VOL: 03 I ISSUE NO: 158 I REG NO: ANDENG/2011/38184 I 11 JULY 2014 I FRIDAY I Rs.2.00 I DAILY I PORT BLAIR I www.andamansheekha.com

Lt. Governor approves distributionof text books to poor, needy students

Port Blair, July 10: TheLt.Governor has ap-proved that all the needyand poor students study-ing from class-IX to XIIwho to do not posses theBPL/ST certificate canalso apply for free textbook, provided their ap-plication is recommendedby the Zilla ParishadMember/ PanchayatSamiti Members/Pradhan/Ward Coun-cilor of PBMC and Gazet-

ted Officer of Andamanand Nicobar Islands, cer-tifying that parent ofsuch student cannot af-ford to purchase thebooks and are poor.

The Lt.Governorhas further directed thatthe school authorities willissue free text books tosuch students studyingfrom Class-IX to XII evenif they do not possesBPL/ST certificate butcertified as above.

LG visits Water Treatment Plant, Sunder colonyExpresses satisfaction with

the overall operation of the plant

Port Blair, July 10: Lt Gover-nor, Lt Gen (Retd) A. K. Singh,today visited the Water Treat-ment Plant, Lambaline andinspected the samples oftreated water, supplied to thecitizens. He was briefed bythe CE, APWD about themaintenance and the opera-tions of the treatment plant.After treatment of the rawwater, treated water is sup-plied to PBMC for onwarddistribution to the consumers.

The Lt Governorwas satisfied with the watersamples and the operation ofthe treatment plant. He di-rected that APWD andPBMC should also check thedistribution system and en-sure that treated water issupplied to the consumers in

a proper manner.Thereafter, the Lt

Governor visited the SunderColony near Megapode Re-sort and inspected the roadand bridge, which was de-molished due to flooding inthe cyclone ‘Lehar’. He ap-preciated the efforts for re-constructing the road andthe culvert within a period ofthree months. The Lt Gover-nor directed that Secretary(UD) should issue directionsto PBMC to ensure thatproper cleanliness of thenallah is done. He observedthat the residents of area beinvolved in keeping thenallah clean by encouragingthem not to dump plasticbottles and garbage in thenallah.

LG gives a clarion call topeople to work for humanity

Port Blair, July 10: Philan-thropic activities by varioussegments of the society fornoble causes are always wel-come, said the Lt. Governor,Lt. Gen. (Retd.) A.K. Singhwhile addressing the 22nd In-stallation Ceremony of InnerWheel Club of Port Blair atHotel Fortune Resort, Bay Is-land, here last night. The Lt.

Governor gave an inspira-tional speech worthy of emu-lation in a bid to motivate thegathering for their larger con-tribution to the society. Hesaid, ‘If you want to lead apurposeful life, it has to besomething beyond “I, ME,MINE” ; it has to be about car-ing and sharing, specially

(See page 2)

Yet another croc attackCROCODILE KILLSONE AT HUT BAY

Hut Bay, July 07: In yet anothercrocodile attack case one vil-lager of R K Pur, Mr. KhagenMistry has been killed by a gi-ant crocodile.

According to reportsMr. Khagen Mistry, 59 yearshad gone for fishing at R K PurNallah at evening hours, whenhe fell victim of a crocodile at5.30 pm.One of his friendswho was present at the spottried to rescue Mr. Khagen butaccording to him the crocodilewas nearly 15 feet long and itwas impossible to hold the vic-

tim for long. According to vil-lagers the body of Mr. KhagenMistry was recovered by nightby police team. “Every nallahin Hut Bay is infested with

crocodiles and it is hard tomake people understand tostay away from these sreas saida senior Govt. Official at HutBay.

L. HalderSheekha News Service

DJ VenkateshSheekha News Service

Fish Prices soar sky high atDiglipur; Fish Lovers Disappointed

Diglipur, July 10: Fish pricessoaring sky high at Diglipur,leaving Islanders and fishlover totally disappointed.Although the Administrationis trying hard to control theprices but all such efforts aregoing in vain due to nexusbetween fishermen groups.

In last two yearsatleast two meetings wereconducted by Assistant Com-missioner of Diglipur wherethe fishermen and the admin-istration agreed on a particu-

lar price list for fishes. Afterthat rates were displayed onthe huge boards at Fish ba-

zaar of Diglipur but sadly noone follows the rates. The

(See page 2)

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with those who are less fortu-nate.

Congratulating boththe outgoing/incomingteams of IWC for their dedi-cated service, the Lt. Governorassured that the Administra-tion will provide all possiblehelp in various projects to beundertaken by the Club.

The Lt. Governorasked the organization to en-sure that the benefits of suchcommendable social activitiesreach the people in placesother than Port Blair also.

Turning his atten-tion to a visually challengedgirl, Kumari Sumi Oommen,a student of Class XIIth ofGSSS Girls who presented amelodious song, the Lt. Gov-ernor said, the business com-munity should think of giv-ing wings to the dream cher-ished by her. Earlier, the out-

going President, IWC, Smt.Neeta Aggarwal recountedthe activities undertaken bythe Club during the year 2013-14.

She said, since thetheme of IIWC was “We forWomen”, the focus was onwomen, children and seniorcitizen. Smt. Yasmeen Parvez,Club Secretary presented apower point presentation onthe achievements of the Club.Miss Bala Karthika, a ClassIXth student of KV-II pre-sented a classical dance onthe occasion. The new Presi-dent of IWC, Smt. KomalAnand presented a mementoto the Lt. Governor on the oc-casion and also outlined hervision for the forthcomingyear. The ceremony con-cluded with the vote of thanksproposed by Smt. PriyaKrishna.

LG gives... (From page 1)65th Vanmahotsava celebrationsLG calls for creation of research

unit to optimize the forest wealthPort Blair, July 10: As part ofthe 65th Vanmahotsava cel-ebrations, a ceremonial treeplanting programme was or-ganized at the MahatmaGandhi International School,Brookshabad here today bythe Department of Forests &Environment. The Lt Gover-nor, Lt Gen (Retd) A. K.Singh as the chief guest of thefunction planted an ‘Ashoka’sapling at the precincts of theschool.

Addressing the gath-ering, the Lt Governor ex-pressed his happiness that theDepartment of Environment& Forests is celebrating the65th Vanmahotsava aimed atprotecting the existing forestsand adding to the ecology ofthese Islands. Expressing hisappreciation that about 94%of our landmass is coveredwith forest, deemed forestsand mangroves, the Lt Gov-ernor said “we should beproud of our rich wildlife, en-vironment and forests cover”.Besides, we have 96 sanctu-aries, 6 wildlife reserves and1 biosphere reserve, which,he said is unique and not seenin any of the States of thecountry, he added.

Underlining the needfor research for optimisingthe forest wealth for the ben-efit of the people of the Is-lands, so as to develop har-mony between the forestsand the human population.The Lt. Governor directed the

PCCF and his team to createa research unit to examinevarious options and technolo-gies available today to opti-mize the forest wealth, whilstkeeping ecological concernsto the fore.

The Lt. Governorconcluded his speech by con-veying a strong message that“it is very easy for us to livefor today but as responsiblecitizens of the society it is ourresponsibility to look towardsthe future so that the cominggenerations inherit a goodenvironment”.

In his brief speechon the occasion, the ChiefSecretary, Shri AnandPrakash said Vanmahotsavacelebration is an importantpart of the ForestDepartment’s gamut of ac-tion. It is imperative that weprotect and preserve our for-est for the progress and pros-

perity of these Islands, headded. The ChairpersonPBMC, Shri K. Ganeshan,senior officers from Defenceand Civil Administration, of-ficers from Forest Depart-ment and students & teach-ers of MGIS were alsopresent.

Earlier, welcomingthe chief guest and otherspresent on the occasion, thePCCF, Department of Envi-ronment & Forests, Dr.Shashi Kumar said the mainobjective of celebratingVanmahotsava is to save theexisting forest cover and itsextension through afforesta-tion drives involving peoplefrom all walks of life.

The function con-cluded with the vote of thanksproposed by the PrincipalMahatma Gandhi Interna-tional School, Shri ShivaKumar.

Prithviraj Chavan tocontinue as Maharashtra CMNEW DELHI: Chief minis-ter Prithviraj Chavan will con-tinue in his post inMaharashtra, the Congresshigh command on Thursdaysaid as it ended the suspenseover the leadership issue inthe poll-bound state.

“There will be nochange in Maharashtra. Thechief minister will continue,”highly-placed party sourcessaid as they put an end to thespeculation that Chavan wason his way out in the wake ofthe party’s dismal showing inthe recent Lok Sabha elec-tions.

The signal fromAICC came after the chiefminister met Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi to-

day.Chavan had yester-

day called on Congress Presi-dent Sonia Gandhi and latersaid he had a “very goodmeeting” with her duringwhich he discussed theparty’s readiness for the Oc-

tober Assembly elections inMaharashtra.

Following the party’srout in the general elections,a section of its leaders inMaharashtra had soughtChavan’s removal from thepost of chief minister.

rates displayed over the boardare never followed and sell-ing rates are more than 50%of displayed rates on the rateboard.

At present fish pricesfluctuate as per the catch ofthe fish. But it was earlieragreed that it should not gobeyond the rates displayed onthe board. Many believe thatexport of the local fish to PortBlair also escalates the priceat Diglipur.

The people com-plained that there are some

middlemen sitting in the mar-ket who are not actually fish-ermen they just buy the fishin whole sale rate and sellthem at a higher price atDiglipur and Port Blair.

Concerned officialsof Administration were neverfound checking the prices inthe market, one buyer alleged.Hope someday the Tehsildarwho is supposed to be incharge of the price rise check,will find time to inspect theFish Market of Diglipur anddrive away the Middlemen.

(From page 1)Fish Prices...

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Port Blair, July 10: Maj GenC r i s t o p h e rEmanuelFernandes, SM, hastaken over as the tenth Chiefof Staff (COS), Andaman &Nicobar Command fromRear Admiral Sudhir Pillai,NM.

Maj Gen Fernandes,an alumnus of the NationalDefence Academy, Punewas commissioned into theBIHAR Regiment of the In-dian Army on 13 Jun 1981.The General Officer Com-manded an Infantry Battalionon the Line of Control inJammu & Kashmir andan In-fantry Brigade in activeCounter Insurgency environ-ment in Assam. He has ac-tively participated in combatoperations in Manipur,Tripura, Assam, Siachen Gla-cier and Kashmir, and wasawarded a Sena Medal forgallantry while operating inthe face of enemy atSiachen Glacier.The Gen-eral Officer has been an in-

CE Fernandes takes Over as CoSof Andaman & Nicobar Command

structor at the National De-fence Academy, Pune andhas done staff tenures atBrigade, Division, ArmyHeadquarters and Head-quarters Integrated De-fence Staff.

A graduate of theDefence Services StaffCollege, Wellington, Collegeof Defence Management,Secunderabad and IndianInstitute of Public Adminis-tration, New Delhi, hebrings valuable experience

to the Joint Andaman &Nicobar Command. His civilQualifications include MScin Strategic Studies fromUniversity of Chennai, aMasters Degree in Man-agement from OsmaniaUniversity, Hyderabad andan MPhil in Public Admin-istration from the PunjabUniversity.Maj GenFernandes is married to MrsAnita Fernandes, and theyhave a son Rushil and adaughter Pritika.

Port Blair, July 10: Heavyrain may occur at isolatedplaces over Andaman andNicobar Islands during next2 days.Under the influence ofstrong South west monsooncurrent, strong Southwesterlywind speed between 45-55KMPH and rough to veryrough seas likely along andoff Andaman and Nicobarcoasts. Fishermen are ad-vised not to venture in to thesea.

Local CautionarySignal No.III kept hoisted atPort Blair Ports. The generalpublic is advised to take pre-

Heavy Rainfall Warningcautionary measures and incase of any emergency con-tact in the following phonenumbers of State ControlRoom, District Control Roomand Emergency OperationCentres. State Control Room:03192- 238880 (Tele-Fax),1077(Helpline). District Con-trol Room: 03192-238881,1070(Helpline). EOC(Campbell Bay): 03193-264020. EOC (Kamorta):03193-263222. EOC (N&M):03192-262960. EOC (HutBay): 03192-284014 andEOC (Car Nicobar): 03193-265241.

Port Blair, July 10: Powersupply will remain suspendedin some of the areas on12.07.2014 from 0800 hoursto 1400 hours for replace-ment of damaged electric

Power suspensionpole.The areas to be affectedby power disruption are partof Prothrapur, Austinabad,part of Chakkergaon, JailComplex, Brichgunj &Brookshabad.

Port Blair, July 10: 32nd in-stallation ceremony of RotaryClub of Port Blair, Rotary In-ternational District 3291 will beheld on 12th July, 2014 at For-tune Resort, Bay Island Ma-

Installation ceremonyof Rotary Club of Port Blair

rine Hill. Vice AdmiralPradeep K Chatterjee, PVSMAVSM NM Commander- in-Chief, Andaman NicobarCommand has kindly con-sented to be the chief Guest.

Application invited from Hoteliers/TourOperators/Travel Agencies for participation in

Tourism & Travel fairs in Mainland.Port Blair, July 10: Direc-torate of Tourism, A & NAdministration intends to par-ticipate in different Travel &Tourism fairs organized inmainland through Travel &Tourism Fair (TTF) and In-dia International Travel Mart(IITM) for tourism promo-tion. The locations of theseTravel & Tourism fairs will beat Ahmedabad, Mumbai,

Pune and Gurgoan, during theperiod from 22nd August, 2014to 7th September 2014.

The expenditure to-wards journey, lodging, board-ing etc will have to be borneby the participants. Tourismdepartment will provide freespace with required number oftable with chairs within the de-partmental counters at all thelocations.Hoteliers/Tour Op-

erators/Travel Agencies andstake holders who have theiroffices in Andaman & NicobarIslands and intend to participatein the above said Travel &Tourism Fairs shall submit theirwillingness in writing to this di-rectorate on or before 25th July2014. Manager (Tourism) (Ph.No. 233259) of this Director-ate may be contacted for fur-ther query, if any.

Port Blair, July 10: The Direc-torate of Tourism, A&N Ad-ministration is implementing‘Andaman & Nicobar Bed &Breakfast/Home stay Scheme’all over the Island on the basisof the approved guidelines ofMinistry of Tourism, Govt. ofIndia under the scheme “In-credible India Bed & Break-fast/Home stay Establish-ment”. The concept of thescheme is to provide supple-

Implementation of Andaman & NicobarBed & Breakfast/Homestay Scheme

mentary and quality accommo-dation for foreigners and do-mestic tourists to stay with anIndian family to experience In-dian customs and traditions.

The approved guide-lines of “Andaman & NicobarBed & Breakfast/HomestayScheme” is available with theDirectorate of Tourism, A&NAdministration. The approvedguidelines can also be down-loaded from the Tourism

W e b s i t ewww.andamans.gov.in. Inter-ested citizens who fulfill theterms & conditions can applyin the prescribed format forregistration of their house un-der the scheme “Andaman &Nicobar Bed & Breakfast/Homestay” to the Directorateof Tourism, A&N Administra-tion. Manager (Tourism) (Ph.No. 233259) may be contactedfor further details.

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11.07.2014 Daily Issue::158

EDITORIAL.....A lot of state intervention is

unrelated to market failures, reducingit is simple but effective reform

The Narendra Modi govern-ment has repeatedly articu-lated its aim to improve India’sinvestment climate. The goodnews is that the government iswilling to walk the talk bytweaking administrative rulesto eliminate unwarranted gov-ernment interference in eco-nomic activity. This augurswell for today’s budget. A re-cent advisory by the Uniongovernment, which aims toend an overbearing inspectorraj on business, is an exampleof a simple but effective re-form.

It says inspectionsshould be carried out only ifapproved by the head of therelevant department, and allministries should shift to asystem of self-certification bycompanies except in risky ar-eas. India currently ranks134th out of 189 countries inWorld Bank’s 2014 study onease of doing business. But ifreforms like this can be car-ried out India will move up thescale, drawing in investmentsand creating jobs. Fortunately,a lot of reforms in this area canbe quickly initiated. Asyesterday’s Economic Surveypointed out, a lot of govern-ment intervention is unrelatedto market failures. Simply put,the state can display a lightertouch without the fear of mar-kets running amok. At presentIndian governments trust nei-ther citizens nor business,

which leads to heavy-handedregulations.

It wasn’t always likethis. For instance, the infa-mous section of the IndustrialDisputes Act that allows thestate to play a role in the eventof layoffs or closures in fac-tories employing over 100workers was an afterthought.Even when Jawaharlal Nehruwas intent on creating a social-ist pattern of society, he didnot think this level of state in-tervention necessary. Themeasure was introduced dur-ing the Emergency and thenumber brought down furtherto the current 100 by IndiraGandhi in 1982. But govern-ments have been wary ofchanging it since, despiteliberalisation in 1991.

Modi’s motto duringhis election campaign wasminimum government andmaximum governance. Thebest way to actualise it wouldbe to confine government in-tervention to areas where theyare needed and make sure itdoes a good job there. Today,a significant extent of stateintervention is unnecessaryand has led to perverse out-comes. India, for example, hassome of the most rigid labourlaws but lives with large-scaleinformalisation of labour.Good intentions alone won’tbring in investments, sensiblelaws are a necessary condi-tion.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister NarendraModi faces the first major test of hisreform credentials on Thursday, whenhis fresh-faced government presents itsmaiden budget amid early doubts abouthis willingness to make unpopular de-cisions.

Highlights of Union Budget2014

Modi, 63, won a landslide gen-eral election victory in May with a pledgeto boost growth and create jobs for the1 million people who enter India’sworkforce every month

He has since warned of the

“bitter medicine” needed to nurse theeconomy back to health from high in-flation and the worst slowdown sincefree-market reforms in the early1990s unleashed an era of rapidgrowth. Finance minister ArunJaitley’s promises of bold Budget de-cisions and broadsides against the“mindless populism” of his left-of-centre predecessors have proved a hitwith investors, helping the benchmarkBSE stock index to a record high lastweek.

Jaitley is due to address Par-liament at 11am (0530 GMT).

Union Budget 2014: First testof Narendra Modi’s reform mettle

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Vitamin D ups thesurvival odds in bowel cancer

Bowel cancer patients withhigh levels of vitamin D intheir blood are more likely tosurvive the disease, says astudy. Patients with the high-est levels of vitamin D havehalf the risk of dying com-pared to those with the low-est levels, the findingsshowed.

Often referred to as“sunshine vitamin”, vitamin Dis made in the body when theskin is exposed to sunlight.The very few foods in naturethat contain vitamin D includethe flesh of fatty fish (suchas salmon, tuna and mack-erel) and fish liver oils.

“Measuring vitaminD levels in bowel cancer pa-tients could also provide auseful indication of progno-sis,” the scientists noted.Forthe study, researchers at theUniversity of Edinburgh inBritain tested blood samplesfrom almost 1,600 patients

after surgery for bowelcancer.The greatest benefitof vitamin D was seen in pa-tients with stage 2 disease, atwhich the tumour may bequite large but the cancer hasnot yet spread.

Three quarters ofthe patients with the highestvitamin D levels were stillalive at the end of five years,compared with less than twothirds of those with the low-est levels, the findings

showed.“Our findings arepromising but it is importantto note that this is an obser-vational study.

We need carefullydesigned randomised clinicaltrials before we can confirmwhether taking vitamin Dsupplements offers any sur-vival benefit for bowel can-cer patients,” professorMalcolm Dunlop from theUniversity of Edinburghadded.

Union Minister of State forHealth Harsh Vardhan haswritten to the Defence Min-ister calling for a ban on saleof tobacco products throughDefence canteens..

In a letter on Mon-day, Dr. Harsh Vardhan saidthat the Defence Ministryshould revisit its policy of

making available cigarettesand other tobacco products ata discount to the members ofthe services.The letter saidthat anti-smoking efforts hadso far not focussed on healthrisks to thousands of armedforces personnel. The argu-ment that military personnelneed tobacco for stress relief

devalues the quality of theirlife in the long run and ignoresthe military’s obligation to pro-vide healthy and effectivemeans of stress relief to itspersonnel, Dr. Vardhan said.

All Defence estab-lishments, including navalships, should be declared nosmoking zones, he added.

Ban tobacco in Armycanteens: Vardhan tells Jaitley

WWW.ANDAMANSHEEKHA.COM

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Leonardo Da Vinci Was WrongAbout Friction: Earthquake Study

Jerusalem, Israel: In a breakthrough,scientists have discovered that frac-ture and friction are closely interre-lated, a finding that may help de-scribe the mechanics that driveearthquakes.The study overturns a500-year-old theory given byLeonardo da Vinci.

He described how roughblocks slide over one another, pro-viding the basis for our understand-ing of friction to this day. The phe-nomenon of fracture was alwaysconsidered to be something totallydifferent.But new research by Pro-fessor Jay Fineberg and graduatestudent Ilya Svetlizky, at the He-brew University’s Racah Instituteof Physics, has demonstrated thatthese two seemingly disparate pro-cesses of fracture and friction areactually intimately intertwined.

The findings create a newparadigm that’s very different fromthe da Vinci version, and, accordingto the researchers, give us a new un-derstanding of how earthquakes ac-tually occur.Fineberg and Svetlizkyproduced “laboratory earthquakes”showing that the friction caused bythe sliding of two contacting blockscan only occur when the connec-tions between the surfaces are first

ruptured (that is, fractured or bro-ken) in an orderly, “organised” pro-cess that takes place at nearly thespeed of sound.

Before any motion canoccur, the blocks are connected byinterlocking rough contacts that de-fine their interface. In order for mo-tion to occur, these connections haveto be broken. This physical processof breaking is called a fractureprocess.This process is describedby the theory of crack propagation,say the researchers, meaning that thestresses (or forces) that exist at thefront edge of a crack become highlymagnified, even if the overall forcesbeing applied are initially quitesmall.

“The insights gained fromour study provide a new paradigmfor understanding friction and giveus a new, fundamental descriptionof the mechanics and behaviour thatdrive earthquakes, the sliding of twotectonic blocks within naturalfaults,” said Fineberg.

“In this way, we can nowunderstand important processes thatare generally hidden kilometres be-neath the Earth’s surface,” Finebergsaid. The research was published inthe journal Nature.

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CHENNAI: Lauding theNarendra Modi government’sfirst Union Budget as a veryresponsible and “forwardlooking exercise,” TamilNadu chief minister JJayalalithaa on Thursday saidit would lead to economic re-vival.

In a statement,Jayalalithaa said the Unionbudget reflected the serious-ness with which the Centrehas set about the task of ad-dressing the challenge of re-vival of growth and improv-ing the macro-economic situ-ation of the country.

“On the whole, I ex-pect that this forward look-ing budget will lead to eco-nomic revival and ensure thatfurther incentives to growthcan be afforded in the nexttwo to three years,” she said,before adding, “A clear fis-cal road map to contain thefiscal deficit has been pro-vided.”

The AIADMKleader said the budget hadcommenced in right earnestthe process of tackling theproblems and issues head on.Many of the announcementsmade in the President’s ad-dress had also been givenconcrete shape in the budget.

Welcoming financeminister Arun Jaitley’s assur-ance that he would be “morethan fair” to the states in ad-dressing their concerns re-garding the implementation ofthe GST, Jayalalithaa said anaccommodative and con-structive approach from theCentre could pave the way toenacting the necessarylegislation.She has a word of

caution on proposals relatingto permitting FDI, especiallymanufacturing entities set upwith FDI to sell their productsthrough retail, including e-commerce platforms.

On the proposedChennai-Bengaluru industrialcorridor and Vizag-Chennaiindustrial corridor,Jayalalithaa said helpingneighbouring states to takeadvantage of Chennai’s natu-ral strengths would not ben-efit many backward regionsand districts within TamilNadu.

“I request that theCentre to consider the furtherexpansion of these corridorswithin Tamil Nadu as well,”she said, seeking the exten-sion of the Vizag-Chennaicorridor further south by link-ing Madurai-Tuticorin indus-trial corridor proposed by theTamil Nadu government.

Welcoming theschemes to set up a textilemega cluster in Tamil Nadu,an ultra-mega solar plant inTamil Nadu and a smart city

at Ponneri near Chennai, thechief minister sought the Cen-tre to include her home con-stituency Srirangam as partof its proposal to improveheritage towns likeKancheepuram andVelankanni.

With Jaitley indicat-ing that there would be a pro-vision of Rs 3,600 crore forwater purification in areaswith impure water,Jayalalithaa said she hopedthe Centre would supportTamil Nadu’s initiatives to setup desalination plants in thecoastal areas suffering fromacute water stress.

In a memorandumpresented to Modi in June,Jayalalithaa sought the Cen-tre to share 50% of the costof four desalination plantsproposed in Chennai,Ramanathapuram andTuticorin.

She thanked thePrime Minister for consider-ing her request to enhance theallocation for the moderniza-tion of the police force.

Jayalalithaa lauds Union Budget,says it’s a forward looking exercise

Choppergate case: CBIquizzes governor ESL Narasimhan

HYDERABAD: A CBI teamfrom New Delhi on Wednesdayrecorded the statement of gov-ernor ESL Narasimhan in con-nection with theAgustaWestland chopperscam. CBI sources saidNarasimhan’s statement wasrecorded under section 151 ofCrPC.

“The governor’s state-ment was recorded as a witnessto the meeting of the NationalSecurity Agency (NSA) held onMarch 1, 2005,” a CBI officialsaid. Narasimhan attended themeeting in his capacity as In-telligence Bureau (IB) directorwhere a decision was taken toreduce the service ceiling - the

maximum height at which a he-licopter can perform optimally.

The decision madeAgusta eligible for the deal fol-lowing which the UPA govern-ment purchased 12 choppers in2010 for VVIPs use.

It is alleged that in thepurchase of the 12 choppers ata cost of Rs 3,726 crore, a bribeof Rs 360 crore was paid to someofficials and members of thescreening committee to alter thetechnical specifications in orderto favour Agusta.

After registering acase, the CBI had booked formerIndian Air Force chief S P Tyagi,his three cousins and nine oth-ers last year. According to CBI

sources, the team from NewDelhi landed at Raj Bhavanaround 11.30 am and the entireexercise of recordingNarasimhan’s statement lastedtwo hours. The governor willnot be ‘troubled’ again in thechopper case, they said.

Two other governors,M K Narayanan of West Ben-gal and B V Wanchoo of Goa,whose statements were re-corded by the CBI last week, re-signed thereafter. Narayanan, inhis capacity as national secu-rity advisor, and Wanchoo asSpecial Protection Group (SPG)chief, had also attended the 2005meeting in which Narasimhanwas also present.

Port Blair, July 10: Step-AidIndia is going to start freelearning classes for schoolchildren during the eveninghours at their Community Re-source Centers located atAustinabad, Kamaraj Nagarand Brookshabad for theneedy. Classes will be startedfrom 15th July 2014 onwards.

Steps-Aid India is oneof the charitable organizationsin Andaman & Nicobar Island

and committed to work for asocial cause for the upliftmentof underprivileged andmarginalized communities andparticularly for the overall de-velopment of children, em-powerment of women,healthcare and person with dis-abilities. Interested studentmay contact over phone-9933226407/ 03192-261397for enrollment and furtherdetails.

Steps-Aid India tostart free coaching classes

for school children

A Financial LiteracyCamp Organized by SBI,

Billyground Branch

Billyground, July 10: A FinancialLiteracy Camp was held on to-day the 10th July 2014 at Govt.Secondary School Govindapur(Nimbudera), Middle Andaman,organized by State Bank of In-dia, Billyground Branch. In con-nection the Financial LiteracyCamp, a Quiz competition wasalso held in the school and alarge no of students participatedin the competition.

On the occasion Man-ager, SBI, Billyground Branch de-livered an influential and inspir-ing speech on Financial LiteracyCamp and also highlights themain motto and objectives of thisCamp to make aware the studentcommunity. She said that aftercompletion of Class XII if anystudent is facing financial chal-

lenges, how SBI extend their sup-port to those poor students.More over the manager of SBI,Billyground Branch has giventotal information about the impor-tance of banking system to thestudents as well as to the schoolfaculty members.

On the occasion otherdignitaries Shri C.G.Hari (HM), PSGovindapur, Shri Santosh KumarKarmakar GTT (Sciene) and ShriDurgesh Jha also addressed thestudents in connection the Finan-cial Literacy Camp.

The Headmaster ofGovt. Secondary School ex-pressed his appreciation to theManger, SBI, Billyground Branchfor choosing his school and or-ganizing such important and eyeopening programme at his school.He also highly expressed grate-fulness to the other dignitariespresent on the occasion.

TrinathSheekha News Service

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DATE - 10-07-2014

MOVING EYES.....The Endless wait for transfer makeslives miserable for

the JEs and AEs of Nicobar districtCar Nicobar, July 10: The unnec-essary delay in issuing transferorders of the Assistant and Jun-ior Engineers posted for the lastmany years in the Nicobar dis-trict has induced a sense of inse-curity and uncertainty. There areEngineers who have alreadycompleted their tenure in thishard region of Islands leavingtheir families at Port Blair, but theirapplications for transfer do notget the attention of the top au-thorities of the APWD at PortBlair. Saddened by this dejectionthe Engineers are feeling help-lessness.

The Engineers ap-proached the MP Shri BishnuPada Ray during his recent visitto Car Nicobar and requested himto take up the matter. It was ob-served by the MP that the trans-fer policy of 2007 has not beenfollowed by the department. ThePolicy clearly states the tenureof group A& B staff as 2 years.But after serving for more than 3years they have not been trans-ferred from here. The MP assuredthem that he would take up thematter with the concerned au-thorities and would ensure thatthe transfer policy is followed infuture also.

It is pertinent that ShriRay had been taking up the is-

sue of transfer of the Govt. Em-ployees posted at Nicobar dis-trict, at the highest level of theAdministration and the effortsbrought smiles on the faces onthe teachers working in this diffi-cult zone, when the Chief Secre-tary convened a review meetingin the presence of MP and theservice organizations recently.After one and half hours delib-erations, it was decided to keepthe tenure in the hardest areas ofthe Islands as one year and thegeneral tenure for the Nicobar dis-trict to be 2 academic sessionsfor teachers.

Now the APWD staffsare also expecting the same fromthe administration. Though apolicy was framed in 2007 by theSecretary Personnel but it is notbeing followed by APWD.Sources say that the transfer or-ders are issued on the directionsof the Chief Engineer. The J.Es andA.Es close to the CE gets postingsof their choice and the disliked of-ficials are sent to Nicobar districton punishment of not being the‘yes man’ of CE. Every year theofficials apply for transfer but invain. However the officials arehopeful that the LG and MP wouldfeel their grievances and would dojustice with them and the endlesswait for transfer would end soon.

Squally weather of Port Blair. Pic Courtesy: Deepak Tiwari, RGT Road