OHERALDOThe Voice of Goa Since 1900

PTI

NEW DELHI, OCT 15

With the Commonwealth Gamesover and demands for probemounting, Prime Minister Man-mohan Singh tonight appointeda high-level committee headedby former CAG to go into alle-gations of corruption related tothe mega sporting event.

The committee, headed byformer Comptroller and AuditorGeneral (CAG) V K Shunglu, willsubmit its report to the PrimeMinister within three months,PMO spokesman said.

The announcement cameeven as the CAG stepped intothe picture to conduct assess-ment of various projects relatedto the CWG with officials set tovisit all the stadia and gothrough records.

Significantly, CWG OrganisingCommittee Chairman Suresh

Kalmadi, who has been in theline of fire over the corruptionallegations, was snubbed whenhe was not invited to a felicita-tion at the Prime Ministers res-idence for Indian medal winners.

The government has decidedto constitute a high-level com-mittee under former CAG V KShunglu to look into all mattersrelating to organising and con-duct of the CommonwealthGames 2010, New Delhi, includ-ing to draw lessons from it, thespokesman said.

The details of terms of refer-ence will be announced in a dayor two, the spokesman said.

The developments came asopposition parties, which hadheld their fire during the 12-dayevent, today stepped up theirdemand for thorough probe intocorruption charges which theCongress said should be done

and those guilty, if any, bebrought to book.

The CAG, which had held upits audit during the Games,

today sent its inspection officialsto the CPWD office located in-side S P Mukherjee Stadium tocheck the accounts related tothe CWG projects.

The audit work for CWG isrelated to work payments, con-tracts and leasing of sportsequipment among others.

The CAG audit would lookinto how the balance betweenthe cost and quality has beenmaintained and whether therehas been any cost overrun.

We have started with theCPWD office inside the S PMukherjee Stadium today. Nowthat the athletes have vacatedthe venues, we will graduallystart sending our inspection of-ficers to all the stadia, an officialwith the auditing watchdog said.

The CAG had begun assessingthe Games expenditure in Au-gust.

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Visit us at:www.oheraldo.in panjim, Saturday, OCtOber 16, 2010 priCe rs. 3.00 (air Surcharge rs 2.00) pages 16 + 4

Dont get confused! Garlands,bouquets...are for the excellentorganisation of the games andhandcuffs are for the misappro-priation of funds

Business: RBI may hike

rates Pg 12

Goas Heartbeat: Deepika Padukone

is one busy girl! Pg 4

Sports: Federer routs Soderling

to enter Shanghai semis Pg 16

NOW, THE CWG HANGOVER PM appoints high-level team to study corruption charges

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, OCT 15

Despite being the only Statein the country to have casinos,the State Government seemsto be reluctant in promotingcasinos in its official tourismagenda.

At the International TourismMart, which got underway yes-terday, at Bandodkar Grounds,Campal-Panjim, the casino op-erators took centre stage withseveral stalls showcasing casi-

nos in Goa.A top Tourism Department

official admitted that Goa isfighting shy of whole-heartedlypromoting casinos in its officialtourism agenda.

Speaking to reporters here,managing director of the GoaTourism Development Corpo-ration (GTDC) Nikhil Desai saidthat the casino industry wasnot a highlight of Goas tourismagenda.

It is true that the govern-

ment does not try to promotecasino in its official communi-cation, said Desai, who waspart of the travel mart-relatedseminar dealing with the issueof encouraging tourism-ori-

ented synergy between WestCoast States like Gujarat, Ma-harashtra, Goa, Karnataka andKerala.

Casinos have to co-exist.They have to follow certainguidelines on the basis ofwhich their operations are al-lowed, Desai cautiously said.

Elaborately decorated, stallsoperated by major casino op-erators in the State like CasinoRoyale , Casino Carnival,

Casinos not on govt agenda?Operators play ball, but dept fighting shy at ITM

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, OCT 15

Marinas, green parks, conven-tion centre, entertainmentparks, and adventure sportsare some of the areas whereGoa will witness Public PrivateParticipation (PPP) soon.

Nikhil Dessai, Managing Di-

rector, Goa Tourism Develop-ment Corporation (GTDC)while participating in knowl-edge session on PPP Modelfor Goa Tourism at the ongo-ing International Travel Mart(ITM) 2010 in the city, saidGTDC has set the ball rollingfor having PPP for development

in tourism sector.Emphasising the need for

greater involvement of privateplayers, he said they have thebest manpower and access toinvestment and should be in-volved in development oftourism industry.

Goa needs to offer new

products for families as doneby Singapore and other coun-tries to ensure continuoustourists flow in the State, headded.

Ralph de Souza, Chairman,Goa Chamber of Commerceand Industry (GCCI) Committee

Goa eyes PPP model for tourism

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, OCT 15

October 16 will mark a yearsince the Commercial Capitalwas rocked by bomb blast onthe eve of Diwali, but the Na-tional Investigation Agency (NIA)is yet to cap its investigationsinto the funding aspects of theSanatan Sanstha till date.

Thats not all. The trial in thesensational case is being con-ducted by the South Goa Ses-sions Court in the absence of aspecial court as mandated bythe NIA Act. Of the 11 accusednamed in the charge sheet, theNIA has arrested six accused,while three accused are still atlarge. Moreover, while trialagainst four accused VinayTalekar, Vinayak Patil, DhananjayAshtekar and Dilip Mangaonkar has commenced in the Ses-sions Court, the NIA has not yetfiled the charge sheet againsttwo other accused PrashantAshtekar and Prashant Juvekar who are presently in judicialcustody.

Two of the accused Malgo-nda Patil and Yogesh Naik haddied in the bomb blast behindthe Grace Church building me-tres away from the venue of theNarkasura competition.

When NIA had filed charge

sheet in the South Goa SessionsCourt earlier this year, NIA Su-perintendent of Police had toldnewsmen that the agency hassought permission from thecourt to further investigate intothe case, including the fundingof Ramnathi-based SanathanSanstha.

Till date, however, no reporthas been filed in the court re-lating to Sansthas funding. In-cidentally, though the NIA hadmentioned the accused personsas be ing members of theSanatan Sanstha, the investigat-ing agency had clearly avoidedlinking the organization to anyconspiracy in the bomb blastcase.

So far, the Sessions Court hasexamined nearly half-a-dozenwitnesses out of the 250 wit-nesses listed by the NIA.

Plea by the accused to hold

NIA yet to report onSanatan funding

MARGAO BLAST A YEAR LATER

John heldguilty of

rash driving

AGENCIES

MUMBAI, OCT 15

A local court on Thursday heldBollywood actor John Abrahamguilty of an offence of rash driv-ing and sentenced him to 15days simple imprisonment.

The Bandra Additional ChiefMetropolitan Magistrate S VKulkarni also fined the actor,known for his love for bikes, Rs1,500 for causing an accidentand injuring two men when hismotorcycle hit a cyclist at 11pmon Khar Danda Road four yearsago in April, 2006. Of the fineamount, the magistrate said, Rs1,000 must be paid as compen-sation to one of the victims.

Abraham who was present incourt when the sentence waspronounced paid the fine im-mediately and his lawyer soughtbail and a stay of the order tobe able to appeal against it. Thecourt stayed its order for amonth and granted him bail.When contacted later, Abrahamrefused to comment.

The offence of rash drivingon a public road attracts a max-imum sentence of six monthsimprisonment. The court showedleniency towards Abraham.

T H E F I N E P R I N TFormer CAG V K Shunglu to look into all matters relating to organ-ising and conduct of the Commonwealth Games 2010

The CAG sent inspection officials to the Central PWD office locatedinside S P Mukherjee Stadium to check the accounts related tothe CWG projects.

The audit work for CWG is related to work payments, contractsand leasing of sports equipment among others.

BPCL hikes petrol priceby 70 paise

PTI

NEW DELHI, OCT 15

State-owned Bharat PetroleumCorporation Ltd (BPCL) todayhiked petrol price by 70 paise alitre effective midnight tonight,while other PSU oil retailers arelikely to follow suit in next cou-ple of days.

Petrol price in Delhi wasraised by 70 paise per litre toRs 52.55 per litre, a companyofficial said.

Rate in other cities will varydepending on local taxes andlevies.

Industry sources said IndianOil Corporation and HindustanPetroleum Corporation are likelyto follow suit over the weekend.

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GOA, SATURDAY, 16 OCTOBER, 2010

GOA Pg 2OHERALD

O

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, OCT 15

Narkasur competition on theeve of ensuing Diwali festivalwill not be the same in the Com-mercial Capital this time round,as Saturday will mark the firstanniversary of the sensationalbomb blast that killed twoSanatan Sanstha activist in thecity last year.

Even as trial in the case hasfinally begun, the Margao policeare gearing up to throw a full-proof security cover during thisyears narkasura competition inMargao city.

The police will be on guardthis year. Security will not becompromised during the Narka-sura festivities in the city, as-serted Margao sub-division policeofficer, DySP Umesh Gaonkar.

The police are waiting for theoutcome of the meeting calledby the district Magistrate, SouthG P Naik on Saturday morningto decide on the venue of theNarkasura festivities.

The district Collector has in-vited organisers of Carnival,Shigmo and Narkasura to ex-plore the possibility of shiftingthe parade from the heart of thecity to the Swimming pool route.The police have raised objec-tions to holding the narkasura

parade in the heart of the city,near the Margao Municipalsquare on security considera-tion, informed DySP Gaonkar.

But, whether the organisersof the Narkasura competitionswill adhere to the new routewill be known only on Saturdaywhen the district Magistrateholds an interaction with rep-resentatives of the Carnival,Shigmo and Narkasura parade.

So far, the authorities havereceived an application fromSolid Party, seeking permissionto hold the Narkasura competi-tion along the traditional route.

Police has maintained thatshifting of the parade route tothe swimming pool-district courtbuilding would have been anideal situation from the securitypoint of view. But, the men-in-uniform have promised to putin place full-proof security in thecity on the night of narkasuracompetition against the back-drop of last years bomb blast.

If DySP Gaonkar is to be be-lieved, the police will mobilizeHome Guards to maintain vigilat the parking lots along theNarkasura competition route.We have no option than tostrengthen security in the cityas was the case with the Dindifestival, he said.

This year, full proof security in offing for narkasura contests

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, OCT 15

Three more prosecution wit-nesses were examined by theSouth Goa Sessions court inthe Margao bomb blast caseon Friday.

A traffic police constable,besides two businessmen wereexamined by the prosecutionin support of its case.

While special public prose-cutor S B Faria represented theNational Investigating Agnecy,Adv Sanjeev Punalyekar ap-peared for the accused per-sons.

Adv Punalyekar later toldnewsmen that the defense isinterested in cross examiningsome of the key witnesses,including Margao PI SantoshDesai, but added that eventhe forensic laboratory re-ports have not yet come intill date.

He said the cross examina-tion of the three witnessesshowed that they were notaware as to who took awaythe vehicles from the bombblast site, adding that this

would raise the pertinent ques-tion whether the bomb hasp l an ted to k i l l t he twoSanathan Sanstha activist orto target the Narkasura com-petition.

During cross examination,Traffic police constable SureshKushali Velip told the courtthat he was at the spot tillabout 1.30 am of October 17,but his signature was not takenon any panchanama or anyother document.

He said his statement wasrecorded by the police on No-vember 26, and added that hedo not know whether PI San-tosh Desai had left the sceneand had comeback to thescene after some time.

During cross examination,Vivek Naik told the court thathis statement was recordedafter about a month from thedate of incident. To a queryraised by Adv Punalyekar, Naiksaid that the policemen didnot record and note down hisname and address before al-lowing him to remove his Ac-cent car from the spot.

Margao blast case: 3more witnesses examined

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, OCT 15

Scheduled Tribes from thesleepy village of Sao Jose deAreal are again up in arms overplans to auction the village hillsfor basalt stone extraction andto set up stone crushers.

Rallying under the banner ofthe Schedule Tribe Association,the scheduled tribes havestrongly opposed CurtorimCommunidades decision tohold auction for granting per-mission for extraction of basaltstones and for installation ofstone crushers in the village.The hills of our village are com-mon lands, traditionally usedfor sustainable uses only, suchas forestry and agriculture intheir diverse forms and housingfor villagers. The RP 2021 showsthe hills of Sao Jose de Areal asorchard zones and no develop-ment slopes. Most of the hillsare covered under soc ia lforestry. The RP 2021 also showsthese hills as being under socialforestry, asserted Associationsecretary Josephine Viegas.

What has agitated the localtribal populace of the villagewas the notice published by theCommunidade of Curtorim an-nouncing its decision to holdauction on October 17-18 togrant permission for the extrac-tion of basalt stone and for in-stallation of stone crushers. Thenotice signed by Curtorim Com-munidade President JawaharlalPimenta and Attorney Dr ErnestRodrigues had further statedthat the land will be allotted tosuccessful bidders located atthe Sao Jose de Areal village.

Josephine maintained thatlarge scale illegal quarrying forbasalt stone extraction has de-stroyed many sections of thehills. In spite of our struggle tosave our village, the destruction

has continued unabated. Theecology, water security, soil gen-eration and the very survival ofour village is dependent on thewell-being of these hills, shesaid, adding that the sustainabil-ity of the large population of thevillage is not possible withoutthese hills. It is essential that arestoration plan be prepared sothat these hills are returned totheir natural glory, rather thanauctioning them for irreversibledestruction, she added.

The Association has dashedoff a letter to the Curtorim Com-munidade and has demandedthat the auction scheduled onOctober 17 is dropped forth-with. The majority of the vil-lagers of Sao Jose de Arealbelong to the Scheduled Tribes.The hills of our village rightfullybelong to us, the tribal residentsof our village, even though thecustody rests with the Commu-nidade of Curtorim on accountof the historical ties betweenthe villages of Sao Jose de Areal

and Curtorim, she said.Another village said the auc-

tion proposed on October 17-18 is not only against the Codeof Communidades and the For-est Rights Act, but also violatesthe Forest Conservation Act,1980 since the land is ForestLand. Therefore, the Commu-nidade of Curtorim must takeup a plan for the restoration ofthe hills, rather than encouragefurther destruction of the villageto fill the pockets of a few, hesaid.

As a sustainable alternative,the Tribal Association has pro-posed that the Communidadeconsider allowing the villagersto use the same land for forestry,agriculture and grazing. Therate proposed by the Commu-nidade for quarrying is Rs 18per sq mt, and for crusher unitsRs 8 per sq mt. We are preparedto pay the same rate for our tra-ditional uses of our lands, in-cluding cultivation and grazing,Viegas asserted.

Areal STs in arms over moves toauction hills for stone extraction

This hillock has been ravaged by blasting for basalt stones at SaoJose de Areal village.

Application to cancel Konrads

bail rejectedHERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, OCT 15

Application made by the Crimebranch for the cancellation ofthe anticipatory bail granted todeceased Nadia Torradosbrother Konrad came a cropperon Friday.

The south Goa Sessions courttoday rejected the applicationmoved by the crime branch forcancellation of Konrads antici-patory bail, with Judge VijayaPol asserting that Konrad hasnot violated any of the condi-tions imposed by the Sessionscourt while granting him the an-ticipatory bail.

Judge Vijaya Pol further saidthat Konrads statement that hedoes not know the whereaboutsof the mobile phone sets, laptopand passport of deceased Nadiadoes not come with the purviewof the term non-cooperationwith the investigating ageny.

The records show that Kon-rad has not violated any of theconditions on which his bail wasgranted. Konrad has been at-tending the crime branch as andwhen called by the investigatingofficer. It is not the case of theprosecution that Konrad hastampered with the prosecutionwitnesses. His statement to theeffect that inspite of his search,he could not find the mobilephone sets, the laptop and thepassport, does not amount tonon-cooperation with the inves-tigating agency. It is not clarifiedas to how the investigating of-ficer would be able to get thearticles from Konrad if he isgiven police custody nor clari-fied how the investigating offi-cer would be able to elicit thetruth from him if he is statinglie by putting him in police cus-tody, the Judge observed.

The Crime branch has soughtcustodial interrogation of Kon-rad for the recovery of the mo-bile phone set of the deceasedNadia.

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, OCT 15

Goa State Commission forWomen (GSCW) today began itsparallel inquiry into the allegedpushing of north eastern girlsinto sex trade.

Sub Divisional Magistrate(SDM) is already inquiring intothe incident after the girls wererescued from Lotus beauty par-lour at Porvorim.

GSCW Cha i rman Ez i ldaSapeco said that their inquirywas also to cross check varioussuspicions raised by NagalandState Commission for Womenabout the raid. The commissionmembers, however, could notnote the rescued girls statementas they were busy with inquiryby SDM.

Sapeco said that commis-

sions inquiry would be com-pleted in four days and detailedreport would be furnished toNagaland counterpart.

Since the SDM was conduct-ing an inquiry, we couldnt speakto the girls. But we saw themin the remand home, she toldHerald. The next visit to the pro-tective home is however notplanned, she further said.

The Nagaland State Commis-sion for Women (NSCW) onWednesday had sought detailedreport from their Goa counter-part about the raid on allegedbusting of inter-state sex racket.

NSCW chairperson Sano Va-muzo expressed concernwhether six Naga girls who arerescued and lodged at Mercesare really involved in the allegedflesh trade or are falsely impli-

cated. The raid on September 9 was

executed after three Mizoramgirls working at the beauty par-lour left the work on October 4and reportedly informed Mizo-ram NGO and police about theactivities here.

The women police team hadrescued 11 girls from Mizoram,Nagaland and Belgaum who areallegedly victims of human traf-ficking. Five boys, including theparlour owner MahalaxmiMishra were arrested for traf-ficking and pushing the girlsinto flesh trade. Childrens Courtwill decide on their bail appli-cations on Saturday.

Mizoram police on Wednes-day sought production warrantto take custody of the ladyowner for questioning.

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, OCT 15

Is the much publicized specialconcession given to Hajj pilgrimsfrom Goa a mere eyewash?

Former Chairman of Goa StateHajj Committee (GSHC) SheikhHassan today said that notwith-standing the demand for a directflight to Jeddah from Goa, hehas learnt that Hajjis are askedto travel to Mumbai to boardanother flight to Jeddah.

He said that the sole aim tohave embankment facility wasto ensure that pilgrims canboard the flight at Dabolim andget down at the holy place.

I have learnt from Centralofficials that the Goan Hajjis willbe taken to Mumbai and embarkin a connecting flight to Jeddah.Our intention was to start a di-rect flight from Goa to Hajj atSaudi Arabia and back, Hassansaid.

The Union Cabinet selectedGoa as the new Hajj embarka-tion point following a three-yeardeliberation by the former GSHCwith the Union Ministry to ap-prove Goa as the Hajj embarka-

tion point. One may recollect, the deci-

sion was passed in 2009 but dueto inexorable hurdles, Goan Ha-jjis could not make it from Goa.

Sheikh recalled that the for-mer committee had roped inGoa Chief Minister DigambarKamat and Member of Parlia-ment Francis Sardinha to sup-port their cause.

We also proposed to theCentral Government that if GoanHajjis are limited for the pil-grimage then Hajj Committeeof India can combine pilgrimsfrom neighbouring districts like

Sawantwadi, Ratnagiri, Karwarand Sindhudurg, he added.

GSHC secretary Siddihiv-inayak Naik was however notavailable for comments despiterepeated attempts to contacthim.

Goa has five per cent of totalpopulation who are Muslim. Theformer chairperson said thattaking double flights will costthem more for Hajj trip. Accord-ing to information, nearly 300Hajjis from Goa according to thequota will be travelling to Jed-dah on October 25.

The Goa State Haj Committeehas meanwhile announced thatthe inoculation of meningitisvaccine are to be given to allthe intending Hajj Pilgrims fromthe respective Public Health Cen-tres at Valpoi, Panaji, Ponda,Margao and Vasco on October16, 2010 from 9 am to 12 am

In a press note released bythe information department, ori-entation program for Hajj pil-grims will be held on October17, 2010 at Adarsh Hall, Margao,Goa and asked all pilgrims toattend the program.

Direct flight to Jeddah for Goa Hajj pilgrims only on paper?

GSCWs own probe to verify roleof Naga girls in sex racket

Trial in Scarlet case adjourned

for Oct 27HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, OCT 15

Childrens Court today ad-journed the trial in the ScarletKeeling Eden after the counselfor alleged accused Placido Car-valho sought time to study theCourt order that rejected hisplea about the juveniles missingdiary pages.

Advocate Jos Peter DSouzarequested the Court to furnishthe order copy to examine onwhat grounds the plea was can-celled following which it maydecide filing an appeal.

President P V Sawaikar ad-journed the matter for October27 when Adv DSouza will cross-examine the shack waiter andwitness Murali Sagar.

The counsels application, al-leging that few pages from Scar-let s personal d iar y weremissing, was rejected by theCourt earlier this month.

CBI counsel PP Rivonkar hadcountered the allegation statingthat all pages in the diary wereintact. In July 2010, Scarletsmother, Fiona Mackeown hadidentified the diary and its con-tents during the case trial.

The defense counsel duringher cross-examination on August27 pointed out that few pagesof the diary were missing. Thesketches of the diary had re-vealed several hidden facets ofthe school girls life.

Security to HC registrar illegal, says

activistHERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, OCT 15

Lawyer activist Advocate AiresRodrigues today complainedto the Deputy Inspector Gen-eral of Police Ravindra Yadavregarding the alleged illegalsecurity provided at the resi-dence of the Bombay HighCourt at Goa registrar I K Jain.

The advocate has requestedto immediately withdraw thesecurity squad from the placeand sought to initiate an in-quiry into the matter.

Over the last over s ixmonths, four constables andone head constable have beenposted illegally at the officialresidence of the registrar sit-uated at Government colonyat Patto, Panaji, the advocatesaid in his letter to the DIG.

The activist said that Jainwas not entitled to any securityat her residence and that noneof the earlier High Court reg-istrars had any policemenposted at their residence. Hehas also demanded to recoverthe costs incurred for the se-curity cover at the place fromthe registrar.

Robbery bid at Khandepar: cops arrest one

more personHERALD CORRESPONDENT

MARCEL, OCT 15

Ponda Police arrested one moreperson in connection with therobbery bid by two Karnatakamen at Khandepar-Ponda.

Ponda Police on Friday ar-rested Manoj Namdev Pawarfrom Kolhapur-Maharashtra atBelgaum.

It may be recalled that on Oc-tober 4, an alert woman hadfoiled a robbery bid by two per-sons at Khandepar. Ponda Policehad arrested Basavraj Laxmanof Yamuna Nagar-Belgaum, whileManoj managed to flee from thescene.

Police had also attached a mo-torcycle (KA-26-H-7354), whichwas suspected to have beenused by the accused in the of-fence.

Investigating Officer DeepakPednekar along with the LIB stafffrom Ponda Police arrested theaccused in Belgaum.

According to Ponda Police,both the accused were earlierreleased on bail by BelgaumPolice in connection withhouse theft case. Police alsoinformed that the duo was alsoinvolved in various criminal ac-tivities.

One held in Corlim chain

snatching incident

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

OLD GOA, OCT 15

Old Goa Police on Friday ar-rested one person in connectionwith a chain-snatching case atBelavista-Corlim.

According to Old Goa PoliceInspector Francis Corte, accusedMichael Fernandes along withanother person had recentlysnatched a gold chain snatchingfrom a woman at Corlim.

The woman was on her wayto attend mass at St Joao Fa-cundo Church in Corlim.

We have been able to solvethe case with the arrest ofMichael, who confessed that healong with another person com-mitted the crime and later soldthe chain to one person fromSt Cruz, which has been recov-ered by Old Goa Police officials,informed PI Corte.

Old Goa Police has broughtMichael on a transfer warrantfrom the judicial custody andnow have been arrested underSections 356, 379.

PI Corte expressed hope thatthey would be able to nab theother accused, who is still ab-sconding.

It may be noted that Michaelis the main accused in about30 cases of dacoity, robbery,vehicle thefts, impersonationand chain snatching in the Stateand neighbouring states andwas recent ly a r res ted byCalangute Police.

Pol ice sources had alsoclaimed that Fernandes was thekey accused in recent cases ofrobbery, including fleecingtourists at gun point.

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, OCT 15

Almost a fortnight after trans-port departments drive againsterring conductors and drivers,the All Goa Private Bus OwnersAssociation (AGPBOA) have criedfoul claming that departmentwas selectively targeting them.

AGPBOA general secretarySudip Tamankar alleged thatbuses belonging to only theirassociations are being fined, tilldate.

Those operators who areministers cronies and depart-ment favourites are left out,Tamankar said adding that theirbuses were not checked.

The Transport Departmentsdrive, which started on October1, as of now has issued 611 chal-lans to conductors and drivers.Panjim and Margao cities topthe list with department issuing410 challans.

All these challans are issuedto the buses which belong toAGPBOA. Many a times two chal-lans are issued per day, he said.

Tamankar alleged that RTO isselective in their drive, and ig-nores the traffic rules violationsdone by those buses having po-litical backing.

Such an attitude forces as-sociations bus drivers and con-ductors to feel that if others arespared than why they should betargeted, he added.

The general secretary has alsoalleged that RTOs, rather thanchecking uniforms, overloadingand other required documents,pay more attention to the typeof paints applied to the buses,lights, seat covers, etc.

The association has already

raised the issue before transportdirector Arun Desai, twice inlast 15 days. We have given aweeks time to the departmentto take serious note of the mat-ter or else we will issue noticeasking them to withdraw thedrive, general secretary stated.

The drive was initiated afterAGPBOA agreed to the fact thatthey have no control over erringdrivers and conductors. How-ever, many private bus operatorsfelt that the drive is like depart-ments dictatorship on the road.

Those people with the back-ing of political masters are op-posing this drive, which actuallyaims to wipe out rampant irreg-ularities in the public transport

system, Tamankar said.Earlier this week, Tamankar

had also logged a police com-plaint against bus operatorsYaduvir Simepurushkar and Au-gustine Pereira, for threateninghim during a special meetingconvened on October 10.

The association, with fivehundred members, runs around14,000 buses across the state.

Rubbishing the charges, Desaisaid that challans are issued toall those who are violating trafficrules irrespective of who ownsthe bus. It will be better thatrather than making allegationsagainst us, the association tryand improve the bus transportsystem in the state, he said.

Transport dept selectively targeting bus owners: AGPBOA

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, OCT 15

Bus owners operating theirvehicles on the Panjim-Chim-bel route have accused SudipTamankar, Secretary of the AllGoa Private Bus Owners As-sociation, of spreading falsepropaganda about them in themedia, thus creating a nega-tive image about their busi-ness in the eyes o f thecommuters.

One o f the operatorsPrashant Borkar said therewere false claims in the mediathat the Panjim-Chimbel busowners were not enforcingthe drive called by the RTOand AGPBOA. On the contrary,Tamankar, who operates onthe same route have been

caught violating the law dur-ing the drive, he claimed.

Borkar asserted the AGP-BOA Presidents vehicles wererecently fined by the RTO forviolating rules (i.e. overloadingand non-issuance of tickets)when he himself claims to beenforcing the drive.

A complaint signed by nineof the Panjim-Chimbel oper-ators maintained Tamankarhas been using the AGPBOAbanner to threaten RTO offi-cials and bus owners in orderto settle personal scores. Wewill in no way support anyaction taken by this associa-tion as this body has individ-u a l s f i g h t i n g f o r t h e i rpersonal gains, they ob-served.

Panjim-Chimbel bus owners chide Sudip Tamankar

n I have learnt fromCentral officials thatthe Goan Hajjis will betaken to Mumbai andembark in aconnecting flight toJeddah. Our intentionwas to start a directflight from Goa to Hajjat Saudi Arabia andback

---Sheikh Hassan

GOA, SATURDAY, 16 OCTOBER, 2010GOA Pg 3OHERA

LDO

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, OCT 15

While complaints from environ-mentalists pertaining to viola-tions of Coastal Regulation Zone(CRZ) regulations especially, bythe hotel industry have risen inthe recent past, the governmentand tourism stakeholders feelsthat tourism industry ought tobe given some relaxations in

CRZ regulations in order to havewholesome development of thetourism sector.

Making a demand for somerespite from CRZ regulations,speakers at Knowledge Sessionon West Coast Tourism Syn-ergy between States at the on-going International Travel Mart(ITM)-Goa, in City today, saidthe coastal States should make

Relax CRZ rules, urge tourism stakeholders a joint representation to theMinistry of Environment andForest.

Some exceptions for tourismindustry have to be made -- thecoastal States should pursue thematter with environment min-istry, suggested Kiran Khandel-wa l , Manag ing D i rec to r,Maharashtra Tourism Develop-ment Corporation (MTDC).

He said the CRZ regulationsneed to be reviewed and madesuitable for accommodatingtourism activity otherwise over-all development of tourism sec-tor will remain a distant dream.All hurdles have to be re-moved, he added while empha-sizing on synergies between

States.Vinay Luthra, MD, Karnataka

State Tourism Development Cor-poration (KSTDC) echoed similarsentiments. He said relaxationin CRZ regulations is needed forwholesome development of thetourism sector but it has to beachieved without hurting theenvironment.

Other speakers who partici-pated in the session includeKingshuk Biswas, Senior Man-ager - Marketing and Invest-ment, Tourism Corporation ofGujarat Ltd, S Swaminathanm,Chief Executive Officer, KeralaTravel Mart and Nikhil Desai,MD, Goa Tourism DevelopmentCorporation.

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, OCT 15

Even if currently, the four Stateson West Coast of India competefiercely with each for biggershare of the tourism market,they have certainly realized theneed for synergy between themfor greater development oftourism sector.

Representatives of the fourStates Goa, Maharashtra, Kar-nataka and Kerala who partici-pated in knowledge session onWest coast tourism -- synergybetween States at the ongoingInternational Travel Mart (ITM) Goa in Panjim today, said co-operation among States willhelp them in a big way in pro-moting tourism.

For mutual benefits a com-mon Memorandum of Under-standing (MoU) among States iswhat is needed to utilize re-sources in a better way, theyfelt.

Vinay Luthra, Managing Di-rector (MD), Karnataka StateTourism Development Corpora-tion (KSTDC), said South IndianState Tourism Council (SISTC)has to be formed for promotionof tourism among South States.

S Swaminathan, Chief Execu-tive Officer (CEO), Kerala TravelMart talking about synergy be-tween States, said synergy is al-ready happening among Statesin tourism sector.

The development of Malabarcoast will also help Karnatakaand Goa. Also, talking in favourof synergy between StatesNikhil Desai, MD, Goa TourismDevelopment Corporation(GTDC), said it should be a win-win situation for all four Statesinvolved if it has to be a viablesolution.

There has to be better planof action to crosssell eachothers packages as we encour-

West Coast States singtunes of co-operation

age tourist inflow, he said. TheGTDC has already signed anMoU with KTDC.

GOA, SATURDAY, 16 OCTOBER, 2010

GOA Pg 4OHERALD

O

BY HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, OCT 15

Contractors making a beelineto bid for tenders floated by theSouth Goa Zilla Panchayat werean agitated lot on Friday afterthe district Panchayat body re-stricted the issuance of formsto two per contractor.

This left many a contractorsdisappointed, having come withDemand Drafts to apply formore than two forms.

However, South Goa Zilla Pan-chayat Chairperson Maria Re-bello said the Zilla Panchayatdecided to put the restrictionon the issuance of tender formsto ensure that the contractorsexecute the work within thetime frame and not resort toany syndicate.

We have bitter experiencein the past that the contractorsafter taking the forms, struckcompromise deals. This has af-fected execution of the work inthe past, Rebello added.

She said that the contractorscan bid for works in the future

since still four years and half togo for the term of the Zilla Pan-chayat to expire. In the past,some of the contractors hadtaken even 10 tender forms andhad later compromised. To doaway with any hanky panky

deals, I have decided to issueonly two forms for each contac-tor, she added.

Contractors, however, beggedto differ. There is no questionof the contractors striking com-promise deals or forming syn-dicates. By restricting theissuance of number of tenderforms, the Zilla Panchayat isloosing thousands of rupees asrevenue, remarked a contractor,Prashant Desai.

Desai said he had asked forsix forms and had come withthe Demand Drafts, but the ZPAssistant Engineer and Juniorengineer issued only two forms.The contractors later protestedwith the ZP Chief Executive Of-ficer over the restrictions im-posed on the issuance of tenderforms.

He contended that some con-tractors in the past had failedto execute tendered works, theZP ought to have blacklistedlisted the erring contractors in-stead of targeting the generallot of contractors.

Restriction on SGZP tender forms irks contractors

nThere is noquestion of thecontractorsstrikingcompromisedeals or formingsyndicates. Byrestricting theissuance ofnumber of tenderforms, the ZillaPanchayat isloosingthousands ofrupees asrevenue.

HERALD REPORTER

VASCO, OCT 15

Clinging to the innocent-until-proven-guilty insurance cover,candidates contesting the mu-nicipal polls are undeterred bythe police cases that were reg-istered against them.

One such candidate is Mor-mugao Municipal Council (MMC)Vice Chairperson KashinathYadav, who has had many as 35Non-Cognizable (NC) offencesregistered against him since2001,besides a Chapter Case u/s107 CrPC.

Many complainants have ac-cused Yadav of threatening themin property related disputes.

"With such a number of NCoffences against the accused,police recommended a ChapterCase before the Sub DivisionalMagistrate and subsequently,the offence was registered,"s a id Vasco DySP MaheshGaonkar.

To make matters worse, Yadavand his family members are nowalleged to figure in electoralrolls of two states.

Besides being registered asvoters of Vasco constituency,Yadav along with his familymembers are also reportedlyregistered in Consistency No2 4 2 o f G a r w a r a i n U t t a rPradesh.

Speaking to reporters, Yadavadmitted that the NC offenceswere registered against him dueto property dispute.

"Ultimately, I won the casesin the court of law," he said.

Undeterred by 35 NC cases,Yadav to fight MMC polls

Yadavs name appears in 3different places in country!

HERALD REPORTER

VASCO, OCT 15

Mormugao Deputy Collector and Electoral Registration OfficerLevinson Martins on Friday issued a notice to MMC Vice Chair-person Kashinath Yadav under Section 22 of the Representationof People Act 1950.

It may be recalled that Yadav has been accused of enrollinghis name in three different places in the country.

Yadav allegedly registered his name and that of his familymembers at two places in his native place in Machalishaharvillage Garwara Assembly constituency and in Sikrara Blockunder Jaunpur District, as per the 2009 electoral rolls of UttarPradesh.

Yadav is the sitting councillor and his name has been reg-istered in Ward 15 of Vasco Constituency.

Speaking to media persons, Martins said as per Section 17of the Representation of the People Act 1950, no person isentitled to be registered in the electoral roll of more than oneconstituency.

In the event of any false declaration to the effect, the sameis punishable under Section 31 of the Representation of thePeople Act, said Martins.

It appears prima facie that his name has been registeredin more than one place, said Martins.

Martins further informed that Yadav has been asked toappear before Mormugao SDM on October 22 at 11 am.

Responding to allegations ofmultiple voter registration,Yadav said: "As far as my namereflects on the electoral rolls inUttar Pradesh, this is a clear-cutconspiracy against me, orches-trated by my political rivals,claimed Yadav.

"In states like UP and Bihar,anything can happen, which isnot the case in Goa."

"My political opponentsalong with some rivals have en-rolled my name and that of myfamily members in UP," statedYadav.

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, OCT 15

Kadamba Transport CorporationLimiteds (KTCL) office andTransport Department will comeunder one-roof with TransportBhavan being materialised innext two years.

The foundation stone for theRs 12 crore project will be laidon December 19, this year.

The project, funded by thestate government, will come upon a 17,000 sq meter area ac-quired, adjacent to KTC busstand, Panjim.

Once both the sections --Transport Department and KTCLcome under a single roof it willhelp to have better communi-cation and coordination forboth.

Having understanding be-tween these two is crucial forbetter public transport systemin the state, official said.

Along with this, the Bhavan

will also house enforcement of-fice (North), Additional DirectorTransport (North) office, confer-ence hall, parking lot and guesthouses.

Rahul Deshpande and Asso-ciates, a Merces-based Goan ar-chitectural and engineering firmhas been appointed as a con-sultant for the project.

Though the total budget ofthe project is likely to be Rs 12crores, the government is yetto come out with final esti-mates, he stated.

Official said that the basicidea to have Transport Bhavanwas to reduce inconveniencecaused to people in reachingtransport department and KTCLoffice.

People use to find it very dif-ficult to visit these two depart-ments as one is located on thebusiest street (18th June road)and the other at Porvorim, hesaid.

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, OCT 15

An inspection panel from theGoa Board of Secondary andHigher Secondary Education willbe visit ing schools in thethird/fourth week of October orNovember, 2010, to check therecords of internal assessmentof students.

A recent circular issued bythe Board to secondary andhigher secondary schoolsstates the heads of the insti-t u t ions shou ld ma in t a inrecords of internal assessmentmeticulously.

It further notes that the ques-tion papers, answer books,record of marks of regular andsupplementary test/examina-tion, justification for supple-mentary test/examination, along

with information to be filled inthe enclosed proforma in dupli-cate, should be kept ready andmade available for scrutiny ofthe inspection panel.

The circular observes in viewof the late Diwali vacation forthe current academic year (2010-2011), the marks of the first ter-minal examination may besubmitted to the office of theBoard (in hard and soft copies)in the prescribed format as no-tified vide Circular Nos 33 & 34dated September 3, 2010, byDecember 20, 2010.

It informs that if a student re-mains absent for any of theschool test/ examination on ac-count of his/her participation inrecognised sports or sicknessor death in the family or anyother genuine reason as may be

acceptable to the head of theinstitution, he/she shall be givena supplementary test/examina-tion on his/her reporting toschool after the period of ab-sence.

It states that the supplemen-tary test/examination men-tioned above is not permittedfor students who had alreadyappeared in the regularlyarranged test/examination butperformed poorly. Whatevermarks the students secure inthe regular test/examination areto be communicated to the of-fice of the Board within the stip-ulated time, along with thequestion papers, the circularadds.

It notes further that the panelwill be making occasional visitsthroughout an academic year.

Inspection panel to visit schools

Transport Bhavan to house both KTCL,

Transport dept offices HERALD NEWS DESKPANJIM, OCTOBER 15

The Goynche Niz Mogi (GNM)has said that in calling for a'Greater Goa' including Konkani-speaking areas of the neigh-bouring Karwar and Sindhudurgd i s t r i c t s , P W D M i n i s t e rChurchill Alemao is not tryingto give momemtum to thedream of the late RavindraKelekar, but is trying to foolGoans by making use of Ravin-dra-bab's concepts to create avote bank.

Creating vote banks has be-come the one-point agendaapart from corruption of eachof Goa's 40 MLAs, said GNMVice President Kamla Parsekar.She said that it was a call tonon-Goans that the politicianswould work for them, and thatthey do not any longer needGoans, or their religious lead-ers or the local media. She saidthe politicians want to remindnon-Goans that it is the MLAsthat have provided them with

ration and voting cards, elec-tricity and water connections,jobs and contracts, as well aspermitted them to build theirhomes and businesses in openspaces in the state's villagesand towns.

All politicians are today aliveto the anger of Goans againstthem, and are therefore tire-lessly working to create votebanks of non-Goans. Some areeven creating vote banks ofGoans, by using the power ofmoney against the weaknessof poor people. Instead of tak-ing up development and cre-ating jobs, these politiciansdistribute largesse in cash orkind, thereby winning good-will, gratitude and votes, butdoing nothing that can benefitthem in the long term. Goansmust expose these politiciansand defeat their sinister con-spiracy, says a press statementissued by GNM President JamesFernandes and Vice PresidentKamla Parsekar.

Niz Mogi slams'Greater Goa'

SHORT TAKESCyril Andrade bags award

PANJIM(HND): Noted Konkani stage comedian Cyril Andradewas awarded recently for hisoutstanding mimicry indrama XelliPunn Sandleli!He was honoured at thehands of Mr Jerome Mendes,Managing Director of Leono-ras Restaurant and Pub.

Cyril, nicknamed DotorCyril earned ravish praise forhis mimicry in drama Xelli,where he imitates formertourism minister MickkyPacheco, Chief MinisterDigambar Kamat, Home Min-ister Ravi Naik and writer-d i rec to r L a te Rosa r ioRodrigues.

Cyril, an employee of Di-rectorate of Health Services Margao made his humble beginningwith comedy in village plays. He sent crowds into peels oflaughter with mimicry based on various characters, an areawhich earned him the title Prince of mimicry. He kept themomentum going and later shot into fame at the professionallevel performing in various dramas.

Nelly attends Madurai ConferencePANJIM (HND): ZP Member and President of Goa Panchayat

Mahila Abiyan (GPMSA) Nelly Rodrigues, was invited as a re-source person to shareher experience on roleof women in Panchayatsand to make a brief pres-entation on functioningof GPMSA at a conferencerecently organised by So-lution Exchange, NewDelhi, an organisationsupported by UNDP inco l l abora t ion w i thGhandhi Gram Instituteof Rural Development.

The conference was at-tended by elected representatives, academicians, NGOs andMinistry of Panchayati Raj officials.

In two years of its formation GPMSA has done commendablework and has its own website managed by Nodal Officer ofGPMSA Herminia Da Costa. Director of Panchayats MeninoDSouza, committee members and the staff are pleased byvery positive reports of Ministry of Panchayati Raj, New Delhion the functioning of GPMSA.

Teachers' Day at AnjunaPANJIM (HND): Lions Club of Anjuna recently celebrated

Teachers' Day at the Sacred Heart of Jesus HS, Anjuna.A senior teacher Dominic Colaco was felicitated by chief

guest, the Regional Chairman Lion Michael Mendonca, inrecognition of his services in the field of education, which hehas served for nearly 30 years.

The chief guest, the headmistress, Irene Cardozo and themanager Rev Fr Thomas Gonsalves spoke on the occasion.The function was compered by Ln Jose Fernandes.

P C Trust Awards presentedPANJIM (HND): P C Trust Awards 2010-2011 for schools of

Chinchinim have been awared to following students: BelindaFernandes, ASSMPT 1st (89.66%) - Rs 11724, Veenisha Correia,SMA (89.33%) - Rs 12900, Joydeia

Fernandes, SMA 3rd (88.33%) - Rs 6995, Stanislaus Alemaofirst Boy, AASMPT - Rs 1350, Akshata Rane, SMA, with 93% inKonkani - Rs 966, Histon Rebello MMHs - Rs 100, SheltonPinto first Boy in A V Chichinim - Rs 2400.

Scholarships in science, commerce, for degree courseshave been awarded to Elreema Fernandes, Hazel Colaco,Benita Fernandes, Belinda Fernandes Ashok Chari, MeckwinColaco, Trisha Lopes, Steffy Furtado , Clinson Gracias andZanshila Rodrigues.

Prizes worth Rs 39975for the first students of Std XII artsand science are also distributed yearly. Donors to the Trustget 50% deduction in I Tax under section 80G.

Improve public transport

BY JOSE MARIA MIRANDA

The large and increasing number of private vehicles onthe roads and the countless accidents that occur in thissmall State amply prove that Goas public transport sys-

tem is highly ineffective and the traffic scenario extremelychaotic and appalling. The reason for the latter is the dismalfailure of the former. It is not the affluence of the people(which unfortunately seems to be more a curse than a blessingto this State) that creates or has created more vehicles on theroad, but a poor and inefficient public transport system.

Anyone with two inches of sense, a little sensitivity and abit of foresight would have taken urgent and drastic steps toimprove the public transport system. This would includefinding ways and means of tapping rail and waterways toreduce the congestion on the roads, particularly because ofthe hundreds of precious lives being lost every year in roadaccidents.

This ought to have been the top priority of any Governmentthat has some thinking power and the interests of the peopleat heart. But how can we expect this from the eminently in-competent, insensitive and unabashedly corrupt and selfishindividuals who to our misfortune and partly due to our ownfault (likely to be committed again), have been ruling us andour State?

Time and again, particularly when fares are hiked, somepeople keep harping on non-issue of tickets and absence ofbadge or uniform on the conductor or the driver. Instead thefocus should be on overcrowding, rude behaviour, delays,unscheduled and long stops. These are actually the main rea-sons why the public shun public transport and opt for theirown. How can our roads, which have not seen much expansion,contain the ever increasing number of vehicles which theGovernment, consciously oblivious of the plight of road usersbut solely concerned about their own revenue, allows tocome on the roads without any restrictions whatsoever?

When Digambar Kamat took over as CM, I had suggestedin these columns that he ought to pay great attention totransport; possibly try for an extension of the Konkan Railwayline from Karmali to Panjim and improvement of river transportincluding a link from Aldona to Panjim.

Improvement of public transport would have generatedemployment and revenue, precious fuel would have beensaved on private transport, traffic hurdles would have reducedand most of all accidents and deaths would be minimized.Why is it that public transport is in such a mess in this State?Why are drivers and conductors a law unto themselves, havingleast regard to the passengers, who are actually the oneswho provide their livelihood?

Why is it that the authorities turn a blind eye to bus timingsand to their long stops along the route? Is it that because theopen corruption in the Transport Department, leaves theirofficials with no moral authority to discipline the bus driversand conductors? Do they not realize that it is the arrogant,discourteous and the couldnt-care-less behaviour of driversand conductors that is the main cause for the crumbling trans-port system, forcing people to use their own vehicles, thuscreating congestion on our roads? Dont we all know thatwith a good public transport system, deaths on the roadswhich have brought pain and sorrow to thousands of familieswould have been reduced, with less private vehicles beingused? Can we say that any of our Ministers and MLAs includingthose of the Opposition, have a heart when they ignore theanguish that some family or the other goes through everyday with an avoidable death of one of its own?

Margao, the home constituency of the Chief Minister isperhaps one of the worst cities as far as parking and trafficare concerned. When your daily brought us the good news,some weeks back, that the CM was going to hit Margao roadsto check the problems of garbage and traffic, I wonderedwhat miracle he was going to perform. But the hopes ofMadganvkars were once again shattered as he apparently putup a show only for that morning when nothing much happenedeither then or thereafter.

In Margao, some agencies came forward to put up trafficlights, signboards and signage, free of cost. Will the Collectorof South Goa and the Chairperson of MMC tell us what hashappened to these proposals? I was surprised to find thatthe Collector had notified, some months back (and since de-notified) the diversion of shuttle buses through Nanutel toavoid congestion in the city. And it was shocking to read thatit was done at the behest of the MMC, which has never takenany interest in matters of traffic.

My letter to the Collector on 17.6.10 protested againstthis decision. It would further dent the pockets of the com-muters, who would have to take another bus to come to thecity. I asked him why mini buses going to short destinationslike Navelim, Davorlim, etc were not being compelled to pro-ceed directly instead of taking another turn through the Mu-nicipal Garden. My letter merited no reply as obviously theSouth Goa Collector had no answers.

This matter had come up for discussion at several meetingsof the District Traffic Committee, but the authorities developcold feet when it comes to take decisions against lobbies.However they feel free to act against the aam admi, whorarely comes forward to protest. It is shameful that theCollector thought it wise to hit the common man withoutfirst tackling the special privileges given to the bus lobby.

The Dy Collector, Johnson Fernandes must be complimentedfor taking this much delayed initiative now, which will certainlyreduce the congestion in the heart of Margao. We also hopethat the new Chief Officer, Prasanna Acharya, who is alsoknown to be an upright Officer, will similarly take some harddecisions in the interests of the citizens of Margao, particularlyas regards the movement of handcarts, occupation of footpaths,encroachment and conversion of parking spaces, which isrampant in the city, with the active connivance of the author-ities.

OPinionatED

HERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, OCT 15

Surendra Singh Solanki, an armypersonnel who arrived in Goa onJuly 25 is reported to be missing.

Solanki is the son of GovardhanSingh Solanki and is of 5 8 inheight. The Superintendent ofPolice of Mandasaur District,Madhya Pradesh in a faxed mes-sage to his counterpart in theGoa crime branch informed thatthe army personnel had boardedthe 2780 Goa Express at Khandwaon July 24 at 5.30 pm and alightedat Margao Railway Station at 8.25am on July 25. A case in this con-nection was registered with thePonda police station on July 25.

Family members of Surendraare reported to have approachedthe Chief Minister of Madhya

Pradesh who has expresseddeep concern over the missingincidence.

The faxed message of MP po-lice further claims that publicdemonstrations and processionare taken out, which is creatinglaw and order problem in thedistrict.

Army man missing

ExamspostponedHERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, OCTOBER 15

All University examinationsscheduled for October 18 standpostponed due to Vidhan Sabhabye-election for Valpoi con-stituency to be held on October18.

New dates will be notifiedlater, says a press release issuedhere.

BY HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, OCT 15

The Goa unit of the National As-sociation for the Blind observedWorld White Cane Day on Fridaynear the KTC bus stand, Mar-gao.

Superintendent of Police,South Allan De Sa, DySP TrafficGajanan Prabhudessai, MargaoTraffic Cell PI Prabodh Shir-waikar, NAB Goa presidentRozendo Mendonca were pres-ent.

Addressing the gathering, Men-donca said the white cane is oneof the most important aids formillions of visually handicappedall over the world and called uponthe citizens to lend a helping handto the blind. It is an aid to mo-bility and a sense of security onthe streets for the blind. The nexttime you see a white cane, donot ignore him, but inquirewhether he needs any help andassistance, he added.

Later, South Goa SP, Allan deSa and the Margao Traffic cellincharge, PI Shirwaikar gave anexample by helping a blind tocross the cross and request thepublic to help the people withwhite cane whenever circum-stances arise.

World White Cane Dayobserved in Margao

SP, South Allan de Sa helping a blind man to cross the road near theKTC bus stand. Photo by Savio Dias

POWER SHUTDOWN

OCTOBER 16MAPUSA: From 9 am to 3 pm. Areas affected are Riturai Plaza,

Maruti temple, Pilankar stores, Laxmi Narayan Temple, Post office,Joao Menezes Pharmacy and surrounding areas.

NEURA: From 9am to 5pm. Areas affected are Neura-o-Pequeno,Deubhat and surrounding areas.

Saligao residentheld for thefts,

goods recoveredHERALD CORRESPONDENT

CALANGUTE, OCT 15

Calangute Police on Friday re-covered electronic items worthRs 2 lakh from a resident ofMollem Bhat, Saligao.

After thorough investigation,Police recovered electronicitems including mobile phone,four laptops and I-pod, all worthRs 2 lakh from Rohan Sal-gaonkar, who was arrested byCalangute Police and is presentlyin police custody.

Speak ing to Hera ld ,Calangute PI Nolasco Raposo in-formed that Salgaonkar has con-fessed to various thefts inCalangute and Anjuna, includinga theft at Baga by breaking theglass of the parked vehicle onSeptember 25 as well as his in-volvement in Vagator thefts oflaptops. Calangute Police is in-vestigating the case.

Kavlekar elected GRPSS chiefPANJIM (HND): K T Kavlekar was unanimously elected as the

President of Goa Rajya Prathamik Shikshak Sangh in the recentlyheld elections. Prakash N Gaonkar was elected as the SeniorVice President. The State Executive Committee was also electedfor the period 2010-11 to 2012-13.

Construction ofspeed breakersPANJIM (HND): District Mag-

istrate, North has ordered theconstruction of speed breakersat the junction where roads fromAguada, Taj Hotel and Calangutemeet, in VP Candolim, Bardez.

GOA, SATURDAY, 16 OCTOBER, 2010GOA Pg 5OHERA

LDO

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CANACONA, OCT 15

Irked with continuous monkeymenace, destroying farms andfarm products, Poinguinim res-idents led by their MLA onWednesday held parleys withforest and agriculture officialsto find solution to control thedestruction.

In a meeting held at ShreParashuram Temple Ha l l ,Poinguinim, MLA Ramesh Tawad-kar, Poinguinim Sarpanch Tejash-wini Deykar and others held ameeting with Sub-Divisional For-est Officer, Canacona Range,Ramesh Gauns Dessai, AssistantDirector (Agriculture) NelsonFigueredo, Zonal Agriculture Of-ficer Canacona Rajesh Dessai.

They called for compensationfor the destructions and lossescaused by monkey menace inPoinguinim.

According to villagers, co-conut plantations, besides otherfarm products and house roofingare regularly destroyed by ram-paging monkeys and over 200farmers and residents have com-plained.

Residents also informed thatdamages are caused by WildBoars and Peacocks, besides mon-keys and called for suitable pro-tection from further damages andpayment of compensation for thelosses already caused to them.

The Forest and the Agricul-ture teams admitted that dam-ages are being done by theseanimals, which too often entersresidential and farming areas.

Both the teams also agreedthat suitable compensation aseligible under government ruleswill be paid to the affected res-idents on submission of appli-cations.

Monkey menace in PoinguinimAccording to sources, residents residing outside

the wild life sanctuary areas are eligible for suitablecompensation, if any wild or protected animalscause destruction of their property after strayingin residential villages.

Mohandas Lolienkar, Chirtakala Faldessai, VithalPrabhugaonkar, Vijay Kumar Prabhugaonkar,Raguchari Bhat, R Pai Bhot, Vasant Prabhudessaiand Ashish Shanbhag were also present at themeeting.

No caste candidateAdelmo Fernandes, Vasco

Reservations of the wards for the variouscaste categories for the Municipal electionsis supposed to be done after taking intoconsideration the density of that categoryof people in the ward. Yet in two wards inMormugao reserved for ST category therewere no candidates. If there were none ofthat caste available, on what basis was thereservation of the two wards done? Is thisan example of the whims and fancies ofpoliticians?

Scots poor cameo C U Jimmie, Nerul

The short cameo shown to highlight thenext hosts of the Commonwealth Games2014 was disappointing. I thought it wasrushed. The two miming bagpipers in theirshredded Scottish Highland dress, walkingon boards looked ungainly. Kilts and bonnetsscurried around energetically. The inflatablesrepresenting a Glasgow landmark and thenthe Loch Ness Monster looked like giantairbeds. Many a true Scotsman watchingwill feel that the display could be muchbetter. Having said that, Glasgow will puton Games and ceremonials to match any-where in the Commonwealth. Go Glesga!

Dont blame the refereeColin Egan, Nerul

There is no doubting the pugilistic talentsof Vijender Singh. The score against hisEnglish opponent was 3-4. He put the onuson his defeat squarely on the referee.Wrong. He failed to break down a stubborndefense and coupled with two massivelapses in discipline paid the price. Time tomove on and concentrate on London 2012.There he will be examined by a larger andmore knowledgeable audience and can re-ally show what he can do.

AG 90 pc failureJoseph DCunha, Porvorim

The letter by Aires Rodrigues AGs 90 per-cent failure (Herald, 14 Oct), reveals thathe has an axe to grind with the AG. If thenews item is incorrect and misleading, itwould have been right if Aires had to givethe actual facts and figures with evidence.Merely, stating that he is ready for a publicdebate with AG does not overshadow AGsachievements.

To have a public debate atleast on thisissue both should be of same stature.

Putting others lives at riskSavio Figueiredo, Aldona

I would like to know what action is takenagainst those rescued people who enteredthe sea in an intoxicated state as well asthose who entered the sea in no-swimmingzones against the advice of life guards. Dr-ishti Surf Life Team has saved many drown-

ing deaths, the last being 11 on a singleday. I congratulate them. It is importantto note that these lifeguards though welltrained still put their lives in danger whilerescuing drowning people. There shouldbe a substantial fine or imprisonment orboth imposed as a deterrent to other fool-hardy persons.

Ayodhya verdict Michael Vaz, Merces

A lot has been said and written on the Ay-odhya verdict by the Lucknow Bench ofthe Allahabad High Court. Interestinglyquite a few people have hailed the verdictas fitting under the circumstances since itwould bring peace. However there is noplace for issues like faith and belief underjurisprudence. In a court of law historicalfacts and evidence have to override mytho-logical deductions. The ultimate purposeof taking recourse to law when all othermeans had failed was essentially to reposefaith in the judicial process of the land.But the outcome was only an amicable set-tlement of trifurcating the disputed landand handing over a piece each to the threelitigants. We are where we were decadesago. The Hindu hardliners are contemplat-ing seeking the entire disputed land forthe temple. For them that is the priorityof the country.

Unaffordable GoaAllwyn George, Carmona

The politician-builder nexus is taking ustowards an unaffordable Goa. Protests havediscouraged big time builders, but Goasreal estate prices are sky-rocketing. Politi-cians and sarpanches make hay clearingfiles and issuing licences. We even see Mer-chant Navy personnel becoming builders.Government officers run the business inthe name of their spouses. In the bargainthe poor aam admi is left out in the cold.This government is wholly for the builderslobby. The only hope groups like GBA andothers who can keep watch.

MPT Anti-Goan James Moraes, Cuncolim

MPT chairman now wants to improve in-fastructure and economic growth and wantsmore projects, increased transportationinfrastructure, nationalization of Goanrivers, widening rail network - all ideaswhich require our land and our rivers. Itwill displace our traditional fishermen. Weare well aware of MPTs contribution toGoa very few Goans employed while therest are non-Goans. We have to thank MPTfor air and water pollution. Goans mustconsider this Delhi Babu as anti-Goan anddrive him out of Goa.

Diabetes the KillerP L Fernandes, Old-Goa

Recently, the IMA-Goa said the diabeticsare about 5 percent of the population. Thepercentage has to be more. A good portionof the Health Dept funding should establishdedicated health clinics, even mobile labswith working diagnostic equipment givinginstant results of glucose and most of alleducating people in villages how to takecare of themselves. The Health Centresavailable do not have proper staff and basicmedicines. The medical fraternity shouldcome together and contribute to societyselflessly.

Political pointersNolasco Mendonca, Anjuna - Kuwait

Independents candidates should not begiven a chance to contest since they indulgein horse-trading. Two political parties, rulingor opposition can do wonders for the na-tion. One sets policies and the other actsas the watchdog. We need innovation andnot stick to old methods of forming gov-ernments.

The candidate must have a minimumleve l o f educa t ion . Those underchargesheet, in prison or on bail shouldnever contest elections or be appointed.No politician or party should be allowedto head any sports body. The policy of di-vide and rule should never be practicedand our youth should work as one unit.

All this infrastructureNelson Lopes, Chinchinim

Goas demands for express ways, nationalhighways, state highways, major districtroads, expansion of railways will meanmore of transport arteries with less areafor habitation. The officials of NHAI andPWD held a meeting with the residents atthe residence of the Minister of Water Re-sources and Forests.

They categorically assured the residentsthat there is no deadline to complete thesurvey of NH17 by October 31, 2010. Theyalso denied the promulgation of section3D on or before the date. The meeting wassummoned by the minister to clarify theapprehension of the people due to the sur-vey.

Women should enter politics

The long awaited Judgement of the HighCourt of Allahabad on the entitlements ofthe litigants to the land at the site of the

demolished Babri Masjid does not appear to havesatisfied either side in the legal dispute. Boththe parties have declared that they will appealto the Supreme Court in the hope that justicewill be done. In accordance with the best practicesof democracy and in respect for the rule of Lawit is but appropriate that everyone should waitfor the Apex Court to pronounce on the terms ofthe dispute. The only hope is that this will nottake another sixty years.

In the meantime, the newspapers have begunto carry opinion pieces on the Judgement of theAllahabad High Court, and these, as expected,help the less informed citizens to understandthe implications of the Judgement and the inter-pretations thereof. One fact seems to stand outvery glaringly, viz. that the High Court did notfocus its attention on the dispute on which itwas expected to deliberate. The decision, as itappears in the media, looks more like an attemptto placate the parties to the dispute rather thanto pronounce definitively on their conflictingclaims to the title of the land on which the BabriMasjid had stood.

Following the logic used by the High Court, itwould not be wrong to assume that if there hadbeen four parties to the dispute (instead of thethree), the Court would have divided the propertyinto four parts and given permission to each ofthem to build their structures on the parts ofland allocated to them. In effect, the High Courthas acted more like a Conciliator or a Mediatorthen an Arbitrator.

From a laymans point of view, the Babri Masjidwas wantonly and criminally destroyed by thosewho claimed that the site on which it stood be-longed to one group which claimed that it wasthe site of the birth of Lord Ram. They were sup-posed to have produced the Title Deeds to theHigh Court in support of this claim. As far as wecan make out, the only proof which they offeredwas the report of the Archeological Survey ofIndia which had tentatively concluded thatthere was a pre-existing structure on the site onwhich the Babri Masjid had stood for 400 years.There does not appear to be any proof that thispre-existing structure was a monument to Lord

Ram, and that it was definitely the exact spot onwhich Lord Ram was born. There is a glaringlack of evidence both archaeological and his-torical to prove that Lord Ram was actually bornat that very spot. To counter this objection totheir claims, the group loudly proclaims that theclaim in not based on historical or archaeologicalevidence, but is based on Faith.

But this is precisely the crux of the disputewhich was before the High Court. The High Courtwas not asked to judge the veracity of the faithof the litigants, but to decide whether the claimcould be proved by historical and/or archeologicalevidence. Quite obviously this has not beendone; so the claim remains unresolved.

Now the fact of the matter is that the Judiciaryshould either state that it is not competent togive a Judicial Ruling on a claim based on faithand allow the political process to solve the disputethrough mediation and conciliation; or it shoulddecide the merits of the conflicting claims whichwere brought before it.

The decision of trifurcating the site appearsto have been received respectfully and maturelyby the general population of India. Of course itis well known that the Indian people are not onlymature in matters of religious tolerance, but thatthey accept the differences in a spirit of respectand magnanimity. After all India has been thehome to more religions than any other countryin the world. So many religions which havespread around the world were born in India.

The point to be noticed is that it is not thepeople of India who have a problem with a multi-religious and multi-cultural society. It is the fewfanatical elements who periodically whip up sen-timents to fever pitch in order to gain politicalmileage for themselves and their twisted ideolo-gies. What is abhorrent is that religion is usedas a tool of political advancement by a few bigots.The means used, of course, are totally unethicaland undemocratic.

It has been proven from time to time that manyviolent incidents, including bombings of places

of worship and public places, were perpetratedby a small coterie of fanatics in order to incrim-inate members of a minority religious community.When places of religious worship or sacred shrinesare violently desecrated there is always a violentbacklash. And this is precisely what is includedin the calculations of the bigots and fanatics. Un-fortunately the common man does not lookbeyond the surface of the events. He easily fallsprey to the false propaganda of the fanatics.

Fanaticism, of course, is not confined to theadherents of any one religion. One finds religiousfanatics on the fringes of any religion. The lessonto be learned, however, is that we should neverjump to conclusions, specially the conclusionswhich the fanatics have scripted for us. We haveto trust in the normal machinery of law and orderto uncover the darker conspiracies underlyingmany violent events which take place from timeto time. But here, again, the fanatical elementsare known to have infiltrated the machinery oflaw enforcement to ensure that those who aresupposed to control violence actually becomeperpetrators and, sometimes, bystanders, evenwhen they know who the perpetrators are.

The Judiciary in India has often exposed itsweaknesses and its propensity to evade its re-sponsibilities. The present decision on the dis-puted land titles to the site on which the BabriMasjid once stood is a clear case in point. Ineffect the dispute remains unresolved. We stilldo not know whether the site belongs to thosewho claim that it is the actual birthplace of LordRam, or to those who claim that the Babri Masjidwas erected lawfully in accordance with the lawsin place at that time. All eyes are now fixed onthe Supreme Court which is expected to make afinal determination of the dispute.

In the meantime, it is deplorable that somepolitical parties and their manipulative culturalorganizations continue to claim that the IndianJudiciary has finally made a judicial pronounce-ment as to the historicity of the birthplace ofLord Ram and the legitimacy of the violent de-struction of an historic monument of great culturalvalue to India and to the world. A mosque or atemple or a church or a gurudwara can be builtanywhere; but the bitterness and anger generatedby the wanton acts of the few fanatics cannot beeasily dampened.

OPINIONwww.oheraldo.in

Pg8Vol No CX No: 260

Goa, Saturday 16 October, 2010

Letters to the EditorLetter of the Day

CMs vanishing actCedric Da Costa, Margao

He did it again this week. Terrified that the GBA tigers may devour him our CMDigambar Kamat, hid from public glare on Oct 14 when the GBA threatened to stormthe CMs residence at Altinho. He was in Delhi he said. Strange, when he wassupposed to inaugurate the ITM at Campal. This is an eye opener to the people ofGoa and specially the GBA which has been spearheading the cause of saving Goafrom the clutches of decision makers like our CM who is keen to sell Goa to outsidersor destroy it through illegal mining. Kamat has been making tall claims of how muchhe loves Goa and Goans, but every time genuine Goans try to raise their voiceagainst the ills that are slowly destroying Goa, the CM does his vanishing act. Itlooks like the Congress Government in Goa is bent on committing political suicide.If the CM cannot meet respected representatives of the GBA who represent thevoice of the disgruntled aam aadmi of Goa, then I guess Goans cannot be blamed ifthey take the law into their own hands as during the time of the Konkani agitation.I request the GBA to march down to Margao, where maybe the CM will be comfortableto meet them on his own home ground. Lets take the fight to Save Goa to Margao.

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.

it was a mediation not a judgement says AVertHAnUs l dsoUZA

OHERALDO

Tongue in cheek

OHERALDO

100 Years Ago

16 October 1910V S Dempos requestThe Hindu Community from Goa led byMr. Vishnu Sinai Dempo salutes the newRepublic and requests the new provi-sionary Government to confirm the ap-pointment of Dr. Couceiro da Costa asthe new Governor of Goa.

David Pinter arrivesDavid Pinter the correspondent fromTimes of India, who is collecting all thenecessary information in regards to themood of the people concerning the newRepublic, is at Nova Goa after having ar-rived from Bombay,

Church to contributeThe Government School of Cuncolim isgoing to be maintained by the Govern-ment. However, its respective Churchorganization will have to contribute an-nually a minimum of 60 Rupees.

Centenary Civic salutationAt its last meeting the Centenary Com-mittee decided to organize a civic salu-tation near the statue of Afonso deAlbuquerque on 25 November insteadof Open-Air Mass so as not to coincidewith official festivities to be held at OldGoa as such postponing the launchingof the Monument which as of now willbe unveiled in 1915.

Ayodhya ruling based on faith

It is said that behind every successful man is a woman (may benot necessarily his wife). Now it seems that behind every suc-cessful woman politician there is a man who could not contest

in the elections because the seat is reserved for women. The Municipal elections are just round the corner and there

has been a flurry of activity as potential candidates filed theirnomination papers. But fortunately or unfortunately some frontrunners in the run-up to the elections have not been able to filetheir papers as, to their utter surprise and dismay, the ward whichthey had nurtured and cared for all these years was now reservedfor women.

So the next best thing to do would be to see that their spousescontest from that ward. This way it (politics) will be a family affair.Incidentally this time around Goa could well see as many as threechairpersons who will probably make way for their spouses. Thestate-level politicians have also thrown their hats into the Municipalelections.

One particular Minister has seen to it that his wife and brother

contest the Civic polls. Well, well dynastic politics is seen not onlyin politics at the centre. Its ripples are felt even at the Municipalelections. When it comes to the spouses taking over from theirhusbands the one that comes vividly to mind is the former ChiefMinister of Bihar Rabri Devi who took over from Laloo PrasadYadav after he got entangled in the fodder scam.

Unfortunately Rabri Devi did not last long as a Chief Minister.That brings us to the all important question: do women makebetter politicians than men? Well the question is debateable.

Be that as it may, many Bollywood actresses have, to some ex-tent, been successful in politics. There has been Jaya Bachchan,Jaya Pradha to name a couple of them. It is another matter thatnone of the actor-turned politicians have raised their voice in Par-liament. But on the whole many women politicians have given themen a run for their money. Of the present lot there is Mayawati,Mamta Banerjee, Sheila Dixit, Sushma Swaraj, Jayanti Natrajan andother women politicians who have left a lasting impression onthe minds of the Indian people.

But then do women make better politicians in the Civic bodies?It seems so. As the head of a civic body the most important taskis to keep the city clean and tidy. Women are always known totake extra care to see that their homes are neat and tidy. Sokeeping the city clean could be considered as an extension of thetask of keeping the house clean.

As a general rule women on a whole are not as corrupt astheir male counterparts. Of course there are exceptions to thisrule. Women politicians are more hard-working then the males.Modern day woman knows how to balance the family life and thetough life of politics.

Politics is not a dirty game. It is a clean game played by dirtypeople. So if those in politicians are clean, it will be clean politicson the whole. So it may seem that the world would be a betterplace to live in if more and more women opted for politics as acareer. Very soon we will be having 33 percent reservation forwomen. It would have been better if 33 percent were to bereserved for men and the rest for the women. What do you feel?

MorAl ConsiderAtions

Law and SinShall we say then, that the Law itself issinful? Of course not! But it was theLaw that made me know what sin is. Ifthe Law had not said, Do not desirewhat belongs to someone else, I wouldnot have known such a desire. But bymeans of that commandment, sin foundits chance to stir up all kinds of selfishdesires in me. Apart from law, sin is adead thing.

I myself was once alive, apart fromlaw; but when the commandment came,sin sprang to life, and I died. And thecommandment which was meant tobring life, in my case brought death. Sinfound its chance, and by means of thecommandment, it deceived me andkilled me.

So then, the Law itself is holy, andthe commandment is holy, right andgood. But does this mean that what isgood caused my death? By no means!It was sin that did it; by using what isgood, sin brought death to me, in orderthat its true nature as sin might be re-vealed. And so, by means of the com-mandment, sin is shown to be evenmore terribly sinful.

(Romans 7; 7-12)

Paths of Wisdom

Just do it!

The keynote speaker at the maiden India Travel Mart,Goa (ITM-Goa) Pradip Madhavji, a former Chairman ofThomas Cook India and a spokesman-at-large for

Indias travel and tourism industry, feels that in tourism,just like in sex, one must talk less and do more. Addressingthe ITM, which opened at the Campal football ground onThursday evening, Mr Madhavji said: In sex, people donttalk and just do it. But in tourism, people only talk and donothing.

It is an amusing analogy, but there is more than a grain oftruth to it. It reflects on more than tourism. For, on the sameevening when Goas pre-eminence in tourism was beingflaunted in the elegant pavilions set up on the banks of thepicturesque Mandovi River, several hundred activists wereshouting themselves hoarse in Panjim city to demand thatChief Minister Digambar Kamat translate his assurances onthe Regional Plan (RP) 2021 into action.

Mr Madhavji had kind words for Goa. He said that the pre-dominant image of India abroad was: congested and dirty,but with hospitable people. But in the case of Goa, he said,one repeatedly hears the words tranquil, peace and green,apart from delight at its delicious cuisine and hospitablepeople. He is correct. Goas greenery, tranquillity, relativecleanliness and peace are a big part of its tourism USP.

It is just these qualities that Thursdays noisy protest, byactivists from village committees all over Goa, sought toprotect. The Goa Bachao Abhiyan (GBA), which as its veryname suggests, wants to save Goa from mindless developmentand destruction of its wonderful villages and greenery, is fedup with talk. It says the people have waited patiently for ful-filment of promises and assurances made personally by theCM, even on the floor of the Legislative Assembly. But thegovernment has failed time and again to finalise the RegionalPlan, and is allowing big builders to construct concrete jungles.

Chief Minister Digambar Kamat must be aware that hisdeeds have failed to match his words. For, he failed to turnup at the opening of ITM-Goa. Had he been there, he couldnot have refused to face the activists. Mr Kamat is well awarethat even though Thursdays protest drew only hundreds,the issue is volatile enough to agitate the public at large, andit will not be too long before the crowds number in the thou-sands.

Mr Madhavji pointed out good things and bad things aboutGoa. Some of them show this government in a good light. Hepraised the roads. Travelling from the airport to the hotel, Ihave driven on one of the best-maintained surfaces of roads.It was like a carpet, he said, urging that Goa needs to sendits road technicians and maintenance personnel to Mumbai,to teach Indias urbs prima how to keep its roads in goodshape.

Take a bow, Mr Kamat. But remember that there are manyreally bad things as well, and at present, these are far moredominant in the public perception. When Mr Kamat tookoffice in 2007, one of his first actions was to announce thecomplete scrapping of the notorious Regional Plan 2011, andto set up a representative task force to formulate a brandnew Regional Plan 2021. It raised so much expectation andenthusiasm. But cynical never-ending delay tactics have slowlytransformed this hope into disillusionment, anger and frus-tration.

Now, there are fewer days for the next poll to come thanthe one gone by. Electioneering has started in full swing in atleast one constituency in South Goa. The Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) has started taking its role as an opposition partyvery seriously. If Mr Kamat continues to side with the bigbuilders and illegal miners against the aam admi in whosename he came to power he could be looking straight intothe face of disaster.

PRIMEIRO DIARIO NAS COLONIAS PORTUGEZAS

By Adelmo Fernandes

GOA Pg 9GOA, SATURDAY, 16 OCTOBER, 2010

OHE

RALD

O

herald COrresPOndenT

PORVORIM, OCT 15

The Bharatiya Janata Party hasoffered support to 14 candidatesin the elections to the MapusaMunicipal Council (MMC).

The BJP-supported candi-dates are Kiran Dessai (Ward1), Naguesh Mayekar (Ward 2),Sushant Harmalker (Ward 3),Marlin DSouza (Ward 4), Sid-dharth Mayekar (Ward 5),Prakash Bhivset (Ward 7), IlmaMathew Braganza (Ward 8),Tushar Tople (Ward 9), SandeepFalari (Ward 10), Antonio LuisAlvares (Ward 11), SeemaMilind Anvekar (Ward 12), Gu-rudas Vaigankar (Ward 13),Manisha Kavlekar (Ward 14)and Sudhir Rama Kandolkar(15).

Addressing a press conference

at Mapusa on Thursday evening,BJP Mapusa Mandal PresidentRajsinh Rane made the an-nouncement to support the 14candidates in the Mapusa Mu-nicipal Council (MMC) election.BJP has not supported any can-didate in Ward 6.

Briefing the press, MapusaMLA Francis DSouza said theydid the survey of the candidatesin the elections ward-wise anddecided to support 14 candi-dates as they were found to haveclean image in the society anddesire to strive for the better-ment of Mapusa city.

Out of the 14 candidates,some are non-BJP candidates.We have offered our support tonon-BJP candidates, as the partydesires that MMC should havegood councillors who are inter-ested in providing clean and ef-ficient administration to thecitizens of Mapusa, said D-Souza.

Criticizing the reservationpolicy of the government, D-Souza said although there aremore Scheduled Castes peoplein Mapusa as compared toScheduled Tribes, governmenthas not reserved any ward forSC.

This is unjust and unfair. Thereservation policy should beformed only after carrying outproper survey of the wards,said DSouza.

BJP offers support to 14 candidates

mapusa

civic polls

herald rePOrTer

VASCO, OCT 15

Former Mormugao MunicipalCouncil (MMC) chairpersonM a n e s h A ro l ka r w a s o nWednesday elected unopposedfrom Ward 14 for the secondsuccessive time, after two can-didates withdrew their nomi-nations.

The two candidates in thefray, Jagdish Dubhatkar andAnish Mahdev Parsekar, with-drew their nominations.

It is the people who whole-heartedly supported me andtheir blessings have worked inmy favour to get me elected un-opposed, said Arolkar.

"My family has served thisward for the last five decades,

since my late father ChandrakantArolkars era," he said.

Maneshs father was twiceelected as councillor from thisward and he served as the sec-ond chairperson of MMC.

In 2005, his sister-in-law, De-vika Arolkar, was also elected ascouncillor from this ward andwas subsequently elected vicechairperson.

Arolkar is the only family inthe port town that has the dis-tinction of having a father andson serve as chairperson ofMMC.

Meanwhile, Returning Officerand Deputy Collector LevinsonMartins handed over a letter toArolkar on his election fromWard 14.

Former Mormugao Council chief

elected unopposed

MMC Chairperson Shekhar Khadapkar greets Councillor ManeshArolkar.

Restrictions onliquor in