VOL. : VI ::: ISSUE : 85 PORT BLAIR, TUESDAY, MARCH 27, 2012 RNI REGN. NO. ANDENG/2006/19155 ::: PAGES : 6 ::: RS.3/-Visit: www.andamanchronicle.com The Daily Diary of the Islands

People’s Voicelagta hai Andaman mein abletter politics chal rahahai... Chalo kuch to batanahai public ko...

- A Citizen

In Brief

1998 Jarawa s topdefending fores t witharrows, and start coming toroadside to meet settlers.Disease epidemics follow.

Jarawa Facts

ChronicleCampaign by:

Your Nature GuideNatural Resources: Any partof nature that can be usedby humans is called anatural resource. e.g. wood,coal, granite, fish, water.Habitat: It is the living spaceof an o rganism orcommunity. Habitat can becalled the “home address”of a species. I t has threemain ingredients – food,shelter, and water. Thehabitat of f iddler crabs ismangrove.Courtesy: Kalpavriksh,ANET (MCBT)

Port Blair, March 26: The A&NAdministration hadintroduced a ‘MinimumSupport P rice’ scheme tosupport the coconut farmersof the islands. The schemewas made available to thefarmers through the A&NCooperative MarketingFederation, which wasentrusted the power toprocure copra by paying theminimum price fixed by theAdministration. But it was

Exploitation of Coconut Farmers Continues,MP Reminds LG

noticed that the benefits ofthe scheme never reachedthe farmers.

There have been manyreports wherein it washighlighted that the coconutfarmers were b eingexploited by theunscrupulous middle menincluding trib albusinessmen of the territory.In this regard, the Memberof Parliament Shri B ishnuPada Ray too had apprised

the Lt. Governor through hisletter dated 7 th Sept. 2009.Unfortunately no action wasinitiated and the exploitationcontinues.

Commenting on thesituation of the coconutfarmers, the Member ofParliament said, “Despite oflaps of more than 2 years,the Administration has nottaken any action in thisregard and public complaintsare flowing, asking the M.P.

to intervene in the matter tofacilitate them to receive theMSP as fixed from time totime”.

“I have reminded the Lt.Governor again on 1 9 th

March 2 01 2, inviting hisattention to the matter. Ihave demanded for anexpedite action and will takeup the issue with the PetitionCommittee of the LokSabha”, the MP added.

Port Blair, March 26: Soonafter the Tsunami in theIslands many parents hadshifted their school goingchildren to mainland bygetting transfer certificatefrom their respective schoolsdue to fear. But after three tosix months, when thingsstarted getting normal thesechildren were brought backto the Is lands b y their

CS Requested to Consider Students Cases for TenYear Category Benefits

parents and re-admitted inthe respective schools.

For such acts of theparents, many children aredeprived of getting tenyears continuous studycertificate viz. and alsodeprived of the facilitieswhich other students havingrequisite certificate viz.duration certificate.

Since the parents hadtaken TC of their childrenafter the Tsunami, is neitherthe fault of the parents asevery parent wants to savetheir children from suchnatural disaster nor the faultof the children who weretaken to mainland by theirparents, the State PresidentBJ P said here in acommunication.

Taking up the matterbefore the Chief Secretary, theState President B JP, Shri RMohan has requested forconsidering such cases.Mohan said that an order tocondemn such a lapse ofperiod of at least six monthswould enable these children toget the benefits of havingstudied for a continuous periodof 10 years in these islands.

Port Blair, March 26: With theaim improving social-economics condition of therural people, especiallywomen, and within the widermeaning of ‘co-operation’,the Andaman & Nicob arState Cooperative Unionopened yet another TailoringCenter at Badmash Paharunder Chouldari Panchayat,South Andaman.

The Tailoring Centre wasinaugurated on 24 th March20 12 at a formal functionorganised by the A&N StateCooperative Union inassociation with NABARD.

A&N State Coop. Union SetsUp Yet Another Tailoring

CentreSmti Punya Salila Srivastava,C o m m i s s i o n e r - c u m -Secretary (Shipping),Andaman & Nicob arAdministration was the chiefguest on the occasion whileShri Balakrishnan Nair,Adhyaksh, Zilla Parishad,South Andaman was theGuest of Honour.

Speaking on theoccasion, the Chief Guestsaid that many aspects havebeen clubbed together bythe A&N State CooperativeUnion, such as, villages, ruraleconomy, self-employmentfor women, cooperation and

The Child Celebrity, Aaryan Balaji, who has achievedmany firsts and is also the Brand Ambassador of PolioEradication Programme (Worldwide) and Indian OverseasBank (IOB) along with his parents meets the Lt Governor,Lt Gen (Retd) Bhopinder Singh, PVSM, AVSM at RajNiwas on 26.03.2012.

s o c i a l - e c o n o m ydevelopment etc. throughopening of such Centers.

She also expressed herhappiness that the Govt.

Continued on P5

Pradhan Rampur PanchayatPasses AwayPort Blair, March 26: ThePradhan of RampurPanchayat, Mayabunder,Shri Saw Lerwa passedaway today at G.B. PantHospital. He was 41 yearsold. Late Saw Lerwa is amember of KarenCommunity and a residentof Webi, Mayabunder. Theuntimely death of SawLerwa, a dynamic leaderamong the Karen

Continued on P4

ChronicleANDAMAN

Vol: VI ::: Issue: 85 Tuesday, March 27, 2012

2Andaman Chronicle ::: Port Blair Tuesday, March 27, 2012

"Just as t here i s no loss of basi c energyin the universe,so no thought or act ion i s wi thout i t seffect s,present or ult imate, seen or unseen, feltor unfelt ."

-Norman Cousins (1912-1990)

The passage of a UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC)Resolution calling on Colombo to implementrecommendations made by the Lessons Learnt andReconciliation Commission is an indication of the depth ofdespair the Sri Lankan government’s failure to ensurejustice and accountability has evoked worldwide. Thisdespair is evident not only from the passage of theresolution but also from the fact that several countrieslike India that supported the resolution now had in factbacked the government in 2009 when it was being censuredinternationally for its targeting of civilians in the finalstages of the war.

While coalition compulsions did play a role in Indiadeciding to support to US-sponsored resolution, Delhi’sgrowing impatience with the Lankan government’sstubborn refusal to fix accountability or find a politicalsolution to the conflict appears to have pushed its hand.India has done well to end years of silence on the Tamilissue, even setting aside its huge economic and strategicinterests in the island, to speak up on the need to do justiceby the Tamil people. Colombo had tended to take Delhifor granted. Delhi’s new assertion should serve as a wake-up call to the Rajapaksa government.

Sri Lanka is at a crossroads. Its response to theUNHRC resolution will be crucial in determining its future.If the UN resolution prompts defiance and deepensSinhala chauvinism, it could make the Rajapaksagovernment more intransigent on finding a solution tothe ethnic conflict. However, should the resolution nudgethe country to respond to global sentiment it could resultin course correction. Early signs emerging from Colomboare not encouraging.

Dire warnings of economic boycotts and a Lankan tilttowards China have been raised by sections in Sri Lanka.These sections must realise that given India’s proximity toSri Lanka and the many bonds between the two peoples,ignoring India or cozying up to the Chinese is not in theisland’s best interests. Even if India did vote for the resolution,its efforts in the text being more mindful of Sri Lanka’ssovereignty must not be forgotten. Not only should Colomborecognise that the ethnic conflict needs a political solution,but also it should see India as an ally in finding a solution.After all, India is committed to Sri Lanka’s territorial integrity.India has ideas, influence and experience that Colombocould draw on to reach out to the Tamils.

Crucial crossroads

I am reading aninteresting book sent to mefrom a PFA member inCanada: ‘T he B loodlessRevolution’, A CulturalHistory of Vegetarianismfrom 1600 to Modern times ByTristan Stuart. What thiserudite and well researchedbook proves again and againis that the concept ofvegetarianism as a way of lifewas gifted to the world byIndia and that everyphilosopher who propagatedit from Pythagoras onwardslearnt it from our country.Vegetarianism is such asimple concept. But the Westalways equated it with eatingbread and water only, fasting,nut cutlets, losing hugeamounts of weight,eschewing alcohol, and nevertelling lies…. In short, amonastic, puritanical, severelife without any j oy in it.Which is why, it was seen ascrazy.

It took centuries of foreignvisits to India for the rest ofthe world to realize that youcould live a life of greatcomfort, health and laughterwithout killing every otherspecies. Once peopleunderstood, many travellerscarried the philosophy backto their countries. This is thestory that the book attemptsto tell. How wonderful that weshould have taught man howto live in harmony and howtruly terrible that we havestrayed so far from our ownway of life that today werejoice that we are the 4 th

largest meat exporter in theworld, the largest leatherproducer and one of thethree countries maj orlyresponsible for glob alwarming by our breeding ofanimals for milk and meat.

An interesting part of thebook was a short history ofthe Mughal rulers of India andhow they adopted Indiancustoms.

When the Afghan invaderMohammad bin Ghaur cameto northern India in the 12th

century he was given the titleof mleccha, a beef eatingbarbarian. A pun on his namemade it Gori -foreigner orenemy of cows - Go as in cowand ari as in enemy, eater offoul foods. The culture clashbecame serious and later

It takes true wisdom to be non-violentMughals realiz ed thebenefits of bowing to localdietary demands.

Babar was the firstMughal to rule undividedIndia. Humayun, his son, wasthe second Mughal Emperorwho ruled present dayAfghanistan, Pakistan, andparts of northern India. Helost his kingdom early to SherShah Suri, but with Persianaid, he eventually regainedan even larger one. On theeve of his death in 1556, theMughal Empire spannedalmost one million squarekilometres. His peacefulpersonality, patience andgentle speech earned himthe title Insan-i-Kamil.

Plotting his revenge,Humayun cut down on hisuse of opium, renouncedalcohol, and even became avegetarian for a year in orderto purify himself for hisconquest. When he returnedin 1556, he learned ab outHindu customs, especiallyregarding meat. He shunnedbeef in sympathy for hisHindu subjects.

His son, the emperorAkbar was immenselyimpressed with J ainism,specially the part aboutahimsa. He issued edictsthroughout his reignforb idding the killing ofanimals and fish anddiscouraging meat eating forupto six months of the year.He renounced hunting,abstained from eating meatmost of the year, andofficially limited the days onwhich animals could beslaughtered. Such legislationhad not b een seen sinceEmperor Ashok’s rock edictsof the 3rd century. His officialchronicler Abu’l Fazl ‘Allamiwrites in the Ain-I-Akbari, “His majesty has a great dis-inclination for flesh and hefrequently says Providencehas prepared a variety offood for man, but throughignorance and gluttony,none seem to have an eyefor the beauty inherent in theprevention of cruelty, hedestroy s liv ing creatures,and makes his body a tombfor beasts. If I were not aking, I would leave off eatingflesh at once and now it is myintention to quit it bydegrees.”

Akbar‘s favourite foodwas Khichri (rice and lentils)with curd and it was madeevery day. Akb ar went toremark “B lood is theprincipal of life. To avoideating thereof is to honourlife.”

Indologist andbiographer of Akbar, VincentSmith notes: “Akbar’s actionin abstaining almost whollyfrom meat and in issuingstringent prohib itions,resembling those of Asoka,restricting to the narrowestlimit the destruction of animallife, certainly was taken inobedience to the doctrine ofhis Jaina teachers.” Akbarwrote and promulgated hisDivine Faith (Din-I-Ilahi) thatsuggested a rational andethical mysticism .The goalwas union of the soul withGod, and the ethics called forgiving charity, sparinganimals, permitting widowsto remarry, and prohibitingchild marriage, incest andforced sati. B eef wasforbidden. Akbar declaredfirmans (roy al decrees)banning the killing of animalsduring the four month Jainfestivals of Paryusana andMahavir Jayanti.

During a hunt in 1578,Akbar experienced divinerevelations: his attendantstold him that “the beasts ofthe forest had with atongueless tongue imparteddivine secrets to him… he inthanksgiving for this greatboon set free manythousands of animals. Activemen made endeavour thatno one should touch thefeather of a finch and thatthey should allow all theanimals to depart accordingto their habit.” Akbar’s sonand successor J ehangirpraised his father publicly fordoing without meat for ninemonths of the year calling hisvegetarian food “Sufi food”.Jehangir issued his ownfirmans continuing thepractice. Jehangir continuedAkbar’s abstention, andeven added Thursday forfasting. In 161 8 he wentagainst all the mores of histimes and took a vow to stophunting and “ to injure noliv ing thing with my ownhand.” One of Akbar and

Continued on P5

3Andaman Chronicle ::: Port Blair Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Se oul, Ma rch 26 : PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh onMonday asked South Koreanbusinessmen to help Indiaexpand its burgeoning solarand nuclear power sectorsby investing in thesee n v i r o n m e n t - f r i e n dl ytechnologies.

“We are committed toincreasing energy efficiencyand the share of renewables,including solar and nuclearpower, in our energy mix,”Dr. Singh told a group of topKorean CEOs here.

Among the CEOspresent was Kim Joong-Kyum of the Korea ElectricPower Corporation (KEPCO)which has interests innuclear power that meets 45per cent of Korea’s electricityrequirements.

“T here will be largebusiness opportunities and Iam aware of Koreancapabilit ies inenvironmentally friendlytechnologies,” the P rimeMinister said at a meetingorganised b y Koreanindustry chambers.

South Korean PresidentLee Myung-bak, during abilateral meeting with Singhon Sunday, had requestedthat his country be allocateda site in India to build nuclearreactors.

Apparently sensing theconcerns of the Koreanbusinessmen with regard tothe much-delayed $12 billionPosco steel project in Odisha,the Prime Minister told theCEOs that “ our processes

Have faith in India, Manmohantells Korean industry

Read

Andaman ChronicleThe daily diary of the islands …

can be slow but there areeffective mechanisms forresolution of problems anddifferences and a strongrule of law.”

“T he government iskeen to move forward withthe Posco project and thereis some progress in thisregard. I believe that Indiais a stable and profitablelong-term investmentopportunity,” he said.

Korea, India’s priority:Besides KEPCO, CEOs ofSamsung Electronics, TataDaewoo, SsangyongMotors, Hyundai Motorsand Doosan HeavyIndustries were present atthe meeting.

“I nvestment fromKorea is a priority for India.We will take pro—activesteps to address investorgrievances and improve thebusiness climate in thecountry,” Dr. Singh said.

He said many stateshave been activelyencouraging foreigninvestment and the UnionGovernment will supportthese efforts.

“I urge Korean industryto have faith in India,” Dr.Singh said.

He said India is also oneof the fastest growing majoreconomies of the world.

“Despite the adverseinternational environment,we have managed tomaintain a growth rate of 7per cent per annum in thelast few years. I amconfident that the strongfundamentals of oureconomy will help us returnto a sustained growth pathof about 8-10 per cent perannum in the comingyears,” he said.

Middle class growing:Dr. Singh said over the pastfew years the governmenthas invested heavily ineducation, health and

agriculture to give a newdeal to rural I ndia. “Ourrural markets are nowbooming and the middleclass is growing rapidly,” hesaid.

Dr. Singh said India hasbeen undertaking a hugeexpansion in highereducation and skilld e v e l o p m e n t ,infrastructure of ports,airports, railways, energyand roads.

“I ndia is poised tocontinue to be a frontlineplay er in the glob alknowledge economy,” hesaid.

I n f r a s t r u c t u r edevelopment: Unv eilingambitious plans for thedevelopment of physicalinfrastructure, Dr. S inghsaid India was planning tosecure investment of almostUSD one trillion in the nextfive years in new projectsin highways, power plants,mass transport systems,ports and airports.

“This will be achievedthrough both pub lic andprivate investment andP u b l i c - P r i v a t ePartnerships,” he said.

He noted that after theimplementation of theComprehensive EconomicPartnership Agreement(CEPA) in 2010, the bilateraltrade has surged byroughly 65 per cent in twoyears and reached aturnover of USD 20.6 billionin 2011.

“However, it is stillbelow its huge untappedpotential,” Dr. Singh said,adding the he and PresidentLee had decided to revisethe bilateral trade target toUSD 40 billion by 2015.

“This is a challenge aswell as an opportunity thatwe must b oth seizetogether. I look forward tohearing y our views,” Dr.Singh said.

New delhi, March 26: ‘Thecountry will soon see thesutradhar of the date of birthdrama’

The Army Chief,General V.K. Singh, hasalleged that an equipmentlobbyist offered him a bribeof Rs. 14 crore, which hereported to Union DefenceMinister A.K. Antony.

In a recent interview toThe Hindu, General Singhspoke on a variety of issues,including the controversysurrounding his date of birthand the “shocking” state ofaffairs in the Army whichhad allowed the Chief to beoffered a bribe.

The General said thelobb yist offered him thebrib e in order to have atranche of 600 sub-standardvehicles of a particular makecleared for purchase. Hesaid the vehicles, 7,000 ofwhich were already in use inthe Army, had been soldover the years at exorbitantprices with no questionsasked. He said there was noproper facility where theycould b e serviced andmaintained and y et theycontinued to be sold to theArmy: “Just imagine, one ofthese men had the gumptionto walk up to me and tell me

I was offered a bribe of Rs. 14crore, says Army Chief

that if I cleared the tranche,he would give me Rs. 14 crore.He was offering a bribe to me,to the Army Chief. He told methat people had taken moneybefore me and they will takemoney after me.”

The Army chief said thebrazenness of the act shockedhim out of his wits. “I wasshocked. If somebody comesand tells you, you will get somuch, what can you do?” Hesaid the man had recentlyretired from the Army,indicating how deeplyentrenched the problem was.

The General said he wentstraight to Mr. Antony andreported the matter. “I toldhim, if you think I’m a misfit, Iwill walk out.”

‘Standards have fallen’:Asked what had brought theArmy to the state where theChief could be offered a bribe,he said: “Obviouslysomewhere our standards ofprob ity and integrity havefallen.”

According to GeneralSingh, it was because he hadcracked down on corruptionthat he was targeted on hisdate of birth: “But things arefast unravelling and you willsoon see the hand behind thedrama. You will soon see whothe sutradhar of the play is.”

Ne w De lhi, Mar ch 2 6:President Pratib ha Patil’sforeign visits have cost thepublic exchequer Rs. 2 05crore, surpassing the recordof all her predecessors.

Since assuming office asthe country’s first womanPresident in July 2007, Ms.Patil has undertaken 12 tripscovering 22 countries acrossfour continents. She has fourmore months to go in herfive-year tenure and a tripto South Africa is said to beon the anvil.

A series of RTIapplications has revealedthat Air India incurred overRs. 169 crore on use ofchartered aircraft, always aBoeing 747 -4 00, on theforeign visits by Ms. Patil,mostly accompanied byfamily members. A visit to

Pratibha’s foreign trips cost nation arecord Rs. 205 crore

Bhutan was covered by asmaller jet.

A further sum of nearly Rs.36 crore has been incurred bythe External Affairs Ministryon accommodation, localtravel, daily allowance and“miscellaneous” expenses,according to its information.

The RTI applications werefiled over three years duringwhich the authoritiesconcerned showed greatreluctance to revealinformation.

The Defence Ministry,which pays Air India for use ofchartered aircraft by thePresident, fended off RTIqueries and provided litt leinformation.

The airline has billed theDefence Ministry for over Rs.169 crore for aircraft used byMs. Patil. Of this, it has paidnearly Rs. 153 crore.

4Andaman Chronicle ::: Port Blair Tuesday, March 27, 2012

New delhi, March 26: It focuseson re-structuring theIntegrated ChildDevelopment Servicesscheme

With the aim of providingintegrated services for theholistic development of allchildren from the prenatalperiod to six years, thegovernment has proposed aNational Early Childhood Careand Education (ECCE) Policythat lays down the wayforward for a comprehensiveapproach towards ensuring asound foundation for everychild. India has 158.7 millionchildren in the 0-6 age groupas per the 2011 Census.

Broadly, the policy focuseson re-structuring theIntegrated ChildDevelopment Services (ICDS)scheme and integrating earlychildhood education with theRight to Education Act toensure a smooth transitioninto formal schooling. Allservice providers will have tobe registered with the Stategovernments to ensurequality of services provided.

Early childhood isacknowledged as the mostcrucial period in a person’s life,when the rate of developmentis very high and foundationsare laid for cumulative lifelonglearning and humandevelopment. There isgrowing scientific evidencethat the development of thebrain in the early years is apathway that affects physicaland mental health, learningand behaviour throughout thelife cycle.

Despite the existence ofmultiple service provisions,there is no reliable dataavailable about the actualnumber of children attendingthe existing ECCE provisionsand their break-up as per thedelivery of services. Of the158.7 million children in thebelow-six-years category,about 75.7 million children —48 per cent — are reported tobe covered under the ICDSscheme. Broad estimationsindicate that a significantnumber is also covered by theprivate sector, besides somelimited coverage by the NGO

Early Childhood Care andEducation Policy proposed

sector, for which there is nodata available.

The quality of non-formalpreschool or early childhoodcare and education impartedthrough these multiplechannels is uneven, and variesfrom a minimalist approach toa mushrooming of acceleratedacademic programmes. This islargely an outcome of aninadequate understanding ofthe concept of ECCE, itsphilosophy and its importanceamong all stakeholders. This —coupled with inadequateinstitutional capacity in thesystem and an absence ofstandards, regulatory normsand mechanisms as well as alack of understanding of thebasic premise of ECCE — hasaggravated the problem,observes the draft policy putout by the Ministry of Womenand Child DevelopmentMinistry.

This ECCE policy will coverall early childhood care andeducation programmes andrelated services in public,private and voluntary sectorsin all settings across regions.These services includeanganwadis (AWC), crèches,play schools, preschools,nursery schools,kindergartens, preparatoryschools, balwadis, and home-based care.

The policy seeks touniversalise the provision ofECCE for all children, mainlythrough the ICDS scheme inthe public sector and otherservice provisions acrosssystems. The AnganwadiCentre would be repositionedas a “vibrant child-friendlyEarly Childhood DevelopmentCentre” with adequateinfrastructure and resourcesfor ensuring a continuum of theECCE in a life-cycle approachand child-related outcomes.Conversion of AWCs intoAWCs-cum-crèches with aplanned early stimulationcomponent and interactiveenvironment for children below3 years will be piloted. Youngchildren with different abilitieswould be reached out to.Service-delivery models will beexperimented for family,community, and NGOs.

Gulbar ga , Mar ch 2 6:‘B ickering in B J P has notaffected development’

The former Chief MinisterB .S. Yeddyurappa has saidthat the BJP high commandhas not given any assuranceon his demand forreinstatement as ChiefMinister.

“I am confident that it willtake an appropriate decisionat an appropriate time,” hesaid.

Mr. Yeddyurappa, whoarrived b y a helicopter toparticipate in a massmarriage function at Naribolin Jewargi taluk in Gulbargadistrict on Monday, toldpresspersons here on Sundaythat during his recent visit toNew Delhi, he had apprisedparty leaders ab out theKarnataka High Courtjudgment quashing the FIR

No assurance from high command:Yeddyurappa

filed in the illegal miningcase. “At that time, partysenior leaders asked me tostep down as it would bedifficult for them to faceParliament, and gave anassurance that if the casesagainst me were quashed Iwould b e reinstated asChief Minister,” he said.

To a question, he said:“Even in my dreams I wouldnot think of leaving theparty which had given meeverything. I will remain inthe party whether I amgiven any post or not.”

In response to anotherquestion, the former ChiefMinister said that internalbickering in the BJP had notaffected development in theState.

‘A shock’: Mr.Yeddyurappa said theresults of the Udupi-

Chikmagalur Lok Sab habyelection had come as ashock.

“Except for me, all theother senior leaderscampaigned,” he said,added that this was the firstelection where he did notcampaign. “I feel bad…but Icannot be held responsiblefor the defeat of the B JPcandidate,” the former ChiefMinister said.

Mr. Yeddyurappa said itwas the prerogative of ChiefMinister D.V. SadanandaGowda to expand theCabinet and that he need notconsult him (Mr.Yeddyurappa) whileundertaking the exercise.

Referring to thestatement of the ChiefMinister that he wouldexpand the Ministry after thebudget session of thelegislature, Mr.Yeddyurappa said thatexcept for consulting theparty high command, heneed not consult anyoneelse. Asked if there was aproposal to make himpresident of the B JP Stateunit, Mr. Yeddyurappa saidnobody had made such anoffer. “I do not need anyposition to campaign for theparty and to strengthen itfurther.”

IP/1841/12

Community has left a voidthat can hardly be filled.Andaman Chronicle mournsthe sad and untimelydemise of Shri Saw Lerwa.We pray to the Almighty to

give eternal rest to thesoul of the departed andcourage to the bereavedfamily and the Karencommunity to bear withthe irreparable loss.

Meanwhile the well-wishersof Saw Lerwa, Shri JavedKhan, Shri Rajeev Das andShri Mustaqeem have alsoconveyed their condolenceto the bereaved family.

Pradhan Rampur Panchayat ... Continued from page 1

Health, Science /Tech

5Andaman Chronicle ::: Port Blair Tuesday, March 27, 2012

London, March 26: Don’t forget to pick up a tub of popcornthe next time you go for a movie at a nearby theatre, for anew study has claimed that the humble cinema snack isthe perfect health food.

Researchers at the University of Scranton have foundthat popcorn — already known for being fibre-packed andrelatively low in fat — is packed with more health-boostingantioxidants than fruits and vegetables.

Antioxidants are known to reduce one’s risk of cancers,dementia and even heart disease. And, the potentantioxidants, called polyphenols, in popcorn can fightharmful molecules that accumulate in the body anddamage cells.

They can also help to increase blood flow by relaxingthe arteries, the Daily Express reported.

The researchers said that polyphenols are moreconcentrated in popcorn, which averages only about fourper cent water, compared with the 90 per cent that makesup many fruits and vegetables.

In fact , the study revealed that the amount ofpolyphenols found in popcorn was up to 300 mg a servingwhich would provide 13 per cent of an average intake ofpolyphenols a day.

In another surprising finding, the researchersdiscovered the hulls of popcorn, the part everyone hatesfor its tendency to get caught in the teeth, has the highestconcentration of polyphenols and fibre.

Dr. Joe Vinson, who led the study, said: “Those hullsdeserve more respect. They are nutritional gold nuggets.Popcorn may be the perfect snack food. It’s the only snackthat is 100 per cent unprocessed whole grain.”

“One serving of popcorn will provide more than 70 percent of the daily intake of whole grain. The average persononly gets about half a serving of whole grains a day andpopcorn could fill that gap in a very pleasant way.”

But Dr. Vinson cautioned that the way it is served —cooking it in oil and adding butter, salt or sugar — can puta dent in its health benefits.

Air-popped popcorn has lowest number of calories,compared with popping it in oil.

Popcorn: ‘The perfecthealth snack’

CONDENSED VERSION OF ADVERTISEMENT: MILITARY ENGINEER SERVICES

Garrison Engineer, Birchgunj Port Blair on behalf of the President of India invitesapplications from eligible enlisted contractors of MES and enlisted / unenlisted contractorsworking with other Govt Departments meeting eligibility criteria for selection of contractorsfor issue of tender of under mentioned work:-

Name of Work

Estimated Cost of Work(at par Market)

a) Rs.4.93 Lakhs.

Completion Period 06 months

Amount of Earnest M oney forContractors not listed withMES

Rs.9,800/-In the form of Call Deposit Receipt from any Svheduled Bank.BGB not acceptable.

Cost of Tender Rs. 500/- In the shape of DD/ Bankers Cheque from any Nationalized Bank infavour of Garrison Engineer (I) Birvhgunj, Payable at Port Blair

Las t date of Re ce ipt ofApplications

24 April 2012

Eligibility Criteria: -

(a)For MES EnlistedContractors

Class: ‘E’, (a) (i)

(b) For other contractors Meeting enlistment criteria of MES with regard to having satisfactorily completedrequisite value works annual turn over, working capital, fixed assets etc. No recovery outstanding in Govt Department.

Date of issue of tender 16 April 2012

Date & T ime of Receipt oftender

07 May 2012

NOTE:

1. Application not accompanied by requisite value DD/ Bankers Cheque towards Cost of Tender shall not be consideredfor issue of tender.2. Contractors not enlisted with MES will be required to enclose necessary documents to prove their eligibility as givenabove including. Affidavit for no recovery outstanding.3. In case of rejection of application for issue of tender, the applicant shall be refunded the cost of tender. Howevercontractor may appeal to next higher Engineer Authority i.e. HQ CHIEF ENGINEER ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ZONE,PORT BLAIR for rejection of his application for issue of tender whose decision shall be final and binding and contractorshall not be entitled to any compensation what so ever for non issue of tender.4. Full Notice of Tender IAFW-2162 & Enlistment Criteria is available in all Offices of MES and also on MES website.(www.mes.gov.in)

AGE (Contract) For Garrison Engineer8118/03/E8

Provn of Garage and Hardstanding at Bldg No. p-451 at Birchgunj mil Stn, Port

Blair.

Jehangir’s favourite imperialicons was the image of thewolf and the lion in peacefulcompany with the lamb andthe ox.

Shah Jehan came topower in 1628 and while littleis known about his diet, hehad his throne in Red Fort,Delhi embellished with semi-precious stones depictingOrpheus charming animalswith his music. How strangethat he should choose Greek

my thology’s pre-eminentvegetarian!

Shah Jehan’s sonAurangz eb ascended thethrone in 1658 and is knownfor his strict adherence toIslamic practices and hisdistaste for local religion.Few people know that hebecame a strict vegetarianeating “nothing that hasenjoyed life.” He ate onlyvegetab les andsweetmeats. He drank

water from Ganga river, ateKhichri, and bread made fromJowar and Bajra. DuringAurangz eb’s reign, theimperial kitchens developed a‘Khichri Alamgiri’ named afterAurangzeb himself. Read thebook and see India’s gloriousheritage. Anyone can beviolent. It takes true wisdomto be non-violent. (- ManekaGandhi. To join the animalwelfare movement contactgandhim@nic.in)

It takes true wisdom ... Continued from page 2

Agency like NABARD andPRIs also joined hands withthe A&N State CooperativeUnion for such noble cause.

The Guest of HonourShri. B alakrishnan Nairspeaking on the occasionalso express his pleasureover such teamwork led bythe Chairman & B oard of

Director of the A&N StateCooperative Union.

Other who spoke on theoccasion include Shri G.Ananda Krishnan, DeputyGeneral manager, NABARD,Shri Nipendra Nath Nag,Member, Zilla PArishad (SA)and Shri Sub has Dey,Pradhan, Chouldari.

Earlier, Shri Kuldeep RaiSharma, Chairman, A&N StateCooperative Union welcomedthe gathering. T heprogramme concluded withvote of thanks proposed byShri Ghay as Meshack, ViceChairman of the Union.

A&N State Coop. Union ... Continued from page 1

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ForecastMainly partly cloudy sky. Maximum & minimumtemperatures will be around 32 o C and 23 o Crespectively on 27th March, 2012

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6Andaman Chronicle ::: Port Blair Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Sports

Mumbai, March 26: The mood wasset early on Sunday morningwhen a popular Hindi newschannel ran a headline, ‘Kyabolenge Sachin’ in one of theirbulletins.

Speculation had b een rifesince Friday, when the companythat manages him, World SportsGroup, had sent an invite for apress conference to “celebrate his100 international centuries”, thatSachin Tendulkar would makesome sensational announcementon retirement, from ODIsprobably. Sadly, for all Tendulkar’scritics, who had probably kepttheir retirement tributes ready,there was no such announcementin prob ably his longest-evermedia interaction which went onfor more than an hour.

In fact, Tendulkar, who wouldturn 39 on April 24, said thedecision to retire from cricket willbe his alone. “I feel that when Iretire is something that I woulddecide, because when I started itwas not decided by someone else.Those who are advising me aboutretirement did not bring me in theteam. I get my strength from mycoaches and family,” he said,lashing out at some legendaryformer cricketers, who hadwanted Tendulkar to follow in thefootsteps of Rahul Dravid, whoannounced his retirement onMarch 8. However, one wonderswhat the maestro meant by thisas it were the selectors whobrought him into the Indian teamin 1989 and they have the powerto drop him, or other player.

“A lot of people have lot ofopinions, but all of them needn’tbe correct. I also feel thatsometimes all that such peoplehave is opinions and nothing else,”he thundered, as the media keptpestering him on the ‘R’ word. Inthe prolonged session, Tendulkarspoke on many issues and recalledseveral interesting anecdotesfrom his glorious career and earlylife, some of which were spoken

Let me decide on my retirement:Sachin Tendulkar

about for the first time. When theChappell-Ganguly war broke outin Zimbabwe in 2005, Tendulkarhad stated that such thingsshouldn’t come out in the open andthe sanctity of the dressing roomshould b e maintained. Hisopinions haven’t changed afternearly eight years.

There was tension in thedressing room during the CBSeries as senior pro VirenderSehwag and skipper MS Dhonididn’t see eye to eye over thecontroversial rotational policyinvolving senior players. “I thinkevery individual thinks differently.10 people will have 10 differentopinions. I think team discussionsshould be within the team,”Tendulkar said.

He, interestingly, added, “I didnot follow that press conference(by Dhoni and Sehwag). I don’tkeep in touch with that. I need toknow what the intentions werebecause I wouldn’t want to makeloose statements. You have to askthe people who made thosecomments, what their intentionswere.” Tendulkar also disagreedwith the sentiment that asportsman should quit when he isat the peak of his powers. “I feelthose who say you should retireat the top are selfish because whenyou are at the top you shouldserve the country instead ofretiring.”

Stating that he is still “madlyin love” with cricket, Tendulkarwas non-committal ab out hisdesire to play on in the ODIs andplay in the 2015 World Cup inAustralia and New Zealand whereIndia will enter the tournament asdefending champions. “When thisquestion was asked in 2007 (abouthim playing the 2011 edition), it wastough for me to answer. It’s thesame situation today; I don’t knowwhat to say about 2015. I will keeptrying, the rest is in God’s hands. Ijust want to enjoy the game. I don’twant to set targets.” About his100th international hundred, which

took a while in coming, he said,“Sometimes, things happen in yourlife which you can’t explain. You lookat solutions and put question marksand ask why is this happening, butyou just don’t find answers.Eventually, you look at the scenarioswhen you haven’t batted well andstill ended up scoring big runs. Whatcould be the reason? Luck.”

Tendulkar paid obeisance at theSiddhivinayak temple, a day afterhe returned home from Dhaka. Wasit thanksgiving or whether it was tosay sorry? After all, he claims hehad questioned the Almighty overhis struggle. “When I got myhundred, I looked at my bat andlooked upwards toward God andasked, ‘It’s been a tough time forme. Why did it take so long? Wheredid I lack in commitment?’”

He said that he pays a deaf earto people expressing themselves inthe media and all kinds of negativity.

Tendulkar also revealed that itwas India’s first foreign coach, JohnWright who motivated him to get tothe impossib le figure of 100international centuries.

“I remember a long time ago,during the 2 003 World Cup (inSouth Africa), John Wright had toldme ‘you should become the firstplayer to score 100 internationalhundreds.’ An elder statesman inthe team today, Tendulkar feelsthe aggression that the youngerplayers show after reachingmilestones isn’t needed.