OHERALDOThe Voice of Goa Since 1900

India: Its not fair to compare

me with Ranbir -- Imran Pg 9

Sports: Paraguay shoot

out Rising Sun Pg 18Business: Diesel prices to go

the petrol way: PM Pg 12

Visit us at:www.oheraldo.in panjim, wednesdaY, june 30, 2010 pRiCe Rs. 3.00 (air surcharge Rs. 1.50) pages 18

Of course Marathi manoos willnever 'bow down' under pressure.But this song seems to be inAfrican language not Marathi.

PTI

LONDON, JUNE 29

Indians have the highest rate ofheart disease in the UK, accord-ing to latest research the Uni-versity of Oxford.

The burden of heart diseaseamong ethnic minorities is re-vealed in the new report com-piled by Oxford Universityresearchers for the British HeartFoundation.

The figures suggest that whilethe South Asian population suf-fers the highest rates of heartdisease, many could be missingout on access to some treat-ments.

The publication, Ethnic Dif-ferences in Cardiovascular Dis-ease 2010, reports that 27 percent of deaths in men born inSouth Asia and living in the UKare from heart disease, com-pared with 18 per cent in menborn in the UK.

Lead author of the report, DrPeter Scarborough from OxfordsDepartment of Public Health,said: The report confirms whatwas already generally knownabout ethnic differences in theburden of cardiovascular disease that South Asians in the UKsuffer more coronary heart dis-ease than the white population.

Diabetes is also more preva-lent in the South Asian popula-

Indians top heart disease list in UK

tion, while the black populationhas a higher risk of stroke.

The reasons for differencesbetween ethnic groups living inthe UK are not fully understood.

Scarborough explained:There are a number of differentinfluences that could have aneffect genetic differences,socio-economic differences, anddifferences in factors that canraise the risk of heart disease.

This report shows that thereare differences in risk factorswithin the ethnic groups in theUK, but it is difficult to assesshow much these translate to theexperience of heart disease.

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JUNE 29

The Crime Branch todayquizzed former tourism min-i s t e r Fr anc i s co Mickk yPachecos estranged wife SaraPacheco for almost six hoursin connection with the NadiaTorrado death case.

Sara, who had filed a com-plaint of bigamy againstPacheco was accompanied byBailancho Ekvott PresidentAuda Viegas.

Sara refused to talk to thepress after the marathongrilling but sources in theCrime Branch here said thatSara admitted she knew Nadiasince 2004.

I knew that Nadia andPacheco were going around,she said in her statement be-fore police.

Nadia , who worked in

Pachecos firm as an accountscoordinator died after con-suming poison on May 30.Pacheco and his OSD LyndonMonteiro are on the run afterCrime Branch accused them inNadias death.

Speaking to reporters AudaViegas said that Sara marriedPacheco in 1999 and their mar-riage ran into trouble in 2004.

In December 2008, Sara fileda complaint of domestic vio-lence against Pacheco claimingthat he abused her often andthrew her out of the house.

Subsequently, in January2009, Pacheco filed a divorcepetition seeking to separatefrom Sara.

Sara has also filed complaintof forgery against Pacheco lastyear alleging that he sold allher flats and a vehicle, whichwere in her name.

Sleuths grill Mickkyswife for six hours

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JUNE 29

The abscond ing fo rmertourism minister, MickkyPacheco whose anticipatorybail application was rejectedby the High Court last week,has now knocked the doors ofthe Supreme Court seeking re-lief.

Mickky has been namedmain accused in the death ofhis close friend, Nadia Torrado,who died on May 29, a fort-night after she consumed ratol(rat poison).

His aide and co-accused,Lyndon Monteiro who is alsoin hiding has also challengedthe High Court order rejectinghis anticipatory bail applica-tion.

While considering occur-rence of entire incident andthat the death of Nadia oc-curred under mysterious cir-

cumstances the High Courthad rejected both applications.

It cannot be denied thatthe offence appears to be of avery serious nature. It involvesdeath of a young woman inmysterious circumstances.Looking to the sequence ofevents it cannot be said thatcustodial interrogation of theapplicant is not required, theHigh Court had observed.

Mickky has been abscond-ing since June 5, after hestepped down from the officeof minister.

It is the case of the investi-gating agency that the houseof the deceased including thebedroom was cleaned. Also,important evidence was delib-erately made to disappearfrom the house. Two cellphones, passport and laptopof the deceased and even theratol tube are missing.

Mickky moves SC for bail

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JUNE 29

The Registrar of Co-operativeSocieties, P K Pattidar, who alsoholds additional charge as Di-rector, Animal Husbandry wastoday caught red-handed by theAnti-Corruption Bureau (ACB)officials accepting a bribe.

ACB Police Inspector NileshRane addressing media, aftersleuths raided Pattidars Pattooffice disclosed that he wascaught taking Rs 15,000 from acontractor.

We received a complaint thismorning from one contractorwho had supplied feed worthRs 23 lakh to the Dhaat andKoparde farms, Rane stated.

He said that the complainanthad alleged that Pattidar wasdemanding 10 per cent as com-mission for settling his bills,which was working out to Rs2.3 lakh. After negotiations, thecomplainant agreed to pay theamount in instalments with thefirst instalment being of Rs15,000, Rane stated.

Following the complaint, ACBsleuths laid a trap and he wascaught red-handed accepting Rs15,000 at the Registrar of Co-operative Societies office atPatto plaza, at around 5.15 pmtoday, the official said.

Sources in the ACB disclosedthat Pattidar used to regularlycall the contractors at the Pattooffice of Registrar of Co-op So-cieties for such nefarious activ-ities.

ACB officials also raided Pat-

tidars house to conduct a thor-ough probe into his assets,sources said.

After the raids, Pattidar wasarrested and taken to ACB officeat Altinho.

Registrar of Co-opscaught taking bribe

Jose Philip is State NCP president

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JUNE 29

Ending days of speculation, theNationalist Congress Party (NCP)today appointed Jose Philip D-Souza as its Goa unit president.

The decision comes a dayafter the party general secretaryand incharge of Goa deskPrakash Binsale said that theyare still undecided on the mat-ter.

However, the suspense cameto an end today evening withthe party announcing name ofJose Philip.

A letter to this effect was is-sued by the NCP Office Super-intendent A Z Palwi.

Jose Philip DSouza, who isthe minister for Revenue andCivil Supplies in the Congress-led coalition Government, toldHerald that his first job would

26 CRPF men shot dead in

Maoist attack PTI

RAIPUR, JUNE 29

In a major Maoist attack, 26CRPF personnel were today shotdead and seven injured in anambush in a remote area ofChhattisgarhs Narayanpur dis-trict.

Heav i l y -a rmed Maois t sopened fire with automaticweapons from a hilltop when a63-member security contingentwas returning from road open-ing duty on foot, Union HomeSecretary G K Pillai said in NewDelhi.

The attack, which also leftseven personnel including fourspecial police officers of theChhattisgarh Police injured,took place at Daurai Road area,about 300 km from here, ataround 3 pm.

It comes nearly three monthsafter the worst April 6 Dante-wada massacre by the Maoistwhich left 75 personnel of theforce and one Chhattisgarh po-liceman dead.

Pillai said security and medicalreinforcements have been sentto the spot and all the bodieshave been recovered. The in-jured have been taken to a hos-pital by a helicopter, he said.

According to preliminary in-formation, the condition of oneof the SPOs is stated to be seri-ous, officials said.

The troops were from the39th battalion of the force andwere a part of its E and F com-panies, CRPF Chief Vikram Sri-vastava said.

On May 8, eight men of theparamilitary force were killedwhen naxals blew up a mine-proof vehicle also in Narayanpurdistrict.

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JUNE 29

Garbage collection in the capitalcity will resume from Wednes-day after an emergency meetingof CCP on Tuesday evening man-aged to convince the contractorShakeel Abdul Wahab in restart-ing work.

The Corporation of the Cityof Panaji (CCP) Mayor CarolinaPo today said that garbage col-lection in the city will begin fromtomorrow while sorting of thesame and recycling will begintonight.

We explained him the entiresituation and also assured policeprotection. Accordingly, he has

agreed to send his workers atthe sorting centre at St Inez,Po said.

CCP has written to the Panjimpolice asking to provide protec-tion to the workers, who werebeaten up by an unknown, lastweek.

Contractor Shakeel who hadstopped sorting and recyclingwork, confirmed that the Cor-poration has guaranteed policeprotection to his workers.

I was also called by policecommissioner this evening,who has also assured that pro-tection will be provided. I nar-rated him entire scene and he

Citys garbage problem solvedPolice protection assured,

work resumes today

Anti-Corruption Bureau officials escort Registrar of Co-operative So-cieties, P K Pattidar out of his office after he was caught red-handedfor accepting a bribe. Photo by Rozario Estibeiro.

11 held in US on spycharges An incident reminiscent of theCold War era hostilities, theUS has arrested 11 people oncharges of spying for Russia,angering Moscow to issue astern warning that it would bea blow to the Obama-Medvedev burger diplomacy

and the reset in bilateral ties.The arrests were made onSunday and yesterday inBoston, New York, New Jerseyand Virginia, the Departmentof Justice announced today al-leging that the group dubbedthe illegals was tasked bythe Russian intelligenceagency SVR to enter the US,

(Continued on page 2)

Mickky Pachecos estranged wife Sara walks out of the CrimeBranch office at Dona Paula after a grueling 6-hour questioning.

Photo by Rozario Estibeiro.

(Continued on page 2)

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GOAHERALD

Pg2GOA, WEDNESDAY, 30 JUNE, 2010

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JUNE 29

With just a fortnight to go forChief Minister, DigambarKamats July 15 deadline to re-vamp Hospicio into a premierehospital, Health Minister, Vish-wajeet Rane on Tuesday madea surprise visit to the hospitalto get a first hand account ofthe ongoing works and to putthings in order.

As dirty linen greeted theHealth Minister during hisrounds of the Hospicio wards,Rane instructed the Hospicioadministration to replace thelinen on a priority basis. In fact,this is not the first time that theHealth Minister has called forreplacing the torn linen. Duringhis surprise visit to Hospiciosoon after taking over the reignsof office, Rane had found tornand dirty linen on the hospitalbeds and had directed the hos-pital administrator to dump theold linen.

During Tuesdays visit to thehospital, the Health Ministerchecked the attendance registerof the doctors and staff to findout the number of staff report-ing for duty. Rane also inquiredinto the medicine support andthe stock available in the hos-pital.

The Health Minister directed

the Hospicio authorities to keephim informed every week onemergency requirements in thehospital.

While reviewing the ongoingcivil works carried out by GoaState Infrastructure Develop-ment Corporation, the HealthMinister also inquired into theprogress of work of the new Op-eration Theatre proposed at thehospital.

Before leaving the hospital,

the Health Minster went roundthe wards and had an interactionwith the patients to find out theservice rendered by the staffand the availability of medicines.

Ranes surprise visit assumessignificance given that the ChiefMinister had set July 15 as thedeadline to revamp the Hospiciohospital in all respects. Inciden-tally, this is Vishwajeet Ranesfirst visit to Hospicio after theChief Minister took upon himself

the task of effecting a total re-vamp of the hospital after Con-gress workers from Margao andFatorda demanded an improve-ment in the services.

The Chief Minister, who hadbeen visiting Hospicio everyweek, over the last one month,had announced that there willbe no shortage of medicines,while the PROs will be impartedtraining to help patients and vis-itors to the hospital.

Hospicio revamp: Vishwajeet payssurprise visit, reviews works

File photo of Hospicio hospital, Margao.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CALANGUTE, JUNE 29

A large number of people fromall over the State witnessedthe traditional Sangodd Festi-val on the banks of CandolimRiver at Orda, to mark thefeasts of St Peter and St Paul,who are regarded as the pa-tron saints of the fishing com-munity.

The fisher folk community,which is largely present in thisbelt of Candolim, gives thanksto its Patron St Peter with aEucharistic celebration in OurLady of Hope Church at Can-dolim.

The Church festivities arefollowed by a cultural enter-tainment Sangodd on thebanks of Orda-Candolim on astage made up of fishing boats

in keeping with the traditionsof their ancestors, who havebeen celebrating the Patronsfeast with Sangodd. Theartistes, professionals and lo-cals later perform on the stagemade up of boats.

This year, the stage wasmade up of four fishing boatswhile few others were deco-rated with country flags of Por-tuga l , B raz i l and o the rcountries in tune with the FIFAWorld Cup. The Portugal boatwas given a special prize forits decor.

A host of professionalartistes including Bab Andrew,T Briton, Minglu de Merces,Young Chico and others en-thralled the large crowd, whohad come to witness the tra-ditional Sangodd.

The local artistes also per-formed on the stage. The mu-sicians were led by Xavier dePaklo, while the gummot cul-ture also added flavour to theSangodd festivities. Damiande Orda compered and laterthanked those present.

Few people from Calanguteincluding its Assistant ParishPriest Fr Clifford Miranda ar-rived in canoes for the San-godd.

Earlier, the traditional San-godd festival began withprayers at Holy Cross Chapel.The festival then took the cen-tre stage on the water banksof Orda-Candolim with peoplesaying Viva Sao Pedro, wherea decorative stage depictinga Chapel was put up on theriver bank.

Sangodd celebrations

Artistes perform on boats stage at Sangodd festival at Orda-Candolim. Photo by Thomas Fernandes

People celebrating Sangodd at Ribandar. Photo by Rozario Estibeiro

A Sangodh float depicting the World Cup trophy moving in the River Sal at Assolna on Tuesday.Photo by Santosh Mirajkar

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JUNE 29

Fomento has asked the DistrictMagistrate, South to call a meet-ing of concerned officials to puta disaster management plan inplace for the Sonsodo dumpingyard.

In a letter, Fomento haspointed out that a disaster man-agement plan for Sonsodo is allthe more necessary as garbagedumping sites have been hit bymethane and other gases.

Meanwhile, the Goa PollutionControl Board has fixed hearingnext week on the authorizationsought by the Margao MunicipalCouncil to set up a waste treat-ment plant at Sonsodo.

The Pollution Control Boardis believed to have told the Mar-

gao Civic body to ask Fomentoto attend the hearing with theproject report and other de-tails.

Pollution Control Board offi-cials has also called for a siteinspection of the Sonsodo dumpyard before issuing the author-ization.

Meanwhile, the Margao Mu-nicipal Council has said that Fo-mento has so till date notreturned back to the Civic bodythe draft Concession Agree-ment.

Sources in the know said the

draft concession agreement hasnot been returned to the Civicbody till date to facility the bodyto place the same before theCouncil for ratification.

The delay in returning ofthe draft concession agree-ment, however, has not comein the way of Fomentos work-ing at Sonsodo. The companyhas covered the Sonsododumping site with Tarpaulinand a 30-member gang ofworkers are closely monitor-ing the situation in view ofthe monsoons.

Fomento CEO Shridhar Kamathas said that the company hasreceived the conveyor belt andis awaiting the arrival of a trom-mel at the site for screening ofthe dumped waste.

SONSODODUMP

SDM urged to call for meet to putdisaster management plan in place

Police raid Chandor bar, arrest 5 for gambling

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JUNE 29

The Maina Curtorim police onTuesday raided a bar and restau-rant near the Chandor railwaystation and arrested five personsplaying card gambling.

PI Sidhant Shirodkar informedthat the police seized Rs 5500,besides gambling material fromthe bar during the raid.

The police has booked thefive persons under Section 3 &4 of the Goa Gambling Act.

Meanwhile, the accused ar-rested in the case of unnaturalsex late Monday night has beenremanded to three days policecustody.

PI Shirodkar said though themedical reports of the victimboys have come negative, thepolice late Monday night ar-rested the accused.

Further investigations are on.

Sonsodo rapecase: accused

arrestedHERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JUNE 29

Nearly four months after she wasraped at an isolated spot at Son-sodo, the Margao police has fi-nally arrested the alleged accused,Prashant Tari after the victim iden-tified him on Tuesday.

Margao PI Santosh Desai saidthe rape case was detected afterthe girl told the police that aboy had recently given him amobile number and she sus-pected him as the accused be-hind her rape four months ago.

Based on her information, theMargao police called PrashantTari, a resident of Shiroda onthe cell phone number. After hereplied to the police call, thegirl identified him as the accusedin the case.

He has since been remandedto seven days police custody bya local court.

In this case, the victim girlfrom Shiroda had come to Mar-gao to meet her cousin and waswaiting at the Margao Municipalgarden when the accused ap-proached her and offered a lift.

As per the victims complaint,the accused sped towards Son-sodo and after raping her aban-doned her at the lonely place.

The police are further inves-tigating the case.

Man accused of harassing

girlfriendHERALD CORRESPONDENT

PERNEM, JUNE 29

A man has been accused of ha-rassing his girlfriend, who com-mitted suicide at Pernem.

In a complaint , SangitaFadtare told Pernem police thather sister Sarika ended her lifedue to mental torture by herlover Sunny Shankar Tirodkar.

Sangita alleged that Sunnyand Sarika were involved in alove affair. On June 6, there washeated argument betweenthem, due to which Sarika setherself ablaze on June 7.

Later, Sarika was rushed toGMC Hospital in Bambolim in acritical condition, where she ex-pired on June 27. The next day,Sangita filed a complaint againstSunny with Pernem police.

Acting on the complaint,Pernem police arrested SunnyTirodkar of Parra and he hasbeen remanded to seven dayspolice custody. Pernem policeis investigating the case.

HERALD REPORTER

VASCO, JUNE 29

Though the eight-month-old in-formation counter at Vasco Rail-way Station has displayed thatit provides information on af-fordable accommodation, sight-seeing tours, etc, but touristsvisiting the counter are forcedto inquire about the informationwith the taxi drivers outside thestation.

In one such instance, when anewly married couple, DevindraSingh along with his wife, fromSamastipur-Bihar, on theirmaiden visit to Goa, arrived atVasco Railway Station by PatnaExpress on Monday morning,

the counter had nothing to offerthem.

Local taxi driver, SantoshDesa i , who he lped thesetourists, informed media thatthough the Tourism Departmenthas set up information counterat the Vasco Railway Station, noone is present at the counter toguide the tourists.

However, the situation wassuch that the railway authoritywas forced to inform the GoaTourism Development Corpo-ration (GTDC) to remove thecounter or man it to serve thepurpose for which it was setup.

Speaking to Herald, Vasco

Tourist info counter unmanned at Vasco railway station

More Obituaries on Page 10

Road Safety Week

from July 1HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JUNE 29

GOACAN will observe a StateRoad Safety Week from July 1to create an awareness amongconsumers on the importanceof Road Safety and Traffic Man-agement, the urgent need to in-still traffic discipline and reduceaccidents in Goa.

GOACAN coordinator RolandMartins said the death of 46 per-sons in road accidents in 31daysof May is yet another reminderof the serious problem affectingthe State of Goa. The death of19 riders and 11 pedestriansfurther highlights the urgentneed for consumers to get in-volved in solutions, he added.

The Week long program dur-ing this monsoon will promotethe formation of Road Safety &Traffic Management Committeesat the level of the Village Pan-chayat & Municipal Councils andthe submission of local RoadSafety Plans prepared by theConsumer Forums to the variousagencies like Traffic Police, Di-rectorate of Transport, PWD,RND & District Magistrate.

During the week ConsumerForums will promote the bene-fits of the Road Safety Patrol(RSP) and encourage its forma-tion in all High Schools in Goaas well as the benefits of theTraffic Warden Scheme in co-ordination with the various Traf-fic Police Cells.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JUNE 29

Chief Minister Digambar Kamatsummoned Margao MunicipalChairperson Savio Coutinho andother senior Civic officials onTuesday a day after the City De-velopment Plan (CDP) prepared

CM summons MMC chairperson, chief officer over CDP failure

Unmanned tourist information counter at Vasco Railway Station. Photo by M Prabhav

Railway Station Manager P CChacko said the informationcounter was set up in October,2009. For initial period, itwas manned but after that noone was present at the counterto guide the tourists and ithas been going on for morethan six months now, headded.

He said the railway authorityprovided a prime location at thestation to install the counter sothat tourists get valid informa-tion and if it is unutilized thenit is hindrance for passengersat the station.

Considering the express

trains that connect Vasco toDelhi, Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai,Chennai, Kolkatta, this informa-tion counter is very much re-quired for the tourists who visitthe State via railway, said thestation manager.

At least during arrival oftrains, they should man it oth-erwise it is of no use, addedChacko.

When contacted, newly ap-pointed GTDC Managing Direc-tor Nikhil Desai said he wasunaware about the counter andwhen he enquired about it, headmitted that it is not mannedproperly.

Citys garbage problem solvedhas promised necessary action, he said.

Since the last couple of days, heaps of garbage were seen in thecity emanating a foul smell at various spots. More than 20 trucksof dry waste from households and 10 trucks of garbage fromhotels remained uncollected due to the strike.

Jose Philip is State NCP chiefbe to strengthen the party. I want to improve the functioning ofthe party, DSouza said.

In recent years, the NCP has been in turmoil after the bitter exitof Wilfred de Souza, a former chief minister and the State presidentof the NCP for nearly a decade.

The new president said he also wants to improve the functioningof the party.

It may be recalled Jose Philip and a few members of the executivehad resigned from the party in June last year after accusing NCPchief Sharad Pawar of communalism and victimising Christianmembers.

Jose Philips appointment comes at a time when the image ofthe NCP in Goa is in tatters after one of its senior members, MickkyPacheco, was accused of culpable homicide in the mysteriousdeath of Nadia Torrado.

There are presently three NCP legislators in the 40-memberGoa Assembly.

FROM PAGE 1

by the Goa State InfrastructureDevelopment Corporation(GSIDC) failed to find favour withthe Margao city fathers.

Kamat is believed to haveinquired with the Chairpersonand Chief Officer Y B Tawdeover the failure by the Civicbody to give the stamp of ap-proval for the CDP at Mon-days council meeting. Whenthe MMC delegation briefedthe Chief Minister on the de-cision to display the CDP forpublic viewing, the Chief Min-ister reportedly told the Civicofficials to set the process inmotion immediately and com-plete the exercise within atime frame.

Its an open secret that theChief Minister has been push-ing the plan for approval withthe Margao civic body sincethe last six months. The CDPhas received the approval fromthe GSIDC headed by the ChiefMinister. Though architectRahul Deshpande, engaged bythe GSIDC had a power pointpresentation with the Margao

City Fathers over two monthsago, the civic body seems tobe treading a cautious path,unwilling to go for the CDPgiven its ramifications on thefuture development on thecity.

Meanwhile, MMC Chief Offi-cer Y B Tawde said the Civicbody would in a day or two issuenotice inviting suggestions andobjections to the plan from thecitizens. He said the Civic bodywill keep the plan open for thecitizens to submit objectionsand suggestions for a period of15 days, before the suggestionsand objections are compiled andplaced before the Council for adecision.

Incidentally, a section ofCouncillors are of the firm opin-ion that the Civic body shouldkeep the CDP open for publicsuggestions and objections atleast for a month as the plan isbulky in nature. The CDP is abulky document which wouldrequire days together to studybefore offering any suggestionsand objections, remarked a CityFather.

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GOA, WEDNESDAY, 30 JUNE, 2010

GOAHERALD

Pg3

Benaulim Community CentreZen Gardens, Near Maria Hall, Benaulim

a new hope

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JUNE 29

Plans by the Fisheries Depart-ment to acquire land admeasur-ing 30,000 square meters at theCutbona fishing jetty has runinto troubled waters.

Velim villagers have slammedthe Department for pushing theland acquisition proposal sanstransparency and withoutpreparing a project report, fea-sibility report and the Environ-ment Impact Assessment (EIA)report.

What has fuelled deep sus-picions amongst the villagersif the contradictory statementmade by the Land acquisitionofficer and the Director of Fish-eries over the exact purposebehind acquiring the hugeland.

Fisheries Director S C Veren-car, in his letter to the Panchayat,has claimed the land acquisitionis for the purpose of creatingadditional facilities such as anice plant, cold storage, netmending shed, auction shed,parking facility, workshop andother related activities at thefishing jetty.

On the other hand, Land Ac-quisition Officer Agnelo Fernan-des has stated the land inquestion will be acquired for afish meal plant.

Says the Convenor of VelimCivic and Consumer Forum, Ro-mana Almeida: The letters re-ceived by the Velim panchayatfrom the Deputy Collector, LandAcquisition and the Director ofFisheries clearly shows the dis-crepancy in the purpose forwhich the land was to be ac-quired.

What has further agitated thevillagers was the cancellation ofa joint meeting with the Directorof Fisheries, Land AcquisitionOfficer and the Panchayat at theeleventh hour on June 25, rais-ing suspicions that the govern-ment au thor i t i e s weredeliberately keeping the vil-lagers in the dark over the proj-ect.

Govt plan to acquire land at Cutbonajetty runs into troubled waters

The Cutbona fishing jetty. Photo by Santosh Mirajkar

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JUNE 29

Fisheries Minister Joaquim Alemao has admittedthat the government is acquiring land near theCutbona fishing jetty to set up a fish meal plant.

In a candid admission, Alemao said a fish mealplant is a dire necessity to curb pollution of theRiver Sal as tons of fish is thrown into the watersevery year for want of a fish meal plant.

Saying that the government has proposed the

fish meal plant at Cutbona bowing to the de-mands of the fishermen, Alemao charged a groupof persons from Betul who are involved insupply fish to a fish meal plant across the borders for instigating the villagers against the fishmeal plant.

Allaying fears of the villagers that the plantwould result in pollution, Alemao said the plantwill be set up with the state-of-the-art technologyto take care of pollution, if any.

Joaquim admits govt acquiring land for fish meal plant

Incidentally, the Velim VillagePanchayat, besides the gramsabha has already opposed theacquisition of the farming landfor the construction of a fishmeal plant and other infrastruc-ture at the Cutbona. At themonthly meeting, the VelimPanchayat has asserted that ifthe fish meal plant is con-structed and operated at thejetty, then rotten fish smell willpollute the environment, whichwill create health hazards to

the residents.The Velim Communidade too

has lodged its objections to theproject, while the Velim Civicand Consumer Forum has sub-mitted a 24-point memo object-ing to the land acquisitionproposals.

Ramona says the villagershave objected to the proposalsince the government intendsto acquire the land without evenmentioning the specific purposeand details of the project.

Thats not all. A letter writ-ten by the Director of Fisheriesto the Panchayat body clearlystates that the department isacquiring the land withouteven conducting the basic En-vironment Impact Assessmentreport. On this question, theFisheries Director has assuredthe Panchayat that the projectwill be developed only afterthe EIA and other aspects ofthe environment are takencare of.

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JUNE 29

All exporters and shippers usingPanjim Port henceforth will notbe able to make shipment unlessthey obtain an NOC from theDirectorate of Mines and Geol-ogy to the effect that royaltystands paid on the quantity tobe exported.

The Captain of Ports has no-tified exporters about the newcondition to submit an NOC orproduce bill of lading prior tosailing of the vessels and beforegrant of outward clearance tovessels calling at the port.

The initiative assumes impor-tance as months after the BJPcomplaint of illegal mining tradeand consequent loss of revenue,the government has finally ac-knowledged that illegally ex-t rac ted ore i s u l t imate lyexported and consequent lossof royalty.

To safeguard revenue as wellas to prevent the unregulatedexploitation of natural re-sources, this measure has beeninitiated, said one officer whodid not wish to be named.

However, one cannot say thegovernment has effectivelyplugged the holes unless similar

Exporters using Panjim Port nowmust obtain NOC from Mines

measure is adopted by Mormu-gao Port Trust since maximumore is exported from MormugaoPort.

In 2008-09 about 16.48 mil-lion ton ore was exported fromPanjim Port where as 40 millionton ore was shipped off fromMormugao Port. The Directorateof Mines has intimated the gov-ernment to take up the matterwith MPT to make it mandatoryfor ore exporters using Mormu-gao Port submit NOC showingthey have paid royalty for oreto be exported.

It is learnt that exporters arenot very happy with the newdevelopment. When contactedS Shridhar, Executive Director,Goa Mineral Ore Exporters As-

sociation (GMOEA) said, it is notthe case. The new condition can

however cause procedural de-lays and delay export.

House burgledat ArambolHERALD CORRESPONDENT

PERNEM, JUNE 29

Burglars decamped with goodsworth Rs 21,000 from a resi-dence at Girkarwado-Arambol.

Jivaji Kamat, who presentlyresides at Karaswada-Mapusa,told Pernem police that the bur-glars effected entry into theclosed house by cutting the win-dow grills and decamped withitems like copper utensils, worthRs 21,000.

The incident occurred be-tween June 24 and June 25,when the house inmates werenot in the house. Pernem policeis investigating the case.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JUNE 29

Saying that the government iscommitted in implementingcommon cadre for the Munic-ipal employees in the State,Urban Development Minister,Joaquim Alemao has said theproposal is kept in abeyancefor the moment in view of thefinancial implications arisingout of the implementation ofthe Sixth Pay Recommenda-tions.

He said the common cadreproposal has come back fromthe Law Department, with aobservation that the State gov-ernment may take a decisionon the matter. But, the govern-ment has not taken a final de-cision as it involves assessingthe financial implications.After the sixth pay recommen-dations came into force, thesalaries of the employees havegone up tremendously. Theburden of paying the Municipal

employees salaries will rest onthe government once the com-mon cadre is implemented,he added.

Chief Minister DigambarKamat is very serious in intro-ducing common cadre for theMunicipal staff. The governmentwill look into the demand fromthe Municipal Councillors , hesaid.

Alemaos statement assumessignificance given that the Mar-gao Municipal Councillors onMonday demanded commoncadre for Municipal staff to bringdiscipline and efficiency in theemployees.

However, the Goa Munici-pal Employees Associationhas vehement ly opposedcommon cadre for the Mu-nicipal staff. Municipal em-ployees from Margao andacross the state will resortto agitation as well as chal-lenge the government deci-sion on common cadre in the

Common cadre proposal for MMCstaff kept in abeyance: Joaquim

court of law, warned Asso-ciation general secretary AnilShirodkar.

He maintained that commoncadre is not at all a solution tothe problem, adding that com-mon cadre concept will onlytake away powers of the Mu-nicipal bodies to the Directorof Municipal Administration(DMA).

We have always maintainedthat the Municipal officers arefree to initiate action againstany erring employee. At thesame time, the elected Council-lors should not except the em-ployees to do any illegal workor to dance to their tunes, Shi-rodkar added.

Goa receives above normal

rainfall in JuneHERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, JUNE 29

Goa received above normal rainfallfor the month of June, this year,with rains touching 92 cm mark.

The Met department on Tues-day confirmed that the rainfallwas almost 8 per cent abovenormal for this month.

The normal rainfall for themonth of June is predicted tobe 87 cm, whereas till date wehave received 97 cm of rains,Indian Meteorological Observa-tory in-charge K V Singh said.

As per the statistics, in 2009,the rainfall was much below nor-mal in June. The Met departmenthad recorded 73 cm of rains.

The normal monsoon hasbeen predicted for the Statesince beginning. We expect Goato receive more then 98 per centof showers, Singh said.

Till date Goa has received 38inches of seasonal rainfall.

Meanwhile, the first spell ofmonsoon currents have movedaway from the coast, with Met de-partment predicting the new spellto intensify in next couple of days.

The weakening of monsooncurrents is on. The situation willimprove in coming two-three days.However, some parts of the Statewill continue to receive moderateamount of rainfall, he said.

Last week, heavy to veryheavy rains lashed the State thusaffecting the normal life. TheMet department had recordednearly 10 inches of rainfall onSaturday.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CURCHOREM, JUNE 29

Burglars targeted two templesand one jewellery shop in Cur-chorem area and decamped withcash of Rs 1 lakh and other ar-ticles on Tuesday.

According to reports, the bur-glars entered Santeri Temple inCurchorem market by breakopening the doors and de-camped with cash from the do-nation box. The burglars afterbreak opening the donation boxdecamped with the cash andabandoned the donation box inthe gutter behind the temple.

The burglars also entered inthe Mahamaya Santeri Templeat Hader-Curchorem by breakingthe door and lifted the donationbox from the temple. After re-moving the cash from the do-nation box, the burglars threwit outside the temple.

Later, the burglars affectedentry in a jewellery shop in mainCurchorem market. The burglarsopened the shutter and de-camped with silver ornamentsworth Rs 50,000.

Curchorem MLA Shyam Sa-tardekar visited the three spotsand took stock of the situationand directed Curchorem police

to conduct intensive investiga-tion to nab the culprits. Cur-chorem police PI BhanudasDessai is investigating the case.

2 temples, jewellery shopburgled at Curchorem

Margao blast case:accused remanded

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JUNE 29

Prashant Ashtekar, who was ar-rested by the National Investi-gating Agency (NIA) in the Margaobomb blast case, has been re-manded to Judicial custody.

The NIA had taken Ashtekarinto their custody after the ac-cused surrendered to the SouthGoa Sessions court.

The NIA has said that the in-vestigating agency will takePrashant into custody again aftereffecting the arrest of the remain-ing accused, who are still at large.

Meanwhile, the South GoaSessions court will pronounceits order on July 1 on framingof charges against the accusedpersons in the case.

While the prosecution hassubmitted to the court to framecharges against all the accused,persons, the defense has prayedthat the accused be dischargeon grounds there is no evidencewhatsoever against them.

SDPI protests against fuel price hike

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, JUNE 29

The Social Democratic Party ofIndia on Tuesday held a protestoutside the South Goa DistrictCollectorate against the exor-bitant hike in fuel prices by theUPA government.

Demanding that the UPA gov-ernment frame special guide-lines and policies to benefit thepoor as far as fuel and essentialcommodities are concerned, theSDPI demanded that Prime Min-ister should call an all partymeeting to discuss the presentsituation and arrive at an ami-cable solution to safeguard in-terest of the common man.

The SDPI said it will not tol-erate any type of atrocities andother wrong policies affectingthe common and vowed tofight tooth and nail against in-justice.

GOA GOA, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 2010

HERALD

Pg 4

upcOMing EvEnTS

SHORT TAKES

HERALD REPORTER

VASCO, JUNE 29

The Indian Naval Air Squadron300 will celebrate its golden Ju-bilee on July 7.

Aptly christened The WhiteTigers, the 300 squadron rep-resents the finest attributesof courage, professionalismand esprit de corps that canbe found anywhere in thearmed forces.

In 50 years of continuousfrontline service, INAS 300 hasdistinguished itself in peaceand 1971 War, a uniqueachievement, unlikely to besurpassed by many combatunits.

The art of operating fighteraircraft from the confines ofan aircraft carrier has beennot only kept alive by this ster-ling fighting unit, but alsomatched with the best in theworld.

To commemorate the halfcentury of yeoman service ren-dered by the squadron, the Gov-ernment of India, Departmentof Posts, will be releasing a Com-memorative Postage Stamp andFirst Day Cover.

However, this is a rare honourbestowed upon the squadronby the government which trulyacknowledges the selfless sac-rifices made by the personnel

who have manned the squadronfor the last 50 years. GovernorDr SS Sidhu will be the chiefguest for the function.

Meanwhile, under the guid-

ance of Flag Officer Naval Avia-tion Rear Admiral Sudhir Pillai,a seminar Naval Fighter AviationSeminar 2010 is also beingconducted by the Squadron onJuly 6 and 7 at INS Hansa, Goa,while the theme would be Fu-ture Carrier Borne Fighter Air-craft and Transformation.

The chief guest for the sem-inar is Admiral Nirmal Verma,chief of the naval Staff, whilethe flag officer commanding inchief western naval Vice AdmiralSanjeev Bhasin will also be pres-ent.

INAS 300 to celebrategolden jubileeFelicitation function organised

Vithal Parwadkar along with chief guest Udaysingh Rane,Forum President Dasharath Mandrekar and other members ofthe Forum. Photo by Ashraf Khan

VALPOI(HC): The Sattari Reporters Forum felicitated dramascript writer and journalist from Honda-Sattari Vithal Parwadkarin a function at Forest Rest House, Valpoi, recently.

Birondem Sarpanch Udaysingh Rane, who was the chiefguest, presented shawl and srifal besides memento to Par-wardkar.

In his speech, Parwadkar said he started writing dramascript (Marathi) in 1989. His two scripts became popular notonly in Goa, but in other states too. Dramas Ramdas Swamiand Sawrajya Surya became very popular, he said proudly.

He further informed that his latest book Ayee mee Honarwill be released shortly.

Chief guest Rane complimented Parwardkar for his servicesto the society and also complimented the Sattari ReportersForum for recognizing the services of deserving persons andfelicitating them every year.

Sattari Reporters Forum President Dasharath Mandrekarwelcomed the guests, Mahesh Gaonkar compered the function,while Raghoba Pednekar proposed the vote of thanks.

Awareness drive

Tree plantation drive being carried out at Chorla Ghat. Photo by Vishant Vaze

MAYEM(HC): Vivekanand Environmental Awareness Group(VEAG), Kerim-Sattari, recently undertook a drive to plantvariety of local trees, which will help the environment in main-taining ecological balance.

The trees included Buniyan, Custal Palas, Nano, the seedsof which were sown in the open places in areas like, Gulle,Pansule and other areas of Kerim. The Custal tree was alsoplanted by Sai Shingde from Vagheri forest.

The drive was led by Deepak Morajkar, Reshma Morajkar,Deepak Gawas, Swapnil Volvoikar, Sanket Naik, Narayan Par-odkar and other VEAG members.

Quepem Patrakar panel

Prahar Siddesh

CURCHOREM(HC): Prahar Savardekar and Siddesh Samanthave been elected president and secretary of Sanguem QuepemPatrakar Sangh.

Office bearers elected are Mayur Naik (vice president),Pradeep Talekar (assistant secretary), Mandar Naik (treasurer),Amar Naik (assistant treasurer) and Sunil Fatrpekar, AvinashParulekar, Sudin Kenkre and Dinkar Talekar (members).

Other office bearers elected are Pratiksha Sawardekar (cul-tural activities in-charge), Shubangi Naik (assistant culturalactivities in-charge), Sarvanand Sawant Dessai (educationalactivities in-charge), Abhinay Savardekar (sports in-charge),Rupesh Naik (panchayat area in-charge), S P Naik (socialactivities in-charge), Sameer Bhat (souvenir publication in-charge), Chandrakant Parsekar, Suhas Savardekar, Vaman Bhadri,Vithal Audienkar and Dnyaneshwar Shirodkar (advisory com-mittee).

Laughter show at MargaoPANJIM(HND): The Lions Club of Margao Service Trust will

organize a laughter show to celebrate the completion of 3years of the foundation of Senior Citizens Recreation Centreat Pedda, Margao. The function will be held at Ravindra Bhavanon July 4 at 5 pm. Well known artistes will present humorousjokes and short skit plays for the evening. Dr Ajay Vaidya, aveteran play actor and humorist will be the chief guest. Thefunction is open to all the senior citizens with their familyand specially the grand children.

Felicitation functionPANJIM(HND): The annual felicitation of the Saraswat mer-

itorious students and distribution of scholarships to the de-serving students is on August 8 at 4 pm at N D NaikHall(AdarshHall), Pajifond Margao.

All the interested students are requested to collect the pre-scribed forms from the respective Saraswat committees. Theforms are also available at Maya Book stores Margao Goa.Duly filled forms along with one photograph and copy ofmark sheet has to be submitted on or before July 15.

Eduardo to address functionPANJIM(HND): Commissioner for NRI Affairs, Eduardo Faleiro

will address the Ex-NCC Achievers Awards function organizedby State Ex-Cadets of NCC Association on June 30 at 10.30am at Goa International Centre, Dona Paula. Chief MinisterDigambar Kamat, Speaker of Legislative Assembly, PratapsinghRane and other dignitaries will also address the function.

HERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, JUNE 29

The Goa Youth Congress president Sankalp Amonkar, who has re-cently been appointed as the chair-person of the Goa HorticultureCorporation, is all set to celebratehis 35th birthday on June 30, 2010.As Sankalp celebrates this importantmilestone in his life, Youth Congressmembers in Goa, his friends and well-wishers, fondly remember his achieve-ments in the political, social andcultural field.

According to a press release,Sankalp is the eldest son of Vasco-based social worker and politicianPadmanabh Amonkar. Sankalp is nowcarrying forward his father's vision in serving the society of Goa.

Sankalp's state level and national level abilities with the student'scell also prompted the Congress bosses to nominate him as thepresident of NSUI (National Students' Union of India).

He worked at the grassroots to unite the youth all across Goaand his tireless initiatives prompted many youth to embrace theyouth Congress. Although it was his own party's government, healways took firm stances against the government if the government'sdecision were not in favour of the common man.

On the eve of his birthday, Sankalp is now set to take on a newresponsibility of the chairmanship of the Goa State HorticultureCorporation.

The Youth Congress wishes Sankalp Amonkar a very happy birth-day and God's choicest blessings on him to serve the people ofGoa for many years to come, adds the press release.

Sankalp to celebratebirthday today

Free health camps opened PANJIM(HND): Prominent social worker and member of the

Textile Board, Government of India, Michael Ferns declaredopen the free health centre at the Benaulim CommunityCentre, Zen Gardens, Near Maria Hall, Benaulim.

Also present on the occasion were Maria Luz Rebello, Chair-person of the South Goa ZP and Munnalal Halwai, prominentbusinessman and member of the Task Force Goa of the Ministryof Food Procession Industries, Government of India.

The initiative of Dr Hubert Gomes under the Dr HubertGomes Health Care Foundation will provide free basic medicaltreatment to patients in need of Benaulim and surroundingareas.

Meanwhile, the Benaulim Community Health Centre willbe inaugurated on July 1 by the people of Benaulim con-stituency led by prominent social activist Orlando da Silva at9.30 am.

Anti-drug day heldVALPOI(HC): National High School, Valpoi, staged a rally to

create awareness among the public and students about theill-effects of drugs to observe International Day against DrugAbuse and Illicit Trafficking at Valpoi.

On the occasion, School Headmaster Shabbir Ahmed Khanspoke about the ill-effects of drugs and guided the students.Later, the students staged a drama on the ill-effects of drug.School teachers and some residents also attended the func-tion.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CANACONA, JUNE 29

Farmers in Canacona taluka haveblamed Canacona MunicipalCouncils (CMC) over its inabilityto check the stray dog menace,which has taken a toll on theirlivestock.

A farmer from Palolem, whorears about 15 cattle for hisfarming activities, including buf-faloes, informed that mad dogor infected stray dogs menaceis increasing every passing day,thereby posing serious threatto the existence of citizens do-mestic livestock.

The menace has alreadytaken toll of many cattle anddomestic fowls, as they are oftenattacked and bitten by infestedstray dogs, informed Prem-anand Bandekar, a farmer fromPalolem.

As the stray dogs and maddogs menace is too rampant incivic areas, we informed munic-ipal authorities to contain themenace several times, but to noavail, said Bandekar who has acowshed at Devabhag.

Bandekar also informed thatpresently one of his buffalo calfis seriously infected by a rabiddog bite, which went unno-ticed till the disease blown overand calf began to behave vio-lently.

When we approached a vet-

erinary doctor, he informed usthat the sickness is in the ad-vanced stage of a rabid dog bite.Medicinally, there is no cure forthe calf s recovery from the ail-ment, added Bandekar.

He further informed that twomonths ago, his other threecattle were found bitten by arabid dog roaming in the local-ity.

However, the presently in-fected buffalo calf may havemissed our attention, due towhich on-time treatment couldnot be given, he said.

He also said that earlier, twofully grown cattle had died, afterbitten by rabid and infecteddogs.

Bandekar is not the only per-son, who feels piqued about therabid and stray dogs menace,but if sources are to be believedseveral other residents regularlycomplains about the cattle ordomestic fowls being attacked,bitten and killed by rabid or in-fected stray dogs in Devabhag,Palolem, Sawantwada, CharRasta, Ponsulem, Kindlebhag,Sheller, etc.

Stray dog menace rampantin Palolem, allege farmers

Domestic livestock worst hit

A calf is tied after being bitten by a rabid dog. Photo by Kathy Pereira

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CANACONA, JUNE 29

Stating that drugs kills a person,destroys families, poses a threatto society, spoils health andbreaks relationships, Chief Of-ficer of 1-Goa Battalion NCC,Panjim, Rene Misquita said thedrug addict has no gain at all,but the damages caused to him,his family and society are inco-herent.

Misquita was speaking as aresource person on the Inter-national Day against Drug Abuseand Illicit Drug Trafficking atShri Mallikarjun High School,Char-Rasta and Shri MallikarjunCollege, Mastimoll, organizedby the Excise department, Cana-cona, in collaboration with ShriMallikarjun High School.

Speaking further after inau-gurating the function, Misquitasaid: Drug addicts loses preci-sion of life and becomes a con-fused lot. Students should stayaway from drug peddlers andavoid falling prey to drugs tolead a happy life.

Misquita also displayed slidesto the students and others pres-ent on the occasion to showcasehow drugs becomes injuriousto health, spoils health and re-

lationships and subsequentlycauses most pitiable deaths.

Canacona Excise InspectorShamba Naik also spoke on theill-effects of consuming and traf-ficking of drugs and advised thestudents to stay away from suchpractices and become respon-sible citizens of the country.

Asking the students to stopbefore you start, Naik even ad-vised the students to watch if

any family member or a friendis addicted to drugs and stayaway from such persons and donot follow in their footsteps.

A true friend will never im-part pressure to consume ortraffic drugs and if such situationarise, dont hesitate to evenchange the so-called friends,and find a new friends group,Naik advised the students com-munity.

Drugs destroys families, harms society: Misquita

Rene Misquita, chief officer of 1-Goa Battalion NCC, Panjim, inaugu-rates the seminar on International Day against Drug Abuse and Il-licit Drug Trafficking at Shri Mallikarjun High School, Canacona.

Photo by Kathy Pereira

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

PORVORIM, JUNE 29

Parents of the students studyingat Pragati Vidhalaya at Tit-towado-Nerul are agitated withauthorities for failing to lay aspeed breaker along the Verem-Candolim road at Tittowado.

Following the construction ofa bridge at Tittowado on theVerem-Candolim road, there hasbeen a heavy flow of traffic, es-pecially during the tourist sea-son from October till May.

Further, there has been con-stant movement of watertankers on the road. Besides,several accidents have takenplace on the stretch in recentyears. The two schools Primaryand Middle are located on ei-ther side of the road near Tit-towado.

Since 2006, the school au-thorities of Pragati Vidhyalayhave been requesting the pan-chayat and other concerned au-

thorities to lay the speedbreaker at Tittowado, but invain.

Speaking to Herald, PragatiV idhya laya Headmist ressDeepalaxmi Lotlikar said the Par-ents-Teachers Association (PTA)of the school had adopted a res-olution in 2006 to request theconcerned authorities to lay aspeed breaker at Tittowada.

Accordingly, letter was sentto the Nerul Panchayat. Afterpersistent follow-ups, the pan-chayat with its recommendationforwarded their letter to theCollector North Goa.

The District Magistrate NorthGoa finally wrote a letter on May27, this year, to the Superinten-dent of Police, North Goa, re-questing him to send the reportabout laying speed breaker atTittowado.

The police inspected the siteand did the marking as to wherethe speed breaker can be laid.

Thereafter, there has been nofurther action on the part ofconcerned authorities to lay thespeed breaker.

There is an urgent need ofthe speed breaker at Tittowado.Since risk to the lives of the stu-dents is involved, teachers arenot allowing the students to gohome alone unless and untiltheir parents come to pick themup, said Lotlikar.

When contacted, formersarpanch and Nerul Panch NarcisAlmeida said the Collector NorthGoa has already approved layingof speed breakers, one each atVatteshwar Temple and theother near Pragati School andthe onus now lies with PWD tostart the work.

He said he has been followingup the matter regularly withPWD authorities, who have as-sured him that the speed break-ers will be laid soon, as the signboards are ready.

Speed breaker demanded along Verem-Candolim road

Vasco womanalso uses Ratol

in suicide bidHERALD REPORTER

VASCO, JUNE 29

Ratol, the product meant tokill rats, has now becoming acommon weapon to end oneslife and in a recent case, a 28-year-old woman from Mangor-Vasco consumed the chemicalby mistake and is battling forher life at the Naval Hospital,INS Jeevanti, Vasco.

The mother of two children,who had married about nineyears ago, consumed Ratol at herresidence at Mangor on Mondayafternoon and was rushed to Jee-vanti Hospital, where she claimedthat she consumed by mistake.

The victim consumed Ratolby mistake on Monday afternoonand is admitted in Jeevanti Hos-pital, informed Vasco police.

Police further informed thatthe doctor at Jeevanti Hospitalhas informed that the womanwas out of danger now.

The Magistrate will record thestatement of the woman and findout the cause, whether she hadconsumed it by mistake or had triedto commit suicide, said police.

This is the third such incidentin Mormugao, wherein onlywomen have consumed Ratolmistakenly.

Recently, a woman originallyfrom Cortalim and married in Mar-gao, who had consumed Ratolexpired, while about one year agoa lady police constable consumedRatol cake at the police barracks,but had consumed a small quan-tity and due to timely medicalaid, she survived the incident.

HERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, JUNE 29

The Department of Civil Supplies and Con-sumer Affairs have issued instructions re-garding lifting allocation of foodgrains.

Once the quota is lifted from the godownof the Food Corporation of India and un-loaded in Civil Supplies godown the con-cerned godown keeper will receive theallocation as per the allotment order andcertify that the 100% allotment has beenreceived in godown and send intimationimmediately, on the same day, to the un-dersigned through the Mamlatdar and alsoone copy to the Office of the Minister of

Civil Supplies with date and time.After issue of order for release of allotment

by the Mamlatdar/Inspector of Civil Suppliesto the Fair Price Shops the Mamlatdar/Inspectorof Civil Supplies send intimation immediately,on the same day, to the undersigned and alsoto the office of the Minister of Civil Supplies.

After the allocated quota is released tothe concerned Fair Price Shops by thegodown keeper, the concerned godownkeeper should intimate the quota releasedalongwith details of Fair Price Shop ownersimmediately, on the same day, to the Directorof Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs andconcerned Mamlatdar Office and also to the

Office of the Minister of Civil Supplies.Mamlatdar/Inspector directed to issue

the allocation order for release of quota toFair Price Shops latest by 5th of every monthfailing which action will be taken on con-cerned Officer.

The Fair Price Shops are directed to liftthe quota allotted to them latest by 10thof every month, failing which action asdeemed fit will be taken against them in-cluding cancellation of their license.

These instructions supersedes all previousinstructions/orders if any, applicable forsmooth release of foodgrians to the con-sumers.

Civil Supplies issues directives on lifting of quota

Youth awards date extended

HERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, JUNE 29

The last date for submission ofthe duly filled in applicationforms to Directorate of Sportsand Youth Affairs for the Insti-tution of the State Youth Awards2009-10, enclosing the relevantBio-data, credentials certificateof achievements, etc, in youthrelated Work, has been ex-tended to July 16, 2010, says apress release.

All eligible Candidates/Youths/Youth Organizations are herebyrequested to note the same andsubmit the relevant applicationforms complete in every respectto U D Navelkar, Asst PhysicalEducation Officer, Youth Sectionof the Directorate of Youths andYouth Affairs, Campal, Panajiduring office hours on any work-ing day.

The Meritorious Youth/YouthOrganizations will be duly rec-ommended for the NationalYouth Award 2009-10.

Missing taxi found

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CALANGUTE, JUNE 29

A taxi was reported missing froma resort at Arpora on Friday, butwas later traced on Saturday.

According to Anjuna Police,Umesh Shirgaonkar of Verla-Parra complained that his touristtaxi, parked in the parking lotat a resort in Arpora, was miss-ing since June 25.

The keys of the tourist taxihad been handed over to thecounter manned by the resortsecurity on June 23.

As the driver did not operatethe taxi that day, it remained atthe resort on June 24 but wentmissing on June 25.

The one security guard wasalso reportedly missing andsmelling something fishy, Shir-gaonkar lodged a complaintwith Anjuna Police on June 26.

According to reliable sources,the vehicle was found some-where in Arpora later in the day.

SMC chief polls on July 2

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

MAYEM, JUNE 29

The election to the post ofchairperson of Sanquelim Mu-nicipal Council (SMC) will beheld on July 2 at SMC Hall, San-quelim.

HERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, JUNE 29

Goa Handicrafts, Rural and Small Scale Industries DevelopmentCorporation Ltd (GHRSSIDC LTD) will be organising an exhibitionat Dilli Haat at New Delhi from August 26 to September 8 whereGHRSSIDC will be taking up around 25 stalls for Goan artisans tosell their handmade products. Based on the concept of Haat ortraditional Indian market Dilli Haat has representatives from allstates in India displaying and selling their wares which includehandicrafts, food, clothes, jewellery etc.

Dilli Haat is popular shopping spot in Delhi which attracts alarge amount of tourists as well as locals. This will provide Goanartisans an opportunity to market Goan handicrafts to people allover India. GHRSSIDC Ltd has invited applications from Goan hand-icrafts artisans to take part in this exhibition. The cost incurredtowards boarding/lodging, travelling and stall arrangements willbe taken care of by GHRSSIDC Ltd. Artisans who are interested inparticipating in this exhibition may contact Ms Neha Mahambrey/MrJohn Sebastian/Mr Krishna Karapurkar at the GHRSSIDC HeadOffice at Crafts Complex, Neugi Nagar, Panaji.

The last date for receiving applications is Monday, July 5.

Expo for Goan artisans in Delhi

GOAGOA, WEDNESDAY, 30 JUNE, 2010

HERALD Pg 5

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

MARCEL, JUNE 29

About 37 workers employed ata pharmaceutical company atBethora-Ponda have accused itsmanagement of not paying their

salaries since the last 10 months.Workers claimed that even

production had stopped sincethe last 10 months after theowner claimed to have sold thecompany to a Mumbai-basedbusinessman.

However, workers, who tilldate have no clue of the newowner, said the company wasstill owned by its original owner,based in Margao.

Workers, who are in piquantsituation, report to work every-day, which has been going onsince September, last year.

On two occasions, we triedto meet company owner in Mar-gao, but to no use, said the

workers, who claimed that thecompany owner in his state-ments which appeared in mediahad assured to pay their pendingdues by April this year, but noth-ing has been done.

According to the workers,there are no issues with whoso-ever takeover of the company,but what has angered them isthe non-payment of theirsa lar ies s ince the last 10months.

Workers claimed that theytried every possible manner, butthe company owner is leastbothered to solve their prob-lem.

What are we going to eatand how can we survive withoutsalaries? Can anyone tell us?Even the authorities are mumover the issue. We met UrbanDevelopment and Labor Minis-ter Joaquim Alemao, but what

we get in return are only assur-ances and nothing else. Is thisa common mans government,asked Manisha Naik, an em-ployee.

Our workers union is affil-iated to the Bharatiya MajdoorSangh (BMS) and we dontknow what sort of action isbeing taken by them. But wehave hope in BMS. We are alsobeen supported by the ShivSena and we hope atleastsomething will happen good,added Naik.

North Goa Shiv Sena ChiefDamu Naik along with PondaBlock Chief Kamalakant Naik onMonday met the aggrievedworkers and assured full sup-port.

I dont know what the au-thorities are doing to solve theproblem of these innocent work-ers. They are with no pay sincethe last 10 months. This is unjustand government should give jus-tice. We will do whatever pos-sible to solve the issue, saidDamu Naik.

The issue is now pending be-fore the Labour Commissioner.

When contacted, BMS Gen-eral Secretary Hryudaynath Shir-dokar claimed that the case waspending because of the illegalorder passed by the LabourCommissioner.

The Labour Commissionerhas favoured earlier owner andthat proper procedure was notfollowed, which resulted indelay, alleged Shirodkar.

However, the case is in ourfavour bur due to unmethodicalprocess adopted by the LabourCommissioner, it is pending,claimed Shirodkar.

Ponda pharma firm workers yet to receive salariesNo pay since last 10 months

Workers along with Damu Naik at the company gate at Bethora-Ponda. Photo by Amresh Parab

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CANACIONA, JUNE 28

The failure of Canacona HealthWelfare Committee (CHWC) to

CHWC failed agitation attributed to govt effort

stage a successful road blockadeagitation in demanding the much-needed boost to the talukas loneill-equipped hospital has now be-

come the talk of the town.While some attribute this fail-

ure to the mismanagement byCHWC, others claim that ChiefMinister Digambar Kamat man-aged to quell CHWCs agitation.

Given the non-experience ofnewly formed CHWC, it looksthe seasoned politician fromMargao played timely action increating cracks within the al-ready in disarray CHWC, whichtoo willing fell prey to the roleplayed by the chief minister.

Seeing the noise created byCHWC is too much, Kamat likeany other seasoned politiciancontacted both local MLAs fromthe taluka, who lately showedan inclination towards the de-mands pursued by CHWC.

The best opportunity cameon the way for the chief minis-ter to settle the score for onceis when CHWC gave a call forroad blockade agitation, afterwhich his (Kamat) office madeall-out effort to reach out allthe prominent people of Cana-cona, including CHWC office-bearers.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

MERCES, JUNE 29

Ahead of the crucial No-con-fidence Motion against MercesSarpanch Prakash Naik andD e p u t y S a r p a n c h Yo g i t aKavlekar on July 2, about 300villagers from Voilem Bhat andBamon Bhat met on Tuesdayevening to condemn the ac-tion of the three ruling pan-chas, who have joined handswith three opposition panchasto topple the current dispen-sation on flimsy grounds andfor their own personal bene-fits.

The villagers felt that thegreed of power and money isthe real motive behind the no-confidence motion.

Speaking to Herald, villagerBharat Volvoikar informed thatif the panchas really feel thatthe sarpanch has been encour-aging illegal activities in thevillage, they should come for-ward and prove their allega-tions.

Just by alleging that thesarpanch is encouraging illegalactivities do not prove thesame, he said and alleged that

many signatories to the no-confidence motion are them-s e l v e s i n v o l v e d i n t h epromotion of illegal activitiesin the village.

Another v i l l age r, UdayNarvekar, said Merces villagehas seen a lot of developmentunder Sarpanch Prakash Naik,which was never seen before inthe village and added that Naikdoes not need to be a sarpanchor even a panch as he has beenworking for the developmentof his wards even before gettingelected as a panch.

Earlier, Sarpanch Naik ex-plained to the villagers thesequence that could haveled to the three panchasmoving the no trust mo -tion.

He informed that a NOC to aprivate company in Vaddy-Mer-ces was the bone of contentionamong the panchas who felt thatthe NOC has been given to set-up a call centre and that hugemoney has exchanged hands inthe deal.

I do not know anythingabout a call centre coming upin Vaddy, sa id Na ik and

added that the NOC has beengiven to the company to set-up a waste treatment plantand not to set-up a call centreas suspected by the three pan-chas.

He then hoped that thethree panchas would changet h e i r m i n d a n d n o t g e tswayed by the empty prom-ises of a few individuals whoare out to de-estabilise thepanchayat.

Naik further sought the opin-ion of the villagers on whetherhe should resign or face the no-confidence motion.

The vi l lagers, however,were of the firm opinion thatthe sarpanch should boldlyface the no-confidence mo-tion and not resign as it wouldsend a wrong signal to the vil-lagers. The vi l lagers a lsourged the sarpanch to seekan explanation, before themotion, from the three pan-chas over the allegations lev-elled against him.

Deputy Sarpanch YogitaKavlekar and Panch ArmstrongBraganza were also present forthe meeting.

Merces villagers condemn move to topple sarpanch, dy

MBA welcomes HC decision

HERALD REPORTER

VASCO, JUNE 29

Mormugao Bachao Abhiyan (MBA)Convenor Simon Pereira has wel-comed the High Court decisionto permit mechanized coal han-dling terminal at Berth No 11, butsaid the MBA is firm on its demandthat first manual handling of coalshould be stopped and then goahead with the construction ofproposed coal terminal.

Speaking to media on Tues-day, Pereira said MBA is abidingthe High Court directives as itdoes not have any problem withmechanized handling of coal atBerths No 10 and 11, which areinfamous for the coal dust pol-lution in Vasco city.

It will take another four yearsto shape up the proposed newmechanized coal terminal at BerthNo 11, but by that time it com-pletes, will the port authority stopmanual handling of coal at BerthsNo 10 and 11, which has been abig health hazard for the surround-ing people, asked Pereira.

We are firm on our demandthat manual handling should bestopped first and then go aheadwith construction of proposedterminal, demanded Pereira.

He further pointed out that en-tire sea shore line near Vasco fish-ing jetty turned into black for thelast few days, as spillage of dirtand coal particles from stackedcoal from Berths No 10 and 11have drained out in the sea nearKhariwado fishing jetty.

GOA, WEDNESDAY, 30 JUNE, 2010HERALD

Pg7Pistol used in honour

killing case recovered

PTI

NEW DELHI, JUNE 29

Making a headway in the AshokVihar honour killing case, DelhiPolice have recovered fromRishikesh the pistol allegedlyused by three youths to kill threeof their relatives for marryingoutside their caste.

A team of city police recov-ered the .32 bore pistol fromRishikesh where they had takenthe accused -- Ankit, Mandeepand Nakul -- for further investi-gation in the case.

The trio was arrested fromGhaziabad on June 24.

"We have recovered the pistolfrom river Ganga. The accusedtold us that they have thrownthe pistol in the river. Wesearched the location with thehelp of locals. The water wasshallow and we recovered it,"Deputy Commissioner of Police(North-West) N S Bundela said.

The pistol will be sent forforensic examination, he said.

The accused had told policethat they had thrown the pistolin the river after killing Ankit'ssister Monica and her husbandKuldeep for marrying outsidethe community. Later, they al-legedly killed Shobha, Man-deep's sister, who had earliereloped with a person outsideher community.

They carried out the murderson a single day June 20. Firstthey allegedly killed Shobhaafter asking her to meet them.Then they called Kuldeep tomeet them and killed him. Laterhis wife Monica was murderedat her home.

After the murders, the threeescaped to Uttarakhand.

Investigators have collectedevidence through which theyare reconstructing the chain ofevents, a senior police officialsaid.

They have also taken the fin-gerprints of the accused tomatch them with those liftedfrom the house of Monica aswell as that in Shobha's car.

Man held for rape bid onAmerican

PTI

DEHRA DUN, JUNE 29

A man, working as a bus con-ductor in Delhi, was arrestedfor allegedly attempting to rapean American national in Mus-soorie near here, police todaysaid.

22-year-old Sandip Kumar, aresident of Sonepat in Haryana,was arrested after 24-year-oldwoman lodged an FIR againsthim last night, they said.

The woman, who hails fromCalifornia, said in her complaintthat she met Sandip yesterdayat Kempty Falls, a famous touristspot of Mussoorie. On their wayback, they consumed liquor to-gether at a restaurant. As shecame back to her hotel room,Sandip also followed her andmade a rape attempt on her, po-lice said.

The woman, however, man-aged to run away from the hoteland lodged the complaint withthe nearest police station.

Sandip works as a conductorin DTC buses in New Delhi, po-lice said.

Ammunition seized in Kolkata

PTI

KOLKATA, JUNE 29

Over 5,000 rounds of .315 car-tridges, possibly meant for theMaoists, were found in a carafter it was intercepted by policefor violating traffic rules nearShovabazar Metro Railway sta-tion here.

A traffic sergeant on a mo-torcycle stopped the car bearinga Bihar registration number yes-terday at Jatindra Mohan Avenuefor jumping a red light and askedfor the papers, police said today.

When one of the occupantsof the car alighted, the driversped off with the traffic sergeantchasing it, police said, addingthe man who had got down fledfrom the spot.

The sergeant caught up withthe car and managed to stop it,as two others in it fled, thesources said.

A search of the car revealed5000 rounds of .315 bore am-munition, they said, which waspossibly meant for the Maoists.

Police said similar ammuni-tion was used by the Maoists.

The seizure was being inves-tigated by the Special Task Forceof the police.

Organizational upheavals within the IndianCommunist movement following the Indo-Sino War in 1962 saw the party split into

the Communist Party of India (CPI) and CommunistParty of India (Marxist) the CPI (M). While theCPI preached the theory of peaceful road to non-capitalist development, the CPI (M) adopted thecentrist line. It is at such a time, that an incidentin a remote area transformed the history of left-wing extremism in India.

It all started in a remote village called Naxalbariin West Bengal, on March 2, 1967. A tribal up-rising against the tyrannical landed gentry, withina short span acquired great visibility and tremen-dous support from cross sections of Communistrevolutionaries belonging to the state units ofthe CPI (M) in West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, AndhraPradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh andJammu & Kashmir.

Bimal Kissan, the tribal youth, who showedexceptional courage in going against the diktatsof the powerful landlords in Naxalbari, wouldnever have imagined that his act of resistancewould build-up into an armed struggle thatwould see decades of bloody massacre of thosein authority, and quite often of the innocentstoo. The Naxalite Movement thus brought intoits gambit the tribal and peasants aspect of theconflict.

Early into the new millennium, over a seriesof new leanings, the Maoist Communist Centreof India (MCC) and the Communist Party of India(Marxist-Leninist) Peoples War (popularly knownas the Peoples War Group or PWG) merged toform a new entity, the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist). As a consequence, it has be-come increasingly difficult to differentiate betweenvarious fundamental groups sharing their beliefsin the annihilation of class enemies and in ex-treme violence as a means to secure organizationalgoals.

The abduction and beheading of Police In-spector Francis Induwar of Jharkhand by theMaoists demanding the release of two of theircentral leaders arrested by the law enforcementauthorities in New Delhi and West Bengal; thegruesome killing of six villagers including the vil-lage head in Chhattisgarhs Rajnandgaon districton charges of spying for the police, and the am-bush of policemen who were out on an operationagainst them in thick forests of Dantewada districtin Chhatisgarh which saw the brutal massacre of

76 CRPF personnel, were some of the vile actsperpetrated by the rebels that sent ripples of fearand panic amongst the locals there.

A ready apology and a shrug of helplessnessby the Maoists while stating that their targetswere actually the special police officers travellingin the bus, after a bomb went off under a crowdedbus in Chhattisgarh killing two or more civiliansand admitting that the derailment of the Howrah-Kurla Jnaneshwari Express in western Midnaporein West Bengal claiming over a hundred civilianlives was a mistake as they were planning toblow up a goods-train. As if these were not ex-emplifications of a cruel joke played by the redcadre! In fact, the very outrageousness of thesedeeds implies that Maoists groups may go to anyextent to achieve their misconceived and mis-construed objectives.

India is now torn by the veracity of Maoist in-surgency, more than cross-border terrorism. Theineffectiveness of the Police and Para-militarypersonnel in engaging the rebels and coming outtops in any encounter, has prompted the Gov-

ernment to mull deeply on the thought of ropingin the army to fight the Naxals. Singling out Left-wing extremism as the gravest internal securitythreat faced by the Nation, Prime Minister Man-mohan Singh has sought ways and means to erad-icate the menace of Maoists.

Incidentally, comparisons are being drawn be-tween Pakistans Islamist militants and Maoistradicals in India. It is being argued that althoughboth claim to champion the cause of social justice,the former rely on persuasion and control byforceful application of the religious edicts; thelater rely on sheer exploitation of local grievancesagainst the biased approach, lack of developmentalwork and poor governance. Both, nevertheless,do not shrink away from resorting to violenceagainst the state to try and achieve their aims.While the Pakistani Islamists are from the religiousright and have become powerful enough to strikeat the heart of the countrys major cities, theMaoists with their far-left philosophies are ex-tending their sphere of influence through largeparts of the rural hinterland, the tribal belt to be

more specific and they very conveniently call itthe Red Corridor!

I would however equate the Maoists with thedacoits of the Chambal ravines of Madhya Pradeshin the 1960s and 1970s. The domination by thezamindars spawned an era of serfdom where thesmall farmers were constantly in debt to the land-lords. Persecution at their hands forced many totake up arms and flee into the deep forests ofthe Chambal Valley, after having settled scoreswith the tyrants. While dacoits Man Singh andVikram Mallah terrorized neighbouring villages,Putli Bai and Phoolan Devi gave a feminine touchto the sadism and brutality usually attributed tothe male members of the clan.

Through amnesties granted and a lot of sus-tained hard work that went into their rehabilita-tion, many of the dreaded dacoits were broughtback into mainstream society and allowed to liverespectful lives. But even during this period, therewere many who, citing reasons of discriminationand harassment, became outlaws solely for wield-ing the power a loaded gun gave, looting andplundering, terrorizing the people and enjoyingall this too, mind you! These brigands could onlybe called rebels without a cause!

This is precisely what is happening with theMaoist movement, the Naxalite culture! Recentlyan article in a leading daily was highly quizzicalof the nature of tactics employed by the Maoistsand opined that a movement that used to claimthat it targeted only combatants is increasinglyresorting to excitative terrorism against non-com-batants, suggesting that a movement carriedout in the name of Indias poor has, for all practicalpurposes, degenerated into an inhuman cult ofdeath.

So disoriented are the cadres, that many aredisillusioned with the ideologies and have pre-ferred to move out of the organization. In an ex-pose by the Indian Express, a member of thecadre who surrendered, confessed, We weretold to kill, but never told why! Many are alsoconvinced that the tribals lot was not going toimprove under the Maoists. Moreover, the in-discriminate killing of tribals on the pretext thatthey were informers was putting them in directconflict with the very cause they had taken up.When the credibility of the Maoist leaders amongfellow members is on the line. Need anythingmore be said? What sort of a revolution is this?

No nexus!M K Shambhu, Dy Conservator ofForests, Margao

I was taken aback on reading the letterFrog-Forest nexus by Cedrick Fernandes(Herald, 25 June). This is to clarify that an-imals rescued from poachers are tended ifthey are injured, and released in their naturalhabitat at the earliest. The process of releaseis properly documented under a pan-chanama and is done in the presence of re-liable witnesses. Such releases are notpublicised so as to keep away unscrupulouselements from poaching. Many times, NGOsand activists are also associated with therelease process.

It would have been better if Cedrick Fer-

nandes had verified the matter with the de-partment before expressing such damagingdoubts openly without any proper informa-tion whatsoever.

Cool freezeJose Maria Miranda, Margao

It is heartening to note that the MargaoCity Development Plan (CDP) envisages acomplete freeze on construction activity inthe city. After having satisfied his favouritelobby with multi-storeyed buildings thathave come up recently in the heart of thecity, some without parking lots, and perhapsothers already approved and due to comeup shortly, Chief Minister Digambar Kamathas decided, even though belatedly, to dothe right thing for Margao with a freeze onconstructions.

However, as the Municipal Councillorshave rightly pointed out, the CDP needs tobe placed before the public for suggestionsand objections. Transfer of DevelopmentRights (TDR) also needs to be explained tothe stake holders. The government shouldnot rush with this project without takingMadganvkars into confidence. Margaoshould not lose grants from central govern-ment agencies if the project is unduly de-layed.

Act or quitArwin Mesquita, Abu Dhabi

It appears that in addition to the agitationin South Goa, the Mopa villagers have alsoseen the negatives of this proposed airport.It is high time that we unite the southernand northern forces against corrupt politi-cians who are hell-bent on setting up thisairport for personal objectives.

No more political talk; South Goans mustunitedly force their silent MLAs and MP tooppose Mopa or resign. It is now or never!

Unfair oil price hikeS Kamat, Alto Betim

Your editorial The myth of petrol subsidy(Herald, 28 June) hit the nail on the head. Ifwe talk of deregulation of fuel prices, weshould also talk about transparency on howwe arrive at the prices. It is not fair to putthe aam admi at the mercy of fluctuating

international oil prices, while the govern-ment and the oil marketing companies(OMCs) keep their revenues and marginsthe same.

Both the centre and state governmentsneed to immediately cut the customs dutyon petroleum products to zero and exciseand sales tax from 22 to 33 per cent to rea-sonable levels. The aam admi is not a beastof burden.

Sex in the cityWalter de Mello, Candolim

Just scratch below the beautiful sceneryand touristic locale of Candolim, and youwill find filth underneath. The prostitutionracket unearthed at Candolim is no surprise;it was in operation for over three years.Calls and letters to the police and localnewspapers brought no relief. It is a shameon the part of the proprietor to allow hispremises to be used for such exploitativeactivities, when he himself has two daugh-ters. I hope the Crime Branch takes actionagainst other night clubs, a euphemismfor dance bars and prostitution joints, whichare still open for business.

Faulty autopsies?Edwin J Coutinho, Canacona

Is the Goa government promoting itself asthe perfect murder cover-up destination?

The quality of autopsies performed by itssurgeons leaves much to be desired. Theautopsy performed by a panel of doctorson Nadia Torrado in Goa said there wasnothing unusual. But the autopsy performedin Chennai earlier reported 11 contusionson her body.

Are Goas forensic surgeons writing whatis told to them by the police, politiciansand, God forbid, even criminals on the au-topsy report? Is that why so many murdersgo undetected? A faulty autopsy is the per-fect way to cover up a murder. Those in-volved in such illegalities should bedismissed and jailed.

The reluctance of our government to starta full-fledged forensic lab is because ourpoliticians and police are themselves doingnarcotic drugs business. The lab would haveexposed many drug overdose deaths.

Mera Bharat MahaanMaya Dessai, by email

Advocate Radharao Gracias, who wrotethe article Chauvinism versus Patriotism(Herald, 25 June), is known for his extremistviews. He has used your paper to write rub-bish about our beloved country. India alwayswas a powerful nation, despite its massivearea and large population. Today, India isknown all over the world for IT, call centres,etc. We are also a nuclear state.

Our ancient rishis invented Ayurveda,Vedic Maths and the zero. Today, westernpeople come to India for Ayurveda. Manyare becoming vegetarians. Vegetarian foodis the best, according to all doctors. Rad-harao is anti-Indian. He must leave the coun-try if he does not like it.

Mera Bharat kahaan?Anthony J Simoes, Dona Paula

Adv Radharao Gracias is a person who doesnot pull his punches. He calls a spade aspade. His Chauvinism vs Patriotism, (Herald,25 June) tells it like it is.

India is a demographic disaster. Our pop-ulation density is more than 1,000 personsper square mile. Due to this, we concentrateon quantity rather than quality. We producemillions of people who are qualified, butnot educated. We have laws galore, but nolaw and order. We do not believe in safetyor maintenance, since life is cheap. We learntnothing from Bhopal.

Lest we forget, it took only 200,000 Britishofficers, clerks and Tommys to colonise andcontrol 350 million Indians. Today, India isa circus with 100 clowns for every per-former.

Improve buses firstAdelmo Fernandes, Vasco

It appears that the state government is allset to give in to the demands of privatebus-operators and hike the bus fare, as theprice of diesel has increased. Transport Min-ister Ramkrishna Sudin Dhavalikar has saidthat the government will also hike the farefor Kadamba buses. The aam admi, who isalready facing high prices of essential com-modities, will now be burdened even more.

If the increase in the bus-fare is unavoid-able, the government should see to it thatthe hike comes with strings attached. Theprivate bus-operators must give better serv-ice to the travelling public. They shouldissue tickets. The number of standing pas-sengers should not exceed the limit. Con-ductors should wear uniform and namebadges. They should be polite towards pas-sengers, specially women. Buses shouldleave the bus-stand as per the time-table,not when the bus is full. They should stoponly at designated stops. If the public haveto pay more, they deserve better service.

How now, San Joao!

OPINIONwww.oheraldo.in

Pg8Vol No CX No: 167

Goa, Wednesday 30 June, 2010

Letters to the EditorLetter of the Day

A safe destinationIrineu Gonsalves, Verna

A tourism business portal, TripAdvisor, which some days back listed Goa as Indias topfavourite for vacationing families, has now tagged Goa as the second most unsafe des-tination in India after Delhi. What a humiliation; even crime-infested places like Patnaand Noida are rated as more safe!

After British teenager Scarlet Keeling was found dead at Anjuna in 2008, warpedmedia coverage has dogged Goa with a few highly publicised cases of rape and deathinvolving foreigners. The blame should go to our politicians and police, who are inhand-in-glove with drug traffickers.

In real terms, Goa is the safest destination in India. That is why celebrities likeAmitabh Bachchan, Nana Patekar, and other Bollywood celebrities want to buy housesin Goa. Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar already has one. Akshay Kumar, who owns a househere, said that when he is in Goa he can let his hair down and ride a bike withoutbeing mobbed.

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 ForLetters 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.

Paths of Wisdom

Comparisons are being drawn between Islamist militants and Maoist radicals in India, writes PACHU MENON

Rebels Without A CauseOHERALDO

Insurgency In India

Aaargh! I fell off the almirah with a thud, and my parrot yelled. You crazy? Cocky cried, Why jump like that if youre not

well?Well, I said, I was pretend to jump into a well, idiot. In Goa

its