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AGENCIES
Chennai, March 5: Tamil
Nadus ruling DMK on Sat-
urday ended its seven-year
alliance with the Congress
and pulled out of the United
Progressive Alliance (UPA)
government after running
into roadblocks over seat
sharing in Assembly elec-
tions only a month away.
The dramatic decision,
announced after a meeting
of DMK leaders including
Chief Minister M.
Karunanidhi, robbed Man-
mohan Singhs Government
of majority support in the
Lok Sabha where the Con-
gress-led UPA coalition will
now have only 256 MPs.
But with the DMK saying
it would still give issue-
based support, a stand sim-
ilar to that of the Samajwadi
Party and Bahujan Samaj
Party (BSP), Congress
sources said there was no
immediate danger to the
UPA government.
The DMK move, however,
took the Congress by sur-
prise. One of its leaders,
Satyavrat Chaturvedi, called
the decision sudden.
The DMK move followed
the Congress insistence on
contesting from 63 of Tamil
Nadus 234 assembly seats
while a peeved DMK was
willing to concede only 60.
As the Congress remained
adamant and reportedly
made it clear that it would
also pick the 63 seats,
Karunanidhi lashed out past
Friday midnight, calling the
Congress stand unjustified.
At the Saturday evening
meeting, DMK leaders
voiced bitterness vis-a-vis
the Congress and decided it
was time to part ways with a
party they had allied with
since the 2004 LS polls.
The Voice of Goa - - Since 1900
InsIde
Panjim I March 6, 2011 I Postal Reg. No. Goa 101 I Price Rs. 3.00 I Air Surcharge Rs 2 I Pages 16+10
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Panjim orphaned by city fathers
P9
Talks on seat-sharing for TN polls fail
DMK pulls out of UPA
THe NUmBeRS GAme
n The UPA is in no dangerof losing majority at theCentre
n DMK with 18 membersis third largest in theUPA
n Congress has 207 MPswhile Trinamool 19
n Others NCP (9), NC (3),IUML (2) and JVM andVCK (1 each)
n With outside support ofSP, BSP, RJD, JDS thestrength of UPA minusthe DMK stands at311, well past themagic figure of 272
All-male tour of Goa for womens meet rocks Nagpur
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Panjim, March 5: A recent
three-day tour-cum-work-
shop junket to Goa by zonal
chairpersons of the Nagpur
Municipal Corporation
(NMC) became a hot topic of
an hour-long debate in the
NMC on Thursday, with
heated arguments and fist-
shaking between ruling
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) leaders and Opposi-
tion corporators.
>Continued on pg 12
AJAY THAKUR
In a gross security viola-
tion which could have
immense ramifications,
the immigration authorities in
Goa have issued as many as
3148 Temporary Landing Per-
mits in 2010, to foreigners ar-
riving in Goa, who did not
have visas. This violation is
further compounded by the
fact that the figure for 2010 is
ten times more than the TLPs
issued in 2006.
Security agencies in the
country have warned of Goa
being on the radar of several
terrorist organisations and
the entry of foreigners virtu-
ally unchecked, in an ostensi-
ble effort to boost tourism,
has compromised the secu-
rity apparatus in Goa and the
rest of the country.
Temporary Landing Permits,
according to the Bureau of
Immigration, can be issued
only in an emergency for a
maximum period of 72 hours
or earlier if the passenger has
a confirmed return flight. The
risk is that there is no detailed
background check of the
passenger available on land-
ing. Therefore, a permission
which is granted only in rare
cases has been used as a
regular norm in Goa, giving
access to these so called
tourists to the rest of the
country.
In 2006, 347 passengers got
TLPs against 1192 crew
members. In 2010 3148 pas-
sengers got TLPs against
3969 crew members. Inter-
estingly, while 850 Charter
Flights landed in 2006, the
number went up to about
1000 in 2010. Surely an incre-
ment of 150 odd flights
would not have incremented
the crew strength by a
whopping three times!
Sources at the airport reveal
that Minar Air and Ciceron Air
Travel (CAT) have acquired a
particular notoriety in their
quest to push in more
tourists, unchecked.
Many tourists or so called
tourists misuse the condi-
tions of the TLP too. On
March 3, the Pernem police
detained five Russian
tourists for overstaying.
They had landed in Goa on
February 9, 2011 and got a
TLP till February 15, by SP Im-
migration Tony Fernandes.
However, they were in Goa
18 days after their permit
lapsed. Moreover, there are
no explanations regarding
the emergency situation, if
any which required the SP
immigration to give a TLP of a
duration more than the per-
missible 72 hours.
The only silver lining is that
the Bureau of Immigration
under the ministry of Home
affairs will soon take charge
>Continued on pg 12
Goa issued 3148 TLPs to visa-less touristsWhat if even one of them was a terrorist?
TEAM HERALD
Panjim, March 5: This isnt a
new story but its spirit lives
on. In an effort to bust the
scam of ghost workers, the
CCP Commissioner Sanjith
Rodrigues tenure died an
unnatural death.
Barely a month into his
second term as Commis-
sioner in the present Corpo-
ration, Rodrigues realised
that every month cash pay-
ments were doled out in the
name of hundreds of daily
wage workers. Inquiries re-
vealed three things a) The
workers were completely fic-
titious b) they were real but
had no valid orders c) they
had orders which had ex-
pired.
To his shock and horror,
the Commissioner realised
that officials in the Corpora-
tion were deeply involved in
handing over cash payments
against vouchers which
were obviously forged in the
name of these workers. He
then coined the term ghost
workers. In an attempt to
bring transparency to the
system and put the facts on
the table, he submitted a de-
tailed report on this as well
as other scams of the Corpo-
ration to the Goa Legislative
Assembly in July 2009, about
a month after he assumed
office on June 22, 2009.
In his report he men-
tioned that according to a
circular issued by the Direc-
tor of Municipal Administra-
tion, apart from specific daily
wage recruitments, recruit-
ment of daily wage workers
in any Municipality/CCP
was banned. He then men-
tioned It has been noticed
that daily wage workers at
the CCP have been main-
tained on a regular basis and
(as on date) 352 workers are
>Continued on pg 12
THe lOOT Of PANjim - 2
The ghosts remained, the ghost buster got booted outEx-CCP Commissioners report on the mess submitted to the Assembly. No action was taken
TEAM HERALD
Panjim, March 5: The four-
day Carnival festival com-
menced in the capital city of
Panjim even as the impact of
pruned budget by the State
Government was evident in
the overall parade.
In absence of State
Tourism Minister Nilkant
Halarnkar, who is touring
United States, Chief Secre-
tary Sanjay Srivastava in the
presence of Tourism Secre-
tary D C Sahu flagged off the
parade near Old secretariat.
Thousands of people in-
cluding foreign tourists
thronged the street from
Patto Bridge to Campal to
witness the parade led by
King Momos float, flanked
by his Queens.
Officials said that nearly
30,000 people participated
on the first day of the festival.
Unlike Brazilian Carni-
val, nudity and obscene be-
haviour is strictly banned on
floats. We had thoroughly
scanned each float before it
being rolled out on the
street, said an official from
the Panjim Carnival Com-
mittee.
Some 200-odd policemen
drawn from north Goa po-
lice stations and reserves
and civil defense personnel
were deployed on the parade
route and various junctions
to divert the traffic.
But it was still a misman-
aged scene as people rushed
in the middle of the road
leaving the law enforcers
helpless.
Several colourful floats,
clowns and other interesting
presentations rolled on the
street with messages on en-
vironment protection, village
and agricultural life, etc.
A local group had interest-
ingly dedicated a float in
memory of Paul, the psychic
octopus, who became a pop
culture sensation by cor-
rectly predicting the out-
come of eight football World
Cup matches.
111 floats participated on
the first day of Carnival.
Carnival gets off to a dull start
HERALD REPORTER
Panjim, March 5: Goa State
Commission of Protection of
Child Rights (SCPCR) this
week summoned three pre-
primary school teachers
after a parent complained
that his daughter was being
harassed in the school.
Parent Shivdas Nasnod-
kar has alleged that Chubby
Cheeks authorities were ha-
rassing and mentally tortur-
ing his daughter studying in
Class 3.
My child is scared and
frightened to go to school
now. I had raised this issue
several times before the
school authorities, he said.
According to the com-
plaint letter to the SCPCR
and Department of Educa-
tion, the harassment began
with the function organised
to celebrate the school prin-
cipals wedding anniversary
on February 14, 2011.
Here, school parents were
made compulsory to attend
the gathering with an entry
>Continued on pg 12
School officials get noticeover harassment to student
SUNDAY ANCHOR
YEH DIL MANGE MO: King Momo and his Queens wave to the crowd along the Carnival route in Panjim on Saturday.
The floats which drew an estimated 30,000 people failed to live up to the expectations.
Rozario Estibeiro
-
2 www.oheraldo.in
goa PINC (Panjimiites Initiative for Change)has seen these social workers get intotongue lashing against the corrupt andscam-ridden CCP affairs and also aremoving door to door appealing people tovote for the right candidates.
You must understand, he cannot fool peo-ple all the time. He throws money and winsvotes. He managed it for the first time. Letevery Panjimite ask if they really want aperson like Babush as their MLA.
Manohar Parrikar
SNAPSHOT
Goa I Sunday 6, March 2011
Theft case registered
MARGAO: Margao police has registered a case of
theft against unknown miscreants for lifting away
cash and gold ornaments from the house of one
Anand Govindanandan at Dongorim Navelim.
The police said the victim lodged his complaint on
Saturday stating that unknown culprits stole away
cash and gold ornaments amounting Rs 76,000
from his house on February 23.
The miscreants are believed to have effected entry
into the house through the rear door. The Margao
police are investigating.
Two-wheeler catches fireMARGAO: A two-wheeler parked in the heart of the
Commercial Capital caught fire on Saturday noon
near the Mabai hotel.
Margao PSI Ravi Desai who rushed to the spot
used his presence of mind and tried to extinguish
the fire with the help of a water pipe from the Mar-
gao Municipal garden. The fire brigade later joined
in the operation.
By the time the fire brigade reached the spot, the
fire was extinguished.
The cause of the fire is being ascertained.
2 arrested for assault PORVORIM: A resident of Corjuem-Aldona has ac-
cused two persons of assaulting her husband on
Saturday morning.
In her police complaint, Shashikala Bandodker
stated that her husband, Shyamsunder, was as-
saulted at about 11.45 am by two persons with an
iron road.
Since Shyamsunder sustained injuries he was
treated in the hospital.
Mapusa police has registered a offence against the
two persons under Sections 324, 341 and 506 of
Indian Penal code. The reason for the assault is
stated to be previous animosity.
Modesty outragedPORVORIM: A woman from Siolim has accused two
unknown persons of outraging her modesty.
In her complaint, Susan Fernandes told Mapusa
police that the incident took place while she was
travelling in a bus from Siolim to Mapusa.
Police has registered the offence under Sections
341, 354 read with 34 of Indian Penal code and is
investigating the case.
2 tourists rescued at calangute CALANGUTE: Two tourists from Bangalore were res-
cued at Calangute on Friday .
Lifeguards Gopal Narvekar and Yogesh Dubey res-
cued two tourists from Bangalore while they strug-
gled to swim ashore.
Abbas and Zeeshan, both 21 years of age, were
among a group of 10 tourists who went for a swim
in the Calangute sea.
The duo were seen swimming vigorously by the Dr-
ishti Team but after a while they were unable to
move, perhaps due to fatigue.Noticing the duo in
distress, the lifeguards swam across and brought
them safely ashore with the help of a Jet-Ski.
8 beach structures demolishedCANACONA: In a surprise move, tourism depart-
ment officials demolished eight thatched struc-
tures at Rajbag-Tarir beach on Friday.
According to sources, some tourism officials along
with a few labourers descended on the Tarir-Rajbag
shore, the home ward of Canacona Municipal
Chairperson Ratnakar Dhuri, and razed eight thatched
structures, which some local people allegedly were
using to sell juices and fruits on the beach.
When contacted, Dhuri informed that initially he
had no knowledge of the tourism department dem-
olition squad reaching the municipal shore, but he
later learnt about the development.
"Those were only thatched structures which the
tourism department had cleared from the beach at
Tarir-Rajbag on Friday," Dhuri said.
Dhuri was, however, unable to answer why the mu-
nicipal administration had failed to demolish the il-
legal structures, prompting the tourism department
to take action.
CORRIDORS OF POWER Suraj Nandrekar
The wheel turns as MGP, BJP plan a futureThe wheel comes a full circle
or shall we say the political
wheel continues to move in
circles. The now we are
friends, now we are not,
MGP and the BJP are plan-
ning to join hands yet again.
BJP senior leader Gopinath
Munde and the MGP leader
Lahu Mandrekar have both
made conciliatory gestures
of coming together.
The MGP, which is a coali-
tion partner in the current
Digambar Kamat govern-
ment, is in favour renewing
the old friendship which was
broken in 2002, when
Manohar Parrikar abruptly
dissolved the assembly.
The BJP-MGP love-hate af-
fair started in 1994 when
the saffron brigade got four
legislators elected that year
with the support of Goas
oldest regional party. The al-
liance then supported Fran-
cisco Sardinha to form the
government in 1999 and in
2000, when Parrikar became
the chief minister after oust-
ing Sardinha, the MGP sup-
ported him from outside.
The alliance came to an end
in 2002 when Parrikar, the
then CM, dropped Pan-
durang Raut as a minister
and Ramkrishna Dhavlikar
who was the chairman of
the Economic Development
Corporation, which later led
to snap polls that year.
Thereafter, they never
aligned again even though
then Prime Minister Atal Bi-
hari Vajpayee was in favour
of alliance. Parrikar however
did not agree.
Seven years later in 2009,
the BJP made an effort to
form an alliance during the
last Lok Sabha elections in
an effort to secure the
North Goa Lok Sabha seat.
However, MGP's senior
members were not keen on
the alliance considering the
bitter experience of the past,
where the BJP ate into
MGP's traditional vote bank.
Certain sections within the
MGP feel that the situation
is similar again.
This section is uncomfort-
able about parting ways
with the Congress and los-
ing its lone minister in the
present cabinet Party leaders
of both the BJP and the
MGP agree leaders agree
that they should unite to
consolidate the Hindu
vote.
It is pertinent to note here
that the alliance with the
BJP in the past has never
helped MGP grow.
Instead BJP was successful
in diverting most of MGPs
traditional votes.
Feedback: suraj@herald-
goa.com
The BJP-MGP love-hate affair started in1994 when the saffron brigade got fourlegislators elected that year with thesupport of Goas oldest regional party.The alliance then supported FranciscoSardinha to form the government in1999 and in 2000, when Parrikar be-came the chief minister after oustingSardinha, the MGP supported him fromoutside.
looking back
If the Congress had not pulled me down, I wouldhave politically finished Babush once and for allThe elections to the Corporation of the City of Panjim will be, on paper, be fought by individual candidatesbacked by panels. But its really a battle which is bigger than thirty wards. Its a battle for political spaceand power. Its a battle between Manohar Parrikar, called the creator of Babush Monseratte and his cre-ation, the MLA of Taleigao who wants to be MLA of Panjim. In an interview to Sujay Gupta, Manohar Parrikar discusses a range of issues from his tag of creator tohis past mistakes
Herald: Babush Monser-
attes growth is a result of
your patronage. You created
Babush
Parrikar: I did not create
Babush. When he became
an MLA for the first time, no
one expected him to win. He
had come with a mandate.
That was a year when the
BJP fell short of the majorty
mark. We had 17 MLAs and
the Congress had 16. I had
no option but to make up the
numbers and had to ally
with the MGP and the
UGDP. At that point of time,
no one knew who Monser-
atte was or what he would
be.
Herald: so are you saying
you inducted an unknown
Monseratte, but it is under
you that he grew.
Parrikar: Did he get in-
volved in a single contro-
versy in my government. I
sacrificed my government
when I knew that he had to
go after he started manipu-
lating the ODP plans of
Taleigao. When I realised
that I could not have a man
like him in my government,
I took Pratapsinh Rane and
other opposition leaders into
confidence. They however
played politics and my gov-
ernment went. If I they had
understood what I was say-
ing and given me some time,
I would have finished
Babush once and for all.
Herald:What happened
next?
Parrikar: Babushs house
became the Congress office,
all MLAs were bundled
there and the next congress
government was formed in
his bedroom. And they call
me his creator.
Herald: But Babush grew
from strength to strength.
He won elections. He is a se-
rious challenger to you for
the Panjim assembly seat
Parrikar: You must under-
stand, he cannot fool people
all the time. He throws
money and wins votes. He
managed it for the first time.
The middle class is wary of
him. Educated people are
wary of him. Let every hon-
ourable Panjimite ask if they
really want a person like
Babush as their MLA. Let
him win an election without
money power. Actually let
him try and win even with
money power. Let there be a
snap poll without canvassing
and see if he stands a chance
Herald: Mr Parrikar, you
are an intelligent man. You
do realise that a lot of your
efficiency has been under-
mined by your label of being
communal
Parrikar: I can now admit
to this much. Even if I know
Im not the way Im por-
trayed, I did things inadver-
tently which may have
conveyed that impression.
For instance the decision to
cancel the Good Friday holi-
day was did not originate
from me. There was a cen-
tral government circular to
cut holidays and it was a rou-
tine decision. I realised later
that its impact would be dif-
ferent. My PR skills were
also not very good. I was
abrasive sometimes even
with the press. You know
it.
Herald: so what does this
election mean to you?
Parrikar: More than me, a
victory in this election will
give confidence to the people
of Panjim that elections can
be won without the force of
power and money. That
confidence is very impor-
tant.
HERALD REPORTER
Panjim, March 5: Mass
transport system, collection
of taxes at your door step,
elimination of corruption
and plugging of revenue
leakages are the highlights of
manifesto unveiled by BJP
backed Panaji First panel
on saturday.
shut down of illegal casi-
nos operations in the city
and beautification of st Inez
creek are other major high-
lights of the manifesto.
The city manifesto of the
Panjim First panel released
at the hands of MP shripad
Naik has assured corruption
free-governance.
The manifesto has been
divided between seven
major heads - traffic and
parking solution, innovative
facilities, better infrastruc-
ture, responsive governance,
generation next, build brand
Panjim and a human touch.
The city, which is cur-
rently facing a traffic mess
might see introduction of
Mass Rapid Transport sys-
tem, once the panel gains
power.
Priority like Bus Rapid
Transport (BRT) and hop-in
and hop-out buses for an ef-
ficient public transport net-
work will be introduced, the
manifesto reads.
The Panel has also pro-
posed to have a creative
parking facility including
innovative parking solu-
tions using latest tech-
nologies.
CCP will be going for
polls on March 13 in
which BJP backed panel
Panjim First is pitted
against Education Minis-
ter Atanasio Monserratte
supported panel.
The manifesto, which was
unveiled in the presence of
Leader of Opposition
Manohar Parrikar and can-
didate for Mayor Ashok Naik
also led emphasis on provid-
ing door to door tax collection
and online payment of fees,
taxes and license fees.
For the first time, a 24x7
helpline for services of
plumbers, electricians and
masons would be made
available at reasonable fees.
We would try to eliminate
red-tapism, corruption and
bureaucratic hassles
through transparent and in-
novative solutions, Parrikar
said adding that around Rs 3
crore direct scam has been
noticed by us in last five
years.
If you go to its depth, it
might vary from Rs 8 to Rs
10 crore, he said.
Parrikar has also assured
to recover all the pending
dues, which would generate
revenue worth crores of ru-
pees.
Panel wont allow gov-
ernment to get tax free
regime, he said.
Panaji First panel has
also assured to complete the
work of the city municipal
market along with the com-
pletion of market complex at
Mala.
The Panel has also de-
cided to restore the states
only football stadium at
Campal to its original
glory.
Parrikar said that the at-
tempts are made to lure vot-
ers by offering them huge
sums.
The oppositions are in-
vesting their money so that
they can gain once they get
elected. Our investment is
our efforts, he said.
BJP manifesto assures shut down of illegal casinos
Customs staff told not to leave Margao HERALD REPORTER
Panjim, March 5: North
Goa Collector and Returning
Officer Mihir Vardhan on
saturday asked the officer of
Commissioner of Customs
and Central Excise to di-
rect its employee Michael
Fernandes not to leave
Margao till the Corporation
of City of Panjim (CCP)
polls conclude.
The order was passed fol-
lowing a complaint by con-
testing candidate Aires
Rodrigues alleging that
Michael was violating the
Code of Conduct by helping
his wife Vivina Nasnodkar,
contesting candidate of ward
no. 30 in the election cam-
paign.
Incidentally, lawyer activist
Aires is also contesting from
the same ward.
Meanwhile, on directions
by the state Election Com-
mission, the Old Goa police
have intensified patrolling in
Ribandar.
The police have been di-
rected to be on the watch
for violations of the Code
of Conduct after Michael
has been accused of dis-
tributing money, gifts and
alcohol to the voters in
ward no 30.
Aires has further urged
the Customs and Central Ex-
cise officials to probe into the
huge disproportionate assets
acquired by Michael during
the last five years while his
wife was a corporator at the
Corporation of City of Pan-
jim.
Sachin Ambadoskar
CCP polls: PINCcould come inhandy for BJP SHWETA KAMAT
Panjim, March 5: The on-
coming Corporation of the
City of Panjim (CCP) polls
has something which other-
wise might be called as a po-
litically incorrect.
social activists like Oscar
Rebello and Arvind
Bhatikar, who, otherwise,
find BJP leader Manohar
Parrikar ideologically wrong,
are supporting almost half of
the candidates in his panel.
PINC (Panjimiites Initia-
tive for Change) has seen
these social workers get into
tongue lashing against the
corrupt and scam-ridden
CCP affairs and also are
moving door to door appeal-
ing people to vote for the
right candidates.
In a recently held press
conference, PINC an-
nounced their 29 favourites
out of 30 wards including
NCP General secretary
Avinash Bhosle. The NCP
leader seemed to be only
odd face in the list.
We have given you a
choice of candidates, who
are young, who have no
money and are clean, Re-
bello said.
There are some candi-
dates who have swimming
pools in their house, one of
the candidate said only to be
rebutted by Rebello. The
practicing doctor said that
they have offered compara-
tively a better list of candi-
dates, whom you can grill
and make perform.
PINC has come as a relief
for BJP backed panel as
they have another force,
which is anti-Babush.
There are 15 BJP backed
candidates, followed by 15
Independents including so-
cial activist Aires Rodrigues
and four NCP candidates.
Anyone who supports us
are welcome. Each vote
counts in such kind of situa-
tion, Parrikar said offering
a cautious reaction on PINC.
PINC, which is the first
ever attempt by many social
activists to directly get in-
volved in the civic polls, has
a former IAs officer, doctors,
professors, freedom fighter,
and other like minded indi-
viduals.
Rebello told Herald that
they have been going
around in each wards after
their regular working hours
and asking people to vote for
PINC recognized candi-
dates. Election analyst said
that increase in voting per-
centage will work in favour
of BJP backed and NCP
backed panel.
-
3 www.oheraldo.in
goa The Goa government has claimed that theyhave no finances to spare to fix the problemforcing the officers to match the fingerprintsmanually. The software, Fingerprint analysisand Criminal Tracing System, malfunctionedin 2006 and has remained in this state.
We would try to eliminate red-tapism, cor-ruption and bureaucratic hassles throughtransparent and innovative solution.around Rs 3 crore direct scam has beennoticed by us in last five years.
-- Manohar Parrikar
Goa I Sunday 6,March 2011
Govt doesnt lift a finger to get facts right
Fingerprint shutdown-1
The Goa government repeatedly stretches the imagination of its worst cynics when it comes to inefficiency. The Fingerprint Analysis and Crim-inal Tracing system (FACTS), a software that stores and matches finger prints of criminals at the touch of a button, has crashed for five years.Vibha Verma points a finger at the health of Goas fingerprint bureau in a 2 part series
FINGER FACTS
nFingerprints of 30,000 history - sheeters in the
crashed software
nMatching done manually for five years delaying in-
vestigations
nNo software to retrieve data from the existing data
base
nFingerprints Bureau has proposed a New Auto-
mated Fingerprints Identification System on 2009. The
government hasnt responded claiming lack of funds
Panjim: Over 30,000 fin-
gerprints, mostly belonging
to the history sheeters, are
locked in State polices
computers at fingerprint
bureau, as the system has
crashed almost five years
ago.
The Goa government has
claimed that they have no fi-
nances to spare to fix the
problem forcing the officers
to match the fingerprints
manually.
The software, Finger-
print Analysis and Criminal
Tracing System (FACTS),
malfunctioned in 2006 and
has remained in this state
since then.
Officials claim that in
absence of the software,
by CMC Ltd at Hyderabad
in 2002 but after the contract
expired, the company al-
legedly quoted extremely
high amount to execute the
Annual Maintenance Con-
tract.
The proposal was re-
jected even as the sys-
tem still remains out of
order. Dogged with the
problems, in one of the
note sheets placed before
the superiors on January
8, 2009, the fingerprints
bureau suggested procur-
ing of New Automated
Fingerprints Identifica-
tion System, but this pro-
posal too was not taken
into account.
In the meantime, futile
efforts were made to repair
the system continued. The
department was not going
ahead with several proposals
because it lacked funds,
said the officer.
the required data cannot
be retrieved from the ex-
isting fingerprint data-
base. The Bureau has sent
several reminders to repair
and upgrade the software,
but the proposals too are
gathering dust
FACTS stores fingerprint
records picked up from the
scene of crime, which can be
matched at a click of a but-
ton.
But with the system fail-
ing, the entire work is done
manually, which is labouri-
ous.
We cannot provide
chance prints. Investigations
are affected because the
database cannot be retrieved
for comparison of finger-
prints, said a senior police
officer on condition of
anonymity.
Although the entire back-
log is stored in a hardcopy,
the matching takes time,
which has also resulted in
several suspected criminals
getting away because fin-
gerprints couldnt be
matched.
The system was procured
-
4 www.oheraldo.in
avaz At present, the GHB is facing a financialcrunch. Besides, the GHB owes a loan of Rs 34lakh to the Life Insurance Company andhence, it is unable to construct a new marketin the area
Nilkant Halarnkar
Everyone seems interested in making a fastbuck and no one is interested in the rules andregulations. Others are illegally involved in theactivitiesWater sports operator Francis Cardozo
Goa I Sunday 6, March 2011
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment and to just andfavourable conditions of work. Problems, however, arise when conditions are not always favourable to pursue employment. Heralds team ofcorrespondents have focussed on three such conditions that have hindered employment in the State -- a traditional livelihood that is on theverge of extinction, deplorable infrastructure that has threatened livelihood and rivals competing for the same livelihood.
It was once a major liveli-
hood for residents of
Canacona taluka for
generations, but the toddy-
tapping profession is now on
the verge of extinction.
Lured by the high-earn-
ing jobs in the Gulf and
other countries, besides
tourism activities and white-
coloured jobs in the State,
the youth have been desert-
ing this traditional activity in
recent times.
According to the few fam-
ilies still practicing the pro-
fession, there was a time
when around 2,000 families
used to earn their livelihood
solely on toddy-tapping in
Canacona alone. The figure
has now dwindled alarm-
ingly to less than 25 families,
still braving to distil the
brew, the Feni (toddy).
Apart from farming,
toddy-tapping was at one
time one of the most popular
professions in Canacona
taluka. Such was the popu-
larity of the profession at one
time that it was beneficial not
only to the toddy-tappers, but
even the landlords who
owned coconut groves, as
they used to earn substan-
tially by renting out coconut
trees to professional toddy-
tappers.
There used to be several
instances where landlords
themselves would run toddy
distilleries by hiring toddy-
tappers on a monthly basis.
According to the excise
department, there are ap-
proximately 41 licenses re-
newed for local distilleries.
However, sources claimed
that there are not more than
25 such licensed holders in
operation. Some traditional
toddy-tappers are known to
merely renewing their li-
censes.
Palolem and Agonda are
the two villages predomi-
nantly involved in toddy-
tapping over the years.
Khola, Poinguinim and
Loliem were not really lag-
ging behind, as these locali-
ties too had several
professionals thriving on the
occupation.
In Agonda there are only
four toddy-tappers left and
each one is known for their
dedication to their work.
Their dedication is such
that these toddy-tappers
turn up thrice a day on their
respective palm trees to get
enough output and distil
feni without any adulter-
ation.
The situation is similar in
Palolem, Khola, Loliem-
Polem and Poinguinim,
where only a handful of
toddy-tappers are left to
continue the profession.
Incidentally, the tradi-
tional toddy-tappers would
celebrate an annual thanks-
giving mass every year at old
Goa in honour of St Francis
Xavier on February 27.
Earlier, a minimum of
three buses used to ply from
each of the villages to attend
the annual thanksgiving
mass at Old Goa. At present,
only one minibus, compris-
ing a few practicing toddy-
tappers and their
well-wishers, are left to
maintain this traditional re-
ligious ceremony.
When toddy-tapping was
once a thriving profession,
an association had been
formed to cater to the wel-
fare of its practitioners and
their families.
This association, which
used to be a force to reckon
with in Canacona taluka, is
virtually a non-entity now,
with little or no role to play
in the social and political ac-
tivity of the taluka.
In a bid to revive the pro-
fession, the All Goa Toddy
Tappers Association had
even put forth a list of de-
mands before the govern-
ment.
When the government ex-
tended some benefits to the
association members, the
membership list rose a bit,
as a few families tried to ei-
ther enter the profession or
revive the tradition.
The decline of the profes-
sion has also led to the re-
placement of traditional im-
plements used in the profes-
sion.
Except for the Kathi (a
sharp tool used by tappers
to regularly cut the toddy
bud), all other equipment
have undergone a major
change. The traditional
mud utensils to collect and
store toddy have been re-
placed by plastics. Even the
distillery earlier fitted with a
potter-made baan (large
size mud utensil) has now
been replaced by a cooper
utensil.
Thriving not too long ago, toddy-tapping has few takers
While the demand for coconut Feni remained high
with every passing year, the producers however have
declined to a great extent, leading to large-scale adul-
teration of the brew once known for its chaste taste.
As widely believed, one of the prime reasons why
genuine toddy-tappers had dwindled to a large extent
is because of heavy practices of distilling Feni out
with toddy mixed with sugar and jaggery.
The Feni that we distill is very pure and safe and
our customers are mostly either seamen or Gulf re-
turnees, explains Joazinh Fernandes, a local toddy-
tapper from Agonda and the only youngster left in
the trade besides the other three seasoned profes-
sionals.
Many people order months in advance. Our lim-
ited drawn Feni is very high in demand locally. Even
people from as far as Panjim and Mapusa approach
us for supply of feni, said Fernandes.
According to Fernandes, one Kolso (about 18 bot-
tles of 750 ml) costs Rs 1,200. However, some local
consumable outlets are known to buy a Kolso for
even Rs 800. But those cannot be genuine Feni, re-
marked Fernandes.
The exceptional success of a few toddy-tappers in
the past had also depended on their capacity to strike
the right chord with some sea-traders who would
transport huge stocks of spirit to distant lands,
thereby earning hefty returns.
But now, this trade has been regulated by lawful
enforcement agencies. Besides, it is believed that
other types of spirits are preferred in the trade.
A toddy tapper (Render) at work in Agonda-Canacona.
kathy pereira
canacona
Coconut Feni adulteration takes toll on toddy-tappers
Kathy Pereira
It has developed at a
rapid pace and has even
acquired the status of a
constituency, but Porvorim
still lacks basic facilities like
a decent market complex.
Porvorim boasts of the
prestigious Legislative As-
sembly complex, a number
of government offices, sev-
eral hospitals, banks and ed-
ucational institutions.
However, a decent market
complex is yet to take shape
in the fastest growing town-
ship in the State.
Porvorim lacks a good
market complex where all
types of goods are available
under one roof. At present,
residents of Porvorim are
forced to travel to either Pan-
jim or Mapusa to buy essen-
tial items like food items,
clothing, utensils, shoes,
readymade garments, elec-
tronic items, etc.
The existing market com-
plex in the Housing Board at
Alto-Betim is in a pathetic
condition. Plaster of the roof
and walls of this market have
peeled off at many places
and during monsoon, the
water seeps through the roof
of the shops.
Besides, the electricity
wires are seen dangling dan-
gerously and pose a serious
threat to the lives of the peo-
ple. Some time ago, a short
circuit had led to a fire in
some shops of the old mar-
ket complex.
The unhygienic condi-
tions in and around the mar-
ket are such that customers
have stopped visiting the
market and many shop own-
ers have closed down their
shops.
The market has now be-
come a place of shelter for
beggars, animals and Matka
bookies. In fact, several ta-
bles are laid along the corri-
dors of the market, where
Matka bookies are doing
brisk business, with authori-
ties remaining mute specta-
tors to the illegal trade.
In the absence of any
maintenance, the market is
on the verge of the collapse.
The condition of the mar-
ket is getting worse day by
day, as there is no mainte-
nance of the building, said
Mr Mahambre, a shop-
keeper in the market area.
During the monsoons, it
becomes impossible to do
business here as rainwater
seeps into the shops through
broken roof tiles. Since cus-
tomers have stopped visiting
the market most shopkeep-
ers have closed down their
shops. It is high time that the
Goa Housing Board demol-
ishes this market and con-
structs a new one,
Mahambre added.
According to officials of
the Goa Housing Board
(GHB) at Porvorim, the mar-
ket in the Housing Board
Colony was built almost 36
years ago.
The Town and Country
Planning Department had
assigned construction work
of the 42-shop market com-
plex, to the GHB, while the
maintenance was entrusted
to the PWD. The market was
later handed over to the GHB
in 2004, said an official.
During the last 36 years,
the shops have changed
many hands and at present,
only a few shop owners pay
rent to the GHB. There has
been no increase in the rent of
the shops, added the officials.
The rent of the shops still
ranges from Rs 130 to Rs 230,
due to which the GHB is re-
luctant to undertake mainte-
nance of the shops, said the
officials.
According to Shekhar
Vaigankar of Porvorim, the
entire Porvorim plateau de-
veloped at a rapid pace dur-
ing the last 15 years,
especially after the construc-
tion of the new Mandovi
Bridge.
Construction activities
are in full swing at present
and there has been substan-
tial rise in the population too.
Hence, a good market is the
need of the hour for the resi-
dents of Porvorim, said
Vaigankar.
It is high time that the vil-
lage panchayats located at
Porvorim as well as the Al-
dona MLA look into this
matter seriously to fulfil the
long-pending demand of res-
idents in Porvorim, said the
resident.
Rapidly developing Porvorimlacks basic amenities
The dilapidated market at Porvorim.
Anil Shankhwalker
anil shankhwalker
bardez
Minister for Housing
Board Nilkant Halarnkar
has said the Goa Housing
Board (GHB) is very eager
to construct a new market
for residents of Porvorim.
However at present, the
GHB is facing a financial
crunch. Besides, the GHB
owes a loan of Rs 34 lakh to
the Life Insurance Com-
pany and hence, it is unable
to construct a new market
in the area, admitted
Halarnkar, while speaking
to Herald. There was also
a suggestion that the con-
struction work of the mar-
ket be handed over to the
Goa State Infrastructure
Development Corporation.
However, the corporation
has been demanding the
transfer of land in its name
and also funds for the con-
struction of the market.
This is not possible,
Halarnkar added.
No finance, no market: MinisterB
irds of the similar
feather need not al-
ways flock together,
especially when they are
competing for the same busi-
ness along the Calangute
coast.
The legal water sports op-
erators along the Calangute
coast have cried foul due to
the presence of unautho-
rised water sports opera-
tors, claiming that the
unlicenced operators have
eaten into their share of the
business.
At present, there are
about 40 operators along the
Calangute-Baga belt, all
vying for the same pie.
The legal water sports op-
erators claim that they have
repeated complained to var-
ious operators, but all their
complaints have fallen on
deaf ears.
Authorities are well
aware of the illegal water
sports activities in the area,
but are not willing or inter-
ested in taking any legal ac-
tion against them. We pay
huge government fees, but
the illegal water sports oper-
ators do not pay a single
paisa and reap huge bene-
fits, complained Francis
Cardozo, a water sports op-
erator from Calangute.
According to the water
sports operator, an associa-
tion to fight against any in-
justice to them was formed
some five years ago.
Unfortunately, everyone
seems interested in making
a fast buck and no one is in-
terested in the rules and reg-
ulations. Others are illegally
involved in the activities,
Cardozo said.
We have also briefed var-
ious authorities, but nothing
is happening and we are
suffering due to the illegal
operators, who have been
dominating the sports activ-
ities for quite a long time in
the coastal belt of
Calangute-Baga, claimed
Cardozo.
At times, there have been
mishaps due to the careless-
ness of the operators, most
of who are illegally operat-
ing, but the blame falls on
the entire water sports oper-
ators, he added.
When contacted, an offi-
cial of the tourism depart-
ment admitted that they are
unable to take strict action
against the illegal water
sports operators all over the
State's coastline.
Many of these illegal
water sports operators have
close contacts with influen-
tial people and as a result, no
action is taken to curb the
unlicenced activity, the offi-
cial said.
Competition hots up forwater sports activityalong Calangute coastUnlicenced operators throw caution to the winds
Water sports activity in coastal Calangute.
Thomas Fernandes
thomas fernandes
bardez
-
goa
5 www.oheraldo.in
Goa I Sunday 6, March 2011
Staining the beautiful and pristine imageof Goa is a sin that the Congress hasbeen perpetually committing
Gopinath Munde
Congress has been doing nothing for mi-norities and it calls itself secular. It is secu-lar only in the sphere of prostitution, drugsand other anti-social activities
MLA Francis DSouza
SNAPSHOTMeditation on twin heartsPANJIM: Dr Anjali Shackleton will organise a medita-
tion on twin hearts at Club Gaspar Dias, Miramar, on
March 6 at 5.30 pm.Meditation on twin hearts is a
technique aimed at achieving cosmic consciousness
and illumination. It is also a form of world service be-
cause the world is harmonized to a certain degree
through this meditation, said Dr Shackleton. For de-
tails, contact Dr Shackleton on 9987062209 or
2451080.
Rythmic breathing classesPANJIM: The Rhythmic Breathing Club, Goa will im-
part free training in simple yet extremely and immedi-
ately effective priceless exercises, on March 6 at 2nd
floor, Rotary Community Centre, Tilak Maidan com-
plex, Vasco, between 11 am to 1 pm.
Also on March 6, classes will be held at room no 2,
1st floor, Vidyadhiraj Hall (opp Hanuman Temple), Ma-
halakshmi temple complex, Panjim, from 6 pm to 8
pm. On March 11, classes will be held at Basement,
Radhakrishna temple, near Mahalakshmi Temple,
Panjim, from 6 pm to 6.45 pm. Contact Venkatesh
Betigiri, on 9422443421 for further details.
Corner stone layingBICHOLIM: The foundation stone laying function of
Utsav Mandap of Shri Mahamaya Temple, Mayem
will be organised on March 6 at 10 am.
Chowgule Mining Company Managing Director B S
Kantak, Senior Manager Ramchandra Prabhu
Alvekar, Chief Engineer Prashant Kutare, Manager
Shirgao Mines Ramesh Chodankar, company officers
Shankar Shet and Abhijeet Sadhle will be present.
Carnival at CansaulimPANJIM: The CAC Club in association with the Direc-
torate of Art and Culture and Youth of Cansaulim will
organise a 3-day carnival event from March 6 to 8.
On March 6, there will be float parade from
Cansaulim church to T B Cunha Sports Complex. Vari-
ous programmes like dance performance by Ex-
treme, band performance by Glen and his troupe,
one-act plays, musical show by Reagan and
Marcelino de Betim and his troupe, African acrobatic
by Spring Bok, Magic show by Reggie, mimicry by
Shaikh Amir, performance by Ferns trio, etc have
been lined up for the 3-day event. On March 8, Sonia
Sirsat and her band will be the star attraction.
Womens DayCALANGUTE: The Calangute Junior Chamber Interna-
tional will organize various competitions at Candolim
to mark the Womens Day on March 6.
The competitions include Salad Decoration competi-
tion, Making Food (without gas), Hair Style competi-
tion, Best Saree competition, etc.
All competitions will be conducted at Shantadurga
Temple, Candolim from 3 pm onwards.
QUEPEM: Villagers of Copelabhat-Ambaulim in Quepem
will celebrate their traditional Intruz Festival on March 6.
Intruz is a major festival celebrated by the menfolk of the
Village.
Intruz festival at Quepem
HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, MARCH 5 : Staining
the beautiful and pristine
image of Goa is a sin that the
Congress has been perpetu-
ally committing stated
Gopinath Munde, senior BJP
leader.
Munde was addressing the
gathering at Gomantak
Maratha Samaj, during a
book release function of the
party.
The topic for the BJP
meeting was exposure of
corruption in the state and
country at large by the Con-
gress led government.
Stating that Goa has been
engulfed by various mafias
be it mining, drugs, forests,
etc, Munde promised the hall
full of supporters that the
BJP will free Goa from all
these offences.
He stated that the state has
been witnessing open cor-
ruption wherein televisions
and refrigerators were
openly donated to people to
win their votes.
And if the Goan govern-
ment is severely corrupted,
the centre is hundred times
more corrupted. With an in-
competent PM as its head,
public money has been
flaunted by the Congress as-
serted Munde.
The fight against corrup-
tion is not only in our hands
but also in the hands of the
Cong responsible for Goas tainted image: BJPpublic, affirmed Munde who
assured that the BJP will
fight against this tainted
image of Goa and restore its
pure and chaste identity of its
yesteryears.
The podium was shared by
the cream of the state BJP
leaders; opposition leader
Manohar Parikar, BJP candi-
date, North Goa MP Sripad
Naik, President of BJP unit
Goa, Laxminath Parsekar,
BJP MLA Damu Naik, Fran-
cis DSouza.
Congress has been doing
nothing for minorities and it
calls itself secular. It is secular
only in the sphere of prostitu-
tion, drugs and other anti-so-
cial activities alleged
DSouza.
Parrikar started his speech
by stating if a failure of Std
VIII is the education minister,
then think what the situation
of that government is. Gov-
ernment is so corrupt that for
every issue people have to re-
sort to the streets.
He alleged that Home Min-
ister Ravi Naik is not only in-
volved in the drug issue but
also in mining.
He claimed that an 8 crore
worth rupees anaerobic di-
gestor had been bought by
CCP to deal with garbage
problems but was broken
down on the eighth day.
-
Rulers and leaders are not neces-
sarily two parts of the same
species. In recent times they
have been antithetical. We are in a sea-
son where rulers have been booted out
by real leaders the people of Egypt
and hopefully the people of Libya.
Goa has no such luck. And thats not
because there is no leadership among
people. Its because there are is no one
ruler to boot out but a series of fiefs in
their own backyards which in real
terms are a conglomeration of villages.
The reason why Goa does not see the
complete cleansing of its polity is be-
cause the people who make up this
polity are satisfied with their world in
their constituencies and villages. Goa
can be cleaned only if Margao and Pan-
jim meet, Varca shakes hands with Vel-
sao and Sanguem and Sangolda meet
on a common platform.
Digambar Kamat and his merry men
survive because of a twist in the tale of
democracy where every minister is the
Chief Minister of his backyard. Let us
not make the mistake of calling Digam-
bar Kamats government a Congress
government.
It is a government of self-seeking in-
dividuals who have given permission to
the Congress to call them Congress-
men.
Quite unlike the rest of the country ,
where Congress MLAs build their
brand on the basis of their association
with the Congress, in Goa, the Congress
builds its brand by sticking close to its
powerful village chiefs like Churchill
Alemao, Joacquim Alemao, Vishwajeet
Rane, Ravi Naik, Babush Monseratte
and the list goes on.
Ive said this earlier and need to reit-
erate this. The Congress in Goa is lives
in the perennial fear that some of its
ministers who go in and out of its party
at will, will ultimately move on and form
groups or join other parties.
It lives in this fear because it never
felt the need to build the party from
below. It always took the easy way out
by plucking the fruits from the oldest
and the biggest tree. It grabbed what
was available. It did not cultivate. That
is why it does not have strong chal-
lengers to Churchill or Ravi Naik or
Vishwajeet or Babush, should they
leave the party.
There is another irony. The rare
breed of loyal or relatively loyal Con-
gressmen have all lost to party switch-
ers or newcomers. Agreed that some of
these losses were due to their own inef-
ficiencies but let this also be said that
the Congress has also worked to defeat
some of its loyalists. Luizinho Faleiros
loyalty is impeccable. His loyalty to the
Congress is greater than the sum total
of all other loyalties of Congressmen in
Goa. Yet he lost to Churchill Alemao in
Navelim.
Francisco Sardinha has played foot-
sie with the Congress, but in relative
terms he is more of a Congressman
than Vishwajeet Rane is. Sardinha too
lost from Curtorim and his conqueror
Alexio Reginald Lourenco first did
business with Churchill and then the
Congress.
Jitendra Deshprabhu of Pernem was
not a veteran MLA but he held some
beliefs of the Congress of old close to his
heart till the party sidelined him and
then created a situation which forced
him to join the NCP. And then he lost!
The irony takes another cruel twist.
Luizinho has the utmost respect among
the AICC and is now a general secre-
tary of the party.
While in his home state the party
president Subhash Shirodkar rushes to
plead with Churchill not to get angry at
the party, when the Varca boss thun-
ders that he would contest from Nave-
lim with or without the Congress
ticket. This is not hypocrisy. This is
weakness.
When a party loses foot soldiers, it
has no feet to stand on. That is why the
Congress now stands on the mercy of
the local chiefs who allow the party to
lend their name and symbol to them.
The government does not function.
Individual leaders spend time doing
deals. The leaders who allow them-
selves the Congress tag set out to do lip
service to the poor in daytime and then
party with deal makers at night hoping
its sunlight politics will fetch votes and
its twilight policies will enable them to
prosper.
The new AICC representative in
charge of Goa will not understand all
this. Thats because he is a real Con-
gressman. Nor will the AICC under-
stand Goa. But does it matter?
opinion6 www.oheraldo.in
The carnival was in the hearts and homesof people. It was about the door to doorhopping around. It was about the pianobeing dusted and played
Edit
While there may be good reason to namethe city for its safe harbour, it seems atravesty that Lisbon is not in fact calledLuz Boa
Jason Keith Fernandes
WEEKENDEDIT
Vol. No CXI No. 64 I Goa I Sunday 6, March 2011
PEOPLESEDIT
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For l etters to the edi tor contact us at ed itor weekend@herald -goa.com
suJay Gupta
Dealers are the new Congress leaders in Goa
FLY ON THE WALL
Like so many children in India I
grew up in Goa in the shadow of
the former British Empire. As a
result London was a fabled city, the for-
mer centre of a truly global empire, and
imagined to be filled with architectural
marvels that should rightly grace an im-
perial centre.
Visiting London for the first time was
a truly depressing let down however.
There was practically nothing that was
on a truly monumental, imperial scale.
The experience on travelling to Lisbon
on the other hand was an entirely dif-
ferent matter.
Here indeed was a city that knew
how to present itself as an imperial cen-
tre. Huge squares framed by monu-
mental buildings. Faades of churches
that, to borrow a phrase from James
Fergusson, seemed to have been con-
ceived by giants and finished by jew-
ellers.
And to top it all, as if to stick a tongue
in the Englands gloomy direction, was
the light. Lisbons name is said to be de-
rived from the ancient name for the set-
tlement Olissipo. This name in turn was
associated with the mythical founding
of the city by Ulysses, the Greek adven-
turer of the epics. The more boringly
pedantic, will tell us that the name de-
rives not from the Greek adventurer,
but from the words that meant safe
harbour. In time, Olissipo was trans-
formed to its Arabic version Al-Isbuna,
until when after the crusader conquest
it came to be called Lisboa.
While there may be good reason to
name the city for its safe harbour, it
seems a travesty that Lisbon is not in
fact called Luz Boa, and named for its
good(Boa) light (luz).
This city has the most amazing light!
It is a light that is sharp and sparkly and
does the most amazing things to the
city. The contribution of this light first
dawned on me when traversing the city
one morning early in my stay of the city.
Moving from the cold shadows of the
Rua do Loreto into the light in the
Praa de Cames, one realised how
privileged one was to live in this incred-
ibly beautiful city of light.
Whether it is out in the squares, or on
jacaranda shaded avenues, the light
that this city receives converts the
golden yellow, salmon pink and powder
blue faades of its buildings into so
many Faberg eggs. Polished by the
scores of feet that daily caress the lime-
stone cobbled streets of the city, in this
light these sidewalks shine like so many
silken ribbons nestling these exquisite
precious eggs.
And this light induces ecstasy. Stand-
ing on the edge of the Praa de Cames
is the neo-classical faade of the church
of the Incarnation (Igreja da Encar-
nao). Surmounting this faade are a
series of dramatic ornamental urns
sculpted to appear as if with flames at
their mouths.
Come sunshine and these urns catch
the rays of the sun to incarnate vari-
ously as the burning bush of Sinai, or
the icon for the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
If light ever contributed to the drama of
architecture this is a perfect example.
The profound changes that this sight
works on ones sentiments can only be
experienced every attempt at descrip-
tion falling short.
It does drive home the point however
to the perfection of Lisbon as a stage for
this light. And it is thus that my heart
confesses, Lisboa, lux tua vita mihi
(your light is my life)!
Jason Keith Fernandes is currently en-
gaged in doctoral research at ICSTEs
Dept of Anthropology in Lisbon. When
not agonising over the state of his dis-
sertation, Jason offers unsolicited
opinons on law, culture and identity pol-
itics. He also desperately misses Goa.
LETTERS FROM PORTUGAL
Lux tua vita mihi
Jason KeitH
FernanDes
find us on facebooksearch for heraldweekend
Dr Hubert Gomes
Social activism has come a long
way in Goa. And thank God it
has. If it was not for our ac-
tivists, we would have had an in-
creased number of mega projects,
hill cuttings, CRZ violations, illegal
mining, land fillings, drugs and
human right violations. It was their
show of unity and strength under
the banner of GBA that stopped the
old demonic Regional Plan from de-
stroying Goa.
There may be a few black sheep
amongst them; but by and large, so-
cial activists are doing a great job for
Goa. Instead of being armchair and
internet critics, they are there where
the action is sacrificing their time
and money and at times facing gov-
ernment brutality. If our old freedom
fighters can claim the credit for get-
ting us freedom from the Por-
tuguese, our social activists should
be acknowledged for fighting the il-
legalities and atrocities of modern
day Salazars.
Over the years, the number of so-
cial activists has grown; and is not
just an increase in the quantity; the
quality of social activism has also im-
proved greatly. Most of our activists
are young, well read, sincere and
passionate about their cause.
Thanks to the RTI Act and better in-
formation and communication facil-
ities, social activism has percolated
to the grass root levels.
Perhaps Margaret Mead was
right when she wrote, Never doubt
that a small group of thoughtful
committed citizens can change the
world; indeed, it is the only thing
that ever has. Our activists have
certainly succeeded in keeping a
check on the pace of development in
Goa and brought about the neces-
sary corrections in the system as and
when it was required.
Although I am a great disciple of
social activism, I am also a hardcore
supporter of sustainable develop-
ment. As nobody wants to reverse
the clock and go back to the Stone
Age, every human being craves to
have a better lifestyle. Therefore de-
velopment is unstoppable. Besides
creating job opportunities, it is nec-
essary to improve our existing infra-
structure, healthcare needs,
education system and housing facil-
ities.
In my opinion, social activism and
politics are two different names for
the same thing. They are both sup-
posed to work towards the same
goal to create a better world for
everybody. Unfortunately, the word
development is interpreted differ-
ently by our politicians and social ac-
tivists; and as a result, almost every
developmental project that is pro-
posed by the government, is op-
posed by our activists in Goa. In
order to compete with the rest of the
world, we cannot allow this phase of
no development to go on forever.
Just as we cannot allow indiscrim-
inate development to take place in
Goa, we should not allow frequent
social agitations to come in the way
of development in Goa. To achieve
this objective, the bridge of trust be-
tween the local politicians and the
social activists has to be restored ur-
gently. We need politicians who are
sensitive the opinions of the people;
and we need social activists who are
pro-sustainable development in
Goa. I sincerely hope and pray that
there is a change in perception; and
that our politicians and social ac-
tivists will begin to see each other as
trustworthy partners, to bring about
a new kind of development in Goa
sustainable development that is
truly need-based and not greed-
based.
Redefining SocialActivism
FACEBOOK
The Congress in Goais lives in the peren-nial fear that some ofits ministers who goin and out of its partyat will, will ultimatelymove on and formgroups or join otherparties. It lives in thisfear because it neverfelt the need to buildthe party from below.It always took theeasy way out byplucking the fruitsfrom the oldest andthe biggest tree. Itgrabbed what wasavailable. It did notcultivate..
Its a brand new
carnival
Circa 1962. Carnival Day: Its war on the narrow by lanes of
Goa. Missiles of oranges and lemons are being hurled rapid
pace. You duck and run but some till hit you. Boys tease girls,
girls tease boys, everyons dressed up in some costume of the other.
Its like a fancy dress competition, but without any prizes. No one
cares. Its all part of the plot.
Smelly, bruised and with your ego battered, you hit back with
your ammunition sand filled gloves, wooden spoons, brooms and
the battle rages on till the sun sets or until theyve had their fill of
food cooked in festival spirit. The tired warriors then get ready for
feasting and merrymaking, ordained by the King of Chaos King
Momo.
Circa 2011. Carnival Day Its a brand war on the narrow bylanes
of Goa. Tuborg tries to outgulp Kingfisher, Airtel jostles with Voda-
fone to rule the airwaves. Their hoardings and banners were not
just on the floats. They were THE floats. We have a King Momo.
But the carnival of old is no more.
Like all institutions of old, the simplicity of the carnival has gone.
The carnival was in the hearts and homes of people. It was about
the door to door hopping around. It was about the piano being
dusted and played. It was about costumes made and worn.
We have this consistent knack of letting memories and institu-
tions fade. Dont we understand the romance of those sepia or black
and white photos? Dont we understand that charm ensures only
when it is preserved? Dont we understand that the carnival is not
about spending money or making it? The biggest mockery is that
politicians are sponsoring floats, khell tiatrs, and other plays in their
constituencies. From Churchill and his daughter Valanka to
Mickky Pacheco to Vijay Sardesai to Filipe Neri, all have
pumped in money for carnival celebrations.
Since when did the carnival become a vote catching mechanism?
Wasnt this all about agenda-less festivity and togetherness? Wasnt
this about brotherhood and friendship? People who cling to these
simple beliefs like Zito Pinto or the good old Gabru stayed away
from this years carnival parade in Panjim on Saturday.
These are sad times. These are times when revelry has a price
and a purpose. These are times when images such as this dont
come by anymore A couple clinging to the top of a pole on a float
wearing floppy hats and silly grins, a knot of friends dancing with
each other, oblivious to the crowds around them; a steel calypso
band pumping out lyrics; a bloke with a hungry look in his
eyes trying to negotiate his way through the yappity-yap to
find some pretty lass to chat up. All in good spirit.All in good cheer.
The routines will still be followed. The carnival will move on and
parades will be held in the major towns. But its not the same. It
will never be the same. Maybe the villages are still holding out
against the onslaught of brands, perhaps we will look to
Loutolim and Raia or Parra and Moira to retrieve the good old
times.
Maybe, just maybe, there is still hope. Well, if all else fails turn to
the next mobile brand which will be happy to help. What an idea
sirji!
The follower count is rising. People are commenting. The tide
is slowly turning. What is needs now, is more participation.
The facebook page stands open, for the people of Goa to have
a say free and unencumbered. Itd your space to say what you
want, when you want, how you want...
Join up now. Find us on facebook. Be the change you want to
see
Vivek Ferrao
That was a seriously awesome front page story (CCP). Good job.
Keep up the good work guys.
Sean Faia
Its Christmas before CCP Polls - Great front page story. Love the
work you guys are putting in. Panjim needs a change. And the peo-
ple need to stand up and make a difference.
Gustavo Stephen Godinho
I miss those days when all friends use to come together, go around
the village wearing masks n other fancy items, singing n dancing,
splashing water and colour. Those were the days. Today the carnival
is too noisy n vulgar.
Lourenco Fernandes
In 80 the carnival was all fun where young kids would wear masks
and roam around the village. Now people only look forward to the
carnival parades in the major towns.
The party survives at the mercy of village leaders
-
7 www.oheraldo.in
goa Adults responsible for pushing children intobegging have to be identified and should beseverely dealt with. There needs to be sur-veillance. Police should investigate who areinvolved in the menace.
-- Nishta Desai
We have not received any proposal fromBJP for pre-poll alliance. Any such pro-posal, if it comes, will be discussed withpartys central committee and cadres be-fore taking a final call.
--- Lavu Mamlatdar
Goa I Sunday 6, March 2011
appointmentsappointments
appointments
appointments
HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, MARCH 5: Even
as the rescue child beggars
mission is underway, NGO
Childrens Rights in Goa
(CRG) has insisted to nail
those adults who reportedly
push children into the beg-
ging business.
CRGs Nishta Desai said,
Adults responsible for push-
ing children into begging have
to be identified and should be
severely dealt with. There
needs to be surveillance. Police
should investigate as to how
children are coming and who
are involved in the menace.
Goa Police in assistance
with NGO Stop Child Abuse
Now (SCAN) are carrying
out raid at tourist hub
Calangute, Anjuna and capi-
tal city of Panjim.
Nearly 41 children have
been rescued in a major
crackdown on the misuse of
children after Goa Commis-
sion for Protection of Child
Rights (GCPCR) issued di-
rections in January.
CRG to nail peoplewho push childreninto begging
HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, MARCH 5: Maha-
rashtrawadi Gomantak Party
(MGP) leaders on Friday said
that the decision on aligning
with Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) for the coming assem-
bly elections would be taken
only after consulting their
party cadres.
We have not received any
proposal from BJP for pre-
poll alliance. Any such pro-
posal, if it comes, will be
discussed with partys central
committee and cadres before
taking a final call, MGPs
General Secretary Lavu
Mamlatdar told reporters.
Meanwhile, MGP claimed
to have finalized candidates for
ten constituencies to contest
forthcoming assembly polls.
Mamlatdar said that the
party has already prepared to
contest in 10 out of 40 con-
stituencies on its own.
Even the candidates are
decided. There are some con-
stituencies which are our
bastion and we are growing
our base there, he said
adding that more candidates
would be finalized in next few
days.
Once the elections are de-
clared, we would finalize on
more constituencies. Enough
time is left for us to think on,
he said.
The elections for 40-mem-
ber Goa legislative assembly
are due in the year 2012.
MGP: Alliance after consulting workers
Dona Paula property scam bigger than Adarsh scamHERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, MARCH 5: A contest-
ing candidate for the upcom-
ing municipal election on
Saturday clarified that he
filed a complaint with differ-
ent authorities regarding a
property scam at Dona Paula.
The property bearing sur-
vey number 249/1-A belongs
to the State and a complaint
with regards to this has been
filed at Panjim police station
and North Goa Collectorate,
Nelson Cabral said.
I have lodged a complaint
to the police because accord-
ing to me the said property
belongs to Army and the
State of Goathe Crime
Branch has filed a closure re-
port in District and Session
Court in respect of my com-
plaint against Joe Mathias
stating that the case is neither
true nor false, he said.
Since another inquiry by
the Collectorate is not being
disclosed and adjournments
sought, Cabral said that he
will move High Court of
Bombay at Goa to direct the
authority to hear the matter
on day to day basis.
Terming the matter worst
than Adarsh Colony scam in
Mumbai, he said that the
land claimed by Joe is said to
belong to the Government
under various land acquisi-
tion proceedings, but files
have gone missing. He
claimed that while others
were arrested with regards to
missing file, Joe had obtained
anticipatory bail order.
CRG to stage
Aami FuluyamPANJIM: Childrens
Rights in Goa (CRG) will
stage a play titled Aami Fu-
luyam on March 7 at Di-
nanath Mangeshakar Kala
Mandir, Kala Academy, Pan-
jim, at 5 pm. Aami Fuluyam
is a Konkani adaptation of
Oscar Wildes The Selfish
Giant.
Desai claimed that during
the drive, few of the children
were school going which was
confirmed by their certificates.
There needs a rehabilitation
home, she further said. All of
the 41 rescued child beggars
are non-Goans hailing from the
states like Rajasthan, Andhra
Pradesh and Karnataka.
These children have been
produced before the Child
Welfare Committee (CWC)
for care and protection till
the completion of enquiry
after which they will be repa-
triated to respective States.
Citing a recent case, SCAN
officials said that no child
should be left unsupervised on
the beach especially after a
person during interrogation in
UK confessed that he had sex-
ually abused a child in Goa.
Rescuing these vulnera-
ble children and rehabilitat-
ing them will empower them
for the future. This would
stop children from being
preyed on by pedophiles who
come here mainly for our in-
nocent children, SCAN co-
ordinator Emidio Pinho said.
-
I t was a tale of three little factions in Pan-jim in the 50s and 60s. The preparations began in advance, in earnest. Every household would find soft clay-ish mud, wet it, and using paper, mould them into shells and sticks cocotes. Making them was the fun part and some house-holds would start almost two months in advance, heading out to the fields to find soft mud, so as not to hurt anyone. There would be battles be-tween the three factions, Sao Tome, San Sebastian and Campal. And it car-ried on like this for years. Down in Margao too, the residents of Abade Faria road and the surround-ing areas would do the same thing. There would be water, indigo powder, cocotes and music.. This was tradition. This was carnival!
Everyone would dress up in creative regalia, We would all spend money and come up with some-thing to wear. There was never anyone who just came as they were , says Zito Pinto. The proces-sion would start, head-ing from house to house, drenching people as they went along. The proces-sion would usually end at
one of the biggest houses in the neighbourhood, where everyone would sit down for a potluck meal before heading home for a siesta. In the evening, the festivities would start again at the dance on the street.
Today, it seems that the real essence of the carni-val the fun and frolic at-titude has long seeped back into the earth it came from. Gabriel Dsa, says emphatically, The carnival? The carnival is dead. It was spontaneous and creative. But thats long gone now. And if you listen to the stories that some people will narrate, it really has. There is no creativity. This is not the carnival of the people, according to Rene Mendes, who says, There is no involvement from the locals really. It has become so mechanical these days. Earlier it used
to be lively, colourful, and there was so much of lo-cal participation. People had active imaginations when it came to their costumes!
It seems like, for those that saw and celebrated the carnival in its glory days, the fun aspect is long gone. The carnival has now become this commercial Goa promo-tion. Its cheapening the state. says Augusta No-ronha.. The carnival was always about fun. But it was also about communi-ties. It was about letting go of everything else for three days. Soon the dog-eared pictures you see on the page will be the only memories of the real es-sence of carnival. Soon, the memories too will fade into black and white, and all that will be left of it will be a stoic King Momo, perched atop an incandescent float.
weThe carnival has now become this commercial Goa promotion. Its cheapening the state. It used to be about making merry for three days before abstaining for Lent
Augusta Noronha
The reason that many an art is dying is because there isnt a market or anyone to carry on the tradition. Or both! Why dont we empower the artist by giving him or her a platform to earn more money? Amitava Bhattacharya
VILLAGE REPORT
Goa I Sunday March 6, 20118 www.oheraldo.in
T he serenity of Velsao can be misleading to an outsider. The impres-sion springs perhaps from the total lack of in-frastructure development in the village that gives it that laidback look. The lack of internal roads is a major hindrance for both the people and the tiny panchayat whose, the majority at least, panchas are said to be remote con-trolled by the Dabolim MLA Mauvin Godinho
The quietude is broken only by the business of illegal constructions tak-ing shape in Velsao. Some villagers fear that this will take Velsao-Pale-Is-sorcim to a different level of illegal and pillaging constructions done by the rich and the mighty.
Some residents allege that only the rich and well connected have got the benefits of develop-ment. The only road in recent times asphalted in December 2010 was built to accommodate a rich non-Goan who bought from a Goan landlord, and whose intent can only be to build something big, like a hotel, possibly. From there, the road was taken to a dead end at the home of Aldrin Sequeira, whose sister is married to Godinhos PA! says Fatima Furtado Pereira of Primeiro Vaddo.
In fact, in a Right to Information reply to Pe-dro Sebastian Sequeira of Dando-Pale, the pan-chayat said it had not issued any work order to any contractor, but had only passed a resolution
on October 10, 2010 to asphalt the road. Fatima has been pleading for years, to build an ap-proximate 500 metre extension. This extension
would help traffic that had to stop at a nearby manned railway gate, to move around and ease congestion. Often goods trains stop for long peri-
ods. It gets worse then, says Fatima. There is also the government village playground that could easily be accessed by people living on the far side.
What goes for Velsao, goes for tiny Issorcaim-Hollant , ward seven, where villagers fear that the taking over of Grande Islands by the Indian Navy will hit its own small fishing com-munity badly. Hollant isarguably one of Goas only beaches for Goan picnickers on Sundays. Lawrence Rodrigues, panch member says, Hollant desperately needs a public toilet and a sodium mast light. But, the government has said Hollant is not a tourist beach! Hollant was also not included in the gov-
ernments beach clean-ing programme which included nearby Bogmolo beach. A cleaning team could have serviced both as only one village, San-trem, separates the two. Hollants wish list also includes more bus trips. According to Rodrigues there are just four bus arrivals from Vasco da Gama, which creates a transport problem. We have been pleading for years for a 2.5 km road to be built connecting Hol-lant to Dando-Velsao. This would drastically reduce the 13 km long journey between Velsao and Hollant. It seems that the demand for roads in this littlevillages is something that needs attention along with the illegal construction on the coastline.
Herald: You have been in the eye of the storm in Velsao. Can you explain further?Rodrigues: It began when I tried to stop a Mangalore-born NRI, Bendict Saldanha from building huge hotel well within Zone III the no development zone. Now, the governments machinery (through Saldhana) has suddenly begun to claim that my house rebuilt over the ancestral home of my grandfa-ther falls within the 200m line. It is comical when you see on a new survey plan how they have redrew the line marking the start of Zone III which has been officially surveyed once earlier and marked for posterity, to include only my home in it. In 2004 the Goa Coastal Zone Management (GCZM) issued Saldhana a show cause notice, asking him to explain his ac-tions. Finally, , 2006 a team of NPS Varde, Member Secretary, CRZ Authority, the Deputy Collector and the Mamlatdar in-spected the site. They said that the 200m line comes up to the road and hence (the) entire construction is falling under the no development zone of 200m. Please note also that my house which is farther than the road, now suddenly is on the wrong of the No Development ZoneHerald-How did you carry on and what difficulties did you face?Rodrigues: Mr Varde forwarded the case to the Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) which sent a cyptic reply stating that it was of the opinion that the project was an ongoing one and the ministrys earlier clearance would stand. Till this date I am mystified by the term on-going and what it means in this context. In 2009 on the basis of a PIL that I filed with the Bom-bay High Court I succeeded in getting a clear-cut interim order staying the construction.Herald-Have you faced any threats for taking on this builder/hotelier?Rodrigues: They have now filed a suit against me claiming that my house is within the HTL and somehow the Directorate of Settlement and Land Records changed the HTL in Septem-ber 2006 to include my house which is actually approx 280m away. The outline of the NDZ demarcation was mysteriously changed only to harass me. The suit continues till today in the Bombay High Court. Before that I had got the demarcation made by the GCZMA