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O HERALD O The Voice of Goa — Since 1900 pAnjim, thursDAY, june 24, 2010

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Goa’s Heartbeat: Sonam changes in personality for ‘Mausam’ Pg 14

Business: India, EU working on Pg 12 labour mobility pact

Not involved in drug racket: Atala

Today’s Matches

sLOvAkiA vs itALy at 7.30 pm PArAGuAy vs NEwzEALANd at 7.30 pm dENmArk vs JAPAN at 00.00 Am cAmErOON vs NEthErLANds at 00.00 Am

Lokayukta quits Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde, known for his crusade against corruption and the mining lobby, today made a sudden decision to resign from his post and criticised the BJP government for its “indifference to Lokayukta institution”. -- (PTI)

Yaniv Benahim alias Atala, who was granted bail by the NDPS Court on Tuesday leaving in a car along with his advocate Swapnil Nasnolkar in the city on Wednesday.

Photo by Rozario Estibeiro HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, JUNE 23

Claiming innocence, alleged Israeli drug dealer Yaniv Benahim alias Atala, who was granted bail by the NDPS (Narcotics, Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Court has refused to admit he was involved in any drug racket or had connections with any policemen.

In an interview with Herald, Atala ,who was accompanied by his lawyer Swapnil Nasnolkar after being released from Sada jail, claimed he was not involved in any drug racket and smoked drugs like any other ordinary tourist does.

“I am innocent, I did no wrong. I have full faith in Indian justice and one day all charges against me would be proved wrong,” Atala said.

“For no reason I am being

Goa to get BSNL 3G from today HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, JUNE 23

State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is set to launch its 3G services in Goa tomorrow.

Goa will be only the second place after Pune to get the 3G rollout in the western zone, which includes the States of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Goa, Chattisgarh and Maharashtra.

The new service offers video calls, high-speed Internet facilities like fast downloading of data on mobiles.

According to BSNL, all prepaid and post-paid customers using 3G-enabled mobile handsets can avail of the services, but they will have to subscribe for the same. BSNL has paid Rs 10,186.58 crore to the government for pan-India 3G spectrum, excluding Delhi and Mumbai circles.

The 3G services are expected to be charged at 30 paise per minute.

framed by my enemies, I did no wrong,” he reiterated.

Asked if he was not involved in any drug racket what was he doing in India even after being deported in 2007, Atala refused to answer the query.

On the videos uploaded by his former girlfriend Lucky Farmhouse, Atala stated, “that is all bull…t, and the media ate that bull..t.”

The Israeli also went on to say he does not know Lucky anymore and has no connection with the model.

“I have no connection with her,” he stated adding “I have not spoken to Lucky for the last four years. I don’t know why she is talking against me,” In the videos uploaded on the Youtube, Atala had admitted to his connection with Police Inspector Ashish Shirodkar, who

was recently released by NDPS court after being arrested by the Crime Branch in the case.

When this was pointed out to him, he simply refused to recognize the cop.

“I don’t know any Ashish. I have no contact with him or any policemen,” he said.

Atala also refuted claims that he knew any politicians son, who is involved in the drug racket.

“I know no politician’s son,” he asserted.

Lucky in an email interview had stated that she has evidence of a politician’s son being involved in this racket.

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BJP raps police Lucky responsible, say cops

Vishwajit all set to join Cong today HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, JUNE 23

After months of denials and delays, Valpoi’s independent legislator Vishwajit Rane is all set to join the Congress party tomorrow after resigning from his assembly seat.

Rane, who was camping in Delhi for last three days negotiating with the party high comm a n d o n h i s e n t r y, h a d categorically denied yesterday of any immediate plans to joining Congress.

The all India Congress Committee general secretary and party obser ver for Goa BK Hariprasad confirmed the development this evening.

In a telephonic conversation with Herald, Hariprasad disclosed Rane will resign from his assembly seat before joining.

“Vishwajit will join the Congress after resigning from the assembly seat tomorrow,” Hariprasad said adding he would be present in Goa to welcome the legislator in the party.

He stated that Rane would be again sworn in as the minister at Raj Bhavan, at 2.30 p.m.

Sources in the Congress said that after the swearing in as a minister, Vishwajit will have to get re-elected as a legislator within six months in the by-polls.

In the 2007 assembly elections, Vishwajit contested as an independent candidate after the Congress denied him a ticket following the one ticket per family rule.

Vishwajit’s entry comes days after Taleigao legislator and Education Minister Babush Monseratte joined the party.

With the junior Rane all set to join the party, Congress’ strength in the assembly will increase from 19 to 20.

Hariprasad, speaking further, also tried to play down rumours there were any plans of re-shuffle in the Digambar Kamat cabinet.

38 students hurt in bus-truck collision HERALD CORRESPONDENT COLLEM/MARCEL, JUNE 23

Thirty-eight students and a driver were injured after the bus in which they were travelling collided with an oncoming truck on the national highway at Suktole-Mollem at about 7.15 am on Wednesday.

According to Collem police, the Indira Bal Rath bus (GA-07S-0058) of Abhinav Vidyamandir High School, Mollem, was proceeding from Dhat Farm to the school, a distance of about 8 kms.

“The school bus collided against the truck (KA-16-5219), which was proceeding on the wrong side,” said Collem Police Inspector Manoj Mardolkar.

The impact of the accident was such that the bus fell on its side, injuring the 38 students in the vehicle. The truck driver fled from the scene.

On hearing the news, Mar-

The truck driver was responsible for the mishap and a offence has been registered against the absconding truck driver under Sections 279, 337 and 338 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and 134, A, B of the Motor Vehicles Act. Efforts are on to locate the driver. dolkar along with head constables Pralhad Mirashi and Parshuram Patil, constable Mangesh Varde and Deepak Khadeparkar went to the site. School Headmaster Sharad Chandra Khandeparkar, Manager Vaman Khandeparkar and teacher Yeshwant Bandodkar also rushed to the site and shifted all students to ID Hospital in Ponda.

Of them, 10 students were later shifted to the GMC hospital. While Manisha Magadeo Gaonkar of Std 5 is undergoing medical treatment, the other students – Kishitija Sangodkar (13), Rama Sangodkar (13), Sweta Sangodkar (15), Pritam Sangodkar (15), Diksha Khutkar (15), Divya Khutkar (12), Domnick Fernandes (14), Samikshya Shetkar 12 and Reshma Khutkar (12) – were later discharged after medical treatment.

The bus driver, Augustinho Fernandes (32) also sustained minor injuries in the mishap.

“The truck driver was responsible for the mishap and a offence has been registered against the absconding truck driver under Sections 279, 337 and 338 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and 134, A, B of the Motor Vehicles Act. Efforts are on to locate the driver”, informed Mardolkar.

Wanted: leader for UGDP

HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, JUNE 23

The United Goans Democratic Party (UGDP) appears in total disarray, with its lone legislator Babush Monserrate finally embracing the Congress and the regional outfit desperately on the look out for a leader who can lead the party ahead of the 2012 assembly polls.

Party leaders knows for sure that the party need to poll minimum six per cent of the total votes in the coming assembly polls or face de-recognition by the Election Commission.

Ask party Secretary General Adv. Anacleto Viegas and he admits that the problem facing the party is to re-organise the regional outfit in a big way to serve the State and its people.

“The UGDP wants a leader who is committed towards the organization and dedicated to the cause of the State. Most of the present leaders are professionals and part-time politicians”, he said.

In fact, since the party was formed by Raghurai Thamba in the early 90’s, the regional party has been literally lying dormant over the last one year, since the party tasted defeat in the Lok Sabha polls.

Viegas admitted that neither the party presidium nor the ex-

party secretary general says only a dedicated leader can help steer the party out of the present state of affairs. “We are on the look out for a leader who will work to reorganize the party”, he said.

Incidentally, this is not the first time that its legislators have deserted the party and joined

The UGDP wants a leader who is committed towards the organization and dedicated to the cause of the State. Most of the present leaders are professionals and part-time politicians. ecutive Committee nor the general body of the outfit has ever met since the Lok Sabha polls, when its candidate Matanhy Saldanha failed to make a mark. In fact, the party leaders have been virtually silent on major issues facing Goa and Goans over the last one year.

Explaining the situation, the

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the Congress. In fact, since the 1994 polls, the party has seen its legislators deserting the party and joining hands with the Congress. And, the trend continued with every election in the last decade and half, with party leaders unable to stop the exodus for varied reasons. “Leaders who have left the party over the years

had no dedication for the State.

They have no commitment for the State. They are only after power”, Viegas said.

But, when pointed out that many of these legislators who had left the party were reelected on other parties, Viegas replied “These leaders have got re-elected because of the blatant use of money power.

“PWD Minister Churchill Alemao, Revenue Minister, Jose Philip D’Souza, former Tourism Minister, Mickky Pacheco, besides the education minister were all part of the UGDP at one point of time, only to desert the regional outfit to join the national parties.

But, Viegas says the party has a future and would successfully overcome the problems plaguing the outfit. “The UGDP is a people’s party. The party may face de-recognition, but I can say with confidence that the people of Goa would save the Two Leaves symbol”, he said.

Sports: IAF honour for Tendulkar Pg 13

Valanka to contest from Benaulim, says Churchill HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, JUNE 23

Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Churchill Alemao’s forays into Benaulim with daughter Valanka may or may not affect former Tourism Minister, Mickky Pacheco in this heartland of many a political battle – with the Benaulim legislator firmly eyeing the new Nuvem seat.

But, Alemao’s overt and covert support to daughter Valanka to contest from the new Benaulim seat will certainly ruffle many a feather in the Congress fold and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) camp as well.

One, questions will arise whether the Congress will allot

Valanka will contest the coming assembly polls from Benaulim.

She is a Cong woman and should get the Congress ticket. as many as three tickets to members of a single family. Secondly, will Valanka dare to throw her hat in the ring, in the event the Congress-NCP agree to continue the alliance and the Sharad Pawar-led party stakes claim on Benaulim since the seat is presently represented by the party.

The PWD minister does not think these questions will come in the way of Valanka contesting from Benaulim. Thundered Alemao: “Valanka will contest the coming assembly polls from Benaulim. She is a Congresswoman and should get the Congress ticket. But, all I can say now is Valanka would definitely contest from Benaulim.”

Whether the Congress would

GPCC mum on decision HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, JUNE 23

Goa Pradesh Congress Committee President Subhash Shiro d ka r h a s d e c l i n e d t o comment on PWD Minister Churchill Alemao’s decision to field Valanka in Benaulim.

When asked whether the Congress party would consider allotting three tickets to a single family in the next assembly polls, Shirodkar quipped “Elections for the Goa legislative assembly are scheduled only in 2012. I don’t want to offer any comment on the matter. succumb to the demands of the Alemao’s for three tickets remain to be seen, but the PWD minister opined there is no harm in allotting three tickets when he has helped strengthen the party in the State.

Incidentally, Churchill asserted that he would contest only from Navelim constituency and ruled out the question and all speculations of he moving to neighbouring Benaulim. “I will contest the coming assembly polls only from Navelim, whether the Congress gives the ticket or not. There’s no question of shifting to Benaulim or other constituency”, he asserted.

The Alemaos feel that the new Benaulim seat is a sure bet given that more than half the villages comprising the new constituency now form part of Churchill’s Navelim constituency.

Barring Benaulim, Colva , the remaining villages of Varca, Orlim, Carmona and Cavelossim now form part of Navelim constituency and the Alemaos think that revival of its touch with Benaulim – which forms the major chunk of voters – should help to win the seat.

But, Congressmen appear wary of Churchill’s ambition to expand his base. Says a senior Congressman: “Churchill’s claim on Benaulim for his daughter may find no support in the party leadership. As it is, the party will certainly face the flak for giving two tickets to the Alemao brothers”, he said.

450 Indian students hit as Australia shuts college PTI MELBOURNE, JUNE 23

Careers of over 450 Indian students in Australia has been jeopardised following closure of an Adelaide-based college after it failed audits of the government on the standards of education it was offering.

The South Australian government cancelled the registration of the Adelaide Pacific International College (APIC) which failed audits this year.

State Education Minister Jack Snelling told parliament that the APIC in Currie Street is no longer registered to operate. The college has as many as 450 students who had come to Adelaide from India.

It’s registration will be cancelled from June 28 when it will be removed from the National Training Information Service.

The college has 28 days to appeal against the decision.

The college breached 12 of 14 national standards, Snelling told parliament, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Snelling said every effort would be made to place its students in alternative colleges or in TAFE (Technical and Further Education) courses.

“I have repeatedly stated students’ welfare is a paramount concern and all available steps will be taken,” the minister said.

Snelling said he had spoken with Indian Consul-General Amit Dasgupta and president of the local Indian association MajorGeneral Vikram Madan to advise them of the decision.

He said students would be provided with written advice on their rights and obligations through the South Australian Training Advocate.

We have threatened to expose all the minister's scandals you silly, not their sandals...

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GOA, THURSDAY, 24 JUNE, 2010

Cash-strapped KTC exploring new methods to raise revenue Conductors to be given ticket vending machines

HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, JUNE 23

Kadamba Transport Corporation Limited (KTCL) is all set to metamorphose itself through e-methods by adopting modern gadgets to raise the revenue, including giving ticket vending machines to its conductors.

KTCL newly appointed chairman Deepak Dhavalikar feels that it’s high time for the corporation to act on with some special measures in order to get it out of financial mess.

Ticket Vending Machines: The Corporation will soon be providing ticket vending machines to its conductors across the state. “This will help us in keeping proper and exact records of our revenue. It will also stop duplication of tickets,” Dhavalikar said.

He maintained that corporation has been loosing large amount of revenue due to duplication of tickets.

The corporation is planning to introduce these machines in next three months.

Online Ticketing: In yet another initiative, the corporation is planning to have an inter-state online ticketing

service to its customers. The chairman could not explain the detail project but he feels that it will be a success.

“For the first time ever we are planning to go for online ticketing. We hope that through this service, we get more passengers thus increasing the revenue,” chairman feels.

KTCL CENTRALizATiON: In a major development, KTCL has decided to shift all three depots to Porvorim in order to control

the spending of the corporation.

The corporation has its depots in Panaji, Margao and Vasco.

“In all these three depots there has been excessive spending on purchase of spare parts.

There is no control on spending.

Hence we decided to shift it to Porvorim under our supervision,” Dhavalikar stated.

However, the day-to-day repairs will be undertaken at the regular stations. “All the tech-

nical staff and major and big machines will be shifted here,” he cleared.

Chairman said that within two months, the depots will be shifted.

On an average, KTCL earns Rs 18 per kilometer while spends Rs 30 per kilometer every day. The statistics reveals that KTCL suffer loss of Rs 12 per kilometer per day.

Margao-Colva Route: KTCL will now offer its service on Margao-Colva route, which was earlier catered by private buses.

SHUT TLE SERVICE- ONE STOP: The shuttle service buses, which were earlier taking direct route, will now take one major stop.

“The shuttle buses use to have only seating passengers and the corporation were not earning upto the mark, through this service. Hence we have now planned to take one major stop on the way, which will bring more passengers and revenue,” Dhavalikar said.

The corporation has recently started senior citizen benefit with 50 percent concession even in shuttle buses.

PCB warns establishments against discharging waste in the Colva creek Warns of more random raids HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, JUNE 23

Tightening the screws on hot e l s a n d re s t a u r a n t s d i s charging sewage waste in the creek, the Goa State Pollution Control Board will now carry out random raids on the establishments as many owners denied discharging waste in the water bodies.

Pollution Control Board officials told representatives of 12 hotels and restaurants that random raids will be conducted on the establishments to verif y and inspect the measures in compliance of the rules in force.

The Pollution Control Board has also directed the Colva panchayat to inspect hotel establishments which were not covered by the officials during last month’s inspection.

Besides the 34 establishments, which were issued notices, the Pollution Control Board has called for inspection by the Panchayat body to ascertain the discharge of sewage and kitchen waste.

nPollution Control Board officials told representatives of 12 hotels and restaurants that random raids will be conducted on the establishments to verify and inspect the measures in compliance of the rules in force. The PCB also directed the Colva VP to inspect hotel establishments which were not covered by the officials during last month’s inspection.

The Panchayat has said the inspection of the establishments will be carried out by involving the health author-

ities.

Sources in the know said the Pollution Board officials have made it clear to the hotels that establishments having certain number of rooms are required to install the Sewage Treatment Plans (STPs) to treat the sewage and kitchen waste.

In this respect, many an establishment owner maintained that space constraints may not permit them to install the STPs. Officials, however advised the hotel owners to explore the possibility of establishments coming together and install STPs to jointly cater to their requirements.

Meanwhile, Colva Sarpanch Alaudin has said that 12 out of the 13 hotels have replied to the show cause notices by the body to plug discharge of sewage and other waste in the water bodies.

He said most of the establishments have denied their involvement in discharging the waste, prompting the Pollution Control Board to carry out random inspection of the hotels.

Colva VP to deliberate on HC directives HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, JUNE 23

The Colva Panchayat will deliberate later next week the high court directions to stop issuing construction licenses to multidwelling units and to clean up the village of the waste lying in open public places.

Panchayat secretary Alaudin said the high court directions will be placed before the meeting of the Panchayat body next week.

“Apart from the directions to stop issuing construction licenses to multi-dwelling units, the court had asked the Panchayat to clean up the public places in the village of the waste. The Panchayat would deliberate on the identification of sites for dumping of the waste once cleared from the public places”, the Panchayat secretary added.

Ladies toilet waste spreads to Corlim VP building declared unsafe, office shifted the roads in Mapusa market HERALD CORRESPONDENT OLD GOA, JUNE 23

Septic tank of ladies toilet at Mapusa Municipal Council market overflowing. Photo by Anil Shankhwalker HERALD CORRESPONDENT PORVORIM, JUNE 23

The septic tank of the ladies toilet near earthenware market in Mapusa Municipal Council (MMC) market has started overflowing and the waste matter has spread to the roads in the market, posing a health hazard to shopkeepers and people visiting the market.

Since the septic tank has not been covered and sealed by MMC, such a situation has arisen. The odour is unbearable and the entire area around the ladies toilet is stinking, due to which the people have stopped passing by this area.

The filth has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes and poses a threat to the people who visit the market.

Speaking to Herald, shopkeepers by the side of the toilet informed that customers have stopped visiting their shops due to filth and unhygienic conditions.

“The septic tank and the soak pit was nearly open and h e n c e w e h a d re q u e s t e d MMC authorities long ago to repair the septic tank and take necessary measures to ensure that the septic tank does not overflow during monsoon, but MMC has not taken any action in this regard,” complained the shopkeepers.

“It is the duty of Urban Health Centre to ensure cleanliness in the market, but they also do not seem to be bothered about the health of the people,” stated the shopkeepers angrily.

When contacted, Urban Health Centre Health Officer Dr Pratima Thali said when the matter was brought to their notice

by Shiv Sena on Wednesday morning, she along with Municipal Engineer Vishnu Naik conducted the site inspection and issued a notice to MMC to repair the septic tank on priority basis.

Municipal Engineer has agreed to carry out the repairs, said Dr Thali.

Meanwhile, Bardez Pramukh of Shiv Sena Philip D’Souza in a letter addressed to the Urban Health Centre and MMC has demanded immediate action on their part to avoid the outbreak of Hepatitis and Gastroenteritis.

D’Souza has also requested the Urban Health Centre to disinfect the market area.

Three get remand for fights in Maina, Raia

The Corlim panchayat office has been shifted to the panchayat hall on Wednesday, after the building has been declared “structurally unsafe”.

It may be recalled that on May 3, 2010, a portion of concrete in talathi’s room collapsed.

Luckily, no one was injured in the incident. Later, the panchayat in its fortnightly meeting passed a resolution to appoint a technical consultant and take on his advice on the structural safety and renovation of the panchayat building.

Paresh Gaitonde, private engineer, in his report stated that as per the tests, all the slabs were indicating a poor compressive strength of 115 kg/cm2, which indicated that the mix used during the concreting was less than the specified grade of concrete.

“Nearly 90% of the steel reinforcement is corroded, resulting in de-lamination of the slab ceiling, which had resulted in cracking,” stated the report.

“High Chloride content much above the recommended value as per the IS Code has been detected inside the concrete,

4 held for assault by Verna police HERALD REPORTER VASCO, JUNE 23

Verna police have arrested four persons from Mapusa and Vasco on charges of assaulting a 40year-old labourer from New Vaddem over some previous enmity at Zuari Nagar, Sancoale, on Tuesday evening.

According to Verna police, accused Sidesh Palyekar, who was working as a supervisor for a real estate company, along with his three relatives allegedly assaulted Sukhdev Madar at the project site at Zuari Nagar.

Police further informed that the accused had an argument with Madar over attendance issue about 15 days ago and in the intention of taking revenge, the accused along with the three relatives from Palyekar family, Ketan, Amrish and Nilesh, mercilessly assaulted the labourer.

The victim sustained grievous injuries on his backbone, legs have been fractured and sustained injuries on other parts of the body.

Police arrested the accused under Section 325 of IPC r/w 34 and were later released on bail.

Panchayat staff shifted to Corlim panchayat hall after the panchayat building was declared unsafe.

Photo by Kanzil Rodrigues

which indicated that the sand used had high salt content, which ultimately accelerated the corrosion process and ultimately corroded major part of the reinforcement,” added the report.

The report further stated that

due to the corrosion factor, the load carrying capacity of the columns has degraded and the compressive strength of the columns is 117kg/cm2, which is again below the specified grade of concrete, which raises doubts

Four CRZ structures razed in Khola HERALD CORRESPONDENT CANACONA, JUNE 23

The demolition squad on Tuesday razed four alleged CRZ structures, including a residential house in Khola-Canacona.

According to Khola Sarpanch Archana Velip, 19 structures were marked as illegally existing in contravention of CRZ-1991 regulations in the coastal areas of the village.

Of these, four were demolished by the demolition team, two were removed by residents themselves, 11 have obtained stay orders, while two illegal structures at Nuem could not be demolished, as the JCB could not reach the site.

Panchayat Secretary Damodar Kankonkar informed that the two structures at Nuem will be demolished at a later date.

The four structures razed by the authorities include a residential house belonging to one Suckdo O Bhagkar at MatvemMoll coast, a cowshed of Kuiro G Velip at Matvem-Moll, storeroom-cum-firewood stockroom of Anthony C Mendes and a storeroom of Rayu Shiva Pagi, both at Cabo-de-Rama.

While Khola Sarpanch Archana Velip and Panchayat Secretary Damodar Kankonkar assisted the demolition squad to identify the alleged illegal

PWD labourers demolish an illegal CRZ structure at Khola-Canacona.

structures, Canacona Joint Mamlatdar Satish Prabhu, BDO Manuel Barretto, village panchayat Extension Officer C S Naik, Extension Officer RE Deshmukh, PWD labourers assisted by a JCB machine carried out demolition. The demolition, which started in the morning, continued till late in the evening.

Junior Engineers from elec-

MMC, police told to raze hutments HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, JUNE 23

The Maruti Van which was damaged in the fight at Santimol-Raia.

HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, JUNE 23

The three accused arrested by the Maina Curtorim Police for a brawl at Maina and SantimolRaia have been remanded to five days police custody by a local court on Wednesday.

The Police had arrested Paul

Fernandes, Laxman Laamani and Caitan for the offense of attempt to murder following the brawl in the bar at Maina.

Investigating Officer, PSI Suraj Samant informed that the trio was involved in a fight at Maina in the bar of Alfred Barretto. He said the accused entered into

Photo by Santosh Mirajkar

an argument with the bar owner and later assaulted him with a beer bottle, causing him grievous injuries.

The accused later proceeded towards Santimol-Raia and damaged a Maruti Van and were involved in a brawl again.

The police are investigating.

Residents of Modsai-Fatorda have petitioned to the Margao Municipal Council and the police to raze down illegal hutments erected in the property of Lar De Estudantes, belonging to the Church.

The residents were surprise to find the hutments in the property and inquiries only revealed that the huts were erected by the workers hired by a contrac-

about the structural safety of the building.

The technical consultant recommend that the building may be immediately vacated, as the concrete has already started to show signs of collapse and its

conditions could deteriorate further during the monsoon.

Speaking to Herald, Panc h a y a t S e c re t a r y B a s i l i o Pires said: “I was worried about the conditions of the panchayat building and after getting a note from Tiswadi BDO, myself along with the panchayat staff decided to shift important files and documents to the panchayat hall along with our staff.”

When asked when the renovation work will start, he said the BDO along with the technical consultant and the engineer will inspect the building and later the renovation work of the building will be carried out through GSIDC. “Till then, we will have to work from the panchayat hall,” he added.

The panchayat building, which was constructed under the Rural and Development Agency Scheme, was inaugurated on October 2, 1998, but due to poor construction and waterproofing works, there has been water leakage during the monsoons, due to which the steel inside the slab got corroded.

tor executing work of a government agency in the locality.

Local NGO Collective People’s Voice of South Goa headed by Croydon Medeira and other residents later approached the Vicar of Holy Spirit Church, Fr Ventura Lourenco, who along with the residents inspected the property Medeira said Fr Lourenco made it very clear that no permission was given to anyone to put up the hutments in the area

and termed the structures as illegal.

The residents have now demanded demolition of the hutments at the earliest or threatened to take action against the illegal structures if the authorities turns a blind eye.

Medeira warned that the authorities will be squarely blamed if any law and order situation takes place in the area over the hutments.

tricity and PWD (water supply) were also part of the demolition squad.

The JCB machine could not reach at most of the places and most of the demolitions were carried out manually by PWD workers.

Police led by Canacona PI Raju Raut Dessai, a batch of Cuncolim police led by PSI Prassanna Bha-

Photo by Kathy Pereira

gat and some policemen from GAP provided security cover to the demolition squad.

Canacona Deputy Collector Deepak Dessai visited the demolition party for a short time before returning back to the headquarters, informed a source.

The entire demolition exercise passed-off peacefully without any incident.

One held with ganja at Raia HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, JUNE 23

The Maina Curtorim police on Wednesday evening arrested 19-year old native of Bangalore near the Raia cemetery and seized from his possession narcotic substance.

Maina Curtorim PI Sidhant Shirodkar informed that the accused, Shahid Guddar, presently staying at Davorlim had come near the cemetery to deliver the ganja to a customer.

Acting on a tip off, the police laid a trap near the cemetery and arrested the accused after he made his presence felt in the area.

A search conducted on his body revealed that he was carrying the narcotic substance for delivery to a customer.

The police has arrested Shahid under section 20 (B) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. Further investigations are on.

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GOA, THURSDAY, 24 JUNE, 2010

Atala’s bail results in blame game

BJP raps police HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, JUNE 23

Inactiveness of the police has helped Israeli drug dealer Atala Benaim get bail, alleged BJP today while reacting to the release of Atala on bail by NDPS court.

The BJP Spokesperson Rajendra Arlekar while addressing a press conference on Wednesday here, charged Atala getting bail only shows inaction of the police force and that investigation has not been done properly.

He demanded that thorough investigation be carried to investigate the role of Israeli drug dealer and police involvement.

The police have not been able to trace Lucky Farmhouse, former girlfriend of Atala, who has spoken to media about the involvement of Atala in the drug trade as well as role played by son of the politician.

LETHARGIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT: The BJP Spokesperson criticized education department for not providing

text books to students in time. Arlekar complaint that many students are yet to receive text books even as schools have began.

“Was education department not aware when schools re-opened? “He asked further adding that primary schools students are yet to receive rain coats.

“Will they have to wait till December?” he said.

Meanwhile, Arlekar indicated that BJP is not keen on filing disqualification petition against Taleigao MLA Babush Monserrate.

Arlekar made the statement while replying to queries during a press conference on Wednesday here.

Arlekar however said the issue would be discussed at the meeting of the BJP legislative wing on Friday.

He also denied the charges that party has been not aggressive enough in raising issues of public importance on the floor of the House.

One acquitted on charges of raping minor HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, JUNE 23

The Children’s Court on Friday acquitted a 23-year-old man held on the charge of raping a minor girl as the victim turned hostile absolving the accused.

The President of the Children’s Court P V Sawaikar passed the order acquitting the accused, Anthony Olivera, a Salcete resident as the complainant victim told the Court that she had made complaint against the accused on instruction of her mother. The medical evidence also did not support the claims of the prosecution.

“The medical evidence therefore also does not support the case of the prosecution…the prosecution has, therefore, miserably failed to establish that the accused had committed a grave sexual assault on the victim … also failed to prove that the accused had threatened the victim,” the Court observed while discharging the accused of all charges.

According to the police, the 15-year-old girl had filed the

Lucky responsible: cops

complaint against the accused, in January 2008, at Maina-Curtorim police station alleging that she was raped by the accused in an abandoned house while she was returning home after prayers, on January 14, 2008 and the accused had threatened her not to open her mouth.

The charges were framed against the accused punishable under sections 8(2) of the Goa Children’s Act 2003 and 506 (i) of the Indian Penal Code. The girl made a volte-face in the cross-examination saying she had lodged a false complaint against accused but at the instance of her mother.

She also told the Court that she wanted to marry Anthony however his family was opposed to their marriage. This fact also prompted her to lodge a false complaint against Anthony, she said, but also claimed that she was illiterate and had made thump impression on the complaint paper placed before her.

During her deposition she had also revealed that she had indulged in consensual sex with the accused.

HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, JUNE 23

In a bid to save itself from any kind from controversy, the Goa Police today blamed the Swedish Model Lucky Farmhouse for the Israeli drug dealer being granted bail by NDPS court.

Atala was arrested on March 9, 2010, after Lucky Farmhouse uploaded posted several of his videos Youtube, Speaking to reporters here Superintendent of Police Atmaram Deshpande hinted may be the Atala got bail as Lucky could not depose before the Crime Branch, which is investigating the case.

'The police attempted to contact her. Efforts were made to trace her. Maybe, she did not have enough time. Maybe, she was involved in such an important activity that she was not able to come,” Deshpande said.

Deshpande's remarks came after Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substance (NDPS) court granted conditional bail to dreaded Israeli drug dealer Yaniv Benaim alias Atala Tuesday evening.

A former girlfriend of Atala, Lucky's

Heavy rains lash State HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, JUNE 23

Heavy rains lashed the state on Wednesday, with Met department recording 2.5 inches of rainfall. The low laying areas in the city were inundated due to incessant showers. At few places like near Don Bosco high school, chocked gutters left the water saturated creating mess.

Alike last year, Panaji city’s traditionally flooding areas like KTC bus stand, parts of 18 June road, market areas remained under water.

Meanwhile, Met department has warned of heavy to very heavy showers for the state in next 48 hours.

Indian Meteorological Observatory in-charge K V Singh said that the monsoon currents have started to intensify at very fast pace after going through a weak phase, last week.

“Some areas in the state are likely to get moderate to heavy rains for couple of days,” he said.

S Goa police headquarters again hit by water seepage

secretly shot spy cam videos of the drug dealer boasting of his links with the police and politicians had resulted in the arrest of seven policemen linked to the drug mafia in the state.

Lucky, who posted several of Atala's videos Youtube, had also alleged that she had evidence to show that a politician's son was linked to the drug mafia in Goa. Lucky, who was in Mumbai for a commercial shoot last month, had recently posted on her blog that the police were not trying to make any efforts to contact her because they did not want the minister's son to be caught. Refusing to call the conditional release of Atala a setback to the investigation, Deshpande said an investigation into the nexus was still on.

The opposition and the local media, reporting the shoddy probe into the police-politician-drug mafia nexus, have accused crime branch officials of sabotaging the probe at the behest of the senior minister, whose son has been accused

by Lucky of having links to the drug mafia.

HERALD NEWS BUREAU PANJIM, JUNE 23

The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) officials on Wednesday destroyed 4.5 tonnes of artificially ripened mangoes at Ponda and Mapusa, even as similar raids continued in Margao and Bicholim.

MARCEL CORRESPONDENT ADDS: FDA Director Salim Veljee informed that 3.5 tonnes of mangoes were proved to have been ripened using Calcium Carbide in Ponda. However, the FDA officials could not found any incriminating substance in over 5 tonnes of mangoes.

“In Mapusa, we confiscated 1 tonne of mangoes,” added the FDA Director.

“After obtaining orders from respective Mapusa and Ponda Judicial Magistrate First Court (JMFC), the FDA officials with the help of municipal staff destroyed 4.5 tonnes of seized mangoes, including 3.5 tonnes from Ponda and 1 tonne from

Come monsoons, and the barracks in the district police headquarters here are hit by water seepage. This year appears no different despite the work carried out by the PWD. In fact, a visit to the police barrack revealed that water seepage has raised its ugly head, causing inconveniences to the

police constabulary. As a make shift arrangement, the constables have shifted the beds away from the water seepage points.

But, they apprehend that the situation might turn worse in the days ahead after the monsoons hit the state with full fury.

“The water seepage has taken place despite the covering of the terrace with asbestos sheets.

Just imagine the situation in July

Photo by Santosh Mirajkar

and August”, remarked a police constable.

News of the water seepage has reached the police higherups, including Sub-divisional police officer, Margao DySP Umesh Gaonkar. Sources in the know say that Gaonkar has asked the police officials to immediately inspect the barracks and intimate the situation to the PWD for necessary action.

Mining firm refutes allegations, says environmental laws are followed nAt the most, about 150 villagers are Refuting allegations against his mining company at Oilem Haremployed on the 10 valem, H L Nathurmal Mining mining trucks,” Company owner Melwani has informed Melwani stated that the company has been following every aspect of adding that the supporting environmental laws. mining company is It may be recalled that NCP running on a small President Edwin Fernandes and Vice President Shyam Mandrekar scale.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT MAYEM, JUNE 23

in a memorandum to Bicholim Mamalatdar, Deputy Collector and Mines department had stated that the mining company was causing dust pollution in Harvalem.

Addressing a press conference in Bicholim on Tuesday, Melwani said all the allegations leveled by the duo against his mining

company are false, as the company has been taking due precaution while undertaking mining activities.

“At the most, about 150 villagers are employed on the 10 mining trucks,” informed Melwani adding that the mining company is running on a small scale.

“Being monsoon season, there is no question of pollution.

Even a single drop of water from the existing soak pit is used by the company without any wastage. The water level from the wells close to the mining site has increased, which has been proved by Hydraulic Survey report prepared recently,” Melwani added.

Melwani also brought to the notice that the matter was already with the mamlatdar and the hearing of it is in progress. He expressed surprise over the fact that not a single officer from the complainant side appeared for the hearing.

“I am ready to face any inquiry,” he added.

Even as Goa Police have failed to locate the missing former tourism minister Micky Pacheco, Home Minister Ravi Naik has stated that Pacheco should come forward and depose before the police in connection with the death of Nadia Torrado.

When asked whether Pacheco should surrender before the police, Naik told Herald that the decision to surrender depends on Pacheco and not on him.

However, the home minister refrained from commenting on the investigation process, when he asked whether he was happy with the ongoing investigations.

“Whatever investigations are going on, they are being looked after by police officers and there are respective police officers as investigation officers,” said Naik.

“Investigations are monitored

Mapusa,” said Veljee.

In Ponda, the exercise was supervised by FDA inspectors Nelson Fernandes and Shailesh Shenvi, while in Mapusa, Flavia D’Souza and Abel Rodrigues monitored.

“The credit goes to our FDA inspectors, State administration and municipal councils, with whose support, we have been able to execute and take action against illegal ripening cases,” said Veljee.

According to FDA officials, using Calcium Carbide is a violation under Prevention of Food and Adulteration Rules 1955 and carries a penalty of six months imprisonment and fine.

“We are in the process of filing cases against the eight accused involved in illegal mangoes ripening. The cases will be filed in respective taluka courts,” informed Veljee.

It may be recalled that the FDA inspectors last week during a routine inspection had found

few mango dealers in Mapusa and Ponda using banned chemical to ripen mangoes.

VASCO REPORTER ADDS: The FDA officials on Wednesday continued with its raids on storehouses of fruit merchants in Margao and Bicholim.

“The FDA officials conducted raids on mangoes and banana in Bicholim and Margao. In all, nine godowns were raided, including three in Bicholim and six in Margao,” informed Veljee.

“Three godowns at Vatevada-Bicholim, six in Margao, two near Gandhi market, two near Cine Lata and one each near Guru Ashish Building and Comba were raided, “ added Veljee.

He further said no hazardous chemicals like Calcium Carbide were found at most of the stores, engaged in artificial ripening. He said the raids will continue in other parts of the State.

Muslim community again approaches NCM on Kabrastan Margao’s Muslim community has once again knocked the doors of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) to conduct another hearing on the contentious issue of Kabrastan.

Asserting that the entire Muslim community from Margao is opposed to the acquisition of land for burial grounds at Sonsodo, the general secretary of the Sirvodem Masjid, Abdulmatin Daud Carol has urged the Commission to hold hearing in the second week of July.

Carol, who is the petitioner before the Minority panel, drew attention of the

HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, JUNE 23

HERALD CORRESPONDENT MARCEL, JUNE 23

FDA destroys 4.5 tonnes of mangoes; conducts more raids

HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, JUNE 23

The leaking roofs of the district Police headquaters, Margao.

Mickky should surrender and depose before police: Ravi

Commission to the fact that at the last date of hearing held on May 25, the district Collector, South and the Secretary, Urban Development had agreed in principle that the government will not acquire land near the city garbage dumping site.

He submitted to the Commission that Muslim burials, which includes last rites and other religious ceremonies, takes around 3-4 hours, adding there are certain religious ceremonies, where the community members spend the whole night in the Kabrastan campus. “ The foul odour of the garbage dumped at the site is unbearable. The site is

fire fighting measures yet to fall in place for Margao HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, JUNE 23

The raging fire that engulfed the congested markets in the Commercial Capital seems to have long forgotten. And, so are the fire hydrants – lying defunct since its installation years ago for want of water pressure.

In fact, the next time fire breaks out in the congested markets in the Commercial Capital, don’t expect the defunct fire hydrants to be of any use for the fire men in the fire fighting operations.

For, neither the PWD has taken any steps to augment the water pressure in the hydrants, nor the Margao Municipal Council has given a NOC to build an overhead water tank at the old fish market.

And, if sources in the Margao Municipality are to be believed, the Margao Municipality would consider issuing NOC to build the overhead tank at the old fish market – more than three and half months after the Directorate of Fire services decided to go in for an overhead tank close to the Municipal markets.

That the slow pace with which the concerned authorities have worked to augment the water supply to the fire hydrants only indicates the concern by the agencies to meet fire fight-

ing requirements.

Sources said the fire department had on March 3, 2010 resolved to build an overhead water tank and identified three sites for the proposed tank.

Areas short listed for the proposed tank were the pick up stand, open space behind Lily garment and in front of hotel Milan and the Gandhi market area.

Inspections later carried out ruled out all the three sites on various ground and it was finally agreed to set up the overhead tank near Cine Lata at the old fish market.

“The Council has listed the point on the agenda of the meeting scheduled on June 28. A decision will be taken on the proposal on coming Monday”, remarked a Municipal official.

Incidentally, the Margao Municipal administration has proposed to consider the requirements on conditions that the existing toilet is shifted to the corner of the plot so as not to cause any disruption to the pay parking project mooted by the Civic body on the land.

Incidentally, requests made in several quarters to the PWD to lay a dedicated line from the Selaulim network to the market area have failed to elicit any response from the government agencies.

horrible to watch. There is ever y possibility that the persons visiting the site can fall ill”, he said, while conveying to the Commission that it is not possible for the minority Muslim community to accept such land for a burial ground.

“The state government is not willing to allot suitable land for the Kabrastan, as it does not have the will power to do so due to reasons best known to them”, he said, adding “all laws, rules, regulations, procedures, objections, resistances, oppositions etc are applicable in the case of Kabrastan for the minority Muslim community, while land is acquired forcibly under relevant laws and allotted in the case of other communities”.

by the IPS officers and the home department has nothing to do with investigation process. We come into picture only during policy matters and nothing else,” stated Naik.

“I am not saying he should surrender, but it is he who

should decide on it. Police are investigating the case but he (Micky) should come forward and depose before the police,” added the home minister.

Naik also refrained to comment on Atala’s bail citing the case was sub-judice.

GOA

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GOA, THURSDAY, JUNE 24, 2010

s H o Rt tA K E s Colva summer camp

PANJIM(HND): Zilla Panchayat Member Nelly Rodrigues in collaboration with JCI Colva organized a month long summer camp for the villagers of Colva in flower making, yoga, beautician course etc. At the valedictory function chief guest Rev Fr Diago Fernandes lauded the efforts of Z P Member Nelly Rodrigues and JCI Colva for organizing such activities and assured his full support and co-operation.

Ex- sarpanch Suzie Fernandes who was the guest of honour said that the trainees should start their own entrepreneurship units. Earlier, JCI Colva President Audrey Mesquita e Vas welcomed the large gathering soon after which D S Prashant from Agnel Polytechnic explained all the Entrepreneurship Schemes of EDC, Khadi and other government agencies and told people to contact him for availing such loans with subsidy.

ZP member Nelly Rodrigues explained the purpose of the project and thanked the local MLA for sponsoring some courses.

Soon tailoring, mobile repair course, candle making and other Courses would start during Diwali vacations in Colva, she added. Co-ordinator of the event Jaycee Milred Rodrigues proposed the vote of thanks.

Malaria awareness drive

Officials of Primary Health Centre, Curtorim along with Dy Manager-Administration Peter Barreto of Marmagoa Steel Factory at the Malaria awareness drive.

PANJIM(HND): Primary Health Centre, Curtorim screened 160 workers for malaria at Marmagoa steel factory at Eclate, Curtorim in the presence of Health Officer Dr Shashi Parkar and Dy Manager-Administration Peter Barreto of Marmagoa Steel Factory. This activity was undertaken to abate the outbreak of vector borne diseases in the Curtorim jurisdiction.

Dr Parkar briefed the workers on the symptoms of Malaria and treatment to cure it and the precautions to be taken to safeguard oneself from this disease.

Team lead by Rajesh Arlekar, Mohini Borkar, Subhash Zore, Jose Noronha, Caitan Carvalho, Tereza Fernandes, Damodar Pagui, Sulbha Dessai, Ramrai Naik and Vinod Goankar.

OSSTEM meet in China

Goan dental surgeons: Dr Allwyn De Menezes, Dr Anil Silva, Dr Piedade Fernandes, Dr Gregory Pereira, Dr Savio Lourenco, Dr Reagan Dalgado Vaz and Dr Sanjeev Vaz.

PANJIM(HND): The AIC OSSTEM World Meeting 2010 was held at China National Convention Center in Beijing, China. It was attended by leading Goan dental surgeons and implantologist (G-7) namely, Dr Allwyn De Menezes, Dr Anil Silva, Dr Piedade Fernandes, Dr Gregory Pereira, Dr Savio Lourenco, Dr Reagan Dalgado Vaz and Dr Sanjeev Vaz. All these doctors have successfully completed their advanced surgical training from the AIC in oral implantology in Beijing followed by their tour to Hong Kong and Macao respectively, says a press release.

Stress laid on self employment

CMC to act tough on defaulting permit holders HERALD CORRESPONDENT CANACONA, JUNE 23

The city fathers of Canacona Municipal Council (CMC) have decided to act stringently on defaulting seasonal permit holders on its coastal belt at PalolemColomb-Patnem-Rajbag.

In the council meeting on Monday, the city fathers deliberated on the issue before deciding to carry out an inspection of the coastal belt in the coming days and if needed, raze down violators temporary structures from next week.

The councilors felt that enough time was given to the seasonal permit holders to restore the place to its original self with grace time of three days ending on June 18. The permits stand valid until June 15.

It may be recalled that some members of public had expressed concern anticipating that in view of ensuing civic polls tentatively slated for October, vagrant political pressures will play an pivotal role, saturating or keeping intact most of the temporary structures

Kripa foundation offering help to addicts

nThe councilors felt that enough time was given to the seasonal permit holders to restore the place to its original self with grace time of three days ending on June 18. The permits stand valid until June 15. erected for 2009-10 tourism season on municipal coast untouched.

The council meeting was attended by most councilors, including Divakar Pagi, who was recently acquitted by NDPS court.

It was also decided to purchase a fogging machine to enable regular fogging exercise of different wards, especially during monsoons, besides acquiring

one new compactor for enabling speedy garbage collections in growing areas of the council.

The council also decided to create a vacancy of stenographer to meet up with the council’s increasing workload.

The council, which got Rs 52 lakh from Urban Development Ministry to re-build 13 flood-affected houses, has decided to workout modalities to grant occupancy certificate, after the process was reportedly derailed due to some technical difficulties.

It is learnt that the council granted Rs 4 lakh each to the 13 houses to be built on the building specifications, which also include roof tile house top, as approved by the council.

However, most of the beneficiaries carried slab-house constructions with varied specifications by pumping in own money.

The council in Monday’s meeting decided to regularize the cases approving the changes in original plan carried out by the flood-affected citizens.

Beautification work near Mayem school begins HERALD CORRESPONDENT MAYEM, JUNE 23

The beatification work of the surrounding area near Vijayanand High School, TikhazanMayem, commenced on Tuesday.

Dr Digambar Naik inaugurated the beautification project in the school premises in the presence of Deputy Director of Education Department Umesh Dande, former ZP president Amol Morajkar, former ZP member Jaidev Parab Gaonkar, journalist Durgadas Garde, School Principal Raghunath Gawas, Headmaster Tanksali, Minguel Fe r n a n d e s a n d R u p e s h Thanekar.

On the occasion, students D a r s h a n a G a o n ka r, Ke t a n Chodankar, Vishakha Gosavi, Krupa Ghadi and Priyanka Hoble, who passed SSC exam with good percentage, were felicitated by the distinguished guests.

Sudhir Walaulikar compered the function, while Sibal Fernandes proposed the vote of thanks.

Education plays important role in society: Ravi Naik

Step Inn at Divar

PANJIM: (HND) Step Inn Bar and Restaurant, Santarbhat, Divar will organise traditional Sao Joao bash, on June 24, at its premises, from 6 pm onwards. The event will feature live traditional Goan and Western music and rain dance. Besides, there will be singing competition, best copel contest and 2a-side mini-goal football tie-breaker.

Leoney Resort at Vagator

PANJIM(HND): Leoney Resort Vagator presents ‘Sao Joao Bash 2010’ on June 24 from 2 pm onwards.

Special attraction will include rain dance, Konkani musical show by Young Chico n Troupe, solo band by Lady Lucy, Dj Starling, Dj Cozzie to keep you rock roll and many games with lots of prizes and surprises along with Rj Godfrey to keep the crowd going in high spirits, says a press release.

Marna-Siolim

PANJIM(HND): Igreja Wado Marna, Siolim presents Sao Joao on June 25, which will include cultural programmes like songs, mando, plays presented by local youth and other entertainment by famous Goan artists like commedian Ambe, Ben Evangelisto, Aurelio, Bushka, Mysamvy and Sheik. Live music and a DJ will be in attendance. The event is being organised by John Pereira, John DSouza and Xavier, says a press release.

Sernabatim beach

Pilerne Church feast

GSIA annual meeting

Home Minister Ravi Naik felicitating retired staff of PES society colleges at Ponda on Wednesday.

HERALD NEWS DESK PANJIM, JUNE 23

Home Minister Ravi Naik said that in the era of competition and competitiveness, the fittest in the competition survives and as a result education plays a very important role in society and for the well being of an individual.

Naik was speaking at the Silver Jubilee Celebration of Ponda education Society at Sungrace Garden, Betora Ponda, on Wednesday. Naik is also the President of Ponda Education Society.

Naik lit the traditional lamp to mark 25 years of Ponda Education Society.

Speaking further, Naik expressed happiness and satisfaction over the literacy rate in the State today. There are several institutions which catering to the needs of education hungry

students. During Portuguese regime there was only 15 percent literacy, but today the state has recorded a high literacy rate.

Soon a new D.Ed college will be set up in the PES campus at Farmaguddi, Naik added.

Naik said, Ponda Education Society was set up as a mission towards imparting higher education to the masses irrespective of their percentage obtained.

He complimented all the Principals, staff and students of the PES on completion of 25 years of the society.

Those present on the occasion were Principal Anil Dhinge of Arts and Science College, Prof Tukaram Gankar, Principal of Higher Secondary School, Principal R V Gaitonde of Pharmacy College, acting principal Geeta Iyer of Teacher Training College, Treasurer of Society R G Dessai, Secretary Sulochana Katkar, Vice

President of the Society Prakash Dharwadkar, executive members Kishor Naik and Ritesh Naik.

Past principals, professors and staff of the PES society colleges were felicitated on the occasion.

Those felicitated with Shawl, Shrifal and idol of Goddess Saraswati at the hand of Ravi Naik were Dr A S Deshpande, Dr A K Heblekar, Prof M V Dikshit, Prof Vaishali Samant, Prof Shashikala Gaekwad, Prof Govind Parvatkar.

Late Abhay Mishal and Late Krishna Kangralkar were honoured posthumously.

Dr A S Deshpande, Dr A K Heblekar and Sulochana Katkar also spoke on the occasion.

Vice President of the Society Prakash Dharwadkar welcomed while treasurer R G Dessai proposed the vote of thanks. Prof Bhushan Bhave compared the function.

Expo train showcasing IT story of India to commence journey HERALD NEWS DESK PANJIM, JUNE 23

MAYEM(HC): Bicholim Deputy Collector Narayan Gaad has called upon the people to come forward to undertake traditional farming, plantation and other means of self-employment to attain all-round development of village in terms of employment.

Gad was addressing the gathering as the chief guest during a workshop organized by Utkarsh Gramin Sanstha Mulgao at Denndayal hall, Bicholim, recently. Environmentalist Rajendra Kerkar, Bicholim MLA Rajesh Patnekar and Dr Pramod Sawant were present on the occasion.

Gad also called upon the people to take maximum benefit of government schemes.

Speaking on the occasion, Rajendra Kerkar highlighted the example of Farmers Union at Chorao Island, who has undertaken cultivation of Korgut rice and Mankurad mangoes.

MLA Patnekar and Dr Pramos Sawant also spoke on the occasion. The beneficiaries were distributed note books on the occasion.

Earlier, President Mahadev Tirodkar welcomed the gathering, Maya Padolkar compered the function, while Adika Naik proposed the vote of thanks.

Goan Village Candolim

PANJIM(HND): Goan Village, Candolim will be organizing ‘San Joao Plus’ on Sunday, June 27 from 10 am onwards. It will be a fun filled day for families, says a press release. For booking contact on Mob: 09850454569.

PANJIM(HND): The Gauncars of the Communidade of Pilerne will celebrate the feast of their patron saint, St John the Baptist on June 24 at St John the Baptist Church, Pilerne. On the feast day, the first mass will be at 7 am, followed by solemn feast mass at 9:30 am.

To arrive in Goa on September 7

Bicholim Deputy Collector Narayan Gad addresses the gathering at Bicholim in the presence of Bicholim MLA Rajesh Patnekar and others. Photo by Vishant Vaze

Sao Joao festival at

PANJIM(HND): The Goa Culture Guild will be organizing Sao Joao at Sernabatim Beach on June 24 from 4 pm to 10 pm.

The highlights of the event will be the melodious English, Portuguese, Konkani and progressive party music. Nilesh Cabral will be the chief guest for the event. There will be innovative contests like helicopter dance contest, Goan laughter challenge, blindfolded coconut-breaking contest and best copel contest with attractive prizes. The target segment for this event is youth, family and tourists and the dress code is beach wear with copel. Entry is freee, says a press release.

HERALD NEWS DESK PANJIM, JUNE 23

26th June is observed as international day against drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking. On this occasion, UN office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) request all concerned to sensitize the public at large towards developing aversion to drugs. The theme for the year 2010 is ‘Think Health: Not Drugs.’

Goa is amongst the states where alcohol and drug abuse is rampant where awareness is required, where Kripa Foundation, Anjuna therefore, has been taking the initiative in creating awareness for the last 18 years.

Kripa has been focusing its efforts on demand reduction through awareness and treatment of the drug and alcohol dependents. It is quite interesting to note that UNODC theme has been part and parcel of the holistic treatment approach of Kripa foundation.

Kripa Foundation offers holistic help to the addicts. The Kripa model includes 12 Step Recovery Programme and special yoga therapy and medical assistance.

Padmashree, Fr Joe Pereira, (Managing Trustee of Kripa Foundation) disciple of BK Iyengar Institute of Yoga has evolved a special model of therapeutic model of yoga postures for restoration of health.

On the occasion of International day against drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking we all citizens of Goa decide to Think of health first and not of drugs and alcohol anymore.

upcomiNg EvENts

An Exhibition Train, on the themes of Sports and Information Technology (IT), named ‘Commonwealth Express’ will start its 101 day-long journey from Safdarjung Railway Station, New Delhi on June 24 and after travelling through 49 cities and towns across the country covering 23 States and Union Territories of Puduchery and Chandigarh will come back to the same station on October 2. The train will arrive in Goa (Vascoda-Gama) on September 6 and depart on September 7.

During this journey, IT Part of the Exhibition in 6 Coaches will showcase the relevance and usefulness of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in day today life of the common man.

According to a press release, the ‘IT Story of India’ will be told through the 6 coaches by way of backlit translites, front-lit digitally printed posters, short informational films, etc.

To reach out to the common man in as effective manner as possible, the content of the backlit translites will be made available in regional languages in addition to English, and the language changeover will happen in 10 languages (as and when the train enters such a State).

LCD panels will be used to display dynamic content in the form of slideshows across most of the coaches, and in the 6th coach, a special arrangement has been made to showcase brief informational films on IT and e-Governance in an auditorium-type environment and also for interactions with general visitors and visitors from media.

A brief outline of the 6 coaches is that follows

will give glimpses that exhibition train offers.

Coach 1 welcomes the visitors and tells the general story of Information Technology, and Information and Communications Technologies. How IT touches us everyday, in almost all aspects of our lives without us even realising this.

Coach 2 walks the audience through the importance of IT for ushering in an era of better governance, of e-Governance, of good governance, with special focus on eGovernance initiatives across the Nation and on the National e-Governance Plan of the Government of India that aims to bring public services closer home in a friendly assisted format. This coach also introduces the Department of Information Technology, and its various arms, manifestations, agencies, and achievements.

Coach 3 focuses on the application of IT in social sectors, especially Health and Education, and on how IT has helped close the gap between such services and citizens in so many ways, such as through telemedicine, videoconferencing, e-learning, etc. It also talks about globalization of the individual through online social networks, and of IT's role in, and facilitation of, citizen empowerment, gender-equity, better avenues of livelihood and better remuneration.

Coach 4 is about IT as an industry and IT in industry, with special focus how IT brings in increased productivity in a cost-effective manner; how IT is helping the world become a global village, bringing everything within easy and instant access, be it the latest news, TV channels from around the world, or the convenience of online shopping and how

IT is helping digitise and archive valuable heritage material, and so on.

Coach 5 showcases what can be called the "face of the National e-Governance Plan" -- the Common Services Centers (CSCs). Rural citizens, generally do not have easy access to public services and critical information.

Living in remote and distant locations, they are constantly overwhelmed by geographical, cultural, and linguistic barriers. Under the National e-Governance Plan, there is an accentuated emphasis on ICT as a major tool to stimulate social development in the rural areas—by improving access to information, expanding the market base and widening employment opportunities. A network of 1 Lakh Common Services Centers (CSCs) are rapidly coming up across the country that will cover 6 Lakh villages, and provide a range of G2C and B2C services to villagers on "home ground", reducing the need to travel long distances for government/ public services, and saving them many hassles. Another 1.5 Lakh CSCs have been planned to cover panchayats across the Nation under the Bharat Nirman programme.

Coach 6 has an auditorium where relevant films will be screened, a feedback counter, and a business-centre like enclosure, where visitors can share their thoughts.

The train is being run jointly by the Ministry of Railways (through its Railway Sports Promotion Board, which will manage the Sports part of the exhibition in 5 railway coaches) and Ministry of C&IT (through DIT, which will manage the IT part of the exhibition in 6 railway coaches), says a press release.

PANJIM(HND): Goa State Industries Association has convened their Annual General Meeting (AGM) on June 25 at 4 pm at the convention hall, Hotel Mandovi, Panjim. The AGM will be followed by the annual function at the same Venue at 6 pm.

Chief Minister Digambar Kamat will be the chief guest for the function and the keynote address will be delivered by Ashank Desai, founder and chairman of Mastek Ltd. The theme of GSIA's annual function this year is ‘Celebration of Entrepreneurship.’ To convey this message and to boost the morale of many other emerging entrepreneurs, GSIA is proud to honour at the function, one of the most successful Goan Entrepreneur Anil Counto, CMD of Anil Counto Enterprises in recognition of his outstanding entrepreneurship, says a press release.

Dancesport championship

PANJIM(HND): The 4th All India Dancesport Championship in Latin and standard 5 dance will be organised in Delhi on June 27.

The Goa Dancesport Association would be sending a team headed by Team Manager Maxie Correia and Richard Vaz, the dancers Dr Martin and Flossy/ Jason and Aishwarya /Bhavin and Nieta /Francis and Vivian/Shray and Dr Xiyan /Jeethan and Dr Berthaline. History would be created if Dr Martin And Flossy wins the first place as they would be first and only couple in India to win a title in Latin and Standard 5 dance.

The team is all enthusiastic to go all out for gold medal and have been practicing since the last one month under the guidance of certified ballroom instructor.

Retreat at Kerala

PANJIM(HND): There will be special retreat for childless couples with special prayers and session for them from July 4 to July 9 at Divine Retreat Centre, Muringoor-Chalakudy in Kerala.

For information contact Fr Augustine at the DRC on Tel: 04802708098/2708390 or e-mail: divine@md2.vsnl.net.in.

Br Michael’s retreat today

PANJIM(HND): Bro Michael Fernandes of Karuna Sadan Ministry will be organizing a one-day retreat at Terry’s Marvel, Peddem on June 24 between 12 noon to 5 pm. Come and be blessed, says a press release.

Friday Balcao

PANJIM(HND): Friday Balcao, the fortnightly discussion event will be held on June 25 to observe State Consumer Rights Day. Dr G N Mishra, ex principal, Dhempe College and practicing lawyer will share his experiences in using the Consumer Protection Act 1986. Friday Balcao will be held from 4 pm to 6 pm at the Goa Desc Resource Centre, No 11 Liberty Apartments Feira Alta, Mapusa and is open to members of the public. Interested citizens wanting more information on Friday Balcao can email to goadesc@gmail.com.

POWER SHUTDOWN

JUNE 25 MARGAO: Between 9 am to 1 pm. Areas affected are Navelim, Telaulim, Nagmoddem, Sirvodem, Ravora, Nalanda Apt, Butica, Cruz Nagar, Bellem, Dongorim, Mandopa, Moddi, Shantinagar, Firgulem, Rawanfond, MES, Dicarpale, Lakaki and surrounding areas.

HE RA LD

GOA

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GOA, THURSDAY, 24 JUNE, 2010

CDP to be placed before MMC for approval

Worker escapes pole crash at Vasco

growth of the city without destroying its existing assets.

After much hesitation, the CDP will be placed before the Margao Municipal council meeting for approval. But, City Fathers appear totally unaware of what the CDP is all about, notwithstanding the audio-visual presentation by Architect Deshpande.

Says a City Father: “Deshpande told us that the CDP has been mooted to obtain central funds for the city’s development.

And, he also mentioned that the funds can come only if there is total re-structuring of the Municipal Administration by implementing the 74th Amendment.

If this is a pre-condition, why is the GSIDC in haste to get the Civic body approval for the plan”.

Another City Father remarked that there’s not much private land available around the Ambaji-Davondem belt for plot owners to transfer their development rights. “Except two properties owned by leading city-based builders in the proposed new hub, the remaining land is purely Communidade and tenanted”, he added.

A Councilor wanted to know why the GSIDC has prepared the City Development Plan only for Margao city when other towns

A 22-year-old man from Maharashtra had a miraculous escape, after the corroded portion of an electricity pole, on which the worker was working, came crashing down in Vasco on Monday morning.

According to reports, the incident occurred when Toppan Malwadi was undertaking repair works on the corroded portion of an electricity pole. To his luck, Toppan got trapped in the wires when the top portion of the pole collapsed.

Toppan, presently residing at Sancoale, escaped from falling down. He escaped with minor bruises on his leg and chest.

The victim is working for a contractor of electricity department which is involved in undertaking repair works. The victim was rushed to Chicalim Cottage Hospital and was later discharged.

HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, JUNE 23

Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation’s (GSIDC’s) City Development Plan (CDP) for the Commercial Capital has raised more questions than answers in the corridors of the Margao Civic body.

Approved by the GSIDC Board headed by the Chief Minister, Digambar Kamat, the agency is now pushing the Margao Municipal Council to approve the plan at the earliest.

While the CDP proposes to decongest the city by creating a new commercial hub on the outskirts of the city, many eyebrows are raised whether the plan is intended to benefit the builder’s lobby with CDP mooting introduction of the Development Control Regulations (DPR’s) by allowing the plot owners to transfer their development rights or FAR to the new commercial hub.

The GSIDC CDP prepared by architect Rahul Deshpande says the control of densities by creating an alternate well designed commercial hub for the city and by freezing the development in the old city would be beneficial to the city and the citizens, adding that density control would positively channelise the

are facing similar problems.

“Will the Development Control Regulations (DPR’s) concept applicable only in the case of Margao. Why this concept is not part of the planning rules and regulations for the cities in the state”, he questioned.

The CDP has mooted a freeze on further development of the city having proposed the new hub. The plan says that no new developments in the city will be allowed. And, the plan admits that the greatest hurdle to the proposal would be the plot owners, who have not utilized their FAR in the city as of date, saying the proposal would deprive of their economic benefit, which was ensured to them as per the existing zoning.

And, the plan says the deprivation of the development rights could be overcome by allowing the plot owners to transfer their development rights or FAR to the new Commercial hub.

The plan says that a target area could be earmarked for this transfer in the Commercial hub.

Also the land, on which the new hub is to be developed, could be executed and processed t h r o u g h To w n p l a n n i n g schemes, in which the land owner become a shareholder in the development.

HERALD REPORTER VASCO, JUNE 23

Hotel employee dies at Calangute CALANGUTE, JUNE 21(HC)

A 22-year-old employee of a starred resort in Calangute died, after his health deteriorated on Monday.

According to Calangute police, Rohanen Rai was not keeping well for the last couple of days and as his health deteriorated, he was rushed to Primary Health Centre, Candolim.

Pre-monsoon works reviewed in Sattari taluka HERALD CORRESPONDENT VALPOI, JUNE 23

Heads of all government departments in Sattari taluka reviewed the pre-monsoon works carried out in Sattari taluka at a meeting in the Forest Rest House, here recently.

The meeting, which was chaired by Savordekar, personal secretary to the health minister, was attended by officials of PWD, electricity and water resources department, besides elected representatives of the council, village panchayats and ZP member.

Elected representatives and government officials discussed the problem faced by people during rainy season, frequent disruption of electricity mainly in villages, water supply problems, maintenance of roads, etc.

The meeting focused on Elected representatives and government officials review pre-monPhoto by Ashraf Khan drainage problems in areas in soon work in a meeting at Valpoi.

Valpoi Municipal Council and various village panchayats in Sattari taluka to take measures to minimize the possibility of floods due to heavy rains.

The meeting also reviewed the ongoing work of removing the plates of Ganjem Bhandara. The meeting was attended by Assistant Engineer (electricity) Fernandes, Assistant Engineer (PWD roads) Shivkumar, Assistant Engineer (water resource department) Arun Naik, Assistant Engineer (water supply) Shet and junior engineers of all these departments.

Valpoi Municipal Council Vice Chairperson Umesh Gulelkar, Nagargao ZP member Humlo Gawde, Guleli Sarpanch Philip Mascarenhas, Khotode Sarpanch Prakash Gaonkar, Sanvordem Deputy Sarpanch Sayaji Dessai, Nagargao Sarpanch Pallavi Marathe, Guleli Deputy Sarpanch Lav Gaonkar and panchas of various panchayats in Sattari participated in the meeting.

More schools hours yet to be discussed, says Powar HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, JUNE 23

Audio Cris Boys, Panjim along with the “Judeo” on the eve of Sao Joao, which will be celebrated on June 24 all over the State.

Photo by Rozario Estibeiro

Approvals given in plots close to HTL HERALD CORRESPONDENT MARCEL, JUNE 23

The attitude of the real estate developers in cognizance with authorities, who are involved in flouting rules while undertaking construction work, has come to light in Curti-Khandepar village area.

According to sources, a builder has obtained permis-

passes through the construction in one of the bungalows.

Villagers claimed that the authorities are least bothered about the danger it will pose to the residents. “Even if we bring this to the notice of the authorities, nothing will happen,” claimed the residents.

“I don’t understand how authorities can grant permission

High tension electricity wires passes in front of the bungalows in Curti-Ponda.

Photo by Amresh Parab

sions to construct nine bungalows in Curti, adjacent to the panchayat building. The authorities have granted permissions to the builder to construct the bungalows even as a 11 KV power line passes through the plots.

Construction of nine bungalows is in the final stage and the 11 KV power line is barely at a distance of 1 metre from the bungalows.

Incidentally, one of the electricity pole supporting cable

for such a construction. It is dang e ro u s a n d I d o n’ t k n o w whether permission for such type of construction is given anywhere in the State,” said Sallim Mullah of Curti.

“It is important that authorities should take stern action against those involved in giving permissions to the construction,” said Mullah.

Efforts to contact Curti-Khandepar sarpanch proved futile, as he was not available for comments.

TSKK’s Konkani course HERALD NEWS DESK PANJIM, JUNE 23

Thomas Stephens Konknni Kendr (TSKK), Alto Porvorim will conduct a part time Konknni course in Roman script from July 12 to August 11. Classes will be held from 9.45 am to 12.45 am from Monday to Friday.

Those who understand Konknni and are below 65 years in age will be given preference. To apply for the course, contact TSKK during the office hours on tel: (0832)2415857 / 2415864.

‘Canacona CHC needs govt’s urgent attention’ HERALD CORRESPONDENT CANACONA, JUNE 23

After two MLAs from Canacona vouched their support to Canacona Health Welfare Committee (CHWC), Canacona Block Congress Committee President Elvis Fernandes also joined the bandwagon and assured to join the struggle against his own party government, demanding better health facilities to the residents of Canacona.

Stating that it is one of his foremost aims, while taking over the reigns of Canacona Block Congress party, Fernandes said it is high time that Congress Chief Minister Digambar Kamat should not waste any more time in equipping the only government hospital in Canacona taluka.

“It looks too ironical that people from Canacona have to protest every time for inviting government’s attention towards their health needs,” Fernandes told Herald.

“We expect same concern and passion from our chief minister, who pays regular and surprise visits to the district hospital at Hospicio in Margao to ensure its proper functioning and providing service to patients,” said Fernandes.

Meanwhile, boosted by assurances and support by two MLAs, CHWC in a meeting on Sunday has reportedly decided to resort to road blockade agitation on June 28, if government continues to ignore in bringing most essential improvement in the functioning and performance of illequipped and understaffed Community Health Centre, Canacona.

Fernandes has also appealed to all residents from Canacona, especially social workers, to forget and overstep the boundary of politics and first

attend a meeting called by CHWC on June 25 evening at St Teresa of Jesus Hall, Chaudi and thereafter join the struggle by resorting to an agitation of road blockade on June 28.

“Let us get united and fight for a good cause,” was the call given by Fernandes.

It is learnt that people’ hopes were dashed despite Kamat’s announcement during last week’s RTO office inauguration at Chaudi of devoting his personal attention in bringing improvement in CHC. Kamat had also reportedly assured MLAs Ramesh Tawadkar and Vijay Poikhot, who had earlier pledged their support to CHWC for sustained struggle, that there is no need of agitations, as he will take personal interest of CHC Canacona.

According to Right to Education Act that came into force on April 1 this year schools have to ensure that children get quality education and for that purpose increased the working hours to 45 hours per week.

While neighbouring Maharashtra government passed a resolution increasing the working hours, Goa is yet to even seriously discuss the subject.

According to Deputy Director of Education Anil Powar, the RTE is an act of Parliament and Goa too can’t run away from it and will have to take a decision on increasing the working hours in schools.

Powar said there has been no decision on the subject so far but soon it will be discussed at various forums. The Central Government has given all States three years to implement all the components of the Act and within this time frame Goa will also see its schools working for seven-and-half hours per day to

complete the 45 hours per week, he observed.

He reinforced that the 74 government schools in the State more or less had the infrastructure if the working hours are to be increased as per the act. In urban areas there may be a hitch but we will have no choice because at one point or the other the Central Government will insist to increase the working hours, he added.

Powar said those aided schools that don’t have the infrastructure will have to rise to the occasion to put up the necessary infrastructure. These schools will not be in a position to say no because Goa is the only state where these institutions get 100 per cent grants covering all needs of salary, equipment, library, etc.

While many have hailed the RTE Act and the 45 hours working component in it, some educationists have expressed reservation about its implementation sharing teachers concern on compensation for the extra

HSSC exams for unsuccessful candidates HERALD NEWS DESK PANJIM, JUNE 23

The HSSC Examination, June 2010 will be conducted by Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary education as follows: Practical examination: Friday 25 June, 2010 (The detailed programme of practical examination is already notified through the concerned Heads of the institutions). Theory examination: Tuesday 29 June, 2010, from 2 pm to 5 pm at two centres i.e. Mapusa and Margao.

T h e H SS C e x a m i n a t i o n June 2010 can be answered by candidates whose results reflect as ‘needs improvement’ due to one subject only. The candidates who are unsuccessful in the theory or

practical part of a subject shall answer both, theor y and practical.

All the required arrangements for smooth conduct of HSSC examination have been done. The time-table and the schedule of the examination have been notified vide this board circular no 17 dated June 17, 2010.

The candidates should contact the concerned conductors to know their seating arrangement and not the office of the Board.

hours they will be putting in.

Garbage collection hit, miscreants take away keys of MMC trucks HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, JUNE 23

Mischief mongers lifted away the keys of the Margao Municipal trucks parked in the old market garbage, affecting garbage lifting in the city.

The garbage trucks are parked in the old market garage, with the keys left in the vehicles.

However, when the drivers came for the morning shift, they found to their shock the keys missing.

Collection of waste from the waste was hit for some time as the Municipal officials had to wait for duplicate keys for the trucks.

MMC Chairperson Savio Coutinho confirmed that unknown persons have played mischief with the municipal trucks.

He said the Chief Officer Y B Tawde is seized of the matter and would lodge a complaint with the Margao police for action against the miscreants.

Further investigations are on.

Rider killed in mishap HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, JUNE 23

A rider Agostinho Gomes (45) died in a road accident at Agalli in the city here on Tuesday morning.

Margao police said the accident occurred at around 7.30 in the morning. The rider sustained critical injuries and was rushed to the Goa Medical College and Hospitals, Bambolim where he later succumbed. The Margao police are investigating.

HE RA LD GOA, THURSDAY, 24 JUNE, 2010

Pg7 Kanishka bombing most barbaric act: PM AGENCIES NEW DELHI, JUNE 23

Terming the 1985 Kanishka bombing as the “most barbarous act,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said terrorism must be fought and eliminated with determination and joint action.

“This was a horrific incident which shook the world’s conscience. It is with a sense of deep pain and sorrow that I join the families and friends in paying my homage to all those who fell victim to this most barbarous act of terrorism”, he said on the 25th anniversary of the crash of Air India Flight 182.

The Prime Minister, who will be in Canada later this week in connection with the G-20 Summit, said that no religion, faith or cause could justify such violence or inhumanity.

“On this solemn occasion, we must rededicate ourselves to fighting and eliminating terrorism with determination and joint action,” Singh said.

Air India’s Kanishka aircraft had plunged into the Atlantic on June 23, 1985 after an onboard explosion, killing all 329 passengers and crew.

Prez opens classical Tamil conference PTI COIMBATORE, JUNE 23

The five day World Classical Tamil Conference was today inaugurated by President Pratibha Patil with Tamil Nadu Governor Surjit Singh Barnala and Chief Minister M Karunanidhi attending the glittering function here.

Inaugurating the conference, the President praised Tamil language and said it reflected the heritage of the country, which was now following an inclusive growth paradigm to benefit all, particularly those in rural areas.

“As our nation progresses economically, we have sought to follow an inclusive growth paradigm so that growth brings benefits to all sections of society,” she said.

With special focus on rural areas, our developmental efforts are becoming increasingly participatory with more powers devolving on Panchayati Raj institutions,” Patil said.

This model of rural development can bring progress and prosperity in Indian villages, she added. The President said, “The history of Tamils is our nation’s pride. Many concepts intrinsic to India’s society and basic to its polity are found in Tamil discourse over the millennium. For example, respect for each other’s religion has long been part of Tamil cultural tradition.”

Reciting a Tamil saying ‘Thiraikadal odiyum thraviyam thedu’ (earn wealth even if one has to go abroad), she said their hard work was depicted in the saying even during the Sanga period.

Jolie becomes Draupadi AGENCIES

MUMBAI, JUNE 23

Indian filmmaker Prakash Jha has a dream project Draupadi, in which he wants to cast Hollywood star Angelina Jolie in the lead role. After the success of Rajneeti, which was inspired by the great Indian epic Mahabharata, Jha is ready for another movie, which will also be based on the same epic. Draupadi is believed to be a dream project of Prakash Jha. Earlier, the filmmaker wanted to work on the project with the once Bollywood queen Madhuri Dixit in the lead.

But the project got shelved due to budget issues and lack of authentic adaptations.

The glorious success of Rajneeti has revived his dream project once again and now he wants to make Draupadi in English with an international cast and crew. And, the news is that Jha wants to cast Anjelina Jolie for the title role. Speaking to the media, Jha stated, “I have been planning to make Draupadi for so many years, which will be my ultimate tribute to womanhood. My first choice was Madhuri but now I’m planning to make it an international film.

I want to make the film a grand epic with an international cast and huge budget.” Jha added, “My Draupadi would be set in the mountains so the actors should have an exotic look. In Peter Brooks’s adaptation of the Mahabharata on stage, you can see Mallika Sarabhai with exquisite features.”

OHERALDO

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OPINION

Pg8

www.oheraldo.in

O HERALD O

… When Investigating A Crime

Vol No CX No: 161 Goa, Thursday 24 June, 2010

Bihar on the brink

B

ihar is the cradle of Indian civilisation. Pataliputra – the modern Patna – was the capital of the Mauryan empire, created by Chandragupta Maurya around 300 BC – the first unifier of India and its first genuine emperor.

No Indian empire since was as large as the Mauryan empire under his grandson Ashoka the Great, till that of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, nearly 2,000 years later, around 1700 AD. The architect of Chandragupta’s rise to power was Chanakya, a teacher in the Taksasila university. The author of the ancient Indian political treatise ‘Arthasastra’, Chanakya is called the Indian Machiavelli, though his work predates Machiavelli’s by about 1,800 years. So, Bihar is also the birthplace of Indian politics.

Little wonder that Bihar’s politics tends to be devious.

It is now at its most complex, with Bihar’s Janata Dal (United) Chief Minister Nitish Kumar keeping his coalition ally the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) guessing whether, like Orissa CM Naveen Patnaik, he will choose to ditch the party just before the upcoming Bihar assembly polls later this year.

In many ways, Nitish is an unlikely ally for the BJP. A lifelong socialist by conviction, his drawback has been Bihar’s chronically caste-ridden politics; Nitish belongs to a numerically smaller community, the Koeris. Still, he is a formidable practitioner of value-based politics, and was the mastermind behind Lalu Yadav’s rise to power. Once in power though, the disciple soon dispensed with the services of his guru.

But Nitish forged his own coalition with the BJP and came to power after the fall of the Lalu raj. He has turned the state around. Concentrating mainly on roads, electricity supply, and law & order, he has virtually removed the ‘basket case’ tag from Bihar. In his four-and-a-half years in power, over 600 bridges have been built. The condition of roads has dramatically improved. Law and order is much better, and the state’s cottage industry – kidnapping – has been nearly shut down. Villages that had never, ever, seen a working electric light now get a few hours of power each day. Bihar now has a growth rate of 11 per cent. The state still has a long, long way to go, but Nitish at least holds out hope.

Relations between the BJP’s Bihar state unit and Nitish have by and large been good, thanks to Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi (no relation of his Gujarat namesake), who is the public face of the BJP in Bihar. Sushil Modi is widely seen as broadly ‘secular’. In fact, he is married to Jessie George, a Malayali Christian woman, who still practices her own religion.

In came Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for the BJP National Executive meeting in Patna, heralded by fullpage advertisements in the Patna newspapers, one showing a photograph of Nitish and Narendra Modi hand in hand at a Punjab rally during the 2009 Lok Sabha election, and another trumpeting the aid given by Gujarat to Bihar during the 2008 Kosi floods, and all hell broke loose. The BJP top brass knew Nitish’s allergy to Narendra Modi; he had forbidden Modi from campaigning in Bihar during the Lok Sabha election. They ought to have reined in their poster boy. But they didn’t. And they might have to pay the price.

Now, all talk is about whether Nitish will emulate Naveen Patnaik, break the alliance with the BJP, and go it alone in the coming Bihar elections. The last is highly unlikely, as Nitish knows his party cannot single-handedly win the poll, thanks to its narrow caste appeal. However, he may opt to switch alliances, and the Congress has been making overtures to the Bihar CM right since the 2009 Lok Sabha poll.

But Nitish is well-versed in the science of Chanakya. He will not reveal his hand right now. The BJP may huff and puff, as it is doing right now, but it will not dare to blow the alliance down. Nitish, on the other hand, has all the options.

Worse than drugs?

Fermino Fernandes, Candolim I was very happy on reading the news report ‘12.5 tonne mango crush’ (Herald, 20 June), when artificially ripened mangoes were destroyed. What about the 6kg of calcium carbide seized? Was it also destroyed or stored like seized drugs, for a ‘better’ future?

We are aware that water from many wells is not fit for drinking, but we still drink as there is no option, and we are still alive. So also, we eat fruits from the market, some of which must have been ripened using artificial means. We also eat a lot of vegetables from the market sprayed by pesticides and other chemicals. And we are still alive.

When artificially ripened mangoes are caught, they are destroyed. But when drugs are caught, they are not destroyed but stored ‘safely’, for reasons best known to the au-

100 Years Ago PRIMEIRO DIARIO NAS COLONIAS PORTUGEZAS

24 June 1910 Jesuits Evangelise A batch of seven members belonging to the Society of Jesus arrived at Calcutta to undertake the works of evangelization.

Cross Desecrated

We have strongly objected with the authorities on the desecration of the Holy Cross at the Village of Barady in the District of Pernem, by some migrant Hindus.

Construction Work It is reported that the Director of Public Works along with the Supervisor are examining the work of construction of the Quay at Piligao and of the Bridge at Bicholim.

Road Broadening The broadening of the well known road “Lone” at the lower market of Bicholim, has already commenced.

T

Modern ‘scientific methods’ of criminal investigation must be re-examined, states fReddY diAS

here are various methods of determining the truthfulness of statements made by accused persons during interrogation. For centuries, Investigators have attempted various methods to determine the truthfulness and accuracy of statements. Modern methods include use of narco-analysis or use of truth serum, polygraph or lie detector test and brain fingerprinting/mapping.

But the Supreme Court of India has observed that the third-degree methods adopted by the police and other law enforcement agencies during interrogation, violate the fundamental rights to live with dignity. This includes using so-called ‘modern’ ‘scientific methods’ purportedly to ascertain the truth- namely, narco-analysis or use of truth serum, polygraph or lie detector test and brain fingerprinting/mapping.

In fact, the Supreme Court has ruled as illegal, the compulsory use of the above mentioned tests on human beings, saying such techniques amount to cruel and degrading treatment and unwarranted intrusion into the personal liberty of a person.

Compulsory administration of any of these techniques, whether in the context of investigation in criminal cases or otherwise, is an unjustified intrusion into the mental privacy of an individual, and it would also amount to ‘cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment’ with regard to the language of evolving International Human Rights norms, the Apex Court said in its recently delivered 251page judgement.

Now, let us see what exactly are the ‘modern’ ‘scientific methods’ used by law enforcement agencies to determine the truthfulness of statements made by accused persons during interrogation or otherwise:Narco-analysis: The term narco-analysis is derived from the Greek word ‘narke‘ meaning numbness. The technique uses barbiturates (sedative) drugs or truth serums to induce a state of unconsciousness in which secrets come to the surface since the subject is not in control of what he/she says.

Truth Serum: The Latin expression ‘en Vino veritas’ meaning ‘truth in wine’ which meant that alcohol was used, as one of the earliest truth serums. In modern times, sodium thiopental or sodium pentothal is used as a truth serum.

Sound of Silence This drug decreases higher cortical brain functioning. The underlying hypothesis is, that lying is more complex than telling the truth and hence lower cortical activity will make it difficult for a person to lie. The efficiency of this test is debatable, but it can help in investigation.

Polygraph test: A polygraph, commonly known as the lie-detector, is a device that measures and records several physiological variables such as blood pressure, heart-beat rate, respiration and skin conductivity while the subject is asked a series of questions. Underlying this test, is the ancient hypothesis that a person’s nervousness and anxiety increases while telling a lie.

The accuracy of the polygraph has been contested almost since the introduction of the device because, if the subject exhibits anxiety for reasons other than the truth or can control his anxiety level voluntarily, the test could result in unreliable conclusions.

Brain-mapping: An American scientist Lawrence Farwell is credited with developing

Merry old island

Those were the days

N

ow in my twilight years, I remember the good days in my life, especially in Iraq and Iran, where I spent my bachelor days.

My job made me travel; in fact I was sort of living out of suitcases. Later, the family got their share of travel once a year to anywhere, but in majority of cases, we opted for Goa and second England, that wet Island.

The baby days record books are intact concerning our son and daughters’ date of birth, time, weight… birthdays, lock of baby’s hair and finger nail and the lot. They were also members of the BOAC Junior Club and were entertained in different ways. I have kept some clippings.

In Shah Reza Pahlavi’s time, Iran Air came out with a novel idea for frequent flyers. We simply had to fill up, name and address as well as the frequent-flyer number. I could manage that. I sent it off and forgot about it.

A registered letter arrived at my home address to inform me that I had won two round trip tickets to anywhere in the world that Iran Air flies. I could not believe it, until I noticed I was also instructed to sign a waiver that I would not hold the Airline responsible if I got kidnapped. That sounded very official.

Jonathan de Sousa, Pilerne Mr Naguesh Karmali’s loud tirade against Portuguese rule has become a yearly affair.

I have the highest respect for this great son of Goa, but his comments are totally uncalled for. What good would it serve now for Portuguese nameplates to be removed? Is it more important than providing basic necessities like water and electricity to Goans?

Where were Naguesh Karmali and the freedom fighters when Goa needed them to agitate against the Regional Plan 2011?

Where were they when Goa needed them for anti-SEZ, anti-mining and anti-megaproject agitations?

I’m sorry to say this, but these so-called freedom fighters enjoy government doles all year round and then make a noise every 18th June against a regime that left Goa’s shores 49 years ago. The Portuguese might have been violent rulers, but they were far better administrators than our politicians today. I would advise freedom fighters to raise their voices for the good of Goa. We need another liberation from these corrupt rulers.

Political hypocrisy Arwin Mesquita, Abu Dhabi I write about the recent widely publicised rivalry in the Kuwait Goan Association(s); not supporting or opposing any particular person or group, but as an independent observer. The loud noise from Kuwait was on alleged financial wrongdoings by leaders / members of the Goan Association(s).

This begs the question: why was there not an even louder noise when the most corrupt and tainted MLAs / ministers were on a well publicised / sponsored visit in Kuwait recently? These so called heroes were dined and felicitated by Kuwait Goans who are members / leaders of these same Goan associations.

These MLAs are notorious for their antiGoan policies on SEZs, mega-projects, destructive mining, selling jobs, etc, all to realise huge illegitimate incomes through kickbacks and corruption. Surely the astro-

So I signed the waiver and released Iran Air from worrying about any catastrophic happening that might occur while I was in flight - excluding, of course, a flight of fancy. I took off on that immediately, imagining myself flying to the African wilds, the outback of Australia or some tropical paradise-like island. And then the voice of reason, my better-half said, “Let’s go to England”. And so we did.

We visited plenty of historic sights and revisited some of the special Iranian friends from our last trip. It was delight to say ‘salaam’ to friends in Tooting Bee, Birmingham, and our favourite pub at Alton. It was fun to sit in the lobby of our beautiful old London hotel, listen to the bubbling courtyard fountain and read the newspapers.

The English have such interesting ways of expressing themselves, and their newspapers reflect it. One paper mentioned the venerable Eton College by saying that “Eton is far too plummy for words”. We learned that men really are called chaps, and anything good is described as brilliant.

On a weekend, while visiting a stately home, we saw a colony of snails peacefully sunning themselves after the rain and heard them make a silvery, shimmering sound when they breathed. We then spotted an attractive shrub. My wife is a keen gardener and

By Marc de Souza having decided it would do no harm to take a cutting from it, she nipped a piece off. Whew! Imagine our surprise and fright when a loud, piercing alarm went off. As we reached the door, a voice boomed out from the loudspeaker, “Hurry along, we’re closing in five minutes”. That explained the alarm, but it was sure a cure for the nipping habit.

The government of Iran was free with foreign exchange. We visited Stonehenge on a misty, moody, mysterious day. We saw the very spot where Thomas Becket was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral . We journeyed past towns with such jolly good names as Snitterfield, Bletchingdon, Ibworth and Winklebury. And at Strafford-on-Avon, I bought seeds to plant next spring so my garden will bloom with flowers named “Bats in the Belfry”.

It seemed appropriate. We sipped and supped on such things as steak and kidney pie, bangers, taboo lemonade, pints of bitters and survived.

What a learning experience it is to discover the wonders and differences of another part of God’s world and then to come home and rediscover all the wonders and blessings in your own backyard.

Rejoicing in both gives much case for meditation, and perhaps it would you, too.

Letters to the Editor

thorities. Are artificially ripened mangoes more harmful for life than drugs?

FFs: Stop whining

the EEG/P300-based brain-mapping or brain fingerprinting technology. According to the scientist, our brain stores events as memories, and this function of the brain is used in differentiating a criminal from an innocent person.

The criminal’s brain stores the sequences of events that happens at the crime scene, but an innocent man’s brain would have no such memories. Words, pictures, codes and sounds related to the crime are presented to the subject by a computer. The responses of these stimuli are measured and the data is analysed to determine if the relevant information is present in the subject’s memory.

Dr. Farwell’s Brain Fingerprinting Laboratories, which has the patent for this technology, claims high levels of accuracy. In fact, an Iowa District Court ruled that brain fingerprinting testing met the legal Daubert Standard for admissibility in Court as scientific evidence.

Functional MRI (FMRI): is yet another scientific interrogating technology that is of interest to in-

terrogators these days. Various research institutes say that the frontal lobe area of the brain becomes more active when a person is lying, and this is the underlying hypothesis of FMRI technique.

The results obtained through the use of the above techniques, are not legally admissible evidence in India. The Supreme Court maintained that the results gathered from these techniques, comes into conflict with the ‘right to fair trial’ and forcing an individual to undergo any of the techniques violates the standard of substantive due process which is required for restraining personal liberty.

In the judgment, which can have wide-ranging ramifications on several high profile cases, the Court said the compulsory administration of the impugned techniques violates the ‘right against self incrimination and is against the provision of Article 20 (3) of the Constitution of the Country. Holding that the underlying rationale of such right is to ensure the reliability as well as how voluntary the statements that are admitted as evidence are, the Apex court said Article 20 (3) read with Section 161 (2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr. PC) protects accused persons, suspects as well as witnesses who are examined during an investigation.

While further explaining the protective scope of Article 20(3) which extends to the investigative stage in criminal cases, the Supreme Court asserted that results gathered from each of the impugned tests bear a ‘testimonial character and as such, they cannot be categorized as material evidence if they have been obtained through the use of compulsion.

The Apex Court, however said such techniques can be used with certain safeguards in place if a person volunteers and consents to undergo any of these tests but made it clear that the test results by themselves cannot be admitted as evidence because the subject does not exercise conscious control over the responses”, The Court said when consent of a person is obtained for subjecting him to narco-analysis, brain-mapping and polygraphic tests, the guidelines laid down by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in 2000 for the lie-detector (polygraph) test has to be followed strictly.

Letter of the Day

Raise liquor prices

S Kamat, Alto Betim

The liquor policy in Goa should be reviewed. There is no need to keep liquor prices low. Hiking the prices to be at par with neighbouring states has a number of advantages.

A hike in prices will be a disincentive for our local addicts, who hopefully will reduce their intake, leading to their improved well being and that of their families.

Tourists are on holiday, and will be drinking in any case, whatever be the price. But smuggling of liquor outside Goa will be halted or at least reduced. Major excise scams related to liquor will become a thing of the past. Most important, higher prices will enable the government to earn higher revenue, both in excise and sales tax.

The volumes of liquor sales in Goa as reported by the retailing association are not very large, and a hike in prices will in no way affect revenues; overall, there will definitely be an increase. Lower prices of liquor in Goa benefit all those who take advantage of the shady side of the business, right from excise personnel, the police personnel at the border check posts, to the inspectors at the distilleries. In fact, it is rumoured that the cuts go right to the top. nomical illegal incomes of these MLAs dwarf any Goan financial scandals overseas, which are petty in comparison.

It is high time that we Goans reduce our political hypocrisy. We have all the time for ‘petty’ fights in Kuwait, Dubai, Qatar and elsewhere, but are hesitant to spend our precious time, energy and resources where it really matters; to fight the real enemies of Goa and Goans!

Damned Universities S N D Poojary, Miramar The new guidelines issued by the UGC to regulate Deemed Universities must be welcomed. These so-called universities are fiefdoms of certain families. Their relatives and friends occupy important academic and administrative positions, not because of their academic excellence or administrative competence, but because of ‘goodwill’ of the trust / society that runs the university.

These universities are business houses, not academic bodies. They are immune to government regulations regarding admission and fees. How can we allow feudalism of the middle ages in the sphere of education?

Whether the HRD ministry will stand up to these politically and economically powerful ‘education barons’ is yet to be seen.

Silence of the lambs Arnold Coutinho, by email This is with reference to Sarjano’s ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ (Herald Mirror, 20 June).

Sarjano, Let us not abandon hope, for hope springs eternal in the Goan breast.

I read ‘The Year for Priests: An Assessment’

by Fr Saturnino Dias in Sunday’s Herald.

For the third time, this shepherd speaks for the silent lambs. Let us hope it is not the voice of one crying in the wilderness.

Fake SMSs Joel Fernandes, Cuncolim A lot of fake SMSs are being circulated these days, which promise a certain amount of balance if forwarded to people. I recently got an SMS that was spreading false information. It requested me not to buy Uninor Sim cards, saying that it was a ‘Pakistani’ company. It requested me to forward the SMS to 20 people and receive a balance of Rs75 as talktime, which will be offered by Airtel, Aircel, Docomo, Idea, Reliance and Vodafone.

Uninor is a joint venture company between Telenor of Norway and Unitech of India. There are many similar SMSs that promise talktime if forwarded, but you get

nothing. So beware.

‘Magnificent’ Seven Marcos Alemao, by email A few months back, some MLAs of the coalition created havoc in the name of G-7. They terrorised the chief minister with their demands, and threatened to pull down the government. Where has this G-7 gone now?

One is missing, one has ditched the UGDP and joined the Congress, and a third is likely to join Congress shortly. What about the remaining four? Can they shake the government now? They are only fooling the electorate for their own personal benefit.

Can we trust these MLAs in the future?

Cups and straps Rodney de Souza, Assagao The FIFA Football World Cup 2010 has taken the world by storm. Everybody is glued to the TV. It is even more interesting to watch the fans and supporters of playing nations sport colourful headgear, giant specs, synthetic beards and painted faces. But I wonder why young ladies flaunt colourful bras, especially when Brazil plays. That’s because, whispered my friend, the word Brazil starts with ‘bra’ and ends with ‘sil’, which means ‘show it liberally’.

Increase in bribes Reggie Viegas, Panjim Apropos the news report ‘Transport department to increase fines’ (Herald, 23 June), I do not see the how raising the fine from Rs100 to Rs500 makes any difference. If instilling fear in the minds of people is the purpose, it will not work, as the cop’s job of extracting a bribe is simplified; the greater the fine, the greater the bribe.

I have seen it happen many times, in the case of mobile use and not carrying a license.

If these were not offences, the Transport Department itself would oppose the increase in fines. Is more helmet and seat belt harassment coming our way?

Letters should be 150 words or less in length, and should have the writer’s name, address and telephone number.

The editor reserves the right to edit letters for size and readability, and to delete any personal attacks or libellous /objectionable matter.

Paths of Wisdom No Attachment to Dust Zengetsu, a Chinese master of the tang dynasty, wrote the following advice for his pupils: Living in the world yet not forming attachments to the dust of the world is the way of the true Zen student.

When witnessing the good action of another encourage yourself to follow his example. Hearing the mistaken action of another, advise yourself not to emulate it.

Even though alone in a dark room, be as if you were facing a noble guest.

Express your feelings, but become no more expressive than your true nature.

Poverty is your treasure. Never exchange it for an easy life.

A person may appear a fool and yet not be one. He may be only guarding his wisdom carefully.

Virtues are the fruit of self-discipline and do not drop from heaven themselves as does rain or snow.

Modesty is the foundation of all virtues. Let your neighbours discover you before you make yourself known to them.

A noble heart never forces itself forward. Its words are as rare gems, seldom displayed and of great value.

To a sincere student, everyday is a fortunate day. Time passes but he never lags behind. Neither glory nor shame can move him.

Censure yourself, never another. Do not discuss right or wrong.

Some things though right, were considered wrong for generations. Since the value of righteousness may be recognized after centuries, there is no need to crave an immediate appreciation.

Live with cause and leave the results to the great law of the universe. Pass each day in peaceful contemplation.

(Courtesy : ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’)

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HE RA LD

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GOA, THURSDAY, 24 JUNE, 2010

oPinionated make Goan roads safe

BY S KAMAT With the number of fatalities rising in Goa via road accidents, it is time we got serious about tackling it. Since the matter is no longer something we can abdicate, saying that the government should tackle the problem or MARG should do it etc.

The reason for this is that the death of a near and dear one affects us individually and therefore we need to do something about it. The first thing we need to do while driving or riding a vehicle is self-discipline. Do not speed or drive rashly. Drive like they say looking after the safety of not only yourself but also others on the road be it vehicles, pedestrians or others entitled to use the road. This way you will find that your journey becomes pleasant and more importantly, safe.

Even if you are in a rush, remember that starting early is better than rushing on the road, since not only do you put yourself in danger but other innocent people too who are in no way connected with your urgency. Further, if you analyse with a cool mind you will find that rushing never saves you time, except for a few odd minutes but adds to the risk of never reaching our destination. So you have to ask yourself, do those few minutes you saved matter so much? The other thing that one notices these days is that almost everyone is talking on their mobile while driving. This even includes the people on two-wheelers. Where earlier as is the custom in Goa a person passing you on a two-wheeler would beep you with his horn as a greeting since he could not take both hands off the handlebars of his vehicle, now uses one hand to hold his mobile. Clearly this is unsafe for the driver as also to others on the road. The category by age of those involved in the majority of accidents is 18 -35 and most are related to two-wheelers. This is where the government and organizations like MARG have to develop a serious public awareness of inculcating road safety through newspapers ads, outdoor hoardings, visiting schools, colleges, institutional areas and industrial estates to develop the understanding that road safety relates to saving lives, one of which may be yours.

Considering that two-wheelers form a large number of the fatalities, it is important that one wears a helmet preferably also for the pillion rider, since again pillion riders are victims of the larger number of fatalities in two-wheeler accidents.

These are the things that our traffic police should ensure; they should fine people caught speaking on their mobile except those who use the hands-free mode and those driving 2-wheelers without helmets. And the fine should be high so that it works as a deterrent and the police should not play favourites or let off people with connections. The fine being high then the police cut or hafta also will be high maybe more than what is the current fine, therefore it will surely act as a deterrent and ensure that the number of people using their mobiles while driving reduces and those that ride two-wheelers with helmets increases.

The other thing that we have to do is get rid off the stray dogs and cattle that come on the roads. The local municipality or panchayat should take immediate action to get rid off these stray animals while culling the dogs and fining the cattle owners. Many an accident is caused particularly at night time and during the rains by these stray animals coming on the road in front of two-wheelers.

A point to be noted here is that even the Baghdad municipality, given all the problems that Iraq is facing, has currently a programme to cull almost a million dogs that have multiplied during the time that municipal services were inactive in Baghdad. And we do nothing about our stray dogs here. Another thing that we can do is to ask our upright citizens to volunteer as traffic marshals who will be empowered to seize vehicle papers and to arbitrate on road disputes and regulate traffic in conjunction with the police depending upon need. These traffic marshals apart from when handling traffic regulation when they can be asked to wear a vest to identify them as marshals will be in plain clothes and will be the surprise element in road management which hopefully will improve our driving habits. The above does not include the accidents caused by mining trucks which is a separate matter and needs to be tackled differently. Concluding let both the driving public and the local administrations/government to make Goan roads safe and free it from accidents thus saving precious lives.

India to set up panel to boost economic ties with US PTI WASHINGTON, JUNE 23

India will set up a high-level committee to identify areas for expanding economic ties with the US, from where it expects an estimated investment of USD 250-300 billion in infrastructure space.

The committee, to be set up under Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, would coordinate with various ministries and prepare a roadmap before US President Barack Obama’s India visit in November, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told PTI in an interview here.

India needs USD 1 trillion of infrastructure investment, where there is still a gap of 2530 per cent and can be filled in by the US companies, Mukherjee said.

Speaking after attending a meeting of Indo-US CEOs Forum here, Mukherjee said the US wants India to expedite relevant legislative actions for economic reforms like opening up of insurance, other sectors.

Terming his meetings here as very successful, Mukherjee said: “My bilateral discussions with Secretary of the State (Hillary Clinton) and the Secretary of Treasury (Timothy Geithner) clearly indicated that they are interested in widening and deepening the relationship between India and the US. “On the whole I say, this was a good visit and all the meetings were successful.”

“We have identified certain issues on

which we should work together. And this was the recommendations made jointly by both Indian CEOs and the US counterparts – education, infrastructure, clean energy, bio tech and health,” Mukherjee said.

“They also suggested what are the impediments in fully exploiting the relationship between our two countries and a breakthrough of the long term ideas,” he noted.

Mukherjee said that after returning to India he would “set up a committee, a small group, under Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, who will co-ordinate with all the concerned ministries on the issues which have been identified...”

The committee would then “prepare a road map on what could be done and what are doable, so that before (the US) President’s visit to India in November, both the leaders (Obama and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh) are in a position that these are the areas in which progress has been made and what further progress could be made, that could be known.”

Mukherjee said that Indo-US relations were “moving in the right direction” and the two countries would surely make breakthrough in major areas.

“I am quite confident that in major areas we will be able to make real breakthrough.

Our relationship is expanding very fast. Despite the slowdown, I think, both way international trade is USD 37 billion.” Asked why India was not getting much US invest-

ment into the infrastructure sector, despite it being a focus area, Mukherjee said: “We require more. It is incorrect to say that we are not getting. But we require more.

“Nearly one trillion dollar is the level of investment which would be required. 25 to 30 per cent of which ... still there is a gap. So this can be filled in by US companies, particularly in the long term infrastructure, for long term investment in road, shipping, communication, transport,” he added.

Asked whether the US counterparts in his meetings sought more opening up on issues like taxation and liberalisation, he said, “Certain issues that are pending, naturally they emphasized on it. For instance the opening up of the insurance sector, 26 per cent to 49 per cent, where the pending legislation is there.”

“Similarly to have the replicable model in respect of what we have done in the mega power project to replicate it in the sectors of road and others. There is also the land acquisition act, which is pending and rehabilitation of the displaced persons, these legislations are pending. So they expect that we shall have to expedite these legislative actions,” Mukherjee said.

“I am happy that the way things are moving and the chief executive officers representing important corporate sector, they also expressed their happiness that they are having exchange of views with the Indian Government,” he added.

Talking tough on the Bhopal gas tragedy just after a top ministerial panel recommended new measures to ensure justice for the victims, Law Minister Veerappa Moily on Wednesday said a tragedy like Bhopal will not be allowed in the country again.

Launching the National Litigation Policy to make government an “efficient and a responsible” litigant, the Law Minister said monitoring and review mechanism proposed under it would prevent “delay or neglect” of important cases such as the Bhopal gas tragedy.

Moily said the policy recognised the fact that the government and its various agencies were the predominant litigants in courts and tribunals in the country.

“Its (the policy’s) aim is to transform government into an efficient and a responsible litigant,” he told a press conference in New Delhi.

Noting that the policy took into account the responsibility of the government to protect the rights of citizens and to respect fundamental rights, the Law Minister said those in-charge of the conduct of official

His stupendous success as a filmmaker and an actor notwithstanding, Aamir Khan does not interfere with his nephew Imran Khan’s career, though he continues to influence him as a human being.

“He (Aamir) always says that I have to learn for myself through my mistakes because when I succeed all by myself, it would be better for me,” Imran told PTI here.

The 27-year-old actor said that though it may look funny and irritating, his famous uncle ensures that whatever he does, no matter how insignificant, he will not do anything wrong.

“Aamir mamu is very particular that he must always do the right thing. He will prefer to take a longer route rather than entering a no entry

AGENCIES NEW DELHI, JUNE 23

The central Home Ministry has written to the President of India that Afzal Guru’s is a fit case for death sentence, in response to the mercy plea filed by his wife Tabassum. The Centre said the nature of the crime is heinous and the convict in the Parliament House attack deserves no mercy.

A ministry note says: “Mercy petition filed by Tabassum, wife of the Parliament House attack convict Afzal Guru, should be rejected. Nature of the crime committed is heinous and he deserves no mercy.”

However, eminent jurist Shanti Bhushan termed the Centre’s move unfortunate, saying Guru was only a conspirator of the attack, and did not carry out the attack.

“This is very unfortunate. The government is bowing down to the Opposition pressure. Death penalty is for the person who actually does the act. He was only a conspirator, so the SC should not have given him death sentence. It is an additional pun-

ishment to be on the death row for five years,” said Shanti Bhushan.

The petition for mercy to Guru did not find favour from the Home ministry following recommendation of the Delhi LG Tejendra Khanna. The case has been dragging on for nine years.

Five terrorists had attacked the parliament on December 13, 2001 leaving seven security personnel dead. Sopore resident Mohammed Afzal Guru was charged with plotting the attack a few days later.

On December 18, 2002, the Delhi High Court awarded death sentence to Guru following which he moved the Supreme court. But the apex court upheld the death sentence on August 4, 2005.

Guru’s hanging was fixed for October 20, 2006 but his wife Tabassum had filed a mercy petition and as a result his execution was stayed. As per procedure, the then President APJ Kalam sought the Home Ministry’s views on the plea.

AGENCIES NEW DELHI, JUNE 23

The BJP is talking tough on Bihar. After much internal discussion, the party has made clear to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar that it will accept no conditions like keeping Narendra Modi out of Bihar, in their alliance.

The party is reported to have made a formal communication to the JD(U) on Wednesday in response to a Nitish demand that the BJP keep its leaders like Gujarat Chief Minister Modi and party General Secretary Varun Gandhi out of the state. They will campaign in Bihar during the elections later this year, the BJP says.

In making things clear, the BJP has also indicated that it is not inclined to pull the plug on their ruling alliance with the JD(U) in the state, though it could not resist taking the high moral ground with an eye on the polls. Senior party leader M Venkaiah Naidu said in Delhi, “There is no question of accepting any conditions from anyone. We are deeply hurt, but for the people of Bihar, we cannot stop the development. Our decision will be for people of Bihar.”

The “hurt” stems from Nitish Kumar’s overt disapproval of Narendra Modi’s presence in Bihar for a BJP party meet. Nitish, though a BJP partner for long, has been cultivating an independently secular image and has repeatedly shied away from any association with Modi.

This time Nitish pushed ties with the BJP to the brink by giving vent to his anger over an advertisement showing him holding hands with his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi.

The BJP is caught between a rock and a hard place. On one side is the recalcitrant partner, on the other, its Chief Minister Modi.

Sources say the tough words on Wednesday are meant to pacify Narendra Modi. He’s been seen as critical in pushing his party to adopt the no-nonsense stand against Nitish Kumar. But hard reality says there is an election round the corner and the party would like to share some credit with the JD(U)’s Nitish, who is seen as the man who made a marked difference in a state often referred to as India’s heart of darkness.

Children riding home on cycles during heavy rain in Patna on Wednesday.

litigation should never forget this basic principle.

Under the policy, Moily said the government would categorise and group court cases so that those contesting on behalf of the government could prioritise them.

“If this is in place, ultimately, constant review, prioritising and categorisation will track everything.

Maybe cases like the Bhopal one will not be repeated in this country. That is the target of this (policy),” he said.

The minister also noted that “a sensitised and sensitive” government would represent all these cases so that there was “no delay or neglect” at any stage (in cases like the Bhopal catastrophe).

Moily said these systems will be in place so that the delay witnessed in the Bhopal case did not become a norm as “justice delayed is justice buried.”

Asked about the curative petition that the Group of Ministers (GoM) on the Bhopal case was considering, Attorney General G E Vahanvati, who was present, said the Law Minister had only made “a suggestion” before the GoM and it was not “a considered opinion”.

Vahanvati said the GoM’s report had to first go to

n Launching the National Litigation Policy to make government an “efficient and a responsible” litigant, the Law Minister said monitoring and review mechanism proposed under it would prevent “delay or neglect” of important cases such as the Bhopal gas tragedy. the Cabinet, which had to approve the suggestion.

He claimed the 1996 Supreme Court order in the Bhopal gas leak case was “wrong as a matter of law.”

Based on the available evidence, the Supreme Court had in 1996 reduced the charge against the accused in the Bhopal case from culpable homicide not amounting to murder to causing death by negligence.

“I am not criticising the judgement....I am entitled to tell you that it is wrong. I say it as a matter of law.

I believe there are contradictions in the judgement and there are lots of material that have come up post that judgement,” he said.

Nirupama to meet Bashir today

zone even in the dead of the night,” he added.

Imran, who is gearing up for his fourth release ‘I hate Luv Storys’ (IHLS) opposite Sonam Kapoor on July 9 said he did not discuss work with Aamir.

“He is a very busy with his own work. Whenever we meet, it’s just family and we prefer not talking about our work,” he said.

Imran said he has never watched how Aamir prepares for his roles. “I have never been on his sets. But, I rate his recent movies like ‘3 idiots’, ‘Rang De Basanti’, ‘Taare Zameen Par’, Dil Chahta Hai’, ‘Lagaan’ as the best,” he said.

Imran who also admires his uncle’s contemporary Salman Khan is making preparations to arrange a special screening of IHLS for him.

“We just got the first cut of the movie. The screening for Bhai (Salman) will be on June 30 or July 1,” he said.

On his other uncle, filmmaker Mansoor Khan, Imran said the ‘Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar’ fame director’s return was unlikely.

“He feels there is no good story to make a film and money does not interest him. I don’t think he will return as a director,” he said.

Imran denied that there was any rivalry between him and Ranbir Kapoor and said though he did not know the Kapoor scion well enough to be called his best friend, he hanged out often with him.

“I have known him for one and half years and I am friendly with him. I respect him very much because he is a very fine actor and like him as a person. We hang out when we are free,” he said.

“Professional rivalry has never made sense to me. If his film does well, it does not affect my film and if his film flops my film will not do well,” he added.

The actor said after hosting a film awards nite together, many in the industry wanted the duo to do a film together but lack of good scripts has prevented them from doing so.

“We are also interested, but not found anything good. We are still open to doing a film together,” he said.

Asked about the failure of his two previous releases, ‘Kidnap’ and ‘Luck’, the ‘Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Naa’ star said, “‘Kidnap’ was not a bad script. In the making of the film, we fell short. What the script was and what the film eventually became

Centre extending coop to K’taka, says CM

AGENCIES ISLAMABAD, JUNE 23

PTI BANGALORE, JUNE 23

Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao will meet her Pakistani counterpart, Salman Bashir, for the talks on Thursday, June 24.

The talks are expected to bridge the trust deficit between India and Pakistan. Terrorism will be top on the agenda of the talks. India had revealed that it is ready for ‘open’ talks with Pakistan. India’s concerns about the Pak-based terror groups including Lashkar e Taiba and the plans for a joined war against terrorism, will be among the issues which will be raised by Nirupama Rao, during the conversation with Bashir.

Nirupama Rao is the first senior Indian official to visit Pakistan after 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, who has often targeted the Centre for allegedly not aiding the state during floods and power crisis, seems to have softened his stand and says cooperation has been extended to the BJP-ruled state.

“Things are improving now. In some areas the Centre has extended cooperation to the state”, he said as his government completed two years in office today.

67-year-old Yeddyurappa rejected the charge that minorities were living in fear under the BJP rule and shot back saying, “You show me one such instance.

They are all very happy”.

Yeddyurappa told PTI that he had never spoken of following the Gujarat model of governance. “I only said I will turn Karnataka into a model state in the next three years”.

The Chief Minister ridiculed opposition Congress and JDS for attacking his government’s performance, saying they should compare works done during his tenure with that in the last 10 years before drawing any conclu-

Aamir does not interfere in Imran’s career PTI MUMBAI, JUNE 23

Wants mercy plea rejected

Nitish’s conditions unacceptable, says BJP

Bhopal won’t be repeated, says Moily AGENCIES NEW DELHI, JUNE 23

Afzal deserves death: Centre

was not the same thing. The same situation repeated with ‘Luck’.”

“The two films were signed prior to the release of ‘Jaane Tu...’. After I became known as an actor, I signed only IHLS and ‘Break ke Baad’ with Deepika, a couple of months ago,” he added.

Imran said there was a time earlier in his career when he was not in a position to make demands but “the situation has changed now.”

“Today the situation has changed. I can demand a script and I can put my foot down if it is not given to me. I can also ensure that there will be no deviations from the script while shooting,” he said.

Asked about his strengths and weaknesses, Imran said while he lagged behind in language, his calmness in front of the camera was his biggest asset.

“I learnt Hindi after signing ‘Jaane Tu..Ya Jaane Na’. I grew up in South India and America. I knew only English, basic French and Spanish. I used to speak Tamil while studying in boarding school,” he said.

“I feel my strength is that I am calm and relaxed in front of the camera,” he added.

sion.

He said people have approved of his government’s performance by ensuring BJP wins in all elections held in the last two years.

“What more proof does one require to assess the achievements of any government?”, the BJP leader from the dominant Lingayat community asked, hitting at the opposition parties for questioning his party’s performance.

“I hold 100 per cent command over governance. My ministerial colleagues and officials have been extending great degree of cooperation, because of which the government has been able to implement several development programmes”, he said.

Yeddyurappa survived a major threat to his leadership last September following dissident activity spearheaded by three Bellary ministers unhappy over his style of functioning-Tourism Minister G Janardhana Reddy, his brother a n d Re v e n u e M i n i s t e r G Karunakara Reddy and their confidant Health Minister B Sreeramulu, which the BJP High Command doused.

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‘Twilight’ fans camp out for days ahead of premiere Reuters LOS ANGELES, JUNE 23

Under a glaring California sun, ''Twilight'' fans took shelter in camping tents, as they awaited

their date with Robert Pattinson and other stars from the latest film in the vampire romance series.

Some 550 devotees of ''The

Twilight Saga,'' many of whom have camped out since Sunday night in downtown Los Angeles, are being rewarded for their patience with guaranteed spots on the red carpet for the tomorrow movie premiere of ''Eclipse.'' ''It's just worth seeing all the stars. They bring the characters that we love so much to life, so we want to see them in person and cheer them on,'' said Yolanda Rodriguez, 36, an unemployed graphic designer who came from San Francisco for the event.

The fans, virtually all female, are living on the concrete plaza of an entertainment complex,

surrounded by blankets, tents, umbrellas and cardboard cutouts of the film's stars.

The ''Twilight'' books by author Stephenie Meyer have been a publishing sensation and spawned a Hollywood movie franchise. ''The Twilight Saga: Eclipse'' opening June 30 and starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner, will likely be one of 2010's biggest blockbusters. The first two films made over 1.1 billion dollar combined at box offices worldwide.

Jen Yamato, film critic and ' ' Tw i l i g h t ' ' e x p e r t w i t h movies.com, compared fan fervor to the emotions caused by The Beatles in the 1960s. ''It's really akin to Beatlemania back in the day, in terms of how ardently 'Twilight' fans really love the property, and camping out outside of the premiere is just one way to celebrate that love,'' Yamato told Reuters.

Melissa Rivett, 25, came from Chicago to Los Angeles to wait for the premiere. That is not the only sign of her devotion to ''Twilight.''

On her calf is a tattoo of the fictional crest of the Cullen clan of vampires, the same group of bloodsuckers that Edward belongs to. Her arm bears the American Indian-inspired emblem of the ''Wolf Pack,'' the group of werewolves Jacob runs with. On her wrist in black are the words ''Be safe,'' which was the advice that Edward had for shy student Bella Swan.

Rivett, who said she saw the 2008 ''Twilight'' film 15 times in the theatre, calls herself a ''spoilers-free girl'' because she has not watched any trailers for ''Eclipse,'' not wanting to ruin the experience of seeing it.

US seeks $5 mn from two ex-Madoff employees Reuters NEW YORK, JUNE 23

US prosecutors said they are seeking at least 5 million dollar in luxury cars, property and bank accounts from two former employees of imprisoned swindler Bernard Madoff.

JoAnn Crupi and Annette Bongiorno, who worked for Madoff for 25 years and 40 years, respectively, bought cars and invested in property with funds obtained from defrauded investors, according to complaints filed in Manhattan federal court.

Both are accused in the civil complaints of having knowingly participated in the fraud, but neither one has been criminally charged.

Their lawyers did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Madoff, 72, is serving a 150year prison sentence following the collapse of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities in December 2008. He pleaded guilty in March 2009 to orchestrating a decades-long fraud that prosecutors estimated at as much as 65 billion dollar. ''The civil forfeiture complaints filed today seek to forfeit additional assets identified as proceeds of Madoff's crime, and represent another step in this still active and very much ongoing investigation,'' US Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement yesterday.

Crupi, prosecutors said, was in charge of monitoring the transfer of funds in the principal Madoff bank account. Bongiorno was a back office supervisor.

Prosecutors are seeking the forfeiture of a 162,604 dollar Bentley Continental and a 90,000 dollar Mercedes ML 500 purchased by Bongiorno, among other assets. The government is also seeking millions of dollars in bank accounts and property from both women.

Israel launches spy satellite Reuters JERUSALEM, JUNE 23

Israel launched a military spy satellite late which Israeli media reports said would help it monitor Iran's nuclear programme.

The Ofek 9, which the Defence Ministry said was launched from the Palmachim air force base south of Tel Aviv, will join three other Israeli spy satellites already in space.

Israeli media reports said the satellite's high resolution cameras would enable Israel to keep a closer eye on arch-foe Iran.

Along with the West, Israel believes that Iran's uranium enrichment activities are aimed at producing nuclear weapons, an allegation Tehran denies.

Israel is widely believed to be the West Asia's only nuclear power.

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China likely to build two N-reactors in Pak PTI BEIJING, JUNE 23

China is likely to go ahead with its decision to "finance" the construction of two 650 MW nuclear power plants in Pakistan disregarding the concerns raised

by India and the United States.

It is expected to announce its decision at the Nuclear Security Group meeting being held in New Zealand tomorrow.

"China will likely go ahead with financing the construction of two nuclear reactors in Pakistan despite concerns from other countries," state-run China Daily on Wednesday quoted Chinese experts as saying.

"China is expected to announce its plans to build the reactors in Pakistan's Punjab province at the 46-member NSG meeting in New Zealand. Meanwhile, the United States, with heavy lobbying from India, is reportedly raising doubts over the legitimacy of the deal," it said in its report.

The report in the official daily is regarded as a sort of an official announcement as Chinese Foreign Ministry so far has declined to say anything directly concerning China's plans to build new reactors in Pakistan. It only said that its cooperation with Islamabad concerning the civil nuclear is for peaceful purposes and being carried under the safeguards and supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency, (IAEA).

The write up in the daily comes after the recently concluded visit of Pakistan Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani during which Chinese Defence Minister Liang Guanglie announced that "China would join hands with Pakistan to bring military relations to a new high".

China's plans to build two nuclear reactors came to light when state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) announced in April this year that it will export nuclear

power reactors to Pakistan in a USD 2.375-billion agreement.

This is in addition to two nuclear reactors built by China at Chashma in Pakistan's Punjab province.

Zhai Dequan, deputy secretary-general of the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, defended China's plans to build new reactors saying that China has been helping Pakistan with reactors earlier.

"This is not the first time China has helped Pakistan build nuclear reactors, and since it will be watched by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the deal is not going to have any problems," Zhai said, adding the US will not pressure China too much as it previously struck a deal with India.

The US last week asked China to clarify the details of the deal, but stopped short of publicly opposing it, the daily said in its report.

Indian-origin Haley wins Republican nomination

PTI WASHINGTON, JUNE 23

Indian-American Nikki Haley on Wednesday won the Republican nomination for the governorship of South Carolina, a commanding victory that could elevate her to become one of the prominent faces of the party and places her one step closer to become the state's first woman governor.

Haley, 38, overcame allega-

tions about infidelity in her marriage, ethnic slurs and questions about her religious background.

She had denied all the allegations against her.

"This is a really great night because South Carolina just showed the rest of the country what we're made of," Haley said, delivering a victory speech to supporters in Columbia.

"Haley rose in the polls by promising to break an entrenched network that has dominated state politics for decades.

She portrayed the unsubstantiated charges of sexual affairs as retaliation for taking on special interests," the New York Times commented.

In the run-off to the primary elections, Haley defeated Congressman Gresham Barrett.

Haley got 62 per cent of the total votes polled, while Barrett received 38 per cent.

UN panel on Lanka ‘uncalled for’: govt PTI COLOMBO, JUNE 23

Sri Lanka on Wednesday took exception to the UN appointing a panel of experts to look into alleged human rights abuses in the final stage of the island's civil war, charging of a "hidden agenda" behind the move.

Slamming the UN, government spokesman and Media and Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, said the step was "uncalled for and unnecessary" and warned that Sri Lanka will take "appropriate action".

Rambukwella was reacting to an announcement made in New York of an appointment of a three-member panel by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The panel is headed by Indonesia's former Attorney General Marzuki Darusman and is to submit its report within four months.

Asserting that the Sri Lankan government was addressing the concerns raised by the UN, Rambukwella said, "inspite of we as a government expressing our concerns, the UN has made the

Pak court orders ban on Google, Yahoo, 7 other websites PTI ISLAMABAD, JUNE 23

A Pakistani court has reportedly ordered a ban on nine leading websites, including Google and Hotmail, for allegedly posting blasphemous material though officials on Wednesday said they had not received any instruction to block the sites.

Media reports said the Bahawalpur bench of the Lahore High Court yesterday directed the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority to immediately block nine websites, including Google, Yahoo, MSN, Hotmail, YouTube, Bing and Amazon, for publishing and promoting sacrilegious and blasphemous material.

Justice Mazher Iqbal Sidhu issued the order while hearing a petition filed by a man named Muhammad Sidiq who claimed these websites were publishing sacrilegious material.

The judge also ordered the PTA chairman to appear in court on June 28 with relevant materials.

appointment."

"The UN and its secretary-general have revealed their hidden agenda in no uncertain terms," the minister said in remarks posted on the government website.

He said the UN's move to appoint a panel to advise it on any violation of international human rights was an "attempt to provide oxygen" to defeated Tamil tigers.

He said the government would take appropriate action with regard to it in the near future.

The Indian-origin Republican candidate, a mother of two, was endorsed by top party leaders including Sarah Palin, the former Alaska Governor, and Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts Governor.

Senators bring bill to designate Pak Taliban as terror outfit PTI WASHINGTON, JUNE 23

A group of US senators on Wednesday introduced a legislation in the Senate to brand the Pakistani Taliban, linked to the botched Times Square bombing attempt, as a foreign terrorist organisation.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is so far not listed as a terror group by the US State Department.

The four powerful Senators, who introduced the bill in the Senate, said that it has become very urgent that TTP be declared a foreign terrorist organisation in the after math of Faisal Shahzad, the Times Square bomb suspect, pleading guilty and conceding the role of Pakistani Taliban in the planning and execution of the entire failed attack.

"It's time to turn up the heat on this terrorist organisation, and the FTO gives us a quick,

ready and proven way to do it," said Senator Charles Schumer at a news conference soon after the legislation was introduced in the Senate.

Other Congressmen who cosponsored the legislation were Robert Menendez, Kirsten Gillibrand and Frank R Lautenberg.

Designating the Pakistani Taliban as an FTO is more essential than ever, Schumer argued and hoped that the State Department will speed up the process in this regard.

"For years, the Pakistani Taliban has been plotting and scheming against the US. We know they run active training camps where people, including Shahzad, learn how to carry out terrorist attacks. They've publicly committed to killing Americans.

In a video that surfaced in April, they pledged to make the US and its cities their main target," he said.

"Now that the Times Square

terrorist has pleaded guilty in court, it's time to take the next step, by confronting the organization that aided and abetted him. This group poses an existential threat to the safety of not only our soldiers fighting abroad, but also to American citizens here at home. It's time we dealt with this terrorist organization with every tool at our disposal," Schumer said.

Observing that the Obama administration is determined to disrupt, dismantle and defeat terrorist networks abroad; he said passing this legislation is essential to protecting Americans at home and abroad and to destabilizing the Pakistani Taliban.

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TALK BUSINESS

Nandi theatre opens at Pernem PANJIM (HBD) -- The only cinema theatre in Pernem, Nandi, has been fully renovated and has started screenings. The theatre is fully air conditioned, equipped with Dolby Digital THX sound system, digital projection system and luxury seating. Movies will be released every Friday along with worldwide releases.

The introductory ticket rates are Rs 50 for the Gold Class Executive, Rs 45 for the Royal Class and Rs 40 for the Silver Class. For more details call 0832-2201566.

Offers on Hotels.com PANJIM (HBD) -- Hotels.com is offering spectacular deals on hotel stays at destinations like Phuket, Ko Samui in Thailand, Bali in Indonesia and Goa in India as part of its summer sale.

Airlines have recently introduced some very low airfares to Thailand to attract visitors back to the country again.

Also included are great deals for those planning a family holiday. Visit Singapore and enjoy the magnificent rides and a Hollywood experience at the new Universal Studios on Sentosa Island with its seven themed zones including the Lost World, Sci-Fi City and Madagascar. Other places of interest include Singapore Zoo, The Jurong Bird Park and the Night Safari with over 1,200 animals covering more than 110 exotic species including sharks at The Underwater World.

IDBI Bank currency chests get ISO 9001:2008 PANJIM (HBD) -- IDBI Bank Ltd was awarded the coveted international certification ISO 9001:2008 for all its currency chests across the country.

B P Singh, Dy MD, IDBI Bank, received the certificate from Prodipto Basu Roy, GM of Intertek Systems B P Singh, Dy MD, IDBI Bank Ltd (right) receivCertification on behalf ing the certificate. of the bank, at a function held at the corporate office of the bank.

R K Bansal, group head, retail banking, K C Jani, executive director, operations and senior officials of IDBI Bank were also present. Equipped with ISO 9001:2008 Certification for its centralised operations and currency chests, the bank is now contemplating to bring all its centralised clearing units under the said certification to emerge as a world class one-stop universal Bank.

BEML posts record growth in sales PANJIM (HBD) -- BEML Limited registered a growth of 18% in sales and posted a sale of Rs 3558 crore during 2009-10 compared to Rs 3013 crore during the previous year.

While rail and metro business group has achieved growth of 114% and defence business group about 14% over the previous year, mining and construction business group has succeeded in maintaining its sales in spite of the general decline. The company posted a PBT of Rs 320 crore and wrapped up the year with an order book of Rs 5,206 crore for execution during 2010-11 and beyond. The company has set for itself a sales target of Rs 4,200 crore for 2010-11 and is hopeful of crossing Rs 5,000 crore mark by 2011-12. The company has invested over Rs 500 crore for the last five years. Now plans to invest Rs 680 crore in the next 2-3 years for expansion and diversification.

TALK BUSINESS

ALD Automotive’s ‘Go Green’ initiative PANJIM (HBD) -- Societe Generale’s ALD Automotive India, a leading Car Leasing and Fleet Management Company has launched its “Go Green” CSR initiative.

For every vehicle leased by the company till July 6, 2010, a midrange mountain bicycle would be provided at no additional cost.

This is to promote traveling shorter distances by means of a bicycle which will save on fuel, reduce pollution in and around our cities and also provide better health.

This offer during the World Environment month is an initiative to help to care and protect our environment. As an international mobility company, ALD Automotive’s responsibility is to act everyday to limit fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

Sensex ends flat PTI MUMBAI, JUNE 23

A buying rush at IT and auto counters in the last hours of trading helped the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex recover early losses and end the day flat.

Mirroring a weak trend in Asia, the 30-share index shed 120 points in early trade. However, buying picked up in the closing hours on expectations that the US Federal Reserve will leave the benchmark rate unchanged at near-zero level today.

The Sensex finally ended the day up 6.25 points, or 0.04 per cent, at 17,755.94. The wide-based 50-share Nifty Index of the National Stock Exchange, too, ended flat at 5,323.15 points, up 0.12 per cent.

India, EU working on labour mobility pact PTI NEW DELHI, JUNE 23

In an effort to ensure orderly migration to and fro, India and European Union are working on signing a labour mobility pact which envisages exchange of information relating diverse fields of employment.

The decision to go for such a pact was taken at a meeting between European Union Foreign Affairs Minister Baroness Catherine Asthon and Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi here today.

Officials present in the meeting said both the sides basically discussed about signing a 'Labour Mobility Partnership Agreement' to facilitate "legal" and "orderly migration" of the workforce from India to European Countries and vice versa.

The LMPA provides for coop-

Cisco’s fabric-based computing PTI MUMBAI, JUNE 23

eration in areas of labour market expansion, employment facilitation, orderly migration, exchange of information and cooperation in introducing best practices.

"We discussed issues of mutual interests. The focus was mainly on migration and movement of people. The dialogue went off very well," Ravi said after the meeting.

Seeking greater two-way engagement, Asthon, on her part, said both the sides discussed ways and means to improve opportunities for migrant workers in India as well as Europe.

European Union is India's major partner in the area of trade and investment. Both the sides are now negotiating a free trade agreement.

Asthon said the 27-nation economic bloc was interested

PTI MUMBAI, JUNE 23

ICICI Bank's broking arm, ICICI Securities, today said the BSE Sensex would touch "at least" 19,000 points by the end of the current financial year.

"We think it (the Sensex) will be at 19,000 points by March, barring some really exceptional happening," the firm's MD and CEO, Madhabi Puri Buch, told reporters here.

The 30-share BSE index closed at 17,755 points, up six points on Wednesday. It had closed at 17,527 points on March 31, 2010.

Buch said reaching 19,200 would be a 15 per cent jump year-on-year in the index. She also said the growth is very modest, "considering where we were or where we are (today)."

"We have looked at all Sensex companies fundamentally, the advanced tax payments (by them)," she said.

Atrisys wins 2nd at Think-Eco Design Contest HERALD BUSINES DESK PANJIM, JUNE 23

Cisco announced the launch of fabric-based computing approach which would address data center market in India.

Fabric-based computing helps enable a wire once deployment model where chaging configurations no longer mean installing new components or re-cabling existing ones. It helps to reduce cost by eliminating the need for a parallel set of components to support multiple data transmission protocols.

According to an IDC report, the India data center services market is expected to touch around Rs 10,000-crore by 2011, representing a CAGR of 22.7 per cent over the two-year period 2009-11.

in enhancing ties with India in new technology sector.

"We are particularly focusing on what's happening in places like Bangalore and the opportunities in new technology industry and opportunities for Indians in Europe," she said.

India has already signed LMPAs with several Gulf countries.

Officials of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs said one of the priorities of the government is to diversify the overseas destination base for Indian workers and secure labour markets for them in the emerging job opportunities across the globe.

India has signed LMPAs last year with Malaysia and Bahrain to improve recruitment, employment conditions of workers and promote legal migration.

Sensex at 19k

by March: ICICI Sec

Atrisys, an embedded systems technology firm located at the STPI Complex at Verna bagged the second place at the EDN Asia ‘Think Eco’ Design Contest organised by Fujitsu Microelectronics Asia Pvt Ltd, a leading provider of semiconductor products and solutions.

The contest aimed to promote designs that strive for environmental performance, energy conservation and reduced power consumption.

Atrisys' design entry called "Dial-to-your-Eco-Home" was shortlisted along with 19 other innovative design entries across Asia and Oceania.

The entries were judged based on creativity of the design concept, technical chal-

lenge and innovation involved in the design, market value, application and usage, environment-friendliness and the overall presentation of design including hardware and documentation.

Atrisys built a fully-functional embedded system based on Fujitsu's semiconductor products which can be installed into a home-automation scenario. The system is connected to a telephone line on one end and a home appliance on the other end (such as porch lights, water heaters, microwave ovens, air conditioners, etc.). The user of the system is able to dial to the telephone (landline) from anywhere in the world and send specific commands over the telephone keypad to turn-on,

turn-off various appliances, set alarms to switch them at specific time-of-the-day, or to switch them based on the ambient temperature at the installed location. The system is also password protected to avoid fraudulent use, a feature which makes it foolproof in the real world.

Atrisys now plans to complete the standard certification formalities of this experimental prototype and make available this technology for deployment in Indian homes. The company is also considering engagement with manufacturing and sales partners for popularising such a product in the Indian market.

Changing demography to influence MF industry PTI MUMBAI, JUNE 23

Though the Indian mutual fund industry has weathered the recent economic meltdown with its average AUM growing at 47 per cent in FY 10, growth in the next couple of years will be influenced hugely by the changing demographic profile of investors, a PriceWaterhouseCooper (PWC) report said.

"The performance of the MF industry has been strong with the average AUM growing at 47 per cent to Rs 6,13,979crore. However, the next few years would be influenced by the journey undertaken so far and changing demographic Aban Offshor, 746, 752, 735.55, 741.25 Abb Ltd., 868.1, 878.5, 866.1, 872.8 Abg Shipyard, 255.1, 259.9, 254.25, 256.7 Acc Limited, 853, 879.8, 851, 871.15 Adani Enterp, 532, 539, 532, 537.15 Aditya Birla, 794.7, 794.7, 778.4, 787.05 Allahabad Ba, 162.7, 163, 160.3, 162.15 Alstom Proje, 613.35, 633.7, 613.35, 627.65 Ambuja Cemen, 117.7, 121, 117.1, 120.55 Andhra Bank, 133, 134.5, 132.4, 134.2 Ashok Leylan, 62.8, 63.3, 62.35, 63.05 Asian Paints, 2372, 2423.5, 2360, 2408.75 Axis Bank Li, 1225.3, 1256.5, 1225.3, 1249.4 Bajaj Hindus, 112.1, 113.95, 111.65, 112.2 Bank Of Baro, 712.9, 719.5, 707, 711.25 Bank Of Indi, 340, 343.9, 338.25, 339.2 Beml Limited, 1018, 1032.8, 1018, 1027.5 Bharat Elect, 1760.2, 1798, 1760.2, 1779.1 Bharat Forge, 291, 292, 288.1, 291.8 Bharat Petro, 553, 561.3, 551.05, 558.8 Bharti Airte, 262, 265.9, 260.15, 264.05 Bhel, 2433.9, 2459.9, 2410.1, 2434.6 Bhushan Stee, 1415, 1437, 1414.05, 1431.3

profile of the investors," PWC said in its report released at a CII event on the mutual funds industry here today.

PWC said that if the industry needs to sustain the growth level, it has to come out with more and more innovative and diverse range of products catering to the ever-changing requirements of the customers.

"Diversified products will keep the present momentum going for the industry in a more competitive and efficient manner besides competing with bank deposits and Government securities. Hence, MFs have to mature and keep on offering comprehensive life-

Biocon Limit, 324, 326.5, 319.5, 321.85 Bombay Dyein, 507, 513, 501.55, 505.5 Bosch Limite, 5430, 5615, 5430, 5524.3 Brigade Ente, 136, 138.5, 132.15, 134.9 Cairn India, 304.6, 312, 304.4, 311.35 Canara Bank, 419, 423.85, 415.15, 422.65 Central Bank, 144.5, 146.7, 141.65, 144.2 Century Text, 461, 476.85, 452.25, 474 Cesc Ltd, 381.05, 386.5, 380.05, 382.5 Chambal Fert, 62.75, 63.95, 62.3, 63.5 Chennai Petr, 247.9, 249, 246, 247.35 Cipla Ltd, 336.35, 340.4, 333.55, 339.1 Colgate Palm, 832, 838.85, 830, 836.25 Container Co, 1305.15, 1349, 1300.25, 1312.65 Crompton Gre, 257, 257, 252.1, 255.05 Cummins Indi, 591.75, 603.9, 588.05, 591.75 Dabur India, 199.5, 203, 196.45, 198.3 Deccan Chron, 125.9, 126.25, 123.3, 124.9 Dish Tv Indi, 43.15, 45.4, 42.85, 45.05 Divi’s Labor, 769.85, 778.5, 761.55, 775.25 Dlf Limited, 283, 293.5, 282.4, 291.8 Dr. reddy’s, 1410.1, 1457, 1410.1, 1451.2

cycle financial planning and not just the products," the report said.

It also added that there should be a regulatory body for MF distributors, that would inform the investors about the efficacy of the product for a particular risk profile.

AMFI has been for long demanding a self-regulatory organisation for the MF industry.

Market regulator SEBI is planning to put in place an online compliance certification examination, which is expected to run by end-this month. SEBI is also likely to come out with a new set of guidelines to check misselling of MF products.

Edelweiss Ca, 504, 532, 490.1, 516.9 Educomp Solu, 520.1, 543.85, 515, 540.9 Eih Limited, 122.5, 124.3, 122.2, 123.7 Engineers In, 318, 320.4, 317, 317.55 Essar Oil Lt, 129.15, 133.2, 129, 131.8 Essar Shippi, 91.8, 93.3, 89, 91.2 Exide Indust, 129, 132.25, 128.15, 131.15 Federal Bank, 327, 331.65, 327, 330.75 Financial Te, 1345.1, 1364.5, 1345.1, 1351.05 Gail (india), 471.6, 478.4, 470, 476 Gammon India, 200.95, 205, 200.95, 204.45 Glaxosmithkl, 2119, 2134.9, 2095, 2119.55 Glenmark Pha, 276, 281.2, 274, 278.85 Gmr Infrastr, 56.4, 57.4, 56, 56.65 Godrej Indus, 158.45, 160.9, 158, 159.85 Grasim Indus, 1791.1, 1802, 1781, 1791.85 Great Offsho, 440.1, 447.55, 440.1, 442.95 Gtl Infra.Lt, 39.55, 42.5, 39.55, 42.1 Gujarat Mine, 126.75, 128.8, 126, 128.2 Gujarat N R, 62.8, 64.5, 62.6, 64.2 Gujarat Stat, 97.7, 99, 96.85, 98.1 Gvk Pow. & I, 43.1, 43.95, 43.1, 43.5

Hcl Technolo, 377.5, 381.95, 370.2, 372.75 Hdfc Bank Lt, 1984.7, 2003.7, 1975.5, 1998.75 Hdfc Ltd, 2973, 3002, 2961.55, 2993.65 Hero Honda M, 2022, 2047.9, 2002.15, 2038.9 Hindalco in, 148.9, 153.3, 148.55, 152 Hindustan Co, 116.85, 120.65, 116.35, 118.95 Hindustan Ma, 71.05, 71.6, 70.5, 70.9 Hindustan Pe, 360, 362.9, 357, 359.05 Hindustan Un, 260, 269.2, 260, 266.2 Hindustan Zi, 995.3, 1002.95, 987.9, 995.3 Housing Dev, 249, 252.4, 246.1, 249.9 Icici Bank L, 886.1, 904.7, 881.55, 900.4 Idea Cellula, 54.25, 55.4, 53.15, 55.2 Ifci Ltd, 54.8, 55.5, 54.4, 54.95 India Cement, 111.1, 113.5, 110.8, 112.7 India Infoli, 98.7, 100.6, 98.4, 98.7 Indiabulls F, 137, 142.4, 136.05, 141.35 Indiabulls R, 152, 155.9, 151.05, 154.55 Indian Bank, 222.2, 227.8, 222, 226.95 Indian Hotel, 101.15, 102.2, 100.3, 101.75 Indian Oil C, 349.85, 353.8, 347.1, 348.3

MF FUNDA L&T MUTUAL FUND has announced launch of L&T FMP I (June91D A), a close ended income scheme having a tenor of 91 days. The Scheme/ Plan will open for subscription on June 24, 2010 and close on the same day.

Maturity Date: September 23, 2010. Redemption Payout Date: September 24, 2010 The minimum application amount is Rs 5,000 and in multiples of Rs 1 thereafter, and the scheme offers both growth and dividend payout option. The Investment objective of the scheme/ planwould be to achieve growth of capital through investments made in a basket of debt/ fixed income securities maturing on or before the maturity of the scheme/ plan Load Structure: Entry and Exit Load - Nil. Terms of Issue: No redemption/ repurchase of units shall be allowed prior to the maturity of the Scheme/Plan. Investors willing to exit may do so, only in demat mode, where the Scheme/ Plans is listed.

IDFC MUTUAL FUND has filed an offer document with SEBI to launch IDFC Savings Scheme - Series I-IV, a close ended debt scheme. The NFO price for the scheme will be Rs 10 per unit.

IDFC Savings Scheme - Series I and II has duration of 36 Months and IDFC Savings Scheme - Series III & IV has duration of 60 Months. The scheme offers two option namely growth option and dividend option.

Series I and II would allocate 40% to 100% of assets in debt instruments and money market instruments. It would further allocate up to 60% of assets in equity and equity related instruments.

Series III and IV would allocate 30% to 100% of assets in debt instruments and money market instruments. It would further allocate up to 70% of assets in equity and equity related instruments.

Entry and exit load charge will be nil for the scheme. Minimum application amount will be Rs 5,000 and in multiples of Rs 10. The minimum subscription (target) amount of Rs 10 million is expected to be raised during the NFO period.

PRAMERICA MUTUAL FUND has filed three offer documents with the market regulator, SEBI. All the three products are open ended. One is a diversified equity scheme, the second is a liquid scheme and the third is a shortterm debt scheme. The details of these funds are as follows: Pramerica Growth Fund: The scheme has two plans -- Equity Plan and Dynamic Plan. Under the Equity Plan 65-100% of the assets will be invested in equity and equity-related instruments. The balance 0-35% will be invested in debt and money market securities.

In the Dynamic Plan, there could be an asset allocation of 30-100% in equity and equity-related securities and 0-70% in debt and money market securities. Each plan has a growth and a dividend option.

Pramerica Ultra Short-Term Bond Fund: This scheme will have an asset allocation of 50-100% in money market and debt securities, including government securities, corporate debt, securitised debt (excluding foreign securitised debt) and other debt instruments with average maturity less than or equal to 400 days. The scheme will also make use of put options within a period not exceeding 400 days. The balance 0-50% will be invested in debt instruments including government securities, corporate debt, securitised debt (excluding foreign securitised debt) and other debt instruments with average maturity greater than 400 days.

Pramerica Liquid Fund: It is an open-ended liquid scheme. The objective of the scheme is to deliver reasonable market related returns with low risk and high liquidity through a portfolio of debt and money market instruments. Further, the scheme will allocate 0-100% in debt instruments (including Asset Backed Securities), money market instruments and floaters having a residual maturity of up to 91 days.

BIRLA SUN LIFE MUTUAL FUND has announced a dividend of Rs 0.73 per unit under Birla Sun Life Infrastructure Fund (Plan A) and Rs 0.71 per unit under Birla Sun Life Dividend Yield Plus.

The record date for the dividend shall be June 25, 2010. The NAV of the schemes on June 22 were 13.15 for Birla Sun Life Infrastructure Fund (Plan A – dividend option) and 14.66 for Birla Sun Life Dividend Yield Plus (dividend option).

BOARD MEETINGS Choice Intl Hazoor Multi UB Engineering Daulat Sec Navneet Pub UTV Software Edelweiss Cap Shree Global Trd Zenith Birla Finaventure Cap Siddhartha Tube Source: Indiainfoline.com Indian Overs, 105, 105.6, 103.1, 104.45 Indus Dev Ba, 117.5, 119.2, 117, 118.85 Indusind Ban, 207.05, 208, 201.25, 202.05 Infosys Tech, 2747.1, 2804.95, 2717.85, 2797.75 Infra. dev., 168.9, 171.3, 167.45, 168.45 Ispat Indust, 18.6, 18.6, 18.1, 18.45 Itc Ltd, 300, 304.2, 299.25, 302.85 Ivrcl Infras, 180, 185, 179.3, 184.3 Jai Corp Lim, 253.1, 263.7, 247.2, 257.1 Jaiprakash A, 129.4, 131.25, 128.4, 130.8 Jet Airways, 527, 544, 527, 535.3 Jindal Saw L, 198, 200.25, 197.65, 198.35 Jindal Steel, 668, 671.8, 657.15, 661.5 Jsw Steel Li, 1065, 1087, 1059, 1067 Kotak Mahind, 781.5, 803.85, 781, 784.1 Lakshmi Mach, 1961, 2050, 1952.5, 2021.3 Lanco Infrat, 67.8, 69.4, 67.25, 67.7 Larsen & Tou, 1824, 1825.15, 1757.05, 1765.05 Lic Housing, 1020, 1047.9, 1015, 1041.9 Lupin Limite, 1887, 1909.9, 1880.25, 1893.2 Mahanagar Te, 63.5, 64.95, 62.15, 64.5 Mahindra & M, 630, 636.9, 627.1, 630.9 Maruti Suzuk, 1365, 1414, 1360, 1407.35

KOTAK MUTUAL FUND has approved June 28, 2010 as the record date for declaration of dividend under dividend option of Kotak FMP 370 days Series 3. The face value of per unit is Rs 10.

The quantum of dividend will be entire appreciation in NAV of dividend option since inspection until June 28, 2010.

The AMC also launched a new fund named as Kotak FMP 370 Days Series 5, a close ended debt scheme. The duration of the scheme is 370 days from the date of allotment of units.

The NFO price for the scheme is Rs 10 per unit. The new issue is open for subscription from June 23 and closes on Jun.24, 2010.

The scheme will offer growth and dividend option. Dividend option will have dividend payout facility only. The minimum application amount is Rs 5,000 and in multiples of Rs 10 thereafter.

Exit load charge will be nil for the scheme. Benchmark Index for the scheme is Crisil Composite Bond Fund Index. The scheme will be managed by Deepak Agrawal and Abhishek Bisen.

Max India Lt, 167.5, 167.9, 162.8, 163.95 Maytas Infr., 207.45, 210.5, 201.55, 206.55 Moser-baer (, 64.05, 65.95, 63.95, 65.7 Mrpl, 71, 72.6, 70.25, 71.35 Nagarjuna Co, 184.5, 189.3, 182.05, 188.55 Nagarjuna Fe, 30.25, 31.25, 30, 31.1 National Alu, 440, 442.85, 435.1, 437.1 Neyveli Lign, 154.2, 156.25, 154.2, 155.15 Ntpc Ltd, 199.65, 199.85, 196, 196.75 Oil And Natu, 1189.9, 1205.65, 1189.7, 1194.3 Omaxe Limite, 94.05, 95.95, 93.9, 95.1 Oriental Ban, 332.8, 335.5, 330.9, 332.9 Pantaloon Re, 413, 422.3, 413, 417.95 Parsvnath De, 122.2, 126.45, 121.4, 125.7 Petronet Lng, 77.8, 78.2, 77, 77.5 Power Fin Co, 290, 292.4, 288.05, 289 Power Grid C, 102, 102.85, 101.9, 102.3 Praj Industr, 82, 82.95, 81.6, 81.9 Punj Lloyd L, 124, 126.9, 123.05, 126.05 Punjab Natio, 1047.9, 1054.8, 1040, 1050.25 Rajesh Expor, 83, 85.7, 83, 85.05 Ranbaxy Labs, 458.4, 463.5, 455, 457.85 Rashtriya Ch, 81.1, 82.8, 81.1, 82.4

Rel. nat. re, 64, 64.3, 63.3, 63.6 Reliance Cap, 760, 766.5, 756, 762.7 Reliance Com, 185.05, 189.9, 180, 187.65 Reliance Ene, 910, 926, 910, 915.44 Reliance Ind, 988, 1009.7, 981.1, 992.25 Reliance Ind, 1059.7, 1067.5, 1054, 1058.7 Reliance Pow, 169.5, 171, 167.5, 167.9 Rolta India, 166.25, 166.25, 163.55, 165.25 Satyam Compu, 85.2, 94.7, 84.55, 93.55 Sesa Goa Ltd, 371, 387, 366.85, 375.25 Shipping Cor, 165, 165.95, 163.9, 164.35 Siemens Ltd, 730, 740.9, 730, 739.3 Sintex Indus, 302.7, 308, 298.1, 306.35 Sobha Develo, 282.15, 286.45, 280, 282.5 State Bank O, 2350, 2358, 2328.5, 2349.55 Steel Author, 197.9, 201.95, 197.1, 200.6 Sterlite Ind, 177, 177.9, 174.3, 176.1 Sun Pharmace, 1775, 1808, 1763, 1799.25 Sun Tv Netwo, 376.35, 408.45, 376.35, 404.85 Suzlon Energ, 56, 57.85, 56, 57.6 Tata Communi, 255.8, 256.7, 252, 254.95 Tata Consult, 770, 788.95, 769.85, 786.3 Tata Motors, 790.1, 806.9, 788.05, 791.05

Tata Power C, 1321, 1325, 1305, 1321.05 Tata Steel L, 491, 501.8, 489.45, 497.6 Tata Tea Ltd, 1180, 1203, 1170, 1190.4 Tata Teleser, 22.5, 23.1, 22.1, 22.6 Tech Mahindr, 712, 753.9, 712, 750.65 The Ge Shpg., 304, 307.75, 302.5, 303.75 The Phoenix, 206.4, 212.95, 206.4, 208.8 Thermax Ltd, 725.55, 738.95, 718.5, 721.7 Titan Indust, 2210, 2228, 2192.05, 2208.8 Torrent Powe, 338.5, 345.25, 336.2, 340.05 Triveni Engg, 96.3, 97.65, 96.1, 96.45 Tv18 India L, 89.5, 91, 89.5, 90.15 Uco Bank, 82.5, 82.5, 80.2, 81.05 Ultratech Ce, 958, 958, 941, 955.8 Union Bank O, 315, 316.45, 309.5, 314.6 Unitech Ltd, 73.6, 76.5, 73.2, 76 United Phosp, 193, 196.7, 191.05, 193.85 Videocon Ind, 206, 207.75, 204.2, 204.85 Vijaya Bank, 62.75, 65.1, 62.75, 64.7 Voltas Ltd, 201.45, 205.2, 199.5, 202.05 Wipro Ltd, 406, 409, 400.35, 404.85 Yes Bank Lim, 273, 277.95, 271.3, 276.95 Zee Entertai, 290.95, 299, 288, 296.55

Pg13­

HE RA LD

SPORTS GOA, Thursday, 24 June, 2010

India eye first Asia Cup title in 15 years PTI DAMBULLA, JUNE 23

India will aim to set right their woeful record in ODI finals and end a 15-year-old jinx when they take on familiar foes Sri Lanka in the final of the Asia Cup cricket tournament here tomorrow at 2.30 p.m.

Their pride pricked once again by a dominant Sri Lanka last night, India will also seek to avenge yesterday's defeat at Rangiri International Stadium where they slumped to a comprehensive 7-wicket defeat.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni struggled to explain the humiliating loss but the fact remains that India were completely outclassed by the Lankans, who are gradually developing into a powerful one-day side.

That they have trounced India in three ODI finals since 2008, besides the victor y in the Twenty20 World Cup, indicates that the inspired Lankans would be a hard bunch to be beat even if Harbhajan Singh and Ashish Nehra, rested yesterday, return tomorrow.

Dhoni would also hope to end a 15-year title drought that followed India's last Asia Cup triumph in Sharjah in 1995.

Yesterday's defeat not only exposed India's batting frailties but also raised questions about some selection issues.

With Sachin Tendulkar opting to spend time with his family, India should have had an opening batsman in the reserves. But they chose middle-order batsman Saurabh Tiwary, while Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli fight for a permanent slot.

It didn't come as a surprise when the team management hurriedly flew in Dinesh Karthik as a replacement when regular opener Virender Sehwag suffered a hamstring injury.

Another startling gaffe by the team management was the inclusion of left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha for the last match.

With Sehwag, who had claimed four wickets for six runs against Bangladesh, out of the tournament and Harbhajan Singh rested, Dhoni should have logically played R Ashwin as a

replacement for an off-break bowler.

But he chose to play Ojha when India already had a leftarm tweaker in Ravindra Jadeja.

Evidently, off-break bowlers have held sway right through the tournament but India chose to ignore this fact and paid the price for their imprudence.

On the other hand, Sri Lanka have been prudent in their team selection. Every selection made

by Aravinda de Silva and co-selectors has been made with an eye on the 2011 World Cup. Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara warned that his team would “hit the ground running" against India.

“A final is a final," he told reporters on Wednesday. “Winning an Asia Cup especially at home would be a special thing.

It's going to really inspire us and we are going to hit the ground running and really try and win it."

Dhoni, meawhile, insisted his team was not under any added pressure despite being beaten by the hosts by seven wickets in their final pool match.

PTI NEW DELHI, JUNE 23

Ravindra Jadeja and Suresh Raina during practice session in Dambulla on Wednesday.

Modi raps BCCI, lawyer calls Henin, SA-WI Test drawn Clijsters SGM ‘khap panchayat’ move up AP BASSETERRE, JUNE 23

PTI NEW DELHI, JUNE 23

Suspended IPL Commissioner, Lalit Modi today hit back at the BCCI, questioning the legality of its July 3 Special General Meeting convened to determine his fate and called it a “khap panchayat".

His lawyer Mehmood Abdi also accused the board of sweeping under carpet all the allegations Modi had made against BCCI Secretary N Srinivasan.

“Now it is not a Lalit Modi

and Srinivasan fight but evidence of the manner in which the country's premier sport body is being administered. Complaints making serious charges against the secretary have been made yet these are being swept under the carpet," Abdi said in a statement.

“Whereas the president of BCCI has recused himself, the secretary of BCCI, despite being in an utterly questionable position, is calling the shots. Best of luck to the Khap Panchayat of BCCI," he said.

His remarks comes a day after Srinivasan rejected Modi's defence, calling it "unacceptable" and said he would seek ratification in the July 3 SGM to refer it to the Disciplinary Committee of the board.

Abdi, however, called the July 3 meeting illegal. “Convening of Special General meeting of BCCI by its secretary is only a cover up for inherent illegality committed by the secretary," he said.

Abdi contented that as per the board's rules, the secretary can issue show cause notice as well as take further action on the reply to the show cause “only upon consultation with the president (Shashank Manohar)".

“While, the president BCCI, being an eminent lawyer had the grace to recuse himself from the matter, how could the secretary BCCI decide to refer the matter to the Disciplinary Committee on his own and seek post facto approval of his decision by way of ratification by the general body. It is like putting the cart before the horse," said Abdi, on behalf of his client who has been slapped with three show cause notices by the board with charges of committing various irregularities in conducting the IPL. Abdi also termed Srinivasan's contention that he was not satisfied with Modi's replies to the notices as a violation of the principles of natural justice.

AGENCIES LONDON, JUNE 23

Justine Henin was made to sweat in the midday sun before overcoming Kristina Barrois in the second round on a scorching afternoon at Wimbledon.

Kim Clijsters made light work of her fifth consecutive win against dangerous Karolina Sprem 6-3, 6-2as she edged closer to an all-Belgian clash with Henin.

Henin won back to back games to clinch a 6-3, 7-5 victory in an hour and 22 minutes.

Venus Williams powered into the third round with a 6-0, 6-4 victory over Ekaterina Makarova.

Three-time Wimbledon runner-up Andy Roddick advanced to the third round by rallying past Michael Llodra 46,6-4,6-1,7-6(2).Roddick hit 25 aces.

Queen's winner Mardy Fish bowed out losing 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to Germany's Florian Mayer, while Feliciano Lopez, seeded 22, beat Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Men-in-Blue miles ahead of Pakistan: Akram AGENCIES ISLAMABAD, JUNE 23

India's emphatic win over Pakistan in a match whose fate was decided on the penultimate ball during the ongoing Asia Cup in Dambulla on Saturday, just showed that the men in blue were better prepared to handle the pressure which accompanies any cricket match between the

two arch rivals, former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has said.

Akram said that the way India chased down the competitive total of 267 runs put up by Pakistan shows that Team India is miles ahead of Pakistan. He said that though the green shirts batted well to put up a challenging total, Dhoni's men outclassed Afridi's young brigade in every

G Angel oust Mobor Boys HERALD CORRESPONDENT MARGAO, JUNE 23

Guardian Angel, Sanvordem defeated Mobor Boys 4-2 to sail into the quarter-finals of Gumboots football tournament organised by Gumboots Boys of Orlim at church ground, Orlim on Wednesday. They led 2-1 at half time.

Guardian Angel dominated the proceedings and enjoyed a lion share of the exchanges.

Their persistent raids fetched them dividends when Cruz bulged the net from close range.

Spurred by the early goal, Guardian Angel mounted pressure and were rewarded when

5-a-side soccer at Kavlem PANJIM (HSD) – The Vaillankanni Sports Club, Kavllem will organise an all-Goa 5-aside soccer tournament on June 27 at Donkhamb ground, Kavlem, Ponda from 9.30 a.m.

The winners and runners-up will receive Rs. 5,000 and Rs. 3,000 respectively while the semi-final losers will take home Rs. 1,000. Other individual prizes will also be awarded. Details may be obtained from John on 9823176579 or Agnel on 9823165162.

St. Anthony's married soccer finals: Y.S.C Mankem v.

Badegal-Mapa FC, Mapa ground, Panchwadi, 5 p.m.

Cruz struck the second time and also completed his brace.

Mobor Boys fought gallantly and reduced the margin through Shaun.

Guardian Angel put a vast improved display in the second session and enjoyed good ball possession. Victor, who was in his element, struck twice in quick succession to put his team in a comfortable lead.

Mobor Boys were in full cry in the dying minutes and managed to pull one more back through Clifford.

field during the match.

Despite getting a perfect platform from the openers Salman Butt and Imran Butt, who shared a 71run partnership between them, the middle order failed to capitalise.

Akram, one of Pakistan's most successful captains, showered praise on Indian opener Gautam Gambhir for proving his mettle at

the top on a pitch which was difficult to bat on, especially under lights.

“I think Gambhir played a superb 83-run knock on a difficult pitch. Then Dhoni came in at No.4, leading from the front. I like Dhoni as a captain. He played an important innings of 56 alongside Gambhir," The Daily Times quoted Akram, as saying.

Three new faces for Dempo HERALD SPORTS REPORTER MAPUSA, JUNE 23

Dempo Sports Club have signed three new players for the upcoming 2010-11 season - Subhasish Chowdhury, Debabrata Roy and Godwin Franco who have been registered as interState transfers.

Goalkeeper Subhasish Chowdhury has joined Dempo from the recently disbanded Mahindra United. He is set to join in Jan-

uary as he has been shortlisted for the India training camp for next year’s Asian Cup. Debabrata Roy has also made the journey from Mahindra. At his former club he was utilised as a left wing back.

Godwin Franco who hails from Guirim, Bardez, has joined Dempo from Pune FC. The 25-year-old midfielder was initially with Sporting Clube de Goa before switching to Pune last season.

Varca drub Sao Jose Areal HERALD CORRESPONDENT MARGAO, JUNE 23

Varca Sports Club drubbed Sao Jose de Areal Sports Club 3-0 to cruise into the quarter-finals of 34th Cana Benaulim football tournament organised by Cana Benaulim Sporting Association at St John Baptist ground, Dando – Benaulim on Wednesday.

There was no score at lemon break.

Varca were a transformed side after the change of ends, and dominated play for major part.

South Africa's Jacques Kallis followed up his first-innings century with an unbeaten 62 on Tuesday as the second Test against the West Indies petered out to a tame draw on the fifth and final day at Warner Park.

South Africa, trailing by three runs from the first innings, batted the entire day before declaring on 235-3.

The result meant South Africa retained the Vivian Richards Trophy, having taken an unassailable 1-0 lead into the third and final Test match in Barbados starting on Saturday.

Kallis struck six fours and a six off 128 balls while A.B. de Villiers was unbeaten on 31 at the end.

Off-spinner Shane Shillingford led the hosts with 2-80 while seamer Dwayne Bravo took 1-37.

Openers Graeme Smith (46) and Alviro Petersen (39) ensured the visiting team would avoid any alarms by sharing a half-cen-

Saligao United Sports Club secured a berth in the finals of 37th Bandodkar Memorial Soccer Tournament organized by Baina Sports Club shooting out holders United Club of Nerul vie the tie- breaker 4-2 at MPT ground, here on Wednesday.

There was no score during the regulation time.

M.A. Francis, Trevor Dias, Nestor Dias and Martinho Fer-

tury stand after the visitors resumed on 23-0.

Smith eventually fell midway through the morning session at 74-1.

The left-hander hit five fours and a six off 94 balls before he tried to square cut Shillingford and edged to wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin.

Petersen and Hashim Amla forged a further stand of 57 before two wickets tumbled just before lunch.

Amla, dropped when 20 by Dwayne Bravo at slip off Sulieman Benn, was eventually held at backward short leg off Shillingford.

The right-hander hit six fours in 41 off 84 balls.

Petersen, after compiling 39 off 129 balls with a four and a six, fell in the next over as Bravo uprooted his off stump with an excellent yorker.

But Kallis and de Villiers blunted the West Indies attack after the break with an assured unbroken stand of 104.

Not really new to awards and honours, Sachin Tendulkar will be conferred Indian Air Force's honorary rank of Group Captain and the star cricketer said he is proud to be associated with the "dynamic" IAF. "Under the provision of grant of honorary rank by Armed Forces to eminent personalities acknowledging their contribution towards the nation, the President and the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of India is pleased to confer Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar the honorary rank of Group Captain of the Indian Air Force," the IAF said in a statement.

"In recognition of Sachin's glorious achievements as a cricketer and sports icon par excellence, IAF had mooted a proposal to confer the honorary rank of Group Captain.

"Besides the recognition, his association with the IAF will motivate the younger generation to join the Air Force to serve the country," the statement added.

Elated with the honour, Tendulkar said he was proud to be part of IAF family.

"It is indeed a great honour that I have been considered for honorary Group Captain in the IAF. As an Indian I am proud to be associated with the dynamic force and I shall do my very best to be brand ambassador for the force," Tendulkar said in a statement from London.

"Modalities for the event are being worked out. I'm looking forward to familiarising myself with the IAF and I once again salute IAF for the great honour bestowed on me," added the cricketer.

In 2008, India's World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev had received the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel of the Territorial Army.

Till now 21 eminent persons

have been granted honorary ranks by the IAF. The first person was Raja of Jawhar, Raja Yashwant Rao who was conferred Flight Lieutenant rank in 1944.

JRD Tata was made an honorary Air Vice Marshal in 1974 and the last one to get such an honour was another industrialist-cum-aviator Vijaypat Singhania who was made an honorary Air Commodore in 1990.

Te n d u l k a r i s t h e f i r s t sportsperson to be conferred this honour. He is also the first person with no aviation background to have got this honour.

Tendulkar is arguably the best batsman in the history of cricket, having amassed some 31,000-plus runs in Test and ODI cricket with a staggering 93 international centuries under his belt.

The 37-year-old is hailed as perhaps the most complete batsman in the history of the game with no real chink in his armour. He is not only the highest run-getter in both Test and ODI versions of the game but also the only player to have scored a double century in 50over format.

One of India's most decorated sportspersons, Tendulkar has won the country's highest sports honour -- the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna -- and the Padma Vibhushan award.

England beat Australia in first ODI AGENCIES LONDON, JUNE 23

Eoin Morgan's unbeaten 103 saw England to a come-frombehind four-wicket win over Australia in the first one-day international at the Rose Bowl here.

England, chasing 268 for victory, were in dire straits at 97 for four. But former Ireland batsman Morgan's second one-day hundred for his adopted country turned the tide yesterday and gave England a 1-0 lead in this five match series.

He ended the match and went to his hundred in the process by crashing paceman Ryan Harris down the ground for four, having faced 85 balls with 16 boundaries as England won with exactly four overs to spare.

“I've been in good nick for a while now and I want to play more cricket to take advantage of it," said Morgan.

“I think I try to keep things quite simple and it's easy to do

Kelambika in semis HERALD CORRESPONDENT MAYEM, JUNE 23

Striker Elvis Fernandes was a thorn in the rival defence as he teased and tormented the rival defence with well orchestrated raids and also snap hosts.

Varca broke the deadlock soon after resumption when Columban Noronha punished the Sao Jose de Areal goalkeeper with a snap shot after he received a through pass from Zico Fernandes.

Areal, despite trailing showed some urgency but they looked a subdued lot as they failed to

function as a cohesive unit. Their defence were a disjointed looked as they buckled under the slightest pressure.

Columban doubled the lead with a rasping drive after he was put through by Elvis Fernandes.

Striker Elvis Fernandes rounded off the tally late in the second half off a free kick.

Agasaim Youth Club will meet Our Lady of Gloria Sports Club in the pre-quarterfinal on June 25.

Kelambika Sports Club, Kelbaiwada-Mayem and Simran Sports Club, Haldanwadi- Mayem stormed into semi-finals of the football tournament organized by relatives and friends of Mariano FernaNdes from Sawanwada-Mayem at Chhtrapati Shivaji Maharaj maidan, here on Sunday.

The tournament was inaugurated by Poira teacher, Santosh Gaonkar. In all, 16 teams are participating in the tournament.

The semi-finals will be played on June 27 and the finals on July 4.

nandes scored for Saligao while Alfred Rodrigues’s try was saved

by Siddesh Morje, the Nerul keeper. For United club of Nerul only Agnelo Lobo and Newton Pereira were successful in converting their tries while Benit D’Souza and Avinash Pereira’s tries were saved by Dietman Fernandes, who was later declared man-of-the match.

Earlier, the teams struggled to go into the lead due to the water logged conditions.

Hasan Naik, Newton Pereira

and Syden Monteiro of Nerul raided the Saligao area but their moves were nipped in the bud by the able defense consisting Cleton Rodrigues, Mahesh Rane and Trevor Dias.

After change of ends, Xavier Clemente’s solo effort was beautifully saved by diving Dietman Fernandes of Saligao. Midway in the second half Trevor Dias of Saligao had all the time in the world to shoot in the unguarded goal. Trevor Dias ran solo and sent a powerful shot

towards Nerul’s goal. Onrushing keeper Siddesh Morje fell down and lost control but Trevor, instead of just tapping it, blasted over.

Dietman was presented the man-of-the match award by Mahesh Gaonkar, DSP. Referee Rohidas Bomkar flashed the yellow card to Sydan Monteiro of Nerul for a dangerous tackle.

Saligao will meet Nagoa Sporting Club in the finals on June 27.

Saligao face Nagoa in finals HERALD REPORTER VASCO, JUNE 23

IAF honour for Tendulkar

when you're in good nick - it came off today, so happy days."

Delighted England captain Andrew Strauss hailed Middlesex colleague Morgan's display by saying: “What a fantastic innings from Eoin Morgan - that was one of the best I've seen."

Australia captain Rick y Ponting added: “We were probably a bit below with our bat-

ting. Morgan played very, very well.

We were a long way below our best but still remained competitive, that's a positive."

World champions Australia arrived in England without injured quicks Brett Lee, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Johnson and Ben Hilfenhaus.

But having made 267 for

seven, featuring vice-captain Michael Clarke's unbeaten 87, it seemed they would make light of their inexperienced attack.

However, a fifth-wicket stand of 95 in 92 balls between lefth a n d e r M o rg a n a n d L u ke Wright swung the match back England's way before the latter was lbw for 36 to paceman Ryan Harris.

PARLIAMENT OF INDIA

RAJYA SABHA SECRETARIAT NEW DELHI

DEPARTMENT-RELATED PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS INVITES SUGGESTIONS / VIEWS ON THE CIVIL LIABILITY FOR NUCLEAR DAMAGE BILL, 2010 The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010, as introduced and pending in Lok Sabha has been referred to the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science & Technology, Environment and Forests headed by Dr. T. Subbarami Reddy, M.P. (Rajya Sabha) for examination and report.

2. The Bill seeks to provide for civil liability for nuclear damage, i.e., loss of life or personal injury to a person or loss of or damage to property, etc. caused by or arising out of a nuclear incident. The Bill also aims to provide for appointment of Claims Commissioner, establishment of Nuclear Damage Claims Commission and for matters connected therewith.

3. In order to have wider consultations, the Committee has decided to invite memoranda containing suggestions/ views/ comments of experts/ institutions/ organizations interested in the subject matter of the Bill.

4. Those desirous of submitting memoranda to the Committee may send their written comments/suggestions either in English or Hindi to Shri V.S.P. Singh, Joint Director, Rajya Sabha Secretariat, Room No. 142, First Floor, Parliament House Annexe, New Delhi – 110001 [Tel:23035411(O), Fax No.: 011-23013917, 011-23011245, email: rsc-st@sansad.nic.in ] within 15 days from the date of publication of this advertisement. Those who are willing to appear before the Committee for oral evidence, besides submitting the Memoranda may indicate so.

However, the Committee’s decision in this regard shall be final.

5. The memoranda submitted to the Committee would form part of the records of the Committee and would be treated as confidential and would enjoy privileges of the Committee.

6. The Bill has been published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary Part II, th Section 2, dated the 7 May, 2010. Copies of the Bill may be obtained on written request from the Assistant Director (S&T), Rajya Sabha Secretariat Cabin ‘F’, Committee Complex, Parliament House Annexe, New Delhi-110001 or can be downloaded from the official website of the Rajya Sabha (http://rajyasabha.nic.in) under the heading ‘Bills with the Committee’.

Website:- http://rajyasabha.nic.in

E-mail: rsc-st@sansad.nic.in davp 31202/11/0013/1011

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GOA’S HEARTBEAT Viva San Joao!

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Jea konnem Goa pollelam, tannem scars you can't see are the “ The hardest to heal - Astrid Alauda “ Lisboa pollonvchi goroz nam - Anon

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BY DOLCY D’CRUZ HERALD FEATURES epent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near,” are words said by St John the Baptist. The Bible describes him in these words: ‘John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.’ A saint who gave up his life for speaking the truth and correcting the mistakes of people who lived wrong lives, no matter how powerful the person was, St John the Baptist is also remembered for an incident that took place before his birth. When Mary, with Jesus in her womb came to meet her cousin Elizabeth, who was pregnant with St John, St John, on hearing Mary's greeting, leaped in his mother’s womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. That is the reason many youngsters jump in the well in happiness on the Saint’s birth anniversary, June 24. This year will not be different as many celebrations have been lined up in different parts of the state either celebrating it in a small way with a get-together or rocking out a huge bash, Goans know how to enjoy every moment of the San Joao festival.

Though many eco friendly celebrations were held over the weekend, one of the biggest San Joao festivals in Goa is the Siolim Traditional Boat Festival. The festival is being celebrated on the banks of the Siolim creek, right in front of St Anthony’s Church for 20 consecutive years. The committee, Siolim Sao Joao Traditional Boat Festival, a 12member association, has been celebrating the boat festival from the very beginning. “Thousands of people come in from different parts of the state to enjoy the sight of colourfully decorated boats that make their way to the foot of the stage set. The feast begins by 3pm when the boats start arriving; once all are docked, a crew member climbs up the St Anthony Church cross and adorns it with a copel, which is a headgear made of flowers and fruits, says Sylvester Fernandes, President of the Committee. “People await this festival and it is not possible to stop this trend even for a year. The festivities

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­H­O­R­O­S­C­O­P­E Be wary of agreeing with a group too quickly today. Independent thought is crucial. You (21 Mar – 19 Apr) and your adventurous spirit are in for quite a ride today -all that great energy has to be put to good use! It's a great idea for you to head out for a new activity or date, as nothing can go wrong.

By being more expressive about your feelings, you'll bring important people closer. You need to (23 Sep – 22 Oct) get out there and explore some more -- you can't really help it on a day like today! Your adventurous side is fully activated and you need to see more of the world and its people.

Having philosophical differences with people is helpful. It forges your opinions. Something (20 Apr – 20 May) small doesn't quite work out for you today, so make sure that you can put on the brave face when people ask you about it. Thing should turn around for you in the very near future!

Are you ready to take a big risk? If you're not totally sure, don't take the leap. You need to follow (23 Oct – 21 Nov) along with the crowd today -- or at least that portion of it which you can trust. Sometimes it's a good idea to let go of control, if only for a little while -- it's a good lesson.

A willful disregard for your feelings shows you a side of someone you should avoid. You can't (21 May – 21 Jun) help but say 'no' today - even if you're not sure how you really feel! It may be a good day for you to step back and let others take part in all the drama -- you'd rather see how it plays out.

A friendship can easily offer you the level of trust you need today, so reach out. You need to share (22 Nov – 21 Dec) your good mood with those around you -- though you probably couldn't keep it to yourself even if you wanted to! It's a really good day for hijinks and shenanigans.

If you're indecisive, focus on what's best for you.

Take others out of the equation. Your gut check (22 Jun – 22 Jul) is extra powerful today, so see if you can get your team to wait things out until you've had a chance to let your instincts settle on a course of action. It's hard for you to go wrong.

Your plans need discipline to make them successful. Roll up your sleeves and dig in. Im(22 Dec – 19 Jan) pose a little extra discipline on yourself and your colleagues if you want to get anything done today. That may not be popular, but someone has to set a good example!

Beneath the surface of your confusion lies the answers you've been seeking. Dig in. Your in(23 Jul – 22 Aug) tuition is pretty strong right now, so make sure that you're paying close attention to those hunches and insights as they come in. There's no way to speed the process along, though!

Today, some very successful friends will show you how big your dreams should be. You need to (20 Jan – 18 Feb) fall back on your friends in a big way today -- they've got what you need and then some! You may find that your energy is better spent on social or hobby pursuits than on work.

Don't push back today - just go with the flow and let other people fight the battles. A family mini(23 Aug – 22 Sep) emergency has you running all over town or making a thousand phone calls trying to fix everything up -- but you can handle it, of course. Your family is quite lucky to have you!

Question all authority today. Things are going on that you're not being told about. It's a little (19 Feb – 20 Mar) harder than usual for you to really pay attention to what's going on today -- but that's no excuse!

You need to keep reading email, keep listening in on conversations and keep those eyes wide open.

Pg14

The Severe Silence of Heart Break

BY CHRISTINA VIEGAS HERALD FEATURES kin to other parts of the country, even in Goa, people seem to easily correlate ‘reel’ life with ‘real’ life. So, a pull-out from our Hindi ‘masala’ movies, seems the ideal exemplar to empathise with a situation in life.

In the not-so-recent hit movie, ‘Om Shanthi Om’, the female protagonist has the world at her feet with everyone vying for a piece of her attention, but she craves for just one man’s elusive love, as she soulfully tells the man who loves her, “Yes, many people love me, but all I ask for is that one person’s love, Ek ka pyaar kum pad gaya.” The greatest pain that comes from love is, loving someone you can never have; unrequited love.

The hero who adores her sings, “Tumko paya hai toh jaise khoya hoon, Kehna chahoon bhi to tumse kya kahon Kisi zubaon mein bhi, Woh labz hi nahin Ki jin mein tum ho kya tumhein batah sakun…,” and in this soulful, melodious number, she experiences a lifetime of happiness in just few moments through one man who adores her, but she is committed to another who has given her a lifetime of pain and tears. On one hand is the man who will die for her, on the other is the one who makes her die.

Such is the scenario a little too often in real life too. How often we have seen sweet, loving and selfless people embracing the wrong partners, thereby falling into the chasm of unhappiness and misery.

How often our favourite authors have brought heartfelt tears to our eyes by penning characters where the sensitive and vulnerable protagonist is sitting across the one who adores her, but her heart is pinning away for the handsome wastrel as she wonders, “What is wrong with me? Here is the man who thinks the world of me and yet, I’m not in love with him.”

What is it about the human psyche that makes one crave for the wrong person? Often the semantics of life is incomprehensible. Writers have authored volumes on the unexplainable chemistry that makes people fall in love with the most unlikely partners – brilliant scientists go for empty-headed blondes, great writers marry stupid models, but worst of all, selfless,

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Sonam changes her Personality for ‘Mausam’

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Parenting

ns are The Goa h grand filled wit , deep passions great joys and , but sorrows have majority ed also learn r e v o how to c o oti ns these em ilised with a civ Herald veneer. probes…

must go on,” says Sylvester.

Almost ten boats from Chapora, Anjuna and Badem make their way to the Siolim creek, decorated as floats on water. Crews from each boat are also dressed with colourful costumes and copels and shout out ‘San Joao, Viva San Joao’.

“New entries are also welcome as there is no registration for the boats.

There are various competitions and spot prizes for the crowd. One prize, a gold coin, will be for the most beautifully decorated copel, that too made from fresh flowers and fruits. Last year, we awarded the person who travelled the longest distance to attend the festival; the person had come from Canacona. The entertainment factor will be provided by Prince Jacob and his troupe who will entertain the crowd with dongs and comedy skits. The band will be Pietros from Anjuna and a dance troupe, ‘Dance for Life’ will keep the crowd on their feet,” informs Elmiro Gomes, member of the Siolim Sao Joao Traditional Boat Festival.

Traditionally, the festival is celebrated with youngsters from a village getting together at a village well. They wear a copel made of colourful leaves, fruits and flowers and visit several houses where they are offered fruits and local alcohol. After consuming the fruits and drinks, the youngsters, especially boys jump in the well. This year, this kind of festivity will be seen at Xelphem, Duler. A huge well collects rainwater and water from a nearby spring, making a perfect pool for the enthusiastic villagers to jump in. Newly wed couples make their way to the venue with fruits and drinks as a gift to the feast. Every year the feast is celebrated here with great pomp.

Many villages have unfortunately stopped practicing the ritual of jumping in the well due to lack of youngsters in the village or people prohibiting others from jumping into their wells. Even a matter of concern is that many youngsters have lost their lives as they get high on drinks and jump in the well often underestimating the risk.

This year, let us keep in mind the true essence of the festival and not rely on artificial intoxication to enjoy San Joao. Have a fun and responsible fiesta. Viva San Joao!

Daniel Radcliffe to go

Tourism

email us at: goasheartbeat@herald-goa.com

Thursday, 24 June, 2010

…is the chant that will ring through the villages as people plunge into the wells and water bodies, to celebrate the feast of St John the Baptist. Herald takes a look at how the feast is celebrated in different villages of Goa

Travel

caring people get webbed with self-centred, hardhearted ones who inflict immense pain and are out to control and curb a spirited soul.

A line of suitors in the waiting, yet, craving for her special one for eight long years, a young lady says, “I am just not interested in anyone else, so where is the question of keeping an open mind?” For her it is the case of, “You’re gone, and suddenly the whole world is empty; no one else matters.” For another it was the case of going with the flow and enjoying every moment, till he moved away without her. Mournfully, she laments, “It just took a few seconds to say, ‘Hello’ and things just took its course but now it is over, and for me, I don’t know whether I can ever say, ‘Goodbye’.”

Then there are those umpteen people unspoken of, predominantly the women, who dedicate years and decades of their life to their undeserving partners. They surrender themselves with all their love and such high hopes, that they are afraid to admit that they made a mistake and end up turning their lives into barren wastelands. It is unfortunate that you never know that loving begins with a smile, but it has to end with tears. Yes, you never know the depth of your love for someone until the hour of separation.

In fact, people opine, “Sometimes, even when one of us is just going out of town for a trip on work, there comes that vital moment of awareness when you realise how much this person means to you.”

People call it heartbreak, in reality every other part of your very being is broken. Yet, in Goa, many strong people have learned to say that even if love is not reciprocated, it will flow back and purify the heart. And some even declare that contrary to people thinking that giving up means being weak, it actually means you are strong enough to let go. The way to love anyone or anything is to realise that one day it will be lost. Every moment has to be lived and relished to the fullest!

fter playing the giddy-headed, starry-eyed young lover-girl in all her films so far, including the about-to-be-released ‘I Hate Luv Storys’, actress Sonam Kapoor in ‘Mausam’ is all set to play a girl who evolves into a woman in the course of the movie.

Her clothes which are always a source of powerful on-screen personalitytransference for her, have been worked on at great lengths by designer Anamika Khanna.

And the result, says a member of the crew, is no less than devastating. Apparently Sonam was initially reluctant to get into the mature mould.

“She had reservations about being bracketed in the maturer mould so early in her career. In all her films so far from ‘Saawariya’ to ‘Thank You’, Sonam has played girls her own age and dressed accordingly in what she’s comfortable with. The Western clothes that had transformed her into a chic Delhi socialite in ‘Aisha’ are as much a part of her personality as the salwar-kameez that she wore in ‘Delhi 6’.”

Apparently Anamika, who has worked earlier with Sonam in ‘Delhi 6’, has been poring over the designs with Sonam trying to figure out what clothes she’s most comfortable in.

Shahid Kapoor, who needed to make a sartorial changeover to play the mature mellow lover in the later part of the film, has also been heard joking about how ‘Mausam’ has turned him and Sonam into overnight adult stars.

‘Mausam’ producer Sheetal Talwar said: “Shahid has sported the mature mellow look in ‘Jab We Met’.

But for Sonam the transformation from girl to woman in ‘Mausam’ is a challenge. Before she left for Scotland, Sonam wanted to be completely comfortable in her new avatar.”

Back in Time

arry Potter’ star Daniel Radcliffe is all set to play the lead role in the latest version of Oscar-winning war movie ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’. The World War-I drama tells the story of Paul Baumer, to be played by Radcliffe, a young German soldier fighting in the trenches of France.

Producing duo Ian Stokell and Lesley Paterson wrote the script and will produce through their Sliding Down Rainbows Entertainment production shingle, it was reported.

“Daniel brings a vulnerability and innocence to Paul. When we realised how much he loved the script we were really excited because we know he can tap into the delicate balance between intensity and believability that is critical for this demanding role,” Stokell said.

Based on the World War I novel by Erich Maria Remarque, ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ was first adapted in 1930 by Lewis Mileston, whose film later took home the Oscar for Best Picture.

The shooting of the movie will be begin in the spring of 2012 after Radcliffe wraps a 2011 Broadway stint on ‘How to Succeed Without Really Trying’. The 20 year-old actor will next be seen this fall in Warner Bros’ ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One’ which opens November 19, 2010.

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GOA’S HEARTBEAT Thursday, 24 June, 2010

WHAT’S UP IN GOA??

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INGS email us at: goasheartbeat@herald-goa.com

Financial Assistance for Performing Arts

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Pg15

The Romance of Angling

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HERALD FEATURES he Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi is in the process of selecting cultural institutions which promote various performing arts such as dance, music and drama so that these institutions can now have financial assistance through the schemes offered by the Akademi. The Financial Aid Scheme is set to serve two primary objectives, firstly, to provide financial support to institutions engaged in training in the field of Music, Dance and Drama and secondly, to encourage production of new plays, ballets and other works of art.

The details of the scheme and the application forms are available free of charge in the Programme and Development section of the Kala Academy during office hours on all working days. The forms are to be submitted in duplicate, supported with relevant enclosures like certificate of registration, project details, audited statement of income and expenditure, balance sheet preceding the year to which the

date of applic a t i o n re l a t e s , utilisation certificate, report of activities of the cultural institution and list of office bearers.

The last date to submit the duly filled in Application Forms of Sangeet Natak Akademi’s Financial Assistance Scheme to Cultural Institutions for the year 2010 -11 at the Kala Academy office is July 9, 2010. The forms will then be forwarded by Kala Academy with its due recommendations to the Sangeet Natak Akademi, New–Delhi.

The best way to a fisherman's heart is through his fly

An Off-Road Rally in Goa’s Rains and Verdant Forest

“Misery no longer loves company. Nowadays it insists on it.”

– Russell Baker DAILY GROOK SHARE REPAIR

by Francis Rodrigues snakes if moulting when nicely paired, together their skin troubles are shed!

(Above) Roaring and Racing through Krishnapur jungle and (right)The challenging crossing of the river at Krishnapur

A

Instructions for Sudoku SUDOKU SOL 586 9 x 9 letter: To solve a Sudoku puzzle, every number from 1 to 9 must appear in each of the nine vertical columns, in each of the nine horizontal rows and in each of the nine boxes

SOUTH POLE

10:00 Choti Bahu 10:30 12/24 Karol Bagh 11:00 Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi 11:30 Pavitra Rishta 12:00 Do Saheliyaan 12:30 Yahan Main Ghar Ghar Kheli 13:00 Jhansi Ki Rani 13:30 Pavitra Rishta 14:00 Choti Bahu 14:30 Do Saheliyaan 15:00 Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi 15:30 12/24 Karol Bagh 16:00 Yahan Main Ghar Ghar Kheli 16:30 Choti Bahu 17:00 Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi 17:30 Jhansi Ki Rani 18:00 Pavitra Rishta 18:30 Ghar Ghar Mein 19:00 Do Saheliyaan 19:30 Choti Bahu 20:00 Jhansi Ki Rani 20:30 Yahan Main Ghar Ghar Kheli 21:00 Pavitra Rishta 21:30 Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi 22:00 12/24 Karol Bagh

11:15 Sajan Re Jhoot Mat Bolo 12:00 Mrs. & Mr. Sharma Allahabadwale 12:30 Taarak Mehta Ka Oolta …

13:00 Sajan Re Jhoot Mat Bolo 13:30 Maniben.com 14:00 Taarak Mehta Ka Oolta…

14:30 Mrs. & Mr. Sharma Allahabadwale 15:00 Lapataganj 15:30 Yeh Chanda Kanoon Hai 16:00 Taarak Mehta Ka Oolta…

16:30 Sajan Re Jhoot Mat Bolo 17:00 Mrs. & Mr. Sharma Allahabadwale

Photos by Ashraf Khan

BY ASHRAF KHAN s many as 25 vehicles participated in a rally to Krishnapur which was held on Sunday.

Krishnapur a village bordering Sattari and Karnataka which has dense forest and cool climate, is around 27 km away from Valpoi. A settlement of about 10 families live here in an extreme environment. Villagers stay only for the summer and move to Khanapur during the rains as the route is inaccessible during rainy season.

The rally was flaged off from Hathwada, Valpoi at 9 30 am. According to the organiser this

GARFIELD

10:30 Maan Rahe Tera Pitaah 11:00 Baat Hamari Pakki Hai 11:30 Boogie Woogie Kids Championship 2010 12:30 Indian Idol: Extra 13:00 Godh Bharaai 13:30 Baat Hamari Pakki Hai 14:00 Maan Rahe Tera Pitaah 14:30 C.I.D 17:00 C.I.D Classics 17:30 Indian Idol 19:30 Godh Bharaai 20:00 Maan Rahe Tera Pitaah 20:30 Baat Hamari Pakki Hai 21:00 Boogie Woogie Kids 22:00 Indian Idol : Extra

Fashion

Funny Quote

Pronunciation DEL-uh-gayt Function Verb Meaning 1 : to entrust to another 2 : to assign responsibility or authority Example Sentence Mr Sam delegated authority to his subordinates in order to increase employee responsibility.

10:30 Saath Nibhana Saathiya 11:00 Mann Kee Awaaz Pratigya 11:30 Behenein 12:00 Sapna Babul Ka ...Bidaai 12:30 Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai 13:00 Tere Mere Sapne 13:30 Hamari Devrani 14:00 Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat 14:30 Behenein 15:00 Sajan Ghar Jaana Hai 15:30 Sapna Babul Ka ...Bidaai 16:00 Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai 16:30 Mann Kee Awaaz Pratigya 17:00 Sasural Genda Phool 17:30 Saath Nibhana Saathiya 18:00 Tere Liye 18:30 Sabki Laadli Bebo 19:00 Saath Nibhana Saathiya 19:30 Sasural Genda Phool 20:00 Sajan Ghar Jaana Hai 20:30 Behenein 21:00 Sapna Babul Ka ...Bidaai 21:30 Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai 22:00 Tere Liye 22:30 Mann Kee Awaaz Pratigya

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PEN T HAP

Entertainment

LAFFS

WORD OF THE DAY

SUDOKU 587

mitted at the Gonsalves Mansion, Campal. Visit www.heritagejazz.com.

Call 2228010.

A 2-week Free Monsoon Dance Workshop for Children and Adults, organised by Xtremers Dance Group is being held till June 26 at Margao, Panjim, Ponda and Mapusa. Call 9823712572 or 9823469258.

A basic pranic healing workshop, conducted by grand master Choa Kok Sui will be held on June 27 from 9:30am to 5:30pm at the GORC Hall, Va s c o . C a l l 9 9 2 3 7 5 2 5 6 9 , 9325503194 or 2515703 Free course on fashion designing, refrigeration and air conditioning (RAC) and beautification, conducted by the Government Polytechnic, Panjim, under its Community Develeopment through Polytechnic Scheme is open for registration till June 30.

Visit the Government Polytechnic, Altinho, Panjim. Call 2432667, 2225973, 2465448, 2250842 or 9850226366.

Consumer rights awareness week, organised by GOACAN will be held till June 25. Write to GOACAN, Post Box 187, Margao, Goa, 403 601. Email goacan@gmail.com.

The Monsoon Jumble Sale, organised by the YMCA, Women’s Forum will take place on July 4 at the YMCA, Campal, Panjim. Call 9623525442, 9822582022 or 2227112.

The qualifying round of the State Level Dance Competition, organised by the Samrat Club, Kapileshwar will take place on June 27 at 3pm at the Vishwahindu Parishad Hall, Khadpabandh, Ponda.

A course in Pilates exercise will be held in Anjuna. A preventative exercise that improves core-strength, poster, balance and coordination – see and feel the results after the first session. Contact: 9623524492 Monsoon Splash craft classes of Paper Quilling, Punchcraft, Parchment, Drawing and Watercolors.

Contact Evita on 9881696445 or visit Hobby Centre.

CURR

Information Technology

Photo by Sandhya Gadegar

The feast of St John the Baptist at Pilerne Church, will be celebrated on June 24 by the Gauncars of Pilerne Communidade. First mass at 7am, followed by solemn feast mass at 9.30am.

San Joao Celebrations at Ancestral Goa, Big Foot, Lotoulim on June 24 from 10:30am to 12:30am The 9th Zeitgeist-The Art History Club session will be held on June 24 at Gallery Gitanjali. The topic for discussion would be Full Circle Post Modernism II. For details contact 9823572035 or email us at gallerygitanjali@gmail.com ‘The Value of Art – Understanding the Art Market’, a lecture as part of a lecture series by Kanchi Mehta (art curator, consultant and historian) on June 25 at 6.45pm at the Sunaparanta, Goa Centre for the Arts, Altinho, Panjim. Call 2421311.

The Sketch Club hosted by Harshada Kerkar will be recommencing on June 26 at Sunaparanta, Goa Centre for the Arts. The club will be held every Saturday, for four 2 hour sessions from 10 am to 6 pm.

‘A new world…VISION 2050’, a creativity contest on graphic designing on the subject, will be held on July 10 and 11. Registrations close on June 28. Call 9423885224 or 2225153. Visit www.mgmgoa.com.

‘Awakening’ – a Tai Chi workshop by artist and black belt martial arts practitioner, Satyakam Gupta will be held on June 29 at SunaparantaGoa Centre for the Arts. The program includes the 24 forms of Tai Chi (Yang style), as well as Qi Gong exercises in over 18 sessions over the monsoon period. For details contact Sunaparanta: 2421311 ‘Coconut Heritage Photography Contest’, organised by Heritage Jazz is open for registration till July 10. Entry forms are available at Champs and Big G in Margao and Champs, Magsons, Don Bosco Oratory and the Gonsalves Mansion in Panjim. Entries should be sub-

Education

08:45 Rogue 10:40 Danny the Dog 12:40 Police Story III - Super Cop 14:40 Never Back Down 16:50 The Thomas Crown Affair 19:05 Soul Man 21:00 The Recruit 23:15 New Police Story

08:45 Troy 12:00 Two Brothers 14:15 The Cookout 16:15 7 Seconds 18:15 TMZ 18:45 Mamma Mia! 21:00 Two Brothers 23:15 Troy

Goa’s Dancers raring to Groove at the National Level

BY JANICE RODRIGIUES HERALD FEATURES ance has been a very popular form of entertainment for as long as history can remember.

Through the ages, dance has evolved in different forms and styles, and now taking dance to another level is the National Dancesport Championship. Goa being a land with tremendous western influence, especially in the sphere of dance, is not far behind when it comes to competing in dance on a national level. Dancesport is a competitive form of Ballroom dances and now, the state has its own Goa Dancesport Team, selected by the Goa Dancesport Association.

“The team was selected after a competition amongst the students and members of the Dance Illusions,” says Dr Martin whose school is the only registered school in Goa promoting Dancesport for the past few years. The selected team comprises Manager Maxie Correia and Richard Vaz , dancers Dr Martin and Flossy/ Jason and Aishwarya/ Bhavin and Nieta/ Francis and Vivian/ Shray and Dr Xiyan/ Jeethan and Dr Berthaline.

The excitement of competing in a national level championship has just gotten twofold for the dancing couple Dr Martin and Flossy. “If we win the first place in the competition, we could be the first and only couple in India to win a title in Latin and Standard 5 dance category,” says Dr Martin excitedly. Another achievement that would go hand in hand with the championship is the selection for the team to represent

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08:00 Kyaa Kool Hai Hum 12:15 Biwi Ho To Aisi 16:15 Waah! Tera Kya Kehna 20:00 Raja Babu

09:30 Film Star 12:30 Rishi 16:00 Janasheen 20:00 No Entry

09:50 The Hottest State 12:05 Monster's Ball 14:10 13 Going on 30 16:10 The Phantom of the

Opera 18:55 The Business 21:00 Basic 23:10 Jakob the Liar

12:00 Apna Sapna Money Money 16:00 Baazi 20:00 Aur Ek Ilzam 23:40 36 Ghante

08:00 Maang Bharo Sajna 12:00 Zindagi Ek Juaa 16:00 Humraaz 20:00 Yeshwant

E N T E R TA I N M E N T 17:30 Gutar Gu 18:00 Taarak Mehta Ka Oolta…

18:30 Sajan Re Jhoot Mat Bolo 19:00 Lapataganj 19:30 Mrs. & Mr. Sharma Allahabadwale 20:00 Maniben.com 20:30 Taarak Mehta Ka Oolta…

21:00 Sajan Re Jhoot Mat Bolo 21:30 Mrs. & Mr. Sharma Allahabadwale 22:00 Lapataganj 22:30 Yeh Chanda Kanoon Hai

11:00 Star One Horror Nights

was the fourth rally held from Valpoi to Krishanpur village which is famous for its greenery and is an upcoming tourist spot. Most of the youth prefer to visit the place to experience the adventurous river crossing at Krishnapur. However, the response of youth at this place is very low during rainy season as only few take the risk during the rains as the level of water rises gradually thereby making it difficult for the riders to cross the river.

This group of enthusiastic youth which organised the off-road rally to Krishnapur included Dakshin Dare, rally winner Mr Amol Satosker and co-partner Mr Vaibahav Marathe.

12:00 Jaane Pehchaane Se Yeh 12:30 Dill Mill Gayye 13:00 Mile Jab Hum Tum 13:30 Geet 14:00 Rang Badalti Odhni 14:30 Jaane Pehchaane Se Yeh 15:00 Maan Gaye Mughall-EAzam 18:00 Laughter Ke Phatke 18:30 Star One Horror Nights 19:00 Geet 19:30 Rang Badalti Odhni 20:00 Dill Mill Gayye 20:30 Jaane Pehchaane Se Yeh 21:00 Mile Jab Hum Tum 21:30 Geet 22:00 Rang Badalti Odhni 22:30 Dill Mill Gayye

13:00 Whacked Out Sports 14:00 Wipeout 15:00 Whacked Out Sports 15:30 Video Zonkers 17:00 The Amazing Race 18:00 Leverage: The Runway Job 19:00 Wipeout 20:00 Scare Tactics 21:00 Sports Crash 22:00 Destination Truth

10:00 30 Rock

10:30 The Simpsons 11:00 America's Got Talent 12:00 Friends 12:30 Castle 13:30 90210 14:30 Scrubs 15:00 Desperate Housewives 16:00 The Simpsons 16:30 Friends 17:00 Castle 18:00 90210 19:00 30 Rock 19:30 The Simpsons 20:00 America's Got Talent 21:00 Friends 22:00 Castle

14:00 Golf Focus 2010 14:30 Mobil 1 The Grid 15:00 Wimbledon H/ls : Day 3 16:00 Ace 2010 16:30 2010 Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships 18:30 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa : Pre Show 19:20 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa:Paraguay vs.

New Zealand 20:30 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa : Post Show 23:00 2010 Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships 23:00 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa : Pre Show 11:50 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa: Denmark vs.

Japan

11:00 2010 FIFA World Cup Matchday H/ls 13:00 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa :Ghana vs.

Australia 15:00 2010 FIFA World Cup

India in the Asian Games in China that would be declared after the game and the Goa Dancesport Team has all their hopes pinned

up.

T h e selections and the titles don’t come in easy; along with the glamour goes in a whole lot of hard work, pa-

tience and skill. “The team has been practiSing for three hours everyday for the last one month,” adds Dr Martin.

South Africa : Group Match: Greece vs. Nigeria 17:00 2010 FIFA World Cup Matchday H/ls 18:00 Sportscenter Express : South Africa 18:30 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa : Pre-Show 19:20 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa : Group Match: Slovakia vs. Italy 21:30 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa : Post Show 22:00 Sportscenter India 22:30 Sportscenter Asia 23:00 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa : Pre-Show 23:50 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa : Group Match: Cameroon

ten-sports 07:00 Kids Club 09:30 07:30 Zimbabwe Flavors Triangular ODI 2010 : 2ndNews ODI: India vs. Sri 08:00H/ls English Lanka 09:00 Konkani News 10:00 Marathi News 11:30 South Africa Tour to 11:00 2010 Marine West : 5th ODI 11:30 Indies TalkingH/ls Talkies 12:00 Konkani Songs 13:30 12:30 Zimbabwe Flavors Triangular ODI 2010 : 1st News T20 13:00H/ls English 14:00 Tiatr HymnGP Singing 15:30 Moto H/ls : Airasia 16:00 Kids Club British Grand Prix: Silverstone 16:30 Flavors 17:00 Mobil Khell Tiatr 16:30 1 The Grid 18:00 Konkani News 19:00 MarathiRaw News 17:00 WWE: 20:00 English News 21:00 Khell Tiatr 19:00 Zimbabwe Triangular ODI 22:00 English News 2010 : 2ndTalk T20 23:00H/ls Straight 00:00 Konkani Songs 21:00 Mundial 00:30 Motorsport Flavors 01:00 Art of living 21:30 H/ls : Airasia 01:30 Moto HymnGP Singing British Grand Prix: Silverstone 02:00 Kids Club 02:30 Flavors 22:30 Note: WWE: SubjectRaw to change

HERALD CROSSWORD - 587 Across 1- Bibliography abbr.; 5- Cutting tool; 8- Inner layer of a quilt; 12Actor O'Shea; 13- "Peter and the Wolf" bird; 15- Having flu symptoms; 16- Camaro model; 17- Bad lighting?; 18- Celestial body; 19- Vomit; 22- How was ___ know?; 23- Human limb, section of a journey; 24- Lendl of tennis; 26- Ipecac, e.g.; 29Refrigerator; 31- "…and seven years _____"; 32- Diciembre follower; 34- Angered; 36Match up; 38- Profits; 40- Fork feature; 41- Issue forth with force; 43- Piquant; 45- Digit of the foot; 46- Cylindrical; 48- Up; 50- Atlantic mackerel; 51- Appropriate; 52- Biol., e.g.; 54- Unbridled; 61- Shout in derision; 63- Lowermost deck; 64- Antiquing agent; 65- Nope; 66- Absurdity; 67- Monetary unit of China; 68- Centrepiece of the human face; 69- ___ kwon do; 70- Goes down; Down 1- Chieftain, usually in Africa; 2- Airfilled rubber hoop, become fatigued; 3- Sleep like ___; 4- Small compartment or chamber; 5- Delhi wrap; 6- Kind of prof.; 7- Rider's command; 8- ___-relief; 9- Variety of amphibole; 10- Yonder thing; 11Neophyte; 13- Droopy; 14- Caper; 20- Network of nerves; 21- At any time; 25- Slightly; 26- Exodus origin; 27- Hermaphroditic; 28- Break off; 29- Ancient region of Asia

Minor; 30- Chemically inactive SOLUTION - 586 gas; 31- Beast of burden; 33Tear; 35- Actress Ruby; 37Preserve with salt; 39- Fragmentary; 42- Actress Hatcher; 44- Exclamation of fright; 47Like a ___ bricks; 49- Wanders away; 52- Keep away from; 53- Silver salmon; 55Horse's gait; 56- First name in scat; 57- Yard tunneler; 58- A shivering fit - often a precursor to malaria; 59- Milk source; 60- Sea eagles; 62- Common article;

Pg16

GOA,Thursday, 24 June, 2010

Sarkozy to chair meet on Cup campaign AFP PARIS, JUNE 23

France's shamed World Cup squad faced the wrath of President Nicolas Sarkozy, the press and a furious public on Wednesday after a disastrous exit from the tournament in South Africa.

The players were due to fly back to a humiliated country that has largely written them off as spoiled millionaires led by an incompetent coach and unworthy of the blue jersey worn by the 1998 world champions.

France is so angr y that

lShamed French squad faces humiliating return Sarkozy, who had been hoping a good showing from the team might cheer a country facing difficult economic times, has called a meeting of government ministers to discuss the defeat.

Prime Minister Francois Fillon, sports minister Roselyne Bachelot and junior sports minister Rama Yade will take part in Wednesday’s meeting.

“Those responsible for this disaster must accept the consequences, first the players, then the team management and after them the football federation," Sports Minister Roselyne Bachelot said on Europe 1 radio.

Sarkozy has not spoken publicly on the French campaign -

Italian Fed rebukes politician in bribe claim AP ROME, JUNE 23

Italian politician Umberto Bossi apologized Wednesday for his much-criticized remarks that Italy would “buy” a victory in a crucial World Cup group match against Slovakia.

The comments by Bossi, a cabinet minister, had drawn a sharp rebuke from the National Football Federation and fellow politicians alike.

“I apologize to the National team,” the Federal Reforms Minister told the ANSA news agency.

He said his comments were meant as a “joke” and that he hopes Italy win the World Cup. Bossi had reportedly said that “they (Italy) will buy the match against Slovakia,” responding to a question about which team would win. He said he expected two to three Slovak players to surface in the Italian League next season - apparently as compensation to the Slovak team.

The Italian Football Federation described Bossi’s remarks as “disconcerting and offensive.”

Kiwis chase more glory

n France is so angry that President Nicolas Sarkozy, who had been hoping a good showing from the team might cheer a country facing difficult economic times, has called a meeting of government ministers to discuss the defeat. which was marked by two defeats, one draw, a player strike, dressing room squabbles and a single goal - but his government's spokesman expressed fury.

“For me, as a supporter of the team, I'm obviously very disappointed. As a citizen I'm truly indignant by what has gone on, and as minister for education I am terribly angry," Luc Chatel told Canal Plus television.

Chatel said the squad had lacked “respect, team spirit, pride and enough dignity to wear the shirt of any club, from the smallest local side to that of the French National team."

The minister singled out Fr e n c h c o a c h R a y m o n d

Evra pledges to reveal ‘truth’ behind humiliation AFP BLOEMFONTEIN, JUNE 23

France captain Patrice Evra promised on Tuesday that his disgraced and humiliated World Cup team would not risk further public anger by claiming lucrative cash handouts.

But the Manchester United defender, dropped for the final match of his country's doomed campaign, pledged not to hold back on revealing the inside secrets of how France's World Cup fell apart in a storm of re-

AFP JOHANNESBURG, JUNE 23

World Cup surprise packets New Zealand adjust their sights to Paraguay in Polokwane Thursday after defying the odds by drawing with defending champions Italy.

Having suffered three heavy losses in a previous appearance 28 years ago, the Kiwis mocked predictions that they would suffer a similar fate in South Africa by also holding Slovakia.

KEY TO MATCH

Ryan Nelsen (NZL) v Roque Santa Cruz (PAR) These adversaries will need no introduction as Nelsen plays for modest Blackburn Rovers in the English Premiership and Cruz for big-spending Manchester City. Nelsen is the sole Kiwi who performs at the highest level and his experience will be crucial to a team likely to defend more than attack.

Cameroon need Dutch courage AFP CAPE TOWN, JUNE 23

The Netherlands hope to welcome back star winger Arjen Robben when they meet a Cameroon side playing on Thursday to salvage their pride.

The fortunes of the two World Cup Group E teams could not be more stark -- the Dutch have already qualified for the round of 16 while the Africans have been knocked out.

Coach Bert Van Marwijk is not concerned how his team play, as long as they collect at least a point to top the group.

If they do, they will face the second team in Group F for a berth in the quarter-finals, which could be either Paraguay, Italy, New Zealand or Slovakia.

KEY TO MATCH

Confidence - The Dutch are on a high knowing they have qualified while Cameroon are clearly down in the dumps.

Much could depend on how senior players like Eto'o and coach Le Guen can lift the African nation. If they come out determined to salvage some pride then they should run Holland close. But if their focus has gone, it could be a rout.

Domenech for criticism, citing in particular his unsportsmanlike refusal to shake the hand of the South African manager after the final defeat as a bad example to younger players.

He also attacked the outgoing team captain, Manchester United defender Patrice Evra, for his part in a players' strike on Sunday, when the team refused to train in protest at the sacking of striker Nicolas Anelka.

This in turn led Evra and other players to accuse an unnamed “traitor" in the camp of betraying Anelka to the press.

Tens of thousands of French fans across the country booed the players during Tuesday's

broadcast of their limp 2-1 defeat, even cheering ironically when South Africa scored, and the press was no kinder.

Several newspapers noted that France had only qualified for the finals in the first place by “cheating" Ireland of their place when striker Thierry Henry handled the ball before their winning goal in a qualifying match.

“France is not ready to forgive," declared the popular Le Parisien, while the influential sports daily l'Equipe demanded that the government step in to reform the French Football Federation, which it said is run by “clowns".

Henry is flying back to France separately from the rest of his team mates and will meet Sarkozy on Thursday, having requested a private audience. The rest of the squad were to fly back late in the night and arrive early Thursday.

Meanwhile, the airwaves were filling with outraged commentators and call-in listeners, criticising everything from the team's lack of patriotism -- many failed to sing the National anthem -- to the players’ level of education.

sentment and rage.

"I share the pain of all France.

Tonight is the time for apologies.

It's an apology that could have been made yesterday, but I was banned from doing so by the coach," said Evra, one of the ringleaders of the players strike on Sunday which was called to protest the expulsion of teammate Nicolas Anelka.

His part in that disastrous public exercise was punished by embattled coach Raymond Domenech who dropped him from the team's 2-1 defeat to South Africa on Tuesday.

"Now is not the time to settle scores.

All of France will have the time to have explanations for this disaster. I will give them. I will talk about what has happened. I will tell the

truth. I have nothing to hide."

Aware of the public fury, Evra said his teammates would not claim the bonuses owed to them from lucrative marketing deals.

"We will not accept a single cent from sponsors. We will refuse all the bonuses," said Evra.

According to the agreement signed with the French Football Federation (FFF) the players would not receive any extra money for failing to reach the second round, but were liable to benefit from lucrative marketing revenues generated by the squad.

The Manchester United star refused to admit that the strike on Sunday, described as "unspeakably stupid" by Domenech and which saw the players refuse to train, had been a mistake.

"Our pain wasn't exaggerated.

We communicated our reasons for what happened," he said.

"Tonight I was dropped from the team without a valid reason.

These are difficult times."

Italy must raise game to avoid early exit: De Rossi AFP JOHANNESBURG, JUNE 23

Defending champions Italy face Slovakia in their Group F showdown on Thursday playing for their World Cup survival as the Azzurri face the shame of a firstround exit.

With just one game left to go in the group stages and after two 1-1 draws, Italy are in the same boat as fellow European giants France, Germany, England and Spain who could all exit before the Round of 16.

With just two points in Group F, the second-placed Italians must now beat Slovakia at Johannesburg's Ellis Park on Thursday to guarantee a place in the last 16, but another draw would see them through if Paraguay beat New Zealand.

But midfielder Daniele de Rossi says the Azzurri must raise their game significantly if they are to have any chance of defending their title.

"We'll have to improve quickly, because otherwise we won't be

going far," he said on FIFA.com after the 1-1 draw with New Zealand.

"We weren't at our best and we can do a lot better than that.

"We were lacking up front.

We played the entire match in their half but we don't have enough to show for it."

Italy are struggling to finish the chances they create which stems back to before the World Cup. During their last seven matches only one forward, Fabio Quagliarella, who is not even first choice, has scored a goal from open play.

"But it's not just a problem with our forwards - it's the whole team that didn't play well," said De Rossi, who won the penalty which allowed Italy to draw with minnows New Zealand.

"The scenarios are not pretty - if we come second we play Holland, but so be it.

"It is useless making calculations - we know we must win and that's it. We all need to improve."

The Italians are not the only

KEY TO MATCH

be neutralised and underlined that the Japanese squad were determined to make a point to those who wrote them off as no-hopers in a group that has already been won by the Dutch.

"We should not be afraid," Nakazawa said. "It's faster to find our ranking by looking up from the bottom of the 32-nation list.

But because we are all aware of that, it makes us try harder."

Rommedahl was outstanding in Denmark's win over Cameroon but the fullback who will mark him on Thursday, Yuto Nagatomo, believes he can force the Ajax winger to do his own share of defending.

"I wasn't outdone when I played one-on-one against the Dutch players," he said. "I didn't let them break through. I could

pose a threat to them."

Japan coach Takeshi Okada has described Denmark as a side "without any shortcomings" but he is counting on his own players rising to the occasion in a match he believes gives them the opportunity to become legends.

Italy must find some goals from somewhere, anywhere, in what promises to be a tense affair between two sides playing for their World Cup survival. Defence will be the key as both sides are goal shy at this tournament, but the pressure is on defending champions Italy to at least make the Round of 16. ones feeling the pressure.

Slovakia coach Vladimir Weiss has made a habit of walking out of press conferences at this World Cup after his side has recorded just a point from their opening two games and were beaten 2-0

by Paraguay on Sunday.

Weiss' side could still qualify for the Round of 16 if they beat the struggling Italians and Paraguay beat New Zealand in Polokwane. He admitted the side's chances were not great, but pledged to do their best against the Azzurri.

Japan on verge of breakthrough AFP RUSTENBURG, JUNE 23

Japan have identified stopping Nicklas Bendtner and Dennis Rommedahl as the key to their hopes of making history at the expense of Denmark here on Thursday.

A draw at the Royal Bafokeng stadium will be enough to get Japan through the group stage of a World Cup for the first time on foreign soil.

Like their opponents, the Danes have beaten Cameroon and lost to the Netherlands in group E, but their inferior goal difference means Morten Olsen's squad must win to reach the last 16.

Japan defender Yuji Nakazawa admits Arsenal striker Bendtner will pose a significant threat in the air.

But the centreback believes the 1.94-metre (6' 4") striker can

KEY TO MATCH

Nerve. Japan's natural tendency is to play a quick-passing, attacking game but, with only a point required, coach Takeshi Okada will be concerned about Denmark's threat on the counter-attack.

A more cautious approach may be required but is Japan's defence capable of holding out under a Viking siege?

Zakumi’s official song out AGENCIES JOHANNESBURG, JUNE 23

While Shakira's 'Waka Waka', the official song of the FIFA World Cup 2010, is still making waves across the world, the official sound of the 19th football World Cup from the official mascot, Zakumi, has been released.

The official sound of the FIFA World Cup 2010 comes from Zakumi, the playful cartoon leopard with green hair.

Zakumi has collaborated with top artists for the official mascot song 1Game On.' The artists include Miami rapper Pitbull, South African group TKZee and top British Producer Dario G. This is the same trio that created the unforgettable Carnival de Paris for France '98 World Cup. The official sound of the World Cup is upbeat, brims with energy, and, thankfully, does not include the sound of the buzzing vuvuzelas.

The track has already hit the airwaves and has turned into a big hit on the radio.

Meanwhile, the last thing the World Cup in South Africa needed was trouble over the tournament's official anthem but that's exactly what Shakira's Waka Waka is causing among South Africans and many others who say they have ‘endured' it.

The song hit radio stations in Johannesburg last week and locals responded with comments like “It's horrible!" and “How badly has Shakira sung the African part of it!"

The Colombian singer collaborated with South African band Freshlyground on the track, which borrows from a Cameroonian song called Zangalewa. But the fact that the anthem for South Africa's World Cup is not sung by a South African is the point many critics are raising.

Shakira is scheduled to perform Waka Waka again with Freshlyground in front of 94,000 people at the final match on July 11. One hopes she is well-received by the home crowd.

Messi revels in leading role AFP JOHANNESBURG, JUNE 23

Argentine star Lionel Messi, who celebrated his 23rd birthday on Thursday said he had thrived after the "unique experience" of being handed the skipper's armband for Tuesday's World Cup win over Greece.

"It was a unique experience something very special," said Messi after coach Diego Maradona handed him the job having rested Javier Mascherano for the 2-0 win.

It was a victory which saw the albiceleste make it three wins out of three in Group B and book a meeting with Mexico in the last 16.

"As soon as I knew about it it was just great, unique," said Messi, who would not be drawn on whether he might assume similar responsibilities at Barcelona.

"If that were to happen one day it would be a pleasure," he said.

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GOA, Thursday, 24 June, 2010

S Korea reinforce Asian calibre

IN PICS

AFP CAPE TOWN, JUNE 23

USA fans enjoy the atmosphere prior to the Group C match between Algeria and USA at Pretoria Stadium, on Tuesday.

An Argentina supporter cheers prior to the start England supporters cheer prior to the start of Group C of the Group B first round match Greece v. Arfirst round match Slovenia v. England at Nelson Mandela gentina at Peter Mokaba stadium in Polokwane.

Bay stadium in Port Elizabeth, on Tuesday.

South Korea's achievement of making the World Cup last 16 reinforced the growing calibre of Asian football, Asian Football Confederation President Mohamed Bin Hammam said on Wednesday.

The Koreans' 2-2 draw with Nigeria in Durban on Tuesday was enough to send them into the knockout rounds for only the second time in eight attempts, and the first on foreign soil.

The only other time was in 2002 when they made the semifinals in a tournament they cohosted with Japan.

"Their achievement has made millions of Asians proud. It has also underlined the calibre of Asian football," said Bin Hammam, who tipped two AFC teams to make the last 16 ahead of the tournament.

He is still confident that prediction will come true.

"I hope the Korea Republic will go further (in the tournament)," he said.

"Asian fans also look forward to more Asian teams reaching the round of 16 and beyond.

The whole of Asia is behind its teams."

This was underlined by the massive interest in South Korea, where an estimated 500,000 people thronged giant screen venues to watch the Nigeria match despite the 3:30 am local time kick-off.

South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak sent a congratulatory message to the team.

"We are so proud of you," he told them. "I rejoice with the

An Argentina supporter cheers prior to the start of the Group B first round match Greece v. Argentina at Peter Mokaba stadium in Polokwane, on Tuesday.

South Korean fans cheer as they view a broadcast of their match against Nigeria in Durban, at downtown Seoul on Tuesday.

Diego Maradona asked where was fair play at the World Cup after Lionel Messi was treated to systematic fouling by Greece in Argentina's 2-0 win today. ''The famous fair play doesn't exist (here), let's make it effective once and for all,'' Maradona said. ''Because if each time Messi gets the ball they bring him down, what are we playing at?'' he asked at the post-match news conference. ''After repeated fouls, take out the yellow card to the third (player) who hits Messi, and you'll see that defenders don't hit him any more. ''Why didn't the referee do that? It's in the regulations, man.''

Maradona had a rant at what he saw as repeated foul throwins by the Greeks and said his complaint to the fourth official had fallen on deaf ears.

A rg e n t i n a ' s c o a c h a l s o launched into a heartfelt defence of his players who have won their three matches in the group, including yesterday's with a largely reserve side.

He said the media who had criticised the team and players during the qualifiers when things were not going well for his team should apologise. ''Everything a lot of you said, you were wrong... You even showed a lack of respect for these players... (and) should apologise to these players be-

Refs under microscope AFP CAPE TOWN, JUNE 23

The standard of refereeing at the World Cup has inevitably come under the microscope, with some controversial decisions and claims that some officials aren't up to the job.

Refereeing on the world's biggest stage is a dream come true, but it can also be a thankless task with players and coaches free to lash out without the official able to answer back.

FIFA appointed 30 referees from 28 countries for the tournament and many have been praised for their fitness and keeping their cards in their pockets, but some decisions have been questioned.

One of the most high-profile came when Mali's Koman Coulibaly disallowed Maurice Edu's goal for the United States in the 85th minute of their 22 draw with Slovenia, denying them a vital win and sparking an outcry in the United States.

South Africa coach Carlos

Parreira, meanwhile, blasted Swiss referee Massimo Busacca for reducing his team to 10 men in their 3-0 loss to Uruguay that crippled their dream of World Cup advancement.

"He is the worst referee in this competition," Parreira said. "I hope we don't see his face again in any game anymore. He probably does not deserve to be here."

And on Monday, Switzerland defender Stephane Grichting attacked Saudi Arabian referee Khalil Al Ghamdi who was in charge of their 10 defeat against Chile which saw nine bookings and a sending-off.

"At 11 against 11 we would have had a different match. The problem was that we came up against a referee that week in, week out is officiating in the first or second division," he said.

"But here he is at an international level and so he isn't up to the standard. And we

saw that throughout the entire game."

French referee Stephane Lannoy also came under fire for sending off Brazil's Kaka against the Ivory Coast, while he allowed Luis Fabiano's second goal to stand despite a clear double handball.

To make matters worse, Lannoy was seen laughing with Fabiano after the incident.

Nevertheless, FIFA's head of refereeing Jose-Marcia Garcia-Aranda told reporters that overall he was satisfied with the performances, but also said mistakes were inevitable.

"We are trying to improve those decisions that we consider are not good enough and for that reason we are training every day," he said.

Referees are, of course, human, and it inevitably brings up the question again of whether video technology should be used.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter

people and congratulate you on advancing into the round of 16 for the first time at an away World Cup." Japan are the best bet to join their East Asian arch-rivals.

They came into the tournament on a bad run of form, but a 1-0 victory over Cameroon and a narrow 1-0 loss to the Netherlands has them believing again.

Takeshi Okada's men face a crunch match in Rustenburg against Denmark on Thursday that will decide their fate. The Dutch are already qualified and Cameroon are out of the tournament with Japan and Denmark both on three points.

Japan though have a better

Maradona calls for fair play REUTERS POLOKWANE, JUNE 23

A South Africa supporter looks dejected at the end of the Group A first round match France v. South Africa at Free State Stadium in Mangaung/Bloemfontein, on Tuesday.

n Their achievement has made millions of Asians proud. It has also underlined the calibre of Asian football.

-- AFC President Mohamed Bin Hammam

has previously spoken out against the use of cameras, arguing that they would interrupt the flow of the game, although he appears to have softened his stance more recently.

The pressure was turned up on Blatter following Thierry Henry's controversial handball which led to France's extratime winner against the Republic of Ireland in their World Cup qualifying play-off.

Concern has also been raised that referees need to do more to protect the flair players of the tournament, like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Portugal's Ronaldo, who picked up a booking for diving in their opening game, said the top stars need more protection than they are currently getting.

"I don't understand the decisions of the referees sometimes," said Ronaldo. "They are supposed to protect the best players."

cause they give everything on the pitch, because they are 100 per cent professional. ''We're doing our duty, we're defending the Argentine colours which we've always done. ''These same players were in the qualifiers. Anybody can make a mistake but I'd love it for those on the other side to say sorry.''

goal difference and a draw will be enough.

In contrast, Australia have struggled in South Africa, ridiculed at home after losing 4-0 to Germany before a better performance in their 1-1 draw with Ghana.

They go into Wednesday's clash with Serbia bottom of Group D on one point needing a victory while hoping either group leaders Ghana win by any margin or Germany hammer the Ghanaians in the simultaneous match.

North Korea have already been eliminated after two defeats.

South Korean young gun Ki Sung-Yeung agrees with Bin Hammam that the standard of Asian football is on the rise, and

he too is confident that Japan can qualify.

"I want the Asian teams to get to the second round," said Ki, the reigning AFC Youth Player of the Year, now employed by Scottish giants Celtic.

"For now Asian football is improving more and more, and I think that Korea are one of the best teams in Asia. If Japan can qualify for the second round, too, that's great."

South Korea face Uruguay for a quarter-final spot on Saturday and coach Huh Jung-Moo told reporters they were not content with making the round of 16, and planned to go further.

"We have achieved our first objective of reaching the round of 16," Huh said. "After that, anybody can guess what our next objective might be, but I know that the players will immediately set a higher target."

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GOA, THURSDAY, 24 JUNE, 2010

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www.oheraldo.in

Defoe fires rejuventated Donovan sends US England into last 16 into pre-quarters the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium facing, as Steven Gerrard had so aptly put it, a do-or-die match.

They did it, and now have earned a second round date with the runners-up in Group D. England started brightly, their passing sharp and accurate, but it was Slovenia who had the first shot on target when Valter Birsa tested David James in the fifth minute.

Wayne Rooney raised the temperature just after when he raced onto a superb through ball and Slovenia's defence had their work cut out to stop Steven Gerrard heading in his cross to the far post.

Capello had called for John Terry to put up a "big per formance" after his failed mutiny and the Chelsea defender responded, making a fine robust intervention to rob Robert Ljubijankic of the ball beside James's near post.

England then took the lead with a superb high ball from James Milner, who started in place of Aaron Lennon, on the right wing into the box for Defoe to volley past Slovenia keeper Samir Handanovic.

In almost a carbon copy move minutes later Milner crossed again, this time Defoe's shot was parried by Handanovic with Frank Lampard pouncing on the clearance only to fire over the

bar.

It took a succession of fine saves from Handanovic to prevent England from doubling their lead as the Slovenia keeper kept out shots from Defoe and Gerrard.

The boos that had followed England off the pitch after Friday's woeful per formance against Algeria were replaced by cheers as they walked off at the break.

Seconds after the restart Defoe could and should have got his second, but his goalmouth effort after great work

by Rooney on the left, went wide. He then had a goal disallowed for offside as England maintained their high tempo pace.

Unusually for this World Cup which has been raining yellow cards German referee Wolfgang Stark had been refreshingly restrained, with England defender Glen Johnson picking up the first booking of the game in the 46th minute.

A rejuvenated Rooney then grimaced as his close range effort hit Handanovic's right post.

Slovenia though gave them a scare in the 67th minute when Terry, Johnson and James combined to deny a trio of quickfire shots from Milivoje Novakovic, substitute Ziatko Dedic and Valter Birsa.

Germany down Ghana, both in pre-quarters

Aussies beat Serbia but miss out on last 16

England's striker Jermain Defoe celebrates with teammates after scoring the opening goal on Wednesday.

AFP PORT ELIZABETH, JUNE 23

England's World Cup campaign finally took off Wednesday at the third attempt as Fabio Capello's side qualified for the last 16 with a 1-0 win over Slovenia to secure runners-up spot in Group C. The United States took top spot with an injury-time winner over Algeria, a late strike which also eliminated Slovenia who had started the day on top of the table.

USA .....................1 Slovenia..............0 Ghana..................0 Australia..............2

REUTERS JOHANNESBURG, JUNE 23

Midfielder Mesut Ozil's second-half strike fired Germany to a 1-0 win over Ghana on Wednesday and into the World Cup last 16 where old enemies England will be waiting.

The win gave Germany top spot in Group D and a showdown with Fabio Capello's England in Bloemfontein on Sunday while Ghana face Group C winners the USA in Rustenburg on Saturday.

Ozil's superb strike from the edge of the penalty area on the hour mark proved decisive while

GROUP D M Germany(Qualify)3 Ghana (Qualify) 3 Australia 3 Serbia 3

W 2 1 1 1

D 0 1 1 0

Jermain Defoe started for England in place of Emile Heskey in one of the biggest gambles of manager Capello's career.

And the move paid dividends with the Tottenham striker's 23rd minute goal.

An opening 1-1 draw with the United States followed by the lame goalless stalemate with Algeria had left England staring at the possibility of failing to make it out of the group stage for the first time since 1958.

Capello's men turned up at

Algeria..................1 England................1 Germany...............1 Serbia...................1

Australia's 2-1 win over Serbia in the other Group D match was academic.

For the first time in World Cup history, two brothers lined up against each other as Manchester City's new signing Jerome Boateng came it at leftback for Germany to face elder half-brother Kevin-Prince Boateng of Ghana.

Brazilian-born striker Cacau, who started for the suspended Miroslav Klose, had the game's first chance when he was freed on the right wing, but fired straight at Ghana goalkeeper Richard Kingson.

Ghana had a after 15 L F A P chance minutes when 1 5 1 6 K w a d w o Asamoah played 1 2 2 4 the ball into the box for Asamoah 1 3 6 4 Gyan, but Bastian Schweinsteiger 2 2 3 3 stepped in to

AFP NELSPRUIT, JUNE 23

Australia ended Serbia's quest for the last 16 at the World Cup with a fighting 2-1 victory but it was not enough to take them into the knockout round at the Mbombela Stadium here on Wednesday.

The Socceroos hit back magnificently in the second half, rocking the Europeans with two goals in four minutes and shredding their highly-rated defence in their best performance of the tournament.

It was to prove in vain, though, as Ghana, despite their 1-0 loss to Germany in Johannesburg, went through to the second round on goal difference.

snuff out the attack.

Both teams had clear chances around the 25 minute mark in a frantic period in front of a 83,391-strong crowd at Soccer City.

First Ghana's Andre Ayew broke free into penalty area, but took one touch too many, then Germany's Ozil went one-on-one with Kingson only for the Ghana goalkeeper to make the save.

Germany captain Philipp Lahm then saved a Gyan header off the line.

Ayew picked up the first booking on 39 minutes for a tackle from behind on Cacau, while Germany's Thomas Mueller was also booked on 43 minutes for a clumsy PRE-QUARTER FINALS tackle on 43 minutes.

US v. Ghana Germany spent the first five minutes after June 27, 00.00 hours the break in the Ghana Germany v. England h a l f, b u t A s a m o a h June 27, 7.30 p.m. squandered a golden chance to take the lead when he fired at German goalEverton midfelder Tim keeper Manuel Neuer who man- Cahill started it off for the aged to get a glove to the shot Australians by outjumping on 52 minutes.

Manchester United central deWith an hour gone, Ozil calmed fender Nemanja Vidic and Germany's nerves with a left- heading home in the 69th footed goal from the edge of the minute before substitute Brett penalty area which finally beat Holman thumped in a longKingson to give his side the lead. range shot four minutes later.

Ghana then poured forward Substitute Marko Pantelic and a shot by John Pantsil was pulled one back with six minutes blocked by Jerome Boateng less left, had another chalked off for than a minute later, while Lahm offside and then put another pulled off a goal-saving block on one over the bar with the goal an Ayew shot which was headed -- and a place in the last 16 -- at goal bound moments later. his mercy.

The last 20 minutes were a Serbia had been favourites tense affair as Ghana constantly to advance after beating Gertested the German defence, but many 1-0, while Australia Joachim Loew's team held firm ended their ill-fated campaign to maintain their country's on a winning note after being record of having never failed to routed 4-0 by the Germans and qualify from the group stages drawing 1-1 with 10 men at a World Cup. against Ghana.

The Americans were minutes Slovenia match, Mali referee from crashing out as a draw with Koman Coulibaly disallowed a the Desert Foxes would not have header from Rangers midfielder been enough to move ahead of Maurice Edu in the dying secSlovenia. onds that would have given the At the final whistle, the Amer- Americans a victory. icans began jumping for joy, The Americans sent on Edu Donovan kicking the ball into and DaMarcus Beasley late in the stands. the second half, risking all in Already smartterms of defence ing from a disalas they searched lowed goal late for the vital goal. in a 2-2 draw But a Dempsey with Slovenia free kick soared last week, the Americans were well over the crossbar in the stung by another questionable 84th minute and Algeria's Hasdecision in the 20th minute san yebda flicked a shot high in against Algeria, one that grew the 88th minute and all seemed more haunting as the match lost until Donovan's heroics. went on.

The Algerians - who failed to Herculez Gomez, starting in score once in their three place of suspended US forward matches - ended the match on Robbie Findley, recovered his an even sourer note as captain own rebound on a blocked shot Anther yahia was sent-off for a and slid the ball across the goal second bookable offence by Belto Clint Dempsey, who put the gian referee Frank De Bleeckere. ball in the back of the net.

GROUP C M W D L F A P But the offside 3 1 2 0 4 3 5 flag was up, al- USA (Qualify) though television replays appeared England (Qualify) 3 1 2 0 2 1 5 to show Dempsey Slovenia 3 1 1 1 3 3 4 onside.

I n t h e U S - Algeria 3 0 1 2 0 2 1

MORE SPORTS ON PG 13, 16, 17

A US fan jubiliates after the team topped the Group C table.

AFP PRETORIA, JUNE 23

Landon Donovan scored a goal seconds into stoppage time on Wednesday to give the United States a dramatic 1-0 victory over Algeria, and handing the Americans a place in the last 16 of the World Cup. The victory gave the Americans top spot in Group C, finishing on five points like England - 1-0 winners over Slovenia also on Wednesday - but the US edged them on goals scored.

Slovenia and Algeria were eliminated.

Donovan, who matched a US record with his 11th World Cup appearance, set up the decisive move with a long pass to Jozy Altidore, who raced into the penalty area only for his shot to be blocked

by Algerian goalkeeper Rasis Bolhi.

Donovan following up blasted home the rebound for his fourth World Cup goal, equalling another US mark.

Tearful Donovan savours goal of his life STAR OF THE DAy

Landon Donovan who gave US the precious match winner and the top place for US.

AFP PRETORIA, JUNE 23

Landon Donovan was moments from reliving his worst football heartache, a first-round World Cup exit, when he scored the most important goal of his life to send the United States into the knockout rounds.

The 28-year-old midfielder has battled divorce, unconvincing stints in Europe and first-round

disappointment at the 2006 World Cup but netted the defining goal of his career in stoppage time on Wednesday to snatch a 1-0 victory over Algeria.

"I have been through a lot in the last four years," Donovan said, breaking into tears. "I'm so glad it culminated in this way. It makes me believe in the good in this world.

When you try to do things the right way it's nice to get rewarded."

"The guys in the back did an unbelievable job of stopping counter after counter to give us a chance so we could get it," Donovan said.

"A lot of us broke. I wanted to make a good touch forward. I chose Jozy and Clint (Dempsey) did a good job to get in front of the goalie and it just bounced there.

"Time kind of stopped. you can't miss from there."

Meanwhile in Washington nail-biting soccer fans watching their US side burst into euphoric rapture when the team scored a last-gasp winning goal.

Former president Bill Clinton who witnessed the match gave the players a speech about the American spirit when he spent 45 minutes in the locker room.

Speaking about Donovan Clinton said, “he is very charismatic�.