliem-Polem Panchayat, spe-cially
constituted to deliberateon Regional Plan 2021, on Sun-day
expressed unhappiness withthe final draft prepared for thepanchayat
despite objectionsraised by them.
The committee members atthe meeting discussed that thepanchayat
area has been moreso declared for no settlementzone and the
committee mem-bers opined that the people re-siding in the village
are livingin a nucleus set-up family andthey do not have place to
getthemselves get away, if they de-sire to detach.
The panchayat is locatedwhere it is surrounded by theArabian
Sea, the rivers whereno construction activity can betaken within
100-500 mtrs. Thatapart there comes the NationalHighway where no
constructioncan be taken within 45 mtrs.
The forest department andthe Communidade and the tem-ple
(Devalaya) have staked theirclaims, leaving little land for
thevillagers to have an exodus leav-
Loliem Panchayatunhappy withdraft RP-2021
ing themselves to fight againsteach other to spread their
ten-tacles for settlement for a bettertomorrow.
In December 2010, strong ob-jections were raised by the se-lect
committee members withthe Town and Country Planningboard and the
same recommen-dations that were made wereignored while those of
themoney powered were acceptedby the board. These observa-tions on
the part of the T&CPmade the committee membersto cast severe
apprehensions onthe role played by the govern-ment.
It has been decided to convenea meeting on February 27 at
thepanchayat and those seeking toraise any objections have
beenasked to give in writing pertain-ing to any of the
grievances.
The draft plan is displayed atthe panchayat for the public
toascertain and to file objections.
Apart from the panchayatmembers those in the commit-tee are
Subash Pagi, F Rebello,Mahesh Varik, S Prashant andAldin Fernandes
to air theirgrievances if any pertaining tothe RP-2021.
HERALD REPORTER
MARGAO, FEB 20
Animal birth control programmecontinued at the dog shelterhere
on Sunday despite MargaoMunicipal Council dilly dallyingon the
payments to the NGO ofthe last two months.
Around 20 dogs were steril-ized at the shelter since earlySunday
morning arranged bythe South Goa Welfare Trust forAnimals
(SGWTA).
The NGO cou ld havestopped the programme, butwe decided to
continue in theinterest of the city. The MargaoCivic body has not
cleared ourpayments of the month of De-cember and January till
date,said Trust member Sandra Fer-nandes.
Incidentally, it was at the ini-tiative of this NGO that the
dogshelter has become a realitytoday on private land. But, thetrust
members are exasperatedover the municipalitys non-co-operation in
tackling the straydog menace.
Says Sandra: We have madeumpteen trips to the civic bodyfor the
payments, but in vain.
We could have very walked outof the program as the delay onthe
part of the Civic body hashit us money wise, she said.
Incidentally, though tacklingstray dog menace is the
Civicresponsibility, the Municipal ad-ministration has till date
not in-tervened to resolve the delay indisbursing the payments.
Sandra, however, said thattime is running out, adding thatthe
NGO would be forced towithdraw from the program ifthe indifferent
attitude of theCivic body continues.
Incidentally, another NGO,Goa Animal Welfare Trust(GAWT) had
earlier withdrawnfrom the ABC program in Mar-gao due to callousness
from theCivic officials towards the burn-ing problem.
As per agreement, it is theresponsibility of the Civic bodyto
pay Rs 11000 per month tothe NGO to meet the expenseson manpower,
comprising ofdriver and dog catcher. A dogcatching van is already
beenplaced at the disposal of theNGO by the Civic body.
The NGO, however, feels that
the monthly payment of Rs11000 is a pittance, hardly suf-ficient
to meet the require-ments. IN this respect, the NGOhas demanded
that the Civicbody make available a full timevan driver and a dog
catcher totackle the menace even afterodd hours.
20 strays sterilised in Margao
A stray dog is being sterilized at the Margao dog shelter on
Sunday. Photo by Santosh Mirajkar
Yugoslavian
complains oftheft
HERALD REPORTER
MARGAO, FEB 20
Colva police has registered acase of theft against unknownperson
after a Yugoslavia na-tional complained that around480 Euros have
gone missingfrom his hotel room.
Police said the incident oc-curred on February 17 after thewoman
realized that her moneyhas been stolen from her hotelroom at
Colva.
The police have registered acase of theft and investigationsare
on.
Dane held with
fake passportHERALD REPORTER
VASCO, FEB 20
Vasco Police on Sunday arresteda 27-year-old Danish national
atDabolim airport on charges ofcarrying fake passport.
Immigra t ion Po l i ce a tDabolim airport detained Jor-gruiz
Goldd for allegedly pos-sessing a fake passport whileboarding a
flight to London.Goldd was later handed over toVasco Police for
further investi-gation.
Speaking to Herald, Immigra-tion Police Inspector
RajendraPrabhudesai said during verifi-cation at the departure
depositcounter, Immigration Police as-certained difference in the
nameimprinted on the passport andvisa. The accused was to boarda
charter flight Thomson sched-uled to leave for London on Sun-day
morning.
He said that the case appearsto be impersonation, as detailsin
passport and visa differs. Hefurther informed that the ac-cused had
arrived in Goa on Feb-ruary 6, 2011.
We are verifying other de-tails of the accused and the ac-cused
has been handed over toVasco Police for further investi-gation,
added PI Prabhudesai.
Vasco Police arrested the ac-cused under Sections 419, 468and
471 of IPC.
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GOAOHERALD
OPg3
GOA, MONDAY, 21 FEBRUARY, 2011
HERALD REPORTER
MARGAO, FEB 20
Velim villagers on Sunday told the pan-chayat in no uncertain
terms to immedi-ately write to the district Collector, Southto
completely scrap the land acquisitionproceedings and the fisheries
departmentproposal for the Cutbona jetty expansionproject.
At the Sunday gram sabha, membersalso demanded the presence of
Velim MLAFilipe Neri Rodrigues at the next gramsabha meeting and
declare his stand onthe controversial land acquisition proposal.The
members pointed out that the MLAhad promised to study the matter
but tilldate has not disclosed his stand on theland acquisition
proposal though peopleof his constituency have been agitatingover
the issue.
The gram sabha further resolved thathenceforth no agricultural
land should begiven for any other purpose than farm-ing.
The issue figured at the meeting aftermembers sought to know
from thesarpanch the status of the land acquisitionproceedings
after the government put onhold the process last year. The
sarpanchreplied that the panchayat has receivedno communication
from any official orgovernment department regarding thesaid
acquisition since September 1.
The issue over the sluice gates surfaced
once again after a member pointed outthat the opening and
closing of the sluicegates was very important for preventionof
floods. The farmers present at the meet-ing in large numbers
pointed out that noamount of visits to the Mamlatdar officehad any
effect on the improvement in themonitoring of the sluice gates.
They pointed out that the sluice gatesof Cutbona were shut few
days ago buton inspection of the site by concerned vil-lagers, they
were found once again open.Another member pointed out that
themiddle portion of the gate was removedpurposefully so as to
allow saline riverwater to enter the fields.
After much discussions, members pro-posed that the Panchayat
call for a jointinspection of the sluice gates with theCollector,
Mamlatdar , Talathi and villagersso that the villagers can explain
their prob-lems when the saline water is purposefullyallowed to
enter the fields and destroythem.
Valentine Rebello pointed out that heregularly prepares his
fields for the culti-vation but his crops are destroyed due
toinundation of saline waters, causing himhuge financial loss.
Members pulled up the Panchayat forthe poor attendance, with
only three outof nine members present for the meet-ing.
On illegal land filling at Cutbona and
river encroachment by a restaurant, mem-bers demanded that the
Panchayat con-duct a site inspection and file an FIRreport. The
Panchayat was also quizzedon the previous complaints of land
fillingat Cutbona and in the water body at Ran-galli. They were
asked to follow up onthe issue of illegal land filling wuith theTCP
.
Illegalities of the PDS was discussedwith gram sabha complaining
that noproper dates on the availability of suppliesare displayed at
the Fair Price shops. Theypointed out that absence of informationby
the Civil Supplies Office as to theamount distributed to the
dealers andamount available to the consumers henceit results in
discrepancy of distributionfor the same product.
It was proposed that the Civil Supplies& Consumer Affair
Department be in-formed of this monthly Harassment to theVillagers
of Velim and an inspection beheld immediately of all the fair
pricesshops in Velim. It was also requested thatthe Panchayat
invite the Director and In-spector of the Civil Supplies and
ConsumerAffairs to the Village inorder that the peo-ple problems
can be addressed.
A member Mark Barros pointed out thatGarbage issue is mounting
in Velim villageand it was time the Panchayat takes theissue on top
priority and put an actionplan in place.
Velim gram sabha demands scraping of land acquisition jetty
expansion
Devotees carrying the banner of St Tome proceed in procession in
honour of the saint at Panjim, on Sunday. Photo by Rozario
Estibeiro
HERALD REPORTER
MARGAO, FEB 20
The Below Poverty Line (BPL)scheme dominated the gramsabha of
Curtorim village Pan-chayat on Sunday with mem-bers demanding that
thedeserving and the needy getthe priority over others.
At the meeting held on Sun-day, members sought to knowthe fate
of the names recom-mended to the RDA for inclu-sion in the BPL
list. Theypointed out that in the absenceof well laid down
criteria, ben-efits of the scheme should notgo to the rich and the
well doto people.
Former Curtorim Zilla Pan-chayat member Santan Ro-d r igues s a
id tha t thePanchayat should ascertain thebackground of the names
sug-
gested for inclusion in the BPLlist. It should not happen
thatthe Be low Pover ty L inescheme should not turn intoChurch i l
l Pove r t y L inescheme, he said, while de-manding transparency in
theworking of the scheme.
Santan sought to know thecriteria governing the BPLscheme and
asserted that thebenefits of the scheme shouldfirst go to the poor
and de-serving villagers.
The National Rural Employ-ment Guarantee scheme alsocame up for
discussion. Itwas pointed out that peopleare coming to the
Panchayatfor money following state-ments made by the RDA Min-ister
Churchill Alemao thatthey can claim money fromthe village Panchayat
for
BPL scheme dominates Curtorim gram sabha doing farm work.
The Panchayats annualbudget also came in for dis-cussions, with
members seek-ing to know from the Chairover the meager provision
ofRs 25,000 made for garbagemanagement in the village.l
Saying that the provision willnot in any way help in
tacklinggarbage collection and dis-posal, Santano suggested thatthe
Panchayat hike the provi-sion to minimum Rs one lakh.
A suggestion was also made toincrease the monetary provi-sion
for land acquistion fromRs 5000 to Rs 50,000.
The childrens park mootedin the village also came up
fordiscussion, with memberCharles Barretto demanding toknow the
status of the project.He pointed out that projectwas tendered under
the gov-ernment scheme, but work onthe project has still not
com-menced at the site.
HERALD REPORTER
MARGAO, FEB 20
Gram sabha members of theNuvem village Panchayat onSunday cried
foul over illegalbore wells and demanded atotal stop to the
activity ongrounds that rampant exploita-tion of ground water for
com-mercial purpose would affectthe underground water table.
In fact, the illegal bore wellissue dominated the proceed-ings
with members questioningthe Panchayat body over theactivity at two
places. Whenthe Panchayat maintained thatone of the bore well has
the li-cense from the concerned de-partment, the gram sabhamembers
said the licensespeaks of only one trip per daywhen the ground
reality speaksotherwise.
During discussions, the Pan-chayat suggested to the gramsabha to
deploy a local to keepa track on the number of tripsat the bore
well in question,but it was later agreed by thePanchayat to depute
its ownto maintain vigil at the spot.
G ram sabha memberspointed out that the Panchayatshould not
entertain any moreproposals for bore well, espe-cially for
commercial use, say-ing the activity would adverselyaffect the
underground watertable.
The construction of a steelyard also figured prominentlyat the
Sunday gram sabha, withmembers demanding actionagainst the yard for
not com-
plying with the provisions oflaw. They pointed out that
thePanchayat had only grantedtemporary NOC for construc-tion of a
shed, but lamentedthat a pucca structure havecome on the site.
After much discussion, it wasresolved to revoke the NOCgranted
to the structure, withmembers asking the Panchayatto initiate
necessary action.
Gram sabha member Grego-rio Pereira told newsmen afterthe
meeting that the memberspointed out to the traffic con-gestion near
the Nuvem-Arlemjunction due to the presenceof the traffic police
close tothe spot.
The members demandedthat the police should stationthemselves at
least a kilometerand half away from the junctionto avoid traffic
jams and acci-dents.
The gram sabha also delib-erated on the question of a
co-operative society (fair priceshop) in Nuvem village, withmembers
pointing out that vil-lagers are forced to travel allthe way to
Majorda for the ra-tion in the absence of a shopin the village.
On the occasion, noted en-vironmentalist Clinton Vazmade a
presentat ion ongarbage collection and dis-posal.
Nuvem cries foul overillegal bore wells
-
Pg4 GOAGOA, MONDAY, 21 FEBRUARY, 2011
SHORT TAKES
OHE
RALD
O
Konkani symposium heldPANJIM (HND): The Rachol Seminary, in
collaboration with
Goa Konkani Akademi, organised a symposium Amchem Daiz6 - Rachol
Seminary a cradle of Konknni, at the Seminary au-ditorium.
The symposium began with a prayer service and welcomeby the
Rector Fr Dennis Fernandes. The chief guest was Pad-mashri Suresh
Amonkar.
Dr Nelson Falcao presented a paper on the Khrista Purana,a
Marathi epic of the 17th century by Fr Thomas Stephens onChrist,
His life, death and resurrection. Fr Thomas Stephenswas associated
with this seminary, when it was a Jesuit College.
This was followed by chanting of one chapter of the Puranaby Sri
Santaji, a lay missionary in Kolhapur, and his group.Four
scholastics, namely Alroy Gomes, Mario Carvalho, MelvinFernandes
and Milagres Fernandes made presentations re-spectively on Frs
Diogo Ribeiro, Antonio Saldanha, IgnazioArchamone and Miguel de
Almeida, who in some capacity orthe other were associated with the
College of Rachol.
The proceedings were moderated by Dr Madhvi Sardessai,a lecturer
at the Goa University.
Headmaster felicitatedSANGUEM (HC): Our Lady of Piety School,
Collem, Head-
master Fr Pio Furtado was recently felicitated by the
ParentsTeachers Association for all the hard efforts put in since
hisdeputation at the school.
The school despite being located in the remote area withmost
students hailing from the backward communities, theSchool has
excelled in the field of education, sports andcultural activities
at the taluka and State level under the guid-ance of Fr
Furtado.
Fr Furtado was felicitated with a memento by Member ofParliament
Shantaram Naik.
In his brief address to the gathering, Naik complimentedFr
Furtado for his excellent work to the community and forthe students
hailing from backward communities.
Provincial Superior Fr Kyriel also spoke on the occasion.
FrFurtado thanked the PTA for their gesture and assured ofkeeping
up his work for the all-round development of thestudents community.
Collem Sarpanch Sandeep Dessai, Cor-poration Bank Manager Vassant,
PTA Chairman Ramesh Naikand Sushma Droni also attended the
function.
Diabetic check-up campCANACONA (HC): Sarvajanik Ganesh Mandal,
Matvem-Cola,
in collaboration with the Community Health Centre
Chaudiorganised a free diabetic check-up, cataract detection
andNVBDCP awareness camp.
Over 300 participants were screened for respective
ailments,besides fasting blood sugar tests of about 250 people
wereconducted during the camp.
Inaugurating the camp, Quepem MLA Babu Kavelekar urgedthe locals
to take due health care. Health is very importantand plays an
important role in ones progress, he said.
Cola ZP member Krishna Velip, Cola Sarpanch Archana Velipand few
other panchas were present for the function.
CMO, NCDCP, DHS Panjim Dr Ravindra Nadkarni spoke ondiabetes and
its complications, besides went on to advisethe necessity of
balanced diet intake, need of regular exerciseand maintenance of
other good lifestyles for healthy living.
CHC Health Officer Dr Vinod Naik, extension educatorUmesh
Kholkar and SI Mahale spoke on Malaria and othervector-borne
diseases.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Foundation coursePANJIM (HND): Foundation Course on Education of
Children
with Disabilities Distance Education Programme under theauspices
of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)will be
inaugurated on February 21 at its Sanjay Schoolpremises at Porvorim
at 11 am.
Valedictory functionMARGAO (HR): The Platinum Jubilee year
celebrations of
Bhatikar Model high school will conclude with a
valedictoryfunction on February 22 at the Ravindra Bhavan, Margao
at 4pm. Former chief minister Shashikala Kakodkar will be thechief
guest and Chief Minister Digambar Kamat will preside.
Environmental law workshopMARGAO (HR): The Goa State Council for
Science and Tech-
nology in collaboration with Govind Ramnath Kare College ofLaw,
Margao will organize a day-long workshop on environ-mental law on
February 25 at 9.30 in G R Kare college audi-torium.
Member of Law Commission, Adv Mario Pinto Almeida willbe the
chief guest while Prof R V Kunkolienkar of G R KareCollege will be
the guest of honour.
Friday Balcao PANJIM (HND): Friday Balcao, the fortnightly
discussion
event, to be held on February 25, will focus on the
InternationalYear of Youth in the Goan context. It will be held at
the GoaDesc Resource Centre, No. 11 Liberty Apartments, Feira
Alta,Mapusa, from 4 pm to 6 pm.
The discussion will examine various challenges faced bythe youth
in Goa today and possible responses to the same.
The discussion will also cover various possible activitieswhich
can be conducted so as to ensure that youth take anactive part in
the decision-making process in view of theforthcoming Goa
Legislative Assembly elections.
Interested citizens wanting more information on FridayBalcao can
email to [email protected].
St Estevam gram sabhaPANJIM (HND): The gram sabha of the St
Estevam panchayat
will be held on February 27 in the premises of village
panchayatat 10 am.
Bro Manuel Ministries visitPANJIM (HND): Bro Manuel Ministries
from Mumbai will
visit Goa again on February 25 at The Emerald Lawns,
Salegao,Bardez, Goa and on February 26-27 at Woodbourne ClubResort,
near Tata Showroom, next to Fr Agnels Ashram, Verna,from 10 am to 4
pm.
For further information please contact on the followingnumbers
+91 22 65009701/03, 9822485532, 9921016878 orlog on to
www.manuelministries.org.
Performing arts presentation PANJIM (HNB): The Diocesan Centre
for Social Communica-
tions Media (DCSCM) will organize a performing arts
presen-tation Ho Amcho Bhavarth on the February 26 at 7 pm in
theprecincts of the Holy Cross Church at Santa Cruz.
This year is a year of grace for the Archdiocese of Goa andDaman
that celebrates four Jubilees, 500 years of the firstHoly Mass on
Goan soil, 400 years of Rachol Seminary, 300thDeath year of Bl.
Joseph Vaz and 100th birth year of MotherTeresa, states a DCSCM
press note.
The multimedia presentation, to be graced by the presenceof
Archbishop-Patriarch Filipe Neri Ferrao as the chief guest,will
cover the four major events as moments of renewal ofevery
Christian.
There will be free entrance passes available for adequateseating
arrangements that will be made at the venue. However,all are
invited to view the performance. The passes will bemade available
in churches or at the Diocesan Centre fromFebauary 21. Further
details are available at the DCSCM office(Ph: 2422653 or email:
[email protected]), the press noteadds.
Trip up the MandoviPANJIM (HND): Wildtrek Adventures will
organise a trip up
the Mandovi and explore the backwaters in the Cumbarjuacanal in
search of Goas Marsh Crocodile on February 27 from2 pm 5 pm. Call
8796418565, 9822155805 or 9822123458for further details. Pickup and
drop from Mapusa/Panjim at1.30 pm. Only 40 seats are available.
Wood crafts workshop PANJIM (HND): Government of Goa through
Directorate of
Art & Culture will organise Wood crafts & carving
Workshopfor Goan tribal and schedule caste youths in Goa from
March3 to 11 in Pernem.
A detailed training on designing and modelling of woodwill be
imparted at this workshop, which will be conductedby an expert in
the field who will impart theoretical andpractical knowledge with
live demonstrations. Details suchas venue, time, etc. will be
informed to the participants ac-cordingly.
In total, 25 participants will be enrolled and those whohave
some basic knowledge of wood crafts and carvings willbe eligible.
The enrolment will be on first come first basis. In-terested
participants willing to take part in this workshopare requested to
collect the forms available in the Departmentof Art & Culture,
Shrama Shakti Bhavan, 5th floor, Patto, Panjimon or before February
24 during office hours and submit theduly filled forms by February
28.
Biology
All fruits start off asflowers on a tree orbush. After
pollination oc-curs between flowers ofdifferent plants, the
fruitsstart to develop as a resultof fertilization.
We explained the processof pollination in the lastBiology
quarter, so in thisarticle we will focus onwhat happens after
polli-nation takes place.
Post-Pollination
Grains in the pollen erect atube on the flower thattravels all
the way downinto the female part of theplant. The female part ofthe
plant is at the base ofthe pistil, which houses
the developing pollen tube.The pollen tube will reactwith an
ovule in the femalepart of the plant to fertilizean egg. The egg
and theovary develop together,and a sheath or protectivelayer is
formed around aseed.
Once the pollen is withinthe ovary, the pollen growsa tube that
travels into theovule, where the spermwithin the pollen travel
tothe egg cell within theovule. The sperm and eggcell unite,
creating a zy-gote.
The flower petals of theplant fall off, and the ovaryof the
flower starts to grow.The ovary itself becomesthe actual fruit
producedby the plant. Depending onthe number of eggs perovule,
multiple ovaries canbecome fruits. The seedsform on the inside or
out-side of the fruit, dependingon the species.
In some flowers, there isonly one seed or one ovule,producing
only one fruit ata time. Each fruit containsa protective layer,
water,nutrients and a seed. Somefruits will have numerousseeds that
can be plantedand harvested.
Flowers to Fruits
Female flower and fruit of Juniperus communis
a. Female amentum (magni-fied)b. Ditto at a later stage of
evo-lution (magnified)c. Two ovaries; the third havingbeen removed
to expose theovulesd. Fruit approaching maturitye. Ripe galbulus,
seen from thevertexf. Ditto, seen from the base.
a b
e f
c
d
HERALD REPORTER
VASCO, FEB 20
Assembly polls are yet to be announcedbut the main political
parties -- Congress,NCP and BJP -- have already begun jostlingeach
other to take control of the newly-formed Dabolim constituency.
Mormugao taluka is one of the smallesttaluka in the State in
terms of geographicalarea, but it has been delimited into
fourconsistencies, Mormugao, Vasco, Dabolimand Cortalim.
In the new delimitation, Wards 9 and 10(Baina) of Mormugao
Municipal Council(MMC), which formed part of Mormugaoconstituency,
will now be added to Vascoconstituency.
However, Wards 18, 19, and 20 (Vaddemand New Vaddem) of MMC,
which hithertowas part of Vasco constituency, will be nowin the
newly formed Dabolim constituency.
The Dabolim constituency will also consistof Chicalim and
Bogmalo-Chicolna panchay-ats, which are presently part of
Cortalimconstituency.
It appears that the Congress is activelyinvolved in strengthen
its base in Dabolimconstituency.
Election statistics of Chicalim and Bog-malo Panchayats, which
are part of thenewly formed Dabolim constituency, confirmthat these
two panchayats have traditionallybeen with the Congress, as I have
often gotthumping lead from these places, said Cor-talim MLA Mauvin
Godinho.
Considering the Congress partys activework in Dabolim, it wont
be tough for Con-gress candidates to capture Dabolim consis-tency.
But at the same time, we will not takeour opponents lightly, admits
Godinho.
On the other hand, the BJP is also confi-dent of success in the
new Dabolim con-stituency.
BJP is in no mood to leave Dabolim aswe believe that a thin lead
by Congress can-didate during the last Lok Sabha electionssuggest
that BJP has also got equal numberof chances, said BJP Spokesperson
RajendraArlekar.
We believe in our organizational capa-bility and strategy and
considering the pres-ent corrupt Congress government peoplewould
certainly elect BJP candidate, saidArlekar.
However, he refused to comment whoare the persons, who are in
the race for
ticket, but said he is confident that BJPspreparations are in
full swing.
Revenue Minister and NCP leader JosePhilip DSouza, legislator of
three crucialwards of MMC that has nearly 50 per centof the vote
bank in Dabolim constituency,is also eyeing the constituency.
Let the election come, one will knowwhat Nationalist Congress
Party (NCP) cando, said
I dont like to interfere in neighbouringconstituencies, but I
have promoted devel-opment work in all parts of Mormugaotaluka to
strengthen the NCP base inDabolim, said DSouza.
Ward 18 is represented by the NCP-backed councillor Babu
Nanonskar, whilein Ward 20, our candidate got defeated bya thin
margin. In Ward 19, the performanceof our candidate was
satisfactory. This showsthat NCP has a very bright chance of
winningthe Dabolim assembly seat.
It would be premature to comment asthe Congress and NCP are
alliance partners.If there is a pre-poll alliance during the
elec-tion, we will discus this issue and everythingwill fall in
place once the election processbegins, said DSouza.
Political parties in race for control of Dabolim
constituency
HERALD CORRESPONDENT
MAYEM, FEB 20
Bicholim and surrounding villageswere hit by acute water
shortage,as workers of Padocem WaterTreatment Plant in Bicholim
wenton strike on Saturday.
They are protesting againstthe governments failure to paythem
since the last four monthsand the failure to provide themprovident
fund facility.
Pale MLA Pratap Gawas rushedto the site and met the
agitatingworkers along with some officials.He has fixed a meeting
with therepresentative of workers andthe PWD at Panjim on
Monday.
It is understood that about35 workers are employed oncontract
basis since the lasteight years and they have beendemanding
regularisation oftheir jobs, along with providentfund and other
facilities.
Unhappy that the governmenthad not resolved their demands,the
workers decided to go on astrike.
Gawas rushed to the spotalong with senior PWD
officialsKamladini, D K Shet, Rego andBarretto and tried in vain to
per-suade the agitating workers toresume work.
Meanwhile, Gawas said hewould put up the issue beforethe
department in a best possi-ble manner on Monday to givejustice to
the workers.
He has called upon the au-thorities to support the workersin
this matter.
Meanwhile, Navelim, Bi-cholim, Mulgao and surroundingareas faced
acute water shortageand it is feared that the entireNorth Goa could
face a watercrisis if the issue is not sortedout at the
earliest.
HERALD REPORTER
VASCO, FEB 20
Revenue Minister Jose Philip DSouza has been elected for
thefourth consecutive time to head the Vasco Carnival
Committee(VCC).
At a recent meeting in the Mormugao Municipal Council(MMC) Hall,
other committee members elected were MMC Chair-person Suchita
Shirodkar (Ex-officio chairman), Councillor LavinaD Souza and Fiola
Rego along with Liby Khadapkar, AngeloNunes, Gregorio Fernandes,
Cosme Mende and Joaquim Colaco(Vice Presidents).
Augusto DCosta has been elected general secretary, while
JosePereira, Jonathan Fernandes, Teresa Barretto, Lino Fernandes,
SebyMascarenhas and Bernadin Velho are the joint secretaries.
Other members include Ralph Trindade (Treasurer), RaymondPereira
and Seby DSouza (Assistant Treasurers), Mario Pereira,Arnold Rego,
Morgan Coutinho, Peter Andrade, Joe DMelloand Joseph Baretto
(organizing secretaries), Councillor NannyDSouza, Councillor Jerry
Fernandes, Councillor Sunita Landez,Panch Francisoc Nunes, Nikita
Lobo and Douglas Barretto (co-ordinators).
As many as 20 others have been appointed as the members inthe
committee.
Jose Philip to head Vasco Carnival panel
HERALD CORRESPONDENT
PORVORIM, FEB 20
Vision Care Eye Hospital Direc-tor Dr Chandrakant Shetye
saideyes are very important partsof the human body and henceit is
necessary that eyes arechecked at regular intervals de-pending upon
the age of theperson to avoid any possibledisorders.
He was speaking after launch-ing Mukta Opticians, Mapusa,mobile
eye clinic van.
Common eye problems in-clude cataracts, glaucoma andretinal
disorders. Eye diseases donot always have symptoms. Earlydetection
and treatment can pre-vent vision loss, said Dr Shetye.
Dr Shetye further said parentsshould get the eyes of their
chil-dren examined before the ageof nine even if there is no
historyof eye problem in the family.
If any problem is detected
Check eyes regularly to avoid disorders: ophthalmologist
Doctor checks a patient in the mobile eye clinic van. Photo by
Anil Shankhwalker
in the child at early stage, it canbe corrected. After the age
ofnine it becomes difficult to cor-rect the eye disorder in
thechild, added Dr Shetye.
Dr Shetye said that the mobileeye clinic van launched has allthe
modern clinic facilities likeslit lamp, streak
retinoscope,opthalmoschope, tonmeter tocheck eye pressure, blood
pres-sure operator and glucometerfor checking diabetes.
This mobile eye clinic willbe very useful for conductingthe eye
camps in villages, wherethere are no ophthalmologists.The companies
and the socialorganisations should avail theservices of this mobile
eyeclinic, said Dr Shetye.
Mukta Opticians Proprietor
Kishor Sarsolker said his com-pany always believed in buildinga
strong customer relationshipand delivering best service tothe
people.
Whi le conduct ing eyecamps, I realized that it was notpossible
to carry all the equip-ments in the car and hence theidea of mobile
eye clinic cameup to my mind, he said.
This van which has all themodern equipments requiredto carry out
eye examinationaccurately will have onboardOptometrist. It has got
the fa-cilities to create the databaseof every patient. This
mobileeye clinic van costing Rs 28 lakhhas been designed by
Chinta-mani Motors, Sangli, informedSarsolker.
Man found dead in
friends roomHERALD REPORTER
VASCO, FEB 20
A 51-year-old man from Sas-mollem in Baina-Vasco wasfound dead
in his friendsroom at Maimollem-Vasco onThursday morning.
According to Vasco police,Julio Fernandes (51) wasfound dead in
one room,while his friends were asleepin another room.
Police informed that de-ceased was an alcoholic andhad
reportedly been heavilyintoxicated pr ior to h isdeath.
Police has denied any foulplay in the death, but
has,nevertheless, sent his viscerafor an examination.
Vasco police has registereda case of unnatural death andis
investigating the case.
Water shortage hits Bicholim as workers go on strike
HERALD CORRESPONDENT
CALANGUTE, FEB 20
A 5-year-old boy was rescuedby the Lifeguards at Arambol
onWednesday.
According to reports, the boywas with his mother in the seawhen
he fell into the water afterlosing his balance. Lifeguard Sud-
hir Parab, who was keeping a closewatch on their
movements,rushed to their rescue andbrought him safely to the
towerwith the help of a Jet-Ski.
The boy a long with h ismother were later shifted to theTuyem
Primary Health Centrefor medical attention.
Boy rescued from drowning
HERALD REPORTER
VASCO, FEB 20
A unidentified man was found dead along the railway tracks atNew
Vaddem on Wednesday evening.
Railway police informed that the deceased may have beenknocked
down by the Goa-Patna Express train at 7.30 pm, nearVithal Rakumini
Temple, New Vaddem.
Deceased is believed to be in his forties, medium built and
iswheatish in complexion. He was found with an orange shirt.
In-vestigations are in progress to identify the deceased.
Man found dead on railway tracks
-
Olvin Antao & fly
-
Blame it on usB V S Priolkar, Margao
It is very unfortunate that the present breedof politicians have
become shameless andfearless. They are also spineless and
havebecome experts in the blame game. Theyseem to have become
immune to account-ability. At the end of the term, everything
isforgotten and they get another opportunity.
It is a pitiable that the PM has been blam-ing the coalition for
the scams, corruptionand price rise etc. But some of the
ministersare from his own party.
The situation in Goa is no different. TheHome Minister is
allegedly found to be giv-ing wrong information in the Assembly
andis well supported by the CM. The com-mission issue is rampant in
securing gov-ernment contracts and jobs. The ACBcannot track this
for want of proof.
We have to blame ourselves because weelect such politicians.
There is a need torectify this error at the next given
oppor-tunity.
Raise exemption limitMahesh Kapasi New Delhi
Purchasing power of the rupee is dimin-
ishing at a much faster rate. Due to this in-flationary trend,
even the government hasfailed to arrest the climb.
Acceleratinggrowth has made more millionaires, and aricher middle
class. For those who do notearn much, it is a continuous battle and
isbecoming increasingly difficult. Therefore,it is suggested to
increase the exemptionlimits of income tax to at least Rs6 lakhfor
all individual assessees, in metropolitanand other capital
cities.
Medical expenses of all individuals is in-creasing .To simplify
the tax matters, thepresent reimbursement of medical expen-diture
up to Rs15,000 to a salaried em-ployee, should be raised to
Rs30,000. Theyshould also not be asked to produce a med-ical bill.
I hope the government pays heedto this call and also identifies a
senior cit-izen at the age of 60 instead of the present65, for
purposes of income tax.
O Maria a must see Lambert Mascarenhas, Dona Paula
Rajendra Talaks O Maria, is a must-seefor every Goan for its
message as well asits visual aesthetics. The movie opens witha
soul-stirring song by outstanding singer-musician Remo Fernandes,
whose musical
score underpins this very Goan story andis the films core
attraction. The film makermust be lauded for his impressive
effort.The theme is the flavour of the month, inevery sphere of the
media; protesting thesale of land to outsiders who corrupt
Goasyouth with the lure of drugs and easy moneywhich have destroyed
Goas natural beautyand identity.
The story-line though predictable, islivened up and given a very
dramatic shotin the arm by the dialogue from Konkaniactivist
Damodar Mauzo. For his singulareffort, I would like to say, Bravo
Mr Talak!
Promises and liesJames Souza, UK
We will see a lot of schemes, both fromthe Central as well as
the State governmentfor the common man. Goans should notget carried
away because this is a ploy tobenefit migrants to create a new vote
bankfor the Congress led government. SoniaGandhi promised the
people of Goa, duringthe last election campaign at the
Fatordastadium, that she would give special statusto Goa to save
her identity. It looks likethe opposite has taken place, because
mostof the Delhi babus have shown their greedfor Goa during the
last four years, withouttaking into consideration the demands
andsentiments of Goans.
Even the congress led Government inGoa has made false promises.
Undoubtedly,these Goan politicians have no love forGoa. It is high
time we think seriously andinsist on special status for Goa from
theCongress-led government. If not, we knowby now, that it is all
Promises and Lies.
Give us a breakChristine Boomer, via email
We are in Goa with our family, and ofcourse, love to go to the
beach. However,our enjoyment is spoilt by people tryingto take
photographs of our young grand-children. If a family wants to take
photo-graphs of their own children, with ourgrandchildren, ask if
it is ok and providedour grandchildren are happy to pose forthem,
then fine, we have no problem. It isthe young men who do not ask
and espe-cially those who try to conceal the factthey are taking a
photograph we objectstrongly to. We find ourselves having towatch
all the time, this intrusive behaviour.This spoils our holiday. Why
do it, whenthey try to conceal facts?
Don garb to grab landSidonio Mendes, Chandor
In the memorandum on Goas claim forspecial status under Article
371 of the Con-stitution (Herald, 14 Feb), it is mentioned
how the state government too has helpedprivate parties, in the
garb of investors, tograb land in Goa under the Land
AcquisitionLaw. Another ridiculous travesty of law isthat a private
party is allowed to encroachupon hectares of government land
andthen, the same private party admitting thatthe state to be its
title holder, prays forperpetual occupancy of the said land
byagreeing to pay a convenient occupancyprice. Thus, the state can
become thegranter and the party concerned, thegrantee.
What about litigants?Diogo Furtado, Utorda
This refers to The Letter of the day Agita-tion the right way?
Herald, 15 Feb) by Ar-avind Bhatikar. In this case, it was the
judgewho faced suspension and not the lawyer.Accordingly, the
judges should have re-sorted to agitation because one of theirkind
was suspended. If the litigants hadan association, then they could
take thelawyers to task, for not attending the courts,at the cost
of litigants. Who pays the liti-gants, for the delay in dispensing
justice?
At the request of High Court, theSupreme Court should direct the
lawyersnot to interfere with the order of HighCourt to meet the
ends of justice. Eachconcerned judge has to put his case
beforeSupreme Court and their judgment is final.This will ensure
that litigants are not atthe receiving end.
Dum Maro DumArwin Mesquita, UAE
Whilst it might be premature to commenton the subject, as the
movie is not yet re-leased, I think it is very difficult to
ignorethe harsh reality of the drugs, sex and re-lated issues in
Goa today.
On my recent visit to Goa, I was aghastto know the level that
Goa has stoopedinto, but am I surprised because the Goagovernment
comprises of a bunch of thugs,pimps, drug peddlers, smugglers and
whatnot?
It is high time Goans stop living in denialof the pathetic state
of affairs going onand accept that they are responsible forbringing
into power, todays pathetic politi-
cians who are responsible for the mayhemthat is prevailing in
Goa.
Spectacular showAdelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Bangladesh put up a spectacular show dur-ing the opening
ceremony of the ICC WorldCup at the Bangabandhu stadium in
Dhaka.The cultural extravaganza kept everyoneviewing the event on
television, spell-bound.
It was interesting to see the laser beamshow, especially the LED
kites. The aerialcricket match on a tall building near thestadium
was an innovative idea. Indeed,Bangladesh has come a long way and
mustbe commended for being a co-host in thisprestigious
tournament.
Personal predictionStallone Souza, Canacona
The present Indian team will not win thisWorld Cup and Sachins
dream will be un-successful. The chief selector should beblamed.
India were winners in the Pruden-tial World Cup held in the UK in
1983.
I request the selectors to include all-rounder Stuart Binny or
Robin Uthappa atleast for fielding, so that they can bringgood luck
to the Indian team. This is myprediction.
Elect right candidatesAshlon A Fernandes, Nuvem
Though I am just 15 years old, I am awareof the bad situation of
our beautiful Goa.We are mainly suffering from poor
gover-nance.
We should be aware that we are the samepeople who voted those
corrupt, and highlyinefficient leaders, who only know how tomake
money at the cost of the people.
Instead of pointing fingers at them, letus educate the masses to
elect the rightcandidates and encourage them not to ac-cept bribes.
Let us try to eliminate corrup-tion from our society.
Iknow, I know. It is supposed to be every citi-zens fundamental
duty to vote during elec-tions. Time and again, we are reminded of
the
importance of our votes, how our votes count,how we can make a
difference to the system byvoting correctly and how deserving
aspirants can-not come into power, if we dont exercise
ourfranchise.
But in a democracy, voting and not voting areboth rights. Not
voting is as much of a choice,as is the right to choose among
different candi-dates standing for elections. And this right canbe
exercised without having the least guilt.
Why do we vote? It is to choose among differentpeople who stand
for certain ideologies and is-sues. What does one do when no party
or personis worth ones vote? When each one is a biggercrook or
non-achiever than the other? Choosethe best among the worst? You
must be kidding!
To exercise a choice among candidates andparties, there must
first be a choice. But wheneach one is as bad as the other, the
only realchoice then is between not voting and voting.
There is a system in our Constitution as perthe Conduct of
Election Rules, 1969, in section49-O that a person can go to the
polling booth,confirm his identity, get his finger marked andconvey
to the presiding election officer that (s)hedoesnt want to vote for
anyone. Yes, such a fea-ture is available!
The specific provision of The Conduct of Elec-tions Rules, 1961,
is as follows:
49-0: If an elector, after his electoral roll num-ber has been
duly entered in the register of votersin Form-17A and has put his
signature or thumbimpression thereon, as required under sub-rule(1)
of rule 49L, decided not to record his vote, aremark to this effect
shall be made against thesaid entry in Form 17A by the presiding
officerand the signature or thumb impression of theelector, shall
be obtained against such remark.
The above provision is mentioned in ChapterII of Part IV of the
rules. The simple meaning ofthis provision is that any voter who
wishes to ex-ercise the Right Not to Vote cannot do it by
justsitting at home. This provision enables the voter
not to cast his or her vote, in favour of any of thecandidates,
by registration of his/her electoralroll number in Form-17A by the
Presiding Officer.The voter has to sign in front of the
statementmarked to that effect by the Presiding Officer.
The newly introduced Electronic Voting Ma-chines (EVMs) as well
as the conventional BallotPapers, do not provide an option for none
ofthe above. Therefore, the Election Commission(EC) in the year
2001 and 2004, has recommendedfor suitable changes in Rules 22 and
49B of theConduct of Election Rules, 1961; which dealswith the form
of the ballot paper, and the prepa-ration of voting machines,
respectively. A petitionby the People Union for Civil Liberties
(PUCL)seeking such a provision, filed at the time of therecent
general election, is still pending beforethe honourable Supreme
Court.
From the point of view of the argument, thatthe right to vote is
an extremely precious attribute
of Indian parliamentary democracy and, therefore,the right in
question, ought to be protected atall cost. In other words, the
voter must necessarilychoose from the list of candidates (s)he is
pre-sented with in the polling booth, and not wastehis/her vote.
The two important issues involvedhere are: Is this morally right in
a sovereign so-cialist secular democratic republic? And, second,is
such a stand legally defensible?
The voter is free to choose among candidatesfiguring in the list
of candidates (s)he is con-fronted with, in a polling booth. The
choice de-pends on the decision about who (s)he thinkswill best
represent the voters views in the legis-lature.
But why should the exercise of choice be lim-ited to choosing
among the candidates whosenames figure in the list before the voter
in thepolling booth? The electorate has nothing to dowith the
drawing up of the list, and it is possible
that a voter may not approve of the idea ofsending any of the
official poll contestants to thelegislature. In such conditions, if
(s)he still is re-stricted to choosing among the names
beforehim/her, the very principle of free choice is vio-lated.
Indeed, an element of compulsion creepsinto the voting process
which can be said tostrike at the very heart of the Indian
republic.
What this means is that for the sake of completeconsistency, the
voter should be allowed to sayno to the entire official list of
candidates. Insimple terms, that would mean that (s)he is nothappy
with the prospect of any of the officialcandidates representing
him/her in the legislature.Certainly there is nothing morally
indefensibleabout this stand. On the contrary, the elementof choice
in the system of adult franchise wouldbe even better protected,
making the right tovote even more precious, in a manner of
speaking.
Clearly, the presently prescribed procedure forrejecting all the
candidates violates the cardinalprinciple of secrecy of the ballot,
which lies atthe heart of the electoral system in this country.Not
only this, it indirectly makes an official dis-tinction between
voters who decide to chooseamong the available candidates and those
whodecide otherwise, which probably will fall foulof the provision
of the fundamental right to equal-ity, granted to every citizen
under the Constitu-tion.
Given the observed fact that there has beenno appreciable
improvement in the quality of ourlegislators over the decades, the
institution ofsuch an amendment has become pressing today,in view
of the increasing possibility of a largernumber of voters than
previously not approvingthe candidates nominated by the political
parties.Moreover, the desired implication of the rule isnot
clear.
But before propagating the right not to vote,one must remember
that to make democracywork, we have to come together as a nation
ofparticipants, not simply observers. Silent or oth-erwise. If we
do not vote, we have no right tocomplain as well. And remaining
passive in elec-tions, will not help India.
OPINIONwww.oheraldo.in
Pg6Vol No CXI No: 052
Goa, Monday, 21 February, 2011
Letters to the Editor
Letter of the Day
Printed and published by Vinayak Pai Bir for and on behalf of
Herald Publications Pvt Ltd. Printed at Herald Publications Pvt
Ltd, Plot No: L-135, Phase II, Verna Industrial Estate, Verna,
Salcete, Goa. Published at PO Box 160, Rua Sao Tome, Panjim, Goa -
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Tombat(Responsible under PRB Act). Regd Office: St Tome Road,
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and/or owners.
Why should the voters choice be limited to the candidates on the
list, asks WENDY PEREIRA
OHERALDO
OHERALDO
Why I wont be voting
LAW-GICALLY
TV: The Myth and the RealityStraight from the Heart
How we gape at the age of the gladiators. What a horribleworld
it must have been where a man was thrown into anamphitheatre with a
lion, while all the rest of the folk sat
around and watched the bloody denouement as mere sport,
andeveryone screaming, shouting, cheering
We say that the gladiators are symbols of a cruel and
barbaricsociety. We safely distance ourselves from such a society.
And yet,are our sensibilities really different? Are we really
higher on theemotional quotient? Have we, as a civilisation,
inculcated moresensitivity than our ancestors?
No. The prevalence and popularity of reality TV shows quite
the
contrary. And it effectively proves Freuds pessimism
regardingany inherent nobility in mankind.
Visual entertainment started with the Greeks, during the
Festivalof Dionysius, with plays in which the chorus represented
the voiceof the most downtrodden sections of society; which is on
thewrong side in terms of class, caste and gender the poor womenof
Thebes the lowest common denominator of that civilisation.
Thus started visual entertainment, with the impetus of
bringingforth a voice to the lowest stratum a means to depict what
waswrong with society and put forward a need for social change.
Asthe visual drama developed, many other elements of pure
enter-tainment, like romance, slapstick comedy, wit, elaborate
plot,
story, etc, got added. Modern day movies and TV serials are
anexample of this.
But the strangest thing is, along with all that development
andtechnological finesse, we now have something called Reality
TV,which adds a totally different dimension to visual art, to TV,
to usand to society at large. We look at the participants in a
Reality TVshow just like that audience of yesteryear watched the
gladiatorsfight each other or wild animals, get seriously injured,
and evendie.
We revel in the discomfiture of the participants, we marvel
attheir lies and dishonesty when it is revealed on the show. We
seeweddings, dating, loving, fighting like cats and dogs,
breakingup, axing ones ex, and what not all on TV. And we sit and
watchsmug and safe in our drawing rooms, while the participants
breakdown and cry, and some even end up losing their relationships
orruining their lives.
The strangest thing is that in this distinctly modern need
forfive minutes of fame, people all over the world are now willing
tobe the guinea pig that is emotionally tortured on TV, are
willingto sacrifice the sanctity of his or her life and
relationships, by ex-posing it to all to see.
We say, in our defence, that we watch because it is being
aired.We say we participate in such shows because that is the easy
wayto attain recognition. We say we make such shows because
they
sell; that we are only giving people what they want. We behaveas
if we are driven by situations, circumstance, other people
and,ultimately, by society. We claim we have no choice.
But we are wrong. We all have a choice. We may not alwayshave
situations under our control, but cant we have our ownmind under
control? We can have our needs, our feelings, ourthoughts and what
we want to watch and all of them can beunder our control. Do we
really want to be that sadistic andmasochistic society that derives
its thrills from watching otherpeople in real distress?
The same question can be asked in our real lives as well.
Howmany of us are willing to actually put our preconceived
notionsaside to really understand someone? With understanding
anotherhuman being comes empathy.
With empathy comes the desire to extend emotional support.But
how many of us actually care to understand? For most of us,anothers
suffering is just an occasion for mirth and gossip; quitelike
watching reality TV.
The human mind is a microcosm of the macrocosm that is
theuniverse. It has within itself the power to both raise itself to
atranscendental level and achieve empathy and oneness with
every-one, or to disintegrate into a narrow abyss where one enjoys
thesuffering of another, as crass entertainment. The choice? It
isalways ours!
By Sajla Chawla
Endangeredspecies?
Not long after she was born, a newborn girl was stran-gled to
death and dumped in a garbage bin at theMapusa Municipal Market
late on Friday night. Pos-
sibly born to a desperate unwed mother, police say noculprit
could be traced. But, had it been a boy instead of agirl, would
this child have met the same fate?
Goa may have the highest per capital income, the highesthealth
indices, and be among the more educated states inIndia, but it
hides a dark secret. The female-to-male sex ratiois slipping by the
year. If this was merely the overall sexratio, it would be easy to
say it is caused by in-migration tothis state.
But we are talking about children born in Goa the 0-to-6 age
group which has little to do with migration. The sexratio in this
critical age group fell from 964 (girls to every1,000 boys) in the
1991 census to 938 in the 2001 census(the next census will be this
year). It is a drastic decrease of26 girls to every 1,000 boys, not
only much higher than thenational average of 18, but huge
considering that the 1981Goa census had a ratio of 965. In terms of
the country as awhole, only Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi,
Gujarat, HP,Uttarakhand, Maharashtra (all states notorious for
femaleinfanticide) and Nagaland showed greater declines.
Evensupposedly backward states like UP, MP and Bihar showedlesser
declines. In terms of the overall sex ratio in this vitalgroup, Goa
ranked a poor 23rd out of the 35 states andunion territories
existing then.
But in the last 10 years, the situation seems to have wors-ened
further. Figures cited at a recent seminar on FallingSex Ratio and
the Girl Child at the International Centre, Goa,attributed to the
Directorate of Health Services, say the sexratio in the 0-to-6 age
group declined to 930 females toevery 1,000 males in 2008, and to
925 females to every1,000 males in 2009. Though overall the ratio
is worse inGoas cities than in its villages, there are two villages
in NorthGoa and three villages in South Goa that do not have a
singlegirl child today!
Some speakers at the seminar attributed this drasticallyfalling
ratio to a son preference, where only those whohave a girl opt for
further children, while those who have aboy prefer a single-child
family. There may be some truth tothis, because the states
fertility rate has been assessed atjust 1.71 children per family;
not only the lowest in India,but lesser than the USA and many
European countries. Itdoes suggest that more and more families are
opting for asingle child.
But others attributed more sinister reasons to Goas de-clining
sex ratio the selective abortion of female foetusesusing prenatal
diagnostic technologies like Amniocentesisor Ultrasound Scans,
despite their use being banned for sexdetermination. If this is
true, then a large number of femalefoetuses are being deliberately
aborted in pursuance of sonpreference.
The Goa government especially the Health Department needs to
take urgent cognisance of this trend and takemeasures to reverse
it. Special schemes in states like Delhiand Madhya Pradesh, in
which parents of a girl child aregranted financial assistance for
her initial upkeep and edu-cation, have done wonders to reverse the
decline in thenumber of girls being born. The Goa government needs
tolook at them carefully, and develop schemes of its own.
Otherwise, the state has a dire future. In many partsof Haryana,
girls have to be imported from other statesfor men of marriageable
age. In other villages, one womanmarries two men. Is that what we
want to happen inGoa?
Letters should be 150 words or less in length, andshould have
the writers name, address and telephonenumber. The editor reserves
the right to edit letters forsize and readability, and to delete
any personal attacksor libellous /objectionable matter.
Smile with Smitha
The real outsider, yaar!Srikantha Rao, Navelim
This has reference to the letter Why cancel them, yaar? by
Marcos Alemao (Herald,17 Feb). It is very sad to remind real Goans
that people from Punjab, Haryana, Ma-harashtra and Karnataka had
sacrificed and laid their life for the liberation of Goaduring 50s
and 60s. Goans, who solely depend on their needs ranging from
milk,vegetables, rice and other things from other states, calls
those as outsiders.
During 1510 to 1600, there was lot of migration of both Hindus
and Catholicsfrom Goa to Karnataka and other states, and those
Konkani people still reside inthe entire coastal belt till
Ernakulam, Kerala. They have also shone in all
disciplines.Kannadigas never called them as outsiders till today.
It is now 2011 and I requestnot to refer to other language speaking
people as outsiders. Sometimes, even aGoan living in Dubai and
Kuwait calls these poor people as outsiders, when hehimself is the
real outsider.
Smitha Bhandare Kamat
-
Pg 7GOAGOA, MONDAY, 21 FEBRUARY, 2011
OHE
RALD
O
a P P O I N T M E N T s
aPPOINTMENTs
HERALD CORRESPONDENT
CALANGUTE, FEB 20
A 23-year-old tourist from Ban-galore was rescued from drown-ing
at Baga.
According to reports, RiteekPramod Raj was rescued by life-
guard Siddesh Paryekar at Bagabeach while he experienced
dif-ficulty in swimming back to theshore. Paryekar waved for
help,while lifeguard anticipating thetrouble rushed to his rescue
andbrought him safely to the shores.
Tourist rescued from drowning
HERALD CORRESPONDENT
MERCES, FEB 20
With garbage menace threaten-ing to blow out of proportionand
with a suitable site for awaste treatment plant nowherein sight,
the Merces and Chimbelpanchayats have been burningwaste in a bid to
overcome theproblem.
However, burning of wastehas its own problems since,apart from
dry waste, plasticwaste also gets burnt and itposes a hazard to the
environ-ment and the peoples health.
Now, realization seems tohave dawned on authorities of
both the Merces and Chimbelpanchayats who are now explor-ing
alternatives to deal with plas-tic waste.
When contacted, MercesSarpanch Deepika Shirgaonkaradmitted that
the burning ofplastic poses threat to the en-vironment and the
peopleshealth and said the panchayatis now exploring alternate
waysto deal with it.
Explaining further, Shir-gaonkar said that, as a first step,the
panchayat has decided toinstall Do Not Dump Garbagesignboards at
places where thepeople are indiscriminately
dumping garbage.Also, we will place a bin at
one strategic place for collectionof plastic waste, she
added.
Shirgaonkar informed that thepanchayat would also
createawareness among the people tosegregate plastic waste andhand
it over to the labourers,who will then place it in the binfor
collection by a government-appointed contractor.
Shirgaonkar also informedthat the panchayat has invitedthe
contractor for talks on howto go about the process.
On the other hand, thoughthe panchayat still continues toburn
waste, Chimbel SarpanchChandrakant Kunkolkar in-formed that the
panchayat isseized of the problem createdby burning of waste.
We are currently looking atalternate ways to deal with it,he
said.
Kunkolkar then divulged thata NGO, at the behest of the
localMLA, has already approachedthe panchayat and agreed toshare
information and logisticson plastic menace and how todeal with
it.
Kunkolkar further informedthat he will fix a meeting withthe
representatives of the NGO,wherein all the panchas wouldbe invited,
and hopefully a de-cision would be arrived on thebest way to tackle
the plasticmenace.
HERALD CORRESPONDENT
MARCEL, FEB 20
Rich tributes were paid to Cha-trapati Shivaji at a
state-levelfunction at Farmagudi to markShivaji Jayanti.
Shivaji was leader of themasses and the State govern-ment has
been celebrating thisday in all 11 talukas since thepast two years
to sensitize stu-dents of his life and ideology,said CM Digambar
Kamat.
The function at Farmagudiwas organised by the Informa-tion
Department in associationwith Bandora panchayat.
Others present at the functionincluded Home Minister RaviNaik,
Transport Minister SudinDhavlikar, Priol MLA DeepakDhavlikar,
former chief ministerShashikala Kakodkar, freedomfighters, Bandora
panchayatmembers and Ponda municipalcouncil members.
They offered floral tributesto Chatrapati Shivaji at the
Far-
magudi fort dedicated to theMaratha warrior.
During Shivajis rule, therewas no inequality and he ac-corded
high respect to women,said Kamat.
The chief minister laterhanded over financial assistanceof Rs
50,000 to the Bandora pan-chayat to maintain the Shivajifort.
In his address, Home MinisterRavi Naik said the occasion alsoave
the opportunity to remem-ber former chief ministerBahusaheb
Bandodkar and othernational leaders.
The idea is that our youngergeneration should know whothey were
and their contributionto society. Apart from this, wewould like out
people to imbibequalities of these leaders, hesaid.
Responsibility also lies onelected representatives to
guidepeople in the proper path. Butis this happening? Are our
elected representatives showingright direction to people,
askedthe home minister.
Transport Minister SudinDhavlikar also spoke on the
oc-casion.
Sangli-based historian Dr PPatil appreciated the State
gov-ernments efforts in organisingthe state-level
programme,something which is not evenbeing organised in
Maharash-tra.
Chatrapati Shivaji is a heronot only for the people of
Ma-harashtra, but for those of Indiaas well, he said.
MAYEM CORRESPONDENTADDS: Shivaji Jayanti was cele-brated at the
Chatrapati ShivajiMaharaj ground in Bicholim onSaturday.
Senior citizen Tanaji Pal gar-landed the statue of Shivaji atold
bus stand.
Later at a public meeting,speakers highlighted the life andwork
of Chatrapati Shivaji.
Tributes paid to Shivaji
Merces, Chimbel VPs to explorealternatives on plastic menace
Labourers install a Do Not Dump Garbage signboard near
theShantaban Housing Complex at Merces. Photo by Manuel Vaz
Cows, buffalo killed in tiger
attacks HERALD CORRESPONDENT
MAYEM, FEB 20
Af ter creat ing a terror inCharawane, Shiroli and Kerimareas in
Sattari taluka since thelast month by attacking a num-ber of
cattle, the tiger has nowdiverted its attention towardsKankumbi
village of Chorla Ghat.
It is learnt that the strippedtiger killed two cows, one
buf-falo and one bull, which wasconfirmed by the forest
officials.
The forest officials are mon-itoring the situation round
theclock by fixing cameras in dif-ferent areas of Chorla Ghat
andMhadei Wildlife Sanctuary.
Forest off icials V ishwasChodankar informed that theyhave
prepared an impressionpad of Plaster of Paris to takethe foot
impressions of a bigcat, which he said is moving inthe area.
HERALD NEWS BUREAU
PANJIM, FEB 20
A new monastery for Catholicnuns will be opened at Curtorimon
February 22 at 4.30 pm.
Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferraowill celebrate the inaugural
Massand bless the Monastery Chapel,while Archbishop Emeritus
RaulGonsalves will proceed to blessthe Monastery, after the
HolyEucharist.
The Monastery of the Immac-ulate Conception is the first
Asianfoundation of the CloisteredFranciscan Conceptionist
Sisters,founded by St Beatrice DSilva inSpain, five centuries
ago.
They have today 165 monas-
teries spread worldwide. Thenew monastery in Goa will bean
extension of the Ordersmonastery in Estella, Spain, ex-isting for
the last 280 years. In-cidentally, the present Abbessin Estella is
Mother MariaPereira, from Chinchinim, whohad joined the monastery
in1991 and was elected to thepost in October 2009.
The new monastery in Goawill be headed by Spanish SisterAna
Maria Ilundain, the imme-diate past Abbess, who will ini-tially
have under her five Sisters,all of them of Indian origin.
The Conceptionist Sisters hadmade their first contact with
the
Archdiocese of Goa in 1996, dur-ing the tenure of ArchbishopRaul
Gonsalves, who welcomedthe idea of having one morecontemplative
Order in his dio-cese, second only to the Clois-tered Carmel
Sisters at Chicalim.
The Franciscan Conception-ists are a fully contemplativeOrder.
Their mission is to praywithout ceasing for all hu-mankind and to
give glory toGod, who continually blessesthe earth.
They have long hours of per-sonal prayer everyday as wellas
common liturgical prayer andthe daily celebration of theMass. All
are invited to join theSisters at the daily Eucharist andat other
prayer time.
The Sisters earn their dailyliving by working in the
garden,doing embroidery, book-bind-ing, candles, fruit juice,
flowerarrangements, etc.
From within the walls of theirmonastery they can also
rendertheir services to a few industrialunits, to outsource some of
theirmanufacturing processes likepacking, painting, finishing,
etc.
Their monastery in Goa -which will also be known asDhyanalaya, a
house of contem-plation -- is built on the gener-ous help of the
people whomthey serve.
HERALD CORRESPONDENT
CANACONA, FEB 20