OHERALDOThe Voice of Goa Since 1900

FROM OUR BUREAU

NEW DELHI, NOV 15

The Government on Mondaytabled legislation in the LokSabha to strengthen the coop-erative movement in the coun-try, making the multi-stateinstitutions self-reliant, profes-sional and democratic.

It also seeks to bring trans-parency in the cooperative so-c i e t i e s by re q u i r i n gappointment of informationofficer and making a provi-sion for appeal.

The Multi-State CooperativeSocieties (Amendment) Bill pi-loted by Parliamentary AffairsMinister Pawan Kumar Bansalon behalf of Sharad Pawar, hos-pitalised in Mumbai, also em-powers the central registrar todeclare any cooperative as sickand set up an interim board forits revival and rehabilitation.

The interim board shall be formaximum five years, but maybe dissolved earlier if the regis-trar finds the cooperative be-coming viable. A cooperativesociety will be deemed sick ifits accumulated losses are equal

to or exceed total of its paid upcapital, free reserve and sur-pluses and also suffered cashlosses.

The Centre seeks to set up aCooperative Rehabilitation andRecommendation Fund for help-ing out the sick cooperativesand all multi-state cooperativesocieties are required to credit0.005% to 0.1% of its turnover,subject to a maximum of Rs 3crore a year, as may be pre-scribed.

The statement of objects andreasons attached to the Bill saysit will make the management ofthe cooperative societies moreresponsible to members. TheBill lays down accounting stan-dards, special audit, constitutionof audit and ethics committeeand strengthened provisions re-lating to election of the boardmembers.

Visit us at:www.oheraldo.in panjim, Tuesday, noVember 16, 2010 postal reg. no. Goa 101 priCe rs. 3.00 (air surcharge rs 2.00) pages 16+6

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Sir! The one which you sent to theCentre is our football team for-mation plan, not the highway plan.

Goas Heartbeat: Social networking

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Sports: Bhajji does

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India: Pamela urges PM to

reject leather products Pg 12

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, NOV 15

Chief Minister Digambar Kamattoday said that the notificationon the formation of the tribunalto adjudicate the Mhadei waterdispute between Goa and Kar-nataka will be published by thisweek-end.

Speaking to reporters here,Kamat said that the SupremeCourt took up the hearing onMhadei today and the counselfor the Government of India saidthat the notification for the tri-bunal has been sent to the Cen-

tral Government for signature.The counsel informed the

court that the notification willbe published by Friday, Novem-ber 19, Kamat said adding the

Supreme Court will now hearthe case on Monday November22.

The Water Resources MinisterFilipe Neri Rodrigues had in-formed the Goa Legislative As-sembly that the Supreme Courtrecommended three names tothe Centre with regard to theformation of a tribunal.

When asked whether thenames were referred to Goa, Ro-drigues told reporters that theGoa Government will considerthe names suggested and willgive its view to the Centre.

Rodrigues said that the Centrehad earlier approved the forma-tion of a tribunal for Mhadeidispute and had asked for rec-ommendations of the ApexCourt on the appointment ofthe president and members forthe tribunal.

Efforts are made and will bemade in future to place griev-ances of the State before appro-priate authorities, including theApex Court, tribunal or the Cen-tre, to protect the interests, re-sources and environment of theState, he asserted.

Mhadei tribunal notification this week: CM

Sibal gets Telecom HRD Minister Kapil Sibal wastoday given the additionalcharge of the Telecom Min-istry by Prime Minister Man-mohan Singh. (PTI)

Cooperative movement gets a shot in the arm

PTI

DEHRA DUN, NOV 15

Tata Group Chairman RatanTata today said he did notenter the airline business ashe was not comfortable withthe idea of bribing a minister,as had been suggested by anindustrialist.

Narrating the incident, Tatasaid, I did not want to go tothe bed knowing well that Iset up an airlines by payingRs 15 crore.

Minister demanded Rs 15 cr from Tatas to set up airlines

PTI

NEW DELHI, NOV 15

The CBI today stepped into theCommonwealth Games corrup-tion muddle and arrested twosacked senior officials of theGames Organising Committeeon charges of forgery and cheat-ing relating to the Queens BatonRelay in London last year.

CBI arrested T S Darbari, for-mer Joint Director General andSanjay Mahendroo, formerDeputy Director General hereafter it registered two cases inthis regard and conductedsearches at four premises in-cluding the OC headquartershere.

Both Darbari and Mahendrooare considered to be close as-sociates of OC chairman SureshKalmadi.

CBI said the first case wasregistered under different Sec-tions of IPC and Prevention ofCorruption Act in relation to theaward of contract to Londonbased AM car and Van Hire Ltd

at exorbitant rates.The CBI has named Darbari,

Mahendroo, OC Director RajSingh, Director of transport firmAshish Patel, and other unknownpersons under sections 468(forgery of court records andpublic documents), 471 (usingforged documents as genuine),120-B (criminal conspiracy) ofIPC and Prevention of Corrup-tion Act.

It is alleged that the accusedofficials of OC in conspiracy withthe transport firm and its Direc-tor awarded work to the saidfirm at exorbitant rates withoutfollowing the standard tenderprocess.

The work was awarded onthe false premise that the firmwas on the panel of Indian HighCommission, London. Twoemails were allegedly forged bythe officials of OC to justify theselection of the firm, a CBIspokesperson said while readingout a statement by the agencybefore reporters here.

Kalmadi aides in CBI net

A fellowindustrialist hadsaid: You are stupidpeople. Theminister was askingfor Rs 15 crore.Why didnt you paythe money? I didnot want to set upan airlines bypaying Rs 15 crore.

Ratan Tata

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, NOV 15

The State Cabinet has approveda proposal extending the validityof One Time Settlement (OTS)scheme for payment of out-standing electricity dues, uptoMarch 2011.

Two years ago, the govern-ment had approved OTS schemefor defaulting consumers of elec-tricity charges having accumu-

lated arrears of upto Rs 20,000.Later, members of the legisla-

tive assembly (MLAs) demandedto raise the maximum limits ofoutstanding arrears from 20,000to Rs 50,000 in order to givethe benefit to a large section ofconsumers.

Addressing a press conferenceafter the cabinet meeting, ChiefMinister Digambar Kamat saidthat the government has ex-

tended the scheme upto March2011.

He said that the limit too hasbeen increased from Rs 50,000to Rs 1 lakh.

Now as more consumershave been approaching the elec-tricity department for settle-ment of their power bills underOTS scheme, the cabinet de-cided to extend it further, hesaid.

Giving details, Kamat said,Till date the government hasbeen successful in recoveringRs 41 lakh from 645 consumerswhich was outstanding foryears.

REGULARISATION: The Cabi-net today gave its nod of ab-sorbing the 12 employees of theSanquelim Village Panchayatinto the Valpoi Municipal Coun-cil.

Yash Chopra to open IFFI

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, NOV 15

Renowned Indian filmmakerYash Chopra will inaugurate the41st International Film Festivalof India (IFFI) 2010, the Directorof Film Festival announced heretoday.

Briefing media persons, Di-rector of Film Festival S M Khansaid that Yash Chopra along withother film personalities will beinaugurating the festival on No-vember 22 at Kala Academy.

Last week, sources from En-tertainment Society of India(ESG) had confirmed the pres-ence of actor Ajay Devgan forthe inaugural function.

The Multi-StateCooperative Societies(Amendment) Billpiloted byParliamentary AffairsMinister Pawan KumarBansal empowers thecentral registrar todeclare anycooperative as sickand set up an interimboard for its revivaland rehabilitation.

PTI

NEW DELHI, NOV 15

At least 32 people were killedand over 60 others injured whena four-storey building collapsedin a busy east Delhi localitytonight.

The building caved in ataround 8.15 pm in congestedLalita Park area of Laxmi Nagar.Some 60 people were rescuedfrom the building but scores ofothers are still feared to betrapped, a senior police officialsaid.

32 people have been killedin the incident, Delhi HealthMinister Kiran Walia said. CityPolice Commissioner B K Guptaand medical officials said over60 people were injured.

The injured persons and thebodies have been taken to LokNayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hos-pital, Guru Teg Bahadur Hospi-tal, Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospitaland Hedgewar Hospital.

Finance Minister A K Waliasaid the foundation of the oldbuilding could have weakeneddue to the heavy rains in the

monsoon season when water ofthe Yamuna river flooded thearea.

Locals said some water wasstill there in the basement of

the building. Some residentsalso claimed that constructionof an extra floor was going onwhen the incident took place.Many of the in jured were

labourers.A magisterial inquiry has been

ordered into the incident, Delhigovernment officials said.

Huge mounds of concrete

slabs and rubble were seen allaround as rescuers, helped bythe local residents, faced a toughtask extricating people fromunder the debris.

The building is owned by acement businessman namedAmrit Singh, police officials saidadding, an adjoining buildingalso faces the risk of collapseand people have been evacuated.

The scale of the tragedy isunprecedented. I dont thinksuch a tragedy has taken placein Delhi in the recent past,Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dik-shit said.

Dikshit said it seems to be acase of negligence as the ac-cumulated water in the base-ment for more than two monthssince the monsoon was not re-moved.

She said it will have to be in-quired if it was an unauthorisedconstruction and that appropri-ate action will be taken if anywrongdoing is found.

The probe team will take intoall aspects of the constructionas well as the incident, she said.

Delhi building crumbles, 32 killed

Rescue operation in full swing at the site where a four-storey building collapsed at Laxmi Nagar, Delhi.

Blast atCurtorim

steel factoryHERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, NOV 15

The Mormugao steel factory atCurtorim was rocked by a mas-sive furnace blast on late Mon-day night, leaving a workercritically injured.

The blast in the furnace oc-curred at around 11.30 pm andthe loud sound was heard overa distance of more than a kilo-metre.

Maina Curtorim PI SidhantShirodkar who rushed to the

(Report on GoasHeartbeat Page 5)

OTS for power dues extended

Vodafone toldto deposit

Rs 11,000 crPTI

NEW DELHI, NOV 15

British Telecom giant Vodafone,which is contesting the Rs11,000 crore tax demand fromthe Income Tax Department,was today directed by theSupreme Court to deposit Rs2,500 crore along with a bankguarantee of Rs 8,500 crore be-fore it.

The company, which facedsome tough questions by aBench headed by Chief JusticeS H Kapadia, was asked to de-posit the amount within threeweeks and a bank guaranteewithin eight weeks before theregistry.

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A P P O I N T M E N T S

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, NOV 15

The SGPDA has directed imme-diate stop to fish cutting activityin the wholesale fish market,even as residents of Madel de-scended in the market on Mon-day morning to protest stinkingenvironment and retail sale.

As the res idents beganprotesting with placards againstthe unhygienic conditions in thewholesale fish market, FatordaMLA Damu Naik and SGPDAMember Secretary SanjeevSurlakar also rushed to the mar-ket.

Heated arguments were wit-nessed between a traditionalfisherman and the fish mer-chants importing fish fromacross the borders over whosresponsible for the pathetic con-ditions and the dumping of ther-mocol waste in the market.

The Fatorda MLA later toldnewsmen that the situation inthe market has worsened in re-cent times posing a nuisanceand health hazard to the Madelresidents.

He also demanded a stop thefish cutting activity in the whole-sale fish market immediatelyand added that the matterwould be raised at the next PDAmeeting. The system has col-lapsed in the market. Nusianceand foul odour is the order ofthe day. The water is contami-nated, thermocol and plasticwaste has become a nuisanceto the residents, he added.

Residents protest unhygienicactivities in Margao fish market

Madel residents agitating against stinking environment at theSGPDA wholesale fish market. Photo by Santosh Mirajkar

The MLA told the PDA mem-ber secretary to clean up themarket and put a stop to theretail sale in the market.

SGPDA Member SecretarySanjeev Surlakar said the PDAwould issue instructions to stopfish market activity from Tues-day. No one has the businessto cut fish in the wholesale fishmarket, Surlakar said.

When his attention wasdrawn to the retail sale of veg-etable and other in the market,Surlakar reminded the contrac-tor to crack the whip againstunauthorized and illegal activityin the market and warned thatthe PDA would have to reviewthe contract if the illegalitiescontinue unabated.

Residents of Madel Pur-nanand Chari and Savio Dias

said the situation in the markethas deteriorated over the year,posing a health hazard to theresidents.

We demand that the author-ities immediately put a stop tothe nuisance by setting up a ef-fluent treatment plant, drainagesystem. We are not satisfied withthe prevailing situation, theyadded.

The duo said they had invitedward Councilor Gonzaco Re-bello, but he did not accompanythe residents saying he was pre-occupied with the Council meet-ing.

Chari warned that the agita-tion would continue and saidthe responsibility for any unto-ward incident arising out of thestir would be the sole responsi-bility of the authorities.

3 shops gutted in Assolna

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, NOV 15

Ignoring the strike call given bythe All Goa Bus Owners Associ-ation, the Margao RTA has re-solved to further experimentwith the traffic changes till theschool reopens next week anda final decision would be takenby the transport panel on No-vember 29.

Indicating that the authoritieswould not buckle under thethreat of the strike on November22, the meeting convened bythe RTA, Margao commenced at10.30 am in the absence of theaggrieved bus operators. And,when the bus operators finallymade their presence felt for themeeting after 11 am, the RTAChairman Johnson Fernandespoint blank told the operatorsthat the meeting has ended andreminded them that they wereinvited for the meeting at 10.30am.

When contacted, Johnsontold newsmen that there is notquestion of discontinuance ofthe traffic changes vis--vis theshort distance route buses be-cause of the strike call.

I have received a report fromthe DySP Traffic stating that thechanges have helped in the de-congestion of the city. But, theRTA wants to still experimentwith the changes for a weekafter the city schools reopensafter the Diwali vacation. TheRTA will meet again on Novem-ber 29 to take stock of the sit-uation, he asserted.

On the All Goa bus strike callgiven by the bus operators onNovember 22, Johnson said hehas orally communicated thethreat to the District Magistrate,South to take appropriate ac-tion.

The authorities will decidewhether to invoke the provi-sions of ESMA Act to meet the

strike, Johnson said.Sources in the know said the

Chief Minister Digambar Kamathas personally approved of thetraffic changes with the aim todecongest the heart of the city.In fact, Kamat is learnt to haveconvinced PWD Minister,Churchill Alemao that the trafficchanges will not in any way af-fected the bus commuters fromDavorlim, Housing Board, Nave-lim, but will help ease trafficcongestion in the city.

The Chief Minister is believedto have taken personal interestin the implementation of thetraffic changes and has issuestern warnings to the traffic per-sonnel to help regulate the traf-fic in the city.

In fact, Kamat has directedthe traffic higher-ups not to de-ploy traffic police personnel onthe highways but instead putall the personnel in the city toregulate traffic in the city.

Traffic change experiment in Margao to continue

One of the shops that were destroyed at Assolna on Monday. Photo by Santosh MirajkarHERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, NOV 15

A major fire engulfed three busi-ness establishments at the As-solna market on early Mondaymorning, destroying propertyworth over Rs 12 lakh.

The fire originated in the gro-cery store and later spread tothe adjoining laundry and cycleshop at around 7 am on Mon-day.

Two fire tenders were pressedinto service to bring the fireunder control. Suspected shortcircuit is believed to be thecause behind the fire accident.

Fire Officer Gill De Souza the

fire completely gutted the gro-cery shop, besides partially dam-aging the cycle shop and thelaundry.

Owner of the grocery shop,Krishna Vernekar said the threerefrigerators along with thegoods have been destroyed bythe fire. He said goods werestocked in the shop because ofthe Diwali festival.

The owners were intimatedover the fire incident at around7 am, even as locals complainedof the delay in the arrival of thefire brigade.

Former ZP member, Adv Gus-tavo Clovis da Costa said the

fire incident should come as aneye opener to the governmenton the need to station a fire ten-der and an 108 ambulance atthe nearby Cuncolim police sta-tion.

I understand the sentimentsof the people for blaming thefire services for the delay, butthe fact remains that Assolna ismore than 10 kms away fromthe fire station. The only solu-tion lies in stationing a fire ten-der and 108 ambulance at theCuncolim police station to tacklefire incidents within the juris-diction of the police station,he added.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

PORVORIM, NOV 15

Mapusa Police has arrested a 24-year-old woman from Canaconaon charges of cheating people.

In her complaint a couple of days ago, Apeksha Gaonker ofKhorlim had told Mapusa Police that her friend, accused SapnaGaonkar, had stolen her bag containing cash, chain and otheritems.

The complainant further stated that the accused had told herthat she (Sapna) had taken it for her sisters wedding, but theaccused never returned the stolen items.

According to Mapusa Police, on Monday, another woman, PraffullaVaigankar from Nachinola, filed a complaint stating that on No-vember 11, the accused took her gold chain, worth Rs 12,000, onthe pretext that she needs it for some function, but she did notreturn it.

Based on the information provided by complainant, ApekshaGaonker, that the accused is in Mumbai, Mapusa Police left forMumbai to nab the accused.

Mapusa Police nabbed the accused at Mumbai and brought herto Mapusa Police station on Monday and recovered chain fromher. On Monday evening, police left for Margao to recover otherstolen items.

Mapusa Police informed that the accuseds mother had filed amissing complaint of her daughter with Canacona Police, whenher daughter was staying at Khorlim. PI Rajesh Kumar is investigatingthe case.

Canacona woman held for cheating

Vasco school burgled

HERALD REPORTER

VASCO, NOV 15

Computers and other acces-sories worth Rs 1.4 lakh werestolen from Deep Vihar HighSecondary School, Headland,Sada Mormugao, between Sat-urday evening and early Mondaymorning.

According to Mormugao Po-lice, when the school staffopened the school on Mondaymorning, they found four com-puters and other accessoriesmissing from the school.

Since the school was closefor Diwali vacation, it was lockedsince Saturday evening.

Police further informed thatsome unknown persons dam-aged the window panes of theschool to gain entry and fledaway with the booty.

Burglars decamped with fourmonitors and some keyboards,but they could not carry it withthem and left it abandoned onthe school terrace.

Mormugao Police has regis-tered a case against unknownpersons and is investigating thecase.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, NOV 15

Goa Government is busy in theUK to woo tourists in the state,but there seems no one to ad-dress the woes of tourists visit-ing world-famous Colva beachin the last few days.

Its now nearly a week sincewaters from the Colva creek haschanged its course on the beach.Visitors are forced to cross thecreek waters via a make shift culvertcomprising of a wooden plankarranged by water sports operators.

Sadly, though the situationhas put thousands of visitors tosevere hardships and run therisk of falling in the contami-nated creek waters, the touristofficials are yet tomake their pres-ence felt at the beach till date.

Domestic tourists, who spoketo Herald over the problemsfaced to enter the beach, saidthe government ought to haveintervened by now and savethem from the hardships.

Tourists wondered why theauthorities are slow in resolvingthe problem when visitors comein thousands to Colva every day.

Water sports operators said

Tourists do a balancing act at Colva

Tourists crossing the creek water to visit Colva beach. Photo by Sidharth Mehta

they have made the stop gaparrangement by placing awooden plank over the creekwaters to facilitate the touriststo visit the beach.

Incidentally, the Colva beachhas been crying for attentionover the years, with the beacheven lacking a changing roomfor the benefit of the tourists.

Thats not all. The authoritiesare yet to plug the discharge ofsewage and other waste intothe creek, contaminating thewater body.

HERALD REPORTER

VASCO, NOV 15

Providing bore wells is onething, but maintaining them isanother.

To solve the problem of waterscarcity, the Vasco PWD (watersection) had dug 30 bore wellsin and around Vasco. However,nearly half of the 30 bore wellshave been neglected since thelast many years.

Most of the abandoned borewells are hand pump bore wellsand few are submersible pumpwith overhead tanks.

As Headland Sada, located atthe extreme end of Vasco, oftenfaces short supply of water, the

department had provided 20bore wells, mostly submersiblepumps, while nearly 10 borewells are in and around Vascowith hand pumps.

Ironically, the department hasspent lakhs of rupees on diggingthese bore wells in differentparts of Vasco, as the topogra-phy of the port town is at thetail end and thus water reachesfrom Selaulim water reservoirafter supplying in Quepem andSalcete.

About 20 years ago, we man-aged to convince the then MLASimon DSouza and with hishelp, one bore well was dug atNew Vaddem, which is in now

in a bad shape for the last 15years, said Caitan Agonda ofNew Vaddem.

Maintenance of the bore wellwas not carried out for last manyyears. People have also stoppedusing is, as they use it only whentap goes dry, complained Caitan.

Says another resident, Ali RAngal: A bore well was dug nearthe Maruti Temple at upper jettyto resolve water crisis. Initiallyfor few days, the bore well func-tioned smoothly, but it is nowlying abandoned for the last onedecade due to lack of mainte-nance.

Assistant Engineer M S Kunjualso admitted that the bore wells

are in a bad shape. But only 10 of the 30 bore

wells are in dilapidated condi-tion, claimed Kunju. Kunju saidof the 30bore wells, 20 are at Head-land Sada, of which 15 are sub-mersible overhead bore well pumps,which are functioning smoothly.

Similarly, 10 bore wells arein and around Vasco area, ofwhich five are in damaged con-dition, informed Kunju.

As and when residents of par-ticular locality complain, PWDcarries out repair and mainte-nance work. Most of the borewells that are in abandoned con-dition are hardly used by thepeople, added Kunju.

Many bore wells in Vasco go dry

GOA, TUESDAY, 16 NOVEMBER, 2010

GOAOHERALD

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HERALD CORRESPONDENT

POINGUINIM, NOV 15

Transport Minister Sudin Dhava-likar on Monday urged the peo-ple not to come to the streetsand cause undue hardships bystaging road-blockade agitationson the highway project.

He was addressing the gath-ering during the inaugural func-tion of motorized boat to ferrypeople from Maxem to Galgibag.

Chief Minister DigambarKamat and Minister for Trans-port and River Navigation SudinDhavalikar inaugurated the mo-torized boat.

Addressing the large gather-ing, Chief Minister Kamat statedthat the Union government hasbeen requested to exempt localsresiding within a 40-km radiusfrom paying the toll along thefour-lane highway.

That apart, he has also de-manded concession passes fordaily commuters. Kamat said hehas been prevailing with theUnion government to take upthe construction of Talpona, Gal-gibag and Zuari parallel bridgeson priority.

Union Minister Kamal Nathhas responded positively andhas shown keen interest to takethe construction of these threebridges on priority, said Kamat.

Others who were present onthe occasion were CanaconaMLA Vijay Pai Khot, PoinguinimML A Ramesh Tawadkar,Poinguinim ZP member DayaPagi, former minister IsidoreFernandes, sarpanchas of Loliemand Poinguinim and others.

It may be recalled that therewas a need for a bridge on Gal-gibag and Talpona River, whichwas a constant demand by thelocals and the land was acquiredto construct the bridges by theUnion government about 30years ago.

Upon construction of thesetwo bridges, the road travel dis-tance would have been short-ened by over 12 kms, but theconcerned authorities report-edly failed to prevail upon the Uniongovernment in Delhi for constructionof these two bridges.

Then Union Minister of High-ways Sripad Naik had visitedLoliem with a team of officialsand addressed the people thathe will lay the foundation stonefor the construction of Galgibagand Talpona bridges within threemonths.

Dont agitate against highway project: Sudin

Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, Transport Minister Sudin Dhavlikarand others takes a ride in a motorized boat from Maxem to Gali-gibag. Photo by Freddy Rebello

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, NOV 15

Hazard a guess, on the na-ture of patients rushed tothe Hospicios casualty lastnight.

Well, most of the patients, in-cluding a 7-year old boy and awoman, were victims of dogbites, reported from Margao andSalcete, indicating the worsen-ing stray dog menace in thetaluka.

At Chandrawado-Fatorda, ayoung boy and a woman weremauled by a stray dog on theprowl in the locality. The boysustained injuries on his hands,while the woman was biten onher legs.

If Hospicios medical officerwas to be believed, almost allthe slots in the casualty wereoccupied by dog b i t e v i c -tims. Incidentally, it is notuncommon to f ind victimsof dog bites standing inbig queues in the OPD inthe mornings.

Hospic io regular ly re -ceives patients for anti-ra-bies vaccination. The victimsare no longer confined tothe commercial capital. Wereceive patients from Colva,Benaulim and other areasfrom the coastal belt, in-formed a Hospicio doctor.

The situation is far worse inthe commercial capital with thedog population increasing man-ifold over the years, with theMargao Civic body going slowin the Animal Birth Control Pro-gram.

In fact, though the MargaoCivic body after a long delay

dog bite patients visiting Hospicio on the rise

The 7-year old boy with the dogbite wounds.

Photo by Santosh Mirajkar

has put in place a dog shel-ter, the infrastructure failsto meet the growing require-ments.

Even the NGO roped in totake up the ABC programhave complained of irregularp a y m e n t s , e v e n a s t h em o n t h l y a m o u n t o f R s11,000 paid by the Civ icbody to the NGO ha rd l ymeets the basic costs.

Says the newly -e lectedCouncilor Joseph Silva, rep-resenting Chandrawado-Fa-torda:

The dog population has in-creased many times in Chan-drawado and other areas. Thegovernment should find a solu-tion to overcome the burningissue.

Russian plane still grounded

HERALD REPORTER

VASCO, NOV 15

The Aerofloat Russian charterflight that suffered extensivedamage due to a bird-strike stillremains grounded at Dabolimairport.

It may be recalled that on No-vember 11 morning, about 218passengers, including 10 crewmembers , on boa rd theMoscow-bound flight had a nar-row escape, when the flight suf-fered a bird hit on the runwayat Dabolim Airport.

All seven tyres of the aircrafthad caught fire, after the pilothad applied emergency brake.Besides, four blades of the en-gine propellers were also dam-aged in the incident.

Sources at the airport in-formed that hydraulic jacks tolift the aircraft is yet to arrivefrom Mumbai, while other repairworks have been completed.

Sources further informed thatinitially, jacks were supposed toa r r i ve f rom Russ i a i n anAerofloat flight, but this planwas cancelled, as jacks are avail-able in Mumbai.

However, the scheduledflights are unable to transportthe jacks from Mumbai becauseof their weight and they willnow be brought to Goa via road.

The jacks will arrive latestby Tuesday and within two days,the flight will be fit to fly backto Russia, said sources.

NIA submitsreports tocourt in

blast case HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, NOV 15

The National InvestigationAgency (NIA) on Monday sub-mitted to the South Goa Ses-sions court reports receivedfrom the Central Forensic labo-ratory related to the Margaobomb blast case.

The reports were handed overto the Sessions Judge, U V Bakreon Monday.

NIA Special Public Prose-cutor, S B Faria confirmedthat the NIA has submittedthe CFL reports to the courton Monday.

The reports relates to itemsattached by the investigatingagency relating to the blasts,he added.

The NIA had earlier sub-mitted CFL reports to thecourt earlier this year relat-ing to handwriting of one ofthe accused person, whichhad come positive.

Ceremonial send-off to ship HERALD REPORTER

VASCO, NOV 15

Amid protests by freedom fight-ers and BJP for the arrival of Por-tuguese tallest training ship,NRP Sagres, fishermen fromKhariwado-Vasco are all set togive ceremonial brass bandsend-off to the ship on Tuesdaymorning.

The trawler owners have de-cided that as a mark of respectfor great friendship tie betweenIndia and Portuguese, fishermenfrom Khariwado will give cere-monial brass band send-off tothe ship, said Goa Boat OwnersAssociation President SimonPereira.

Inviting the media for theevent, Periera said the tradi-tional brass band send-off is tofurther strength the Indo-Por-tugal friendship.

Meanwhile, since Sunday, thevisitors, who had come to seethe ship, were denied entry bysecurity personnel at MormugaoPort.

Godfrey Gonsalves, whohad come a long with h isfriends from Borda-Margao,to see the ship on Mondaymorning was also deniedentry by Central IndustrialSecurity Force (CISF).

We had carried our photoidentity cards and other rel-evant documents to produceat the gate to gain entry, butdespite that we were deniedaccess, complained Gon-salves.

While the shipping agent,Machado & Sons, RepresentativeMilton Colaco said the entry togeneral public was stoppedsince Sunday due to securityreasons.

Init ia l ly for two days,people were allowed to visitthe ship. The ship will sailon Tuesday at about 10 amto Egypt, he said.

upCominG eVentS

GOA, TUESDAY, 16 NOVEMBER, 2010GOAOHERA

LDO

Pg 4Fete at St Cruz

PANJIM (HND): Santa Cruz Parish Youth Group, will organisea 3-days Fete from November 16 to 18 from 6 pm to 10 pmdaily according to following schedule: On November 16, Veg-etable Carving and Decorating Candles by youth from 6 pm to7 pm; Musical Show by Jonny and his Trio from 7 pm to 8 pm;and Live concert by Olavo Rodrigues from 8 pm to 9 pm.

On November 17, Flower Arrangement and Face Painting byyouth from 6 pm to 7 pm; Konkani show by comedian Domnicand African Dance from 8 pm to 8.30 pm; Dance Performancechoreographed by Schubert from 8 pm to 9 pm; Band OpenHighway in concert from 9 pm onwards. On November 18Drawing Competition on theme Goan Art and Culture for youthin three categories of below 10 yrs, 10 to 15 yrs and 15 yrsand above from 6 pm to 7 pm; Play by Panjim Youth from 7 pmto 8.30 pm; Magic Show by Sabas from 7.30 pm to 8.30 pm;Dance Performance by Snaden Shawn and Troupe from 8.30pm to 9 pm; and band Lynx in concert from 9 pm onwards.Food stalls will serve exotic food prepared by housewives andprofessional cooks. The youth group will handle the entirefete under the guidance of senior villagers headed by Parishpriest of St Cruz Church, Fr Cristovao Caldeira.

National Press Day today PANJIM (HND): Department of Information and Publicity ,

Goa Editors Guild and Goa Union of Journalists will organiseNational Press Day on November 16 at Black Box Kala Academy,Campal, Panjim, at 9.30 am on theme Media in Globalisationand Competition: Challenges and Opportunities. Swati Desh-pande from Mumbai will deliver the keynote address on thetheme. Chief Minister Digambar Kamat will be the chief guestwhile Development commissioner and Secretary Information,Narendra Kumar will preside over the function.

Workshop for womenPANJIM (HND): Dr Meenacshi Martins, a reputed artiste and

a social activist, will guide the participants of the workshopon the theme the role of women in art and culture on November16 at the Conference Hall, Ravindra Bhavan, Margao at 10 am.On the same day a mega musical concert of women artistesonly, will be performed at the Pai Tiatrist Hall, Ravindra Bhavan,Margao at 3.30 pm where Antonette Mendes, a versatile singerand leading lady of tiatrs of yesteryears will be the chief guest.Admission is free and complementary passes can be obtainedfrom the counter of Ravindra Bhavan, Margao.

Night vigil at PilarPANJIM(HND): The Goa Charismatic Team will organise a

special night vigil at Pilar on November 16.The night vigil will begin at 9 pm and end with a mass at

3.30 am on November17. The highlights of the vigil will be atalk given by Fr Patricio Fernandes, a well-known Jesuit retreatpreacher. There will be a special slide presentation on the lifeof Mother Teresa. The concluding Eucharist for the night vigilwill be celebrated by Fr Eusico Pereira, the Dean of Goa VelhaDenary. There will be special prayers and anointing of the sickpeople on November 17 during the 4 pm mass. There will beno mass at 5.15 pm on November 17. Archbishop-PatriarchFilipe Neri Ferro will preside over the Solemn High mass onNovember 20 at 9.30 am. The novena masses which started onNovember 11 will be held daily at 5.30 am, 6.45 am, 8 am, 9.15am, 10.30 am, 4 pm, 5.15 pm and 6.15 pm (English). At the endof every Mass, there will be special prayers over the sick.

Mathematics

Invention of zero

Using theSutra Verti-cally andCrosswise we can multi-ply any two numbers to-gether in one lineusing this generalVedic method. Supposewe want to multiply 45by 63:

4 5

6 3

2 8 3 54 1

We write the num-bers out as shown andbegin by multiplyingvertically: 53=15,so we put down 5 andcarry the 1 as shown.

Then we multiplycrosswise and add thetwo results: 43 +56 = 42. To this weadd the carried 1, sowe put down 3 andcarry 4 to the left.

Finally we multi-ply vertically on theleft: 46 = 24 andadding the carried 4we get 28 which weput down.The simple pattern

used makes the methodeasy to remember and itis very satisfying toget the answer in oneline. It is also easyto see why it works:

the three steps findthe number of units,the number of tens andthe number of hundredsin the answer.Let us compare this

with the usual methodof long multiplica-tion.

4 5 6 3

1 3 52 7 0 02 8 3 5Here we have two

lines of working beforewe get the answer, wehave to remember to putthe zero down on theright on the secondline and there is nomemorable pattern asthere is with the Vedicmethod.

There was a timewhere the world existedwithout a zero (0). It

is quite hard to imag-ine arithmetic calcu-lations without thisall important number.After all, as there isa numeral describingall other quantities,there should be one todenote the concept ofnothing.

Aryabhatta, anIndian astronomerof yore, is the onewho came up withthe idea of thezero. He was bornin 479 CE; a factwhich was deducedfrom his book

Aryabhatiya. It is notclear where he wasborn, as there is nomention of his birth-place in his book. How-ever, at some pointduring his life, hemoved to Kusumapura,which roughly coin-cides to modern-dayPatna.

Although Aryabhattais credited with thediscovery of the zero,there is no explicitmention of the term inhis surviving trea-tises. However, be-cause he has writtenextensively on theplace-value system,there is an implicitunderstanding of theconcept of a zero.

The lack of a symbolfor the zero does notcast sufficient doubton Aryabhattas in-volvement, merely be-cause he did not usenumerals at all. Histreatises containednumbers in explanationform.

Aryabhatta is cred-ited with a number ofextraordinary discov-eries, which changedthe world of mathemat-ics then, and have be-come integralcomponents of mathe-matics now.

Vedic Mathematics:Multiplication

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BY HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, NOV 15

After setting up of a BenaulimCommunity Centre in July last,candidate for the Benaulim As-sembly constituency, Dr HubertGomes has disclosed plans tostart a football academy for theyouth of Benaulim and warnedof a mass agitation if the SportsAuthority of Goa leases itsground at Vaddi-Benaulim to aprominent South Goa based I-League club, whose manage-ment has vast clout in politicalcircles.

Dr Gomes also issued a sternwarning to his political oppo-nents not to intimidate his sup-porters saying that he wouldnot going to take it easy anymore.

Benaulim is one villagewhere footba l l i s p l ayedthroughout the year. But, onehardly finds any players makingit to the national team. Even theplayers do not find a place inthe I-League teams as theseteams import players fromAfrica, Manipur and other North

Eastern States, he said, addingthat his football academy projectis to help train local talent tobecome national players in thenext 10 years.

He said the proposed footballacademy would closely associatewith NRI Antonio Mascarenhas,who has lend his helping handby promoting three teams sincethe last many years.

Dr Gomes, however, said thatthis football academy projectmay face many a hurdle, includ-ing the decision by the SAG tolease the football ground atVaddi to a prominent South GoaI-League team for 33 years. Letme tell this government thatthis lease may take place onlyover his dead body. Where willour boys play if the ground isleased out to the I-League team.The villagers will not mind if theI-League practices on theground, but the lease is certainlynot acceptable to the villagers,he asserted and reminded thatthe era of Bhatkars have endedlong ago.

Dr Gomes also announced his

ambitious project Garbage andMalaria free Benaulim 2013, ex-uding confidence of succeedingin the project with the help ofenvironmentalist like ClintonVaz and others. If I get elected,I will push this project to be-come a reality. If I am notelected, I will help the next MLAto make the project successful.Finally, Benaulim people shouldwin, he added.

Claiming that his political op-ponents have started threaten-ing his supporters in Benaulim,Dr Gomes recalled that his op-ponents had threatened a groupat the musical evening at Melanin Benaulim bordering Varca.This will not be tolerated. Ihave not complained to the au-thorities, because I am not afraidof these people. But, this willnot be tolerated any more, headded.

He reiterated that he is notcontesting against anybody,but am contesting for the peo-ple of Benaulim to save the fu-t u re t h e y o u t h a n d t h ecommunity.

Dr Gomes plans football academy for Benaulim youthWarns of protest if SAG ground leased out

BY HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, NOV 15

Its official. Margao Municipalvice-chairperson Gonzaco Re-bello would head the much-sought after Market Committeeof the Civic body.

This was decided at a meetingof the Council on Tuesday morn-ing, when Chairperson SushilaNaik announced that the vice-chairperson is interested in oc-cupying the coveted post.

Sushilas announcementstopped further discussions on thesubject, even as many a Councilorexpected that a City Father, otherthan the vice-Chairperson, wouldhead the market committee.

Incidentally, during the tenure ofoutgoing Chairperson, SavioCoutinho, the market panel washeaded by Livramenta Barretto aspart of the power sharing arrange-ment amongst the ruling group.

Meanwhile, the Chairpersontold the Councilors that she wouldconvene a special meeting of theCouncil to elect members of theStanding Committee, market com-mittee, development committeeand the sanitation committee.

In the meantime, Margao Mu-nicipal Chief Officer, PrasannaAcharya has told the newly-elected Councilors to submit alist of dustbins they required intheir respective wards.

Rebello to head MMC market panel

Ban on sale ofitems around PimpalkattademandedBY HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, NOV 15

Margao New Market Traders onMonday called on the MargaoMunicipal Chairperson SushilaNaik and demanded a ban onsale of Diwali items in andaround the Pimpalkatta area ofthe city.

Led by Association PresidentVinod Shirodkar, the delegationsaid that the Civic body hadbanned the sale of Diwali itemslast year and demanded that theimplementation of the ban thisyear too.

On the other hand, Leader ofthe traditional Goan vendorsDilip Naik said that if the newMarket are insisting on a banon Diwali items, then the Civicbody should ban sale of all itemsat the Pimpalkatta, except co-conuts on Mondays.

He said the traditional ven-dors are ready to sell the itemsat the SGPDA market complex.

Case of forgery, cheating

registeredBY HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, NOV 15

The Cuncolim police on Mondayhave registered a case of forgeryand cheating against three per-sons in connection with themove to sell a residential flat atNavelim.

Acting Cuncolim PI SidhantShirodkar informed that the po-lice have already arrested twowomen in connection with thecase.

The police action comesfollowing a complaint filedby the owner of the flat thatthe woman allegedly con-spired to cheat the owner ofthe flat and had even ob-tained a loan from a nation-alized bank with the help offorged documents.

He said the police are collect-ing evidence in connection withthe case and is probing into therole of Notary and the managerof the nationalized bank. ThePolice are investigating.

Bakr-Id onNovember 17

HERALD NEwS DESk

PANJIM, NOV 15

Bakr-Id will be celebrated onNovember 17 in Panjim. The as-sociation, Anjuman Nurul Islam,Panjim, has arranged Idd Namazin the premises of JummaMasjid, Panjim, as well as adja-cent road upto Singbal BookHouse at 8.30 am, says a pressrelease.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CALANGUTE, NOV 15

The tourism business and resi-dents are badly affected due tofrequent power cuts in thecoastal belt of Calangute.

The government is doingnothing to improve the infra-structure of power supply andthe developments of the lastfew days are proof enough. Theaam admi has been badly hitdue to frequent cuts in thepower supply, damaging theirelectrical appliances and otherelectronic items, CalangutePanch Vinayak Subhash Sal-gaonkar told Herald.

Salgaonkar was referring to

Power cuts in coastal belt hampering tourism businessVillages of Saligao, Calangute, Arpora affected

frequent power cuts Calangutehas been experiencing since thelast few days, thereby damagingelectrical appliances of the com-mon men and badly affectingthe tourism business in thecoastal belt of Calangute.

Calangute village has beenexperiencing regular power cutsfor the last few days. Arpora hasalso been hard hit with regularpower cuts and at times plung-ing the entire village into dark-ness, said Salgaonkar.

On Friday night, residents ofSaligao, Calangute and Arporawere badly affected due powercuts every minute. Arpora whichhouses a power station was

plunged into darkness at 2.30am till 7 am, added Salgaonkar.

The government has surplusfund to spend on construction ofdrains or footpaths or poor qualitypublic roads, which are less im-portance to the common people,but the government does little toimprove basic requirement ofpower supply and water, he stated.

The government should seri-ously think of improving powerinfrastructure to bring some solaceto the common people, he added.

Some villagers from Calanguteand Arpora also expressed theiranger at the frequent power cutsfor the last few days in thecoastal belt of Calangute.

We have been facing powercuts on regular basis and the elec-tricity department is unable to doanything to keep a check on it,said Anthony Lobo of Calangute.

Says Sanjay of Arpora: Theelectricity department has beenundertaking repairs and mainte-nance time and again, but samethings are repeated time andagain. Frequent and lengthy cutsare increasing day-by-day and Ido not understand what the elec-tricity department is doing.

GOA, TUESDAY, 16 NOVEMBER, 2010OHERALDO Pg5

Congress and corruptionS Kamat, Alto Betim

The AICC meet took stock of the CWG andthe Adarsh Housing scams. Congresss at-titude towards corruption has been itsbane. Every person stands to benefit. Thatexplains the price rise in every Congressregime. A change in attitude and the partysline on corruption must be made clear, sothat the electorate knows what to do, comeelection. Media is controlled by Congressso that its scams are not reported. Thepublic exchequer gets drained, as a resultof scams. Government owes an answer onthis to the general public.

Corrupt but not cleanJayesh Rane, Mumbai

This refers to the report Embattled RajaQuits (Herald, 15 Nov). The cycle of cor-

ruption is detrimental to the developmentof the nation. But who cares? Evidence ofcorruption emerged among the ruling rankand file and the corrupt minister had togo. These babus always project themselvesas a Mr Clean. Such ministers should bedismissed from the party forever. Govern-ment must seal their properties. It appearsthe current government is not serious inits efforts to contain corrupt ministers.

Shame Shame!Esmeraldo Luis, Carmona

It was shameful and disgusting on the partof the defeated legislator from Vasco namelyArlekar, sitting legislator Laxmikant Parsekarand a handful of BJP and RSS supporterswho protested the arrival of the Portugueseship Sagres that docked in Mormugao ona goodwill visit to Goa.

None of the above was born to see howthe Portuguese ruled Goa. We Goans livedwithout fear and enjoyed a non existentcrime rate coupled with good educationduring the Portuguese regime. It left an in-delible mark.

The freedom fighters should not havewelcomed them with black flags. The legacyleft behind by them should be given duerespect.

Will we ever learn?Pradip Kamat, Atlanta, USA

A record 1.76 lakh crore rupees were lostdue to the stupidity and ignorance on partof a DMK politician and Telecom ministerA Raja. He finally resigned despite attemptsby Manmohan Singh to protect him (an af-fidavit was filed on his behalf by the PMOin the Supreme Court).

Now, is his mere resignation enoughpunishment for the huge loss incurred?Why shouldnt he be jailed permanently?

The same applies to ex Chief Ministerof Maharashtra Ashok Chavan of Adarshhousing scam fame. How is Soniaji and Cogoing to make good the irreparable lossincurred? Will we ever learn?

Missing electoral namesJesuin George Fernandes, Cansaulim

My name has disappeared from the electoral

roll.When I confronted the village Talathi

after checking the electoral roll, he sym-pathetically asked me whether I had beenabsconding for some time. The fact is thatI have lived in my village continuouslythroughout the year.

I have a small question to ask the au-thorities concerned - Is there any account-ability here?

Deleting names is a very serious matterand the official concerned should have atthe least double checked. But do they care?Apparently, this happens only in India andespecially Goa.

Unjustified movePachu Menon, Margao

Reports state that Saudi Arabia is on alert

for a possible Al Qaeda attack during Haj.What is their justification in planning a ter-ror attack during a religious journey thatevery devout Muslim is deemed to under-take during ones lifetime? The desire totopple the kingdoms royal family actuallyis the reason for such a devious plan.

Avoid uninhabited areasSantano Dias, by email

Everybody is aware of the reason as to whyChurchill Alemao speaks tough againstNH opposition. I presume it is a matterof claiming commission. The people ofBenaulim will dispense with him at theforthcoming election in Navelim or Be-naulim.

The people of Goa do not oppose NHroad widening, but they want it to be takenthrough uninhabited areas so that peopleslivelihoods and houses can be saved.

Politics A dirty gameCosme Cardoz, Siolim

Politics is said to be a dirty game. It hasreached its nadir in Goa. With most corruptand unscrupulous politicians, their only as-piration is to occupy the precious kodel.

Politicians promise a lot in their electionmanifestos. After getting elected, all prom-ises are broken. Voters would be well ad-vised that there is a need to dump these40 hungry wolves in the backyard. Lets in-duct new faces into the legislative assemblyso that they can wisely take care of theirrespective constituencies.

Colonial legaciesVincent Rego, Dubai

We must not forget that British Raj had pro-pelled Indians into the forefront in the fieldof education. This also spurred our advanceinto the English language and todays tech-nology hub.

Similarly, because of Portuguese rule, Goagot a unique identity. Discipline, honestyand strict law and order situation, was inforce then.

Those who raise a hue and cry against thevisiting Portuguese ship are hypocrites andbigots. We ought to be grateful to the Por-tuguese for bestowing a unique identity.

The power of prayer

Something seriously is going wrong for Goaths year. As the state emerges out to cele-brate the Golden Jubilee of its liberation,

Goa seems to be in an act of seize. MPT is goinghammer and tongs, destroying at will the Mor-mugao bay and asserting its foothold over thepicturesque Baina beach. As such, the copiousdust pollution and the frightening petroleum oildepots and storage tanks were not enough of aproblem for Vascoites. We are now under a seriousthreat posed by the Indian Navy, who will ulti-mately gain the Dabolim Airport, once the un-welcome and anti Goan Mopa airport isestablished. What is worse still, that after losingthe precious Anjediva island for a song, due tothe stupid decision of Ravi Naik, the present Goagovernment appears relaxed over the selfish ap-proach of the Indian Navy of acquiring the twoSt. Georges islands off the coast at Mormugaoin the grab of dubious security.

Fifty years down the line, after Goa was liber-ated from its colonial masters, the armed forcesof our country seem to consider Goa as a favouritespot for a land grab operation. In the name ofdefence, prime Goan land is being captured,seized and exploited against the interest of thelocal people. The Adarsh land scam in Mumbaiclearly reveals how bureaucracy, politicians andthe defence forces cleverly manipulate our re-sources for their personal interests. OperationVijay was meant to offer Goa to Goans and notto replace the Portuguese with the scamsters inthe defence forces. Some television channelshave glorified the armed forces, thus belittlingthe contributions of the common man of ourcountry. Lots of prerequisites, concessions andamenities afforded to armed forces have inducedthem into greed and exploitation. Kargil widowsdo not require or deserve posh flats worth croresof rupees. Give them the sustenance and main-tenance allowances together with the securityof job and livelihood. Give dignity, not pseudocharity to war widows. Jobs, not flats are whatKargil widows deserve. Armed forces as of todayare a disgrace to our country and need to betaught lessons in service and sacrifice before theyfall as victims to terrorism due to their lethargyand greed, which is ever growing and dissemi-nating amongst our glorified soldiers.

As a Panjimite for instance, I am unable to use

the pavement around army buildings on the wayto Panjim market, as security as well as gate sen-tries push and shoo away each and everyone,who dares to venture close to the army building,even if one seeks protection from rain by enteringan army complex. As a one from Goa, I can un-derstand and appreciate the sentiments and dif-ficulties of the Kashmiri youth, with the presenceof army in that state. The civilians in our countryhave done more than enough to laud and respectthe contributions of the defence forces. But theoverplay by the electronic media in particular, toonly focus on army contribution and their prob-lems, while ignoring the despicable state ofpenury of 400 million civilians, the poor of ourcountry, who live under the open sky withouteven a decent meal, is highly objectionable.

Except those army personnel who chose tolive on Himalayan slopes, the lives of civilians inour country in general and Goa in particular, isextremely strenuous and arduous. If the Indiannation is emerging economically strong, it is dueto the hard work the civilian work force essentiallyconsisting of our farmers, fishermen, constructionlabour and entrepreneurs. As such, the common

man is totally unaware; ex. army personnel enjoyenviable canteen, leisure and entertainment fa-cilities unavailable to the civilian. Special dis-counts, waving off sales taxes, duties and theoffer of purchase incentives and reservationsallow army men to acquire properties, commodi-ties, groceries including liquor at dirt cheap rates,which civilians can only dream about.

This has resulted in a series of scams like theBofors, the coffin and the land grab fiascos, asseen in the multicrore land grab in Mumbai. Likein Kashmir, the people of Goa have to face thehigh handed and the elusive attitude of the armedforces. The Goan army men have done preciouslittle to bring about better and a congenial ap-proach amongst army men from all over the coun-try, who have settled or are working in Goa. Whyshould there be so much of army presence inPanjim in particular? After acquiring propertiesin Merces, Verem, Vasco, Dabolim, Navelim, etc.,army installations, canteens and hospitals shouldhave shifted off from Panjim. If Goa Medical Col-lege, the oldest in Asia, was shunted to Bambolim,why is an annoying Panjim Army hospital, Signalunit and all the army paraphernalia allowed to

hinder civilian activities in the capital city? It wasalso the duty of Corporation of the City of Panjim,the 30 corporators together with the Commis-sioner of CCP to initiate a process of dialoguewith defence officials as what belonged to thePortuguese Junta, 50 years ago is not the assetof the Defence forces, especially in urban areaslike Panjim, after large stretches of civilian prop-erties have been gifted for a song at Merces,Verem, etc., around Panjim in particular. Whilearmy personnel work systematically to acquireluxury, comfort, properties and facilities in a sillygarb of security, the civilian administrative forces,especially the Goan bureaucracy, seems to afforda lackadaisical approach to Camel in Arab tentapproach of Indian Navy in Goa

Today, Goa is a powerhouse of criminal activitieswith murders, thefts, burglaries and suicidesshowing a steep rise. Drunken army men crossingswords with the police is also common to a Goancivilian. Now, the biggest threat to Goan economyis the increased presence and the nuisance of ex-cessive army presence all around Goa. The recentapproach of the Indian Navy to acquire the Pe-queno and the Grande islands off Mormugao,the only surviving leisure resorts left for Goans,with Anjediva in Navys pocket, would be the laststraw on the camel back and the nail in the coffinof Goan way of life.

As such, the real estate lobby in Goa has alreadymarginalised Goan identity and culture. Let theNavy not reduce our entertainment and relaxationfacilities by making its presence felt in everynook and corner. Slowly but surely, Goans, spe-cially our Catholic community, is sought to bemarginalised. Zuari Agro Chemicals, BITS institute,MPT and now, Pinky Shipyard at Chicalim allegedlypatronised by the local MLA of Cortalim is steadilychanging the demography of Mormugao Taluka.It is time for the Goans to shed their pseudopatriotism by allowing the army and theNavy everywhere in Goa and to check migrantinflux or else, we would have no land left for NizGoenkars of the future. Instead of reducing theirpresence after 50 years of Goa Liberation, thearmed forces are bent on finding themselvesmore space and luxury in Goa. The locals mustresist this land grab by the defence forces toothand nail in the interest of posterity and qualitylife for the Goan.

OPINIONwww.oheraldo.in

Pg6Vol No CX No: 286

Goa, Tuesday 16 November, 2010

Letters to the EditorLetter of the Day

Portuguese vs freedom

fighter debateDr Oscar Rebello, Panjim

l It is an indisputable fact that the Portuguese are the warmest, most generous andhospitable people in perhaps the whole of Europe.

l It is an indisputable fact that for over 400 years, Goans were subjected to theworst human right abuses under Portuguese rule. These memories can never everbe erased; only forgiven.

l It is an indisputable fact that just as todays Muslims should not be held responsiblefor Babars sins, and all Hindus should not be blamed for the heinous acts of lunaticHindutva groups in Gujarat and Orissa, the present Portuguese generation cantcarry the cross of their ancestors barbarism.

l It is an indisputable fact that an entire generation of Goan freedom fighters sacrificedtheir youth so that we, the present generation, may walk free. No amount ofpensions or doles can ever compensate for those sacrifices.

l It is an indisputable fact that we identify ourselves as Goan Indians and not asGoan Portuguese (hopefully!).

l It is an indisputable fact that cultural, economic and the one I love the most bacalhao and porto ties with the Portuguese will continue forever, because peopleare always smarter than their governments.

l It is an indisputable fact that one can either celebrate ones mothers enslavement500 years ago or her liberation 50 years ago; not both! A wise Governor and acunning Chief Minister read the writing on the wall.

l It is an indisputable fact that RSS affiliates will rightly call for a boycott ofthe so-called 500-year celebration, but will never call for justice to Indiancitizens butchered in Gujarat and Orissa, who were neither Pakistani nor Por-tuguese.

l And lastly, it is indisputable that the present garbage dump called Goa, whichstinks of corruption and avarice, is the creation of Goans, and certainly not a legacyof the Portuguese. With so many indisputable facts staring in our face, do we need another cantankerous

and ill-tempered debate that revives Goans historical divisive tendencies? Or do werequire to break away from the past and forge a paradigm shift in thinking and ideasfor our future generations ideas based on economy and governance, on pluralismand tolerance, on law and order and selfless service? Let not the past prevent us fromexploring a brave new future.

Printed and published by Vinayak Pai Bir for and on behalf of Herald Publications Pvt Ltd. Printed at Herald Publications Pvt Ltd, Plot No: L-135, Phase II, Verna Industrial Estate, Verna, Salcete, Goa. Published at PO Box 160, Rua Sao Tome, Panjim, Goa - 403001. Editor-in-chief: Mr R F Fernandes. Editor: Ashwin Tombat(Responsible under PRB Act). Regd Office: St Tome Road, Panjim, Goa. Tel: 2224202, 2228083, Fax: 2222475 (all Editorial); 2230535, Fax: 2225622 (Advertising); Margao: 2737689. Mumbai Office: 16-A, Bell Building, 2nd Floor, 19 Sir PM Road, Fort, Mumbai - 400001 (Tel: 22840702/22844908). RNI No: 43667/83. HOW TO CONTACT US: mail@herald-goa.com For press notes, general queries. junioryouth@herald-goa.com Junior Herald & Careers. heraldmirror@herald-goa.com Sunday Mirror. reporters@herald-goa.com For Reporters. business@herald-goa.com For Business news. editor@herald-goa.com For Letters to the Editor. sports@herald-goa.com For Sports news. advt@herald-goa.com For Advertisements. 2day@herald-goa.com For Herald 2day. tiatr@herald-goa.com For Tiatr Reviews and Reports. Disclaimer: Except for the editorial above, articles and letters in Herald represent the views of the concernedauthors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Herald editor, publisher, and/or owners.

Goans need to shed their pseudo nationalism, says Dr Joe Dsouza

OHERALDO

Divine Assistance

By Charlane Pereira

OHERALDO

100 Years Ago

16 November 1910Village feastAt the Church of Cortalim took placethe Feast of Our Lady of Piety in honourof the moribund of that village.

Ministers arrestedWere arrested by the Spanish AuthoritiesTeixeira DAbreu and Metheiro Reymao,ministers in the Cabinet of Franco ac-cused of complicity with him.

Suspected cases detectedThe Health Delegate who was seencamping at Mormugao have declaredthat it is to clean the quarters wheretwo suspect cases have been detected.

Newspaper Director deadThe Bombay Gazette reports that atElvas there were more than 200 bodiesand amongst them was the body of theDirector of Newspaper Portugal, Fr.Lourenco de Matos.

PRIMEIRO DIARIO NAS COLONIAS PORTUGEZAS

Resignationof a Raja

Former Telecom Minister Andimuthu Raja finally resignedfrom his post on Sunday. This is a significant victory forthe movement against corruption, which has just claimed

former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and Com-monwealth Games chief Suresh Kalmadi. However, evengetting its coalition partner the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam(DMK) to agree to Rajas sacking has been such a struggle,that it seems most unlikely that the central government willagree to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe intothis infamous 2G deal, as the opposition is demanding.

Rajas party, the DMK, is one of the largest partners in theruling Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalitiongovernment at the centre, and its support is crucial for thegovernments majority in parliament. So far, DMK supremoM Karunanidhi had stubbornly refused to even countenancethe possibility of Rajas resignation. However, a nationwideoutcry in the matter, followed by embarrassing disclosuresmade by former bureaucrats combined with sustained pressureby the Congress party finally led to the Tamil Nadu satrap re-lenting and asking Raja to resign.

Contributing in no small measure was an open offer madeby Karunanidhis main rival Jayalalitha of the AIADMK, whourged the Congress to ditch the DMK, saying that she wouldmobilise 18 MPs to support the party in Parliament and ensurethat the government did not fall. Rajas individual importanceto the DMK is in the fact that he is a scheduled caste leader,and alienating him could mean alienating his entire community.That is why, even after asking him to resign, Karunanidhi re-leased a statement saying that Raja was not guilty of anyscam, and that the 2G spectrum allocation was made afterfollowing all procedures.

The facts, though, seem otherwise. In 2008, nine telecomcompanies were issued spectrum and licenses for secondgeneration (2G) mobile phone services at Rs1,658 crore (lessthat $350 million) for all-India operations, which included122 circle-wise licenses. This was done on a controversialfirst-come-first-served basis. The cut-off date for applicationswas also arbitrarily advanced, and the basis for selection ofallottees was completely opaque.

Much later, an auction for third generation (3G) servicesspectrum raised $15 billion (Rs71,000 crore) for the publicexchequer. The auction for broadband services fetched over$8.5 billion (Rs40,000 crore). Based on these figures, the no-tional loss from Rajas controversial allotment has been esti-mated at $38 billion (Rs1,76,000 crore) to the public exchequer.

And even though the Comptroller and Auditor General ofIndia (CAG) has revealed that Mr Raja ignored advice fromthe Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) as well asfrom the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) that the 2G spectrumshould be auctioned, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hashimself defended Rajas decision and said that all his telecomminister did was to implement a policy already in place; thatno norms were flouted.

But the scam has its stories. Swan Telecom, a companywith no experience, cornered licenses for 13 circles for $340million (Rs1,598 crore), and then managed to sell a 45 percent stake in the company to UAEs Etisalat for $900 million(Rs4,250 criore). The stake sale valued the company (meaningthe licenses and spectrum, since it did not have a single sub-scriber) at $2 billion (Rs9,400 crore). Another Johnny-come-lately, Unitech, paid $365 million (Rs1,720 crore) as licensefee, and sold a 60 per cent stake to Norways Talenor for$1.36 billion (Rs6,400 crore), making it a $2 billion companywithout a single subscriber.

Dubious companies got spectrum and licences worth thou-sands of crores for a fraction of their value. They then soldit for a windfall. Public money for private pickings? Will weever know how much the people of India lost?

Getting what we rightly deserve

Anytime, heard of a prayer being the most powerful weaponin the history of mankind? Well, I truly believe it is. And thattoo, coming from a young bird who hardly fathoms the mys-

teries and the working of the world, is little too much for youreaders to digestheard a lot of old foggies saying that, neverthought that a young birdie like me would be a staunch supporterof such an age-old belief is something that astounded me too.Guess, you need to experience it to believe it deep and meaningfulfaith is not easy to come by in todays competitive world. And es-pecially among the younger generation dangerously treading stillin their twenties (like me) is the proudest achievement of my lifekeeping aside my academic laurels and career accomplishments.Guess, life has its most unusual methods of achieving its longsought process which is so frequently seen and natural among anolder age group. Most grey haired people are spiritually inclined,with of course, a few exceptions that refuse to tread the path forthey like sticking to their atheist philosophies, which have beeningrained in their hard core brains

We humans often associate the act of praying with the eldersand the holy order. However, prayers are the need of the houra must for everyone who qualifies to be called a human. With in-

creasingly changing lifestyles and seeping of Western influence,crimes are on a rapid rise. Corruption seems to have found itsdark face in all those who fall prey to the greed of wealth. Thehaves retain their dominant haves-position while the have-notshave to master the skills of earning their daily livelihoods. Differentproblems are seen rampant in todays worldthe youth are intodrugs, alcohol or having a smoke with their gang. Parents are busyattending to their work schedulesand with both parents asworking parents, the scenario reaches an ugly status. Lack ofparental supervision and monitoring and very little emphasis onvalues among youth leads to a greater degradation of society,nation and the world in general.

With prayers said in in-depth faith, they can turn out to be themost potent tool ever. Even biological warfare or even nuclear ar-mour cannot resist the ever-lasting effect of spiritual words. Littlefaith can go a long way in working miracles in ones life. Noquestion that if a person has great faith, he/ she will be able tobrave any storms. Faith doesnt mean that a person wont encounterany obstacles it just means that faith will manifest in you tosuch an extent, that it will control your whole earthly existence. Icame across this saying, When God leads you to edge of difficulty,

trust him fully. Only one of the two things will happen. Either Hewill catch you when you fall or He will teach you how to fly. Thesignificance of these words will hit all you readers, provided youare willing to cajole your own self in believing such art of spiritualliving. Others might just discard it as a piece of spiritual gibberish.This is a well known fact. There is no denying that the world is fullof atheists, agnostics and theists, each one desperately trying toadhere to tenets of their philosophy. People can be categorisedaccordingly. There are those who are regular church-goers whopreach as well as practice good values. There are others who areoutstanding Christians who might follow the rituals and religiouspractices, but are shallow in their own faith. The last categorycomprises of obstinate humans who refuse to budge from theirstance of Religion is crap and God is a crutch that weak peoplelean on to.

Great faith is difficult to come by. Even the greatest of leaders,successful persons or highly talented artists believe in supremepowers of the unseen or unheard (God). Many people pray in theform of bargaining or begging for a miracle Just remember, Godworks in mysterious ways. An author once said, When at nightyou cannot sleep, talk to the Shepherd and stop counting sheep.

Issues Of COnCern

Teacher and Disciple

By Sri Ramakrishna

Through restlessness the rest-lessness a child feels for his mother.The child feels bewildered whenhe is separated from his mother,and weeps longingly for her. If aman can weep like that for God hecan even see Him.

At the approach of dawn the east-ern horizon becomes red. Then oneknows it will soon be sunrise. Like-wise, if you see a person restlessfor God, you can be pretty certainthat he hasnt long to wait for Hisvision.

A disciple asked his teacher, Sir,please tell me how I can see God.Come with me, said the guru, andI shall show you. He took the discipleto a lake, and both of them got intothe water. Suddenly the teacherpressed the disciples head underthe water. After a few moments hereleased him and the disciple raisedhis head and stood up. The guruasked him, How did you feel? Thedisciple said, Oh! I thought I shoulddie; I was panting for breath. Theteacher said, When you feel likethat for God, then you will knowyou havent long to wait for His vi-sion.

Paths of Wisdom

7

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HERALD CORRESPONDENT

MAYEM, NOV 15

The annual Kirtan Mahotsav willbe held at Vithal Mandir, Vitha-lapur-Sanquelim, from Novem-ber 16 to 20, followed annualTripurari Pournima on Novem-ber 21.

The Tripurari Pournima is afestival of light and lamps thatmarks the end of Diwali festi-val.

Addressing a press conferenceat Sanquelim, President ArunNaik said Tripurari Pournima cel-ebration is organized in associ-ation with the Art and Culturaland Information and PublicityDepartment, every year.

Naik further informed thatKirtan will be delivered by HariBhajani Pandit ChintamaniNimkar, Pune, at 7 pm every-day. Gopal Kala will be alsocelebrated on November 19at 10 am and Kirtan Mahotsavwill conclude on November20.

A boat competition will beorganized on November 21, dayof Tripurari Pournima.

A Srikrishna Poojan has been

organized at Pimpal Ped at 10am, followed by procession ofLord Krishna at 4 pm, accom-panied by Dindi Pathak fromBanda-Maharashtra.

Deepdaan will be performedby Suhasini women at 7 pm.Pandit Prabhakar Karekar andAsha Khadelkar will performsongs programme from 7 pm to9 pm, Sarango release pro-gramme, followed by boat com-pe t i t i on a t 11 pm andTripurasura Vadh at 11.30 pm.

Winners in the boat compe-tition will be given cash prizesof Rs 25,000, Rs 20,000, Rs15,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 7,500 andfive consolation prizes of Rs2,500 each.

Besides, 20 selected boatswill be given Rs 1,000 each,while each participating boatwill be given honorarium of Rs500. The entry fee for the boatcompetition is Rs 100.

Those interested in takingpart in the boat competitionmay contact Arun Naik on9422388873, Sameer Desai on9923119009 or Vyas Javdekaron 2365856/9823742906.

Kirtan Mahotsav at Sanquelim

Youth prepare for the boat competition during the Tripurari Pourn-ima festival at Sanquelim. Photo by Vishant Vaze

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

BICHOLIM, NOV 15

Even after three years of layingthe foundation stone, work ofthe Virdi-Amona Bridge is yetto be completed.

The villagers have demandedthe concerned authorities tolook into the matter.

It may be recalled that thefoundation stone was laid onApril 4, 2007, by then chief min-ister Pratapsing Rane in the pres-ence of then power ministerDigambar Kamat. All the formal-ities of acquiring the land werecompleted, but later it did notsee the ray of light.

Sanquelim Municipal Council(SMC) has strongly demandedthat the government should takeup the work of Virdi-AmonaBridge, which will help the peo-ple from Sanquelim and sur-rounding areas.

Since the last four years, gov-ernment has not undertaken thework of the bridge and we canonly see the foundation stoneat the place, SMC ChairmanAnand Naik told Herald.

The estimated cost of thebridge is about Rs 3 croreand i f the bridge is com-pleted, then people from San-quelim will be benefited,said Naik.

If this bridge is completed,it will not only help people fromSanquelim and Bicholim, butalso the people from Virdi, whowould get a crematorium, which

Work on Virdi-Amona bridge yet to commence

The foundation stone laid for the construction of the Virdi-Amonabridge. Photo by Samir Umarye

they are lacking now, said Naikadding A land owner has al-ready promised a land for thecrematorium if the bridge iscompleted.

The bridge will minimize thedistance between Marcel andSanquelim and will benefit areasof Sanquelim, Virdi, Maulingtad,Vazri and Karapur.

This bridge will be helpfulfor the people of Virdi, as thedistance between Marcel andthe village will be about 3 kmsas against now, which is 18kms, said Vasudev Sawal, alocal.

Again if this bridge mate-rializes, then the local youthwould also get some businessas the traffic would be di-verted from this village, saidSawal.

Former Sanquelim sarpanchVithal Kamat also supportedthe idea and said the govern-ment should look into the mat-ter.

The project is standstill andthe government has totally for-gotten about it. The governmentshould think over this and alsotry to meet the demands of thepublic, he said.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CANACONA, NOV 15

For Mastimoll Councilor andnew deputy chairperson ofCanacona Municipal Council,Sandesh Gaonkar, it is a dreamladder climbing exercise from asimple juice extractor to a coun-cillor and then to a more au-thoritative position of deputychairperson.

Gaonkar, a ST communitymember, is the resident ofChaudi ward and with hismother and wife among othersiblings earn his livelihood byoperating a juice extracting machine.

He carries his trade with thehelp of his mother and wife op-erating his business on otherside of the road, but right infront of the municipal adminis-trative building.

Sources informed in the past,he was reportedly harassed bythe municipal authorities, oftenthreatening his livelihood andmost of the time survived attheir mercy.

When news broke out thatMastimoll is reserved for STcommunity, few aspiring candi-dates suspected Canacona MLAs(home ward) hand in the wardsreservation for ST community,where except for one household(reportedly having just threevoters) it has no other ST resi-dents/electorate.

It was at that moment thatmore than few benefactors be-came realistic and approachedSandesh Gaonkar, who inciden-tally is a resident of neighboringChaudi, to contest from Masti-moll ward.

From juice extractor todeputy chief at CMC

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CANACONA, NOV 15

In order to bring high yield for the farmers in the region, agricul-turists meet at Poinguinim planned 10 acres of Rabi cultivationwith the help of transplantation machinery on experimental basis.

The meeting was attended by about 50 farmers of Poinguinim,who took keen interest in the talks given by experts to increasepaddy yield and lower cost if implanted mechanically, rather thanmanually.

Quepem Zonal Agriculture Officer Shivram Gaonkar informedthe farmers that agriculture department has tasted success in anexperiment at Quepem village during last rabi season.

During the last Rabi cultivation, 10 hectares of paddy field wastransplanted using mechanized machinery acquired by the gov-ernment and the results are encouraging. It gave good yields andalso reduced the cost of cultivation by 50 per cent, Gaonkar toldthe farmers.

Speaking on the occasion, Canacona ZAO Rajesh Gaonkar saidgovernment has plans to conduct similar exercise on experimentalbasis at Poinguinim and accordingly again 10 hectares will be cul-tivated with the help of machinery and other mechanized tools.

The meet was presided over by Jagdish Faldessai, a farmer fromPoinguinim.

Interested farmers can buy the paddy saplings from the nurseryraised by selected contractors, farmers are told.

The only requirement is the preparation fields for cultivation,while per acre cost is Rs 6,000, including transplantation, whileone hectare cost Rs 16,000.

Poinguinim farmers plan mechanicaltransplantation

Seniorjournalists to be felicitated

HERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, NOV 15

Two senior journalists, ArunBhatkande and Sharad Ten-dulkar will be felicitated on theoccasion of National Press Dayon November 16 in Kala Acad-emy Black box, Panjim, at 9.30am.

Arun Bhatkhande has 30 yearsexperience in journalism. Heserved as sub-editor, chief sub-editor for Tarun Bharat, Sagar,Gomantak and is presentlyworking for Pudhari as seniorchief sub-editor.

Sharad Tendulkar started hiscareer in journalism in year1970 as a proof-reader withGomantak and wrote side ar-t i c l e s fo r Gomantak andNavprabha. He took VRS fromGomantak after 33 years of hisservice and joined Goa Timesas Sub-Editor. Presently, he isworking for Goa Doot as sub-editor.

The National Press Day pro-gramme will be jointly organ-i s e d b y D e p a r t m e n t o fInformation and Publicity, GoaUnion of Journalists and GoaEditors Guild.

Chief minister DigambarKamat will be the chief guestand Secretary Information,Narendra Kumar, will presideover the function. Swati Desh-pande, Editor (Law), ToI Mum-ba i , w i l l de l i ver keynoteaddress on the theme Mediain Globalisation and Competi-tion: Challenges and opportu-nities.

Yash Chopra to open IFFIThis year, a group of eminent film personalities will be felicitated

during the inaugural function as well as at the closing ceremonyof IFFI, Khan added.

The director said that IFFI since long had been felicitatingvarious film personalities during the festival.

However, the process was discontinued seven to eight yearsback, he stated.

The 10-day-long festival, beginning from November 22 willscreen 70-80 films in the Cinema of the World Section.

This time record number of 450 entries came for this section.The jury members, comprising 20 eminent persons from theindustry were confused as all the movies sounded the best, Khansaid adding that 15 films from different countries including threeIndian films will be competing for International Competition Section.

As Orissa is celebrating 75 years of its cinema, Khan said thatthe States film industry will be the focus for the festival.

Prominent films from this State along with the filmmakers willbe making their way to IFFI, he stated.

Talking more on the festival, the director said that IFFI, thistime will be hosting two master classes by Oscar Award winnerResul Pookutty on sound and technology in cinema on November27 and by actor Boman Irani on acting in cinema (comedy in Hindicinema) on December 1.

Khan, who took a review meeting of IFFI, expressed happinessover the preparations.

There has been perfect coordination between ESG and Direc-torate of Film Festivals (DFF)everything is going on a smoothnote, he said.

ESG, CEO Manoj Srivastava during the press conference briefedon Shopping and Food Festival, jointly organised by ESG and GoaChamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI).

The Shopping and Food Festival will embody the spirit of IFFIwith the perfect mix of fun, entertainment and great cuisine, he said.

The two host cities for the festival-Panjim and Margao will havea grand inaugural on November 19 (Margao) and November 21 (Panjim).

During the festival, extensive discounts ranging from 20-30 per-cent will be offered at 200 retail establishments and restaurants.

This year, not just IFFI delegates but every Goan will be ableto avail the benefit of this festival, the CEO said.

Blast at Curtorim factoryMSL factory said a worker named Dinkar Kochrekar was injuredin the blast and was immediately rushed to the Hospicio hospitalfor treatment.

He said the police have ordered the factory management tostop the production till the concerned authorities a thoroughprobe into the furnace blast.

PI Shirodkar informed that the police would write to the agencies,including the Factories and Boilers and the fire services to conductan inquiry into the blast.

Residents of Curtorim also rushed to the factory site after theneighbourhood was rocked by the blast. Sources said the villagersinitially were taken aback by the loud sound and it was only laterthat realisation dawned that the furnace blast had taken place atthe MSL factory.

The police are conducting further investigations.This is the second furnace blast witnessed in recent times, the

last one being reported at the Cuncolim Industrial Estate, whichhas killed a couple of workers, besides leaving around 50 workersinjured in a massive furnace blast.

11

APPOINTMENT

GOA, TUESDAY, 16 nOvEmBER, 2010

Pg12OHERALD

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Shepherds sell their livestock on a roadside ahead of the Muslim festival Eid al-Adha in Bangalore on Monday. Eid al-Adha, which com-memorates Abrahams acceptance of Gods command to sacrifice his son Ismail, falls on the 10th of Dhul al-Hijja on the Islamic calendar.

Prithviraj hails WEFcentre inMumbai

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI, NOV 15

Maharashra Chief MinisterPrithviraj Chavan on Mondaywelcomed the World EconomicForums desire to set up its firstregional centre outside Genevain Mumbai.

In a meeting with the forumsCEO Klaus Schwab, who is herefor a 3-day India Economic Sum-mit organised by his organisa-tion, Chavan hoped its proposedcentre in Mumbai will help Indiabuild its cordial relations inter-nationally.

Sure that the forums re-gional office would work in thedirection of improving Indiaseconomy in general and that ofMaharashtra in particular, wewould be positive to land allpossible support, Chavan wasquoted telling Schwab.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI, NOV 15

Bhartiya Janata Party veteranleader Lal Krishna Advani hashailed United States PresidentBarack Obamas address to Par-liament on November 8 as re-ally superb, both in content aswell as in its style of delivery.

For all Indians, what he saidwas important, and heartening.But what he omitted to say, Ithink, was no less important.There was no mention of theword Kashmir in his speech,he noted in his latest blogpenned on Sunday.

He said no word on Kashmiris significant since it is the sameObama who had remarked inthe course of his election cam-paign in 2008 that workingwith Pakistan and India to tryto resolve the Kashmir crisis ina serious way would be amongthe critical tasks of his admin-istration.

In his Central Hall speech theUS President lauded Indias greatcivilisation, its pluralism and itsdemocracy. He spoke o fVivekananda, of Gandhi, ofTagore and Dr Ambedkar. Hesaid he looked forward to Indiabecoming a permanent memberof the UN Security Council, Ad-vani noted.

He pointed out that whenSushma Swaraj (Oppositionleader in Lok Sabha) metObama, she told him emphati-cally that the impression com-mon Indian citizens have aboutUS attitude towards this partof the world is that for Wash-ington, Pakistan is an ally, Indiais a market.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI, NOV 15

Parliament continues to be onfire with the Opposition not re-lenting on the demand for aJoint Parliamentary Committee(JPC) probe into scams.

Resignation of Telecom Min-ister A Raja it sought for the 2Gspectrum scam and a 3-day re-cess did not blunt its tempers.Both the Houses were shut forthe third consecutive sitting onMonday with only a token ofbusiness transacted amid pan-demonium by members parkedin the well.

DMK supremo M Karunanidhimade Raja resign Sunday nightonly to let Parliament that wasstalled by the Opposition on 2Gscam as otherwise both Rajaand DMK stressed it did notamount to an admission of guilt,but the strategy did not work.

Buoyed by resignations of firstMaharashtra Chief MinisterAshok Chavan and then Raja, anaggressive BJP mobilised all Op-position parties, barring theLeft, to insist that resignationsby the culprits are no end of thestory. It wants a JPC probe fol-lowed by criminal cases to pun-ish all those making money inthe spectrum scam, MumbaisAdarsh Society scam and a seriesof the Commonwealth Games.

Prime Minister ManmohanSingh was to make a statementin the Lok Sabha in a bid to re-rail Parliament that has nottransacted any business since

the winter session began lastTuesday, but he chose to keepoff as he would not have beenheard because of the pandemo-nium.

All the same, the g