OHERALDOThe Voice of Goa Since 1900

PTI

COLOMBO/NEW DELHI, APRIL 21

A major standoff between thepowerful BCCI and Sri LankaCricket was Thursday avertedwith the island nation extendingthe deadline for its players re-turn from the IPL till May 18, acompromise which put an endto the uncertainty over theiravailability.

Under pressure from the BCCIto extend the original May 5deadline, SLC relented after ameeting with countrys SportsMinister Mahindananda Aluthga-mage and allowed its star play-ers to participate in cash-richevent for 13 more days.

Aluthgamage said it had beendecided after a meeting withcricket administrators late todaythat the IPL players could jointhe team by May 19 in London.

We are giving players moretime to play the IPL before join-ing the team for the Englandtour after several requests fromthe Indian cricket board,

Aluthgamage said.The IPL boys have to be in

London in time to play the prac-tice match on May 19. I thinkthe boys and the BCCI will behappy with the compromise,the minister said.

The series against Englandstarts May 14 with a practicematch against Middlesex, fol-lowed by another warm-upgame against England Lions onMay 19.

The first Test of the three

Tests is scheduled to begin inCardiff from May 26 whichmeans that those players stayingback for IPL would just haveabout a week to prepare for theseries.

The indications of a compro-mise came earlier in the daywhen Aluthgamage said that theplayers might be allowed to staybeyond the original May 5 dead-line.

I have received several e-mails from the BCCI and I will

meet the selection committeeand the SLC officials to discussthe matter. We might extendthe May 5 deadline, Aluthga-mage said.

Eleven Sri Lankan players, in-cluding Kumar Sangakkara andMahela Jayawardene who arecaptaining their respective fran-chises, are currently in actionin the cash-rich IPL.

Their early return would havehad an adverse impact on theirrespective teams combinations.

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, APRIL 21

Womens group Goenchea Os-toreachcho Awaz (GOA)staged a peaceful protest out-side Inox theatre protestingthe preview of the controver-sial film Dum Maro Dum, onThursday evening.

All four screenings hap-pened amid tight securitycover, which went on smoothlytill the last show at 11:15 pm.

The group led by SwatiKerkar voiced concern overthe portrayal of the film anddemanded that the govern-ment stop the paid preview ofthe film on Thursday and allfurther scheduled screenings.

In their memorandum to thechief minister, the group hassaid that the special committeeshould review the film for con-tent and malice, and furtherdirect the Censor Board to cen-sor the film for any objection-able remarks against Goa andGoan women.

District Collector Mihir Vard-han along with his family wasamongst the audiences, whoattended the first screening ofthe movie.

The women activists ac-

cused the government of pro-moting offensive portrayal ofGoan women in the movie.

We are here to createawareness. It is for the peopleto decide whether to watchthe movie or not. We are upsetthat the state government hasmiserably failed to stop themovie, Kerkar said.

The activists raised appre-hensions that rowdy andwrong-minded tourists mightbe attracted towards Goa,which is known for its warmhospitality.

How can the movie makersmake offensive statement? Itis against the womens dignity.Not just the objectionable di-alogues but the movie overallshould be banned, Kerkar saidfurther.

The activists argued thatGoan women are decentlydressed and are not into anyanti-social activities, as themovie makers portray in themovies including Dum MaroDum.

They admitted that after theHigh Courts verdict giving ago-ahead for the movie re-lease, they are powerless tohalt the screening of themovie. State government hadformed a special committeeto screen the movie before itsrelease, but all in vain, as thescreening has till date not hap-pened.

Inox will be running all 12shows on Friday and the book-ings according to the officialsare full.

(Continued on page 8)

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WE ARE OPEN TODAYThe offices of the Herald will re-main OPEN TODAY, hence therewill be an edition of this paperdated 23rd April.

PTI

NEW DELHI/BANGALORE, APRIL 21

Justice Santosh Hegde Thursdaythreatened to quit the jointdrafting committee on LokpalBill as the alleged smear cam-paign against civil society ac-t i v i s t s snowba l l ed and agovernment forensic lab foundno tampering of a CD involvinglawyer Shanti Bhushan.

Hegde, a former SupremeCourt judge and now KarnatakaLokayukta, said he was thinkingof resigning from the ten-mem-ber committee because he wasupset over the continuous andday-to-day vilification campaignagainst activists.

He especially hurt by Con-gress leader Digvijay Singhs at-tack on him that he was notacting against corruption in Kar-nataka. Singh, however, reactedsaying he did not challenge any-body and if the Lokayukta wasso good and effective, thenwhy there was corruption in Kar-nataka.

I am thinking of resigning. Iwill take a decision after talkingto my colleagues, including AnnaHazare, he said.

Hegdes threat came on a daywhen civil society activistsArvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bediruled out resignation of ShantiBhushan and his son PrashantBhushan from the joint commit-tee in the wake of a slew of con-troversies surrounding them.

There is no question of any-body resigning from the jointcommittee. No one will resign.We are at a historic juncturewhere we are going to have astrong anti-corruption law. Weare not the ones who run awayfrom battle zones, they told a

press conference in Delhi.The demand for their resig-

nation mounted after Delhi Po-lice leaked out informationciting CFSL report that the CDallegedly involving ShantiBhushan, the co-chairman of thecommittee, Mulayam SinghYadav and Amar Singh, was nottampered with as claimed bythe Bhushans.

P ra shan t Bhushan hadclaimed on Sunday on the basisof a report from a private foren-sic lab that the CD was doctoredand fabricated by Amar Singh.

Though the Bhushans re-mained quiet on the allegationsagainst them, Kejriwal and Bedisaid the civil society memberswere together and the entiremalicious campaign launchedby some corrupt elements inand out of government wasaimed at derailing the draftingof a strong Lokpal Bill.

Everything stinks, Hegdesaid referring to the manner inwhich the vilification campaignfirst went against (Anna) Hazare,then against Bhushans (Shantiand son Prasant).

This is absolutely false. Thisis contrary to facts. I am not apolitician. I cannot fight thistype of battle, he said.

Justice Hegde threatens to quit

Lokpal panel

Melvin back as CCP

commissionerHERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, APRIL 21

Melvin Vaz has been re-ap-pointed as the commissioner ofCorporation of the City of Panjim(CCP).

Outgoing Commissioner ElvisGomes is currently on leave.

A one-and-a-half year stint ofVaz in CCP was quite controver-sial and he was transferred ondemand of the Opposition afterit highlighted alleged irregular-ities of the CCP in the Assem-bly.

Following the expose, Vazwas shunted out of the CCP.

In view of this background itwill be interesting to see howVaz carries on with his duty ascommissioner.

It is learnt that no officer waswilling to take up the post ofCCP commissioner especially,after a battle between EducationMinister Babush Monserrate andOpposition Leader Manohar Par-rikar intensified post Babushsdeclaration to contest Assemblyelection from Panjim.

Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao enacting the washing of feet of the disciples of Jesus Christ, at the Se Cathedral Church, Old Goa on MaundyThursday. (Report on page 2) Photo by Rozario Estibeiro

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, APRIL 21

Women leaders in the State unitof the BJP can dream big asthe party has decided to reserveseats for women during theforthcoming Assembly elec-tions.

The party will conduct a sur-vey and tickets will be given towomen candidates on the basisof findings of the survey in theforthcoming Assembly electionwhich is likely to happen laterthis year.

The BJP National Mahila Mor-cha President Smriti Irani while

addressing a press conferenceon Thursday here stated that asimilar survey was conductedin Bihar wherein thirteenwomen candidates were giventickets in the last Assembly elec-tion in the State.

Of these, eleven candidateswere elected to power, shestated.

On how many women candi-dates will be given tickets in theforthcoming Assembly electionin Goa, she said that it is a mat-ter of internal policy decisionof the party a survey will beconducted to determine the

winnability factor.Irani was in the city to address

BJP womens wing melava.Speaking to reporters she

clarified that tickets will be givenon the basis of winnability factorand BJP mahila morcha will beequal partner in the selectionand election process.

Speaking about other pro-grammes of the party, she statedthat BJPs Nari Shakti Kendraswill work for upliftment ofwomen folk by engaging NGOsand SHGs. Goa has already set-up one such Kendra and morewill be opened soon.

Fake cops strike again GOA protest mark Dum opening in city theatre

Savio: Globalprints carry

objectionabledialogues

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, APRIL 21

The petitioner in the DumMaro Dum case, Savio Ro-drigues has lamented thatwhile the film producer hasclaimed to have deleted di-alogues and objectionablestatements against Goa andGoan women for the Indianmarket, the dialogues con-tinue to remain the same asthe international prints ofthe movie have already beendisbursed.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, APRIL 21

Targeting women in differentparts of the State, thieves posingas policemen on Thursday stolegold ornaments worth Rs1,70,000 from three unsuspect-ing women in three separatecases in Margao, Mapusa andVasco.

Conmen posing as copstricked an aged woman to handover her gold ornaments wortharound Rs 80,000 at Aquem-Altoon Thursday morning.

Margao pol ice sa id thewoman Mohini Chodankar (60)was returning home at around11.40 after purchasing vegeta-bles when she was approachedby a man on the road. Identify-ing himself as a policeman, theyoung man told her that the po-lice officer standing metersaway from the spot would liketo talk to her. When the unsus-pecting woman paid heed tothe request, the police officerreminded her of the thefts andadvised her to remove the goldbangles and hand it over to him,without realising that the police

officers were conmen. The vic-tim has told the police that theduo was speaking in Hindi andshe handed over her gold orna-ments as requested by the con-men.

Margao police has registeredan offense against unknown per-sons. This is the second time inthe last one month that conmenposing as policemen has robbedsenior citizens of their gold or-naments.

The police are investigating.PORVORIM CORRESPON-

DENT ADDS: A person posingas a CID officer hoodwinkedwoman from Pernem and stoleher gold ornaments at worth Rs55,000 at Mapusa on Thursdayafternoon.

According to Mapusa Police,an unknown person posing asa CID of f icer approachedShashikala Laximan Masurkerwho was waiting for a busbound for Pernem near the Ma-pusa court at about 3 pm.

He advised her to remove hergold ornaments in view of grow-ing thefts in Mapusa town.

Acting on his advice, Ma-

surker removed all her gold or-naments , worth about Rs55,000, and handed them overto the imposter, who promisedto wrap them in a cloth andhand it over to her.

The imposter instead gavethe woman a similar cloth con-taining a metal piece and a stoneand left the site.

When Masurker casuallychecked the cloth, she wasshocked to find that she hadbeen duped by the imposter.She then lodged a police com-plaint in the matter.

Mapusa ASI Vithu Naik is in-vestigating the case.

This is the third such incidentof impersonation and theft inMapusa within 10 days.

Earlier on April 11, two per-sons impersonating as police-men had stolen gold ornamentsvalued at around Rs 1 lakh fromtwo ladies in two separate inci-dents.

VASCO REPORTER ADDS: Anelderly woman was duped by aperson claiming to be a police-man and he fled away with gold

Sri Lanka players to stay till May 18BooSt for IPL

Jayawardene Dilshan Malinga

BJP to reserve seats forwomen in Assembly polls

Sai Baba very criticalThe condition of Sathya SaiBaba deteriorated further withdoctors saying that thefunctioning of his organswas erratic and he was verycritical. The godman was verycritical as his heart becamequite weak due to intermit-tent episodes of low bloodpressure, said Dr A N Safaya,director of Sri Sathya Sai Insti-tute of Higher Sciences,where he is undergoingtreatment since March 28. PTI

28 killed in Banglaferry capsizeAt least 28 people, mostlywomen and children, werekilled and scores went missingas a jam-packed ferry capsizedafter colliding with the wreck-age of a stone laden trawler inMeghna river in easternBangladesh. The ferry, carry-ing more than 150 passen-gers, was bound forJamalganj from Bhairabwhen it sank after collidingwith the wreckage of atrawler in central Brahman-baria. Nearly 100 people onthe overloaded double-deckerferry swam to shore. A teamof divers from Dhaka wassearching for more bodies andsurvivors. PTI

16 killed in Pak gambling

den blastPTI

KARACHI, APRIL 21

A powerful bomb went off at agambling den in the southernPakistani city of Karachi Thurs-day, killing 16 people and injur-ing nearly 40 others, officialssaid.

The explosion occurredwithin the compound of a build-ing in Ghasmandi area in theold quarters of Karachi.

A gambling den is located inthe ground floor of the building,local residents said. Express 24/7news channel reported that theblast was part of a fight betweentwo gangs to control the gam-bling den.

SC raps govtagencies on blackmoney

PTI

NEW DELHI, APRIL 21

Coming down hard on the Gov-ernment on the issue of black-money, the Supreme CourtThursday asked why it wassleeping all these years andnow focusing only on Hasan AliKhan and not disclosing namesof others who have stashedmoney in foreign banks.

The apex court, which hasticked off the Government agen-cies for its slow pace in probingthe matter, also voiced its dis-approval over no progress beingmade on its suggestion for athorough probe by a Special In-vestigating Team.

Was the Government sleep-ing all these years on the issueof blackmoney, the court asked.

The apex court said the in-vestigation into the issue ofblack money required com-plete and full-fledged involve-ment of government as the mostimportant question was aboutthe disclosure of source ofmoney kept in foreign bankswhich may be terror money ormoney coming from drug ped-daling.

A bench of justices B Suder-shan Reddy and S S Nijjar askedthe governemnt to explain whyits investigation is focussed onlyon Pune stud farm owner HassanAli, accused of money launder-ing and largescale tax evasion,and no other name has comeout.

Protesters outside the Inox theatre before the preview of Dum Maro Dum on Thursday. Photo by Sachin Ambadoskar

(Continued on page 8)

Sangakkara

GOAOHERALD

O

Pg2GOA, FRIDAY, 22 APRIL, 2011

Bus owners released on conditional

bail HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, APRIL 21

The 16 arrogant private bus op-erators who were arrested yes-t e rday were re l ea sed onconditional bail today.

The accused had moved a bailapplication before the JMFC Pan-jim, who granted them condi-tional bail. Panjim police hadarrested 16 arrogant private busoperators, who had threatenedjournalists and Director of Trans-port and tried to halt the busservice from Panjim Bus Stand.

Police Inspector RameshGaonkar said that the few of thebus operators who had resortedto strike below Junta House ledby All Goa Private Bus OwnersAssociation General SecretarySudip Tamankar were placedunder preventive arrest.

Two AGPBOA office bearerswho went to Panjim Bus Standand tried to stop the buses fromplying were also arrested byteam of police led by DeputySuperintendent of Police DeuBanavlikar. Police had swunginto action as the protesters hadtried to block Transport DirectorArun Desai earlier and eventhreatened journalists.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, APRIL 21

On the occasion of the Interna-tional Year of Forests 2011 GOA-CAN has called for detaileddiscussion on the Goa State For-est Policy by all elected membersof village panchayats, Zilla Pan-chayats, municipal councils, Dis-trict Planning Committees, gramsabha members, farmers clubs,NGOs and citizens.

The Ministry of Environment& Forests, Government of Indiahad decided that a State ForestPolicy be formulated in line withthe broad principles laid downin the National Forest Policy1988. The present State ForestPolicy 2009 was placed on theTable of the House of the StateAssembly during the monsoonsession 2010 and has now beenpublished in the Goa Govern-

ment Gazette on April 7 and isopen for suggestions for sixtydays ending in the first week ofJune.

GOACAN is of the opinionthat if the State Forest Policyis to be widely discussed thenthe same must be availableon the website of the ForestDepartments as well as trans-lated in Konkani & Marathi,stated Coordinator RolandMartins.

He said the Forest Policy doc-ument is important now in thecontext of the Regional Plan ofGoa, the new CRZ guidelines,the increase illegal mining beingcarried out in Forest areas andthe increase in cases of man-an-imal conflicts.

There are important objec-tives in the policy like joint for-est management, peoples

participation in forestry activi-ties, creation of awarenessamong the public regarding im-portance of flora & fauna, mas-sive public participation withinvolvement of women & chil-dren to protect forests &wildlife, he said, adding it isimportant that the policy iswidely discussed as the strategyin the policy covers eco-tourism,man-animal conflict, conserva-tion of bio-diversity, protectionof mangroves, tackling en-croachments and the conserva-tion of medicinal plants.

He said GOACAN will writeto the Minister for Forests FilipeNeri Rodrigues to ensure thatthe Department takes appropri-ate steps so that the Goa StateForest Policy document is widelydiscussed and debated beforebeing finalized.

Maundy Thursdaycelebrated with religious fervour

HERALD NEWS BUREAU

PANJIM, APRIL 21

Holy (Maundy) Thursday services were celebrated with religiousfervour in parishes all over the State, with the main priest cere-monially washing the feet of 12 persons from the community.

The day, which marks the beginning of the Easter Triduum, wascommemorated by prayer services and masses in churches andchapels all over the diocese.

Archbishop-Patriarch Felipe Neri Ferrao was the main celebrantat the services in Se Cathedral at Old Goa, which were attendedby a large number of faithful.

Elsewhere during the Maundy Thursday services, priests remindedthe faithful that Holy Thursday is the day that commemorates theinstitution of the Eucharist and ministerial priesthood.

They explained that Holy Thursday marked the remembranceof the Last Supper at which Jesus instituted the commemorationof his Passion, fulfilling the Jewish paschal ritual.

During the Mass, the priest ceremonially washed the feet of 12persons to symbolize Jesus who washed the feet of his apostles.

Holy Thursday later ended with the Eucharistic adoration inthe parishes at night, in memory of the Christs agony in theGarden of Gethsemane.

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, APRIL 21

While women activists andNGOs working for women haveupped their ante against DumMaro Dum BJP Mahila Mor-cha which has been rathersilent on the issue this far saythey are tackling the issue in adifferent way.

The BJP National Mahila Mor-cha President Smriti Irani whenquestioned on this issue at apress conference on Thursdayhere, said in February the BJPMahila Morcha had submittedhost of recommendations tothe Minister for Information andBroadcasting Ambika Soni thatthe government must keepcheck on contents of visualmedia and see that women arenot shown in the derogatorymanner.

However, she pointed out thatInformation & Broadcasting Min-ister is yet to respond to theirrecommendations.

In foreign countries suchas Canada, US a federal agencykeeps tab on domestic as wellinternational content of thevisual media, she added whenpointed out that BJP has notjoined forces with othergroups opposing the contro-versial film.

She said the BJP Mahila Mor-cha will definitely take on thechallenge even as she took potshots at Rajya Sabha MP Shan-taram Naik who though raisedthe issue of the controversialfilm at national level, he didnot receive support from hisown party.

The MP should do well to fol-low up the proposal submittedby the BJP to Information andBroadcasting, she said.

DUM MARO DUM

Soni yet to respond to ourrecommendations: BJP

n In February the BJP Mahila Morcha hadsubmitted host of recommendations to theMinister for Information and BroadcastingAmbika Soni that the government must keepcheck on contents of visual media and see thatwomen are not shown in the derogatorymanner. -- Smriti Irani

Child among 5 injured in Balli mishap

The mangled remains of the car which met with a head on collision on NH-17 at Balli. Photo by Santosh Mirajkar

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, APRIL 21

A two-year child was amongstthe five occupants of a car leftinjured in a head on collisionbetween a car and a mini buson the NH-17 at Patem-Balli onThursday evening.

Cuncolim police said theJadav family from Maharashtratraveling in a Uno car was head-ing home from Canacona whenthe vehicle met with the acci-

dent. Ashutosh Jadhav (2), YogitaJadhav, Navnath Jadhav and Nil-ima Jadhav were immediatelyrushed to Hospicio hospital fromwhere they were shifted to theGoa Medical College and hos-pital, Bambolim. Police said thefifth occupant of the ill-fated ve-hicle Santosh Jadhav escapedwith minor injuries.

Cuncolim police said the fiveinjured are presently undergoingtreatment at the GMC hospital.

The impact of the head oncollision was evident by themangled remains of the car.

The accident once againraised the question of the nar-row road at Patem-Balli, with lo-cals calling upon the authoritiesto improve the road to avoidaccidents.

Cuncolim police said a caseunder the Motor Vehicles Actstands registered and that in-vestigations in the case are on.

Decomposed male body found at

Zalor beachHERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, APRIL 21

Colva police on Thursday recov-ered a highly-decomposed bodyof a male person from the Zalorbeach.

PSI Chawan, attached to theColva Police Station, informedthat the deceased might havedied around 20-25 days ago asevident by the decompositionof the body.

He said the body had disin-tegrated with the head andupper portion of the body miss-ing.

The deceased was foundwearing a blue coloured pant.The body was shifted to themortuary for post-mortem ex-amination.

The Colva police are investi-gating.

Mollem man hangs

to death HERALD CORRESPONDENT

COLLEM APRIL 21

A 28-year-old man from Kaju-mal-Mollem committed suicideby hanging himself to the roofof his house on Thursday morn-ing.

According to Collem PI ManojMardolkar, Nilesh KrishnaKhutkar had left behind a notestating that he was ending hislife and that no one should beblamed for his act.

Collem police conducted theinquest and later sent the bodyfor an autopsy at the GMC hos-pital.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, APRIL 21

Hospicio is back in the newsonce again, this time over themortuary, forcing the police andrelatives of the dead to shiftdead bodies to the Goa MedicalCollege and Hospital morguefor want of space in the morgue.

That the mortuary was full tothe brim came to light thismorning when the Colva policeapproached the hospital to pre-serve a dead body pending post-mortem examination. However,the police were told by the au-thorities that the morgue is fulland has no space left to accom-modate any more bodies. Leftwith no option, the Colva policeheaded towards Bambolim topresence decomposed bodysince it was a medico-legal case.

Incidentally, when Herald in-quired with doctors manningHospicios casualty on lateThursday evening on the statusof the morgue, the officialsreplied saying theres no spaceavailable even to accommodateone more body in the 18-unitcapacity mortuary.

When senior Hospicio official,Dr Nasnodkar was contacted forhis comments on the mortuary,

he admitted that the hospitalmorgue is full to its capacity.When the police station in-charge of Margao Police Station,PI Santosh Desai was contactedover the issue, he said that thepolice have not received anycommunication from Hospicioauthorities for the disposal ofthe dead bodies.

Incidentally, this is not thefirst time that the Hospicio mor-tuary has been found packedwith bodies. That dead bodieswere shunted to GMC, Bam-bolim and back for want ofspace at the Hospicio mortuary

has been a routine affair, puttingthe relatives of the dead andthe men-in-uniform to greathardships.

The situation had promptedChief Minister, Digambar Kamatto announce a spacious mortu-ary for Hospicio Hospital lastyear, but the new unit is yet tosee light of the day till date.

Doctors in the know say therising number of unidentifieddead bodies brought to the hos-pital has further compoundedthe problem as these bodies re-quire to be preserved for inves-tigations in medico-legal cases.

Trio hurt in group clashes HERALD REPORTER

VASCO, APRIL 21

Three persons were seriously injured when two gangs clashedwith each other on Tuesday night.

The two rival groups, the Eagle gang led by Arjun (Nani) Naikand the Bichhu gang led by Sandeep (Pepsi) Naik, have been op-erating at Assoi Dongri in Chicalim.

On Tuesday night, the two gangs armed with iron roads, knivesand other weapons clashed with each other, leaving two womenfrom Pepsi side and Nani injured in the incident.

Sandeeps wife Savita lodged a police complaint stating thatNani had stabbed her cousin, Lata and Parashika Naik, and boththem were admitted in the GMC hospital. In a counter complaint,Nanis sister, Supriya Naik, complained that her brother was beatenmercilessly with deadly weapon by family members of Sandeep.

Vasco police informed that both party had clashed with eachother due to previous enmity. Nani had allegedly stabbed LataNaik and Parashika Naik when they had gone his residence tosettle some issue. Nanis sister claims that her brother had retaliatedin self defence, as he was also attacked in the Chicalim CottageHospital. Supriya alleged that Pepsi along with his friends draggedNani from the hospital bad and attacked him in front of police andhospital staff.

Vasco PSI Costa informed that Lata Naik, Parashika Naik andNani were all admitted in the GMC hospital and were not in a po-sition to give a statement to the police. Offences have been reg-istered against Nani under Sections 352, 326 and 307 of IPC, andagainst Sandeep, Seema, Lata, Sanita, Parashika and Madhu Naikunder Sections 143, 148, 324 and 362 r/w 149 IPC.

HERALD REPORTER

VASCO, APRIL 21

Congress General SecretaryRahul Gandhi on Thursday ap-pealed to the youth to transformtheir positive thoughts into na-tion development.

Gandhi was interacting withstudents of BITS Pilani campus,after inaugurating the gold muralof Birla Industries founder Dr K KBirla. On the occasion, the campuswas also renamed as the BITS Pil-lani K K Birla Goa Campus.

In the lively interactive ses-sion following the formal func-tion, Gandhi faced a volley ofquestion from the students ofBITS on topics like corruption,education and challenges beforethe country.

Acknowledging that there isa challenge before the youth intodays political system, Gandhisaid he was making an effort totransform the country by gettingthe youth to participate in activepolitics.

While the media was not per-mitted to cover the event, BITSstudents told Herald that Gandhikept the session very interactive

and answered all questionsposed by the students.

He also tactfully replied toa students query on AnnaHazares fight against cor-ruption.

Earlier, Gandhi was sched-uled to arrive on Thursdaymorning but instead arrivedon Wednesday at about 8.30pm. He spent the night in thenavy guest house Swagat atINS Hansa.

The formal function to unveilthe gold mural of Dr K K Birlawas attended by Prof. B N Jain,Vice Chancellor BITS Pilani, Di-rectors of BITS Pilani/Goa/Hy-derabad/Dubai and familymembers of Birla, including KM Birla, B K Birla, Rajashree Birlaand Shobana Bhartiya. BITS Pi-lani (Goa Campus) StudentsCounci l pres ident Adi tyaChintawar was also present atthe function.

The BITS Pilani auditoriumwas packed to capacity, with anestimated 2000 people attend-ing the rededication ceremony.

Addressing the gathering,Chancellor of BITS Pilani K M

Birla said he had asked RahulGandhi to preside over the func-tion since he represented theyouth power in todays emerg-ing India.

Following the interactive ses-sion, Rahul Gandhi flew back toDelhi at about 2 pm.

Woman held for theft

bid at RaiaHERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, APRIL 21

Alert residents of Raia caughtred handed a woman while try-ing to enter into a residentialhouse on Thursday.

She was later handed over tothe Maina Curtorim policewhere the woman was arrestedfor attempt to commit theft.

Police said Anjali Dodamani,a resident of Margao, was al-legedly caught by the residentswhile she was trying to enter ahouse. The police are investi-gating.

Transform positive thoughts into nation development: Rahul

GOACAN calls for detailed discussion on Forest Policy

Hospicio morgue full, cops told to shift body to GMC

Hot mixingworks

launched atRumdamol

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, APRIL 21

PWD Minister, Churchill Ale-mao on Thursday launchedroad hot mixing works in thejurisdiction of Rumdamol vil-lage Panchayat.

The Minister in the presenceof Rumdamol village Panchayatlaunched the works at an esti-mated cost of Rs 95 lakh. Aroundfive kms of road network inRumdamol will be covered bythe work, Alemao said.

He directed the PWD officialsto take up whatever balancework in the village at the earli-est. There is no illegality in-volved in the hot mixing work.Everything is being done by fol-lowing the procedures, he toldnewsmen.

Mapusa local arrested

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

BELGAUM, APRIL 21

Khanapur police have arresteda Goan on charges of attemptingto sell a two-wheeler stolenfrom Goa.

According to reports, Khana-pur police intercepted the ac-cused Samiullah Rafeeq Khacchiof Mapusa, while he was travel-ling from Goa to Belgaum on amotorcycle without a numberplate.

After he was interrogated bypolice at Karambal Cross nearKhanapur, he admitted to thetheft of the vehicle.

A Hero Honda Splendor mo-torcycle without any numberplate and a Pulsar motorcycle(GA-07-A-4529) were later re-covered from him.

Kala Rangfestival gets underway

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, APRIL 21

The 11th five-day Kala Rang fes-tival of dance, music and theatregot underway at the RavindraBhavan, Margao on Thursday.

The festival was inauguratedat the hands of Anju Timblo inthe presence of Fatorda MLADamu Naik, Director of Art andCulture Prasad Lolienkar, Ravin-dra Bhavan Vice-Chairman Srid-har Kamat and Rajendra Talakof Kalangan.

This year the festival is jointlyorganized by the Departmentof Art and Culture, West ZoneCultural Centre, Ravindra Bha-van, Margao and Kalangaan.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

PORVORIM, APRIL 21

Bowing to the demands of res-idents from Britona, authoritieson Thursday removed the RiverPrincess scrap dumped belowthe Mandovi Bridge at Malim.

It may be recalled that onApril 7, while the assembly wasin session, residents of Britonahad staged an agitation at thesite notified by the Tourism De-partment as a Central Excise no-tified area.

The residents had blockedtraffic to protest against thedumping and cutting of scrapat Malim. Aldona MLA DayanandNarvekar later rushed to the site

and met the agitators.The residents claimed they

were forced to agitate due tothe indifferent attitude of thegovernment in the matter.

They claimed that a delega-tion led by Penha-da-FrancaParish Priest Fr Mario Pereirahad called on Chief MinisterDigambar Kamat to discuss thedumping of scrap at Malim.

Kamat had informed themthat the tourism director andofficials of Goa State PollutionControl Board (GSPCB) wouldmeet them on April 4 and ex-plain to them the matter in de-tail.

Neither the Tourism Director

nor GSPCB officials had metthem and to make mattersworse, the contractor had begunwork to cut the River Princessand began dumping the scrapat Malim.

Narvekar had asked the con-tractor to stop dumping the ma-terial at Malim.

Later, he along with a dele-gation of Britona residentscalled on the chief minister andapprised him of the situation.

Kamat later assured the del-egation that no scrap would bedumped at the site and said thegovernment would respect thesentiments of residents fromBritona.

Authorities remove Princess scrap dumped below Mandovi Bridge

Madel nullahto be ready

before monsoons

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, APRIL 21

Fatorda MLA Damu Naik onThursday assured residents ofMadel ward of Margao Munici-pal Council that ongoing workon the Madel Nullah would becompleted before the onset ofmonsoons.

Visiting the nullah along withconcerned officials, the FatordaMLA expressed his satisfactionover the progress of work despitemany hurdles. I had assured theMadel residents to take up workon the nullah as part of flood con-trol measures. It took me eightyears, but I ensured work on theproject was finally undertaken andcompleted, he said.

The Fatorda MLA told the res-idents that work on the sewer-age project connecting Madelto the Margao sewerage line iscomplete, adding that the sew-erage officials would soon startissuing sewage connections tothe households.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

QUEPEM, APRIL 21

Residents of Cavrem-Quepemon Thursday foiled attempts bya mining contractor and mineowners to start mining trans-portation via Cavrem.

As soon as they were in-formed that mining trans-portation would begin, about100 residents rushed on theroad and stopped the miningtrucks.

It may be recalled that mining

transport from the CavremMaina mine has been stoppedsince April 14 and villagers aredetermined not to allow miningtransport through their village,on grounds that the road is apublic road and not for mining

Cavrem residents stop mining trucks activities.

The v i l lagers have a lsoclaimed that due to mining traf-fic this season, they have suf-fered heavy losses to their cropsand plantations.

In a bid to diffuse the ten-sion on Thursday, QuepemExecutive Magistrate SudinNato along with a Quepempolice team headed by PISudesh Narvekar rushed tothe site.

They were fo l lowed byQuepem Dy Collector AgneloFernandes, Quepem DySP Rohi-das Patre, Canacona PI Raju RautDessai, Curchorem PI BhanudasDessai along with their policeteams.

At around 12.15 pm, a busload of Goa Armed police forcewas also dispatched to the spot.

The officials present re-quested the villagers to allowmining traffic, but the villagerswere adamant and stuck to theirdemands.

Later, the RTO from Quepemwent to the site and took the10 loaded trucks stranded atthe spot to ascertain their ladenweight.

Residents of Cavrem block mining traffic by squatting on the road. Photo by John Fernandes

GOAOHERALD

OPg3

GOA, FRIDAY, 22 APRIL, 2011

Display at- Navelim ChurchVenue : NavelimMobile : 9765555096Date : 23-04-2011

97655598809765555096

Sewerage Corp ropes in BITS Pilani experts to probe River Sal pollution Says sewage plant not source of contamination

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, APRIL 21

Asserting that the Margaosewage treatment plant is notresponsible for the contamina-tion of the River Sal, the GoaSewerage Corporation hasroped in experts from BITS Pilanito inquire into the causes ofriver pollution and suggest re-medial measures to put a stop

to the menace.If official sources are to be

believed, the consultant hasbeen engaged since accusingfingers are pointed at the STPvis--vis contamination of theRiver Sal. Herald understandsthat the consultant has alreadyset in motion testing of the riverwater samples right from theKhareband area down to Betul.

Moreover, water samples havebeen collected of the water nul-lahs originating from the cityand emptying at the KudchadkarHospital as part of the inquiry.

We have been receiving pub-lic complaints that the sewageplant is the source of pollutionof the River. Our stand is thatthe sewage plant has been func-tioning within the parametersset by the Goa State PollutionControl Board, informed GoaSewerage Corporation Chair-man, Ganashyam Shirodkar,while saying that the expertwould give an insight to theriver pollution.

Replying to a question, Shi-rodkar said the STP planthardly treats around 4-5 MLDof sewage when the plant ca-pacity is around 7 MLD. ThePlant has been functioningwithin the GSPCB parametersand specifications, he as-serted.

The Sewerage Corporationchairman, however, admittedthat the discharge of sewagewaters from the city could bethe source of pollution of the

River. It is an admitted fact thatsewage water from Margao findsits way through the ESI and Kud-chadkar water nullahs. This nul-lah empties the waters in theSalpem Lake, which later findits way into River Sal, he added.

Outlining the plan of actionto check discharge of water intothe storm water drains, Shirod-kar said the Sewerage Corpora-tion and JICA has tenderedworks on laying of undergroundsewerage line connecting thesouthern zone of the city to theSTP.

While the Corporation willtake up the work from HariMandir to Chowgule college,JICA has floated tenders forwork in the Colmorod-Calcondaarea, Shirodkar said, addingthat work on the project will betaken up on a war footing withthe government headed by ChiefMinister, Digambar Kamat mak-ing available the required fundsfor the project.

Contaminated water from River Sal entering a water nullah at Sin-quetim-Navelim. Photo by Santosh Mirajkar

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, APRIL 21

Rejecting all objections from theminority community to the pro-posal, the government appearsgoing ahead with the acquisitionof land admesuring 31,000square metres at Sonsodo forthe proposed kabrastan for thecitys Muslim community.

This became evident with theLand Acquisition Officer, Margaoforwarding the file to the Rev-enue Department for sanctionbefore finalizing the award.

Sources in the District Col-lectorate informed that sincethe amount worked out in theaward exceeds the limit set bythe government, the file is sentto the Revenue Department for

sanction. All the formalities under the

Land Acquisition Act standscompleted by the office. Onlythe award remains to the pro-nounced, informed an official.

The land acquisition proceed-ings were initiated by the gov-ernment on the request of theMargao Municipal Council to ac-quire land admeasuring 30,000sq mts at Sonsodo. While partof the land is owned by the Co-munidade of Margao the balanceland belongs to a private party,sources said.

The governments decisionto go ahead with the land ac-quisition proceedings assumessignificance against the back-drop of the opposition by the

Muslim community to the landat Sonsodo.

In fact, a delegation of theMuslim community had lastmonth called on the Chief Min-ister to draw attention of theopposition to the setting up ofthe kabrastan at Sonsodo.

A member of the minoritycommunity, Abdul Matin Carolregretted that the governmentis still going ahead with the landacquisition despite oppositionfrom the minority community.The land at Sonsodo is not ac-ceptable to the Muslim commu-n i ty. The communi ty hascategorically conveyed to theChief Minister that this land willnot be accepted by the Mus-lims, Matin Carol said.

Govt may acquire land for kabrastan at Sonsodo

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, APRIL 21

Goa Police have sought custodialinterrogation of notorious his-tory-sheeter Joe Boy in order toknow the motive behind elimi-nating Home Minister Ravi Naiksson Roy and harming his family.

In its submission to NorthGoa Sessions Judge contestingJoes anticipatory bail, policehave said that one Rajesh Devar,who was arrested for theft case,had confessed during police in-terrogation that Joe had al-legedly mentioned about anoffer through Narulla to harmRoy.

Since the disclosure to elim-inate Home Ministers son hascome to light, the police madeadequate efforts to trace the

Custodial interrogation of Joe Boy soughtapplicant (Joe) to interrogatehim for verification of his in-volvement in the alleged offerto harm ministers son but hecould not be traced. His policecustody is required the affi-davit undersigned by DySP Pand-harinath Mapari reads.

Rajesh confession came afterMichael Fernandes, who was re-cently nabbed from Canaconajungles, in September had con-fessed to accepting supari oftwo crores to kill Roy and harmthe ministers family.

Since then Joe, originallyknown as Jose Lopes was ab-

sconding only to emerge whilefiling anticipatory bail this week.

Rajesh is incidentally a closeassociate of Michael, who inturn belongs from Joes organ-ised crime gang. The Courtwould be pronouncing its ver-dict on the bail application onMonday.

Reeling out a list of his in-volvement in various offencesincluding theft, robbery, threat-ening and other similar offences,Goa Police has sought the Courtto order Joe to surrender beforethe police for custodial interro-gation.

GOAOHERALDO

Pg 4SHORT TAKESUPCOMING EVENTS

Blood is essential to humanbeings, so much so that greatloss needs to be immediatelyreplaced to ensure survival.This article looks at whatmakes blood so special, butlooking at its components andtheir functions carefully.

Blood is a highly special-ized tissue composed ofmany different kinds ofcomponents. Four of themost important onesare red cells, white cells,platelets, and plasma.

The first three components aretypes of cells which remainin suspension in plasma which is a liquid. In anadult man, blood isabout 1/12th of thetotal body weight, andthis corresponds to ap-proximately 5-6 litres.Mathematically, bloodconsists of 55% plasma,and 45% cells.

Red blood cells are rel-atively large micro-scopic cells withoutnuclei. They typicallymake up 40-50% of thetotal blood volume.

Their main function is to transportoxygen from the lungs, to all of theliving tissue of the body and carryaway carbon dioxide. These cellsare produced continually in bonemarrow from stem cells, at a rate ofabout 2-3 million cells per second.

HaemoglobinRed blood cells use haemoglobin totransport gases back and forth fromthe lungs. It is a protein moleculethat makes up about 95% of the cell,as each red cell has about270,000,000 iron-rich haemoglobinmolecules.

A common medical condition,known as anaemia, is caused by adeficiency of red blood cells. This re-sults in paleness, as the red colourof blood is courtesy the red bloodcells in their oxygenated state.

Interestingly, human fetal hemoglo-bin molecules differ from those pro-duced by adults in the number ofamino acid chains. Those present ina fetus have three chains, whileadults produce only two. As a con-sequence, fetal hemoglobin mole-cules attract and transport moreoxygen to the cells of the body.

These cells exist in variable num-bers and types, but nonethelessmake up a very small part of blood'stotal volume. This may be becauseleukocytes are not limited to onlyblood, as they occur elsewhere inthe body as well - most notably inthe spleen, liver, and lymph glands.Like red blood cells, most are pro-duced in bone marrow from thesame kind of stem cells. Others areproduced in the thymus gland,which is located at the base of theneck.

Some white cells (called lympho-cytes) are the first responders forthe immune system. They seek out,identify, and bind to alien protein of

bacteria, viruses, and fungi so thatthey can be removed. Other types ofwhite cells (called granulocytes andmacrophages) then arrive to sur-round and destroy the alien cells.They also have the function of get-ting rid of dead or dying blood cellsas well as foreign matter such asdust and asbestos.

The description of white cells pre-sented here is a simplification, asthere are actually many specializedsub-types that participate in differ-ent ways in our immune responses.

Platelets are cell fragments withoutnuclei that work with blood-clottingchemicals at the site of wounds.They do this by adhering to thewalls of blood vessels, thereby plug-ging the rupture in the vascularwall. They also can release coagu-lating chemicals which cause clotsto form in the blood that can plugup narrowed blood vessels.

Recent research has shown thatplatelets help fight infections by re-leasing proteins that kill invadingbacteria and some other microor-ganisms. In addition, platelets stim-ulate the immune system. Like thered and white blood cells, plateletsare produced in bone marrow fromstem cells.

Plasma is the relatively clear solu-tion which carries red cells, whitecells, platelets, and other chemicals.As the heart pumps blood to cellsthroughout the body, plasma bringsnourishment to them and removesthe waste products of metabolism.

Plasma contains over 4000 differentchemicals, including coagulants,sugars, lipids, vitamins, minerals,hormones, enzymes, antibodies,and other proteins. It is likely thatplasma contains some of every pro-tein produced by the body.

Comments or queries? Bouquets or brickbats? Talk to us!Email Junior Herald at junior@herald-goa.com or join our Facebook fan page

http://www.facebook.com/Herald.Jr. Our readers are invited to rave, rant, chat oreven contribute. No message will go unanswered!

Contact Us:

Biology

The Components of BloodPLASMA

RED CELLS

WHITE CELLS

PLATELETS

Breakdown

Red Cells/Human Erythrocytes

White Cells/Leukocytes

Plasma

Platelets/Thrombocytes

GOA, FRIDAY, 22 APRIL, 2011

Singing contest at Mollem COLLEM (HC): Mahadev Self-Help Group Makadem-Sangod,Mollem, will organise national integration song singing contestfor self help groups from the State in the premises of MahadevTemple, Makadem on April 23 at 6 pm.

Cash prizes of Rs 4,000, Rs 3,000 and Rs 2,000 will beawarded to the best three groups.

For details, contact Vinanti Khutakar on 9420975163 orVishranti Gaonkar on 0832-2612575.

Workshop for head of schoolPANJIM (HNB): Nirmala Institute of Education, Altinho-Panjim,will conduct a half-day workshop for headmasters/headmistressof the primary section on Using Open Source Software forEducation on May 7 from 2 pm to 5 pm.

The heads of institutions are invited to discuss variouspossibilities of using this software and its benefits at the pri-mary school level.

The software Sugar can be installed on the existing PCsin the computer labs. A pilot project using Sugar is underwayat our Lady of Merces High School for the 3rd and 4th stan-dard.

Interested heads of institutions may kindly register them-selves by May 1 on 2225633.

Facial deformity treatment camp

PANJIM (HND): Cape Crano facial foundation in Associationwith Apollo Victor Hospital, Margao will be conducting cleftlip, palate and facial deformity camp on April 25 from 10 amto 1 pm. A team of doctors headed by Surgeon Dr SunilRichardson who is specialized in facial surgery of internationalrepute will be available at the camp. There will be free con-sultation for all patients with all types of facial deformitiesincluding cleft lip and palate. Poor patients with cleft andpalate deformities will be selected for free surgery.

St Marys holds raffle drawPORVORIM (HC): The raffle draw of St Mary's High School,Mapusa, was conducted on Wednesday in the presence ofPTA President Nilkant Raul, School Manager Sr Eunacia andHeadmistress Sr Namika.

The winners of the raffle are AA/97/8 S A Dure (IFB washingmachine), K/39/20 Reisha D'Cunha (Whirpool fridge), I/20/12Shankar Mahale (IFB microwave), L/14/3 Prafulla Desai (vacuumcleaner), M/14/18 Ananda Khalap (Crompton Greaves mixer),B/22/16 Ziyaan Hajaman (iron) and L/45/3 Arthur Viegas (iron).

the highest number of raffles was sold by a student MacklynPaul.

Students along with parents who sold the highest numberof raffles were also present on the occasion.

Bayer study tour to GermanyPANJIM (HND): Young environmentalists can share details oftheir activities and win a trip to Germany under the BayerYoung Environmental Envoy Programme 2011. Two studentswill be chosen to represent India along with youth delegatesfrom other countries on an all-expense paid study trip to Ger-many from October 16 to 21. The week long study trip, willgive students an opportunity to gain firsthand experience ofenvironmental protection practices adopted by the company,people and government in industrialized countries.

The programme is open to all Indian students of 18 24years, holding a valid passport and actively involved in acurrent or completed environmental project. Further detailson the criteria, joining procedures and application forms areavailable on the India section of www.bayeryoungenvoy.com/en.The last date for submission of entries is June 15, 2010.

Urdu calligraphy workshop held

VALPOI (HC): United Education Society, Valpoi, ChairmanShaikh Suleman Karol has stated that Urdu calligraphy is aunique style of writing and has encouraged workshops onUrdu calligraphy which will help students improve their writingskills.

Karol was recently speaking as the chief guest at the inau-gural function of Urdu calligraphy writing workshop organizedby Creative Association Valpoi at Unity High School, Valpoi.

Headmasters Ismail Khan (Urdu Primary and Middle SchoolValpoi), Mustufa Aga (Unity High School, Valpoi), Riyaz Jamadar(Government High School, Shelpe), President of Creative As-sociation Fehmida Khan, resource person Sattar, Vice PresidentSayyad Sarfaraz, Mufti Noor Mohammad, Abdulla khan andFaiyaz Ahmed were present.

Earlier, Fehmida Khan delivered the welcome note andbriefed the aims and objectives of the association. SwalehaKausar compered the programme, while Imran Inamdar pro-posed the vote of thanks.

About 60 students from all over Valpoi participated in thetwo-day workshop.

Nitranjali school annual day held

Shaikh Suleman Karol addresses the students at Valpoi. Photo by Ashraf Khan

PANJIM (HND): Nitranjali Dance School recently celebratedits annual day and inauguration of newly formed society atSavitri Hall, Ponda. Home Minister Ravi S Naik who was thechief guest inaugurated the function in presence of guest ofhonour, Devendra Dhavalikar of Vishwakamal Travels, Ponda.

Ravi S Naik informed the audience about the variousschemes and grants of the government for the promotion ofdance and other cultural activities locally as well as interna-tionally, available to public, which normally people are notaware of. He also disclosed that Government is contemplatingto hike the financial aid and increase the number of schemesfor promotion of such social activities and urged people makeuse of the same.

Students and teacher Kalamandalam Sabhitha S Kumar,Gold medallist and a graduate in Indian classical dance en-thralled the audience with some breathtaking performances.

Workshop held for studentsPANJIM (HNB): CLAPS India (Club Leadership and Personalityfor Students) conducted a two-day open personality buildingworkshop in Vasco, Margao, Panjim, Mapusa and Ponda forschool students.

The workshop was conducted for students from LKG toStd X divided in two categories. The programme was con-ducted and organised by CLAPS school members. The eventaimed to give the participants a chance to enhance their con-fidence and display their talent through the relevant exer-cises.

The event was also designed to help the organising schoolstudents to develop event management and leadership skills.The programme included personality sessions on leadershipand creativity, team games, group contests, theme drawing,personality challenges and advertisement designing.

The event was conducted at Rotary Club Hall (Vasco), SportsAuthority of Goa Hall (Panjim), BPS Club (Margao), MapusaResidency (Mapusa) and IMA Hall (Ponda). The event endedon April 18 with certificates presented to the participants bysenior CLAPS school members.

The programme included PowerPoint presentations byschool students on key areas of youth leadership, smart think-ing, positive attitude, Himalayan trekking, time managementand anger management.

Home Minister Ravi S Naik speaks at the annual day functionof Nitranjali Dance School at Ponda.

HERALD CORRESPONDENTPORVORIM, APRIL 21

Fire broke out in the electricitybox of a transformer nearDhakuli Hotel in Mapusa Marketrecently.

After being alerted about thefire, a team of five fire personnelof Mapusa fire station led byShamu Madgaonkar rushed tothe site with the fire tender. Asthere was no crowd in the mar-ket, the fire personnel couldreach the site immediately.

Since the power supply wason, the fire personnel could notuse water to extinguish the fire,but instead had to use carbondioxide and doused off the firewithin five minutes. The causeof the fire is suspected to be ashort circuit.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena in apress note blamed Mapusa Mu-nicipal Council (MMC) for theincident and demanded that alltransformers in the market beisolated by way of fencing orrailings and all the bases oftransformers be cleared of allencroachments.

Shiv Sena Ad-hoc member

Philip DSouza stated that thefire that broke out on Thursdaymorning in the Mapusa marketcould have been a bigger disas-ter if it had to happen at nightand during peak market hoursbecause the fire brigade wouldnot have reached near the siteof fire incident.

DSouza further stated thatShiv Sena, which has been ac-tively and forcefully followingup with MMC about garbage-related issues, had brought tothe notice of the council aboutbases of transformers beingused as garbage bins and trans-formers being encroached byhawkers.

We had also petitioned theElectricity Department to repairall broken doors of transformersin the market and get all trans-formers painted and highlightdanger warning signs and sym-bols on it, states the press note.

However, this is yet to hap-pen. We hope the authoritieswill take todays incidence as awake-up call and attend to theproblem on a war footing, addsthe press note.

Fire breaks out in transformer at Mapusa

Fire personnel douses off the fire in Mapusa Market. Photo by Anil Shankhwalker

HERALD NEWS DESKPANJIM, APRIL 21

The Federation of Film Fraternityof Goa has condemn the appoint-ment of the CEO of the Enter-tainment Society of Goa ManojSrivastava on the Committee ap-pointed by the Governmentunder the Chairmanship of In-formation Secretary to examinethe content of the Hindi filmDum Maro Dum slated to re-lease on April 22.

The federation strongly feelsthat the appointment of Srivas-tava is unjust as he, during histhree year tenure at ESG hasdone more harm to the reputa-tion of the ESG in particular and

Goa in general, than what DumMaro Dum is likely to do to theimage of the State, states a pressrelease issued here.

The Federation has statedthat it has information underRTI which exposes the misdeedsof the CEO-ESG who has timeand again not only misled thepeople of the State but has alsoprovided the Legislative Assem-bly with manipulated and falseinformation.

Federation has demandedthat the CEO of ESG, in light ofinformation received under RTI,should be immediately relievednot only from the committeebut also from the post of the

ESG CEO. Arnaldo D'Costa, President of

the Federation has stated thatthe federation would providethe Chief Minister DigambarKamat and officials concernedwith documentary evidence onthe scams of Manoj Srivastava.The federation has also urgedthe Chief Minister not to allowCEO-ESG to go ahead with hisproposal of performances ofRussian dancers on the seventhanniversary of ESG scheduledon May 7 as it will oppose thesame and has demanded thatGoans should be given oppor-tunity to perform on the occa-sion.

Appointment of on SrivastavaDum committee condemned

HERALD NEWS DESKPANJIM, APRIL 21

Goa Shopping Festival exhibitionwhich is underway for the firsttime at Mapusa will be held tillApril 25 from 10.30 am to 9 pm.

The exhibition showcases var-ious products like imported jew-ellery, Lotus World furniture,wooden sofa sets, electronics,melamine crockery sets, induc-tion cookers, Onxy stones fromPakistan, furniture for all indoorand outdoor settings, ladiesfashion garments, importedproducts, home appliances,toys, iron furniture, beauty prod-ucts, furnishings and more.

Shopping festunderwayin Mapusa

Shoppers selecting their favourite items at the Mapusa shopping festival.

HERALD NEWS DESKPANJIM, APRIL 21

Discipline is the basic and im-portant insignia of our life. Dis-cipline directs the success of anindividual in any sphere of lifesaid MP South Goa, FranciscoSardinha while speaking as thechief guest at the awards dis-tribution ceremony organisedby the Bharat Scouts and Guides,Goa State recently at Immacu-late Conception Church Hall,Panjim. He also promised to un-

dertake developmental work atthe Tambdi Surla Campsiteunder MPLADS (Member Parlia-ment Local Area DevelopmentScheme) in the current financialyear.

The chief guest presentedBob-a-Job awards for scouts andguides for highest earnings atthe District and State Level, Healso presented Long Serviceawards for scoutmasters andguide-captains who have put inmore than 10 years of dedicated

Discipline basic insignia of life: Sardinha

service in the Movement. Late Baba Sukthankar Award

for Best Scouter was awardedto Scout Master Thomas C Fer-nandes and The Best Guideraward to guide Captain RitaAfonso.

Outstanding Units Award forthe schools which conductedactivities in school and partici-pated at the District, State, Re-gional and National Level waspresented to Bhagwati H- Pedne,Mahalaxmi HS - Kudne, O LGrace HS - Bicholim, St MichaelsHS - Anjuna, St Theresa HS -Candolim, GS Amonkar Vidya-mandir - Mapusa, Dayanand HS

- Chorao, St Ritas HS - MainaCurtorim, Adarsh HS - Margao,Keshav Smur t i HS - A l toDabolim, Murgaon HS - Vasco,Immaculate conception HSDabal and New Edn Institute -Curchorem. Outstanding Dis-trict Award for conductingvarious activities for Scouts andGuides was bagged by SalcetteDistrict while Marmagoa districtand Bardez district were placedsecond and third respectively.

President of The BharatScouts and Guides, Dr Wilfredde Sousa, Vice President, Dr Syd-ney Pinto Do Rosario, Vice-Pres-ident, RG Desai and State ChiefCommissioner, PR Nadkarniwere also present.

State Commissioner forScouts, Adv Vinayak Narvenkar-welcomed, State SecretaryJames Fernandes gave a briefreport of activities and later pro-posed Vote of thanks. The Stu-dents of Navy Children School,Vasco and St Theresa HS, Can-dolim showcased their musicaltalents. The function was com-pered by Rita Afonso.

PANJIM (HND: Konkan Railway incoordination with Southern Rail-way, will run a special train be-tween Naga rco i l andGandhidham on April 21 to clearextra rush of passengers duringthe Summer. The train 06060 willdepart from Nagarcoil at 7.25am and arrive at Gandhidham at2 pm on third day.

The train will halt at Trivan-drum, Kollam, Kayankulam,Chengannur, Tiruvella, Kottayam,Ernakulam Town, Aluva, Thrisur,Shoranur Jn, Tirur, Kozhikkode,Vadakara, Thalasery, Kannur,Kasaragod, Mangalore Jn, Thokur,Udupi, Kundapura, Karwar,Sawantwadi Road, Ratnagiri,Chiplun, Roha, Panvel, Vasai Rd,Valsad, Surat, Vadodara, Anand,Ahmedabad, Viramgam, Dhara-gadhra and Samakhaiyali.

Summer trains

Restricted water supplyPANJIM (HND): There will be no water supply to entire Bardez andpart of Bicholim Taluka on April 26 and there will be restrictedwater supply on April 27 due to proposed shutdown of entire As-sonora water treatment plant for maintenance on April 26 from 7am to 7 pm.

Water may be requisitioned by tankers from OCoqueiro watertank and Dattawadi Mapusa by contacting personally or by calling2417721/2262374. The department regrets inconvenience likelyto be caused.

INDIAOHERALDO

Pg 5GOA, FRIDAY, 22 APRIL, 2011

Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee addressing an election rally in Kolkata on Thursday.

PTI

NEW DELHI, APRIL 21

"Merit, capability and qualityshould matter more than mereseniority". This is the messagefrom Prime Minister ManmohanSingh to the civil servants whowere asked to be innovative tomeet newer challenges.

"The need to re-fashion ourCivil Services as effective instru-ments for delivery of servicesand as agents of improved gov-ernance is an ongoing process.The aim should be to evolvenew and imaginative solutionsfor the problems facing us", hetold the senior bureaucrats as-sembled for the Civil ServicesDay here.

Obser v ing that successwould, to a large extent, dependupon a cultural change in theCivil Services, he said, "Excessive

caution, reliance on precedentsand following the beaten pathhave to give way to innovationand inventiveness and to tryingout new methods".

Singh said that the civil ser-vants need to continuously up-date themselves to deal withthe newer challenges. Peoplevalue the work done by honestand dedicated civil servants andlook up to them, the Prime Min-ister said, adding the core ofthe Civil Services was sound androoted in values of integrity andfair play.

"It is a pity that instances ofindividual waywardness, of lackof moral courage, and of sur-render to pressures and temp-tations tarnish the image of theCivil Services and lead to im-mense criticism and dissatisfac-tion", he said.

Be innovative, PMtells civil servants

PTI

GANDHINAGAR, APRIL 21

In a setback to BJP in general and Gujaratchief minister Narendra Modi in partic-ular, Congress on Thursday won 18 outof 33 seats that went to polls on April19 for the newly-constituted GandhinagarMunicipal Corporation (GMC).

The maiden contest for 33 GMC seatswas a keenly-contested battle betweenruling BJP and opposition Congress as

Gandhinagar parliamentary seat has beenrepresented by senior BJP leader Lal Kr-ishna Advani.

Senior Congress leader Narhari Amin,ecstatic after the final tally of 18 and 15between Congress and BJP respectively,said "The people of Gandhinagar havevoted against the Modi government.Congress has started year 2011 withhoisting victory flag in state capital Gand-hinagar."

This is the beginning of end to Modirule and will be reflected in 2012 assem-bly polls. GMC elections have indicatedthat people want change, he said.

116 candidates contested for 33 seatsspread across 11 wards of the civicbody which was formed following theGujarat high court order of September17, 2009.

Gandhinagar was a notified area ad-ministered by the state government

before it announced formation of themunicipal corporation on March 17,2010.

Out of 8 municipal corporations ofthe state, Congress is now ruling twowhile BJP in six.

Sixty percent polling was registeredfor the civic poll that passed off almostpeacefully, barring a stray incident of averbal spat between the Congress andBJP worker.

Setback to Modi, Cong wins Gandhinagar civic poll

PTI

MUMBAI, APRIL 21

Notwithstanding the Centresdecision to hand over the 2008Malegaon blast probe to the Na-tional Investigation Agency, theMaharashtra Anti-TerrorismSquad on Thursday filed acharge sheet alleging that Ab-hinav Bharat activist PraveenMutalik was the key conspiratorin the bombings that left sixpeople dead.

Praveen Mutalik, who is in hisearly 30s, was arrested by theATS on January 31, 2011 fromGokak town in Belgaum districtof Karnataka after evading policefor over two years. (He is notrelated to Pramod Muthalik ofthe Sri Ram Sene).

Praveen Venkatesh Takalkialias Praveen Mutalik has beencharged with various sectionsof IPC, Explosive Substances Act,Maharashtra Control of Organ-ised Crime Act (MCOCA) and Un-lawful Activities (Prevention) Act,1967.

The 305-page charge sheetclaims that he had worked as apersonal secretary to Lt. Colonel

Shrikant Prasad Purohit, a keyaccused in the case, for threemonths before the blast. Lt. Col.Purohit is in judicial custodynow.

The charge sheet, which hasbeen filed despite the NIA plan-ning to register a fresh case, hasclaimed Praveen Mutalik as animportant link in the criminalconspiracy to trigger blasts inMalegaon, a town famous forits power-loom industry.

It alleged that Praveen Muta-lik assembled bombs and theirfuses at the behest of Lt ColPurohit.

Alleging that Praveen Mutalikhad got training on how to as-semble bombs, the ATS hascharged him with aiding andabetting the crime. It has listed40 witnesses in the charge sheetagainst Mr. Praveen Mutalik.

The Maharashtra ATS had ear-lier claimed that on September22, 2008, Praveen Mutalik hadtaken keys of the rented roomof Sudhakar Chaturvedi (37), an-other arrested accused in thecase, where the explosive de-vices were assembled.

Malegaon blast:ATS files indictment

Tarumitra (friends of trees) celebrating marriage ceremony of tree-and-well at Tarumitra Ashram, Dighain Patna, on the Earth Day on Thursday.

PTI

AHMEDABAD, APRIL 21

The Gujarat High Court todayissued a contempt notice to Ad-ditional Chief Secretary (Home)Balwant Singh for non-compli-ance of its order on transferringin time three senior police offi-cials involved in the Ishrat Jehanencounter case.

A Division Bench of JusticesJayant Patel and Abhilasha Ku-

mari asked the state govern-ment why the officers werenot transferred on time de-spite directions from the courtduring the two previous hear-ings.

The High Court issued a no-tice saying, "Why contempt ofcourt proceedings against ACSBalwant Singh, who is headingHome Department, should notbe initiated." The court asked

the top officer to file a reply byMay 11.

The court had twice told thegovernment to transfer IPS of-ficers P P Pandey, G L Singhaland Tarun Barot, who were in-volved in the encounter of Mum-bai girl Ishrat and three othersin 2004. They were finally trans-ferred on Wednesday just a daybefore the court hearing in thecase.

The court also allowed IPS of-ficer Karnail Singh, who is head-ing the Special InvestigationTeam (SIT) in the Ishrat case, torelinquish his responsibilities asthe chief of the High Court-ap-pointed agency. Singh had ex-pressed his desire to step downas SIT chief as he has beenposted to Mizoram.

The court also observed thatthere is material on record

which shows that there has beeninterference in the probe andwitnesses have been manipu-lated.

The three senior police offi-cials are connected with theshootout of Ishrat and threeothers - Javed Sheikh aliasPranesh Pillai, Amjad Ali Ranaand Zeeshan Johar - on the out-skirts of Ahmedabad on June15, 2004.

Ishrat Jehan case: Gujarat HC raps Modi government

Salve recuses himself from mining cases

PTI

NEW DELHI, APRIL 21

Senior advocate Harish Salve,who is assisting the SupremeCourt as an amicus curiae inenvironment matters, on Thurs-day recused himself from ap-pearing in the cases relating toillegal mining in Bellary forestarea of Karnataka and AndhraPradesh.

Salve sought to dissociatehimself from the matter by in-forming a special forest benchheaded by Chief Justice S.H. Ka-padia that he had earlier rep-resented some mining firmswhich have been indicted bythe expert committee for car-rying out illegal operations.

The bench, also comprisingjustices Aftab Alam and K S Rad-hakrishnan, accepted Salvesplea and adjourned the matterin which it was to deliver in-terim orders.

Salve has been amicus curiaefor the apex court-appointedCentral Empowered Committee(CEC) since 1996.

On April 15, the CEC had sub-mitted a report before the apexcourt finding large-scale illegalmining in Karnataka, particu-larly in Bellary forest region, inconnivance with officials andpoliticians, after which the apexcourt sought a response fromthe state government.

In the report, the CEC hadsaid Karnataka government hasfailed to take any action againstthe massive illegal mining whichcontinued in 2009-10 despite areport by state Lokayukta.

Bellary region assumes im-portance because of the busi-ness o f power fu l m in ingmagnates and politicians Reddybrothers.

AGENCIES

PATNA, APRIL 21

Bihar Chief Minister NitishKumar today claimed that theCentre had acknowledged theuse of term Mahadalits for theextremely backward, whose con-dition his government was com-mitted to develop.

"I am happy that the term Ma-hadalit is now being used andhas been accepted by the Na-tional Advisory Council (NAC)led by UPA chairperson SoniaGandhi ... NAC has identifiedthe word and states should alsoaccept it for the uplift of Ma-hadalits," he told a function or-ganised to mark the 120th birthanniversary of Baba Saheb Bhim-rao Ambedkar.

"When I coined the word 'Ma-

hadalit', people vehemently op-posed it and even knocked thedoor of National SC/ST Commis-sion and the judiciary," Kumarsaid apparently referring to theopposition by LJP-RJD combinewhich had accused him of heap-ing 'insult' on Dalits.

The NAC, he said, was con-sidering a proposal for enactingfood security legislation and itsdocuments mention Mahadalitsfor the below poverty line peo-ple being extremely backwardsamong the Dalits.

The chief minister announcedthat tola sevaks posted at theupliftment centres in Mahadalittolas would soon be gettinghiked mandays of Rs 3,000 permonth from Rs 2,000 per month.

The state government would

also accord top priority to seeBihar in the list of top five statesin terms of literacy by 2021 cen-sus.

"I am satisfied with the paceand progress in the literacy ratethe state has achieved so far ...According to the final figuresavailable in 2011 census in India,there has been significant andsatisfactory progress in termsof literacy, but we have to domore."

The state government wouldgive coupons to Dalits for pur-chasing radios, he said andasked private firms to organisefairs for ensuring sale of radiosat appropriate price.

Official sources said therewere a number of developmentand welfare schemes like MN-

REGA, Indira Awas in operationin Bihar aimed at alleviation ofthe condition of Dalits and Ma-hadalits but the intended ben-eficiaries were apparentlyunaware of such schemes.

It has been, therefore, de-cided to launch communityradio service, part of MahadalitMission programme on experi-mental basis to make themaware of their rights and variousschemes for them, which is thethrust of Chief Minister's JeevanDristi Yojana, the sources said.

Agencies implementing thecommunity radio service will tieup with radio manufacturers fordistribution of equipment at acamp to those registered withthe concerned department, thesources added.

Centre has acknowledged Mahadalit: Nitish

PTI

NEW DELHI, APRIL 21

The Supreme Court todaysought Karnataka governmentsresponse on the bail plea of PDPleader Abdul Nasser Maudany,an accused in 2008 Bangaloreserial blasts case, with the pre-siding judge wondering how awheel chair-bound person couldpose a threat if released on bail.

A Bench o f J u s t i ce sMarkandeya Katju and GyanSudha Misra asked the State torespond within a week andposted the matter for April 29.

Two persons were killed and20 injured when serial blastsrocked Bangalore city in ninelocations in 2008.

During the brief hearing, Jus-tice Katju wondered how a per-son whose leg is amputated andlives with the help of wheel chair

SC seeks Karnatakas responseon Maudanys bail plea

could pose a threat if grantedbail.

However, Just ice Misrapointed out that the accusedwas facing the serious chargeof being involved in the blastswhich claimed lives.

Sen io r counse l Shan t iBhushan, appearing for Mau-dany, claimed that the accusedwas innocent and had beenfalsely implicated.

The bench then sought theState governments response on

the bail plea. On February 11, the Kar-

nataka High Court had rejectedMaudanys plea on the groundthat if bail was granted to himit would put the security of thestate and the nation in jeopardy.

But the High Court directedjail authorities to take steps toensure that the health conditionof Maudany, who is disabled andsuffering from different ail-ments, does not deteriorate andhe is given necessary medicalhelp.

No negotiations on Jaitapur: Ajit Pawar

AGENCIES

MUMBAI, APRIL 21

Ridiculing Shiv Senas opposi-tion to the Jaitapur nuclearpower project, MaharashtraDeputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawartoday said the party should notexpect any negotiations fromthe government.

"It is usually expected by apolitical party that the con-cerned government or the com-pany would negotiate with itfollowing the protest. But Jaita-pur is the Centre's project andno one would come from theCentre to talk to them (Sena),"Pawar said at a press conferencehere. He appealed to Sena tostop the agitation against theproject.

Chief Minister Prithviraj Cha-van said that he was open todiscussion, but there was noneed to reconsider the project.

Centre, states to get tough against sex

determinationPTI

NEW DELHI, APRIL 21

Alarmed over the decliningchild-sex ratio in the country,the Centre and state govern-ments have decided on a slewof measures, including monitor-ing use of ultrasound machinesand setting up state inspectioncommittees to check pre-natalsex determination.

The decisions was taken at ameeting yesterday chaired byUnion Health Secretary K Chan-dramouli and attended by seniorhealth ministry officials of 17states and Union Territories,which have skewed sex ratio.

Chandramouli stressed uponthe states to strictly implementthe provisions of the PC andPNDT Act. He noted that moreneeds to be done at local levelto ensure stringent actionagainst pre-natal sex determi-nation.

The secretary said he wouldsoon be taking up the matterwith Chief Secretaries of thestates to involve the district ad-ministration for the enforcementof the law, official sources said.

Among the other issues dis-cussed in the meeting wereidentification and mapping ofdistricts to find reasons forskewed child sex-ratio, inter-state coordination mechanismfor regulating activities of ultra-sound clinics in border districts,status of enforcement of PC andPNDT Act, monitoring and in-spections of ultrasound clinicsat district, sub-district level.

Congress leader

criticises Pawar PTI

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, APRIL 21

Coming down heavily on UnionAgriculture Ministry for its "pro-endosulfan" stand, senior Con-gress leader V M Sudheern todayalleged that Agriculture MinisterSharad Pawar was 'playing a de-laying tactics' to evade the banof the pesticide when such de-mand was increasing across thecountry.

Talking to reporters here, heasked the Centre to take astrong stand against the pesti-cide at Stockholm Conventionbegining from April 25.

Teacher held for outraging

modestyPTI

BERHAMPUR, APRIL 21

A teacher in the state-runDibakar Patnaik Institute of Ad-vanced Studies in Education(DPIASE) at Kanishi, on the out-skirts of the town, has been ar-re s ted on the cha rge o foutraging the modesty of a girlstudent of the institute.

We arrested him at about7.30 pm yesterday and for-warded him to the court subdivisional police officer (Sadar)Gagarini Mohanty said.

A criminal case was registeredagainst the teacher at Golan-thara police station in Ganjamdistrict on the basis of an FIRlodged by the girl student.

PTI

NEW DELHI, APRIL 21

The Delhi High Court today dis-missed a plea of former MP D PYadav's son Vikas Yadav, servinglife term for killing his sister'sfriend in February 2002, to par-ticipate in a family function to-morrow ahead of his brother'smarriage on April 29.

Dismissing Vikas's plea to par-ticipate in the 'kirtan' (prayer)function at Ghaziabad, the court,however, said it would consideron Monday his plea to attendother functions, including 'la-gan', and marriage ceremonyhere in Delhi.

A division bench of justicesA K Sikri and M L Mehta said"we decline to allow you to at-tend tomorrow's function, whichwould be held outside Delhi,but we may consider your pleato attend other rituals for yourbrother's marriage." The courtadjourned the matter for furtherhearing on Monday.

Vikas' plea seeking bail forthree months to attend hisbrother Kunal's marriage sched-uled on April 29 and other familyfunctions, linked to the marriageceremony, was opposed by Delhigovernment's standing counselSanjiv Bhandari who suggestedgranting him a few hours of pa-

SC rejects Vikas Yadavs plea for attending family function

role to attend some of the im-portant functions linked to mar-riage.

In his plea, Vikas had also saidthat he would like to meet hisgrand father who, being the sen-ior most family member, wouldperform the marriage ceremony.

On April 7, the bench had di-rected the Delhi police to takeVikas under escort from 8 pmto 10 pm to attend Kunal's en-gagement ceremony on April 14held in Hotel Hyaatt Regency inhere.

In May 2008, a city court hadsentenced Vikas, 37, and hiscousin Vishal, 36, for killing Ni-tish Katara, son of an IAS offi-cer.

According to the prosecution,Vikas and Vishal had kidnappedKatara from a marriage party inGhaziabad on February 16,2002, night and killed him asthey were against Katara's inti-macy with their sister BharatiYadav.

Goas garbage: Do a SuratAnthony Dias, Margao

With rising opposition from people for lo-cating dumping sites in their vicinities, andcomplacency of the government in findingsolution to the problem, it appears, thatGoans will have to wait for an epidemic tobreak, to realise the importance of havingstable machinery for treating garbage. Thelack of waste management infrastructurefor both hazardous and ordinary waste inGoa is shocking, shameful and inexcusable.Goa is sitting on a time bomb and is headingthe Surat way.

In September 1994, Surat was wreckedby bubonic plague that claimed hundredsof lives and led to a huge exodus of its cit-izens. But Surat bounced back and went

on to become the second cleanest Indiancity post 1994.

Let us learn from the Surat lesson. Wakeup Goa, before it is too late.

Lollipops at KhariwadoAugusto Monteiro, Loutolim

This is on the matter of Khariwado at Vasco.It is no doubt a place vulnerable to anti-social activities given that the entire placeis a huge slum inhabited mostly by mi-grants.

For me, my country, its interests and es-pecially its security is more important thanthrowing lollipops to garner votes. It is,therefore, necessary before arriving at anydecision on the subject of Khariwado thata study of detailed scrutiny of the inhabi-tants and their mode and type of activitiesshould be ascertained.

As a matter of security, under no cir-cumstances, the Central Reserve Policeforce should be replaced not only at Khari-wado but the entire sea coast should behanded for security watch to the Centralpolice. I also request those in responsiblegovernance not to trade security of thecountry for a bunch of votes. Therefore,indiscipline and violation of existing lawsshould not be allowed to be violated asthat sort of behaviour leads to anarchy.Therefore, all illegal houses should be dealtwith as per existing rules so that everyoneconcerned gets a clear message: that ille-galities and anti-national and anti-socialactivities will not be tolerated.

This is a temporary breakDr Hubert Gomes, Benaulim

Since the last few weeks I have been de-voting a lot of time for the Benaulim SAGground issue.

For me it is a purely sports issue, andtherefore do not want to bring politics intoit. I am seeking justice in my personal ca-pacity as a resident of Benaulim, a sportslover and director of Benaulim based BCCFootball. I have intentionally taken a short(temporary) "break from politics to sortout the above issue, and will be joining apolitical party shortly thereafter.

It is the people of Benaulim who havebrought me into politics, and as long as I

have their blessings and "open support", Iwill certainly contest the forthcoming elec-tions.

Dr Hubert and BenaulimArwin Mesquita, UAE

I am not sure what Dr Huberts final decisionis with regards to politics, as he had an-nounced his decision to leave politics tem-porarily. The bottom line is that highlyliterate Benaulim has been ruled by themost dubious/corrupt/tainted politiciansfor a very long time. The current deterio-rating state of Benaulim is there for all tosee. We need qualified, distinguished, re-spected and untainted people to rise upin Benaulim, to give this constituency somehope or recovery and being restored to itstrue potential. The announcement by DrHubert only gives an excuse to the peopleof Benaulim to bring back the anti-Goansforces by stating that there is no goodchoice of people to vote for!

Calm down Dr HubertAllwyn George, Carmona

The news of Dr Hubert temporarily quitting

active politics is worth analysing. He seemsto be lacking the charisma of a populistleader and expects the people to rally be-hind him simply because he is a Be-naulimkar by birth. He has to calm downand lower his ego and learn the conceptof a dirty Goan politician. Winning peopleshearts can be learnt from his opponentswho have mastered the art over the years. He has to pursue issues which are dear tothe people and make his focus on the entireconstituency rather than only Benaulim.The real reason for his hurried decisionwe might never know. Dr Hubert has torealise that he is just a small fish in a seainfested with killer sharks on the prowl.

All are corruptMarcos Alemao, by email

I do not understand why Mickky Pachecois pointing a finger only to Churchill Alemao.Are there no other ministers who are morecorrupt than the PWD Minister as assertedby Pacheco? (Herald, 20 April). A nursesjob commands a handsome price. Thatwould mean the minister in charge ofHealth portfiolio is also corrupt. No actionhas been taken of the police drugs nexus

cases by the Home Minister. Is he not cor-rupt? The entire team of ministers are acorrupt lot. So why point a finger at onlyone of them?

Who cares for the future?Freddy Agnelo Fernandes, Dubai

Some assumptions have been made withregard to the source of tar balls on thebeaches and if they are right, it exposesthe pathetic attitude of our authorities to-wards our environment, our marine lifeand the welfare of coastal Goans at large.If most of the far eastern countries thinkthat their coasts and marine environmentis so very precious to them, why do ourauthorities fail to see the light of day? Isntour environment and our coast of equalimportance?

It certainly looks like our authorities areonly interested in furthering their ownagendas rather than protect our environ-ment and take care of the welfare of Goans.This attitude sounds like like the Doris Daysong of yesteryear Que Sera Sera, Whateverwill be, will be. The futures not ours to see

Dum maro dum remarks Annand Madgavkar, by email

It is, indeed, sad that some commentsmade in a commercial movie by an actorwho is playing a role in a movie and sayinggirls are cheaper than alcohol in Goa isreason enough for people to protest andwaste their time saying Goa is being por-trayed as a bad place etc.

For Petes sake, this is a movie. Thereare characters in it who are good, bad,ridiculous and a story that is corny, perhapsstupid and lines are given to characterswhich add spice to the general theme ofthe movie. This is not a documentary onGoa.

So what are we making this hue and cryabout Goa being wrongly presented? Andbad characters are supposed to say bad, un-true things. But that is not the point.

This is about freedom of speech, freedomof expression, the right of an individual tomake a movie, with all sort of characters andlines and there are censors to decide if any-thing should be cut out. Leave it to them.

Rewind to a couple of decades and one wouldindeed find, scores of Anna Hazares acrossGoa. It was said that if one blindly threw a

stone, it would fall either on the Holy Cross oron a Tavern (Bar). However, despite the unbeliev-able density of the bars, what astonished thetourists, the visitors was the absence of drunkardsor persons fallen on the roads, after gettingheavily intoxicated.

To an average Goan, consuming alcoholic drinkswas a part of his food supplement, an averageGoan would not consume beyond his daily re-quirement even if freely available. To the few,who had a weak composition, the elders of thevillage including the bar owner in the garb ofpresent day Anna Hazare would advice the weakto discontinue drinking.

The people across Goa would proudly declarethat they would go to bed with their door andwindows wide open. Such was the confidenceand camaraderie among the villagers, that certainknowledgeable individuals would adorn the garbof the present day Anna Hazare, and assist theirfellow villagers in their agricultural techniques,cultivation methods, the finer techniques relatingto pottery, masonry, carpentry, fishing, toddytapping and other resourceful techniques thoughthe earnings from the trade were meagre, severalpersons were professionally tuned, as well as tu-tored and acclimatised on the evils of corruption,cheating and dishonesty.

These Anna Hazares led the villagers to or-ganise and prepare the huge food menu requiredfor the village and religious festivals, weddings,births and deaths and other individual celebra-tions. The villagers never attempted to dissectwhy their fellow villagers were blessed with bettercapabilities, better knowledge, but they had adeep sense of respect and gratitude to their AnnaHazares.

Fast forward to April 2011, indeed, it is alarm-ingly manifested that the Anna Hazares have dis-appeared from across the corners of Goa. A NGOtook up the very difficult challenge of highlightingthe menace of corruption, and how deeply it wasembedded and engulfed in an average Goanspersona and psych. Like the GBA and other NGOs,this organisation exposed its underbelly and itscaustic intent, to gain publicity for themselves,

by very carefully and guardingly stating, that weare not interested in politics, knowing fully wellthat every evil, every illegality and every act ofcorruption, occurs because it has the blessingsof politicians and therefore, by staying away frompolitics, these organisations like other NGOs verydiscreetely permitted the politicians and the evildoers, to commit acts of corruption, illegalityand irregularity.

It is said that since the consumer forum tookbirth in Goa, the adulteration in food and duplicategoods multiplied 5 times. Since CRZ took itsroots in Goa, several coastal areas exploded withconstructions. Since the birth of organisationsfor mining violations, illegal mining hit the ceiling.The GBA, the mother of