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DAILY FROM KOLKATA • PORT BLAIR • SILIGURI

VOL XI ISSUE NO 10 PAGES 8 PORT BLAIR • MONDAY • JANUARY 22, 2018 Rs 3.00

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THE ECHO OF INDIA

CHAT ROOM

Page-5

‘HOSTING LANKA BEFORE SA OF LITTLE PURPOSE FOR INDIA’

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‘WANTED TO QUIT, BUT STAYED ON AFTER NIRBHAYA’

Recruitment exams by Municipal Council conducted peacefully

Candidates free to challenge Answer Key: Yashpal GargPORT BLAIR, JAN 21/--/ The PortBlair Municipal Council con-ducted a written examinationpeacefully for 33 posts of LGC onSunday at 60 different examina-tion centres in transparent manner.It was held in all over the Islandswhich include Bambooflat,Wimberlygunj, Mannarghat,Ferrargunj, Tushnabad, LittleAndaman, Diglipur, Mayabunder,Rangat, Car Nicobar, CampbellBay, Nancowrie including PortBlair hq station. There were total20,670 candidates and as per pre-liminary details about 75% to 80 %candidates were present.

A copy of the Question Paperand its Answer Key will beuploaded on the websitewww.and.nic.in by late evening to-day itself. Anyone can challengethe Answer Key by paying chal-lenge fee @ Rs. 1,000 for each ques-tion, at the PBMC Headquarter

during working hours on 22nd &23rd January. In case the challengeis found genuine, double of the chal-lenge fee will be returned and theanswer key will be corrected for theparticular question. However if thechallenge is not found to be genu-ine, the challenge fee will be for-feited. The Answer Key can bechallenged by anyone irrespectiveof the fact whether he/she is a can-didate or not. Accordingly outsta-tions persons can also file their chal-lenges through their friends/rela-tives at Port Blair. The final AnswerKey, with or without correction,will be uploaded on the website on24th January i.e. prior to start of theevaluation process.

The PBMC had not scrutinizedthe applications as informed ear-lier. Based on performance in thewritten examination, candidatesequal to five times of the vacanciesunder each category will be

shortlisted. As earlier informed, incase two or more candidates getequal marks in written examina-tion, the first tie breaker will bedate of birth where the older candi-date will be given priority over theyounger candidate. In case of fur-ther tie, the second tie breakers willbe draw of lots under the supervi-sion of any officer of the A&N Ad-ministration. The scrutiny abouteligibility and verification of thedocuments will be restricted to thecandidates to be shortlisted on thebasis of the written examination.The short-listed candidates, whoare found to be non-eligible as perthe notified RRs, will not be al-lowed to undergo the Typing Test.Hence unless the eligibility condi-tions are fulfilled and Type Test isqualified, the mere securing highermerit in the recruitment examina-tion will not guarantee selection.Here it is mentioned the Typing

Test would be of qualifying natureonly and the marks obtained in theTyping Test will not be counted inmerit. It had already been decidedthat no recruitment to be madeagainst the vacant posts of Tax Col-lectors. Accordingly the present re-cruitment process has been re-stricted to 33 vacant posts of LowerGrade Clerk (LGC) only. Howeverthe Council has taken up with theA&N Administration to re-desig-nate the 20 vacant posts of Tax Col-lectors as Lower Grade Clerk. Ac-cordingly, based on the scores ob-tained in the examination, a panelmay be prepared and in the eventof approval of the Competent Au-thority for re-designation of 20posts, these can also be filled upfrom such panel. The validity ofthe panel will be one year from thedate of announcement of result,said Mr Yashpal Garg, Secretary,PBMC, in a release to EOI.

ANCOST gets boost with launch ofinfrastructure facilities near Minnie Bay

PORT BLAIR, JAN 21/--/ TheSecretary, Ministry of Earth Sci-ences, Dr. M Rajeevan inauguratedthe state of art Laboratory-cum-Administrative Building (2500 Sqmeter) and residential accommo-dation facility for employees ofAndaman and Nicobar Centre forOcean Science and Technology(ANCOST) on Saturday. After un-veiling the inaugural stone of newinfrastructures, the Secretaryspoke about various supporting ac-tivities relating to the Ministry ofEarth Sciences and transfer of newtechnologies for Ocean and Atmos-pheric Sciences for the benefit ofisland communities. He also re-leased the Wall Map of Andaman &Nicobar islands and the first copywas presented to Dr. S. S. C.Shenoi, Director, NIOT.

(Contd. on page-2)

Destiny’s child: He has chiseled a ‘Maha’ name for himself as an artist

LOKNATH PATRA

Mahananda Gomasta, called‘Maha’ by ones close tohim, is a two-time recipient

of the LG’s Commendation Certifi-cate (2001 & 2008) with two StateAwards (2004 &2005), whose life re-sembles a script from a blockbustermovie. Born in 1963 at Ramnagar,for fees and subsistence he workedas a farm hand and errand boy overyears to complete school as his poor

parents could not meet his expenses.His life revolved only aroundRamnagar, Kalighat and Diglipur,through arduous 25 kilometre trekscombating, rivulets, forests, hillsand snakes. After school in 1986, hesaw Port Blair for the first time,where he was encouraged to go to

Kolkata to study in an ArtCollege by a teacher whohad seen the artistic sparkin him and who also gavehim 500 rupees, which hereluctantly accepted. Heboarded a ship, unawarewhere he was going orwhat destiny had in storefor him. He encountered afew students fromAndaman on the ship and followedthem uninvited not knowing where

to go or what to do. Theytook pity on the boy andsheltered and fed him atKolkata for a few days. Be-fore guilt was taking overhis soul, the boys took himto Rabindra Bharati Uni-versity at Jorasanko andlied about the ship fromAndaman getting delayedas application dates wereover. Passing the entrancetest, he joined the college,but his ordeal continued.No place to stay, for sixmonths he lived in a shantyat Dhapa near Sealdahright atop the sewage dumpof Kolkata city, where rawhides were cleaned. Stench,squalor, and painful skincrabs on his skin becamehis life before and after col-lege, where he workedcleaning hides to fend forhimself. His college mates,from whom he had hid hisaddress out of shame,found out his painful secretand got him a seat in the

hostel helped by the student’s union.Life smiled on him a little then, as hegot contract jobs from leather facto-ries to make parts. His monetarysituation improved, with destinyshaping his next path he completedthe 5- year course with distinctionand returned to Port Blair to join as

an Artist and Designer atIP& T Department. He livesin Prothrapur with his wifeMaya and two daughtersMonami and Meghna.

EOI had a chat with Mr.Mahananda Gomasta at hisoffice on the first floor of theIP& T headquarters. On histable stood a head ofTathagata sculpted by him in

wood looking at us with kind eyes,the lifelike expression blessing usthe way he has blessed ‘Maha’.

EOI: Good Morning Mr.Gomasata. You are just back fromthis path breaking exhibition‘Viswaroopa’ with your ‘Aranyak’collection of wood sculptures atBirla Academy of Arts and Culture,Kolkata. Great reviews in the Na-tional Media have welcomed yourcreative prowess.

Mr. Gomasta: Good morning. Ohyes, to me it was like living a dream tobe part of this mega art show and thedeluge of appreciation from theWho’s Who of the art fraternity andconnoisseurs.

EOI: For a child who had nevereven seen Port Blair till he finishedschool, reaching to where you aretoday, is like a story of trials andtribulations, the agony and the ec-stasy. Is not it?

Mr. Gomasta: (Lets out a deepsign). You know, the day I was to departfor Port Blair on the way to Kolkata,my artistic mother’s squiggles anddoodles that had planted the seed ofart in me was very sad that she hadnothing to give me. Not defeated, sherummaged through the house to findan old One Rupee Note, which shethought would end my misery. I stillremember her innocent eyes welledup in tears of joy with her contribu-tion and sadness of my leaving her toan unknown land. I still have the notewith me because it is as priceless asMona Lisa. (Contd. on page-2)

Agency House launches sales/service Centre at MBKURMA RAO

MAYABUNDER, JAN 21/--/ Agency House, authoriseddealership of Maruti Suzuki, launched its maiden Exten-sion Service Centre at Lucknow, Mayabunder in NorthAndaman on Friday. Mr SK Nanda, Director of AgencyHouse, inaugurated the Centre in the presence of largenumber of customers in the region. (Contd. on page-2)

EVENTS TODAY� Services: Super Special-ists from Medica Multi-Speci-a l i t y Hosp i ta l , Ko lka ta torender service at GB Pant Hos-pital.

� Workshop: Dr. B .R .Ambedkar Institute of Tech-nology to organise two-dayworkshop cum t ra in ing onIGBC Green Building RatingSystem in associat ion withIndian Green Building Coun-cil (IGBC).

� Puja: Seva Niketan to cel-ebrate Sree Sree SaraswatiPuja at Seva Niketan, DairyFarm from 9 am.

� Sailing: MV Bharat Seemato sail for Car Nicobar via HutBay a t 7 am f rom Haddowharf.

� Saksham 2018: Oil andGas Conserva t ion MassAwareness campaign beingorganized by Petroleum Con-servation Research Associa-tion and Oil and Gas PublicSector Undertakings. Till Feb15.

� Workshop: Kala Kendra–A&N Is lands organ iz ingmonth long production ori-ented Theatre Workshop incol laborat ion with NationalSchool of Drama, New Delhi.