The Voice of Goa - - Since 1900
Panjim I February 27, 2011 I Postal Reg. No. Goa 101 I Price Rs. 3.00 I Air Surcharge Rs 2 I Pages 16+10
gAddAFI HAs lOsT PEOPlEs CONFIdENCE, sAys Us >> P12
world23 MININg TrUCKs dETAINEd IN TrANsPOrT dEPT drIVE >> P3
goaWEll lOVE TO sPOIl INdIAN PArTy: sTrAUss >> P16
sports
sunday
weekend
visit us at: www.oheraldo.in
AFP PHOTO
A lookalike of cricketer Sachin Tendulkar performs Hindu rituals as he participates in a re-
ligious ceremony for the victory of Indian Cricket Team in Ahmedabad on Saturday. India
are set to face England in match 11 of the Cricket World Cup on Sunday.
KuRT BEnTo
For a football loving
state, Goa has had
mixed reactions to the
ongoing Cricket World Cup
being held in India. The
main reason, Espnstar
shows most of the matches
on either all three or two of
their channels Espn, Star
Sports and Star Cricket
leaving the football fan with
little else to do besides twid-
dling their thumbs. The only
other option is to visit the
rare sports pub with a DTH
connection that shows
other sports channels.
For a diehard football fan,
especially one who pays
good money for a DTH
connection, he or she
would expect the sports
channels to divide football
and cricket between their
three channels. Like Krush-
nan Naik, who states em-
phatically, I have no
problem with one channel
showing the match with
English commentary and
the other with Hindi. But,
the least they could do is
leave one channel open for
some football. Im glad that
only the India matches are
shown on all three chan-
nels. This way, we at least
get to watch some football,
rather than none.
Ten premier league matches
are played and telecast over
the weekends. But with
cricket pushing out football,
fans will have to miss out.
Fernando Monte Da Silva, a
Newcastle supporter says,
Id rather watch Newcastle
get decimated by Arsenal
than watch a couple of
guys play for half a day and
then take a tea break. Of
course, with the limited
matches, that means Id
hardly get to see Newcastle
play anyway.
This season, they were al-
ready deprived of the Span-
ish League and the
Champions League. Now,
for the next few weeks,
footie fans will be suffering
from withdrawal symptoms.
But, an online movement,
primarily on networking site
Twitter, as well as Facebook
may have just brightened
up their day. A few football
fans from Delhi are spear-
heading a movement, com-
plete with a petition that
has already had some effect
on the programming. There
will be a few more football
matches than normal this
weekend and the next. Big
Brother really is keeping tabs!
World Cup cricket shoots football out of tellyFootball fans unitedly start online movement to watch EPL matches
PTI
KOCHI, FEB 26: In further
embarrassment to former
Chief Justice of India K G
Balakrishnan, Income Tax
authorities on Saturday said
they have unearthed black
money in possession of three
of his relatives during their
investigation into allegations
of amassment of wealth by
them.
As far as Justice Balakr-
ishnan is concerned, I can-
not say anything. But as far
as his relatives two sons-in-
law and brother are con-
cerned, we have found there
is black money, director
general of Income Tax (In-
vestigation), Kochi, E T
Lukose, told reporters.
Justice Balakrishnans
sons-in-law PV Sreenijan
and MJ Benny, both advo-
cates, and brother KG
Bhaskaran, former special
government pleader, have
been found to be possessing
black money, he said.
We are investigating how
they have got the black
money. We will again ques-
tion the relatives, he said.
The official refused to
state the quantum of black
>Continued on pg 11
Ex-CJIs kin have black money: I-T
For a diehard football fan, especiallyone who pays good money for a DTHconnection, he or she would expect thesports channels to divide football andcricket between their three channels.
BinDiyA CHARi
PANJIM: Our pictures tell a
story that words cannot.
Santa Monseratte has come
calling because the CCP
elections have come to town.
In a blatant mockery and
sheer contempt for fair play,
Babush Monseratte, if the
pictures of TVs, washing ma-
chines and bicycles above
and the words of the people
who have received them is to
be believed, has poured
goods worth lakhs of rupees
into the homes of mainly
poor folk, to buy votes.
In addition, toilets are
being constructed, money
being handed out to repair
houses and roofs and cash
doles given to buy Nike
shoes. To be completely fair,
the BJP has in some places
asked voters what they want,
but the sheer weight, scale
and grandeur of Monser-
attes goodies make them
look like saints in front of this
Santa.
Two weeks back,
Babushs man, Uday Mad-
kaikar (well that was before
he had a fallout with
Babush) came here inquir-
ing about what we wanted?
We were given an option to
choose a washing machine, a
fridge or a TV, disclosed one
resident who opted for a
double door fridge.
Madkaikar may have
parted ways with Babush,
but the promises made to
the voters of this ward XXI
were kept. Vehicles carrying
these goods from electronic
shops arrived in bulk and
entered the huts and very
modest homes of these peo-
ple, living adjacent to the Al-
tinho slopes. Hutments be-
hind police quarters at Alt-
inho which form part of
ward XXI has about twenty
houses with voter population
of 145 voters.
When a team of this re-
porter and Heralds photog-
rapher started visiting
homes in the guise of officials
collecting data, the adults
were initially tightlipped
about the new goodies but a
twelve-year-old quipped
Everybody here has got
electronic goods from some-
one now.
An elderly lady who has
been staying in the locality
for over fifty years complains
about her pathetic living
condition but she is thankful
to Santa Monseratte for her
brand new 73 cms of LG TV
which is quite the showpiece
>Continued on pg 11
ITS CHRISTMAS BEFORE CCP POllS
MY NEW TV IN MY OLD WORLD: An old lady in ward XXI
with her new gift.
LOO AND BEHOLD: Sanitising voters with brand new
toilets.
TICKET TO RIDE: Shining new bicycles at Aivao village
Caranzalem.
Babush offloads TVs, fridges, washing machines, bicycles to voters
LG TV (73 cms) cost of eachRs 38,000LG double door refrigeratorRs 15,700LG Washing Machine (toploading) Rs 13,200Estimated spend on these Rs 16.25 lakhs*(*If we take the average cost of one of the threeitems as Rs 25,000 and multiply by a thumb countof 65 houses -20 houses in ward 1 and 2 and 25houses in ward 21), the costs are Rs 16.25 lakhs atthe very least)
Bicycles Rs 2,500Estimated spend Rs 50,000**(** Rs 2500 x 20 cycles)
House repairs Rs 1,00,000Estimated spend Rs 5 lakhs***(*** Rs 1 lakh into 5 houses, an absolute bare minimum)
In addition: Construction oftoilets, money for shoes etc.
THe MaTHs oF VoTe Goodies
Can panJiM do Business WiTH
BaBusH? pG 9
TEAM HERALD
Panjim: For Sandesh
Chodankar, the PI of the
Panjim police station on the
fateful night when Cipriano
Fernandes was tortured, his
chance to escape from a
murder charge that could
end his career hangs by a
very narrow thread.
The vague wording of the
FIR lodged by the Crime
branch against Panjim po-
lice station has obviously
helped. With an aim to shield
at least some officers includ-
ing him, the FIR with
charges of murder among
others is against Police per-
sonnel on duty from 22.30
hours of 7.01.2011 to 11.55
hours of 08.02.11.
For Sandesh Chodankar,
the escape route is to estab-
lish that he wasnt on the
scene of crime - the Panjim
police station, which he was
in charge of during those
crucial hours. But if some
facts on record are to be be-
lieved, that escape route is
closing.
Chodankars driver, Vithal
Naik - in a statement which
could obviously have been
dictated by the PI - to SDM
Shabaji Shetye (Herald has
a copy of it) said that he had
dropped PI Sandesh
Chodankar at his residence
at about 10 pm on 7/1/2011 in
the police jeep. The PI was
collected from his residence
at 1.45 hours (at night which
is 3 hours and 45 mins after
he reached home). He then
left for night patrolling at
Calangute, Anjuna and Por-
vorim and returned at 5.45
am and dropped to his resi-
dence.
Now compare this with
the statement of Sandeep
Shirvoikar, Head Constable
who was SHO on duty of the
intervening night 7/8th Jan-
uary 2011 from 8 pm to 8 am.
This statement finds men-
tion as point number 80,
Page 29 in SDM Shetyes
final inquiry report. Shir-
voikar confirmed the first
part of Naiks statement that
Chodankar left the police
station around 10 pm.
Shetyes report then states
He (Shirvoikar) further
stated that PI Chodankar
came to the police station
around 2.00 am and after
about 10-15 minutes left the
>Continued on pg 11
Why is PI Chodankar refuting presence during Ciprianos torture?
Cipriano Case - Hidden TruTHs - parT 2
Sadhvi Pragyaheld in Joshimurder case
PTI
MUMBAI, FEB 26: Sadhvi
Pragya Singh Thakur, a key
accused in 2008 Malegaon
blast case, has been placed
under arrest by MP Police in
connection with the murder
of Sunil Joshi, a suspect in
the Samjhauta Express
blast case.
The MP police moved an
application in the special
MCOCA court and after tak-
ing the courts permission
they placed Sadhvi under
arrest, Rohini Salian, Spe-
cial Public Prosecutor said.
2 www.oheraldo.in
goa If I am elected, installing streetlightswould be my priority. Drains and parking isa major problem for ward 25. All workshere would be taken up on priority. I wantto see this ward clean.
Namita Narvekar
I kept on preparing proposals and submited, but the CCP was not bothered. I did works worth Rs 7 lakh here but entiremoney came from different departments,CCP did not spend anything.
Sandeep Kundaikar
SNAPSHOT
Goa I Sunday 27, February 2011
BATTLE fOR pAnjiM: wARDs 21 & 25
sUnDAy fACEOff
CORRiDORs Of pOwER
sUraJ nandrekar
Opposition leader
Manohar Parrikar
one of the champion
crusaders against illegal
mining has, for reasons best
known to him, has fallen
short of naming the culprits
behind the illegal mining.
The irony though is that il-
legal mining also existed
during his tenure as the chief
minister of Goa between
2002 and 2005.
According to him, the Goa
government lost royalty on 1
cr tonne of mining export
between 2002 and 2005,
which the Public Accounts
Committee (PAC), is inquir-
ing into.
Parrikar, who is the chair-
man of the PAC, says the
mining department has no
explanation on the loss of
royalty.
However, when it was
pointed out to him that dur-
ing this period he was him-
self the chief minister what
came out was surprising.
First instantly Parrikar
backtracked that the loss
was huge. During those
days illegal mining was not
so huge and the royalty was
paltry @ Rs 30 per tonne. So
the loss would be around 25
to 30 cr.
Then he said even during
my chief ministership, the
mining minister was the
same.
Does that mean he is
blaming Digambar Kamat
for flourishing of illegal
mines and loss of royalty?
No, says Parrikar.
It is you who is interpret-
ing not me, I have not named
anyone, he says.
SO why is he letting
Kamat off the hook?
Recently, a report blamed
Parrikar for going soft on the
Congress leaders and with
the way the former chief
minister has replied to the
above queries has left one
guessing - does Parrikar re-
ally want to raise the issue of
illegal mining in the state?
Or is he only paying lip serv-
ice?
If he was so concerned
about the illegal mining why
didnt he take action during
his tenure?
He has instead vigorously
accused police inspectors
and other mines depart-
ment officials for the plun-
der.
One question we would
like to ask is, does Parrikar
want the common man to
believe that police inspectors
and mining officials are only
responsible for illegal mining
running into crores without
political backing.
Or is he giving a clean chit
to politicians for the illegal
mining menace?
Herald: Your comments
on making English compul-
sory with one primary sub-
ject in Konkani has sparked
off a mini storm among
some elements in the
Church
Tomazinho: One priest Fr
Mousinho de Ataide
ridiculed my remarks. I wish
he had understood that what
I said, if implemented will go
a long way in preserving the
catholic education of the
Church.
Herald: How is that so?
Tomazinho: In Church
schools Konkani is taught in
Devanagari script because
that is the official script of
the State. Without any of-
fence to the script and with-
out calling for any change in
the status conferred to it, I
am saying that let parents
have a choice of the script. I
confident that 90 per cent of
the parents who send their
children to church schools
will opt for the Roman
script.
Herald: But you are ad-
vocating primary education
in English
Tomazinho: Yes with one
compulsory subject in
Konkani. And if it is Roman
script, then the combination
English primary education
and Konkani in roman script
will be perfect. The irony is
that the Church does all its
religious activities in the
Roman script but teaches
Konkani in Devanagari
script.
We are doing away with
our own people by denying
them access to Konkani by
advocating it in a script
which is not as comfortable
as the Roman script. When
English is taught in primary
schools, accepting Konkani
will be easier through the
Roman script.
At this point of time
there are thousands of
schools where the medium
of instruction is Marathi.
Then there are many pri-
vate schools which do not
promote Konkani. We
need to counter this imbal-
ance.
Herald: But there
seems to be an opposition
to this
Tomazinho: I hope the
Konkani pundits who are
undoubtedly scholarly, un-
derstands that we will not
get this generation to em-
brace Konkani unless we
make it easier for them to
learn it I the roman script.
Let there be a serious
thought to it based on prac-
ticality.
One of Goas best known Konkani and Tiatr exponents Tomazinho Cardozos comments that Konkanican be saved in Goa only if the medium of instruction in primary schools is English has stirred a debateover the Konkani script again. Cardozo feels that if the Church imparts education in the Devanagariscripts students will stop learning Konkani. Backers of the Devanagari script like Uday Bhembre do notagree. TEAM HERALD witnesses the face off
Herald: Will imparting
primary education in
Konkani in Roman script
help arrest the decline in
enrolment in these schools
at the primary level?
Bhembre: No, not at all.
The aversion is not to the
script but the language. Peo-
ple like Tomazinho are trying
to fool the people. Parents are
asking for English, they have
reservations on Konkani or
are not in favour of the lan-
guage as the medium of in-
struction. The argument that
Konkani in Roman script as
the medium of instruction is
totally irrelevant.
Herald: But, there have
been arguments in some
quarters that enrolment in
schools is on the decline
with parents opting for pri-
vate English schools.
Bhembre: I feel that this is
the just the pretext to propa-
gate either Roman script or
English education. Inciden-
tally, not all Romiwadis share
this view. To my mind, only
Tomazinho Cardozo has been
expressing this view to have
education through English
medium.
Herald: Tomazinho Car-
dozo has recently said that
Church-run schools are
heading towards disaster if
the Church does not change
its policy on primary educa-
tion or do not impart pri-
mary education in English.
Comment?
Bhembre: This is happen-
ing throughout the country.
There is a misconception
that children have to be in an
English school to become
proficient in the language.
You are destroying the fun-
damental doctrine of educa-
tion in the young minds.
This, certainly, is not in the
interest of the children.
Herald: Its been two
decades since the Diocesan
Society of Education
switched over to the
Konkani medium of in-
struction at the primary
level. So why this demand
for primary education in
English?
Bhembre: According to
me, the Church took the cor-
rect decision to switch over to
Konkani as the medium of in-
struction at the primary edu-
cation on two counts. One, the
Church has been consistently
following a policy worldwide
to encourage local languages.
Secondly, educational
doctrine suggests that the
medium of instruction at the
primary level should be in
the mother tongue of the
child.
To save Konkani, teach English: Tomazinho
Church was right to switch to Konkani: Uday
jusTice for cipriaNo Supporters light candles, seeking justice in the Cipriano death
case at Azad Maidan, Panjim on Saturday. The vigil evoked poor response. A group of five
marched to the CMs Altinho residence. In his absence, they handed over the memoran-
dum to the staff, demanding immediate arrest of guilty policemen.
Barnabe Sapeco
Woman dies after setting
self ablaze at Balli
MARGAO: A 26-year old woman, Shoba Manjunath
Sirsat, committed suicide by setting her on fire at
Pantem-Balli on Saturday noon.
PSI Prasanna Bhagat informed that the deceased,
who was in a disturbed framed of mind, immolated
herself near a nearby rivulet on the pretext of
washing clothes.
The deceased had gone out of the house with a
bucket with clothes around noon. As she failed to
return home, her husband conducted a search,
only to find her dead,PSI added.
The police are investigating.
fDa raids Navelim shop,
seizes sweets, dry fruits
PANJIM: The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA)
raided a sweet mart shop in Navelim, Salcete and
seized sweets and dry fruits worth Rs 3.5 lakh.
Suka Mewa, a sweet mart, is owned by Shravan
Singh.
According to sources, the raid was conducted by
FDA inspector Rajiv Kurde and Priya Kholkar.
Sources said dry fruits and sweets worth Rs 3.5
lakh were seized.However, officials in the FDA re-
fused to provide details on the raid.
Woman arrested with
drugs at arpora
CALANGUTE: A 50-year-old woman from Cobra
Vaddo, here, was arrested by Anjuna Police on
charges of possessing drugs worth Rs 52,000 at
Arpora late Friday evening.
According to Anjuna police, Surekha Sushant Man-
drekar was caught allegedly in possession of 518
gms of charas. Mandrekar was arrested at Arpora
near the saw mill while she was waiting for
prospective customers. The Anjuna police team
was led by PSI Pravin Gauns and included Nitesh
Mulgaonkar, Babu Madhan, Keshav Naik, Samir
Gauns, Ashwini Gauns and Reshma Kandolkar.
SEC yet to appoint election observersheraLd rePOrter
PanJim, FeB 26: Even as
there are incidents of good-
ies being distributed in some
wards of the Corporation of
the City of Panjim (CCP) in
violation of the Election
Code of Conduct, the State
Election Commission (SEC)
is yet to appoint election ob-
servers.
When contacted SEC offi-
cials said, a notification ap-
pointing two observers
would be out only on Mon-
day.
Meanwhile, the Returning
Officer (RO) has appointed
two flying squads to look into
the complaint of irregulari-
ties.
Acting upon a complaint
by Rui Ferreira, who is con-
testing from ward XVI, the
RO Mihir Vardhan, has or-
dered CCP to stop the work
it was carrying out in ward
XVI.
When contacted a Flying
Squad official informed that
work has been stopped on
the direction of the Collector.
The CCP has been asked
to resume the work after
Election Code of Conduct
ends.
Ferreira who is contesting
on NCP panel, had lodged a
complaint about construc-
tion work being carried out
in his ward on the approach
road from Progress High
School to the Panjim
Church.
He alleged it was an at-
tempt to make it known to
members of the public (espe-
cially the catholic commu-
nity) and voters of ward
XXVI, in particular, that the
works are being undertaken
at the behest of Babush
panel.
It tantamount to luring
voters by using religion he
said.
Bindiya chari
If there is any ward which
does not have any major
problem in the CCP ju-
risdiction, then it has to be
ward 21, which covers most
of the Altinho road.
The ward mostly has
voter population of police
employees staying at Alt-
inho Hill in Government
Quarters.
This ward may not
have any major problems
except for nagging issue
of non-availability of
basic sanitary facilities to
those residing in huts be-
hind the police quarters,
however, the youth in the
area feel let down as
nothing is being done to
address unemployment
issue.
Outgoing corporator
Shushila Gawas has not
done anything -- she did not
Ward 21: Unemployment is major concern
shweta kamat
If anybody wants to know
how the Corporation of
City of Panjim has failed
to take up basic works in its
jurisdiction during the last
tenure just pip into Ward No
25, represented by a BJP
backed corporator.
Parking mess, clogged
drains and utter mess of the
civic amenities highlights
this ward represented by
Sandeep Kundaikar.
The ward is tucked in the
heart of the city across two
major roads Dr Atmaram
Borkar Road and Dr Dada
Vaidya Road.
Despite being in the
heart of the city, where most
of the tourists prefer to
move, the ward has been
completely set aside by CCP.
The ward is just full of is-
sues, Pai, a local shop-
Parking mess main highlight of Ward 25
Messy situation in Ward 21
Sachin Ambdoskar
even bother to help even one
person from this ward to get
a job, tells one Altinho
youth who thoroughly be-
lieves that providing jobs is
also a responsibility of the
corporator.
However, the youth dont
seem to be concerned much
about the non availability of
sanitary facilities to small
houses which they claim are
illegal.
For Gajanan Kale who is
contesting from Babushs
panel feels unemployment
in his ward is his major con-
cern.
He also plans to have
some development in his
ward but at the moment he
is more focused on his cam-
paigning.
Whereas his rival Mahesh
Chandekar who is sup-
ported by BJP says there is
scope for development in the
area.
Traffic chaos in Ward 25
keeper says.
Kundaikar further adds,
CCP had no money to
spend here. I kept on
preparing proposals and
submitting to the corpora-
tion, but they were not both-
ered.
He said the ward received
utter step motherly treat-
ment from the ruling panel,
which had blessings of Edu-
cation Minister Babush
Monserrate.
The ward has a total of
1238 voters and Kundaikar
had won in 2006 election de-
feating Ajay Silimkhan.
For 2011 polls, the ward
is reserved for women
where BJP-backed
panels Shubadha
Dhond is pitted against
Babush backed panels
Namita Narvekar.
Kundaikar himself admits
that the ward is in real bad
shape.
Rozario Estibeiro
Why is hard nutParrikar soft on illegal mining?
3 www.oheraldo.in
goa The department will go very strong to curbthe increasing overloading of trucks. If needpolice protection will be sought. From Mondaythe officials will visit the respective miningsites from where the ore is being loaded.
Transport Director
We have received application from Maxgrow Finlease Pvt Ltd but we have forwarded it. The application came longtime back and we were awaiting government decision in this regard.
GIDC chairman
Goa I Sunday 27, February 2011
rider killed in curtorim mishapMARGAO: A 26-year old two-wheeler rider Sagar Kamblewas killed in a road accident at Curtorim on Saturday.Maina Curtorim police said the deceased met with a self ac-cident and died on the spot.
HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, FEB 26: Even as the
dust over the SEZ land con-
troversy is yet to settle down,
one of the seven promoters
of the special economic
zones in the State has reap-
plied for land allotment from
the Goa Industrial Develop-
ment Corporation (GIDC).
In a landmark judgment,
on November 27, the High
Court of Bombay at Goa had
set aside the land allotments
to all SEZ promoters dub-
bing it as arbitrary, in
undue haste and without
proper scrutiny of the appli-
cations.
The Court had directed
the Government to allot
land afresh to the develop-
ers for any other purpose
except SEZ.
While six companies ap-
pealed against the order in
Supreme Court only one
company Maxgrow Finlease
Pvt Ltd reapplied for land
allotment.
The company has applied
for 2 lakh square metres of
land to set up industries of
IT and IT Enabled Services
(ITES).
When contacted GIDC
chairman Chandrakant
Kavlekar confirmed the de-
Over 200 cases booked across the State
23 mining trucks detainedin Transport Dept drive
HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, FEB 26: In a major
crackdown on the mining
trucks violating laws, the
State Transport department
on Saturday detained 23
trucks and booked over 200
cases across the state.
The extensive drive, which
kicked-off today morning
against overloaded trucks in
the mining belt managed to
detain around 23 trucks in
North Goa itself registering
103 cases.
Apart from overloading,
the trucks were moving
without valid documents
and licence from the mining
department, Director
Transport Arun Desai said
adding that many were
found without the addi-
tional plank.
All these detained trucks
have been kept at Dodamarg,
Bhamai, Pale and Bicholim
under police security.
The department has also
registered 119 cases in South
Goa of which 42 were booked
for overloading alone.
Here most of the trucks
are been booked for two dif-
ferent offences- overloading
and non availability of docu-
ment, director said.
Desai said that maximum vi-
olation was seen in areas of
Sanvordem, Rivona and Zam-
bavli.
After much protest on
trucks overloaded with ore,
the transport department
has swung in action.
The department on Feb-
ruary 22 had issued no-
tices to the mining firms
asking to abide by the
High Court directives on
overloading of the trucks
failing which department
would confiscate the
trucks, laden with ore.
The Court in its directives
had said that if any truck en-
gaged in the transportation
of ore is found violating any
of the measures three times
in a year, the permit of the
truck will be suspended.
As per the regulations for
the mineral ore transporta-
tion in the state of Goa, the
Court has ordered, that the
trucks loaded at dispatched
point shall carry ore only to
the extent of permitted ca-
pacity that is 10.5 tonnes for
six wheelers.
The mining companies
have been directed to have
their own weighbridges at
the point of loading itself and
no truck bearing ore would
be permitted to the leave the
premises unless its weight is
measured, it adds.
The department will go
very strong to curb the in-
creasing overloading of
trucks. If required police
protection will be also
sought, Desai said adding
that from Monday the de-
partment officials will visit
the respective mining sites
from where the ore is being
loaded.
The extensive drive, which kicked-off today morningagainst overloaded trucks in the mining belt man-aged to detain around 23 trucks in North Goa itselfregistering 103 cases.
detAined for breAking the rules
SEZ promoterreapplies for land allotment
HERALD CORRESPONDENT
BICHOLIM, FEB 26: A 52-
year-old daily wage worker
was found murdered in a
house at Vathadev-Bicholim
on Saturday.
According to sources, the
body of Babi Viro Moto was
found naked and a koita,
the weapon used in the mur-
der, lay by the side.
The abandoned house
had no electricity and be-
longed to one Adnyan Beig
of Muslimwada-Bicholim.
Babi was staying since last
two years. His brother and
his son lived separately at
Dhangarwada-Bicholim.
According to sources,
Babi had illicit affair with a
woman from Honda who
would frequent the house.
Sources added that the
woman had earlier as-
saulted him on his head with
a sharp weapon. The police
are now investigating if the
same woman is behind the
murder.
Worker found murdered in Bicholim house
velopment.
Yes, we have received
the application but we
have forwarded it to the
government. Let them
take a decision, Kavlekar
told Herald.
He stated the application
came long time back and
they were awaiting govern-
ment decision in this re-
gard.
Six of the seven promot-
ers namely K Raheja & Cor-
poration, Peninsula Pharma
Research Centre, Plan-
etview Mercantile Co, Inox
Mercantile Company and
Paradigm Logistics & Distri-
bution approached the
Supreme Court.
A police dog at the scene of the murder at Vathadev-Bi-
cholim.
Sameer Umarye.
The murder was discov-
ered when Beig had sent a
person in search of Babi as
he had some work in his
house. When the person
went to the spot he was
shocked to find Babi dead in
a pool of blood.
Police said Babi was at-
tacked with a sharp weapon
and had three injuries, one
on his forehead and two at
the back.
A Bicholim police led by
PI Harish Madkaikar went
to the site to investigate the
case.
Fingerprint experts and a
police dog squad were also
pressed into service.
DySP Bossuet DSilva
also visited the site and took
the stock of the situation.
HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, FEB 26: Goemchea
Rakhondarancho Awaz
(GRA), a newly formed collec-
tive group claiming them-
selves to be patriots, has given
a call to the people of Goa to
come together at the Azad
Maidan, here, on March 15
from 2.30 pm onwards to
highlight and protest against
the rampant corruption in
the State administration and
the Governments anti-people
policies.
Addressing a press con-
ference under the banner of
GRA, legal advisor Adv
Yatish Naik said, Awaz is a
movement which is not led
by a single leader but it has
representations from several
village and civil groups.
New entity gives clarion call Chalo Azad Maidan
Cops continuing with Bellarys murder probe
HERALD REPORTER
MARGAO, FEB 26: The
Maina Curtorim police on
Saturday has said the police
are continuing with investi-
gations to lay their hands on
the skull of deceased Sultan
Bellary in the headless body
murder case.
PI Sidhant Shirodkar said
the police are looking out for
the skull of the deceased.
With Bardez taluka
developing at a
rapid pace during
the last 10 years and given
phenomenal growth in pop-
ulation, there has been con-
siderable load on the
available water supply to
residents in the taluka.
Considering the gravity of
the situation, the Public
Works Department has initi-
ated measures to augment
water supply to residents of
Bardez taluka.
Speaking to Herald, Exec-
utive Engineer K H
Kamaldinni said the esti-
mated requirement of
potable water to Bardez
taluka is 85 Million Litres per
day (MLD).
Water treatment plants at
Assonora and Padosem pro-
duce ample quantity of
treated water. There are
seven pumps at Assonora
Reservoir and two trans-
formers 2,500 KVA and
1,600 KVA. Besides, there is
another transformer of 1,600
KVA, which has been kept as
stand-by, informed
Kamaldinni.
Of the seven, if six
pumps function round the
clock, Bardez taluka can get
full water supply regularly.
However, in case one of the
six pumps breakdowns, as it
happened recently, then
water supply to Bardez
taluka is reduced margin-
ally, explained Kamaldinni.
In this eventuality, the
people who are worst af-
fected are the ones who are
residing at the high-elevated
areas like Mapusa hilltop
and the tail end like Por-
vorim, added Kamaldinni.
He said there are 55
ground-level reservoirs in
Bardez taluka, while two
more, one each at Bastora
and Quitula-Aldona, have
been proposed by PWD.
Similarly, there are three
sumps and 20 overhead
reservoirs in Bardez. The
PWD has already proposed
four overhead reservoirs in
Bardez, he said.
The new water treatment
plant of 50 MLD at Assonora
has already started function-
ing since May 30, 2010. In the
first stage, 20 MLD water has
been released and the bal-
ance 30 MLD is expected to
be released by April 2011.
PWD officials feel that
once this new water treat-
ment plant starts function-
ing, water supply to Bardez
taluka will be increased to
nearly 100 MLD, which will
be sufficient to cater to the
requirement of Bardez
taluka even after considering
water leakage
and theft.
Assonora-
based Assis-
tant Engineer
(electrical)
Rumil Barreto said since the
water treatment plant at As-
sonora is working round the
clock, they have suggested to
the government to appoint
an electrical engineer for
night duty at the Assonora
Reservoir.
At present, there is no
electrical engineer for night
duty. If some electrical
problem arises during
night, there should be an of-
ficer on duty to attend to the
problem immediately, he
said.
When the appointment
of electrical engineer is made
for night duty, there will be
further improvement in the
functioning at the Assonora
reservoir, said Barreto.
4 www.oheraldo.in
avaz The mining lobby had misguided the cen-tral government by presenting a false envi-ronmental report to seek permission. AnNOC from the agriculture department mustbe made mandatory to establish miningactivities in the country. Youth Activist
The water requirement for Porvorim is 15MLD. If there are no technical faults or elec-trical problems at the Assonora reservoirand if water supply is smooth, then Por-vorim can get sufficient water supply evenduring the summer.
Goa I Sunday 27, February 2011
anil shankhwalker/ Bardez
water
Progress and Protest in North GoaThe relationship between progress and protest is similar to that of the proverbial chicken and the egg. Progress generallyleads to protest and vice-versa. Heralds team of correspondents have probed two key issues plaguing residents in twoparts of North Goa. Authorities in Bardez are under pressure to augment water supply to cater to demands of the swellingpopulation in Bardez taluka. On the other hand, authorities in Sattari are under pressure over growing public protestsagainst mining activities in Sattari taluka.
Development ups pressureon water supply in Bardez
Residents gather around a water tanker at Mapusa hill top.
Photo by Anil Shankwalker They may be situated at the extreme
ends of Bardez taluka, yet residents
of Porvorim closely monitor develop-
ments at a particular site in Assonora for
one main purpose.
This is because any problem in the water
treatment plant at Assonora will immedi-
ately trigger an acute water shortage in
Bardez taluka and residents of Porvorim
would be the worst affected lot, as they are
located at the tail end of the water supply.
Since Porvorim is a plateau, people have
to depend mainly on tap water. Whenever
there is water shortage, residents are forced
to hire water tankers to meet their require-
ment.
Though Porvorim plateau is the worst hit
by water supply in Bardez taluka, officials
of Public Works Department have claimed
that there is plenty of water storage capacity
at Porvorim.
According to PWD officials, there are
seven ground level reservoirs, two sumps
and eight overhead reservoirs. A reservoir
with a capacity of 650 cubic metres is under
construction at Ramnagar and four more
have been proposed by the PWD.
The water requirement for Porvorim is
15 MLD. If there are no technical faults or
electrical problems at the Assonora reser-
voir and if water supply is smooth, then Por-
vorim can get sufficient water supply even
during the summer, opined officials.
However, considering the pace of devel-
opment of Porvorim and surrounding areas,
as per the suggestion of Aldona MLA
Dayanand Narvekar, the PWD has pro-
posed a water treatment plant of 20 MLD at
Guirim.
Saligao MLA Dilip Parulekar has recom-
mended the site in Guirim Communidade.
Since Guirim Communidade has agreed to
offer land of 13,000 sq mtrs, the PWD has
undertaken the work of preparing the proj-
ect of water treatment plant at Guirim,
which is estimated to cost about Rs 20 crore.
The Tillari canal water will be utilized for
this treatment plant, but the only hitch is
that the treatment plant will not get water
for two months in November and Decem-
ber, due to annual maintenance of the Tillari
canal.
The plant, if commissioned, will remain
idle for two months due to non-supply of
Tillari canal water. The project will be sub-
mitted to the government shortly and if the
approval is received, the department plans
to complete the project within a year.
Por-wary over water shortage
Construction of an overhead water reservoir at Ramnagar-Alto Betim in
progress.
Photo by Anil Shankwalker
The underground water pipeline was meant to sup-ply water to various villages in Bardez taluka, but ithas been plagued by frequent breakdowns.In a bid to augment the water supply in the area,the PWD had laid an underground water pipelinefrom the Assonora Reservoir to supply water to thevillages of Aldona, Pomburpa, Olaulim, Salvador-do-Mundo, Penha-da-Franca and Nachinola.PWD Executive Engineer K H Kamaldinni said thepipeline has been frequently damaged due to heavybarge movement in the area.The barge filling point is close to this underwaterpipeline, repair of which is a difficult job and in-volves skilled manpower, which is not available eas-ily, said Kamaldinni.
Like the colour of the
ore, residents of Sat-
tari are now seeing
red over mining activities in
the taluka.
Various anti-mining com-
mittees have been formed by
affected villagers in the
taluka and among the
newest to join the anti-
mining bandwagon at the
Sattari Jagrut Yuva Mor-
cha and Janaseva Prathis-
tan at Sonal.
These committees have
accused authorities of trying
to renew old mine leases at
various places in the taluka
without taking villagers into
confidence.
Opposition to mining activ-
ities in Sattari is gaining mo-
mentum, with many
like-minded people and so-
cial activists supporting the
anti-mining committees in
their fight to reduce pollution,
destruction of environment,
illegal cutting of forest, etc.
Janaseva Pratishthan
members recently submit-
ted a representation to Sat-
tari Mamlatdar Satish Desai
alleging illegal mining activ-
ities at Gavanem-Sattari.
In a memorandum, the
group led by Adv Ganpat
Gaonker stated that a min-
ing company was carrying
out mining activities without
taking necessary permission
from various competent au-
thorities.
The environmental
clearance permission was
given to the mine by the
Ministry of Environment
and Forest subject to obtain-
ing clearance under Wildlife
Protection Act 1972 from the
competent authority, stated
the memorandum.
However, the proposal
for clearance under Forest
(Conservation) Act 1980 was
rejected by the Ministry of
Environment and Forest.
Mining activities which are
being carried out come
under the area of 1 km from
Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary,
added the memorandum.
The delegation further
pointed out that the mining
company has been illegally
using government land at
Gavanem to extraction,
dumping and rejection of ore.
The mining company is
posing a risk to public health
and agricultural land,
stated the delegation in the
memorandum.
About two months ago,
residents of Sonal had sub-
mitted a memorandum to
the union minister for envi-
ronment and forest, object-
ing to the renewal and grant
of a mining lease in Sonal-
Sanvordem in Sattari, as the
proposed mining area falls
within the purview of
Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary.
The memorandum signed
by Anti-mining Committee
President Shridhar Kale
stated that no mining lease
shall be granted in Sonal or
within the jurisdiction of
Sanvordem Panchayat and
it should be declared as a
mining-free zone area.
The villagers also pointed
out that the agriculture in
the area will be destroyed,
besides polluting wells and
river water if mining activi-
ties commence at Sonal.
Sattari residents see red over mining
Unhappy over the
State governments
eagerness to either
start new mines or renewal
of old mining leases in Sat-
tari taluka, a number of
youth have joined hands to
raise their concerns at a
higher level.
A group of youth and so-
cial activists from Sattari
taluka recently met the head
of an ecology expert panel on
Western Ghats appointed by
the ministry of environment.
A delegation that included
Adv Shivaji Dessai, Ranjit
Rane and Vishwesh Prabhu,
recently submitted a repre-
sentation to Prof Madhav
Gadgil, chairman of the ecol-
ogy expert panel on Western
Ghats appointed by the Min-
istry of Environment, who
was on a visit to the State.
While submitting the rep-
resentation, Dessai had also
raised a number of issues re-
lated to the mining lease at
Nagargao.
Dessai alleged that the
mining lobby had misguided
the central government by
presenting a false environ-
mental report to seek per-
mission.
An NOC from the agri-
culture department must be
made mandatory to estab-
lish mining activities in the
country, he said.
Ranjeet Rane highlighted
the importance of green for-
est and explained the conse-
quences of mining on
Mhadei River and Dabos
Water Treatment plant in
the region.
Another member of the
delegation, Vishwesh
Prabhu, highlighted about
the operation of illegal min-
ing activities in Sattari and
speeding trucks, which are
carrying ore without any re-
strictions.
Authorities are turning a
blind eye in the matter, he
alleged.
Raghu Gaonkar high-
lighted the ill-effects of min-
ing along the Mhadei
Wildlife Sanctuary. The
strong mining lobby is
preparing to set up mining in
this eco-sensitive zone, he
added.
After giving a patient
hearing to the youth, Prof
Gadgil assured them that the
issues raised would be in-
cluded in his report.
Sources informed that the
objective of the ecology ex-
pert panel is to demarcate
areas, which need to be noti-
fied as ecologically sensi-
tive, so that it could be
declared as restricted devel-
opment zones.
Speaking to Herald,
Vishvesh Parob and Ranjeet
Rane stated that Sattari
taluka in terms of environ-
ment is a sensitive zone and
it falls under the Western
Ghats, which makes it more
eco-sensitive.
Presently, some parts of
the taluka are reeling under
mining activities and the
State government is in the
mood to either set up new
mines or allow renewal of
old mining leases in the re-
Youth join anti-mining movement
ashraf khan / Sattari
mining
Mindful of growing public opposition to
mining activities in Sattari taluka, govern-
ment authorities are now under pressure
to act against those breaking the law.
Acting on a tip-off from locals, forest de-
partment officials recently seized a vehicle
with mining machinery from Paikul village
in Sattari taluka.
Suspecting foul play over the presence of
the vehicle with mining machinery near
Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary check post on
January 25, the villagers had alerted the
anti-mining activists.
However, before any action could be taken,
the driver bypassed the check-post and di-
verted the machinery through a remote
area and entered into Paikul.
When locals questioned the driver, they
were allegedly told that it had been
brought to restart mining activities at the
site located in the village.
The locals immediately alerted the forest
departments mobile squad. Later, forest
officials nabbed the accused for illegally in-
truding in the forest area under Forest Act
and after conducting the panchanama, the
vehicle carrying the machinery was also
detained in the connection.
PWD Official
MERCES, FEB 26: With the
hardworking PWD workers
unable to solve the problem
of low water pressure at
Temba in Merces, a decision
was ultimately arrived at,
that as a solution, a separate
and dedicated water
pipeline should be laid,
catering only to the Temba
area in Merces.
Herald had, on Friday, re-
ported how low water pres-
sure had affected the
villagers in Temba and how
they had to burn the mid-
night oil to collect their quota
of water.
The PWD workers who
had been working since Fri-
day to solve the problem
could not meet with any suc-
cess on Saturday, too, as the
pressure was simply too low.
And to add to the problem,
the GI pipeline that is sup-
plying water to the area had
corroded.
Later, Rudolf Fernandes,
son of local MLA Victoria
Fernandes, arrived at the
spot to take stock of the
progress being made, but
when the PWD workers told
him that only a separate
pipeline would solve the
problem, Rudolf immedi-
ately called AE Chavan to
visit the area and work out a
solution.
On his arrival, AE Chavan
consulted the PWD workers,
and after insistence from
Rudolf and the villagers, as-
sured that the PWD would
immediately begin the
process of laying a separate
pipeline.
However, since laying a
pipeline would take more
than a week, Chavan in-
formed that he would
send two water tankers,
one in the morning and
one in the evening, to
cater to the water require-
ments of the area.
But, at the time of going to
the press, there were no signs
of any water tanker, much to
the dismay of the Temba lo-
cals.
AE assures
separate
water pipeline
for Temba
residentsHERALD CORRESPONDENT
goa
5 www.oheraldo.in
Goa I Sunday 27, February 2011
The Gandhi Market vendors would wait for 15
days for the municipal administration to initi-
ate action against illegal vendors before
chalking out the future course of action. Rajendra Azgaonkar
The time has come for all of us to fight against
the polluting industries. If authorities are not
taking the matter seriously, then it is we the
people who will have to take an action. Actvist Ghaisas
SNAPSHOT
HERALD CORRESPONDENT
MARCEL, FEB 26: Vil-lagers from Parampai andKaranzal wards in MarcaimPanchayat have demandedstern action against one ofthe alleged polluting units atMarcaim IDC.
The residents have
claimed that the unit has be-
come a health hazard to the
people living in the area.
The unit, which is located in
the Marcaim IDC, is barely
few metres away from these
two wards, informed the vil-
lagers.
Villagers have claimed that
the unit is creating air and
noise pollution and the unit
has even illegally dumped
slag into the open space. Vil-
lagers fear that slag dumped
may come down with rain-
water into their houses.
Since 2003, we had initi-
ated agitation against this
unit, but till date authorities
have failed to act. People are
facing problem due to this
unit. There is difficulty in
breathing and many a times
sleepless nights because of
noise pollution, said former
Marcaim sarpanch Erasmo
Aguiar.
During our agitation in
2003, we had submitted
memorandums to all the gov-
ernment departments and
even to our local MLA. But
hardly anything had been
done so far. The delay by au-
thorities has resulted in peo-
ples suffering from varied
kinds of problems, added
Aguiar.
With authorities allegedly
failing to act, the villagers
stated that they are now com-
pelled to agitate.
The time has come for all
of us to fight against the pol-
luting industries. If authori-
ties are not taking the matter
seriously, then it is we the
people who will have to take
an action. We are committed
to the cause and will see to it
that such industries are shut
down, said Madkaim Na-
grik Kruti Sammitti Presi-
dent Mahabaleshwar
Ghaisas.
Hey poloy, goyche log
aiylya (see the Goan people
have come), said a migrant
child playing outside their
rented premises barely me-
tres away from the Madkaim
Industrial Estate, as media
persons along with villagers
were walking towards the
site where a unit had al-
legedly dumped slag in the
open area.
So you can imagine the
number of migrant popula-
tion working in this unit. We
are referred as outsiders. If
this the situation now, then
god knows in few years what
will be the situation, said
Ghaisas.
Villagers further claimed
that a unit has dumped large
amount of slag in the open
area.
The unit without any per-
mission dumped a large
quantity of slag in the land
belonging to Marcaim Com-
munidade. There is no com-
pound wall and during rains
the waste is bound to enter
our village along with the
running water, said Ponda
Block Shiv Sena Chief Kam-
lakant Naik.
This, I feel will have an
adverse effect on our health.
It is high time that govern-
ment should take a stern ac-
tion against the unit in the
interest of the people, added
Naik.
Added Ghaisas, This unit
is causing so much pollution
that our health is affected and
in few years our younger gen-
eration will suffer a lot.
Marcaim villagers demandaction against polluting units
HERALD REPORTER
MARGAO, FEB 26: Margaopolice descended at the Mar-gao Municipal building onFriday after vendors from theGandhi Market led by Rajen-dra Azgaonkar, brother ofPanchayat Minister, BabuAzgaonkar came to meet theChief Officer PrasannaAcharya with their long-pending grievances.
When Azgaonkar made his
presence felt in the civic body
along with 20-25 vendors, the
Chief Officer was conspicu-
ous by his absence and as-
sured the former that he
would reach the building
within minutes. However, the
vendors were surprised to see
a strong posse of policemen
entering the building as they
maintained that they have
come only to discuss with the
Chief Officer their problems.
When Acharya finally ar-
rived in the office, he was
asked to explain the failure of
the municipal administration
to crack a whip against illegal
vendors doing brisk business
along the station road. Az-
gaonkar pointed out that ille-
gal vendors spread across the
city have adversely affected
the genuine vendors in the
markets and called for action
against the illegalities.
Incidentally, Azgaonkar
later told newsmen that the
Chief Officer spoke about il-
legalities in the Gandhi Mar-
ket and the inaction by the
municipal inspectors. I have
told the Chief Officer to go
ahead with action against any
illegality in the Gandhi Mar-
ket. I told the CO that it was
for him to initiate action dis-
ciplinary action against any
erring staff, he added.
Azgaonkar said the ven-
dors would wait for 15 days
for the administration to initi-
ate action before chalking out
the future course of action.
HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, FEB 26: The deci-
sion to cancel and de-recog-
nise seats for MDS (post
graduate) courses in Goa
Dental College (GDC) has
created a panic among the
students aspiring for the
course.
Dental students in a writ-
ten representation to the Goa
Governor S S Sidhu have ap-
pealed to look into the matter
which has arisen because of
ill-equipped machinery in the
college.
It has been informed to us
by the Dean of GDC that the
admission to the post gradu-
ate courses will be stopped
from the academic year 2011-
12 due to lack of affiliation by
the Goa University (GU) with
just few days remaining for
the admission process to
begin in March, the letter
reads.
The students were in-
formed by the GU that GDC
is not equipped with the lat-
est machinery and infra-
structure and hence it does
not comply with the require-
ments that are mentioned by
the GUs Affiliation Inquiry
Committee (AIC). But they
claim that the GDC has com-
plied with all necessities put
forth by the Dental Colleges
of India.
With GDC the only dental
college in the State, the stu-
dents complain that can-
celling and de-recognising
the post graduate seats would
only deprive them of higher
studies.
It is injustice and unfair
to the students aspiring for
MDS courses in Goa due to
the last minute decision
cancelling and de-recog-
nising seats without prior
notice to the students. Our
career is at stake the
letter signed by five stu-
dents further reads.
GU had fixed the last date
to respond to the fulfillment
of the requirement by the
GDC on March 2, 2011.
Students said that they
have made futile attempts to
meet concerned authorities
and the health minister, while
also claiming the GDC dean
has shown no compliance
with the GU to reply to con-
clusion by the AIC.
The distressed students
have given a copy of their
representation to Chief Min-
ister Digambar Kamat,
Health Minister Vishwajeet
Rane, Leader of Opposition
Manohar Parrikar, GU Vice
Chancellor Dileep De-
obagkar and GDC Dean P K
Chandra.
MDS cancellation:dental students seekGuvs intervention
HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, FEB 26: In an ap-
parent cover-up in a case of
alleged assault, Panjim po-
lice have refused to take ac-
tion against Zito Jude
George of assaulting a Her-
ald staffer, late on Friday
night.
Zito, is incidentally the
brother of ADC to Governor
Bosco George. On Friday, at
about 10:30 pm, Chandan
DSa was on his way to cover
an event was assaulted by
two persons one of whom he
identified as Zito.
When I reached Cortim
with my colleague to cover
Saraswat food festival, a car
abruptly stopped in front of
us and two men including
Zito came out of the car and
started beating me with fist
blows and kicks. I ran inside
a nearby bar to save myself
but they still chased me,
Chandan said.
He also heard a womans
voice from inside the car ask-
ing the assailants to kill him.
He said, I called up the po-
lice from my mobile phone
but they did not entertain
my complaint. I later ap-
proached the Panjim police
station in person to file a for-
mal complaint.
The police referred him
for medical examination
after which Chandan lodged
a complaint. However, the
police first refused to take his
complaint and later regis-
tered a non-cognizable com-
plaint stating that the
injuries were not grievous.
The police sub-inspector
on duty was A P Velip. While
I was filing complain, Hawal-
dar Ramesh Desai suggested
me to retaliate back at Zito
and group by forming my
own gang. I replied that it is
their duty to take police ac-
tion, he stated.
The Herald colleague who
has witnessed the assault is
still not called for recording
his statement even as the
Heralds editor intervened.
HERALD CORRESPONDENT
MERCES, FEB 26: The Chaka Chakteam comprising Patricia Pinto, FrankyGracias and Valerie Madredeus visitedthe Merces panchayat, on Saturday, towork out modalities on how to begin theprocess of tackling plastic menace whichhas engulfed the village.
Also present at the meeting was local
MLA Victoria Fernandes, apart from
Merces Sarpanch Deepika Shirgaonkar,
deputy Sarpanch Yatin Palekar, garbage
committee members and concerned cit-
izens.
Initiating the proceedings, Patricia ex-
plained the panchayat authorities about
the government schemes which could
be availed by the panchayat to tackle
garbage.
She further made them aware of two
schemes namely 'plastic menace
scheme' and 'rural garbage scheme',
which could be utilized by the panchay-
ats to solve the garbage woes.
Patricia then laid emphasis on tack-
ling the plastic menace first, and in-
formed that except Parra, no other
panchayat has availed of the 'plastic
menace scheme'.
Explaining further, Patricia said that
under this scheme, initially the pan-
chayat is provided Rs 25000 and the
plastic collected is taken for recycling by
a government-appointed contractor.
However, she said that before they
begin the process of plastic collection,
there is a need to chalk out a plan on
how to go about it.
"After a plan is put in place, awareness
should be created among the public on
segregating plastic," she added and also
emphasized on putting in place the facil-
ities that are needed to store the col-
lected plastic.
After much discussion, the members
present reached a decision that instead
of implementing the programme in en-
tire Merces, the village could be divided
into zones and the programme could be
implemented in one zone, and depend-
ing on the success in this zone, it could
then be implemented in the other zone.
Accordingly, the garbage committee
members suggested that the Shantaban,
Kumbarvaddy, Firguem Bhat and sur-
rounding areas should be clubbed in one
zone and the programme could be
launched there.
Later, as a first step, the Chaka Chak
team and the Merces VP decided that a
public meeting will be held on March 13
at the Maruti Temple, Kumbarvaddy, to
create awareness among the locals on
plastic menace, which will be then fol-
lowed by a door-to-door campaign.
Chaka Chak team member Franky
Gracias also emphasized that constant
follow-up on the issue will have to be
done, if the programme has to be suc-
cessful.
"We will extend whatever help and
guidance is required," Franky assured,
but added that the co-operation of the
people and the panchayat authorities is
a must to carry the programme forward.
The Chaka Chak team also extended
its full co-operation to the panchayat in
availing the government schemes and
showed willingness to personally create
awareness along with the garbage com-
mittee and the panchayat authorities, as
and when necessary.
The team members also urged the
panchayat secretary to keep a tab on
shopkeepers who are selling plastic bags
below 40 microns, which is banned, and
to fine the violators.
Chaka Chak team, Merces VP joinhands to tackle plastic menace
Workshop on Right to Information PANJIM (HND): Associacao Academica de Moira and
Asha Family Responsibilities & Rights Association will
conduct a Workshop on Right to Information in
Konkani and English on March 6 at AA Moira Club
Hall from 5 pm to 6.30 pm. Registration is free. For
details call 9822166876 / 9623454450 or e-mail:
Passing out paradePANJIM (HND): The passing out parade of 47th batch
of fire fighter recruits of Arunachal Pradesh Govern-
ment who have undergone six-month elementary
course in fire fighting at Goa State Fire Force Training
Centre will be held on February 28 at Fire Force
Headquarters, Training Center, St Inez, Panjim, from
10 am onwards.
HSSC seating arrangements PANJIM (HND): At Rosary HSS, Navelim Sub Center
for Commerce Whole 62057 to 62348 and 62350 to
62569; for Exemption 62570 to 62620 and 63761.
At RMS HSS (Damodar College of Commerce,
Comba, Margao) Sub Center for Arts Whole 61866 to
62033 and 62349; Exemption 62034 to 62056; Sci-
ence whole 62621 to 62765; Exemption 62766 to
62770; Vocational whole 62771 to 62851 and
62853 to 63019; Exemption 63020.
Nuvem civic forum meetPANJIM (HND): The Nuvem Civic and Consumer
Forum (NCCF) will have its monthly general meeting
of consumers on Sunday, February 27, at 10:15 am
at Mae dos Pobres High School, Nuvem. Among the
issues to be discussed are Road Safety & Traffic
Management, Identity Cards & benefits for Senior Cit-
izens, LPG matters and Water and Sanitation.
Arts & crafts exhibition PANJIM (HND): `Spirit of Goa an arts and crafts exhi-
bition cum sale will be organised at Leonoras Gallery,
Verna on Sunday, February 27 to March 15.
Artists - Piety D'Silva, David Flaviano Fernandes, Si-
mona Fernandes, Chaze Galleries Collection and
Pradeep Naik collection will be showcasing the prod-
ucts. Paintings of oil, acrylic, watercolors on
canvas/paper, tribal art, China art and ceramics will
be on display. The exhibition will remain open from
10 am to 9 pm at Leonoras Gallery, Verna.
St Francis Xavier novena PANJIM (HND): The novena of Grace in honour of St
Francis Xavier at Bom Jesus Basilica, Old Goa, will be
held from March 4 to 12. The novena masses from
March 4 to 11 (except March 6) at 7 am, 8 am, 4.30
pm and 5.30 pm will be in Konkani and at 6.30 pm
in English. Way of the Cross will be held everyday at
3.30 pm. On March 6, novena masses in Konkani will
be at 7 am, 8 am, 9.15 am, 4.30 pm and 5.30 pm; in
English at 10.15 am and 6.30 pm.
On March 12, masses will be held in Konkani at 7
am, 8 am and 9.30 am (High Mass). After the 9.30
am Mass, there will be Penitential Procession starting
from Bom Jesus Basilica to the Church of the Miracu-
lous Cross (Khuris Milagre) atop Boa Vista Hill at Old
Goa. After the Penitential procession, there will be a
Mass in the Church of the Miraculous Cross, at 4.30
pm, 5.30 pm (both in Konkani) and 6.30 pm (in Eng-
lish). On March 6, there will be a Mass at the Chapel
of St Francis Xavier (near the petrol pump) at Old Goa
at 10 am.
Tide chart: February 27 High Tide: 0539; 2034: Low Tide: 0022; 1248
Police descend on Margao municipal building
Cops trying to hush up assault on Herald staffer?
HERALD REPORTER
VASCO, FEB 26: Barely
few hours after Mormugao
Municipal Council (MMC)
cracked a whip on defaulters,
who failed to clear rent, MMC
enchased nearly Rs 7 lakh in
its treasury.
MMC on Friday com-
menced its drive to seal the
shops and commercial estab-
lishments that were rented
out, as MMC had to recover
nearly Rs 4 crore as rent dues
from the defaulters.
However, within few hours
after MMC officials sealed
three shops, the defaulters
made their presence felt at
the council to clear their
dues.
MMC sealed three shops in
Vasco area, one near Goa Sa-
hakar Bhandar, two in old
market. We have received
nearly Rs 6.82 lakh within
few hours after sealing drive
commenced, said MMC
Chief Officer Gopal Parsekar.
Vasco cracks down on rentdefaulters
Mahabaleshwar Ghaisas
Remove traffic bottlenecks at NuvemHERALD REPORTER
MARGAO, FEB 26: The
South Goa Traffic Regulatory
Committee on Saturday has
called for removing traffic
bottlenecks at Nuvem and to
complete the old market cir-
cle-Damodar College ring
road at the earliest.
The meeting chaired by
District Magistrate, G P Naik
deliberated on the traffic sce-
nario in South Goa district
and mooted a slew of meas-
ures for streamlining traffic
at perennial bottlenecks.
Briefing newsmen after
the meeting, the district mag-
istrate said that superinten-
dent of police, traffic has
underlined the need to im-
prove the traffic scenario
along the NH-17 at Nuvem.
In this respect, Naik said that
work on the Majorda bypass
would be completed on a pri-
ority basis to give relief for
traffic heading to Margao
from Nuvem.
He said the meeting has is-
sued directions to the author-
ities to remove the poles
coming within the road
widening area.
Ever so often these days, I get ac-
costed by my friends and this is
what they say, It is time to
launch a massive movement by all of us
Goans, like the Egyptians, As if all
movements are as easy as a bowel
movement. Talk they say, is cheap.
Sadly, Democracy is even cheaper.
Like a scintillating, searing magnum
opus that even Holly wood could not
dream of, we are proud to witness one
of the most epoch making periods in
our planets contemporary history. The
entire Arab world is ablaze with the
feverish emotion of revolt.
Tunisia and Egypt have fallen. Libya,
Bahrain and Yemen are creaking at the
gates of paradise. Blood has been
spilled, sacrifices made, and we are al-
most an integral part of these countrys
histories via live TV and the internet.
Their struggle for freedom and democ-
racy is forever ours.
So, wheres the difference??? Cant
we get rid of our home grown despots
The little men who have set this little
land of ours down a suicidal path of dis-
aster? A press of the voting button is so
much easier. No? Than pressing a trig-
ger? So, why cant the change occur?
And therein lies our collective
tragedy, if not farce.
Whereas Mubarak and Gadaffi kept
their ill gotten wealth restricted to fam-
ily and a coterie, our family concerns
that rule us; the Alemaos, the Monser-
ates, the Ranes and the Dhavlikars
spread the largesse like a generous dose
of butter to almost everyone in their
constituencies.
All of us are welcome to the party, in
true carnival style, to partake of the
feast which consists of exotic, wonderful
delicacies, even if laced with arsenic. So
why bother about democracy, account-
ability and transparency? That is for
tireless (and thankfully tiresome) ac-
tivists and journalists and thinking citi-
zens to fret about.
Today, we are drunk silly, all at the
cost of our earth and our trees, our
rivers and our hills. The booze just does
not seem to stop. So why grumble? But
someday, the hangover will have to set
in and the unsustainable bubble will
have to burst.
And then, the monstrous Marie An-
toinettes and Louis XVI that we our-
selves have created will exclaim. They
dont have water??? Really? Why dont
they drink alcohol instead? And the
French connection would seem com-
plete.
The subtle yet humungous difference
between the Arabs and us therefore is
this; the Arabs are waging a spectacular,
gutsy and winning battle against
wealthy ensconced tyrants addicted to
oil and power.
We, the brilliant people of Goa and
India, are hell bent on jeopardising and
squandering the glorious fruits of
democracy that our founding fathers,
created for us selflessly, spectacularly
and seamlessly.
By bartering our votes, and our con-
science as well, for thirty pieces of silver,
we are slowly but surely nurturing feu-
dal lords and dangerous tyrants ad-
dicted to mines and real estate, who will
then crush us relentlessly to keep their
grip on power for a eons to come.
Democracy be damned!
The gale storm is approaching! With-
out doubt!!!
My guess is that it will take our grand
children to overthrow these kings and
their progeny, in an Egyptian style rev-
olution, 80 years down the line when
the cauldron finally comes to a boil.
Hence let us celebrate as the Arab
world marches forward, and mourn
while we stubbornly refuse to see the
writing on the wall, and determinedly
march backwards, a cocky smile on our
faces and our eyes wide shut. Vive La
Revolucion!
Dr Oscar Rebello has Goa in his heart
and wears it on his sleeve. He needs no
introduction!
opinion6 www.oheraldo.in
Agreed that the police force has much tohide or at the very least not much to writehome about. But at no point of time can itattempt to deny the media information.
Edit
My guess is that it will take our grand chil-dren to overthrow these kings and theirprogeny, in an Egyptian style revolution,80 years down the line when the cauldronfinally comes to a boil.
Dr Oscar Rebello
WEEKENDEDIT
Vol. No CXI No. 58 I Goa I Sunday 27, February 2011
PEOPLESEDIT
Editor-in-chief: Mr R F Fernandes. Editor: Sujay Gupta (Responsible under PRB
Act). Regd Office: St Tome Road, Panjim, Goa. Tel: 2224202, 2228083, Fax:
6658510 (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.
Printed and published by Vinayak Pai Bir for and on be-
half of Herald Publications Pvt Ltd. Printed at Herald Pub-
lications 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.
HOW TO CONTACT US: [email protected] For press notes, general queries. [email protected] For Reporters.
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Disclaimer: Except for the editorial above, articles and letters in Herald represent the views of the concerned authors, and do not necessarily
reflect the views of the Herald editor, publisher, and/or owners.
For l etters to the edi tor contact us at ed itor weekend@herald -goa.com
dr OScar rEBEllO
Walk like an Egyptian!SHOOTING FROM THE HIP
Its mostly when you get to a land-
mark date in your life that you start
to take stock of yourself and what
you do. When birthdays start to edge
closer, you can either grin a toothy one
or shudder with trepidation.
When your age is in single digits, you
look forward to a party with balloons,
streamers and loads of presents. When
you get to your teens, you hope that the
girl you have a crush on will come and
wish you, probably the closest your
pimpled-ridden cheek will be to hers.
When youre in your twenties, you wake
up the next morning with a bad
headache, while checking to see that
the boys didnt play a prank and leave
you with no clothes on.
When youre in your thirties, you will
probably head to the nearest mirror to
count your grey hair. Or in my case,
check to see if there are any black
strands left at all. Its funny how birth-
days matter, but on a different level al-
together. Earlier, I would count down
from a week to ten days before. Now, I
dont even care that its just two days
away. (Dear Bento clan, I hope youre
paying attention)
At this point in life, aunts, uncles and
all your married friends call you up and
wish youand then ask you when
youre getting married. And somehow,
even though there are a dozen sarcastic
quips bouncing around your head, you
decide to politely brush it off. Its funny,
as your age increases, so does your
weight, your wrinkles, the aches and
pains, even the number of times you
head to the loo.
If Miles Davis only knew that Id bor-
rowed a title of one of my favourite jazz
albums ever, by him, as a part of the title
to this freewheelin but bordering on
manic depressive middle, he would
probably throw one of his precious
trumpets at me.
Not that I would mind, it would look
good on my mantelpiece, placed strate-
gically next to my Live in Newport LP. I
just had to rub that in, to any jazz fans
reading this.
Just recently I was browsing through
and reconnecting with old friends and
former classmates on a social network-
ing site. A guy, who I was in secondary
school with, told me that his dad came
here in the 80s and worked for Herald,
at that time when things were just pick-
ing up.
Another one posts photographs of us
when I got my first job at a music store.
Whenever I sit and chat with one of my
best friends, who Ive known for 25
years, we reminisce about the crazy
things we did as kids play catch dur-
ing a fete all over the school ground. We
were eight, we didnt know any better.
Fast forward to college, when I would
get on my second hand Yezdi that Id
conveniently started using, relegating
dad to pedestrian status, and head to
Benaulim with friends for a swim, or
head to one of their houses to watch
them practice for the Arlem Festival
dance competition.
I end up meeting some of them even
today, one whos just had his first child
or one who still puts his foot in his
mouth every time he opens it. Some of
them live far away, or have busy sched-
ules, or both, including having a family
of their own. But when we meet, its like
weve gone back in time.
Life makes you realise that as you
grow older, its these little meetings that
make it all worthwhile. And, that all you
need are a few faces around you that
matter.
It also has a way to making you re-
alise that certain things should stop
being so important.
Like numbers, for instance. Lets face
it at the end of the day, I still feel 21! I
think
BENTO AT THE TINTO
Kind of blue when grey hair attacks!
Kurt BEntO
find us on facebook
search for heraldweekend
OrlandO S a da Silva
The decision of the Goa gov-
ernment to arbitrarily grant
licences to the Raheja mega-
project in Carmona when the matter
is before the District Court is noth-
ing but dictatorship and political
hubris. The Town and Country
Planning (TCP) Department has is-
sued the final NOC for Raheja to de-
velop approximately 88,000-odd sq
metres on the banks of the Sal, sub-
divided into 15 plots, with the condi-
tion that no secondary permission
will be granted unless land for a 10-
metre access road is acquired and
built. As per a circular dated 29 Au-
gust 2008 issued by the same depart-
ment under the directives of the
Chief Minister, a mandatory road
must be physically present at the
site, even while granting the conver-
sion sanads, and much before any
physical development.
The question is, has our CM done
this to save his government owing to
Churchill Alemaos blackmailing
tactics? The people of Carmona
unanimously opposed the project by
a gram sabha resolution on 30
March 2007. The village Regional
Plan committee also resolved to op-
pose widening of internal village
roads beyond 5 metres width. On 7
February, a fresh letter was written
to all the above authorities, inform-
ing them about the revision petition
filed before the district court at Mar-
gao, and warning that any decision
in violation would amount to con-
tempt of court. But none of them has
replied. The Rahejas have violated
the Forest Act by destroying all the
private forest. They have been fined
by the Forest Department. They
have violated the Environment Act
by laying an RCC sewage pipeline to
drain waste into the river Sal. They
have violated the Town and Country
Planning Act by developing plots in
the non-development (CRZ) zone.
I want to ask the following ques-
tions to Chief Minister Digambar
Kamat and PWD Minister Churchill
Alemao:
(1) When there is no possibility of
a 10-metre road being built unless
peoples houses and compounds are
demolished, where the promised 10-
metre road come from?
(2) Are rules and regulations ap-
plicable only to the aam admi and
not to Raheja? The aam admi has
to take Forest Dept permission to
cut even one tree and follow TCP
rules to construct even a small resi-
dential house.
(3) Can the government acquire
and broaden the existing road to 10-
metres width? This road was earlier
acquired under an award dated 21
July 2000, to be six metres wide.
(4) Who are the beneficiaries of
this mega project? Our MLA
Churchill Alemao says this project
will create jobs. The jobs offered
may be of security personnel and
domestic servants. Goa is a highly
educated state; who would want
their children to take up these jobs?
(5) The Rahejas have laid a ce-
ment pipeline to discharge waste
into the river Sal. The River Sal is a
source of ground water recharge for
the locality; our wells are recharged
by this river. It is also source of ma-
rine food for locals.
(6) Carmona village has very little
land for housing; most of the land is
agricultural. Where will future gen-
erations get land for housing if
builders are allowed to flout all rules
and regulation for huge commercial
projects?
(7) Can anyone cite one single
way in which this project will ben-
efit locals and their future genera-
tions?
Carmona is not Rahejas bhatt
We, the brilliant peo-ple of Goa and India,are hell bent on jeop-ardising and squan-dering the gloriousfruits of democracythat our founding fa-thers, created for usselflessly, spectacu-larly and seamlessly.
The conspiracyof silence
As a newspaper, our job is to ask questions. Tough or uncom-
fortable questions, questions for clarity or for better per-
ception, so that these answers can be given to the biggest
sovereign in the state, the people of Goa. Over the years, the rela-
tionship between the press and the executive has become strained
because while we think and hope that we are doing our job, the ex-
ecutive is not doing its job of answering questions. Nowhere is this
stifling of all questions more evident than in the home department
and its extension the police.
The Director General of Police, Mr BS Bassi has perfected the art
of avoiding the press. Herald reporters and we are sure our col-
leagues in other media as well are tired and disgusted at the child-
ish manner in which Bassi avoids the press. When you call his office,
his staff says he is out and helpfully asks you to call on his cell. That
either rings or is switched off. As lunch hour approaches, the excuse
turns to, Hes gone home for lunch. When you call home, it always
is, He has just left after lunch. So, you presume that he is midway
and call on the cell. And the cycle continues.This is repeated ad in-
finitum with other officers, including the spokesperson of the Goa
police Atmaram Deshpande.
Agreed that the police force has much to hide or at the very least
not much to write home about. But at no point of time can it attempt
to deny the media information. It must understand that closing of
communication is the biggest folly it could commit. Whoever is the
author of this strategy is doing great disservice to the police force
and the government. Moreover, right from the time PSI Gudlar was
caught trying to sell drugs to the sister and girlfriend of drug lord
Dudu, to the time the Panjim police was found charged with the tor-
ture and homicidal death of Cipriano Fernandes, the media has kept
things simple. When facts are not palatable, the police cant blame
the suppliers but the cooks. And the cooks are in their own kitchen.
The media is facing a tough ask. It has to cut through this con-
spiracy of silence of the police, dig deep to unearth the truth through
a network which is on the fringes of the police and use the Right to
Information to brutal effect. All this to ensure that the common man
does is not forced into shock and silence by this huge conspiracy
played by the state. Silence is not a defense mechanism. It has been
used by the police as an effective weapon to counter attack. When
officers are guilty of literally bei