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IN BRIEF

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, MAY 11

Goas new Director General ofPolice Aditya Arya said, that Goahas been facing narcotics men-ace since 1984, but stated thatthe State was neither a transitpoint nor production centre fordrugs, while addressing his firstpress conference on Wednes-day.

Even in 1984, youth comingfrom good families from Panjimcity had fallen prey to drugabuse. Then, children would gettit-a-bit of drugs for consump-tion, Arya, who took over asthe new DGP, told reporters.

In stark contrast Bhim SainBassi, who has just laid downoffice of DGP a day prior, hadlabelled the drugs scene in Goaas insignificant and said, thatGoa is not Columbia which isknown for its powerful drug car-tels.

Despite major crackdown onthe drug trade, record numberof narcotics seizures made bythe ANC and the police-drugnexus exposed a year ago andthe arrests of two internationaldrug lords in the state, Bassi, inhis last press briefing had reit-erated, The drugs scene in Goais insignificant. We are not inColumbia.

The new DGP, recalled howhis friends sons life was savedfrom the clutches of drug ad-diction, some 26 years ago whenhe was deputed as Sub Divi-

sional Police Officer, Panjim.One of my friends son was

admitted in the Institute of Psy-chiatry and Human Behaviour(IPHB), at Altinho (now locatedin Bambolim). My house wasnext to the IPHB. One day, hejumped off the fence and landedat my door step.

He was with us for nearly 25

days, Arya narrated while givingout names of families who strug-gled to save lives of youthtrapped in the drug addiction.

DGP Arya even recalled thata woman from Campal wouldsell heroine in small packets tochildren, following which policetook action against her and

drugs in Goa since1984: new dGP

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, MAY 11

Around 50 i rate v i l lagershounded out survey officialswho visited Varkhand village forvaluation of land, to be acquiredfor proposed Mopa Internationalairport, on Wednesday.

Officials from Land Survey,Agriculture and Forest Depart-ment had gone to evaluate land,fruit bearing trees and forestareas respectively when theywere asked to stop and returnhome by villagers. They were inthe process of marking treesand land in Simeche advan

vaddo of Varkhand, in Pernemtaluka, at around 11 am, whenthe trouble broke out.

Speaking to Herald, SandeepKambli of Mopa VimantallXetkari Piditt Samiti accused theofficials of driving fear into theminds of the gullible villagers.

They were busy markingtrees, peoples fields and landsand such things. When the HighCourt is yet to decide on legalityof the acquisition, how can theydo this? This creates a psychosisin the minds of nave villagers,who fear their lands are all butgone, Kambli said.

They told us that they aredoing only what they have beentold to do and have nothing todo with the acquisition, Kamblisaid.

The officers then left theplace fearing for their safety,promising to come back onlywhen the land acquisition officerhimself was present.

Our Pernem Correspondentadds: Three government offi-cials, two from the survey de-partment and one from theforest department, along withsix workers visited the proposedsite and began work to mark

the trees.News of their activity spread

like wildfire and about 60 farm-ers rushed to the site and con-fronted the government team.Protesting against the govern-ments decision to go aheadwith the proposed internationalairport despite objections fromthe locals, the agitating farmersstopped the government teamfrom marking the trees.

Villagers from Varkhand,Casarvarnem, Chandel, Ugvem,Amerem and Poroskadem haveformed the Mopa Vimantall

Mopa locals stall survey

Date with Centre on

May 18HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, MAY 11

May 18 is being touted as a redletter date, wherein all stake-holders and Chief MinisterDigambar Kamat will meetUnion Human Resource MinisterKapil Sibal and others in Delhito hammer out a solution to themedium of instruction im-broglio.

Subhash Shirodkar, Presidentof Goa Pradesh Congress Com-mittee (GPCC) told a press con-ference on Wednesday that thismeeting will occur on May 18,wherein representatives of op-posing sides have been invitedto Delhi to have discussionwith Sibal and AICC GeneralSecretary Oscar Fernandes.Salman Khurshid, Minister forMinorities is also likely to re-main represent for the meet-ing.

If warranted some education-ist will also be invited for themeeting, he said. Replying to aquestion whether the State Gov-ernment has failed to handlethe problem effectively, he said,it is not the case but theres noharm in taking assistance fromthe Centre as it was done in thepast.

To another question whetherthe decision taken at this meet-ing will be binding on Goa, hesaid, it will be a consensus de-cision since all stakeholders willbe part of the meeting.

EX-DGP BASSI:Thedrugs scene in Goa isinsignificant and the Stateis not like Columbia whichis known for its drugcartels.

DGP ADITYA ARYA:

Even in 1984, youthcoming from goodfamilies from Panjim cityhad fallen prey to drugabuse.

mEdIUm of InSTRUcTIon

l New group warns stir overmedium

l Churchill hits back atWilly

l Father, mother and MoIbaby

PAGE 2

PTI

NEW DELHI, MAY 11

Stepping up pressure on Pak-istan, India Wednesday cameout with a list of 50 mostwanted fugitives from law herehiding in Pakistan that includesunder wor ld don DawoodIbrahim, 26/11 mastermind andLeT founder Hafiz Saeed anddreaded terror ist Zaki urRehman Lakhvi.

The list, which was given toPakistan during the Home Sec-retary level talks between thetwo countries in March, hasHafiz Saeed on top followed byMajor Iqbal, a suspected servingISI officer who also figures inthe FBI indictment in a Chicagocourt in connection with theMumbai attack.

The release of the documentscomes two days after the gov-ernment made public the namesof five Pakistanis who had fig-ured in the second chargesheetin the Chicago case of havingtaken a leading part in the Mum-bai attack conspiracy.

It also comes in the midst ofacute discomfort for Pakistanwhich has been tying itself inknots over the charge of shel-tering al Qaeda chief Osama binLaden, who was killed in a uni-lateral US special forces actionin Abbottabad.

Interestingly, Pakistans Inte-rior Minister Rehman MalikTuesday had said that DawoodIbrahim was not living in hiscountry.

Todays list of 50 fugitivesalso includes Jaish-e-Mohammedchief Maulana Masood Azhar,the principal accused in the

2001 Parliament attack after hisrelease in exchange of hostagesin the Khandhar hijack episodein 1999.

Another big name that figuresin the list is Illyas Kashmiri, whois accused of transnationalcrimes and conspiracy to com-mit various terrorist acts in Indiaand who figures in speculativereports as the one tipped to be-come al Qaeda chief after the

killing of Osama bin Laden.Others in the list are close as-

sociates of Dawood, MemonIbrahim alias Tiger Memon,Shaikh Shakeel alias Chhota Sha-keel, Memon Ayub Abdul Razak,Anis Ibrahim Kaskar Shaikh,Anwar Ahmed Haji Jamal andMohammed Ahmed Dosa, all in-volved in the 1993 serial bomb-ing in Mumbai.

India lists 50 most wanted in Pak

1 Hafiz Mohammed Saeed LeT founder2 Zaki Ur Rehman Lakhvi 26/11 accused3 Sajjid Majid 26/11 accused4 Syed Hashim Rehman Pasha 26/11 accused5 Major Iqbal Suspected ISI officer6 Illyas Kashmiri transnational crimes accused7 Major Sameer Ali 26/11 accused8 Dawood Ibrahim 1993 Mumbai bombings accused9 Memon Ibrahim Dawood associate 10 Chota Shakeel Dawood associate

H I T L I S TPTI

GREATER NOIDA, MAY 11

Rahul Gandhi was arrestedtonight by the UP police afterhe joined the land war here,pledging full support to farmersfighting against acquisitionwhile lambasting Chief MinisterMayawati.

Rahul Gandhi has been ar-rested under Sec 151 CrPC andwill be presented before a Sub-Divisional Magistrate tomor-row, Inspector General of Police(Meerut Range) Rajnikant Mishrasaid.

Gandhi was taken away fromthe dharna site in Bhatta ParsaulVillage in a grey Tata Safari toan undisclosed location.

The Amethi MP smiled to thelarge battery of media beforegetting into the vehicle alongwith AICC General SecretaryDigvijay Singh and FirozabadMP Raj Babbar.

We will continue to supportthe farmers agitation, Singhsaid as he was pushed into thevehicle.

Congress promptly attackedMayawati for Gandhis arrestwith AICC General Secretary Ja-nardan Dwivedi saying UP haswitnessed the cruellest rule ofseveral imperialistic regimes.

UP governments action inarresting Rahul Gandhi provesthat Mayawati is digging herown grave, Dwivedi said.

If any sense of justice is leftin the government, judicial in-quiry is the minimum that thestate government should orderimmediately, he said.

Sneaking into Batta Parsaulvillage, the epicentre of the ag-

itation in Western Uttar Pradesh,in the wee hours riding pillionon a motorcyle, Gandhi sat withthe agitating farmers through-out the day in scorching heatto empathise with their causeand women who lost their men.

I feel ashamed to call myselfIndian after seeing what hashappened here. The (state) gov-ernment here has unleashedatrocities on its own people,

he told the farmers.Even as he sat on a dharna, a

war of words erupted, with BJPterming it as a drama andwanting to know why the UPAgovernment was still not actingon his earlier promise of bring-ing Land Acquisition Bill in Par-liament.

The Congress, on its part, saidit was keen to get on early pas-sage of the bill in Parliament.

Rahul Gandhi arrestedin UP amid high drama

AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi after his arrest by the policeduring a dharna in support of farmers at Bhatta Parsaul in GreaterNoida on Wednesday.

Hafiz Lakhvi Dawood

NEW DELHI: Congress tonight dubbed as autocratic thearrest of its leader Rahul Gandhi, who joined the farmers anti-land acquisition agitation near Greater Noida, and said Mayawatigovernment in Uttar Pradesh is digging its own grave bytaking such action.

Senior party leader and Law Minister M Veerappa Moily saidthe arrest of Rahul Gandhi was an autocratic action and I con-demn this.

Arrest no solution to issue: Cong

Bhopal gas:SC refuses toalter verdict

NEW DELHI: The Supreme CourtWednesday refused to alter its1996 judgement d i lut ingcharges in the Bhopal gas dis-aster case but left it open to theSessions Court there to considerrestoring stringent chargesagainst the accused, who hadgot punishment under lighterprovisions.

Holding that the 1996 judge-ment that diluted charges againstthe accused was not binding,the apex court dismissed a cur-ative petition filed by the CBI.

Rajaratnam guilty intrading caseRaj Rajaratnam, the main ac-cused in the largest hedgefund insider trading case in UShistory was Wednesday foundguilty on all 14 counts of secu-rities fraud and conspiracy. SriLankan-born Rajaratnam, 54,founder of the Galleon Group,face jail for up to 25 years. A12-member federal jury hereconvicted the billionaire on all14 counts. PTI

PM for KabulPrime Minister ManmohanSingh is off to Kabul Thursdaymorning, though his visit isstill being kept under wrapsofficially for security reasons.His visit takes place in thebackdrop of killing of Osamabin Laden and talks of earlyUS pullout from Afghanistanas well as Afghanistan Presi-dent Hamid Karza showing in-clination to buy peace withTaliban and Pakistan. He hadearlier put off his Kabul visiton the American request. (Delhi correspondent)

Goas new Director General of Police Aditya Arya (front) being escortedby outgoing DGP Bhim Sain Bassi to his chair.

Photo by Sachin Ambadoskar

US slaps sanctions on HaqqaniWASHINGTON: The US Wednesday slapped sanctions againstBadruddin Haqqani, a dangerous commander of the Pakistan-based terror outfit Haqqani network, in its bid to check theflow of financial and other assistances to him.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton slapped sanctions on anoperational commander of the militant network, which is a Tal-iban-affiliated group that operates from North Waziristan Agencyin the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan.

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Pg2GOA, THURSDAY, 12 MAY, 2011

New group warns stir over mediumHERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, MAY 11

In an interesting development,a group comprising of BenaulimMLA Mickky Pacheco, Adv Rad-harao Gracias, Margao-baseddoctor Dr Ajit Kantak along withSouth Goa Zilla Panchayat mem-bers have come under one ban-ner to intensify the agitation insupport of Engl ish as themedium of instruction (MoI) ifthe government fails meet thedemands of parents by May 20.

Benaulim MLA has warnedthat no more time will be givento the government, saying any-thing can happen any day afterMay 20. We have come underone banner not to oppose theForum for the Rights of Chil-drens Education (FORCE), butas a political response to thegovernment indulging in politicsover the MoI issue, assertedPacheco.

The former tourism ministerdemanded the resignation ofPWD Minister Churchill Alemaoif he is seriously supporting the

Benaulim MLA Mickky Pacheco, Adv Radharao Gracias and Dr Ajit Kantak addressing the media to announce its plans on English MoI. Photo by Santosh Mirajkardemands of parents.

The time has come for theMinister to stop talking and startacting. Otherwise, quit your po-sition and join the movement,he dared. It is time to comeout unitedly and give justiceto the parents demandinggrants to English along withK o n k a n i a n d M a r a t h i ,Pacheco added.

Adv Radharao Gracias saidthat the group would wait forthe government decision till May

20 to solve the demand of par-ents, warning that the groupwill come out and mobilize thepeople to teach the governmenta lesson.

Replying to a question, Rad-harao said the United GoansDemocratic Party has not takena decision on the medium of in-struction, adding that membersmight have expressed individualopinions on the controversy.

Raia Zilla Panchayat memberDomnic Gaonkar said that

Konkani medium of instructionhas left the Scheduled Tribesbackward and lamented thatchildren of ministers and highclass people are studying in Eng-lish medium of school by payinghuge donations and fees.

If Konkani continues themedium of instruction, then theScheduled Tribes will continueto remain backward , headded.

City-based doctor Ajit Kantakcame out strongly in favour of

English as the medium of in-struction saying there is no noth-ing wrong in giving grants toEnglish if grants can be providedto Urdu, Kannada and other re-gional languages.

He said one can see the realdifference along the coastalareas of the state, with Salceteleading in development com-pared to Canacona and Pernem.Studying in English at the pri-mary level gives an advantageto students. The difference is

again felt if one compare theremote taluka of Sanguem withMargao, he added.

Demanding that the govern-ment leave the choice ofmedium of instruction to theparents, Colva ZP MemberNelly Rodrigues demandedto know why the issue hasto be resolved in Delhi, andurged the people to supportthe regional parties to pro-tect the interests of the lo-cals.

Cong govt runby migrants

from BJPHERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, MAY 11

Adv Radharao Gracias has saidthe present Congress govern-ment in Goa is run by migrantsfrom the BJP, while speakinghere on Wednesday.

Radharao said the govern-ment is implementing the poli-cies of the BJP. We have agovernment run by BJP peoplesuch as Chief Minister DigambarKamat, Home Minister Ravi Naikand Panchayat Minister, BabuAzgaonkar, who joined the Con-gress after coming out fromBJP, he said.

Churchill hits back at Willy HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, MAY 11

PWD Minister Churchill Alemaoon Wednesday launched ascathing attack on former ChiefMinister Dr Wilfred de Souzaon the medium of instruction(MoI) row by demanding toknow why de Souza did not givegrants to English medium duringhis tenure as chief minister.

Alemao also charged Willyalong with Adv Uday Bhembrefor supporting Konkani in Dev-nagiri with an agenda to keepthe poor and downtroddenbackward.

Reacting to Willys tiradeagainst him on MoI row, Alemao

told newsmen that Willy has sin-gled him out because PWD hadundertaken repair of Saligaomarket by overruling objectionsraised by the former Chief Min-ister.

Dr Willy was against marketrepairs and had asked me notto go ahead with the work. But,being a Minister, I cannot dis-criminate between ruling andopposition constituencies. Sincethe former Saligao MLA couldnot digest the market work,he has targeted me, Alemaosaid.

PWD Minister said Dr Willyhas only used the communityfor his selfish political interests,

but never did any good workfor the community.

I had once approached DrWilly during his tenure as ChiefMinister with regard for a workof a school in Benaulim, but hedid nothing. Finally, the matterwas resolved by then ChiefMinister Manohar Parrikar,he said.

Accusing Dr Willy of tryingto make a political issue out ofthe medium of instruction, Ale-mao said he along with otherMinisters and MLAs are tryingto secure the interests of thefuture generation by asking thegovernment to give grants toEnglish along with other lan-

guages.I am not the government to

take a Cabinet decision on theissue. There are many other Min-isters in the Cabinet, he said,adding that he is supportingEnglish as the medium of in-struction since it is the de-mand of the parents as wellas of the Diocesan Society ofEducation.

Replying to a question, hesaid a delegation of Congressleaders, including Ministerswould proceed to Delhi in con-nection with the MoI row andexuded confidence that theparty would fulfill the demandsof the parents.

Father, Mother and MoI Baby

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, MAY 11

Reacting to statement of for-mer CM Wilfred DSouza,statement questioning thepropriety of the high com-mand in re so l v ing theMedium of Instruction issue,PWD Minister Churchill Ale-mao said the Congress partyhas a father in Prime MinisterDr Manmohan Singh andmother in Congress presidentSonia Gandhi, adding that de-cision on the issue will betaken by the high commandafter consulting all con-cerned.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, MAY 11

Two weeks after the JudicialMagistrate First Class, Margaoconvicted and sentenced himto one year simple imprison-ment for assaulting electricityJunior Engineer Kapil Natekar,Benaulim MLA Mickky Pachecoon Wednesday challenged theorder in the South Goa Districtand Sessions court.

After completing legal for-malities, Pacheco told waitingnewsmen outside the Sessionscourt that he has full faith inthe Judiciary and vowed to comeout clean. I will certainly getjustice from the judiciary, hesaid while declining to commenton the JMFCs order.

In h i s appea l pe t i t ion ,Pacheco prayed to the Sessionscourt to quash and set aside theJMFCs order dated April 27 andacquit him from the charges. Healso prayed to Sessions courtfor a stay on JMFCs order pend-ing the final disposal of the ap-peal petition.

Pachecos lawyer, Adv SrikantNayak said there was no ques-tion of Junior engineer discharg-ing his official duty when it wasa holiday. Adv Nayak said therewas no evidence that he wastraveling from electricity officeto Pachecos Betalbatim resi-dence on that day.

The appeal petition pointedout that Judicial Magistrate hasconvicted Pacheco on mere sus-picion, saying the trial court ar-rived at a wrong conclusion asregards commission of offense.The JMFC has passed the orderin excess of its jurisdiction andhas wrongly and illegally con-victed the accused. JMFC soughtto have seen that evidence onrecord does not make out anycase for conviction of the ac-cused, the appeal said.

The petition said JMFC hasfailed to consider that therewas nothing on record toshow that witness traveled

Mickky appeals inJE assault case

... warns CB HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, MAY 11

Benau l im ML A Mickk yPacheco on Wednesday saidhe would serve a show causenotice on the crime branch(CB) seeking to know whyaction has not been initiatedagainst PWD Minister ChurchillAlemao till date on his complainton alleged irregularities in PWDtender modalities.

Pacheco told newsmenthat the show cause noticewould be served on CrimeBranch since no action hasbeen initiated by the inves-tigating agency against PWDMinister. I f the Crimebranch still fails to act on hiscomplaint against Alemao, Iwould be forced to knockthe doors of the high courtfor justice, he said.

The former tourism min-ister had alleged a fraud inPWD tendering process byimplementing a circular afterAlemao took over the reignsof office. Alemao, however,has vehemently denied anyfraud or corruption anddared Pacheco to prove thecharges.

to residence of the accusedin connection with dischargeof official duty, adding thatno offence under section 353of the IPC was made out.

The JMFC was absolutelywrong in holding that entire tes-timony of complainant has notbeen shaken in respect of theincident which took place in of-fice of the accused in respect ofthe assault. JMFC ought to haveseen that the entire depositionof the complainant on all threepages was absolutely new andnot as per complaint filed byh im o r ev idence i n thechargesheet, the petitionadded.

Will Congreject taintedcandidates?

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, MAY 11

Will Congress deny partynominations to candidates withcriminal background in the nextassembly election which arelikely to held later this year orearly next year?

At least, at this juncture Sub-hash Shirodkar, Goa PradeshCongress President (GPCC) hasno affirmative answer to thisquestion. When reporterscorned GPCC President on thisat a press conference, onWednesday here, he tried toevade the question saying theyhave not enrolled candidateswith criminal background.

But when prodded further, hesaid he is not the sole authorityto decide tickets(nominations)for the candidates even as hestated that they have startedcleansing the party of criminalelements. However, he refrainedfrom making any categoricalstatement that criminal back-ground of candidates will be anissue in the assembly electionand they would not give ticketto persons with tainted back-ground.

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, MAY 11

The Pilerne Citizens Forum, hashit out at both the governmentas well as the opposition for nottabling Lokayukta Bill in theState assembly, while addressinga press conference, Wednesday.

The government enacts or-dinances overnight if neededand the opposition, which dis-rupts assembly sessions, havenot made any moves to enactLokayukta bill in Goa since it isnot in their interest, Adv YatishNaik, speaking on behalf of theforum said.

Currently we have no legis-lation against corruption. ThePublic Mans Corruption Act waswithdrawn in favour of a pro-posed Lokayukta Bill. But, todaythere is neither the LokayuktaBill nor the PMC Act. This is ex-actly how the government wantsit, Naik added.

They have called on the peo-ple of Goa to attend the meetingof Anna Hazare, scheduled inthe state on the evening of May

Pilerne Forum takes on govt, opposition over Lokayukta BillSays there is no legislation against corruption

Adv Yatish Naik addressing a press conference. Photo by Sachin Ambadoskar

13. We express our full support

to the India Against corruptionmovement. Goa like the rest ofthe country is reeling under highlevels of corruption, Naikadded.

He hit out at the politiciansfor shying away from makingstatements in support of theLokpal bill.

Not one of our political lead-ers today, is willing to stand upand speak against the issue of

corruption. This only goes toshow what kind of leaders wehave. The people should thinkbefore casting their votes andshow these leaders their rightfulplace at the time of the elec-tions, Naik said.

Anti-corruption crusader AnnaHarare, who mobilised the nationagainst corruption with his fastagainst corruption, is due to visitthe state on May 13 and address alarge gathering of people at AzadMaidan on that day.

Other activists who are part ofthe India against corruptionmovement, will also be presentin the state on that day.Previously, anti-corruption cru-sader and Karnataka Lok-AyuktaJustice Santosh Hegde causeda storm after he was made toshare the dais at a seminar,with pol it ic ians, some ofwhom had questionable cre-dentials. When Hegde learnt that theevent was sponsored by a mem-ber of the tainted mining lobby,he refused to be hosted andbore all expenses (Air travel,local travel, hotel) himself. Heeven refused to join at lunch.The organisers however deniedthat the event was sponsoredby an owner of a mining com-pany.When asked if they expect asimilar sham to recur, withpoliticians taking stage andspeaking against corruption,Adv Naik said that it was ulti-mately for the organisers to de-cide, but politicians on stage isnot acceptable.

CB seeks help in locating

illegal mining HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, MAY 11

Crime Branch sleuths investi-gating the illegal mining scamallegedly involving NCP leaderJitendra Deshprabhu and topbureaucrats, have sought assis-tance from mining experts to locatethe illegal mining operation.

Sources said that the investi-gating team has approachedMines department and local Pan-chayat office for assistance inthe probe. Since the complaintletter had only mentioned sur-vey number, we decided to seekassistance of experts to locate

mining areas, said an officer. Crime Branch on Tuesday reg-

istered an offence against Desh-prabhu, son of a senior cabinetminister and top bureaucrats inthe illegal mining scam worthRs 50 crore.

Prior to this, Judicial Magis-trate First Class (JMFC) Pernemon Saturday had directed policeto register an FIR based on acomplaint by a group of activists.

The complaint letter namedDirector of Industries and Mines,Director of Transport, Chairmanof Goa State Pollution ControlBoard, Chief Conservator of For-est Department and other offi-c ia ls f rom the concerneddepartments and Korgao villagePanchayat as being involved inillegal mining scam.

They have been booked forconspiracy, corruption, cheatingand others sections of IndianPenal Code, various sections ofthe Prevention of CorruptionAct, TCP Act, Mining and Min-erals Act, Goa Prevention of Il-legal Mining and Transportationand Storage of Mineral Rules,Forest Act, and other offences.

Rider dies in mishap

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CALANGUTE, MAY 11

A man from Virnoda-Pernem diedin a road mishap when his motor-cycle skidded off the road near ViegasSuper Market at Nagoa-Arpora earlyWednesday morning.

According to Anjuna Police,Gauresh Dattaram Dhargalkar,who was emp loyed a tCalangute, was returning homeon his two-wheeler (GA-06-J-1550) at around 5 am, when heskidded off the road and sus-tained grievous injuries.

He was rushed to the Can-dolim PHC, from where he wasshifted to the GMC at Bambolim.Dhargalkar succumbed to in-juries later in the day.

NGOs seekGoans supportduring Annas

visit to Goa HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, MAY 11

The Village Groups of Goa andGoenchea RakhondaranchoAwaz have said they are lookingforward to Anna Hazare and hisanti-corruption teams visit to Goato mark the beginning of a nationwide tour to create awareness.

In a joint statement, VGGspokesman Joao Filipe Pereiraand spokesman of GRA CroydonMedeira said both the VGG andGRA are local NGOs, who havea common agenda and one ofthem being the implementationof the Lokayukta bill in Goa withimmediate effect.

They said the visit of Anna Hazareto Goa on May 13 will give theirfight against corruption a tremen-dous boost and hoped that peopleof Goa will rise up to the occasionof shunning corruption in their dayto day lives and instead be whistleblowers to any corrupt acts eitherby Bureaucrats or elected represen-tatives.

The two NGOs have appealedto their supporters, well wishersand public at large of Goa tojoin in welcoming Anna Hazareand his Anti Corruption teamto Goa and appealed to allGoans to come out in large num-bers and attend the meeting atAzad Maidan on May 13.

National Rural Health Mission may be extended to Goas urban areas

HERALD REPORTER

VASCO, MAY 11

Plans are afoot to set up wardsanitation and health commit-tees in municipal areas to cleangutters, community wells andto conduct sanitation drives.

If implemented, Goa wouldbe the first State in the countryto have the National RuralHealth Mission (NRHM) projectextended to urban areas.

The Mormugao MunicipalCouncil (MMC) was briefed oninitiatives by the NRHM to formhealth and sanitation ward wisecommittees in the municipality.

A joint meeting was convenedby Mormugao Deputy CollectorLevinson Martins on Wednesdayto discuss the issue in the pres-

ence of Urban Health Centre of-ficer Dr Vikash Kuvelkar MMCChief Officer, councillors andNRHM state manager Dr Pree-tam Naik.

So far, NRHM has exclusivelyfocused on rural areas in 18States of Arunachal Pradesh,Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Hi-machal Pradesh, Jharkhand,Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur,Mizoram, Meghalaya, MadhyaPradesh, Nagaland, Orissa, Ra-jasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttark-hand and Uttar Pradesh.

"The NRHM is a governmentscheme aimed at providing valu-able healthcare services to ruralhouseholds all over the country.However, this has been ex-tended to urban areas and Goa

will be the first state to havethis facility," said Dr PreetamNaik.

"There is hardly any major dif-ference between rural and urbanareas in Goa. Besides, urbanareas are more affected withhealth and sanitation problemsand hence, this scheme wasneeded for urban areas," saidDr Naik.

Under the project, Municipal-ity area ward sanitation andhealth committees are to beformed and each ward wouldbe sanctioned Rs 10,000 to carryout cleaning of gutters, com-munity wells and other sanita-tion drives, Dr Naik added.

Dr Naik briefed the council-lors on the scope and modalities

to avail the service and otherprogrammes carried under thisproject.

Councillor Manesh Arolkarfelt that the project is a "positiveinitiative which would certainlycreate awareness among peo-ple.

"The monitory help would beutilized to clean the surround-ings and conduct the sanitationdrive," Arolkar said.

Deputy Collector LevinsonMartins claimed that there aremany scheme and programmesset up by the State and Centralgovernments.

"However, elected represen-tatives have failed to utilize suchschemes mainly due to lack ofawareness," Martins said.

Marathi film festival at Panjim on June 3,4HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, MAY 11

Goa Marathi Film Festival willbe held in Panjim on June 3 and4, which will premier NageshBhosles flick Adagule-Madag-ule. Bal Gandharv by Ravi Jad-hav will be the opening film ofthe festival.

The festival, which will be en-tering its fourth year, will alsohave section on tribute to re-gional cinema in which Tamil

and Kanadda films would beshowcased.

The festival is organized byVinsan Graphics, Department ofArt and Culture, EntertainmentSociety of Goa, Department ofTourism and Department of In-formation.

The festival celebrates the artof filmmaking by setting thestage for independent filmmak-ers to showcase their talent tothe world.

The organizers said thatentering its fourth consecu-tive year, the Goa MarathiFilm Festival has rapidly be-come a well-known avenuefor writers, producers, ac-tors, directors and other filmbuffs to screen a var ietyof independent short andfeature length f i lm cate-gories .

It has been also involved inorganising workshops and in-

teractive sessions with industrystalwarts for filmmakers and filmenthusiasts alike, the organiz-ers said.

This time, as a part of the fes-tival, a concise seminar basedon film production, wherein ex-perts will debate limitations ofregional f i lms (especia l lyMarathi), technology, mostlypertaining to post production,will be showcased for film mak-ers.

Now bigbrother towatch MMC employees

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, MAY 11

Plagued with employee absen-teeism and public complaintsMargao Municipal Council hasfinally proposed to install ClosedCircuit TV (CCTV) cameras at itspremises.

Taking serous note of the ab-senteeism of employees fromduty, Margao Municipal ChiefOfficer, Prasanna Acharya hastold the Municipal engineer toinvite quotations from prospec-tive parties to install CCTVs cov-ering all sections of the Civicbody. If Acharya is to be be-lieved, the CCTVs will be hope-fully installed within a month.

We have been closely exam-ining the proposal to installCCTVs in the municipal building forquite some time. Now, the Civicbody has finally decided to go in forthe cameras, he added.

Replying to a question,Acharya said the Civic bodywould also explore the possi-bility of reviving the bio-metricfinger scan reader to record at-tendance of employees. Thescan reader has been lying un-attended at the entrance to Mu-nicipal building since last threeyears, but has not been utulisedfollowing strong reservationsexpressed by employees underthe banner of Goa MunicipalEmployees Association.

GOAOHERALD

OPg3

GOA, THURSDAY, 12 MAY, 2011

Thousands duped in investment scamHERALD CORRESPONDENT

BELGAUM, MAY 11

Thousands of investors fromGoa, Karnataka, Maharashtraand Andhra Pradesh have al-legedly been duped in an onlineinvestment scandal involvingcrores of rupees here in Bel-gaum.

The director of the company,involved in the scandal, is re-portedly absconding since lastmonth.

According to sources, an on-line company based at Kapilesh-war Road, here, had luredcustomers to invest amounts inmultiples of thousands, assuringthen handsome interest permonth.

" A n i n v e s t m e n t o f R s

22,000 would fetch the in-vestor a monthly interest ofRs 1,700 per month while ani n v e s t m e n t o f R s 1 l a k hwould fetch Rs 8,900 permonth," said the source.

Though the exact date whenthe company was established isnot known, the investmentswere received since the begin-

ning of last year. Customers were happy as

they kept receiving their instal-ments of returns regularly in theinitial stages.

However, trouble began whenthe monthly returns suddenlystopped since the past sixmonths.

Aggrieved customers havefiled a complaint in the Marketpolice station here.

According to police, the com-pany's director was arrested inDecember 2010 and was sentto Hindalga prison in this con-nection. However, lack of coop-eration from investors forcedauthorities to release the direc-tor.

He had allegedly invested a

huge sum at a dairy farm with2,500 buffaloes near Vantmuri,here, which he showed to theinvestors in a bid to lure themto make investments.

It is understood that in-vestors from Belgaum, Goaand other states have in-vested an amount betweenRs 20,000 and Rs 2 lakh inthe company.

Fol lowing a f resh com-plaint, Belgaum police is onhot pursuit of the abscond-ing director.

Meanwhile, police officialsare surprised that citizens havenot learnt a lesson, despite anumber of online investmentrackets that have rocked the cityin the recent past.

nThough the exactdate when thecompany wasestablished is notknown, theinvestments werereceived since thebeginning of last year.

Mines may have to ply trucks on

specific days onlyHERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, MAY 11

Putting the brakes on illegal andexcess movement of miningtrucks, the state Mines and Ge-ology department, has recom-mended giving specific days foreach mine to ply their trucks soas to reduce traffic congestionalong the mining belt, as partof a series of measures enlistedin a proposal forwarded to thestate government on Wednes-day for its approval.

A senior official said that thedepartment has come strongagainst illegal mining and its re-lated activities along the miningstretch. One of the best waysto reduce congestion is to curtailthe number of trips per day.Apart from that we are also plan-ning to specify one particularday for each mine for movementof their trucks, official said.

In a high level meeting heldon Monday, state governmentbodies had proposed to restrictnumber of mining truck trips to600 per day, per route, so as toavoid pollution and traffic chaos.

The official said that the pro-posal also speaks about onecolour for all the mining trucks,which will help in identifying il-legal trucks involved in the busi-ness. The final decision will betaken by the government. The

proposal of unique colours willseparate these trucks from restwhich will enable the depart-ment to curb irregularities, of-ficial said.

The Departments an actiontaken report submitted to PAC,last week, had suggested to allotstickers to trucks enlisting theirdetails such as those of owner,driver etc.

Official confirmed that de-partment has already receivedthe data from various miningfirms and the process of distri-bution of stickers will start soonafter government nod.

The department is likely tobegin registration of miningtrucks as per Mines and MineralsDevelopment and Regulation(MMDR) Act from next week.

Meanwhile, a high level meet-ing is scheduled tomorrow todiscuss issues pertaing to thepublic agitation against miningtrucks in Cavrem. The truck traf-fic on Columb-Rivon-Kapse andCauvre-Maina-Kapse routes hasbeen blocked by agitating lo-cals.

The drive against rampanttruck movement by state Trans-port Department along the min-ing belt failed to give muchrespite to locals here, despitehaving issued 1000-odd challansin last one and half month.

Goa employmentexchange

short staffed HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, MAY 11

It is most ironical, that Goaemployment exchange shouldface shortage of staff eventhough number of unem-ployed registering at the ex-change has skyrocketed andits workload increased mani-fold. All Goa Government Em-ployees Union (AGGEU) whilehighlighting this fact has de-manded the governmentshould initiate immediate re-medial measures.

Important sections of thedepartment which are re-quired to play pivotal rolesuch as vocational guidancesections and employmentmarketing information section

have remained under staffed.The Government had sanc-

tioned staff strength of 51 foremployment exchange butonly 31 employees are physi-cally working there, pointedout Ganesh Chodankar, Pres-ident of AGGEU.

He also alleged that the de-partment has been given stepmotherly treatment and func-tioning of most sections of thisdepartment has been paralysed.

According to AGGEU, thisdepartment urgently needsmore staff to run it efficientlyand smoothly and hence thegovernment should take ac-tion to weed out lethargy pre-vailing here, adds AGGEUPresident.

EVMs maybe used

for VP polls HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, MAY 11

Electronic Voting Machines(EVMs) may be used in May 2012panchayat elections, instead ofballot boxes, if panchayat elec-tions do not coincide with as-sembly elections.

State Election Commission(SEC) is contemplating use ofEVM for panchayats election duein 2012, sources said.

There are 189 village pan-chayats with 1750 polling sta-t ions wh i ch means thedepartment would require atleast 2000 EVMs.

Currently it has got only 600EVM and plans to procure addi-tional EVMs from Maharashtraand Karnataka. We have alreadywritten to them, sources fromSEC said.

Election of Goa Assembly isdue in June 2012, but politicaldevelopments indicate that itmight be held much earlier. Ifassembly elections are held inJune 2012, then SEC will notable to use EVMs for panchayatelection since EVMs once usedin an election cannot be reusedfor another six months since thedata has to be retained in casecontestant seek re-counting, itwas informed.

GOAOHERALDOPg 4

SHORT TAKESUPCOMING EVENTS

GOA, THURSDAY, 12 MAY, 2011

Tree collapses on Bicholim house, inmates escape

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

MAYEM, MAY 11

A family had a lucky escapewhen a mango tree got up-rooted and damaged the houseof Sanjay Tulshidas Falkar fromSakaili Fal in Kudne-Bicholim re-cently. Members of the Falkarfamily managed to save them-selves and escaped in time, be-fore the tree damaged thehouse. A Bicholim fire brigaderushed to the site and clearedthe debris.

POWER SHUTDOWN

MAY 12

PORVORIM: From 9 am to 2 pm. Areas affected are ResicomHome Elite, Sabnis Park, Gauri Apts, Khana Khazana, PDA Colony,Tarun Bharat, part of Teen Building, O Coqueiro and surroundingareas.

PORVORIM: From 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm. Areas affected are Pun-daliknagar, Majestic Hotel, Journalist Colony, Sai Service and sur-rounding areas.

RAIA: From 9 am to 2 pm. Areas affected are Arlem and Vetinaryhospital in Village Panchayat Raia.

MAY 13

BRITONA: From 9 am to 2 pm. Areas affected are Britona, Virlosa,Haliwada, RND-Slipway, Malim Tourism Complex, Ice Factory,Malim and surrounding areas.

SALAI: From 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm. Areas affected are Paithona,Salai-Quitla, Ekoxim, Donwado, Britona Manas and surrounding areas.

CURTORIM: From 8.30 am to 3.30 pm. Areas affected are VPCurtorim, VP Macazana, Colleadongor, St Xavier, Backhbhat andUddo in Raia.

Sawant is TTWA Chief

Namdev Sawant and Pundalik Gauns.PANJIM (HND): Namdev Sawant was elected president of

Taleigao Tribal Welfare Association (TTWA) at the recentlyheld Annual General Body Meeting of TTWA at the InternationalCenter Goa, Dona Paula. The other elected members for atenure of 3 years comprise of office bearers which includeVice President Dinu Gawas, Secretary Pundalik Gauns, VSecretary Bhaskar Gauns, Treasurer Premnath Gawas, VTreasurer Madhu Kunkoleikar, and members Deepak Shi-rodker, Kamalakant Shirvoikar, Popat Gauns, Hanuiv|antNarvekar, Dyaneswar Shirodker, Madev Kuttikar, NarayanKunkoliekar, Ishwar Gauns and Nani Diukar.

A special resolution was also passed to keep open mem-bership for which forms are available with President/Secretaryof the Association. It was also decided at the meet that Samajcertificate fees will not be charged for students. It was alsodecided to felicitate students who obtain 75% or above inany stream.

Special prayers at SancoalePANJIM (HND): Holy Mass for the sick with special prayers

for a Miraculous Healing will be held at the shrine of BlessedJoseph Vaz, Sancoale on Fri-day May 13. The service willbegin at 7.45 am followedby Mass at 9 am. The sickwill be prayed over for aMiraculous Healing throughthe intercession of BlessedJoseph Vaz, the Patron of theArchdiocese of GOA andDaman.

Mass for the sick with spe-cial prayers for a Miracle isorganized on every 2nd Fri-day of the month. Peoplewith all kinds of sicknessesare welcome for the service.

Friday Masses are as fol-lows: 7 am and 8.45 am at the Sanctuary and evening Massat the Oratory of Paternal House of Blessed Joseph Vaz at 4pm. Terminally sick are prayed over on every Friday from 10am to 12 noon. Childless couples and pregnant mothers andkids are prayed over on every 3rd Sunday of the month at 9am. Sunday Masses are held at the Sanctuary at 7 and 9 am.and weekday at 7 am. Priests are available at the Sanctuaryon Wednesdays for confessions and spiritual guidance from9 am to 12 noon.

Dance workshop at VascoPANJIM(HND): Dance workshop for kids and teens will

commence on May 12 at Vasco. Learn hip hop, modern,freestyle, contemporary, Bollywood and other styles by trainedinstructor Pragya Jain of a recognized Institute of PerformingArts Mumbai at Simply Ballroom Dance studio Alto Dabolim,Vasco. For details contact on tel: 9923323611, 9423057191and 9822150348.

CME at GMCPANJIM (HND); Medical Education Cell of GMC in coordination

with Radiotherapy Unit of GMC will organise a CME on RecentAdvances in Oncology-Combination of Targeted Therapiesand Role of Cyberknife on May 13 in Library Auditorium GMCfrom 3 pm to 4 pm. The guest faculty for the lecture will beConsultant Radiation Oncologist from HCG, Bangalore, Dr Ku-maraswamy. This would be followed by free OPD camp inwhich Dr Kumaraswamy will be available for consultation onMay 14. CME activity will be coordinated by Dr S M Bandekar,Prof and in-charge of Medical Education Cell and OPD campwould be coordinated by Radiotherapy Dept. For appointmentscall Vishwanatha Shetty on 9657734262.

Clube Nacional picnicPANJIM (HND): Panjim's oldest club, Clube Nacional, will

hold its traditional Member's Day Out, Picnic, on May 15from 10 am onwards at Bambolim Beach Resort. Band PurpleRain, will be in concert and there will be games and lots ofother entertainment as well. Snacks, lunch and tea will alsobe provided. Members and guests may register their namesin the Clube Office latest by 5 pm of May 13. For furtherdetails call Clube Nacional on 2225316.

Viola Pacheco felicitating veteran Konkani Singer AntonioSouza of Cansaulim, at Summer Bonanza programme organ-ised by Youth of Cansaulim, at Cansaulim recently in presenceof ZP Nelly Rodrigues. The show was organized by Miguel Ro-drigues. Cansaulim Sarpanch Minguel DCosta was also pres-ent on the occasion.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CANACONA, MAY 11

With water supply to irrigationactivities already stopped, thepresent water level at ChapoliDam's reservoir is sufficient tomeet the needs of residents inCanacona, even if monsoons aredelayed.

According to local irrigationsources, the Chapoli Dam reser-voir presently hold 29.30 RL (re-duced level) of water, which ishigher than the previous year.Last year, the Chapoli Dam reser-voir had recorded 28 RL duringthis time of the year.

"Incidentally, water supplyfor irrigation purpose has beenstopped and water is presentlysupplied only for treatmentpurpose at the Shristhal treat-ment p l an t , " i n fo rmed asource.

"We have sufficient stock ofwater in the dam's reservoir tomeet the requirements of 15MLD (5 + 10 MLD) water treat-ment plants presently opera-

Chapoli Dams water levelsufficient to meet needs

The Chapoli dam in Canacona. Photo by Kathy Pereira

tional at Shristhal," the sourceadded.

Chapoli Dam's full storage ca-pacity of 38.75 RL covers a totalcatchment area of up to 1122hectares/metre, whereas thepresent 29.30 RL covers about340-350 hectares/metre.

To meet the needs in thoseareas with low water pressureand no water taps, the PWD

(Water supply) is supplyingpotable water through seven ve-hicles, a departmental tankerand six other hired vehicles, tovarious localities of Canaconataluka.

About 30,000-32,000 litres ofwater is supplied daily to variousparts of Loliem-Polem, Gaon-dongrim, Cotigao, Agonda andKhola.

HERALD REPORTER

VASCO, MAY 11

Revenue Minister Jose Philip D'-Souza on Tuesday distributedcompensation to fishermen

Baina fishermen compensatedfor losses during cyclone

Revenue Minister Jose Philip D'Souza hands over a cheque to fish-ermen from Baina, in the presence of Councillor Pascoal D'Souzaand Mormugao Mamlatdar Rajesh Azgaonkar. Photo by M Prabhav

from Katem Baina, who had suf-fered heavy losses during theCyclone Phyan in 2009.

Around 22 cheques were dis-tributed to the beneficiaries,who had lost their canoes,

trawlers and fishing equipmentwhen Cyc lone Phyan hadwreaked havoc along the Rat-nagiri coast of Maharastra.

It may be recalled that D'-Souza along with MormugaoMamlatdar officials had carriedout an inspection along theKatem-Baina coast, to surveythe damaged fishing canoeswhich were anchored alongKatem Baina shore.

"We had assured that fisher-men who had suffered lossesdue to the cyclone would becompensated. As part of this ef-fort, we have distributed 22cheques to the affected fisher-men," said D'Souza.

He regretted the delay incompensating the beneficiar-ies and admitted that thisshould have been done muchearlier.

Kiteak Upkarta VCD released

PWD Minister Churchill Alemao releasing the Konkani filmVCD Kiteak Upkarta in the presence of Urban DevelopmentMinister Joaquim Alemao and producer Steffi Goes. Photo bySantosh Mirajkar.

MARGAO(HR): VCD of Konkani film Kiteak Upkarta producedby Steffi Goes was released by PWD Minister, ChurchillAlemao on Tuesday, in the presence of Urban DevelopmentMinister, Joaquim, Alemao, Navelim Panch Santarita Coelho,noted tiatrist Menino de Bandar, former ZP Chairperson Cle-ofacio Dias, besides Steffi Goes.

PWD Minister congratulated Steffi for producing the Konkanifilm VCD and assured his full support in her future endeavours.You will succeed in this field if you devote more attention,he advised Steffi, while saying that he would offer his whole-hearted support to her to bring out VCDs every year.

Steffi thanked her cast, parents and friends, besides thePWD Minister and Navelim Panch member, Santarita (Babush)Coelho for the support extended to her in her venture. Shealso thanked Johnny Pereira for giving her encouragementto produce the Konkani film. The VCD has a cast comprisingof Roma, Dolla, Mathew, Franky, Willy, Agnel, Bushka, Jr Rea-gan, Comedian Janet, Sally and Selvy, besides Steffi.

Book on PopeJohn Paul II in KonkaniHERALD NEWS BUREAU

PANJIM, MAY 11

Now you can read the life ofBlessed Pope John Paul II inKonkani.

A book written in RomanKonkani by Bro. V Eusebio V.Miranda, sfx 'TornatteanchoPapa, Bhoktivont Zata' (Fatherof the Youth, becomes Blessed)will be released at the Black Boxof Kala Academy, Panjim on May12.

Valanka Alemao will releasethe book at the award ceremonyof Vavraddeancho Ixtt at 10.30am.

Bro. V Eusebio V Miranda, iscurrently working as sub-editorof Vavraddeancho Ixtt, a Konkaniweekly. Vavraddeancho Ixtt iscelebrating 78 years of vernac-ular journalism.

Suicide preventioncourse

HERALD NEWS BUREAU

PANJIM, MAY 11

The counselling cell of the Nir-mala Institute of Education willconduct a one-day 'Suicide Pre-vention course' for counsellorsinterested in ser ving in a'Helpline' from May 25 to June3 from 9.30 am to 5 pm.

Those wanting to register shouldcontact the NIE office (Ph: 2225633)by May 20. Only 30 seats are avail-able, states a press note issued bythe Principal, Dr Rita Paes.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

OLD GOA, MAY 11

Chodan-Madel Panchayat haspetitioned the health depart-ment to provide a full-time doc-tor at the Chorao Health Centre.

A delegation comprisingSarpanch Salvador D'Cruz,Deputy Sarpanch Requeta Co-l a co , Panchas N i l imaKalangutkar, Madhuri Kubal,Shreejaya Haldankar and PrasadChodankar, submitted a mem-orandum to Health Director DrRajnanda Dessai.

They informed Dr Dessai ofthe various difficulties faced byresidents of Chorao in availingmedical services at the HealthCentre in the absences of thefull-fledged doctor.

The issue had been raised inthe recent Gram Sabha of thepanchayat and residents hadforced the panchayat members

to forward their grievances tothe health department. The res-idents asked the panchayatmembers to respond to theirdemands during the next GramSabha.

They pointed out that a part-time doctor visits the healthcentre only for two hours andthat too, only on Tuesday.

On hearing their grievancesof the panchayat members, DrDessai explained to them thatthe health department cur-rently faces a shortage of doc-tors.

"Once news doctors are re-cruited by the department, wewill make attempts to post afull-fledged doctor at the healthcentre," Dr Dessai said.

In the meantime, the healthdirector assured to dispatch adoctor to the health centre onalternate days.

Chodan-Madel pyatpetitions for full time

doctor at Chorao centre

Chodal-Maddel Panchayat members submit a memorandum toHealth Director Dr Rajnanda Dessai.

Candle-making camp held at Chorao

Instructor Rekha Borkar imparts skills on candle-making towomen of Chorao.

OLD GOA(HC): Jai Hanuman Self-Help Group of Chorao re-cently organised a five-day candle-making camp at the MaddelPrimary School in Chorao.

Twenty women took part in the camp and gained skills onvarious aspects of candle-making and candle designs.

The camp was inaugurated by social worker Chitra Kshirsagarand others present at the function included Panch ShreejayaHaldankar, President of Jai Hanuman Self-Help Group SuyashaKhandeparkar and instructor Rekha Borkar.

In her address, Kshirsagar urged the women to be financiallyindependent so that they could get more respect in society.

"Self-employed women can also improve the financial po-sition of the family," she added.

Rekha Kundaikar later proposed the vote of thanks. The programme was sponsored by Women's and Child De-

velopment department.

Normally only living organisms canbe considered either living or dead,but languages can die as well. A deadlanguage is one which is no longerlearned as a native language. Becausethey form a part of human history, somedead languages are topics of study be-cause of their cultural, linguistic, or so-cial importance. People mistakenlybelieve that dead languages have nospeakers, and are therefore considereddead, but some dead languages actu-ally have more speakers than those ofmodern or living languages -languageswhich are learned as native tongues.

Well-known examples of dead languagesinclude Coptic, Ancient Greek, Latin, andSanskirt; however there are numerousother dead languages from regionsaround the world - including huge num-bers of Native American languageswhich died out with European colonial-ism. The most common process leadingto language death is one in which acommunity of speakers of one languagebecomes bilingual in another language,and gradually shifts allegiance to thesecond language until they cease to usetheir original language. This processmay be voluntary or may be forced upona population, through colonization.Speakers of some languages, particu-larly regional or minority languagesmay decide to abandon them based oneconomic or utilitarian grounds, in favorof languages regarded as having greaterutility, prestige or even convenience.

The process of transmission is essentialfor the survival of any language. Thisprocess occurs when the children are ini-tiated into the language by their par-ents/ teachers. Once a language is nolonger a native language, that is, if nochildren are being socialized into it as

their primary language - the process oftransmission has ended and the lan-guage itself will not survive past thecurrent generation. This is rarely consid-ered a sudden event, but a slow processof each generation learning less and lessof the language, until its use is relegatedto the domain of traditional use, such asin poetry and song, or prayer even. Typ-ically the transmission of the languagefrom adults to children becomes moreand more restricted, to the final settingthat adults speaking the language willraise children who never acquire flu-ency. And the following generations maynever learn the language at all and thelanguage is officially considered dead.

You can learn a lot about a certain cul-ture from the language spoken by itspeople. This holds especially true in themodern sense; although several myster-ies about ancient cultures were revealedthrough dead languages. In instanceswhere written languages were devel-oped, knowing a dead language allowspeople to read contemporary accounts ofhistorical events. However many aca-demics are conflicted over the specificsof a dead language, which is to be ex-pected considering that a point of refer-ence would be difficult to find.

The study of the structure of a languagecan provide clues into how people seethe world, and their relationships withother people, animals, and objects andwhy they acted a certain way. It revealscultural secrets and differences and alsothrows light on how certain modern lan-guages came to be. This is why thestudy of dead languages is interesting toso many people, and sometimes can leadto heated debates over personal viewsand standpoints.

What is a Dead Language?

Literature and Language

Comments or queries? Bouquets or brickbats? Talk to us!Email Junior Herald at junior@herald-goa.com or join our Facebook fan page

http://www.facebook.com/Herald.Jr. Our readers are invited to rave, rant, chat oreven contribute. No message will go unanswered!

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INDIAOHERALD

OPg 5

GOA, THURSDAY, 12 MAY, 2011

PTI

GREATER NOIDA, MAY 11

Joining the farmers' agitationagainst the Mayawati govern-ment, Rahul Gandhi sat on adharna at the epicentre of recentviolence in this district after heentered the village riding pillionon a motorcyle giving the localpolice a slip before dawn today.

The Congress general secre-tary, who landed at BhattaParsaul village in this Delhi sub-urb at about 4 AM, demandeda judicial inquiry into the firingincidents following violentclashes between police andfarmers protesting Uttar Pradeshgovernment's land acquisitionand compensation policy. Fourpersons including two police-men were killed in the violencelast Saturday.

Rahul, who was also joinedby party colleague DigvijaySingh, sat on a day-long dharnaat the Choupal at Parsaul villageafter he heard villagers for sev-eral hours narrate the allegedatrocities committed on themby the UP police.

SDM Vishal Singh met Rahuland asked him to end the dharnain view of the potential securityrisk to him in view of the situa-tion in the area. Vishal Singhalso expressed inability to pro-vide security as he had comewithout intimation.

But the young Congressleader told the official that un-less their demands are met hewill not leave the village.

The demands also includedrelease of detained farmers.

Rahul gives police a slip, sits on dharna to support farmers

AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi meeting villagers of Bhatta Parsaul in Greater Noida on Wednes-day three days after the bloody clash between the police and the agitating farmers.

Digvijay Singh said till a judi-cial inquiry submitted a reportno action should be takenagainst the farmers in respectof FIRs lodged against them. Healso demanded that all arrestedfarmers be released and thatthere should not be any forcibleland acquisition.

IG Police Rajni Kant Mishrawas in constant touch with topstate government officials inLucknow to seek directions onhow to deal the tricky situationarising out of Rahul's dharna.

The strong police force de-ployed at the Bhatta Parsaul vil-

lage apparently failed to noticeRahul when he reached there ina mobike in the dark.

It was only when he beganmeeting farmers and heard theirgrievances that the policemenrecognised the young Congressleader, who has often slippedout of his security cordon in thepast to meet people. The iden-tity of the driver of the mobikewas not known immediately.

Senior officers told Rahul thatthe state administration too hasrequested the villagers to returnhome as there was no fear forinnocent farmers. Police was

only targeting the anti-social el-ements who had fired at policeteam and caused rioting, theysaid.

Some of the villagers alsoshowed Rahul injuries inflictedon them allegedly by the police.They all claimed that all youngmales have either been detainedby police or have left the villageout of fear. The villagers claimedthey were holding peacefuldemonstration since January 17.

Digvijay Singh alleged thatwhile farmers are being givenland compensation of just Rs600 to Rs.700 per sq m.

PTI

NEW DELHI, MAY 11

A special CBI court trying the2G spectrum case today allowedDMK MP Kanimozhi to skip theproceedings for two hours toapproach the Enforcement Di-rectorate for postponement ofappearance before it in relationto its probe into money laun-dering aspects of the scam.

Along with the 43-year-olddaughter of Tamil Nadu ChiefMinister M Karunanidhi, KalaignarTV MD Sharad Kumar also soughtexemption from personal appear-ance from 11 am to 1 pm today.

"Accused Kanimozhi andSharad Kumar are exemptedfrom personal appearance fortwo hours, that is, from 11 amto 1 pm, for appearing beforethe ED, New Delhi," Special CBIJudge O P Saini said.

Kumar moved the plea seek-

ing personal exemption throughhis counsel who submitted thatthey have to appear before theED for the "purpose of filing anapplication for adjournment"for his questioning on May 13in connection with the scam.

Kanimozhi's lawyer also sub-mitted the same in the courtand she was allowed to appearbefore the ED today for twohours.

The court had yesterday ex-empted Kanimozhi and Kumarfrom personal appearance forMay 12 and 13 to appear beforeChennai Income Tax Office torespond to summons for allegedtax evasion.

The court had imposedsome conditions on both theaccused saying "they shall nottry to contact or influence anywitness or tamper with evi-dence while in Chennai."

Kanimozhi allowedexemption from

appearance for 2 hrs

PTI

MUMBAI, MAY 11

The inquiry commission probingthe Adarsh Housing Societyscam has issued summons toformer Maharashtra Chief Min-isters Vilasrao Deshmukh andAshok Chavan to appear beforeit as witnesses.

The two-member commis-sion, which summoned UnionMinister Sushil Kumar Shindelast week, issued summons toDeshmukh, presently UnionMinister for Rural Development,and Chavan yesterday.

Chavan, who had to stepdown as the state chief ministerlast year following the Adarshcontroversy, has been namedamong the 14 accused by theCBI in its probe into the scam.

Chavan, the then State Rev-enue minister, is accused of rec-ommend ing 40 pe r cen tallotment of flats in the AdarshSociety, originally meant forKargil war widows, to civilians.

His relatives allegedly got flatsin return.

Deshmukh as Chief Ministerhad dealt with files pertainingto the high rise in upscale Co-laba.

Both the ex-CMs have nowbeen added to the list of 17 wit-nesses summoned last week.

The list includes State Minis-ter for Water Resources SunilTatkare, Adarsh Society's GeneralSecretary R C Thakur, former

Adarsh panel issues summons to Deshmukh, Ashok Chavan

Mrashtra govt never approached us for land: Army

PTI

MUMBAI, MAY 11

The Maharashtra government never approached the Armyseeking possession of the land where the controversial AdarshHousing Society building stands, an Army official said whiledeposing before a commission set up to probe the case.

"The land belongs to Army and the state government hadnever asked the Defence Ministry to hand over the possessionto it," Brigadier Deepak Saxena of the Army headquarters(Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Goa) told the Commission ofInquiry set up to probe the alleged scam.

However, the army is yet to submit records to show thatthe land where the 31-storey Adarsh building stands in upscaleColaba, belongs to it. The Ministry of Defence has relied upontwo 'development plans' showing the Army was in possessionof the land even prior to 1937.

"All lands owned or under possession of the Army areentered into the Military Land Register. However the Adarshplot does not exist in the register," Saxena had earlier toldthe commission.

Saxena refuted Adarsh's advocate Satish Maneshinde's con-tention that the state government had transferred a part ofthe land to the Army after taking over an Army property insuburban Santacruz. "Army was always in possession of theland and hence the question of state government transferringpart of the plot or seeking to hand over the land does notarise," he said.

Principal Secretary of Urban De-velopment department Ra-manand Tiwari, Congress leaderK L Gidwani, former Collectorof Mumbai, Pradeep Vyas andformer Under Secretary of UrbanDevelopment department P V

Deshmukh.The Commission is presently

recording the evidence of firstwitness, Brigadier Deepak Sax-ena of the Army Headquarters(Maharashtra, Goa and Gu-jarat).

PTI

NEW DELHI, MAY 11

The results of the Assembly pollsin five states are expected bynoon on Friday when the count-ing of votes would start at 839counting halls spread overAssam, Kerala, Puducherry, TamilNadu and West Bengal.

An elaborate three tier secu-rity arrangement has been putin place for the exercise, whichwould start at 8 AM involving43,982 officials and nearly17,700 central security person-nel keeping a hawk eyed vigil.

"By early lunch", was the re-sponse of Chief Election Com-missioner S Y Quraishi whenasked when the first result isexpected of the keenly con-tested elections.

The entire exercise, whichwould decide the fate of severalpolitical heavyweights, would bevideographed to prevent any mal-practice, the CEC told reporters.

"Efficient and secure arrange-ments are in place for countingand declaration of results", hesaid, adding that a computercentre would be functionalwithin the counting hall.

Quraishi said that countingwould take place in 142 count-ing halls in Assam, 140 in Kerala,11 in Puducherry, 234 in TamilNadu and 312 in West Bengal.

Elaborating the massive exer-cise of conducting the polls in fivestates with "all time record turnoutin Tamil Nadu and West Bengal",the CEC said a total of 14.16 croreelectors exercised their franchisewhich was 20 per cent of the total72.8 crore electorate.

Quraishi said that Assam sawa voter turnout of 76.04 percent, an increase of 0.36 percent over the 2006 Assemblypolls and Kerala 75.12 per cent,a jump of 3.79 per cent andPuducherry 85.57 per cent, anincrease of 0.13 per cent.

Tamil Nadu and West Bengalwitnessed the "highest turnoutin history" of 78.80 per cent and84.46 per cent respectively, anincrease of 11.26 per cent and3.04 per cent over the 2006 as-sembly polls, he said.

Except Assam, women cameout in large numbers to exercisetheir f ranchise in Kerala ,Puducherry, West Bengal.

Referring to the menace of

money power in elections, Quraishisaid the Commission and the In-come Tax authorities jointly seizeda total of 74.27 crore unaccountedmoney in these elections.

Tamil Nadu alone accountedfor Rs 60.10 crore, followed byWest Bengal Rs 8.35 crore,Assam Rs 5.20 crore, Kerala Rs62 lakh.

The CEC said that "inducementof voters through distribution ofmoney and in kind", paid news,voter apathy specially amongyouth and urban educated andsecurity arrangement in Naxal-hit areas were some of the majorchallenges that the EC encoun-tered in these elections.

There was no appeal on com-munal or caste lines, no provoca-tive speech to incite voters andthere was no serious hatespeeches this time, he said whilethanking the political parties fortheir cooperation.

Quraishi said for the first time4,639 Overseas Voters, out of8,820 registered, exercised theirfranchise in the assembly pollsin Kerala and one of them evencontested from Thodupuzha inIdukki district in the state.

EC gears up for counting of votes on Friday

EC: No partybias, went byregulations

during electionsPTI

CHENNAI, MAY 11

The Election Commission, whichhad come under repeated at-tacks from DMK president andTamil Nadu Chief Minister MKarunanidhi, had "no party bias"and it only followed rules andregulations, a top state electoralofficial said today.

"Only rules and regulationsare being implemented. Thereis no party bias," state Chief Elec-toral officer Praveen Kumar toldreporters here ahead of Friday'scounting of votes for the As-sembly elections held on April13.

Kumar said the EC did notshow any bias towards oragainst a particular party andit was only going by the bookas regards conduct of elec-tions.

The DMK president had ac-cused the officials of EC, whichhad taken tough measures toprevent money-flow and othermalpractices, of behaving likein emergency times and hadsuggested clipping its pow-ers.

Depiction ofGoddess images

on swimwearinappropriate

PTI

NEW DELHI, MAY 11

India has conveyed its "deepconcern" to the Australian HighCommission over the issue ofdepiction of images of GoddessLakshmi on swimwear, for whichthe swimwear label companyhas apologised to the Hinducommunity for hurting their sen-timents.

In the recently concludedRosemount Australian fashionweek in Sydney, a designer LisaBurke, had displayed certainswimwear costumes carrying In-dian religious images "inappro-priately", the External AffairsMinistry said in a statement heretoday.

The Ministry has conveyedits "deep concern" to the Aus-tralian High Commission, askingthat all concerned be apprisedof the Indian religious sensitiv-ities in the matter, it said.

The issue was similarly, takenup by our Consulate General inSydney with the fashion de-signer, the MEA said.

"The designer has promptlyapologized 'to the Hindu com-munity' and assured that therange has been withdrawn andwill never be available for salein any stockists or retail outletanywhere in the world and hasstopped production of theswimwear in question," thestatement said.

Have mercy on our necksEdward Fonseca, Porvorim

This is with reference to your article Over100 traffic offences recorded every day inNorth (Herald, 4 May).

I am beginning to wonder whether weare going to see the statistics ploy beingused to enforce helmets on all roads asper terminology of the traffic cell.

The helmet model is good for highwaysas traffic has become fast and dangerous. It would not be suitable for the slow citytraffic and narrow village roads.

I suspect high volume of fines in thenorth may be due to the large number oftourists on whom, the traffic cell pounceson with great delight and enthusiasm.

We Goans have been good men andwomen on the highway.

Let our necks have some rest on otherroads.

Stop selling GoaJovita Fernandes, Margao

Nowadays, everyone dreams of owning aproperty in Goa, be it celebrities, busi-nessmen etc.

The same people then tend to exploitGoa and put the blame on Goans. The gov-ernment of Goa should put restrictions onthe sale of properties in Goa to outsiders.It is rightly said, A stitch in time savesnine and if nothing is done, it wont belong when the whole of Goa will be soldto outsiders and Goans will be strangersin their own land.

Heritage preserved!Ayres Sequeira, Salvador do Mundo

In May, all the heritage crosses in Salvadordo Mundo get decked up for the annualKhursachi Ladainha (litany). The traditionwhich binds the villagers together is main-tained and practiced in memory of our an-cestors. Irrespective of their creed, all joinin to sing the litany and pray for personalfavours, unity and prosperity of the vil-lage.

FFs feign ignoranceOctavio Goes, London

The people who really fought for Goasfreedom are long gone, yet the governmentmanages to dig some new ones every year.Some common criminals who were incar-cerated at Aguada at the time of Libera-tion also got the title of FreedomFighters.

Naguesh Karmali past and present com-ments have revealed that he is a knowncommunalist. Its not the Portuguese thathe dislikes but Goan Catholics.

Most of all I am surprised by the igno-rance of Prabhakar Sinari. According toGoan voice UK, Mr Sinari says that the Por-tuguese were more barbaric than British.

Has he forgotten that thousands of Indianswere killed by the British forces? Is he alsoignorant or he has been feigning ignoranceof the Jalianwala Bagh Massacre? Does heforget that the British have taken a lot oftreasure from India? On the contrary, thePortuguese gave back the gold that Goanshad pawned with Banco Ultramarino. If hedislikes the Portuguese so much, why ishis daughter settled in Portugal and marriedto a Goan Portuguese?

Goa cuts a sorry figureBonita Maria Menezes, Vasco

Cheers Folks! English is side-trackedand Konkani is highlighted, this is abrilliant joke played by our so-calledleaders who send their own childrenabroad to study in Universities andManagement colleges. How long willthis audacity go on?

I was witness to the poor parentswho shouted for justice recently, andwhat I saw brought tears to my eyes.

Our leaders give importance toKonkani and yet they go about sidetracking Konkani speaking Goans to

get jobs. In the process, they encourageand highlight the rich migrant. Such isthe sorry state of affairs in Goa.

Why this additional force?Stephen Dias, Dona Paula

The recent suggestion made by ex-DGPBhim Sain Bassi that Goa needs at least10,000 police personnel to take care ofcrimes, rapes, mining and drugs activitiesmakes interesting reading. May be, he wasplanning to have a police force for eachminister, mine owner, bureaucrat and otherVIPs for protection. The additional 10,000 police personnelwill certainly help our politicians when itcomes to protect them during family cer-emonies, childrens weddings, and all otherkinds of receptions.I foresee that the highrate of crime, rapes, drugs etc will continueto flourish abundantly.

Securitymen galorePachu Menon, Margao

Security covers for VIPs in our countryhave been hotly debated topics. More than

the need for the protection to be extended,it has been the profligacy associated withthe whole exercise that has earned thepublics ire and criticism.

But have things reached such a stagehere in Goa that our political leaders areweary of their own surroundings?

So what prompts this senseless deploy-ment of policemen around them givingone the feeling that our leaders are an en-dangered species and need to be guardedfiercely?

It is a typical case of the overprotectedVIPs leaving the common man withoutcover. An ominous scenario indeed!

Not susegadFlavio Lopes, Old Goa

Be susegad we have often heard this termmany a times from others.

On many occasions, we utter it ourselves.It now appears that Bollywood movie mak-ers have borrowed it from us.

Goans are not at all that susegad. Ourlifestyles suit our people and everyonelives in peace and harmony. Every Goanmust be proud to be a Goan.

Goa has gained its status over the yearsthrough hard work put in by the peopleand not by luck.

People who call Goans susegad need tobe reprimanded.

The life of a Goan is that of love, peace,harmony and not susegad.

Dangerous signalJonas Correia, Aldona

The governments decision to promoteall students to higher grade up to Std VIIIis a dangerous signal.

Instead of educating them, it will onlycreate robots.

The government should, as a first step,appoint counsellors in all schools to guideweak students.

Very often these students are victimsof one or two subjects which they cannotgrasp.

The exam system should also be mod-ified and question papers must includeanswers which the student can matchrather than writing parrot type repliesfrom memory.

By all accounts, the sub-tropical Indian sum-mer is a terrible time of the year. As themercury rises, the demand for air-condi-

tioners, water coolers and soft drinks skyrocket.And to add to all the heat-woes is the soaringhumidity, upto 80 per cent and more in coastalareas such as Goa.

Under such extreme conditions of weather,while the human frame of mind is pathetic enoughdespite so much that technology has to offertoday, it seems to be a big miracle as to howcreatures in the wild cope up with such weathertantrums. What must their plight be?

Actually, both plants and animals (and this in-cludes birds, insects; and the rest) have learnedto manage quite well in such extreme weatherconditions.

Despite the steamy summer months, an Indiansummer is a terrific time for wildlife watching.

This is because the jungle is so open at thistime. The first easily observable sign of the hotseason is the almost complete disappearance ofleaves.This is particularly so and most typical of our In-dian jungles; the dry deciduous forest.

At this time of the year, the trees here arealmost completely bereft of leaves. This is nogreat loss as may be imagined, but is in fact, a re-markable proof of natures ingenuity, deprivedof chlorophyll, that all-important pigment of life,the leaves are shed, as a measure of economy byplants.

Water is hard to come by during summer andleaves, those countless million segments of fo-liage, prevent a surface area of water loss byevaporation.

Shedding leaves, therefore, helps plants con-serve that all-too-valuable resource -- water.

To anyone interested in the wilderness, par-ticularly in observing wild animals and birds inthe jungle, walking in the woods during the dryseason with the floor littered with a dense layerof fallen leaves, must seem like a nightmare.

The mayhem created by the crunch of dry plantmatter is a sure giveaway of human presence.Needless to add, most animals would bolt forcover, thanks to the sound made by feet on thedesiccated carpet.

These slight inconveniences notwithstanding,the shed leaves perform a very important bio-

logical function. They help in conserving the soil moisture, and

also in providing vital nutrients to the soil. Theyalso support insect life.

Amidst this leaf litter that is itself beautiful tolook at, with its myriad shades of browns, redsand yellows, resides a legion of organism.

Countless tiny insects, centipedes, lizards,snakes and a plethora of other minute creepy-crawlies spend the long dry months in the shel-tered web of these fallen leaves.

Many of these creatures are spending the sum-mer in a torpid condition as opposed to hiber-nating which implies spending the winter,especially in the cold regions, in a secluded dor-mant or near-dormant state.

How else does one explain the sudden emer-gence, almost magical, mythical, of swarminghordes of bugs and beetles, grasshoppers and

spiders and other small insects, almost simulta-neously with the first showers of the monsoonrains that mark the end of our India summer?

Many of these little creatures spend the drymonths either as nymphs (young), eggs or, insome cases, in an adult form. Many do not feedat all, subsisting instead on bodily reserves builtup in the season of plenty.

And believe it or not, some of the prettiestflowering trees bloom in the early part of, andduring the hot summer.

While many of the trees in the deciduousjungle have shed leaves, those that bloom now,at the peak of the heat, lend a riot of colour tothe otherwise golden brown and roasted yellowlandscape.

The Flame of the Forest (Gulmohar), Silk Cotton,Indian Coral and Indian Laburnum are just someof the well-known Indian trees that mass-flower

between February and end-May. Not only do they add colour - red, orange,

coral and pastoral yellow,- but these trees alsoprovide vital proteins to birds, squirrels, butterfliesand several other creatures that revel in the nectar,at a time when most insects and other small lifeis hard to come by.

The birdlife is also very stunning during sum-mer. When we see the feather folk panting in theheat, we are often induced to say poor creature,how much must it be suffering.

It is not too easy to guess whether animalsand birds are suffering in this stifling heat or not.The panting is just one of the ways of losingbody heat, the same function that sweating per-forms in human beings.

Out there in the wild, creatures have, overmany millions of years, undergone remarkablemodifications to cope with and adjust to the ex-treme conditions of weather.

They never need fans, air-conditioners andcold drinks during scorching summer, umbrellasand rain-coats during the rains and woollens andblankets during the winter.

They just carry on and face the challenges, thetrials of life, using their own often subtle tech-niques.

Most birds are nesting during the summer sea-son, between end-April and end-June. Bulbuls,orioles, shrikes, woodpeckers, barbets and crowsare some of the birds that are now either sittingon eggs, or feeding their young.

As a rule, it is observed that in many species,the laying of eggs is so timed that the hatchingand emergence of young coincides with (moreor less) the onset of the monsoon, which is whenthe countless insects too emerge to be feastedupon.

Natures ways are really so amazingly simple,yet so highly organised. And you do not need totravel far to observe the summertime activitiesof different aspects of natural life. Most of thesecan be easily seen here in the heart of Goa, par-ticularly at various wildlife sanctuaries.

To see a typical deciduous forest is equallyeasy. The closest we have is right within Goasboundary, at Bondla wildlife sanctuary. Pay avisit to this place at this time of the year and dis-cover for yourself the almost magical ways thewilderness has of facing the heat head-on.

OPINIONwww.oheraldo.in

Pg6Vol No CXI No: 131

Goa, Thursday, 12 May, 2011

Letters to the Editor

Letter of the Day

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. junior@herald-goa.com Junior Herald; junioryouth@herald-goa.com Careers. heraldmirror@herald-goa.com Sunday Mirror. reporters@herald-goa.com For Reporters. business@herald-goa.com For Business news.editor@herald-goa.com For Letters to the Editor. sports@herald-goa.com For Sports news. advt@herald-goa.com For Advertisements. 2day@herald-goa.com For Herald 2day. tiatr@herald-goa.com For Tiatr Reviews and Reports. Disclaimer: Except for the editorial above, articles and letters in Heraldrepresent the views of the concerned authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Herald editor, publisher, and/or owners.

The prettiest flowering trees bloom in our deciduous forests, during summer, says fReddY diAS

OHERALDO

OHERALDO

An Indian Summer

Sound of Silence

Sea for yourselfFacts of Life

Ihave never found anyone who does not love gazing at the sea.Why is that?

From my vantage point, the smooth sand spreads mildly beforeme like a flat brain wave. A few dune grasses whisper togetherlike insect wings. Drowsiness seeps into my limbs like cotton. Thebreeze is cool silk brushing my cheeks. Pure heaven, sea for my-self!

The oceans tranquility is also intense, more than just peace. Itis peace raised to the level of brilliance, peace shining and sparklingin the sun. Watching it from a distance is like watching life froma manageable view point, with all the advantages of distance andperspective.

This morning, I walked along the beach which seemed to befull of Gods aroma. Sky, sea, sand, they were alright, splash anddazzle, sparkle, shimmer, dancing in a celebration of love.

I walked along the beach, my feet sinking into the loose, drysand that slithers underfoot. I paused to collect a few seashellsfrom their scattered numbers along the shore, each one differentfrom its neighbour, varying slightly in size, shape or hue.

A little boy on the beach is running with his kite just like mychildren used to do at Miramar. I remember their squinty, touchingconcentration on the dancing, coloured dot in the sky. That timeis with me now.

Its hard to beat the age-old offerings that come from the sea.Its most obvious product, salt. Extracted from the sea, this preciousmineral can cleanse and smooth the skin and even soothe thesoul. It is one of the best possible natural antiseptics and marvellousfor healing small cuts and grazes and making the skin feel cleanand tingling with health. Take a dip in the sea, if in need of ahealth miracle, the unique properties help in muscular ailments.And what about the slimy seaweeds that collect along the shore,that are packed with vitamins and minerals; the list goes on andon...

Elderly folks come to bathe. Salt water and gentle slaps ofrolling waves not only put their minds at rest and soothe and in-vigorate their aches and pains, but from that day on, things getturned around and the complaints amazingly, even temporarily,disappear. The early morning outdoor time is physical therapy,when communion with my God is foremost in all that I see and

hear. It is the time of praise and petition. Most of all, it is a timeof thanksgiving. This evening, I watched a small boy and girlbuilding a sand castle. When they had nearly finished, a big wavereduced it to a heap of wet sand. I expected the children to burstinto tears. Instead, they ran up the shore laughing and holdinghands, then sat down to build another castle. Truly, all the structureswe spend so much time and energy in creating, are built on sand.At any time, a wave may knock them down. When that happens,the person who has somebodys hand to hold will be able to laugh,and start over, with a song in his soul and hope in his heart.

As the sun goes down in a blaze of light, a hush falls over theheaving sea. The ocean sleepy now, caresses the shore as its softlyswishing waves lap out a lullaby. This ocean constantly changingnow holds a suggestion of peace.

No matter what any written deed says, one cannot own theseas, or even the shores of life. All we can do is stand in ourhuman poverty as with a cup beneath a waterfall, and daily, waveand wave, offer our mortal limits as gifts, recklessly trusting thatthey will be swept up and transformed by the sea-changes ofendless love.

By Marc de Souza

Private school teachers

must uniteAllwyn George, Carmona

The judiciary in Goa had brought relief to the striking primary school teachers asthe salaries were made on par with government primary schools. The teachers ofDiocesan schools at that time were paid very less for their services before thehistoric verdict. While today primary teachers of aided schools are paid handsomelyon par with government primary schools, their counterparts in the unaided Englishmedium schools are paid a paltry salary and are exploited by the management ofthese schools.

These teachers from private unaided schools need to unite under a commonbanner and fight for their rights so that their salaries are on par with aided schools.In spite of the high fees and donations taken from parents for their trusts, theteachers in these private schools are victimised as their services are not regularisedand their salaries are not on par with others.

The private schools lobby have to realise that they also have a rebellion brewingin their backyard.

Mashelkars dream

and Indias reality

Eminent Scientist Dr Raghunath Mashelkar, who headsthe Goa Golden Jubilee Development Council, hasenunciated five wonderful principles as a vision state-

ment for the state till 2035. Sundor Goem (Beautiful Goa),Somrudha Goem (Prosperous Goa), Sontulit Goem (BalancedGoa), Sushant Goem (Peaceful Goa) and Sontuxt Goem (ContentGoa) is how all of us would like to see Goa over the next 25years. As he said, Goa can achieve remarkable success in allspheres of life if the state preserves its natural beauty,ensures economic growth, strikes a balance between de-velopment and environment and ensures peace and happi-ness.

However, hi