28 Feb,2011 HERALD PUBLICATIONS PVT LTD

O HERALD O

Visit us at: www.oheraldo.in

The Voice of Goa — Since 1900 panjim, monday, FEBRUaRy 28, 2011 postal Reg. no. Goa 101 pRiCE Rs. 3.00

India: Many rural women can’t buy sanitary napkins Pg 11

Goa: Candidates object to use of employer IDs at CCP polls Pg 3

What you do not want others to do to you, do not do to others.

— Confucius

(air Surcharge Rs 2.00) pages 16+4

Sports: Windies using Bravo Pg 15 as motivation

TONGUE-TIED

IN BRIEF

India, the clear favourites against England, were at loss of words after the visitors virtually toyed with the home team attack to reach 338. Dhoni preferred to say he was not disappointed. Not excited. Well, he got mixed feelings!

India slams parties on Copenhagen India slammed the US and other parties to the Copenhagen Accord for failing to deliver “fast track” financial obligations to Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and other nations facing the risk of climate change. – PTI

Domestic airline fares are expected to go up by 12-14 per cent, while hotel tariffs would go up in the range of 5-6 per cent in 2011, according to a survey. “On an average, the domestic fares are likely to go up by 12–14 per cent. However, this increase will spread through the quarters,” according to a survey ‘Corporate Travel-Trends, Outlook and Opportunities- 2011’ released

by Thomas Cook. – PTI

5 killed during making of bombs

Arrested ethnic Indians released Most of the activists of a banned outfit of ethnic Indians, who were arrested for taking out an “illegal” rally against the introduction of a controversial book in school curriculum in Malaysia, were released by the authorities.

Police had arrested 109 protesters, believed to be members of the Hindu Rights Party (HRP) for protesting against introduction of the Malay language novel ‘Interlok’ in the senior school curriculum. – PTI

Protest in Bahrain as MPs resign Thousands of Bahrainis marched in Manama calling for the fall of the ruling Sunni dynasty, as 18 opposition MPs submitted their letter of resignation to protest the killing of demonstrators. The throng of protesters set out from Pearl Square, which has become the epicentre of anti-government protests that began on February 14, marching onto a major highway. – PTI

Salaried class expects tax sops PTI NEW DELHI, FEB 27

Air fare expected to go up

Five persons were killed and three others were injured when country bombs being illegally manufactured exploded in Nadapuram, police said. Three persons died on the spot Saturday night while two others succumbed to injuries at a hospital Sunday morning, they said. The explosion occurred at an uninhabited plot at Narikkattiri in Nadapuram, they said. – PTI

ALL EYES ON BUDGET

India, batting first, scores 338 all out, thanks to Tendulkar’s (120) record fifth World Cup century.

England fights back.

Andrew Strauss scores 158.

India bowlers disappoint.

With 14 needed off the last over bowled by Munaf Patel, Graeme Swann collects three runs before Ahmal Shahzad smashes a six.

England need five off three balls, and then two off the last delivery.

Swann drives the final ball but cannot clear mid-off. The match comes to a thrilling end with England also finishing on 338.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is likely to give tax concessions to the salaried class and offer incentives to farmers in his Budget 2011-12 tomorrow to give relief from high prices and keeping an eye on elections in five states.

It is widely expected that the Budget will raise the income tax exemption limit to Rs 1.80 lakh from the current Rs 1.60 lakh per annum.

The Finance Ministry is already committed to raising the exemption limit to Rs 2 lakh per annum in the Direct Taxes Code (DTC) which is to be implemented from April 2012.

Mukherjee may also consider raising the limit for investment in tax-free infrastructure bonds to give a boost to the fundstarved sector. Investments up to Rs 20,000 in infrastructure bonds enjoy tax exemption now.

Experts said with fiscal deficit projected to come down sharply to 4.8 per cent, the Finance Minister would have some leeway to provide these tax concessions.

The Economic Survey 201011 presented in Parliament projected fiscal deficit at 4.8 per cent, down from the budget estimate of 5.5 per cent for the current fiscal.

With five states — Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala and West Bengal — heading for polls, it is unlikely that Mukherjee would completely

roll back the stimulus and come out with harsh measures to increase government revenues and bring down fiscal deficit, experts said.

Mukherjee’s third consecutive budget is also expected to increase the credit flow to the farm sector.

On tax rationalisation, Mukherjee had said, “The sustained growth has been possible due to rationalisation of tax structure, improvement in tax administration and persistent efforts of the employees of Income Tax department.”

Inflation has remained above the comfort level for most part of the current fiscal and will be another focus area for Mukherjee.

The overall inflation at 8.23 per cent is higher than the comfort level of the Reserve Bank at 5-6 per cent. Food inflation had also touched at a high of 18.23 per cent in December, but moderated to 11.49 per cent in mid-February.

Industry fears that Mukherjee may roll back some of the stimulus to fight inflation. Moreover, the Survey had also projected the economy is recovering fast and is expected to return to the pre-crisis growth rate of 9 per cent in 2011-12.

Stimulus package provided by the government at the time financial meltdown helped India grew by 6.8 per cent in 200809, and by 8 per cent in 2009-10. The economy grew by 8.9 per cent in the first half of 2010-11.

Now, Merc coach on Mumbai-Margao route HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, FEB 27

Come March 1, and passengers on the Mumbai-Margao route can hope to travel by a Kadamba Corporation Transport’s Mercedes Benz coach at affordable rates.

That’s not all. The KTC will launch its e-ticketing project on the same day, besides its own website dishing out information on its services. Two state-of-theart Volvo buses costing Rs 1.50 crore will also be introduced on the same day between Goa and the pilgrim centre of Shirdi.

If KTC Managing Director, Ve-

KTC CHANGES GEAR… Travel Mumbai-Margao in Mercedes coach at affordable rates Two state-of-the-art Volvo buses between Goa and Shirdi Six shuttle buses on the Goa-Belgaum route Launch of e-ticketing to provide information on the services between Goa and Mumbai, Bangalore, Mysore and Shirdi

nancio Furtado is to be believed, the Corporation has plans to put in operation six shuttle buses on the Goa-Belgaum route with just one stop at Ramnagar.

Also in the pipeline are direct buses from the State’s countryside ferrying patients and their

LIC exam paper leaked; 11 held PTI NEW DELHI/HYDERABAD, FEB 27

The question paper of an allIndia examination for the post of assistant administrative officer of LIC was on Sunday leaked in the national capital and Hyderabad ahead of the test following which police arrested 11 people including a high school teacher of Uttar Pradesh and four job aspirants.

Four candidates allegedly bought the question papers for the test for LIC’s office cadre post from Pawan Kumar, a 33-year-old Geography graduate from Delhi University and Arjun (25).

Terming the incident as unfortunate, Anju Banerjee, Chairman and Managing Director of Educational Consultants India Limited (EDCIL), which is conducting the exams for LIC, told PTI they will decide on whether to cancel the tests after police investigations are over.

The incident came to light after Delhi Police’s crime branch got hold of the copies of two sets of question papers for both morning and afternoon sessions last evening and arrested Kumar from Naraina where a raid was conducted.

Later, Arjun and four candidates were also arrested and a case of cheating was registered.

In Hyderabad, sleuths of Commissioner’s Task Force (West

Zone) nabbed five persons in the early hours after raiding a house in Gandhi Nagar in the city and seized question papers, six mobile phones and Rs 6,000 cash from their possession.

Task Force Deputy Commissioner of Police V B Kamalasan Reddy said the arrested were Yogeshwar Kumar Rao alias Yogiraj, a high school teacher from Ghazipur, Palvai Ashok Kumar, B Anna Rao, Perla Srinivas and Gudla Srinivas (all agents from Andhra Pradesh), were charging Rs 7 lakh from each candidate for providing the leaked question paper.

Prime accused Yogiraj got the question paper from his childhood friend Lal Bahadur, a resident of Lucknow on February 23 and Bahadur got it from his relative Dindayal, a native of Noida who is working in a printing press, he said.

The test is being conducted in two sessions in 160 centres across the country and 1.65 lakh candidates are appearing for the test.

In Delhi, there are 16 centres.

“The question papers have been leaked. We got the copies of the question papers and when we tallied these copies with the original question paper, they were found to be the same,” Ashok Chand, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime), told reporters in Delhi.

relatives to the Goa Medical College and Hospital, Bambolim.

Furtado informed that the Mercedes Benz bus will be run on the Mumbai-Margao route on a trial basis sans any extra expenditure. “The company has placed the bus at the disposal

Libya unrest: 530 Indians return PTI NEW DELHI, FEB 27

Launching a major evacuation drive, India has brought back over 530 of its nationals from strife-torn Libya by two special Air India planes, even as 88 others crossed over by road to Tunisia from the North African nation facing large-scale protests against the Gaddafi regime.

While the first flight evacuated 291 Indians from Libya and brought them back here late Saturday night, another Air India plane carrying over 235 people landed at the Terminal 2 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport here in the wee hours.

The two flights had left Libya yesterday after the authorities there allowed landing of two flights from India per day till March 10.

Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed and Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao received last night the first batch of passengers who were helped

by Resident Commissioners of 10 states, including Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and officials of External Affairs and Overseas Indian Affairs Ministries.

Apart from these, 15 corporate houses, which have their units in Libya, have been asked to help the arriving Indian nationals, the officials said, adding adequate number of buses and taxis have been made available.

of the KTC for trial runs on the Mumbai-Goa sector. The bus will leave Margao at 6.30 pm from March 1. Passengers can look forward for an introductory of Rs 500 per seat for a period of one month”, he said, adding that if the response of the passengers turns out positive, the Corporation will go in for these Mercedes buses in the future on select inter-state routes”.

Saying the KTC is committed to improve its services to the satisfaction of the traveling public, Furtado said that launching e-ticketing and the website are part of the plans in this direc-

tion. “Initially, the website will provide information on the services between Goa and Mumbai, Bangalore, Mysore and Shirdi.

Slowly and steadily, information on other routes will be covered by the website”, he added.

He said plans to introduce shuttle buses on the Goa-Belgaum route is again part of efforts to streamline the services on this sector and cash in on the increasing demand from t r a v e l i n g c o m mu t e r s a n d tourists alike.

Besides, he said that the KTC has received six more blue (Continued on page 10)

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee giving final touches to the annual budget 2011-12 on the eve of its presentation in the Lok Sabha.

HITLER JAIL-BREAK CASE

Sada officials lax, says chargesheet VIBHA VERMA PANJIM, FEB 27

The chargesheet in the infamous Hitler Fernandes jailbreak has revealed that a jail guard had inspected the cell from where three criminals escaped few hours before the incident but he missed to locate a huge manhole in it.

On August 4, 2010, a gang of three prisoners Hitler Rosario, double convict, Seby Ferrao and Abhijit Babasaheb, both undertrials escaped from Sada Sub Jail’s Cell number 13 by drilling a hole in the toilet.

The chargesheet filed against five prison officials clearly mentions how jail guards were reportedly lax in patrolling the jail from within, which is housing State’s few of the most dreaded undertrials.

Highly placed sources stated that the chargesheet was submitted to the Inspector General of Prisons (IGP) Mihir Vardhan recently following which departmental inquiry against the five jail

2 inmates escape from Apna Ghar HERALD CORRESPONDENT OLD GOA, FEB 27

Barely a day after one juvenile escaped from ‘Apna Ghar’ at Merces, another two inmates fled from the protective home on Saturday night.

According to Old Goa Police, one of the juveniles, who had escaped on Saturday night, was nabbed at Canacona by Canacona Police on Sunday evening.

The juvenile was later brought to Apna Ghar from Margao police station.

Police informed that the incident took place between 8.45 pm and 9.45 pm on Saturday when the two juveniles aged 17 (Continued on page 10)

WHAT THE CHARGESHEET SAYS l

Jail guard Vasudev Pednekar had full visibility of Cell number 13 but failed to keep vigil and be alert in his duties as a result of which the three prisoners escaped through a hole made in the toilet wall of the cell.

l

Vasudev failed to bring facts to the notice of the higher authorities in time. The escaped prisoners could have been recaptured.

l

Jail guard Gaurish Naik failed to locate the hole and the removed tile from the toilet wall while on inspection. This amounts to gross negligence. His lethargic attitude is also responsible for escape of the three prisoners.

officials is initiated.

Assistant jailors Uday Shirodkar and Manuel Travasso, jail guards Deelip Galelkar and Vasudev Pednekar are charge-

sheeted under section 14 of the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control & Appeal) Rules, 1965.

(Continued on page 10)

It’s time they should have elections in these wards too. The conditions are pathetic here, you see.

OHERALDO

Pg 2

GOA

GOA, MONDAY, 28 FEBRUARY, 2011

CIVIC FORUM Shift them elsewhere

Consult garbage committee before passing projects: Santa Cruz locals HERALD CORRESPONDENT MERCES, FEB 27

ADELMO FERNANDES, VASCO

Several ‘poders’ (bakers) are seen selling bread on their bicycles by the roadside at the Vasco fish market on the busy road intersection. These bakers cause obstruction to the smooth flow of vehicular traffic.

Most of the city buses speed to the bus-stand via this road intersection, which can lead to accidents. It seems necessary to shift these bakers to a different location, so as to keep this part of the road, free from obstructions.

CHOGM Road’s perils AMIT MAJUMDAR, PORVORIM

I wish to draw the attention of the ‘powers that be’ to the dangerous conditions prevailing on the CHOGM road, in Porvorim, starting from the O’Coqueiro junction and ending at the Calangute T junction, and more in particular to the one km stretch from the junction to Angels Resort.

This stretch has a steel and building material 'stock yard ' which is expanding by the day, with trucks and canter vehicles in tow, hotels, restaurants, gaddas, bungalows, shops, health spas, shopping centres, super markets, and huge residential blocks. There have been several fatal accidents on this road in recent years. There are school buses and other modes of transport used by school going children who need to cross the road. This occurs opposite Sapana Gardens and Prudential Palms. Vehicles drive along this road in a rash and negligent manner.

The famed road has virtually become a racing zone. There are no side walks or zebra crossings for pedestrians. Pedestrians are forced to walk along side the road, which is dangerous.

There is an urgent need to immediately build a roundabout and install road rumblers in front of Sapana gardens/Prudential palms/Navtara restaurant and Angels resort.

Filthy toilets at airport VENAN B DIAS, SANTO ESTEVAM

On my recent arrival from Sharjah, I was shocked to see the pathetic state of affairs at Dabolim airport. The toilets here are dirty but ironically, there is a separate passage for all thechartered flights which arrive from Europe and other destinations and good care is taken for those tourists. Indians, (especially Goans) are subjected to step motherly treatment.

The condition of the toilets, much to my astonishment, was disgusting. At least, they should be cleaned regularly. I heard that the government has opened up an air conditioned ‘Sulabh Sauchalya’ in Margao. What is the point in having an air-conditioned toilet in the commercial capital and filthy toilets at the Dabolim international airport?

Goa buried under plastic

With housing projects mushrooming in Santa Cruz at every nook and corner of the village and with a solution to the garbage problem nowhere in sight, the locals have come up with a novel idea to ensure that any future project in the village makes the necessary provision for garbage and sewage disposal.

At the gram sabha on Sunday, the villagers moved a resolution that henceforth any housing project should be given the nod only after the garbage committee is satisfied that the builder or developer will ensure that garbage and sewage disposal would be taken care of within the premises and it would not in any way compound the existing problems.

Moving the resolution, Mariano Araujo said before giving the occupancy certificate, the panchayat should inspect the premises along with the garbage committee and give the go ahead only if concerned facilities like composting units, sewage treatment plant, etc, are found satisfactory.

Earlier, there was a heated discussion over the progress made on the offer made

by the Calapur Comunidade Attorney to allot a land for garbage treatment.

However, Deputy Sarpanch Tony Fernandes, who chaired the meeting in the absence of Sarpanch Rosy Fernandes, said he is not in a position to comment on the matter since he has taken over as acting sarpanch hardly three days ago.

Not satisfied with the reply, the villagers demanded that the panchayat immediately adjourn the meeting till the time that the panchayat follows up with the matter.

However, the deputy sarpanch assured the villagers that he would take up the issue with the Comunidade within 8 days and then call for a special meeting to discuss only the issue of land allotment. He further asked the villagers to allow discussion of other issues.

Moving on, Joe Gomes demanded to know why Sarpanch Rosy is not reciprocating the gesture of Patricia Pinto of Chaka Chak Mission who has come forward to help the panchayat in solving the garbage problem.

Further, Peter Pires sought to know why the chairman of the garbage committee,

CCP truck dumps waste in Ribandar crematorium HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, FEB 27

In a disturbing incident late Saturday night, Corporation of City of Panjim (CCP) truck was spotted dumping heaps of garbage in the Hindu crematorium at Ribandar.

Sources said that the driver who is now placed under arrest by the Old Goa Police was instructed by a corporator to dump the large volume of garbage at the burial ground.

The villagers held an emergency meeting on Sunday night wherein they suspected husband of a lady corporator behind the incident.

“We understand that there has been problem in disposing garbage. But if there is no proper landfill site, why dump the garbage in the crematorium?” sources said.

CCP Commissioner Elvis Gomes has instructed its engineer Sachin Ambe to carry out a detailed inquiry into the incident.

Giving its preliminary report to the commissioner via telephone, supervisor Girish suggested that the driver had dumped “mud” near the crematorium.

“I am told that CCP workers cleared mud from a place into the truck. The driver was instructed by a corporator to dump it near the crematorium.

It is however premature to say anything at this stage till I get a detailed report,” Gomes told Herald.

A hard copy of the preliminary report will be submitted to the commissioner on Monday morning.

The issue concerning collection and disposal of garbage has posed serious challenges to the Panjim population. A section of the bus stand is moreover being used as a garbage dump and an open air urinal by men.

Ironically, the CCP on February 1 launched a campaign to make the segregation of waste successful at the grassroots level.

The move is part of the ‘Goa chaka-chak’ campaign which divides Panjim into 12 zones to concentrate on every zone for a week. The city generates 2528 tonnes wet waste everyday.

The garbage issue has been a major election planks by all the contesting candidates.

OLD GOA CORRESPONDENT ADDS: Old Goa Police on Saturday evening arrested a resident of Pernem on charges of dumping waste material at a crematorium at Ribandar.

After Old Goa Police received a call stating that one Sadanand Gawde along with his labourers had illegally dumped waste material from a truck (GA-01-T7685) in the crematorium, Old Goa Police rushed to the site and arrested Gawde.

Old Goa Police also attached the truck and arrested Gawde under Section 8 of Goa Non-BioDegradable Act and was later released on bail.

Letter on CCP expansion causes flutter HERALD CORRESPONDENT MERCES, FEB 27

TIM SEXTON, UK

My recent holiday to Goa may sadly be my last. It is no longer the beautiful land it once was, as you can see by the above picture taken by me, at Morjim beach last week.

This used to be a beautiful beach with many nesting turtles.

Now it has become strewn with rubbish with only two turtle nests this season. It appears that no one cares.

Know your customer NELSON LOPES, CHINCHINIM

The recent directive by banks is bound to cause some problems to non-residents, especially the migrants. They normally do not have EPIC voting cards. They cannot also apply for the PAN card as it requires Photo identity card and address, name proof and many do not posses credit/debit cards. So what photo identity can they hold?

The banks are threatening to block the accounts, unless and until the photo identity is submitted forthwith. It was the easiest to open a bank account by providing a photo and thus securing a photo identity .The identity number to be provided to all Indians is a distant dream.

So what is the immediate solution to the problems facing the ordinary Indians in opening and operating a simple account? Does it mean that such Indian individuals will be denied access to banking facilities? The RBI is toying with the idea of proliferation of bank branches in a big way in rural India. Discretion needs to be exercised to distinguish between terrorist and money laundering intentions. The blanket ban to deny ordinary, honest Indian citizens without photo identity in operating existing saving bank accounts, opened when the restriction was not in place is absurd. I hope better sense will prevail.

Shuttle service CRISPINO FARIA, VASCO

Recently, I went to the Margao KTC bus stand in the afternoon to board the shuttle service bus to travel to Vasco. I had to stand in a queue and there was no bus for at least 20 minutes.

The queue comprised of 25-30 people. I just happened to see the queue for the Panjim bus and there were hardly 1 or 2 persons.

However, there were 4 shuttle buses waiting for their turn to go to Panjim when the requirement wasn't there. I don’t understand why it is always that people going to Vasco have to face shortage of buses bound for that destination, when there are ample buses provided for Panjim? The wait was quite envious. Why are Vasco passengers discriminated? Can anyone provide an answer?

A reader’s letter that appeared in a local edition of a national daily that demanded the expansion of the Corporation of the City of Panjim (CCP) by including semi-urban areas like Santa Cruz, Bambolim, Porvorim, etc, saw the Santa Cruz villagers vehemently oppose any such move.

The issue was highlighted by St Cruz Education and Action Movement which brought to the notice of the panchayat by submitting the copy of the daily and said that any moves to include Santa Cruz in CCP would be met with stiff resistance. A resolution was passed that no area from Santa Cruz should be allowed to be part of CCP.

the sarpanch, has failed to convene even a single meeting since the formation of the committee.

However, in the absence of the sarpanch, no replies were forthcoming, much to the dismay of the villagers.

Another villager, Renato Dias, cited several resolutions passed in the earlier gram sabhas, which he said are still not acted upon and demanded answers from the panchayat.

Yet again, there were no replies to his question, but Deputy Sarpanch Tony noted down all the queries and assured Renato that he would see that all the resolutions are acted upon.

Later, a BPL list of 74 people sent by the local MLA for approval of the gram sabha saw stiff opposition from the villagers who suspected that it could be a fictitious one.

However, the deputy sarpanch said that the concerned authorities grant okay only after the applicants fulfil the requirements.

“And if anyone suspects that any person is ineligible, then they can complain to the authorities,” he added.

After much discussion, the villagers left it to the panchayat to take a decision in the matter.

Loliem locals oppose notified RP-2021

The gram sabha of Cavelossim Village Panchayat on Sunday opposed the land acquisition proposal of the Fisheries Department for the proposed construction of ship building, docking and repairs of boats at Mobor.

Sarpanch Edwin Cardozo said the proposal to acquired 17800 square metres for the proposed ship building project has been unanimously opposed by the villagers.

He said the land acquisition proposal earlier had come in for strong opposition from the Panchayat body on grounds that it would open the gates for migrant labour and create nuisance and health hazard for the locals.

“The locals were particularly worried about the sanitary problems created by the migrant labourers in the village”, he

added.

In another resolution, the gram sabha has opposed issuance of construction license for mega housing projects, including commercial projects in view of the discharge of sewage waste in the River Sal and other water bodies.

Gram sabha members’ call for a stop to issuance of construction license for major projects unless a sewage scheme is put in place in the village.

In another development, the gram sabha members demanded that the government implement the water tank distribution scheme through the Panchayat body.

Members cried foul over the distribution of the water tanks in the village, adding that justice would be done to the needy and deserving people only if the scheme is implemented through the Panchayat.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT CANACONA, FEB 27

Residents of Loliem-Polem Panchayat came out strongly opposing the government notified RP-2021 at a special gram sabha on Sunday.

Incidentally, experts in the village pointed out to a unique classification of three areas sought to be developed in the notified Regional Plan 2021 marked as eco-tourism zones.

All these three sites are known to have been purchased by non-Goan entities and accordingly members cried foul over the alleged favouritism in marking these zones as ecotourism, when the panchayat had never asked for the same.

The members hotly debated on the issue as these sites were never marked for eco-tourism zone by villagers sent draft RP2021 through the village panchayat, Loliem-Polem.

Villagers were also surprised to find that a few roadside areas where locals have residential structures and considering locals interests panchayat has recommended for notifying these areas as settlement zones is out-rightly rejected by the government.

Over 150 people attended Sunday’s special gram sabha, which was chaired by Sarpanch Pranali Prabhugaonkar, and attended among others by members of village appointed local RP-2021 committee to finalize the draft that also includes Mohan Lolienkar and Subhash Pagui. Most of the panchas including Deputy Sarpanch Elvis Fernandes were also present.

In the memorandum submitted to the sarpanch, copy of which is also marked to TCP, villagers highlighted several pros and cons of the government notified LoliemPolem village RP-2021 and have strongly demanded for re-notification of the village regional plan giving consideration to certain demands.

Rupesh Mahatme of the Damu Naik-led Shigmo panel briefing newsmen after the meeting on Sunday.

Photo by Santosh Mirajkar HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, FEB 27

Will the Commercial Capital once again play host to two Shigmo festivities – organized by the Congress and BJP -- this year too? Or, will better sense prevail in the two groups headed

by Chief Minister Digambar Kamat and BJP MLA Damu Naik which will help host joint festivities in the city.

Sunday saw the Margao Shigmo Samities headed by the two camps holding separate meeting and chalking out their program for this year’s festivities.

While the Damu Naik-led Samiti held its meeting in the Samiti office at Malbhat this morning, Chief Minister, Digambar Kamat presided over a meeting of the Samiti at the Margao Municipal Council in the evening.

While both groups have announced plans to hold the festivities separately like in the last three years, they, however, have kept open room for negotiations with the rival panel for a compromise deal.

Rupesh Mahatme of the

Market Traders Association, Vinod Shirodkar echoed similar sentiments. “The badels were honest and faithful. There’s perhaps no case of misappropriation of goods given in possession of these women.

Today we may find around 50odd Badels in the market area”, he added.

GUILHERME ALMEIDA MARGAO, FEB 27

Badels (women porters) have been literally a part and parcel of the commercial activity for decades.

Says women activist, Auda Viegas: “The contribution made by these women cannot be easily forgotten. They had done yeoman service to the society over the years. And, they certainly deserve some sort of security in their old age, besides the DSSS pension”.

Auda along with freedom fighter Gurunath Kelekar had joined hands over a decade ago to felicitate the badels for their immense contribution to the society. “At that time, I had placed a demand before the then government to treat these Goan women on a different footing by working out a retirement package or financial assistance in their old age, but in vain,” Viegas recalled. She continued:

HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, FEB 27

Will Margao host separate Shigmo festivities this year too?

Badels – most loyal, but neglected by society Does anyone care for these women – commonly known as badels – in the commercial capital?

These badels (women porters) have been literally a part and parcel of the commercial activity for decades. Many have retired over the years, while there are still others who eke out a livelihood in the city till today.

Though the badels came in handy for carrying goods from the market to the destinations, the hallmark of these women – members of the original Goan community – is their sincerity, honesty, trustworthiness and loyalty. Visit the New Market area – the hub of the city’s commercial activity – and it’s not uncommon to hear from traders speaking highly about the trustworthiness of these women.

That the traders had immense faith and trust in the Badels is evident by the fact that they used to leave their establishments to the care of these women during lunch break.

Members of the badel community – hailing from areas of Borda, Fatorda, Rawanfond and Davorlim – have been on the decline in recent years. Rough estimates now put the total number of these women eking out a livelihood on the occupation to around 100.

Cavelossim opposes Fisheries Dept proposal at Mobor

“At that time, the government maintained that they can buy a stall in the PDA market, but questions were raised why these poor women should be made to buy stalls”.

Gurunath Kelekar says: “The badels certainly deserves a package for their contribution to society. Their sincerity and honesty deserves appreciation. You leave a house or a shop to their care and be assured they would take care of your belongings”.

He said the long-pending proposal for the economic well being of these miniscule Goan women needs to be revived with the present government headed

by Chief Minister Digambar Kamat.

President of the Margao New

CM ready to work out package HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, FEB 27

When Herald drew the attention of the chief minister to the plight of the badels in their old age, Kamat said he was willing to work out a package for these women.

“I was part of the programme held to felicitate these women over a decade ago. I understand their condition. I am open to suggestions for a package for these women,” he added.

In fact, Kamat is believed to have immediately spoken to Freedom Fighter Gurunath Kelekar on the status of Badels in Margao. “The chief minister asked me how to go about the situation. He is not averse even to make budgetary provision for these women,” Kelekar added.

Damu-led Shigmo panel told newsmen in the morning that the group has formed a five member committee headed by Vasudev Virdikar to explore the possibility of striking a compromise deal with the rival group to ensure one Shigmo program in the city.

“Margao has been witnessing two Shigmo festivities in the last three years. We have tried out best for a compromise in the past, but in vain”, Mahatme said, adding “we have formed a panel to convince the rival group to hold one Shigmo in Margao”.

Mahatme said the Samiti has decided to offer prizes for the Romtamel competition this year.

Meanwhile, the rival Margao Shigmotsav Samiti which had

its meeting this evening in the MMC hall has appointed Chief Minister Digambar Kamat as its president.

The Samiti has decided to organize the festivities in a grand manner since it coincides with the golden jubilee year of Goa’s Liberation.

A prominent member of the Samiti, Girish Chodankar said that the group has resolved to form a panel of five members to hold talks with the rival group on the question of holding one Shigmo program in the city.

“This was decided after the Chief Minister told the members that moves are on to come to a compromise formulate and bring the two groups together,” he said.

Panel: Remove traffic bottlenecks at Nuvem HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, FEB 27

The South Goa Traffic Regulatory Committee has called for removing traffic bottlenecks at Nuvem and to complete the Old Market Circle-Damodar College ring road at the earliest.

The meeting chaired by District Magistrate, G P Naik deliberated on the traffic scenario in South Goa district and mooted a slew of measures for streamlining traffic at perennial bottlenecks.

Briefing newsmen after the meeting, the district magistrate said that superintendent of police, traffic has underlined the need to improve the traffic scenario along the NH-17 at Nuvem.

In this respect, Naik said that work on the Majorda bypass would be completed on a priority basis to give relief for traffic heading to Margao from Nuvem.

He said the meeting has issued directions to the authorities to remove the poles coming within the road widening area.

“There are reports that elec-

tric and telephone poles continue to remain at the same place despite widening of the roads. Strict instructions will go to the concerned authorities to lift away these obstructions”, he added.

Naik further said that instructions have been issued to the PWD to erect rumblers within two months from the date of notification. Besides, he said the PWD has been told to undertaken painting of the rumblers every year after the monsoons.

Replying to a question, the Sub-Divisional Magistrates will initiate proceedings under Section 133 of the Cr P C wherever required to implement the decisions.

On the ring road, Naik said that the PWD has been told to complete the ring road between Old Market Circle to Damodar College on a priority basis. He said the PWD, Division VI has been asked to prepare a rehabilitation plan for people likely to be displaced by the road work.

Cansaulim locals call for registration of tenants HERALD REPORTER VASCO, FEB 27

In view of the recent hide out of Manipuri insurgents in Cansaulim, the villagers on Sunday unanimously resolved that the tenants should register themselves with Cansaulim-Arossim-Cuelim Panchayat.

The villagers at the gram sabha passed a resolution stating that all tenants in the village should be registered in the office of the village panchayat within one month of taking residency in the village. Subsequently, the village panchayat is expected to forward these names to Verna Police station for verification of the tenants’ antecedents. Failure to comply with this requirement would attract appropriate fine from the panchayat on the resident housing the tenants.

OHERALDO

GOA

Pg3 GOA, MONDAY, 28 FEBRUARY, 2011

SGTOA to keep trucks candidates object to use of off road from today employer ID cards at ccP polls HERALD CORRESPONDENT CURCHOREM, FEB 27

The South Goa Truck Owners’ Association (SGTOA) has decided to keep their trucks off the road indefinitely from Monday, as a protest against alleged harassment by the RTO officials.

According to SGTOA, the RTO officials on Saturday issued challans to several truck drivers and also seized some trucks in view of the directives issued by the High Court in respect of ore transport.

The SGTOA further stated that the RTO officials directed the truck owners to load only ten-and half tonnes of ore during every trip and had also asked to remove the nine-inch planks that is attached on the truck bucket.

During an emergency meeting called on Sunday, SGTOA President Prakash Raut Dessai stated that if 10 and half tonnes of ore are loaded and iron planks removed, then there is a possibility of ore spillage.

The SGTOA has also demanded that the rate should be Rs 50 per tonne per kilometre and the timings of transportation should be from 8 am to 1 pm and from 2 pm to 6 pm.

The Association has convened another meeting on Monday, during which the future course of action will be decided.

Water problem temporarily solved at Temba HERALD CORRESPONDENT MERCES, FEB 27

The Temba locals in Merces finally heaved a sigh of relief, as the PWD officials were able to find the cause of low water pressure in the area.

No longer the problem was rectified, the water pressure improved drastically in Temba, bringing joy to the affected villagers.

According to JE Borkar, the GI pipeline which is very old has corroded and at some places it has resulted in blockade.

“We were able to find the areas where the blockage occurred and we rectified it,” he added. Borkar further said that as a permanent measure, the PWD will now allot the work of laying a new pipeline to a contractor so that the problem doesn’t recur.

Candolim, Arpora VP chiefs to be elected HERALD CORRESPONDENT CALANGUTE, FEB 27

Candolim and Nagoa-Arpora Panchayats will elect its new sarpanchas on Monday and Tuesday.

The Candolim Panchayat will meet on February 28 to elect its new sarpanch, while The Nagoa-Arpora VP is scheduled to meet on March 1.

PANJIM REPORTER ADDS: The truckers are aggrieved that trucks fixed with planks are fined and the truck owners are asked to remove the planks and show to the transport department.

“The transport director had assured in a meeting on Thursday that trucks with planks with not be fined. But he has gone back to his words and harassing us,” he said.

All Individual Truck Owners Association like Sesa Goa and others have joined the strike and they have decided not to allow coal and other trucks carrying minerals to ply on the roads.

Transport Director Arun Desai said that truck drivers are being misguided by the contractors.

“My only request to the truckers is to abide by various decisions and directives by the Supreme Court and High Court of Bombay at Goa. They should not do any activity which might amount to contempt of court,” Desai said.

He has asked the truckers to take cautious steps so as they are not made scapegoats by the contractors. “Truckers are misguided by the contractors and people having vested interest. I appeal that truckers should not to fall prey to the contractors because finally the truckers will face the heat,” he said.

HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, FEB 27

Candidates have taken strong objection to use of employer identity cards as identity proofs for casting vote at the CCP elections scheduled for March 13.

Surendra Furtado, who is contesting from Ward IX brought it out to the attention of the returning officer that the employer identity cards can be used for bogus voting.

Mr Cunha Oscar, who is contesting as an independent from Ward XVI, also felt that allowing usage of ID issued by an employer will give an opportunity to those intending to do bogus voting.

A voter will be allowed to produce any of the seven documents as proof of his identity while voting for CCP election.

This include – EPIC card, PAN

Government to finance IIT, IIM education if…

HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, FEB 27

Chief Minister, Digambar Kamat has said his government will offer financial assistance to students pursuing professional education in the IITs, and IIMs if the annual income of the family is below Rs 10 lakh.

“The government is committed to help needy students who have secured admission in these professional institutes, but is faced with financial difficulties”, he said, while speaking at the General category, non-ST convention organised by the Raia Villagers Association at Santimol-Raia on Sunday.

Saying that his government is committed to work towards the upliftment of all sections of society, irrespective of caste, creed and political affiliations, the Chief Minister complimented Curtorim MLA Reginaldo Lourenco and the Raia Villagers Association for holding the convention in the village.

“These conventions help ensure interactions between government officials and the people and help disseminate information schemes to the public”, he said and offered the government’s full support to the Curtorim MLA to take various schemes to the doorsteps of the people.

Chief Minister, Digambar Kamat addressing the convention at Santimol-Raia on Sunday.

Photo by Santosh Mirajkar

In his address, Water Resources Minister, Filipe Neri Rodrigues praised the Curtorim MLA for his initiative to revive agriculture in the State. He offered his full support to the MLA to implement schemes under his ministry and called upon the people of Curtorim to rally behind Lourenco for the progress and development of the State.

In his address, the Curtorim MLA said the convention was organized by the Raia Welfare Association since many a ST convention was held in the constituency over the last three years.

“I offered my full support to the general category convention

as I have the capacity to take everyone together towards the development of the constituency”, he added.

He requested the water resources minister to approve work on the Raia Lake and urged the Chief Minister to clear pending development works in Raia village.

“I am indebted to the chief minister for sanctioning various developmental works in Curtorim”, he said, while expressing his commitment to serve the people of the constituency to the best of his abilities.

Raia Welfare Association President and Raia Sarpanch Savio Gomes and others also spoke.

Socorro gram Sabha

No one has right to raze priest’s house: locals Want construction licence revoked

and drains, Rs 5 lakh for the construction of children’s park, Rs 5 lakh for the purchase of electrical material and Rs 5 lakh for cutting of bushes and cleaning of gutters.

Earlier, Sarpanch Sheetal Arolker welcomed the gathering, Panchayat Secretary Subhash Phatarpekar read the minutes of the gram sabha.

Residents of Socorro at the Gram Sabha on Sunday.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT PORVORIM, FEB 27

The Socorro Gram Sabha on Sunday witnessed noisy scenes over the issue of granting construction licence for bungalows close to the priest house belonging to the Chapel of Our Lady of Remedios at VaddemSocorro.

The villagers at the gram sabha claimed that the existing priest house, which is attached to the wall of the chapel, belongs to the chapel/people of Vaddem and nobody has got the right to demolish it.

“If the panchayat has given construction licence to the builder to construct bungalows close to chapel which involves demolition of priest house, then it should be revoked immediately,” demanded the villagers.

A resolution demanding revocation of licence was adopted unanimously.

The villagers refused to approve the budget estimates for the year 2011-12 presented by

the panchayat secretary in the gram sabha, as the panchayat secretary could not submit the criteria followed for preparing the budget.

The villagers argued that as per the rules of the Panchayat Raj Act, the panchayat needs to prepare Village Development Plan, Ward Development Plan and Annual development Plan.

Since the panchayat has still not prepared these plans, the villagers sought to know on what basis the panchayat has prepared the budget estimates for the year 2011-12.

“We will not approve the budget estimates unless the panchayat prepares its village development and other plans as required under the Panchayat Raj Act,” stated the villagers.

The villagers also opposed raising of house tax and the light tax. The villagers claimed that the some part of the Socorro village do not get the water sup-

Photo by Anil Shankhwalker

ply regularly. “ There is also frequent breakdown of power supply.

The street lights are not functioning properly. The panchayat has failed to attend to the basic needs of the people and hence the panchayat has no right to increase the house tax and light tax,” said the villagers.

Later, Panchayat Secretary Subhash Phatarpekar presented the budget estimates for 201112. In the budget estimates, the grants expected to be received from the government have been shown as Rs 46.25 lakh, out of which octroi is Rs 25 lakh. The expected income by way of house tax has been indicated as Rs 40 lakh, professional tax (Rs 10 lakh), construction licence fees and renewals (Rs 25 lakh) and garbage fees (Rs 1 lakh).

On the expenditure side, an amount of Rs 50 lakh has been earmarked for construction and asphalting of roads, Rs 9 lakh for the construction of gutters

n With many contestants taking objection to allowing photo ID issued by a private employer as valid document during voting, indications are that authorities might not accept it as proof of ID. card, ID issued by any of the Central or the State government department, driving licence, passport, ID issued by any recognised educational institute to its students, and photo ID issued by a private employer.

With many contestants taking objection to allowing photo ID issued by a private employer as valid document during voting, indications are that authorities might not accept it as proof of ID. Raising another issue, Adv Avinash Bhonsle has objected to decision of the SEC to declare results of CCP immediately after voting on ground that EVMs may

be tempered with.

“It is possible that EVMs may be tempered with if there is power failure in the night,” said Adv Bhonsle who is contesting

from Ward XX. He further pointed out that there can be also be law and order problem as counting would take place on the same day.

Nelson Cabral, who is contesting from Ward II once again, raised his complaint before RO about some government officers campaigning along with Taleigao MLA.

Security guard murdered at Calangute HERALD CORRESPONDENT CALANGUTE, FEB 27

A 20-year-old security guard from Assam was found murdered at Cobra Vaddo, Calangute, early Sunday morning.

According to Calangute Police, Suklal Goala was allegedly murdered by some unknown persons in a shed belonging to a private party. Goala was crushed to death with a laterite stone on the head, while the security guard was asleep. Police said that complaint was lodged by a Betim resident.

OHERALDO

GOA

Pg 4

GOA, MONDAY, 28 FEBRUARY, 2011

s H O Rt tA K e s Free medical camp organised

GSUDA should not work on Canara Bank opens circle behalf of municipalities: MLA office for all branches in State HERALD REPORTER VASCO, FEB 27

IMA-Tiswadi doctors check the patients at the free medical camp at Parochial House, Merces.

Photo by Manuel Vaz

MERCES(HC): Around 225 patients took benefits of a free medical camp organized by Rotary Club of Panaji in association with the Merces Panchayat and IMA-Tiswadi at the Parochial House, Merces.

Apart from the general medical check-up, the patients were also treated for diabetes, hypertension, including a detailed check-up for eyes.

Free medicines were provided for all the patients plus a free blood sugar check-up was also done and a few patients were give free devices to inject insulin.

IMA-Tiswadi President Dr Prasad Netravalkar and Andrew D’Souza, both Rotarians, co-ordinated the camp.

Dr Nolan D’Souza, Dr Ramnath Nevrekar, Dr Amod Borkar, Dr Tripti Gaonkar, Dr Prashila Gaude and Dr Rohan Fernandes provided their services for the camp.

Merces Sarpanch Deepika Shirgaonkar, Panchas Venita Gracias and Sunil Kalangutkar were present.

Hindi album launched

Has the Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA) become a tool to weaken the powers of the municipalities in the State?

Apparently so, claim speakers at a one-day seminar organized

by All Goa Councilors Forum (AGCF) at Tourist Hall, here on Saturday.

Councillors from 13 municipalities across the State unanimously agreed and resolved that the State government should transfer funds from GSUDA to councils to execute requirements of councils similar to the Rural Development Grants given to panchayats.

Mormugao MLA Milind Naik, who began his political carrier as a councillor, shared his experience and said there was no need of GSUDA to execute development work on behalf of municipalities, as the civic bodies were capable of executing

n Though the 74th amendment of constitution has granted powers to local bodies, but in reality these bodies are powerless. them on their own.

Mapusa MLA Francis D'Souza, another speaker at the seminar, said the council should be selfsufficient to run its daily affairs and execute development works.

"Though the 74th amendment of constitution has granted powers to local bodies, but in reality these bodies are powerless," said D'Souza.

D'Souza warned councillors that ministers and legislators have divided councillors by giving hollow promises to look after their development.

"As a result, councillors are not bothered about their rights and powers, as most of them are functioning at the mercy of the government," said D'Souza.

Chief guest and South Goa MP Francisco Sardinha said the bureaucracy is a major hurdle in the country and he urged councillors to be united in the fight for their rights.

Pernem Municipal Chairperson Dr Deshparbu said the funds should not go to the GSUDA, when councils have a technical section and implementing authority.

Legal advisor of forum, Herculano Dourado, said the present Goa Municipal Act is not good enough and needs to be amended.

Earlier, during an annual general body meeting of AGCF, Vasco Councillor Carlos Almeida was elected chairman of Forum, while Dr Radhika Naik was elected the general secretary.

Children should treat parents as assets: Fr Rodrigues HERALD CORRESPONDENT PORVORIM, FEB 27

Speaker Pratapsingh Rane launches Hindi music album ‘Sochu Tumhe’ at Bhatagram Mahotsav, Bicholim.

Photo by Samir Umarye

BICHOLIM (HC): Speaker Pratapsingh Rane launched the first Hindi music album ‘Sochu Tumhe’ by a Goan at Bhatagram Mahotsav, Bicholim, recently.

According to the composer of the album Shailesh Phaldesai, it was his passion that he has come up with the album inspite of all hardships.

The album has eight songs shot all in Goa at the cost of Rs 11 lakh. Mumbai-based model Sonia Paldini is in the album and music is given by Mukesh Ghatwal, who earlier worked with Remo Fernendes. The album has a mixture of singers from Goa and Mumbai which include Rajendra Dixit, Biju George, Mallika Murlidharan and Gauri Phaldesai.

The CDs are on display at Bhatagram Mahotsav and will be made available at Rock & Raaga, Panjim.

Provincial of the Capuchin Friars of Goa Province and Principal of St Anthony’s High School Monte de Guirim Fr Steve Rodrigues has stated that children should treat their old parents as assets and not liability.

He was speaking as the chief guest at the function organised

by Lokacho Adhar at Silver Bells, Sangolda, to felicitate 150 senior citizens.

“Let them feel wanted and not burden. The children should understand and remember always the sacrifices made by their parents in nurturing them and desist from sending them to old age homes,” said Fr Rodrigues.

Fr Rodrigues complemented the Lokacho Adhar for felicitating the senior citizens of Sangolda, thereby acknowledging the contribution made by them

Fr Steve Rodrigues addresses the gathering at Sangolda.

Photo by Anil Shankhwalker

to the society.

“Parents are treasures that children should guard with utmost care. Putting them in the old age homes should never be their first but the last options,” added Fr Rodrigues.

Lokacho Adhar President Trajano D’Mello said his organiza-

Natural World

Dodo

Dodos were funny-looking birds, with ungainly bodies, small wings and blunt beaks. Dodos lived on the island of Mauritius for millions of years until they were completely obliterated due to human activity.

Distant relatives of pigeons and doves, dodos stood a meter tall (about three feet), and mostly lived on fruit. They nested on the ground, and perhaps as a consequence of not being able to fly. The island had the perfect environment for the birds, as there were no natural predators and there was a veritable cornucopia of fruit which could be found at the

ground level. With no need to escape predators or to pluck fruit off high trees, the birds shed their flying abilities and metamorphosed into plump creatures that stored large amounts of fat that would tide them over periods of scarcity.

When Dutch settlers came to Mauritius in the 16th century, the dodos’ inability to fly, coupled with their total fearlessness towards the humans, spelt disaster for them.

They became easy prey for the humans and were soon hunted down to extinction. In addition, domesticated livestock like pigs, rodents like rats and other species like monkeys, destroyed the dodo’s paradise habitat.

The dodo has been extinct since the mid-to-late 17th century. Its extinction was recorded in human history and directly attributable to human activity.

Steller Sea Cows

Steller's Sea Cows were very large aquatic mammals, now extinct, that once inhabited near shore

areas of the Komandor Island near the Bering Sea.

These oddly-named creatures could reach a length of about 7to 9 meters, and weighed between 5400 to 11196 kilograms. With a heavy bone structure, they had huge midsections, a disproportionately small head, and a large, flat, twin-lobed tail. In the rough sea, it was protected from rocks and ice by its 3-cm thick bark-like black skin and a 20-cm thick fat layer.

Their external ear openings were only about the size of a pea, but the internal ear bones were very large, so excellent hearing can be assumed, although when they were feeding, could completely ignore even a boat.

The Steller's sea cow was almost mute, making only deep breathing sounds when coming up for air and loud moaning sounds when wounded. It was hunted primarily as a source of food. The blubber was useful for cooking and was also a source of lamp oil. The milk of harvested cows was consumed directly or made into butter. The thick, tough hide was used for shoes, belts and to make skin-covered boats.

Stellar sea cows were wiped out by hunters in the 18th century less than 30 years after they were discovered by arctic explorers.

tion look upon the senior citizens with great respect for the contribution made by them to the society.

“The society should therefore be more sensitive to the needs of senior citizens and later should be cared and respected at all times. The youths of today stand on the foundation laid by senior citizens,” said D’Mello.

In the game organised for the senior citizens during the occasion, Andreza Paes, Rashmi Mandrekar and Satyabarmi Dhole bagged the prizes.

Peter Afonso welcomed the gathering, Milagres Carneiro compered the function, while Major Victor Zuzart proposed the vote of thanks.

Legal Literacy camp held PANJIM (HND): A Legal Literacy camp was held recently at Mustifund HS, Panjim. Adv Emidio Pinhu spoke on the subject ‘Child Rights’. Adv Nishigandha Shet spoke on ‘Child Abuse’. The camp was attended

by Asst Headmistress Aparna S Chari and 120 teachers and students of the School. There was an open question answers session in which number of students participated. The vote of thanks was proposed by Aarati Joshi.

AGM D Vijaykumar addresses the gathering at Porvorim.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT PORVORIM, FEB 27

Assistant General Manager of Canara Bank, Circle office Goa, D Vijaykumar has stated that the bank has set up a circle office for their 26 branches in Goa to meet the needs of the customers in the State.

He was speaking on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the Porvorim branch of Canara Bank at Porvorim.

“Setting up of a circle office for 26 branches was not an economical proposition, but to bring the administration closer to the people and to provide speedy and best services to the customers particularly in relation to disposals of credit proposals, Canara Bank took this vital decision,” said Vijaykumar.

Vijaykumar further said that they have implemented core banking solutions in all their branches and the customers can

Story telling, drawing contests held at Mollem HERALD CORRESPONDENT COLLEM, FEB 27

Sahyandri Sports Club of Sancorda, Superstar Sports Club of Zariwada-Mollem and Mollem Panchayat jointly celebrated Shivaji Jayanti by organising story telling and drawing contests for the students of secondary schools from Mollem and surrounding areas.

Mollem Sarpanch Janu Suzare was the chief guest for the programme. The key speaker for the programme was P K Patil, science teacher of Abhinav Vidya Mandir High School Mollem.

Businessman Agostin Vaz was the special invitee for the programme, while Anil Gaonkar presided over the programme.

Speaking on the occasion, Patil said Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is a model leader for the present youth and they should follow Shivaji’s principle as far as humanity, equality is concerned.

In his speech, Sarpanch Janu Suzare said Shivaji was a model ruler and politicians should follow the path laid by Shivaji in terms of justice.

Anil Gaonkar welcomed the chief guest and other dignitaries and also explained the aim of conducting the programme.

Bank of India opens branch at Utorda

Bank of India, Goa Zone, Zonal Manager NC Gandhre, Visitation D’Silva, Sarpanch of Utorda village, Rev Fr Britto of Utorda Church, Branch Manager E Coelho are present at the function.

HERALD NEwS DESk PANJIM, FEB 27

Bank of India, Goa Zone has opened its 38th Branch at Utorda on 25 February 2011 at the hands of Visitation D'Silva, the Sarpanch of Utorda - Majorda - Calata. The inauguration function was well attended by around 150 villagers from Utorda and nearby places.

Speaking on the occasion, D'Silva appealed to the people of Utorda and nearby places to open accounts with the Branch and to avail the benefits of the various schemes of the Bank.

The Bank has come to the doorsteps of Utorda villagers as was desired by the people said NC Gandhre, the Zonal Manager of the Bank, Goa Zone, during his inaugural address. He said the Bank of India being a premier-Nationalised Bank has a

total network of 3386 branches with a total business mix of Rs.468600 Crore. In Goa alone, the business mix of the Bank is Rs.5256 Crores. He exhorted the people to avail benefit from the Utorda Branch. SBS Kerkar, Dy. Zonal Manager welcomed the dignitaries which included Rev. Fr. Urban Menezes of Majorda Church and Rev. Fr. Britto of Utorda Church. The gathering applauded the Bank for opening Utorda Branch and assured full support. The function was compered by RYS Sancordekar, Manager, IT, and concluded with vote of thanks by Everest Coelho, Branch Manager.

The Bank has also inaugurated its 20th ATM at Quepem on the same day at the hands of Subhash Phaldesai, prominent resident of Quepem and social worker and director of EDC Ltd.

Photo by Anil Shankhwalker

now transfer their funds quickly.

“Canara Bank occupies the third position in the banking sector at all India level presently and we have initiated steps to ensure that Canara Bank become the number one bank in the country,” added Vijaykumar.

He further said that the bank plans to open five more branches in Goa during the next four-five years. The bank believes in the transparency in their transactions.

“The growth of the bank and its prosperity depends solely on the support of the customers and hence customers’ suggestions are always welcomed by the bank to improve their services,” said Vijaykumar.

Canara Bank Porvorim Branch Manager Vishwanath Pednekar informed that their branch was opened on February 17, 2006.

"Within the span of five years, our deposits have reached Rs

22 crore and we have got nearly 2,500 account holders," he said.

Former manager of the Porvorim branch Mahesh Bandkar also spoke on the occasion.

Later during the interactive session, a customer pointed out that the Internet banking service of Canara Bank is not as userfriendly as compared to other banks.

“If a customer forgets the password, it takes over one month to get the new password because of lengthy procedures of the bank. In comparison, some private banks offer replacement passwords within a matter of seconds. The bank needs to streamline and improve on this facility,” said the customer.

Surya Prasad welcomed the gathering and also compered the programme, while Pradeep Sangodkar proposed the vote of thanks.

Neurosurgeon creates awareness on fitness at Ponda

Renowned neuro-spinal surgeon Dr PS Ramani along with the winners.

Photo by Amresh Parab HERALD CORRESPONDENT MARCEL, FEB 27

It is not often that a 74-yearold man who happens to be a renowned neuro spinal surgeon organises a mini-marathon and successfully completes the 15km run.

Renowned neuro spinal surgeon Dr P S Ramani himself took part in the event to prove to the people that regular exercises are necessary to minimise the risk of diseases.

Dr Ramani, a pioneer in neuro spinal surgery in India, was at his ancestral village, Wadi-Taluali in Ponda taluka, to take part in the annual marathon race organised by him under Ahilyabai Ramani Prathisthan, TalualiPonda.

Dr Ramani, originally from Wadi-Taluali now settled in Bombay, organises marathon race from his ancestral house at Wadi-Talauli since the last four years. Ever since he organised marathon in his hometown, Dr Ramani himself also took part.

Even at the age of 74, Dr Ramani ran and completed the mini-marathon track of about 15 kms. Even after running a distance of around 15 kms, Dr Ramani without a sign of tiredness spoke to Herald of his idea behind holding such an event.

He said that he is organising the event to create awareness among people on fitness.

“I am very much inclined to see that health is maintained a n d i t i s g o o d . N o w, t h e longevity is increasing and I don’t want people to be living with all kinds of diseases and bed-ridden,” said Dr Ramani, a world renowned personality in the field of medicine.

“I want them to be healthy,

so to create this awareness, I started this marathon race for all ages,” added Dr Ramani.

“One can achieve good health through exercise. It is extremely important that one should do some sort of exercise to keep good health. Longevity is of no use when there is no quality of life. Quality of life will only increase when we exercise. I don’t want people to be bed ridden and spending their entire money on medicines,” he said.

“There is nothing impossible in this world. You must have determination and zeal in mind to keep health in good condition.

One must do regular exercise to stay fit and healthy,” said Dr Ramani.

His contribution has been acknowledged the world over. In 2009, Indonesia honoured Dr Ramani by naming an operation theatre building of the Indonesian hospital after him. In 2010, Dr Ramani was awarded Bucy Award (USA) for outstanding contributions to neruo and spinal surgical education. Dr Ramani is the only Asian to receive such award.

Recently, Hungary released a postal stamp paper in recognition to Dr Ramani’s contribution in the medical field. Dr Ramani was appointed as honorary members by the Japanese Orthopaedic Spine Society in 2008 and recently British Association of Spinal Surgeon (England).

“It is not only Hungary, but many countries have acknowledged my work. They are now appreciating my work and are trying to honour me in one way or the other,” said Dr Ramani.

tides February 28

High tide: 0713; 2125 Low tide: 0204; 1359

OHERALDO

GOA

Pg 5

GOA, MONDAY, 28 FEBRUARY, 2011

Supporters of CM, Coutinho exchange words at Fakirband

BY HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, FEB 27

The Coutinho’s and a supporter of Chief Minister Digambar Kamat came face to face at migrant-inhabited Fakirband here on Sunday.

Following complaint and cross complaint received from Margao Municipal Councillor Pratima Coutinho and Kushali Virdikar, the Margao police registered non-cognizable cases against the duo after they complained of abuse and use of filthy words against each other.

Margao PI Santosh Desai said that the complaint received from the Ward Councillor did not make a case for registering of an offence for outraging modesty of a woman.

The incident occurred on Sunday morning when the Chief Minister made his presence felt in the migrant inhabited locality to lay the foundation stone for

Compensate us, Bicholim farmers urge Mamlatdar HERALD CORRESPONDENT MAYEM, FEB 27

About 40 farmers from BordemBicholim recently requested Bicholim Mamlatdar Pramod Bhat to compensate for the losses which they have suffered due to rotting of vegetables and other crops, as the water from Tillari irrigation canal entered their fields.

The group of farmers led by Manisha Patil, Anand Pal, Aappa Pednekar, Chandrakant Pal, Sukdo Salkar, Harshali Pal, Shanti Pal, Pramila Pal, Asha Pal, Durga Pal and others submitted a memorandum to the Bicholim mamlatdar.

“We have faced tremendous losses as the fully grown crops including onions, chilies, Alsana and other local vegetables got damaged after water from the Tillari irrigation canal entered our fields,” stated the farmers in the memorandum.

a toilet block. The war of words between the ward Councilor Pratima Coutinho and Kushali Virdikar began moments after the Chief Minister left the venue after laying the foundation stone.

There is no love lost between the Coutinho’s and Virdikar, a strong supporter of the Chief Minister, since the time of the Municipal polls. In fact, the Coutinho’s had accused Virdikar for assaulting their worker on the day of the Municipal polls, while the later had counter complained against the rival group.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister, Digambar Kamat told the Sulabh official to complete work on the Rs 11-lakh toilet block at Fakir Bandh before April.

He also issued directions to the officials to ensure that toilet by agency be renovated immediately.

BJP unhappy with train service to Vailankanni HERALD REPORTER VASCO, FEB 27

Welcoming the initiative of Railway Ministry to commence VascoValankani weekly train, State BJP has expressed unhappiness with the frequency of trains, as the party has demanded that it should have been trice in a week.

Speaking to Herald, BJP Spokesperson Rajendra Arlekar said that the railway ministry has ultimately agreed the need of a direct train from Vasco-Velankani, which was a long pending demand of Goans, especially the devotees who visit Vailankanni.

“However, we are not happy with the frequency, as it should have been trice in a week considering the needs of Goa. A weekly train service will just provide a lip service to Goans,” said Arlekar.

There was a long demand pending of the people of Vasco to increase frequency of VascoMiraj service, as since broadgauge was put into operation, only one train is running on this route, as earlier when it metergauge nearly three trains used to run on the route.

Ponda panel demands roll back in milk prices HERALD CORRESPONDENT MARCEL, FEB 27

Yuva Sangharsh Samitti Ponda recently demanded the district administration to roll back milk prices in the State.

It may be recalled that milk prices in the State were hiked by about Rs 3 following a similar hike in neighbouring states. Goa Dairy one of the largest distributors of milk in the State along with other milk dairies had hiked milk prices a few days back.

In a memorandum, Samitti members have urged the State government to support Goa Dairy so as to reduce milk prices in the State.

Before handing over the memorandum, about 100 members took part in a protest rally against price

rise, which culminated near district administration building.

“Our request to the State government is to support the Goa Dairy like other corporations. This will enable the dair y to sell milk at subsidised prices. We appeal to the government to seriously think on the issue, as it will affect aam admi in the State,” said Yuva Sangharsh Samitti Ponda President Mahesh Panshikar.

MGP has also extended support to the Samitti. “We are supporting this cause. Price r i s e w i l l o v e r b u rd e n t h e poorer section of the society and government should do something on this issue,” said MGP Secretar y Lavu Mamlekar.

‘Giants group working for betterment of society’

Installation ceremony of Giants Group at Valpoi.

Photo by Ashraf Khan HERALD CORRESPONDENT VALPOI, FEB 27

Giants Group Federation Xth President M V Dessai said though the world is moving on a fast track leaving no time for leisure activities, members of Giant International are working for the good cause of the society.

He was speaking during the installation ceremony of Board of Directors of two newly formed Giant groups Massordem and Morlem including Valpoi, all affiliated to Giant International at Laxmibai Memorial Hall Valpoi.

“Our aim is raising hands for the good cause and work for

Cos urged to seek permission for road digging HERALD NEWS DESK PANJIM, FEB 27

District Magistrate, South Goa, has notified that all the companies such as BSNL Vodafone, Tata Indicom, Idea and Airtel will obtain prior permission from the concerned Dy Collector /SDM for digging the roads. The DM has also ordered that FIR shall be lodged against them, if they start digging the road without permission.

the betterment of the society,” stressed Desai.

He further said that giving time for others is an act which is less followed in this world.

However, he lauded the efforts of Valpoi group members, especially Director I Arun Naik for continuing to do good work in rural areas of Sattari.

He urged the newly elected members and their respective presidents to organise activities which will help the poor and needy.

Valpoi Municipal Council Chairperson Umesh Gulelkar while speaking as the chief guest said: “Setting up of any organization is easy.” However, he

maintained that upholding the same in proper track is difficult.

He urged the members of Giant groups to work more in education and health sector by organising awareness pro gramme.

Inducting Officer and Director I Arun Naik delivered oath of office to President Giant group (Valpoi) Aziz Shah, President Giant group (Massordem) Arjun Gordekar, President Giant group (Morlem) Harischandra Raut and respective boards of members.

In the acceptance speech, the entire group presidents have appealed to the members to cooperate with them in maintaining the tempo of good work.

Shailesh Pokle welcomed the guests, Kiran Narvekar compered and also proposed the vote of thanks.

OHERALDO

Pg 6

www.oheraldo.in

O HERALD O

Machiavelli, European avatar of Kautilya

Vol No CXI No: 059 Goa, Monday, 28 February, 2011

Budget and the aam admi

it is interesting to note the modern appropriations of Machiavelli and india’s Kautilya, says tEotÓnio r DE soUZA

T

he ‘aam admi’ is weary of galloping inflation. That is the lesson from the fulsome praise Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has received for her benign Railway Budget, even though it is impractical; its totally unrealistic revenue estimates are clearly unachievable.

And what is the ‘aam admi’ to expect from the union budget today? The Economic Survey released on Friday alongside Ms Banerjee’s exercise in wishful spending tries to justify inflation as a ‘natural’ phenomenon. After a highly selective analysis of international data, it postulates that in developing countries, periods of high growth are almost always accompanied by high inflation. Without secondguessing the accuracy of the information on which its analysis is based, this pathetic little game of justifying the unjustifiable is much like changing the definition of the poverty line to deprive large sections of the people of ‘below poverty line’ (BPL) benefits…!

No one is trying to say that the government has an easy job on its hands. It has to try and rein in inflation while simultaneously not hobbling growth and, at the same time, tame the fiscal deficit. But then, whoever said governance was easy? The pundits say rapidly rising prices and the string of colossal corruption scandals during a year in which the ruling Congress faces elections in five states, makes it unlikely that the government will unveil any major reforms in today’s budget.

So we can expect that the government will withdraw some more of the stimulus measures it had put into place to help the country ride out the global economic downturn. It may re-impose taxes on products that were earlier given relief.

But one hopes reforms are not totally sacrificed at the altar of the polls. India is on track to grow at 8.6 per cent in the current fiscal year, even though the Economic Survey has rather more optimistically raised the growth forecast to 9 per cent.

The main task before the government is one of innovation.

Since food inflation is endemic, it should realise by now, after seven interest rate increases since March last year, that straightforward monetarist measures – the main tool of advanced economies – do not work in India. It has to find more practical and hands-on ways of fighting food inflation, which has been averaging around 17 per cent for three years now. It needs to directly take on the manipulative big trader mafia, which manages to cheat both farmer and consumer, and makes a huge killing in the bargain. Here is a task for Rahul Gandhi’s fabled ‘aam admi ke sipahi’ brigade.

Last week’s mammoth anti-inflation rally by trade unions in the national capital should be a wake-up call for both the government and the ruling Congress. The opposition BJP may be clueless and too torn by internecine squabbling to mount an effective challenge, but the public is angry and resentful.

O

Not enough

n 23 February, the Union Law Ministry quietly increased spending limits by candidates standing for elections by 60 per cent. In large states, the limit has gone up from Rs25 lakh to Rs40 lakh for Lok Sabha constituencies, and from Rs10 lakh to Rs16 lakh for state assembly constituencies.

In Goa, the limit for parliamentary polls is up from Rs14 lakh to Rs22 lakh, and from Rs5 lakh to Rs8 lakh for assembly elections. It is not enough. The government and the Election Commission must be more realistic. As it stands, this increase will do little or nothing to curb illegal spending, paid news and other election ills.

Outbursts of a Minister B V S Priolkar, Margao It has been reported in the press and shown on media the outbursts of a minister in this State casting apprehensions of government departments especially on CBI. This is highly objectionable and unbecoming on the part of a minister. He should have done all types of allegations after resigning from the cabinet. This is not the first such instance. Other ministers have, in the past, accused/blamed the government which they represent. It is unfortunate the credibility of the government is eroded by such outbursts.

Issue is still alive Fr Conceicao D’Silva, Campal This is in response to the letter ‘Only at ‘Sammelan’ time’ (Herald, 24 Feb) wherein Jerson D’Silva implicates me and says that every year in the name of ‘Sammelan’ I exhume the Roman Script issue. The issue of Konknni in Roman Script is still alive. It is time for him to exhume the misconceptions, because the lovers of Konknni in Roman script are still demanding equal sta-

Smile with Smitha

OPINION

A

quick search in the internet throws up a spate of references to Kautilya as ‘Machiavelli of India’ despite 19 centuries of distance between them! It is just one more illustration of the eurocentrism of the colonial education that taught the world to seek models in Europe, even for persons and events that anticipated Europe and Europeans by centuries and millennia.

In his The Idea of Justice (Penguin Books, 2009) the Indian Nobel Amartya Sen points to this aberration and laments the one-sidedness in Western approach to knowledge.

Here we have an instance where India could rightfully boast of an Indian precursor of Machiavelli. Kauitilya was a contemporary of Aristotle, and helped putting into power the Mauryan dynasty. He served as counselor and produced Arthasashtra as a treatise on strategy and political economy. The proof of its success can be calculated from the expansion and power that a native Indian empire in the subcontinent ever achieved in the pre-colonial times.

By the fact that Arthasashtra remained unknown till 20th century, it failed to contribute to the world thought, while it contained for instance, all the modern principles of political economy, including whatever concerns internal revenues, international trade and value of labour and just price, which Hume, Smith, Ricardo and JS Mill sought to define around mid-18th century.

Arthashastra refers to its author as Kautilya, and once as Vishnugupta. But there is an outside contemporary reference to Arthasashtra of Kautilya, and that is in Panchatantra. This classic Indian contribution to world literature has a long saga of transmission through oral and regional translations, much before the sanskrit version was published for the first time in Bombay by MR Kale in 1912. The original version is presumed to belong to an unknown jain scribe of 9th or 10th century. That was translated into French in 1871 by E Lancereau, and reedited by L Renou in 1965. An earlier version of L’Abbé Dubois in 1826 was based upon south Indian versions in Telegu, Kannada and Tamil. The Fables of La Fontaine have their deep source in India, having travelled through Kashmir, Persia and the Middle East, along the silk route.

It is not very different from the Indian contri-

Wise Counsel

T

HistoricAl ExplorAtions bution to mathematics, which through the mediation of Arabs permitted Europe to move into modernity and continues to be known erroneously as Arabic numbers. More significant and crucial for the Europeans to leap into modernity and its modern forms of capitalism was the pre-existence of the rich markets of China and India, as Andre Gunder Frank insisted in recent times to much annoyance of the Western sociologists and politicians defending the Iberian Discoveries as the beginning of the world modernity.

For Andre Gunder Frank, the Europeans of the Age of Discoveries bought the ticket to the Asian train by plundering African gold and Latin American silver, but very soon revealed their true genius by high-jacking the train with the brute force gained from the Industrial Revolution. What had been a trade among partners, following the Industrial Revolution it became an unequal trade, in favour of Imperial Europe. Without such loot the European modernity was hardly likely, or at least at the pace it happened.

Andre Gunder Frank was a distinguished western economist, a rare Chicago-boy who did not

Egoistic attitude and missed blessings

his is a very beautiful story that will surely touch your heart, it did touch my heart. It is, indeed, an incredible story and goes like this: A young man was getting ready to graduate in college. For many months, he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer’s showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted.

As graduation day approached, the young man awaited the signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful wrapped gift box. Curious, but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible.

Angrily, he raised his voice at his father and said, “With all your money you give me a Bible?” and stormed out of the house, leaving the holy book.

Many years passed and the young man was very successful in his business. He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realised his father was very old, and thought of visiting him. He had not met him since graduation day. Before he could make

tus for last 23 years through Dalgado Konknni Akademi.

I would like to mention that I have not only contributed to Konknni in Roman script monetarily, but also in deeds. May I know Jerson’s contribution to Konknni, his mother tongue? I would like to state that till Konknni in Roman script gets justice of equal status in Language Act of Goa, the issue will be alive.

Awake from slumber Paul Menezes, Chinchinim On Tue 22 February, Herald brought to everybody’s notice of the pathetic condition of the flood lights on the football ground at the Nehru Stadium grounds.

The GFA needs to correct this anomaly on an urgent basis so that the lovers of football can enjoy the games in Goa.

Meaningful census Jonas Correia, Aldona The census exercise has begun and the enumerators are visiting the houses. It is surprising to note that the government was neither interested in knowing how many people of each household are em-

Smitha Bhandare Kamat

hold candle to the Chicago school of neoliberals and paid dearly for his advice to the Chilean president. His dire predictions about the ephemeral nature of European modernity and the need to ‘re-orient’ the global economy are coming true.

We wish to emphasise in this brief essay that not unlike its contemporary Panchatantra, also Arthasashtra may have entered the world thought and lost its original moorings. I praise this feature as a true hallmark of any thought, namely its universal reception. It then ceases to belong to any individual or group patent. The contemporary Chinese legalist school that sought a centralised Qin empire of the Han dynasty could also belong to the same trend of thought as promoted by Arthasashtra in Mauryan India. The Roman law was a western equivalent, and Machiavelli sought to recover it during the European Renaissance.

I wish there would be more interest among European scholars to trace the linkage of the Arthasashtra teachings in the western thought, through the mediation of the satrapies that Alexander the Great left behind in north-western India. Seleucus and Menander were prominent

among them and had close dealings with the Indian empire of Chandragupta Maurya, and presumably with his Indian minister Vishnugupta, author of Arthasashtra, through diplomatic agents like Meghastenes (302 a.C-288 a.C.), who could have taken home the Indian manual of strategic thought.

It is known that his chronicle “Indica” served Flavius Lucius Arrianus as a source of documentation for his classic history of the campaigns of Alexander of Macedonia. Could there be more than just a Roman inspiration for Machiavelli’s Prince?

It is interesting to note the modern appropriations of Machiavelli in the west and of Kautilya in India for training in management, and promotion of executive’s guides, on the basis of their teachings in psychology and politics of power.

Kautilya (name derived from katu, meaning astute) had no doubts that beneath all sanctimonious rhetoric and pretense lay the basic struggle of life and instinct of man for survival at all cost.

Our reflections could have some interest in the context of the project entitled ‘Machiavellism and Machiavellisms in the Western Political Tradition (16th-20th Centuries)’ [www.hypermachiavellism.net] under the direction of Professor Enzo Baldini (Università di Torino). A connected exercise is proposed to be held in Lisbon in the form of a seminar on ‘Maquiavel Dissimulado: Religião, império e herança romana no mundo português’, analyzing the linkage of religion, empire and roman heritage in the context of the Portuguese imperial experiences.

The organisers of the Portuguese seminar have announced their interest in discussing the issues raised by the Florentine author, and the reception and reinvention of his ideas in the Portuguese context. The privileged point of discussion will be the theories and political praxis of acquisition and conservation of territories in the Portuguese empire as related to Machiavelli’s suggestions, paying special attention to the articulation between religion and politics, and how far the Roman inspiration influenced the process. I think that the discussion could be widened to understand how the Indian precursor of Machiavelli could have influenced the same experiences, and also a cultural (and subsequently political and military) resistance to the Machiavellic/Roman inspired Portuguese imperial politics and praxis.

arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care of the things.

When he arrived at his father’s house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search his father’s important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. As he read those words, a car key dropped from an envelope taped behind the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer’s name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words...PAID IN FULL. Can we imagine the sorrow and regret that we went through at that particular time when he opened the Bible and got the envelope with the car key? It must have been an extremely poignant and a touching feeling as though he was hit hard by sharp weapon. How many times do we miss God’s blessings because they are not packaged as we expected? We take things or others for granted. A lot of times we do miss the blessing the Lord wants to give us, because of our egos. Also, to remember that we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ and nothing is impossible with Him. How

Why penalise mining truck owners?

Krishna Gaokar, Usgao

Overloading of mining trucks is done by the mine owners’ employees in their mines.

Why should the truck owners be penalised for this? Government spoke of making provision to penalise mine owners and even cancellation of their lease. But they have not made any legislation.

We reminded the RTO of the affidavit by the Chief Secretary to the Hon High Court in January 2010, which says that the fine shall be recovered from the mine owner. RTO officials replied that the government has not made any legislation to the effect of its affidavit. So why make truck owners suffer? Mine owners must compensate them. Two years ago, the RTO has made weighbridge compulsory at the loading point of every mine. RTO should raid all mines and temporarily close them for disobeying the rule.

A sincere request Ashlon A Fernandes, Nuvem I was greatly shocked when the local MLA of Navelim organised a grand ceremony to celebrate the completion of a local bridge.

Thousands of people went on the roads with the main purpose of displaying the flags and jerseys of his football club. Later on, a concert in Konkani was organised.

No doubt people ‘benefit’ from it, it would be a good gesture if the money was spent, on improvisation of our roads, which are in a very bad condition. Through this letter, I am also requesting all other MLA’s to stop doing ‘tamashas’. The people of Goa today want real development, and I am one of the thousands of Goan youth, who is fed up of corruption.

often we forget to see the beauty of every little thing happening in our lives, bad or good, then? Everything happens for a reason.

In my experience, I have learned not to expect miracles to happen right away, but to wait for God’s answers with patience and humility. We are sometimes so busy fulfilling our earthly dreams in life that we forgot and ignore many things and often hurting others very much. However, we got to understand that all of these are temporary and sometimes we tend to jump in an impatient manner that we forgot that things happen for a reason and it might be way better than what we just anticipate. Since we expect too much we don’t recognize the little miracles, because we focus on what we don’t have and ignore what we already have.

The fact that I woke up this morning is already a blessing and everything else today is a bonus. Not all that glitters is gold, isn’t?

We can get caught up in the materialistic things of the world and the hustle and bustle of life. Finally, it is a lesson learnt by the above story to try to notice more and accept certain things.

Let me end with an apt quote by Maltbie D. Babcock - “Better to lose count while naming your blessings than to lose your blessings to counting your troubles.”

Letters to the Editor

Letter of the Day

ployed in government service or even employed elsewhere, for that matter.

Citizens who had temporarily gone abroad or to other Indian states were not counted. The government should make the census meaningful and use the information for the welfare of the families, and not as a publicity stunt.

By Arlette Azavedo

lives, not attempt to end them? However, that doesn’t seem to be the case here in Goa (25 February 2011) on Palolem beach, I saw a shocking incident where at least half a dozen lifeguards plus some locals gave a severe beating to a single drunk Indian tourist in front of us foreign tourists.

The lifeguards even chased off foreigners who tried to take pictures. It was a disgraceful scene and puts me off returning to Goa in the future. Will the lifeguards face any disciplinary action over this - I doubt it! They should be sacked!

Disgraceful coach Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco It was reported on the internet news that South Africa bowling coach Vincent Barnes has named his dog back home as Sachin. This is a most disgraceful and derogatory act on his part. Sachin is revered almost as a God in India. He is a batting icon and probably the greatest cricketing batsman. How could anyone name a dog after him? This has hurt the sentiments of Indians, as is seen by the several blogs that have appeared from all over the country, condemning the South African coach.

Lifeguards don new garb

Brutal lathi charge

John, England

Nelson Lopes, Chinchinim

I thought lifeguards were meant to save

The visuals of lathi charge on unarmed

cricket fans in Bangalore was a brutality par excellence. Was there a need for such brutal action? There are other ways and means of dispersing crowds. The crowd was definitely not unruly. The force with which the police used their batons looked like they were taming wild animals.

The Indians, for whom the cricket is almost a religion and Bangalore being a cricket capital of India, the tickets that were made available, is a sham.

What ever might have been the compelling reasons; there was no justification for the senseless attack. A magisterial inquiry must be held for disproportionate use of brute force.

Water crisis Justin Fernandes, Panjim In Goa, there will be shortage of water due to rampant mining. Environmentalist Ramesh Gauns has drawn the attention of the political class to pay attention to the water requirement of the common people.

The Goan politicians are only worried about their personal interest. They are busy finding ways and means to loot Goans.

They are filthy rich and can purchase mineral water from neighbouring states and, in the process, leave the aam admi voters to die of thirst.

The corrupt Goa government is in hand in glove with mine owners, drug peddlers, real state agents and land mafia.

Nothing will be done to save Goa and Goans.

Disaster averted Shane Dias Sapeco, Panjim Friday, 18 February 2011, will be remembered by a few witnesses and good Samaritans in averting a major disaster which occurred when a gas cylinder fire in the kitchen of a famous lunch hotspot, that took hungry office-goers, neighbours and other customers by surprise.

There is a need for the authorities i.e., the CCP, fire authorities, police, etc., to make sure that safety requirements are compulsorily complied with in restaurant kitchens, hotels and other eateries.

This will prevent loss of life and property.

They came after 8 years Jacinto Almeida, Cortalim For the last few months officials from NHAI and PWD used to visit Agassaim and Cortalim to do the assessment for the new Zuari bridge. There is no news from them after 15 January 2011 and I hope they do not show their ugly faces for another 5 years.

The corrupt PWD officials say that the new Zuari bridge was proposed 8 years back. What was the government doing all this while? Now, the house panel has taken a final decision and awaits High Command approval. If the Goa government is so serious about NH widening and construction of new bridges, they should commence immediate land acquisition and not wait for another 8 years, to haunt the people.

The show must go on Jerry Fernandes, Saligao I love listening to all forms of music, especially heavy metal/rock, techno, trance, club X, etc.

Each form of music has its own beauty. Some are unwilling to accept the emerging new forms of world music. Music does not suppress rights of others, it is total freedom.

Then, how can we target music just because modern music is noisy in nature? Of course, I am not saying that we should play amplified music in residential areas.

But in Goa, we are double-standard hypocrites and impose the noisiest type of music everywhere through the funnel shaped loudspeaker. Goa’s unique music culture is on the verge of extinction in our own home state, because we are killing the talent of all our upcoming song writers/musicians by brainwashing people’s minds on noise pollution.

However, the show must go on and Goan music and its culture will live till eternity.

Coal dust pollution Augustus Alphonso, Vasco/Kuwait We’ve had enough of MPT’s nonsense. Does the MPT think that the coal dust pollution is under control in Vasco? I am sick of the thick layers of coal-dust settling all over the house.

I think it is high time that we take to the streets demanding a 100% permanent solution to the problem.

Printed and published by Vinayak Pai Bir for and on behalf of Herald Publications Pvt Ltd. Printed at Herald Publications Pvt Ltd, Plot No: L-135, Phase II, Verna Industrial Estate, Verna, Salcete, Goa. Published at PO Box 160, Rua Sao Tome, Panjim, Goa - 403001. Editor-in-chief: Mr R F Fernandes. Editor: Ashwin Tombat (Responsible under PRB Act). Regd Office: St Tome Road, Panjim, Goa. Tel: 2224202, 2228083, Fax: 2222475 (all Editorial); 2230535, Fax: 2225622 (Advertising); Margao: 2737689. Mumbai Office: 16-A, Bell Building, 2nd Floor, 19 Sir PM Road, Fort, Mumbai - 400001 (Tel: 22840702/22844908). RNI No: 43667/83.

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

pg7:Layout 1 2/27/2011 10:42 PM Page 1

OHERALDO

Pg 7 GOA, MONDAY• 28 FEBRUARY, 2011

opinionated Carmona is not Raheja’s bhatt

By Orlando S A Da Silva

T

he decision of the Goa government to arbitrarily grant license to the Raheja mega-project in Carmona (reported by ‘Herald’ on 17 February) when the matter is before the District Court is nothing but dictatorship and political hubris.

This is worse than in the time of Salazar, our erstwhile dictator, who we claim to have fought and got our freedom. It shows that our elected representatives do not care even about the courts when it comes to supporting mega-builders from whom they collect mega-kickbacks.

The Town & Country Planning (TCP) Department has issued the final NOC for Rahejas to develop approximately 88,000-odd sq metres of land on the banks of the River Sal, sub-divided into 15 plots, with the condition that no secondary permission will be granted until and unless land for the required 10-metre access road is acquired and it is built. Ten villagers from Carmona, whose houses and compounds are likely to be axed owing to this widening, have filed a case in the District Court at Margao as per the latest amendments of the Panchayati Raj Act, challenging the final NOC issued by the Village Panchayat of Carmona based on the permission of the TCP Department.

As per existing TCP rules and regulations, for development of properties exceeding 25,000 sq metres, a 10-metre access road is mandatory. As per a circular dated 29 August 2008 issued by the same department under the directives of the Chief Minister, the mandatory road must be physically present at the site, even while granting the conversion sanads, and much before any physical development. The TCP Department had ruled that no secondary development would be allowed until and unless the required access road was made available while issuing the NOC for subdivision, which is under challenge.

It is shameful that a government that claims to be represent the ‘aam admi’ has decided to issue a construction license to the Rahejas with the condition that the 10-metre road must be in place before the occupancy certificate is issued. Later, the same government may well say that Raheja has invested huge money, and therefore his illegal constructions should be regularised, as in the case of Cidade de Goa. The question is, has our CM done this to save his government owing to Churchill Alemao’s blackmailing tactics? The people of Carmona unanimously opposed the project by a gram sabha resolution on 30 March 2007. The village Regional Plan committee also resolved to oppose widening of internal village roads beyond 5 metres width. Activists opposing the project have made representations to all concerned authorities, including the chief secretary, chief minister, central and local environment ministers, Environment and Pollution Control Boards, and the TCP. On 7 February, a fresh letter was written to all the above authorities, informing them about the Revision Petition filed before the district court at Margao, and warning that any decision in violation would amount to contempt of court. But none of them has replied.

The Rahejas have violated the Forest Act by destroying all the private forest in the locality. They have been fined by the Forest Department by an order dated 09 March 2009. They have violated the Environment Act by laying an RCC sewage pipeline to drain waste into the river Sal. They have violated the Town and Country Planning Act by developing plots in the non-development (CRZ) zone. And it is a shame that in this so-called democracy, our elected representatives do not even care if the matter is sub-judice.

I want to ask the following questions to Chief Minister Digambar Kamat and PWD Minister Churchill Alemao: (1) When there is no possibility of a 10-metre road being built unless people’s houses and compounds are demolished, where the promised 10-metre road come from? Will it fall from heaven?

(2) Are rules and regulations applicable only to the ‘aam admi’ and not to the Rahejas? The ‘aam admi’ has to take Forest Dept permission to cut even one tree, and follow TCP rules in letter and spirit, to construct even a small residential house…!

(3) Can the government acquire and broaden the existing road to 10-metres width? This road was earlier acquired under an award dated 21 July 2000, to be six metres wide. Its further widening is purely for the benefit of this mega-project, and at the cost of the ‘aam admi’. It is like the Standard Chartered Bank case in the US, where an attempted bail out using public funds was finally thwarted by US courts.

(4) Who are the beneficiaries of this mega project? Can our locals afford bungalows costing crores? Our MLA Churchill Alemao says this project will create jobs. The jobs offered may be of security personnel and domestic servants. Would Churchill Alemao encourage his children to take them up? Goa is a highly educated state; who would want their children to take up these jobs?

(5) The Rahejas have laid a cement pipeline to discharge waste into the river Sal. Will this not cause environmental degradation?

The River Sal is a source of ground water recharge for the locality; our wells are recharged by this river. It is also source of marine food for locals. Do they want Goans to eat polluted fish and shell fish and drink polluted water?

(6) Carmona village has very little land for housing; most of the land is agricultural. Where will future generations get land for housing if builders are allowed to flout all rules and regulation for huge commercial projects? What will happen to our demography and culture when migrants with illegal money start to own these houses without any restrictions?

(7) Can anyone cite one single way in which this project will benefit locals and their future generations? Our purchasing power is already eroded to negative under Congress rule. The late Rajiv Gandhi’s dreams of Panchayati Raj have been trampled underfoot by throwing Gram Sabha resolutions in the dustbin.

The future of generations to come is in the hand of our leaders. They should not abuse their power for selfish gains.

These powers are bestowed not by God but by the people. The people of Carmona and their generations to come will curse Churchill Alemao, Digambar Kamat and their generations to come, if they are treated like this.

Man held for trying to sell fake gold bricks A 23-year-old man was arrested in west Delhi for allegedly trying to sell fake gold bricks, police said today.

Sughad Singh was apprehended from near a jewellery shop in Bhagawati Garden yesterday while he was trying to sell a fake gold brick weighing 1.2 kg, V Renganathan, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West), said.

Two of Singh's accomplices are on the run. Singh approached Shiv Mangal (50) while he on walk last night and told

him that he wanted to sell two gold bricks which he found while digging in his native village ofRajasthan's Bharatpur.

He told Mangal that he was in dire need of money and wanted to sell these bricks for his father's treatment.

"Mangal first refused but on his constant request, he agreed to buy the bricks.

Singh gave two small sample pieces of gold to Mangal and told him that these two pieces were taken from the gold bricks. (PTI)

Ex-CJI asks Balakrishnan to quit as NHRC chief PTI NEW DELHI, FEB 27

With the Income Tax Department alleging former Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan's kin possess “black money”, former Chief Justice of India J S Verma today demanded that Balakrishnan should quit as National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chief and if he does not, the president should intervene to get him removed from the post.

“I think he (Balakrishnan) should quit and if the allegations are not true according to him, the burden lies on him to prove them wrong and silence is no longer an option," Verma said reacting to the charge by the IT department.

On if he refuses to step down, Verma said, “Well, in that case, I think it's time the president should move in to take action.

There is after all a provision for removal.

“So if he chooses to keep quiet and doesn't have himself cleared, well then, the removal proceedings should be commenced,” he said.

In further embarrassment to Balakrishnan, who is currently the chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the Income Tax authorities in Kochi had alleged yesterday that three of his relatives were found to possess black money during their investigation into allegations of amassment of disproportionate wealth by them.

“As far as Justice Balakrishnan is concerned, I cannot say anything. But as far as his relatives- two sons-in-law and brother are concerned, we have found there is black money”, Director General of Income Tax (Investi-

gation), Kochi, E T Lukose, had told reporters here.

Justice Balakrishnan's sonsin-law P V Sreenijan and M J Benny, both advocates, and brother K G Bhaskaran, former special government pleader, have been found to be possessing black money, he had said.

Verma said, "He (Balakrishnan) continues to be NHRC chairman.

His words hold no credibility.

See, it's like this. Corruption is the most egregious form of human rights violation.

“And a person accused of serious human rights violation heading the National Human Rights Commission itself is a great travesty of justice,” the ex-chief justice of India said.

Expressing “great disappointment” over the allegation, Verma said, “I feel the situation's credibility ought to be protected from further erosion as also the

individual credibility of Balakrishnan himself.”

He said allegations were that the relations of Balakrishnan had become suddenly very rich during his tenure as CJI. “Well, there is a nail of suspicion being pointed at him and it is just (for him) to clear (his name). Silence is no longer an option,” he said.

Maintaining that the law should take its own course, Verma said, “I think judges should be answerable and accountable to a yardstick, at least as strict and preferably stricter than the one that applies to others when they judge others.”

Lukose had also refused to say whether Balakrishnan will be questioned or not. “I cannot say anything now”, he had said.

The I-T investigation covered the last five years, he had said,

JPC to be completed tomorrow

PM assures to examine Karmapa case

PTI

PTI

-Yogguru Swami Ramdev being presented a 'Gada' at a rally at Ram Lila ground against the Balck Money and Corruption in New Delhi .

Army searching for a Pied Piper in Ladakh PTI NEW DELHI, FEB 27

The army is searching for a Pied Piper in Ladakh where rats are gobbling up its ration which reaches there through a long and arduous supply route.

The Indian army stocks supplies for winter in the summer itself as the road links to higher altitudes remains cut-off from the rest of the country in winter due to heavy snowfall for around six months.

As the roads are too narrow, they take the help of mules to carry these rations and other essential supplies to an altitude of over 15,000 feet.

Since there is significant rodent infestation in the army settlements in higher altitudes, the Medical Research Wing of the Armed Forces Medical Services are going to undertake a study to find out the extent of the problem of rodent nuisance in eastern and western Ladakh armed forces settings.

“Rats cause a great deal of nuisance everywhere. They spoil precious stocks, lead to

nuisance and also spread diseases. Army settlements in higher altitudes are not spared from this as these rats are spoiling the winter stocks.”

"All conventional methods of controlling them are not as effective as they are in the plains,” Lieutenant General Naresh Kumar, Commandant, Army Hospital Research and referral and officiating DGAFMS said.

Conventional methods exist to control rodent nuisance like rat traps, rodenticides and repellents have failed in Ladakh.

“Carrying rations and other essential supplies to an altitude of over 15,000 feet is no easy task. As such we have decided to conduct a study to identify the problem of rodent nuisance in eastern Ladakh and western Ladakh in Armed Forces setting and evaluate various methods to control them for effective management of their infestation in our areas in eastern and western Ladakh,” Major General Mandeep Singh, ADG, Medical Research, Armed Forces Medical Services said.

Rats not only waste our food grains like wheat, rice and atta but they also cause a great deal of nuisance by scampering, running around and making noise. And needless to say they are carriers of various diseases, he said.

In the study that will be undertaken, we will concentrate on three aspects. We will look for measures to identify the most effective technique to control the nuisance spread by rats.

“While looking into the various nuisance spread by them we will also find if they have the potential to spread diseases," Lieutenant Colonel Dennis Abraham, preventive medicine specialist said. “ These rats never were present here in the higher altitudes or came in with the food stock in trucks and gradually breeded in large quantities-- all these details need to be found out. There is no established study of rodent nuisance in higher altitudes,” he said.

Christians in Belgaum plan procession HERALD CORRESPONDENT BELGAUM, FEB 27

Disappointed with the recently released Justice Somashekhar Commission regarding attacks on churches in Karnataka, the Christian community of Belgaum has organized a prayer and peace procession on February 28.

As the part of the state wide movement, Christians belonging to different denominations will take part in the procession which is organized to impress upon the government not to accept the Justice Somashekar Commission report that has caused a lot of disappointment.

“Instead of finding who was responsible for the attack on the churches in Karnataka, the report has maintained who was not responsible for the same,” Bishop Peter Machado said.

“The procession has been organized to impress upon the government not to accept the report and also press for a CBI enquiry,” he added.

The peace procession shall commence at 3.30 pm from the Beynon Smith School Ground and proceed via College Road; Chenamma Circle to Deputy Commissioner's Office.

Crime scene presence can nail accused:SC PTI NEW DELHI, FEB 27

Mere presence of an accused at the crime scene is sufficient to convict a person providedhe had an “active mind in furtherance of the common object,” the Supreme Court has ruled in a case where the groom was murdered on the very next day of his marriage.

A bench of Justices V S Sirpurkar and A R Dave passed the ruling while dismissing an appeal of four life convicts challenging their conviction on the ground that they were merely present at the site and their active involvement was not established.

“The law of vicarious liability under Section 149 IPC is crystal clear that even the presence in the unlawful assembly, but with an active mind, to achieve the common object makes such a person vicariously liable for the acts of the unlawful assembly,” Justice Sirpurkar observed.

26,000 colleges to be linked via fibre optics in 3 years: Sibal PTI KOCHI, FEB 27

In an effort to build an international highway of information, 26,000 colleges and 800 universities in the country would be connected with fibre optics in the next three to four years, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said today.

Once the connectivity was through, there will be a flow of information which will be free of any charges, he said addressing students and teachers of the Rajagiri Public School at nearby Kalamassery.

There will be a global opportunity as India will be providing the workforce of the world by 2050.

While by 2020, the average age of Indians will be 29, in Italy, Germany and Japan, the average age would be over 60 years, he said.

APPOINTMENTS

NEW DELHI, FEB 27

GANGTOK, FEB 27

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has assured a Buddhist delegation that he will personally look into the matter of Karmapa Ugyen Trinley Dorje and review the entire case.

A Buddhist delegation called on the prime minister yesterday to discuss the problems facing the Karmapa.A press release issued by the Joint action Committee of Buddhist Organisations of Sikkim said that the prime minister reassured the delegation that “he fully understood the sentiments of the Buddhists” and promised that as soon as the budget session was over, he would personally lreview the entire case.

The delegation included Lok Sabha MP PD Rai, former MP and Union Minister from Ladakh P Namgyal, former member of the National Commission of Scheduled Tribes L ama Lobzang.

adding the probe was in the final stages and likely to be completed by next month.

“The central government has so far not asked us – the IT investigation wing -- for any report,” according to the Kerala I-T official.

The investigation wing had at first conducted a preliminary inquiry into the allegations of amassment of wealth against the relatives of Balakrishnan.

After the allegations came to the fore, Bhaskaran, Balakrishnan's brother had resigned as special government pleader of Kerala High Court citing health reasons.

Sreenijan, who had unsuccessfully contested the assembly polls as a Congress candidate, had quit Youth Congress after facing the charges.

He is also facing a vigilance probe.

INDIA

In this case, the groom Shankar Rai was killed after the convicts -- Amerika Rai, Mithilesh Rai, Sanjay Rai and Sipahi Rai along with another Chulhan Raj shot him dead.

The irony was that the convicts and the deceased were all friends and relatives who had visited the bride's village the previous day to attend the marriage at Ishupur village in Vaishali district in Bihar on June 26, 1995.

At the bride's village there was an altercation between members of the two parties.

On the next day, when Ram

Babu, the brother-in-law of Shankar was assaulted by the convicts, Shankar intervened in the matter and after some time the convicts went inside t h e i r h o u s e a n d b ro u g h t firearms.

In the melee that followed, Shankar was shot dead and another person seriously injured as he was presumed to be taking the side of his brother-inlaw.

The Sessions Court awarded life imprisonment to six of them, including Darbesh Rai. The Patna High Court dismissed their plea following

which two of the convicts Amerika Rai and Mithlesh took the plea that they were merely present at the scene.

Rejecting the argument, the apex court said the evidence on record clearly established the involvement of the five convicts in the case.

“In that light, when the evidence is examined, it is obvious that Amerika Rai (A-1) who was the elder in the family, Mithilesh Rai (A-4) and Chulhan Rai (A-3), instead of acting in a responsible manner and preventing any unpleasant incident, exhorted the accused persons to bring the gun.

“The guns are normally not brought for making a show. The exhortation to bring the gun definitely speaks about the guilty mind of Amerika Rai (A1), so also the use of guns byMithilesh Rai (A-4), Sanjay Rai (A-5) and Sipahi Rai (A-6) is very clear that they also had guilty mind,” the bench said.

The process of formation of the JPC for probing the 2G spectrum allocation scam will be completed on Tuesday when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh moves a motion in the Rajya Sabha, which is expected to approve it.

Singh, who is the leader of the Rajya Sabha, will seek the approval of the Upper House for the motion for setting up the 30-member joint parliamentary committee.

The motion will also have the names of ten members from the Rajya Sabha for the JPC which already has 20 members from the Lok Sabha.

While BJP leaders Ravi Shankar Prasad and S S Ahluwalia have already been nominated by the party, the names of Tiruchi Siva (DMK), S C Mishra (BSP), Abhishek Singhvi and Jayanthi Natarajan (both Congress) and Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M) are doing the rounds.

APPOINTMENTS

OHERALDO

10 GOA, MONDAY, 28 FEBRUARY 2011

Cases against 127 Indian fishermen disposed of PTI ISLAMABAD, FEB 27

Pakistani authorities have informed the Supreme Court that cases registered against 127 Indian fishermen have been disposed of by the Sindh High Court, paving the way for their release.

A member of an inspection team of the Sindh High Court told the apex court yesterday that 13 separate cases registered against the Indian fishermen had been disposed of on the directions of a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.

The apex court had recently ordered the High Court to expeditiously decide the cases against the Indian fishermen on merit.

The order was issued in response to a constitutional petition filed in the apex court by the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum and the Indian fishermen.

The petitioners challenged the arrest and continuing detention of the Indian fishermen.

India and Pakistan arrest scores of fishermen every year for violating each other's maritime boundaries.

Many of the fishermen languish in jail for years even after completing prison terms given to them by courts.

Lebanese march against confessionalism

Around 3000 people joined the demonstration demanding for the elimination of the confessional political system and the establishment of a secular state.

AFP BEIRUT, FEB 27

Hundreds of people marched in Beirut on Sunday demanding an end to Lebanon's confessional system, mobilised by a call posted on Facebook, an AFP journalist reported.

"The revolution is everywhere... Lebanon, it's your turn," chanted demonstrators, most of them young people, in reference to the popular uprisings rattling regimes across the Arab world since January.

Lebanon's system of government is rooted in a 1943 power-sharing agreement along confessional lines adopted after the country won its independence from France.

Aimed at maintaining a balance between the 18 religious sects, the agreement calls

Karzai to visit Britain this week AFP KABUL, FEB 27 Afghan President Hamid Karzai travels to Britain Monday for a two-day visit to meet Prime Minister David Cameron and open a major museum exhibition about his country's heritage, an official said.

A spokesman for Karzai, Siamak Heravi, told AFP that the president would discuss issues including the planned transition of responsibility for security from international troops to their Afghan counterparts in 2014.

"Karzai will meet the prime minister, members of parliament, foreign secretary and defence secretary," Heravi said Sunday.

for the president to be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister to be a Sunni Muslim and the speaker of parliament a Shiite Muslim.

Other government jobs are also allocated according to religious affiliation.

The power-sharing arrangement has been blamed for most of the country's problems over the decades, including corruption, cronyism and above all the devastating civil war (1975-1990) and its subsequent crises.

The protesters braved torrential rains and marched on the main courthouse, chanting "the people want to oust the regime," - echoing the battle cry that toppled veteran leaders in Tunisia and Egypt.

Police and soldiers guarded the building and some of the troops smiled as the pro-

Afghan probe accuses NATO forces of killing 65 civilians AFP KABUL, FEB 27

Afghanistan's government said Sunday that its investigations have found NATO killed 65 civilians, many of them children, during recent operations in a remote northeastern militant stronghold.

The death toll from several days of operations in Kunar province comprised 21 boys, 19 girls, 10 women and 15 adult males, President Hamid Karzai's office said in a statement quoting an official delegation.

Karzai has now ordered his security chiefs to "discuss the issue" with international forces, his office said, without providing further details.

In response, a spokesman for

Bamiyan Buddhas were intensely colourful, once AGENCIES LONDON, FEB 28

A team of conservationists studying fragments of the destroyed Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan has discovered that prior to the advent of Islam, the statues were overpainted several times and were once intensely colourful.

"The Buddhas once had an intensely colourful appearance," says Erwin Emmerling, who heads Restoration, Art Technology and Conservation Science at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM), Germany and whose team is working on the fragments.

The world had watched in horror as Taliban fanatics 10 years ago blew up the two gigantic Buddha statues that had since the 6th century looked out over the Bamiyan Valley in what is now Afghanistan.

Conservationists now say the outer robes, or sangati, were painted dark blue on the inside and pink, and later bright orange, on top. In a further phase, the larger Buddha was painted

testers arrived while others took pictures of the demonstrators.

More than 2,600 Facebook users had signed up to participate in the rally but the wet weather seemed to have dissuaded a significant portion.

"Come on Lebanese, rise up against confessionalism!" and "We want a secular state" were some of the slogans launched at the protest.

"Confessionalism is bad for your health, we ask you to abstain from it," and "Tyrants of Lebanon, your turn is next" chanted others.

Inspired by the success of uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, several groups demanding an end to the confessional system have sprouted on the social networking site Facebook.

red and the smaller white, while the interior of the robes was repainted in a paler blue.

The graphic reconstruction undertaken by the TUM researchers confirms ancient traditions: sources as far back as the 11th century speak of one red Buddha and one moonwhite, according to a TUM statement.

The other parts of the figures may possibly have had a white priming coat, but that can no longer be proven beyond doubt.

The statues themselves were hewn out of the cliff. However, the flowing garments were formed by craftsmen using clay, which was applied in two or three layers. The remains display an astonishing degree of artistic skill.

"The surfaces are perfectly smooth - of a quality otherwise only found in fired materials such as porcelain," says Emmerling.

"These have survived not only nearly 1,500 years of history, but even the explosion in some parts," adds Emmerling.

the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), Lieutenant Colonel John Dorrian, said it was "deeply sorry... for any civilian casualties that have occurred as part of this operation."

But he disputed the death toll, saying ISAF's assessment only found five to seven civilians "may have injured." Investigations were continuing, he added.

Karzai appointed the delegation last week after he first accused international forces of killing civilians in an operation targeting insurgents -- a highly sensitive issue in Afghanistan.

Karzai says such incidents erode support for his Westernbacked administration.

There are about 140,000 foreign troops, the bulk of them American, deployed in Afghanistan to help Kabul defeat the Taliban, but civilian casualties have exacerbated longstanding tensions between the government and its Western allies.

On Thursday, NATO also said it was investigating allegations that fire from one of its planes killed five civilians in Kapisa province, north-east of Kabul.

Local villagers had alleged the men were civilians hunting in the mountains of Alasai district when they were attacked by NATO planes, provincial police chief Abdul Hamid Arkin told AFP.

FROM PAGE 1 Now, Merc coach coloured buses which will be deployed between the Capital city to various destinations.

Chief Minister, Digambar Kamat will launch the services at the KTC Margao depot on March 1, at 9.30 am.

2 inmates escape years and 15 years fled by cutting open the window grills.

It is learnt that one of the juveniles who fled from Apna Ghar on Saturday night had earlier tried to escape along with the other inmates on Friday afternoon.

Police informed that Superintendent of Apna Ghar at Merces informed the Old Goa Police about the incident.

It may be recalled that this is the second such incident in a week, as on Friday afternoon, one juvenile had managed to escape, while two others were caught when the trio made an attempt to flee from the protective home.

Sada officials lax Whereas, jail guard Gaurish Naik is charge-sheeted under section 3 (i) (ii) (iii) of the CCS (conduct) Rules, 1964.

The escaped jail birds chose a perfect time to execute their plan between 2 am and 2.45 am. Four officials were immediately placed under suspension even as all five are slapped charges of misconduct or misbehaviour.

Charges against Vasudev are that although he had full visibility of Cell number 13, he not only failed to keep vigil and be alert in his duties but also failed to bring the matter to the notice of his superiors.

“He had full visibility of Cell number 13 but he failed to keep vigil and be alert in his duties as a result of which the three prisoners escaped through a hole made in the toilet wall of the cell,” the chargesheet reads. “…he failed to bring fact to the notice of the higher authorities in time, the escaped prisoners could have been recaptured,” it added.

Jail guard Gaurish who could get away from suspension is however indicted for grave negligence. A day before the escape, on August 3 at about 6 pm, Gaurish carried out a futile inspection of the Cell and the bathroom.

During inquiry, Gaurish defended that he inspected the Cell and checked the bathroom and toilet by knocking the walls with lathi (stick).

“He failed to find cavity (hole) and the removed tile from the toilet wall while inspecting which amounts to gross negligence.

His lethargic attitude to thoroughly check resulted in his failure to find the hole as a result of which the three prisoners escaped,” IGP Vardhan stated in the inquiry report.

The negligent action of all five jail officials are compiled in the six-month inquiry. The departmental inquiry will now decide further course of action. However, neither IGP Vardhan nor additional IGP Dipak Desai was available for comments.

OHERALDO

Pg 11

INDIA

GOA, MONDAY•, 28 FEBRUARY, 2011

Indians back from Libya recount fear, horror tales PTI NEW DELHI, FEB 27

Heaving a sigh of relief as they returned home ‘safely’ today, hundreds of Indians fromLibya recounted the ordeal they underwent being confined to their homes without food ever since anti-government protests began in the North African nation two weeks back.

With fear still writ large on their faces, they gave an account of the tales of fear, horror and looting to mediapersons at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the wee hours.

Mohammed Sali, hailing from Kochi in Kerala and who has been living in Libya for the past 31 years, said many people went without food and water for days as the situation turned from bad to worse in Libya, where Muammar Gaddafi is facing large-scale revolt against his regime.

“Ever since the protests began, people started fearing for their lives. I along with a few Indians were stuck in a camp for two days and some people looted all our belongings like laptops and phones,” he said.

The engineer said there is “no rule of law” in Libya ever since the uprising began in mid-Feb-

ruary and many police stations in capital Tripoli have been burnt down by protesters.

“We had to face arson and loot by locals,” he said and thanked a group of Libyans, who gave him and a few others shelter.

Karamvir, a carpenter working for a construction company, said he will never go back to Libya even if situation returns to normal there.

“The situation is very bad.

People are looting. They are even killing. There is no police.

There is no safety,” he said.

The people also thanked the Indian government for making arrangements to bring them back home.

Dr Navbir, who has been living alone in Libya for the past few years, said she had never felt unsafe in the country till the protests broke out.

“Never did I feel that I was in a foreign country. Even when I was coming to board the flight, people asked me not to go,” she said.

Navbir said the Tripoli airport was a scene of utter chaos as people have to wait for at least 10 hours to get into the airport.

“There is a long queue to enter the Tripoli airport and it took 15 hours to reach the

An Indian family residing in Libya arrives at the airport in New Delhi The foreign ministry said it has sent a ship to Benghazi to evacuate at least 1,200 Indians and has sought permission for its planes to land in Tripoli for other evacuations.

There are 18,000 Indians in Libya, mostly in the oil, construction and health sectors.

check-in counter from the airport entrance,” she said.

The story of Mobin Qureshi, a resident of Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh, is a little different.

“There is no one to help us...

All houses were burnt down and

we went without food...Situation of Indians, especially who are residing in workers' camps, is very bad as the camps have been burnt down and there is no shelter, food and water,” he said.

A total of 528 Indians have so far been brought back to the country by two Air India planes.

Qureshi alleged authorities at Tripoli airport had taken away money, mobile and other valuables from them.

But Sajjan Lal of Hyderabad, who was working in a hospital near Tripoli, praised Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi saying, “He is a nice person.”

Some of the Indians employed as worker and labourers alleged that the police there did not provide any security and instead took away their mobiles, money and other belongings in the pretext of searches.

The prevailing situation in Libya was a blessing in disguise for a group of workers belonging to Rajasthan's Sikar district as they went to that country on a two-month visa procured through agents.

They did not have a valid work permit.

“When we approached the Indian embassy they told us that my visa is not a work visa.. It is just a tourist visa valid for two months,” Vikram Singh said.

The workers alleged that the company for which they were working did not provide any food or medical facilities during the rioting and arson.

They also alleged that one of their fellow members was hit by the rioters and sustained head injuries, but was not provided any medical facilities by the company.

Telangana leaders mount pressure on Cong Name those behind PTI NEW DELHI, FEB 27

The issue of formation of a separate Telangana State is becoming ticklish for Congress with each passing day as party leaders from the sensitive region in Andhra Pradesh mount pressure on it to find an early settlement.

With the Budget Session of parliament on, partymen from Telangana region appear to have made a common cause in Lok Sabha with members of TRS and TDP from the region.

The leadership has brought temporary truce asking the party MPs to lie low for the next few days till the presentation of the budget is over.

Party chief Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have deliberated on the vexed issue time and again in the last few months including last Friday at the Congress Core Group meeting.

Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy is in the capital holding deliberations with top party leaders on the issue and met Gandhi, her political secretary Ahmed Patel, UPA's trouble

Yeddy turns 69, seeks a helping hand PTI BANGALORE, Feb 27

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa who turned 69 today appealed to the opposition not to come in the way of welfare of the state and work towards betterment of the lives of the poor.

Yeddyurappa said he had vowed to take the opposition leaders into confidence despite their "belligerent" behaviour towards him .

“I have spoken to leaders of both Congress and JD(S) and urged them to extend a helping hand to work towards bettering the lives of the poor and ensure overall development of the State,” he said.

shooter Pranab Mukherjee and AICC general secretary in-charge for the State M Veerappa Moily.

Reddy's meeting with the senior leaders come in wake of the controversy over the Telangana issue deepening in the State when the budget session of Assembly is in progress there.

Joining protests with TRS and members of TDP, Congress MLAs from the region have been disrupting the assembly session for last few days over the demand, while government employees of the region have launched a non-cooperation movement.

Pressing the panic button, 16 ministers of the State government belonging to Telangana wrote a letter to Congress President Sonia Gandhi a few days back seeking a “special and Urgent” audience with her on the issue.

Sources say the top leadership has told party leaders from the region to keep patience assuring them a credible solution is being worked out.

An all party meeting of stake holders from the State has al-

n Joining protests with TRS and members of TDP, Congress MLAs from the region have been disrupting the assembly session for last few days over the demand, while government employees of the region have launched a noncooperation movement. ready been held and another one is likely next month.

In their missive to Gandhi, the ministers said any delay in creation of the new State will be detrimental to the party and there was “no option” to a separate Telangana.

Earlier party MPs from from both houses belonging to the region had met Mukherjee mak-

ing no secret of their uncompromising stand on a separate State.

Party leaders from the region are saying that with TRS raising its tempo on the issue and MLAs from other parties in Telangana joining the chorus, their position has become precarious and fear that the party could lose popular support in Telangana region if the situation continued so.

In their letter to Gandhi, the ministers also reminded her of the promise made in party's poll manifesto during 2004 Lok Sabha elections and on other occasions including Home Minister P Chidambaram's December 9, 2009 announcement on the issue which had created a controversy with leaders from non-Telangana regions opposing any move to carve out a separate State “It would be difficult to face public without honouring our commitment on Telangana,” they have said.

The revolt by former party MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy is also weighing heavily on the mind of Congress.

chopper deal: CIC PTI NEW DELHI, FEB 27

The Central Information Commission has directed the Defence Ministry to disclose the names of ministers and officials who had given the go-ahead for the procurement of six “phased out” helicopters from the US, for which it had received a rap from the CAG. The Indian Navy had earlier refused to disclose any information about the deal saying disclosure would compromise national security and cited exemption under section 8(1)(a) of the RTI Act to withhold the details.

RTI applicant Subhash Agrawal had sought from the navy information about the deal including the objections raised by the Comptroller and Auditor General, the replies given by force, and the names of ministers, defence secretaries and other officials who had cleared it.

Hearing the plea of Agrawal, Information Commissioner M L Sharma asked navy to give rea-

sons why the information which was already in public domain because of the CAG report was being withheld.

A navy official said they cannot tell who were the ministers who handled the file and that the Defence Ministry would be in the best position to explain it.

Sharma then ordered the Defence Ministry to provide the names of its ministers and secretaries who had handled the file and given the go-ahead for the deal.

The navy official also said there was a question in parliament about the deal and they had sent a “confidential” reply to the Defence Ministry. The official, however, said he was not sure if the reply was tabled in parliament.

The navy had acquired six decommissioned UH3H helicopters under the Foreign Military Supply (FMS) programme of the United States in November 2006, along with training and support facilities at an approximate cost of Rs 182.14 crore.

Many rural women can’t buy sanitary napkins: Survey PTI MUMBAI, FEB 27

Almost 68 per cent rural women cannot afford sanitary napkins available in the market today, according to a survey.

The survey, carried out by leading global information and measurement company AC Nielsen, and reviewed and endorsed by NGO Plan India, reveals the dismal state of feminine hygiene care in India.

According to gynaecologists, the use of alternative sanitary care measures such as unsterilised cloths, sand and ash make women susceptible to infections and diseases.

The study found that awareness on the basic health and feminine hygiene is very low, with 75 per cent rural women

lacking adequate knowledge on menstrual hygiene and care.

On the issue of affordability of good quality sanitary care, it found 81 per cent rural women use unsterilised cloths since they are cheaper and 68 per cent said they cannot afford to buy sanitary napkins available in the market.

Adolescent girls in rural India are unable to attend up to 50 days of schooling in a year due to inadequate menstrual care, it said.

The survey was conducted in October with the participation of 1,033 rural women in the menstrual age group and 151 gynaecologists from different parts of India.

Altogether 97 per cent gynae-

cologists surveyed believe that sanitary napkins can act as a preventive measure against reproductive tract infection.

The survey said among the adolescent rural girls, 23 per cent (aged 12-18 years) discontinue studies due to inadequate sanitary facilities in schools.

Of the 355 million menstruating women in India, only 12 per cent use sanitary napkins.

The figure is abysmal, compared to countries like China, where majority of women use sanitary napkins, the survey maintained.

They cope with sub-optimal alternatives like cloth, sand, husk and even ash, which have severe consequences on the health, education and reproductivity of girls and women, it said.

“Menstruation is a subject that has culturally been considered a taboo and is entrenched with misconceptions and disregard, with little cognisance of the hazards of inadequate menstrual protection.”

“The survey has highlighted how the subject of feminine hygiene is grossly neglected at all levels,” said Bhagyashri Dengle, Executive Director, Plan India.

Over 30 per cent surveyed girls said they dropped out from school after they started menstruating, she said.

Poor financial condition does not allow majority of the women to buy quality sanitary napkins, the survey said, adding of cloth users, 45 per cent reuse cloth and 70 per cent dry them in the

shade, increasing chances of infections.

Research shows that reproductive tract infection (RTI) incidence was 70 per cent more common among those with unhygienic sanitary practices, it said.

East India emerged as the region where the state of feminine hygiene is significantly poorer.

Amongst women who use cloth, over 70 per cent in east said they feel insecure during periods and wished they knew more on the subject.

The survey said 64 per cent of gynaecologists noted that sanitary napkins can act as a precautionary measure to reduce the risk of cervical cancer among women.

‘Delhiites don’t react sharply to molestation and eve teasing’ PTI NEW DELHI, FEB 27

Unlike Mumbaikars or Kolkatans, Delhiites do not react sharply to incidents of molestation and eve-teasing.

This assessment has been made by Delhi Police Commissioner B K Gupta, who feels that the active cooperation of the public is of “paramount importance” as police presence may not be available at all places.

“As compared to Mumbai and Kolkata where citizens sharply react to any incident of molestation or eve-teasing, such reactions are totally lacking or missing on the part ofcitizens of Delhi who have a vital role to play in preventing harassment to the women travelling in the city,” Gupta said.

He made these comments in a letter written to a senior editor of a leading publication, seeking to dispel the impression that the capital is unsafe for women where a number of cases of crime against women were reported.

He pointed out that the po-

lice was not the only stake holder in preventing such crimes where the perpetrators are mostly known persons.

“It is, in fact, a socio cultural problem in which there is a large role of people themselves and the social fabric of a city.

“It leads to the point which I had highlighted that in ensuring safety of women, the active cooperation of members of public is of paramount importance since police presence may not be available at each place of incident of eve-teasing or molestation,” the police chief said.

Seeking to emphasise his point, Gupta pointed out that in the Dhaula Kuan rape case, the police had reacted very promptly and the case was solved in a short time through professional investigation and highly painstaking efforts. “...but it was the gross negligence on the part of the concerned BPO vehicle in dropping the girls late in the night at a distance from their residence that led to such an incident,” he said referring to the abduc-

tion and rape of a call centre employee in November last year.

On the recent R K Puram rape case, he said the school girl “went on her own with her boyfriend who sexually assaulted her along with his two accomplices. The culprits were arrested promptly but needless to say that such cases are very difficult to prevent”.

In a metropolis like Delhi, he said, there were many reasons

like unplanned urbanisation, over population, lack of privacy, disparity in income, unemployment, consumerism and loosening of social control and family discipline behind cases of crime against women.

“Added to this is the impact of mass media and umpteen advertisements which sell a life style that many want but cannot afford leading to crimes of various forms,” he said.

According to the latest report of the National Crime Records Bureau, Delhi has earned the dubious distinction of being the most unsafe metropolitan city, topping the list of ignominy in the number of atrocities against women.

As per the NCRB's 'Crime in India 2009', the capital reported 23.8 per cent (404 out of 1,696) of the total rape cases and 38.9 per cent cases (1,379 out of 3,544) of kidnapping and abduction of women.

The city also reported 15.2 per cent cases (104 out of 684) of dowry deaths and 14.1 per cent (491 out of 3,477) of mo-

lestation.

The city has witnessed a sharp increase in rape and molestation cases since 2007.

In 2010, the city witnessed 489 rape incidents, including the infamous Dhaula Kuan and Mongolpuri incidents, as against 459 in 2009. The figure for 2006 was 609 followed by a drop to 581 next year. In 2008, it further dipped to 466. However, the police chose to down play the rise in crime saying some other major world cities had a higher rate in this category. While the rate of rapes in Delhi was 2.8 per lakh population, New York had 10.6, Washington 32.6, and Cape Town 73.

Almost similar was the case with molestation incidents in the capital in these years, but it showed an increase to 585 last year from the previous year's 532. While 2008 had 597 cases, there were 835 incidents in 2007 and 713 in 609.

In January this year, 17 cases of rape were reported out of which 95 per cent cases have

been worked out. The accused persons in all these cases were found to be known to the victims and were first timers.

Similarly, 29 molestation cases were registered in January, of which 83 per cent have been worked out.

According to Gupta, an analysis of figures of the last five years shows that while the projected population of Delhi has increased from 158 lakh in 2005 to 182 lakh in 2010 (an increase of 15 per cent), the incidents of rape and molestation of women have actually come down in the city.

While the figures were 658 cases of rape and 762 cases of molestation in the year 2005, the same stood at 507 and 601 respectively in 2010.

The per lakh incidence of rape has come down from 4.16 in 2005 to 2.78 in 2010.

Similarly, the per lakh incidence under the head 'Molestation of Women' has come down from 4.81 in 2005 to 3.30 in 2010.

OHERALDO

Pg 12

CAREERS & EDUCATION

GOA, Monday, 28 February 2011

Success beckons the multi-lingual Dress Down While Still Looking Businesslike I W

BY CAETANO DE ABREu

n the golden days of yore, we were well versed and content in expressing ourselves in our mother tongue. And with this we were able to get on with our lives quite well, with much ado, sans any tribulations and worries, not knowing that there was a world beyond our limited knowledge and comprehension, and that, that was the world where we could find greener pastures - for our academic, financial, and material gains. We never did fathom that we already had a foreign language –Portuguese – to help us through any eventualities. Neither did we realise that being bilingual and well versed in ways of both East and West (speaking both the local language Konkani and Portuguese) is the real reason that Goans are well-versed in dep o r t m e n t a n d m a n n e r s l i ke a n y westerner. And this innate talent helps them when seeking a better life, especially in the West.

It is an established fact that children around the world acquire the zest to communicate in any other language alien to their own, which is a very beneficial trait, especially in a world that is coming closer through various forms of communication and technology as due to globalisation, the world is slowly becoming one big worldly village for the mankind to dwell in unity. The passion to excel in an particular ambit of employment takes a new tenor of things to come, and it’s all for the better. And we can certainly gain from this if we im-

prove our language skills and gain fluency in and a command over as many important languages of the world as is possible for us, especially the languages spoken in the West. This will very soon become an imperative skill for us to succeed in future.

In India, or rather in Goa, the complete knowledge of Hindi or any other vernacular language is a “no go” as neither Hindi nor can’t your own language alone, can open the doors to employment security.

Thus the need of foreign languages, is a must for you if you want to venture into newer horizons, although it must be emphasized that gaining proficiency takes time.

In 1995 the European Commission (EC) “White Paper on Education and Train-

ing” stressed the importance for school children to learn a minimum of two foreign languages before being promoted to the higher secondary classes to further their education.

A career as a translator, interpreter or one that requires a professional to be adept in foreign languages, is an attractive proposition as our tradelinks are gloriously expanding overseas. Therefore the requirement for people with skills in foreign languages like French, German, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, Uzbek, Urdu, Arabic, Tajik, Hebrew, etc., are in great demand.

With the globalization of Indian Economy MNCs (Multi-National Companies) are foraying into India for expanding their business interests with still more

and more Companies signing joint-ventures here in India and Abroad. The ever increasing amount of scientific technology and cultural information lays an Arabian carpet for growing for those who are able to facilitate International Communication. Academic Degrees in foreign language helps in pursuing careers in Tourism and Hospitality Sector, Public Relation and Mass Communication, International Organizations, Diplomatic Services, Publishing Houses, BPOs (Business Process Outsourcing} etc. Opportunities are also presents in careers as a Tour Operator, Hospitality Executive, Online Content writer, Technical Translator Decoder, Interpreter, and Translator.

Interpreters need a total fluency over that foreign language as they need to translate the written documents which require excellent writing skills. We have taken quantum leap in Information Technology with the help of foreign languages and with the opening of Economies which can augur nothing but prosperity all round.

For further information contact: a. Institute of Translation Studies, Bangalore, Karnataka b. Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages (CIEFL) - www.

Ciefl.ac.in c. University of Pune, Department of Foreign Languages d. Aliance Francaise (16 centers) e. Max Mueller Bhavan (16 centers)f. Institute Hispania-www. lnstitutohis pania.com g. Institute Camoes {Goa).

Ways to Wreck Your Career Finding the right job can take you all your waking hours for up to 15 months on end. You can sail through the interview, having convinced them not only of your skills but also of your ability to fit the culture of the organisation, only for it all to end in tears within weeks or days - because, for one reason or another, you just didn’t fit in.

Here are the boo-boos that can blow out a career.

1. Poor people skills Studies have shown that people prefer to work with likeable, less-skilled colleagues than highly talented prats.

“Poor people skills can be a real career killer when your job involves dealing with people. Being flexible in your attitude to others will help you deal with anybody.

2. Not a team player Team players make their bosses look like heroes and show that they’re focused on the company. Look to the bigger game and don’t always focus on yourself.

3. Missing deadlines

I

6. Negative attitudes “Keep a positive attitude to work,” she says. “If you can only ever see the reasons why something can’t be done, you’ll struggle to advance. Look for solutions rather than problems.”

7. Being indiscreet Life is less private than ever, thanks to e-mail, weblogs and texts. You’re even a CCTV star. So don’t reveal company secrets or badmouth the boss. If you blog about work, keep it anonymous.

“Watch out for getting a reputation as the office gossip - people will start to question whether you can be trusted with anything.”

8. Poor networking skills “It’s important to get yourself known within a company if you want to advance your career. This doesn’t just mean sucking up to the bosses - it means making connections with people all over the company.”

9. Being a chatterbox and a poor listener “Sometimes people with low self-

esteem feel the need to bolster themselves up,” she says. “Remember, you don’t need to always be making a noise to be heard. You have two ears and one mouth, so aim to listen twice as much as you speak.”

loose ties. *Don’t wear a tie with jeans or comb a t

trousers. Some men think this is dressing down; but actually you’ll look like a stiff-neck desperately trying to look relaxed.

Thumbs up to: clean, pressed clothes; immaculate grooming; fine knits and jerseys; chinos, cords or moleskins, cotton, linen s u i t s , g a b a rd i n e o r w o o l trousers; high-quality logo-free T-shirts in summer; sports jackets in softer fabrics than your formal suits; crisp cotton goodquality shirts; and loafer-style shoes, half-boots or slip-ons.

Styling Women *Do keep those heels down.

High heels are for going out and looking sexy. Mid-height heels at work mean that you look more competent as you comfortably walk round.

*Do keep to understated elegance for low maintenance with a soft, chic appearance. If you have to run to the bathroom to touch up your eyeliner five times an hour then you’re not paying much attention to your work, are you? *Do avoid tight clothes, plunging necklines and any bling. It looks tacky and distracts from that brilliant report you just handed in. *Don’t confuse casual with scruffy. A pair of jeans with fraying knees or an un-ironed shirt will simply make you look like the office scarecrow. *Do aim for a simple, sharp look if you’re a more mature worker. Black and navy blue combined with neutral accents are smart and ageless. *Do avoid wearing flat shoes or sandals with skirts. *Don’t dress too flamboya n t l y. I f y o u turn up from head to toe in silver lamé, people will assume you’ve come straight from a night out on the tiles at Annabel’s. *Do choose clothes that flatter your figure. Jeans and Tshirts can show your contours at their worst. *Do focus on accessories. A pair of smart shoes, or an expensive bag, can be a subtle way of telling the world that, for all your casual attire, you are to be taken seriously.

Thumbs up to: clean, pressed clothes; immaculate grooming; softly tailored suits and jackets; casual trouser suits; fine knits and jerseys; accent-colour tops and shirts; high-quality logofree T-shirts; well-chosen and quality accessories; boots, classic-style court shoes or loafers.

Rise Above Negativity in the Workplace

couldn’t really tell you when I first took note of this malady or if there was a specific day on which it began to overwhelm my work environment as a whole- but there has most definitely been a shift in the level of negativity in my work environment.

Negativity and the workplace are two elements of life that will certainly co-exist at certain times. It is virtually impossible to wake up every day feeling 100% positive and not let even an inkling of a negative feeling ever appear in your work day.

Trying to accomplish this would be both difficult and dangerous, as you are bound to completely explode at some point.

Everyone, from office professionals to executives experience their fair share of bad days. Understand that some negativity spilling over into the workplace, is just another fact of life that does not create much cause for concern. It is however, cause for concern when the negativity is so frequent and prevalent that it begins to affect the mood of those who are repeatedly exposed to it and eventually bring down the morale

A

If it was your company, and you’d spent excessively recruiting somebody, then found yourself spending even more excessively a year just to keep them, wouldn’t you want them to be just a teensy bit reliable? “Failure to deliver what you’ve promised will severely undermine your reputation and make you appear unprofessional.”

4. Conducting personal business on company time “Everybody has to make personal phone calls sometimes. Just be discreet about it. And don’t spend all afternoon sorting out your personal matters.

5. Isolating yourself Networking is the new success mantra. So, even if you’re reticent normally, join in sometimes. Get yourself down to the pub at lunchtime; join the water cooler gang. You might hear something to your advantage. “If, however, there are good reasons why you aren’t mixing, don’t forget that it’s OK to ask for help when you need it. That’s what line managers and HR departments are there for.

hat you wear and how you carry it on you, gives people their fist impression of your personality.

Do you want to look the business even on a casual day?

The biggest mistake that some people make when they dress for business casual is that they don’t distinguish their work clothes from their “just out for the night with my friends” items.

You need to emanate as much power, authority and credibility and command as much respect as you do in a suit. “We don’t do ‘smart casual’ very well. We have more of a classic culture.”

While men often look very good in uniform or in a suit or a formal shirt and pant at work, when you see them out of this environment, they often look like an unmade bed.”

Even on dress down days, you still have to maintain a good impression on clients and colleagues. The casual look can be turned to your advantage and still allow you to exude credibility, personal power and authority and command respect – while feeling comfortable.

Let’s get those wardrobes open and pull out those toostuffed drawers. Turn the casual look to your advantage with our help.

Styling Men * Do wear a suit without a tie. A lounge suit - not doublebreasted - with a plain cotton shirt can make men look extremely cool. *Don’t wear gimmicky ties or socks. No matter how funny the Simpsons are, they’re out of place in the workplace. *Do put your best foot forward at all times. Polish your shoes - and make sure your belt matches the colour of your footwear. *Do maintain some formal structure in your outfit. Let the casual note come through different colours, patterns and textures. *Don’t wear baggy trousers and shirts. They’ll make you look like a blob, rather than a force to be reckoned with. *Do pay attention to your neckline. Polo neck sweaters are a major part of James Bond’s smart-casual wardrobe, recognising the fact that a strong line at the neck usually looks better than bare skin, medallions and

lthough the merchant navy offers aspiring candidates, lucrative financial gains and the opportunity to quench that wanderlust, the field is extremely competitive. Here it’s the question of the survival of the fittest – as they have to appear for and pass tough competitive exams.

Exams: The lowest level of examination that is given [conducted by the Ministry of Surface Transport, in association with the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) Mumbai] is comparable to the Second Class certificate of competency. The exam takes place in two parts and those who have passed out of MERI are ex-

of the workplace entirely.

In attempting to investigate this situation in your work environment, you would need to identify with the negativity and distinguish between an average amount and the amount that was prevalent in my specific situation.

Evaluate Exposure to Negativity Is the negativity prevalent on a daily basis?

empted from Part A of the exam. Part B involves experiencing sea service first i.e. internship.

After MERI a cadet is posted as a Junior Engineering Officer on a merchant navy ship. With good work and completion of examinations, they can be promoted to the higher levels (Third Engineer, Second Engineer) and finally Chief Engineer.

Eligibility: Candidates to this course should have a B. E(Mech) or Naval Architecture degree. from an AICTE recognized Institute.

Selection: is made on the basis of merit and the advertisement for this course is published in Employment News and other leading news papers

Identify the reason behind the negativity.

Does the person have a viable reason for being negative? Are they just venting or is this display of negativity simply the beginning of a long day of ranting?

Tr y t o i d e n t i f y breaks in time that you aren’t observing negativity in your work environment vs. it being wide-spread throughout the day. For example, does the lunch hour centre on negative gossip but the rest of the day remain pretty positive?

Or does the entire day become consumed by an overwhelmingly negative a mentality?

Consider the Source of the Negativity Identify which colleagues are displaying the negative mentality - is this always the

in November every year.

Admission: is open to candidates below 20 years of age. They have to undergo a physical fitness test.

Fees: for this course is around Rs. 1,40,000/- including messing, uniform and accommodation. The address is : Marine Engineering & Research Institute, Hay Bunder Reay Road, Mumbai, Sewri , 400 033, Tel. 0223723577, 23725987, 23774261, 23771181 Fax022-23753151 E-mail - meribom@vsnl.com 3. Lal Bahadur Shastri College of Advanced Maritime Studies and Research, Mumbai is a premier postsea Maritime Education and Training Institute. The college was established

same person or is a large group of individuals?

Evaluate your boss’ demeanour when faced with negativity. Does he jump into the negative banter or try to re-direct the energy? This will help you identify if your boss is a source of negative energy and also observe what he may be doing to stifle it.

Evaluate the Affect of Negativity Survey your own mentality in your work environment. Do you allow the negativity to affect your own mood (bring you down) throughout the day?

Do you go into work feeling happy but once you are exposed to negative mentalities let them alter your original state of mind?

Constant negativity at work can impact the rate at which you achieve goals and have a direct correlation on how we approach our work. If co-workers are complaining or gossiping, it can result in you becoming distracted or allowing that negativity to carry over into your work.

by the Ministry of Transport, Government of India, in 1948. It offers a comprehensive range of courses for Merchant Navy Officers.

4. In addition to Government Training Institutes, there are number of private training institutes which are conducting pre-sea courses for Nautical Science as well as Engineering candidates who have passed their Std XII (Sc) or Engineering degree courses. These institutes follow their own selection procedure, which is published regularly in the news papers. They hold their own entrance tests, for which the minimum requirement is 50-60 per cent at the Std XII(Sc) Board Examination with

Do you find that you are allowing the negative mentality to follow you home?

The last thing you want is to impart the same negativity onto your family or friends.

If you find yourself in a negative mood upon arriving home, simply ask yourself if it is related to the mental state of your day. If so, the negativity at work has filtered into your personal life.

Make a Decision Based on Your Observations Once you have worked to identify negativity in your work environment, the source of it, the reasoning behind it and its impact on you, you will have to determine if actions need to be taken to assist you in turning that mentality around or if a bigger decision is to be made.

Physics, Chemistry and Maths.

Other Courses: There are other courses in this field like: Training - There are three establishments for training of ratings, T.S.Bhadra,Calcutta, T.S.Mekhala, Vishakapatnam and T.S.Navalakshi.

The training course is of 3 months duration.

Pre Sea training: There are few private institute imparting training and various courses to enable youngster to take up a career in sea with an intake capacity of 120 cadets per course.

Post Sea Training: Merchant Navy personnel have to clear examination to move on to the next position. This training is imparted at Lal Bahadur Shastri Nautical and engineering college, Hay Bunder Reay Road, Mumbai.

Competency Examination Certificate On completion of training and required sea time on ships, students have to appear for the Competency Examination. It is necessary for all candidates to obtain a Certificate of

Competency from the DirectorateGeneral of Shipping, Government of India. The examinations for these

After evaluating the affect on your professional and personal life and attempting to overcome the negativity, you will need to assess your situation and your desire to stay in your current situation.

If you find that you cannot overcome the negativity or that you are simply too unhappy, the decision to stay or go will present itself and that is a decision only you can make.

certificates are conducted through Mercantile Marine Departments. This exam if cleared, helps them qualify for jobs on board Merchant Ships.

The certificates are also recognized and respected by all the countries.

The first exam for second Mate (Deck) and MEO IV (Engineering) is to be given by the candidates after successfully completing the Pre-Sea Training in the above institutes and required sea time on ships. After acquiring the Certificate of Competency, the officer is eligible to be appointed as Third Officer / Fifth Engineer on board Merchant Ship and draw a handsome salary.

The Competence Examinations for Navigation Officers and For Marine Engineers are conducted by the Ministry of Surface Transport through the Directorate-General of Shipping (DGS), Mumbai.

Recruitment& Placement There is yet a third route to enter t h e M e rc h a n t N a v y. S h i p p i n g firms/lines, from time to time, recruit deck cadets directly after school and train them for a marine career.

Shipping lines also recruit marine engineers. Those with BE qualifications are eligible to join as Deck Cadets and a student holding a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical/ Electrical/ Technology

Engineering could also join the Merchant navy as a Engine Cadet/ Fifth Engineer/ Junior Engineer. Engineering cadets are recommended to do a Pre-sea course of 9 months duration in Marine Engineering Direct entry to Merchant Navy is also possible - students who have completed their Std XII with PCM (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics) Direct entry Deck Cadets are required to undergo basic pre-sea training arranged by the recruiting company itself and the direct entry are taken in directly after they complete an eight-month attachment with a naval dockyard in Mumbai, Cochin, Calcutta or Visakhapatnam.

Unlike the Marine Engineers from MERI, these candidates have to pass an additional competency examination.

After completing the three-year course in Nautical Science and acquiring the Certificate Of Competency of Second Mate (foreign going) cadets can join an Indian or international shipping company as Third Mate or Second Mate on board a merchant ship.

After several years of service and completion of higher examinations, namely, first mate ((FG) and master (FG), they can get the certificate of competency as master (FG) which entitles an officer to become the captain of a merchant ship. (to be continued)

OHERALDO

Biz13:Layout 1 2/27/2011 9:50 PM Page 1

BIZ

Pg13

GOA, MONDAY, 28 FEBRUARY, 2011

The day of the Budget AI equity infusion provision may be in Budget As you sit reading this article, it is probable that the Finance Minster is on his legs in the Lok Sabha, reading out his Budget speech – giving the nation government’s financial proposals for the year. Last week, the Minister gave to the nation a report on the state of the economy. While we do not have what the Finance Minister is saying today, let us look at what he did say to foresee some of his proposals that would feature in the budget.

THE STATE OF THE ECONOMY Last week’s state of the economy report indicated that the country was able to weather the global crises, thanks to our internal policies of economic prudence. It also indicates the measures that government has taken to address the pressing financial issues. The report believes that despite the global economic crises, India has been able to stay on top. Last year, the GDP grew by 8.6% - with a 5.4% growth in agriculture, 8.1% in industry, but a decelerated growth of 8% in the service sector. It saw a fairly good monsoon that resulted in substantial growth in agricultural production. This growth however was not able to keep prices of certain agricultural commodities under control. The manufacturing sector did indicate growth, but not all sectors – there is scope of growth in infrastructure. An interesting factor of the analysis states that the saving rate in the country has reached 33.7% while the investment rate is at 36.5%. This indicates the confidence of the people in the growth of the country.

One of the important factors of the economy is that the people of the country have faith in its development and are ready to invest in its future. But a worrying factor is the deceleration in industry that indicates that all is not well in the economy. Further inflation especially the rise in food prices continues to be a cause of concern. During the last year especially during the months of December 2010 till January of this year, there was an increase in the prices of vegetables especially onions.

However the price varied in different places – an indication of the fact that there are imperfections in the distribution system. The country has still to evolve a distribution network where products grown in a particular region can be preserved and transported to places where demand is the highest. Agricultural production are still localised and the nation still does not have a pan India reach.

CENTRAL FINANCES A major portion of document relates to the state of Central Finances. What percentage of the GDP is borne by taxes? In 2007-08, tax revenues constituted 11.9% of the GDP but have come down to 10.8% as per estimates of the last budget. Until 2005-06, central excise duties were the largest component of the central taxes. But the next year, direct taxes became the larger tax contributor and have continuing growing ever since. With the stimulus package given to industry, the share of excise duties fell further. Today it is noticed that corporate tax and service tax continue to grow significantly. The growth of corporate tax is an indication, that the country is moving out of the economic crisis, the recession that still continues to plague several developed economies, while expansion of service tax revenues is an expression of the changing nature of our economy where the need of services are rising.

THE DTC On the direct tax front, government has taken the initiative of bringing in the Direct tax Code from the next fisc. The government report

highlights the novel features of this Code, that aims to integrate individual pieces of legislation income and wealth tax into a single act.

Integration will bring about a combined return for both taxes – allowing departmental officers to correlate between rising wealth and the corresponding income. Presently, with different returns, officers would treat the act differently rarely look at the two files together!

The language of the new Code is simple, making in intelligible to the layman. Try reading some of the provisions of the earlier act and even legal eagles or astute Chartered accountants are at loss to understand what a particular sub-section is trying to say! As per the current tax laws, the rates are prescribed each year with the Finance Act giving government the authority to collect tax at the rates in force. The Code on the contrary incorporates the rate schedule.

Thus there will be no surprise increases during the Budget.

The rates are indeed moderate the maximum rate of corporate tax will now be 30% as against the present 33.2%. All surcharges are to be abolished. This will make both calculation of tax as also collection simple! With India integrating into the world economy, international taxation features large in the new Code. This is indeed necessary, since many of the foreign companies would like to determine their tax liability if any before making an investment in the country. The Code has provisions for Advance Pricing Agreemtns where foreign companies can enter into an agreement with the tax agreement where the price of goods or services can be predetermined and the validity of these ruling would be for a period of five years. Further the residence of a foreign company will be on the basis of their place of effective management rather than on the outdated concept of ‘wholly controlled in India.’. The provisions of taxation of resident passive shareholders, who have only dividend and interest income in foreign companies have been simplified. The Branch offices of foreign companies are proposed to be taxed at 15% of their profits as against the exhorbitant tax rates earlier. Resident who hold foreign bank accounts and assets abroad would now be in a postion to pay wealth tax on these assets and thereby legitimize these assets held abroad. It is also proposed to bring to tax non profit organisation used for charitable purposes. This will ensure that trusts carrying on business will now pay 15% tax on their profits. The DTC has indeed several worthwhile provisions. It is hoped that government is able to bring this Bill into law without much opposition. Government is also committed to bringing the Goods and Services Tax, but here a consensus with the different states would be needed. Will this all India tax also come about next year? Let’s see the progress of talks during the current financial year.

BUDGET DAY Yes today is D day – what bag of goodies has the Finance Minster given the nation. Well I am no prophet – but with the pressing needs of infrastructure development, the Finance Minster will certainly give an additional deduction for investment in this sector. Yes there will be provisions to contain the growth of black money in the country. You do not have to wait to long for in all probability the budget is already out!

(The author of the article is a retired Chief Commissioner of Income Tax. The views expressed by him are personal.)

PTI NEW DELHI, FEB 27

Provision for the muchneeded equity infusion into ailing Air India and a proposal to liberalise fund-raising capability of the Airports Authority of India may figure in the 2011-12 budget to be presented in Parliament tomorrow.

The two proposals, if accepted, would act as a big relief to both the public sector units which have been facing financial and liquidity crunch, sources said.

Air India is facing serious difficulties in meeting several of its liabilities.

It is confronted with an adverse cash-flow situation primarily because of high fuel prices, rise in costs on account of interest payments on aircraft purchases, depreciation costs and wage bill, besides high

costs of leasing planes and maintenance.

Keeping this precarious situation in mind and the Civil Aviation Ministry's proposal for further infusion of funds, the government may provide another tranche of Rs 1,200 crore in the budget tomorrow, the sources said.

If granted, this would be the

Q&Q aiming for 100% growth HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, FEB 27

Q&Q Watches, a subsidiary of Citizen Watch Co Ltd, Tokyo, is aiming at 100 per cent business growth in India in next five years, company’s senior officials said.

Shuji Takahashi, Managing Director of Q&Q India, on Sunday said that they intend to expand from existing south Indian states to pan-India by way of intense marketing and opening of new outlets.

“We are targeting 100 percent marketing in India. Goa and Karnataka are very important market for us. Q&Q brand is sold in more than 100 countries. We want to now target countries like Brazil, Russia, China and India,” Takahashi said while addressing dealers’ meet here.

The brand is now targeting emerging countries like India, China and Russia for its business growth. The MD said that the brand created record by selling more than two-crore watches and clocks in 1997 and the sale figures continued at that level till 2007 before the global recession hit the marketing in 2008.

“Around 1.3 to 1.5 crores pieces of the watches and clocks are sold annually after 2007,” he said adding the brand’s plant is based in China.

Japan CBM Corporation (I) Private Limited Vice President, K Chandrahasa said that they currently are networked in states of Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

“Q&Q watches cater to every Indian’s aspirations. It has its exclusive outlets where one can experience the entire range of men’s, women’s and kid’s watches to clocks and fashion accessories,” he said.

He stated that more than 700 models are available in India under the guarantee of Japan CBM Corporation (India).

Speaking about its presence in Goa, Chandrahasa said, the outlets are opened in the cities like Panjim, Margao, Mapusa, Vasco, Ponda, Valpoi and Marcel.

“Goa is the latest addition to the list and by April, this year we want to expand our presence in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Punjab. We have selected H L Nathuramal as the franchise for Goa and North Karnataka,” he added.

Presently with around 150 outlets across the country, the brand targets to open more 150 outlets by the next five years. As a part of expansion plan, the brand aims at selling one million as against 1.2 lakh watches sold annually in India.

third tranche of equity infusion, with the government already having given Rs 2,000 crore to the airline in two tranches in 2010 and in January this year.

Air India has incurred losses to the tune of Rs 1,791.38 crore in the first quarter of 2010-11, apart from the losses of Rs 5552.44 crore, Rs

Pharma firms want tax cuts REUTERS MUMBAI, FEB 27

Drugmakers want tax exemption deadline for export oriented unit to be extended and want infra or priority sector status in the budget on Feb 28.

The deadline for full exemption of tax on net profit for export oriented units, or EOUs, ends in March, though drugmaking facilities in special economic zones would not be affected. The exemption beyond March 2011 will provide relief to companies like Dishman Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals, Divi's Laboratoriess, Cipla and Torrent Pharmaceuticals.

The govt may grant infrastructure or priority sector status to healthcare, which would help draw more investments and lower costs, N.R Munjal, president, Indian Drug Manufacturers' Association said.

"The output of R&D is still considered as an intangible asset and hence, banks or financial institutions are not ready to support R&D projects. The govt should either make certain norms for funding or set up a venture capital fund," he said.

Pharma companies, with annual sales of over 1 trillion rupees including exports of 450 billion rupees, spend 4-7 percent of their revenue on R&D against 12% by their Japanese counterparts and more than 14% by the Chinese.

Rural prosperity fuelling food inflation: Subbarao PTI BHUBANESWAR, FEB 27

RBI Governor D Subbarao has said that rising prosperity in rural India is leading to food scarcity, which is driving up food prices.

"Since rural incomes are going up, people are eating better by shifting from cereal to protein (rich diet) and it is leading to food scarcity," Subbarao told students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bhubaneswar yesterday.

Food inflation, which has been hovering in double digit levels for the last few months has been a cause of concern for

the government. It rose to 11.49 per cent for the week ended February 12 from 11.05 per cent in the previous period, driven by rising prices of milk, egg, meat and vegetables.

"RBI is responsible for management of inflation. But responsibility for food inflation is slightly lower because food inflation arises due to supply side constraints," Subbarao said.

To combat food scarcity and consequent soaring prices, immediate steps should be taken to raise agriculture output substantially in the country, he said.

While advocating for an-

other green revolution in the country, the RBI Governor said food scarcity could be tackled effectively if half of the states in the country would touch the productivity level achieved by Punjab, the country's food bowl.

Punjab's food grain yield is pegged at 4,231 kg per hectare against the national average of 1,909 kg per hectare. During 2008-09, which was a record year for food grain production in the country, the state's contribution was 11.66 percent.

For stepping up farm productivity and production, it is necessary to increase investment in water management

and rural infrastructure, Subbarao said.

About 60 percent of the country's farm land relies on rain water for irrigation.

On the need to strengthen the supply chain, Subbarao said foreign direct investment in retail sector would go a long way in improving farm to market supply chain.

"India cannot import food as it has to feed around 1.2 billion people. Our food prices are lower than that of world prices.

You cannot import food and sell them here unless you subsidise. You cannot expect to subsidise food on a large scale," he said.

"There exists a paradoxical situation of subsidizing farmers for producing food and subsidising consumers so that that they get food at lower price. It is simply unsustainable," he said.

Referring to world-wide food shortage, Subbarao said that between December 2009 and December 2010, food prices in the world market had gone up by 25 per cent.

Speaking on RBI's role in reining in inflation, he said, "Monetary policy becomes the first line of defence, so if inflation persists for a long time people think inflation is going to be high, and that becomes a

self-fulfilling prophecy.

To break that inflationary-expectations psyche, RBI has to act, which is why we have been acting over the last year."

Subbarao also suggested that the government should spend more on education, public health and child welfare programmes. Expenditure on education should be raised to six per cent of the GDP from the present level of four per cent, he said.

Describing infrastructure a crucial input for development, he said since government lacked adequate funds publicprivate partnership was being adopted.

With $38 b cash, Warren Buffett looking for deals

REUTERS NEW YORK, FEB 27

Warren Buffett is looking for acquisitions as an outlet to deploy his $38 billion cash pile, the legendary investor said in his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway Inc shareholders on Saturday.

Buffett gave an aggressive earnings forecast for Berkshire's collection of businesses, said the company would engage in record capital spending and forecast a recovery in the housing market would start within a year.

Foremost, though, was his acknowledgment of the need for Berkshire to expand its noninsurance businesses, a broad collection that most prominently includes the railroad Burlington Northern and the electric utility MidAmerican.

"Our elephant gun has been reloaded, and my trigger finger is itchy," Buffett said. The letter was released just before 8 a.m.

EST (1300 GMT on) Saturday, as

it is in most years -- and many large investors say they get up early that day to read it the moment it comes online.

The so-called "Oracle of Omaha" said Berkshire will need "more major acquisitions" -- with an italicized emphasis on major -- to meet its goal.

One long-time Berkshire investor described the letter as "punchy" and "confidently American," among other things.

"I would say as an investor, I think it's a very upbeat letter, it's one that celebrates his courage on behalf of investors of going into the marketplace when the world was most fearful," said Tom Russo, a partner at Gardner Russo & Gardner in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who is one of the 15 largest holders of Berkshire Class A shares.

Buffett's enthusiasm for America was obvious in the letter, not only in his capital spending plans but also in his outlook on the growth oppor-

tunities for his railroad, his utility business and the other companies Berkshire owns that are fundamentally exposed to the U.S. economy and consumer.

"Money will always flow toward opportunity, and there is an abundance of that in America," he wrote.

That outlook could provide a boost to markets on Monday, as positive comments from Buffett's investor letter have sometimes done in the past.

Text of Buffett's Letter, click here

SUCCESSION Buffett addressed the hot-button succession issue in the 26page letter, something investors had anticipated given his age, 80, and the lack of a clear replacement.

Investment manager Todd Combs, hired late last year, will manage an initial portfolio of $1 billion to $3 billion, Buffett said, and Berkshire may add another one or two managers over time alongside him.

But Buffett said he will continue to manage the bulk of the

portfolio while he is CEO. Berkshire's equity holdings topped $52 billion at year-end.

He said less in the letter about who might follow him as chief executive of the company, though he said there were a number of good candidates.

The most frequently tipped is David Sokol, chairman of MidAmerican and private jet service NetJets, who Buffett praised.

Buffett tends to give an economic outlook in his letter and this year's was no exception.

"A housing recovery will probably begin within a year or so," he noted, which has led Berkshire to ramp up spending and acquisitions at its housingrelated businesses.

He was less bullish on interest rates, which have been low enough to earn the company a "pittance" on its cash in recent times. Buffett said rates will eventually rise enough to contribute more normal growth to the company's investment in-

come, but it was "unlikely to come soon."

INVESTMENTS Another hit to the investment portfolio will come from the redemption of crisis-era preferred investments in Goldman Sachs and General Electric. Buffett said both are likely to be gone by year-end. The Goldman investment in particular famously pays Berkshire $15 every second.

All things being equal, Buffett forecast Berkshire's "normal" earnings power at about $12 billion a year after-tax.

Some of that will come from dividends, particularly in large holdings like drinks giant CocaCola Co and bank Wells Fargo.

Wells has been hamstrung on its dividend payouts by post-crisis regulatory oversight, but Buffett said that should ease soon, leading to an increase of "several hundreds of millions of dollars" a year in dividend payments.

5,548.26 crore and Rs 2,226.16 crore respectively in 2009-10, 2008-09 and 2007-08.

Regarding the state-run airports body, which is modernising several metro and non-metro airports across the country, the sources said the AAI has for long been pressing the government to raise funds by issuing infrastructure bonds, a proposal that was rejected by the Finance Ministry over a year ago.

The borrowing norms might be liberalised in the upcoming budget to give the AAI enough flexibility to raise resources from the market, the sources said.

One of the prime reasons for AAI's cash crunch is the continuing default by several airlines on payments for all services at airports, including landing, parking and navigation charges.

If the 2011-12 budget proposes to liberalise borrowing norms, it would help AAI to implement plans to borrow Rs 900 crore this year and Rs 800 crore next year to fund the upgradation of almost a dozen out of a total 35 non-metro airports.

In dire need of funds to finance airport development, the AAI has recently invited bids to raise Rs 300 crore through five-year bonds to meet its capital expenditure requirements.

These funds would be used to meet AAI's capex requirements, the sources said, adding that the AAI had last year raised about Rs 550 crore through bank loans.

AAI had last year spent Rs 1,200 crore on modernizing and upgrading non-metro airports, out of its total expenditure of Rs 2,700 crore.

‘9% growth forecast difficult to achieve’ PTI MUMBAI, FEB 27

Even as the Government remains bullish about economic growth next fiscal, leading economists aren’t as confident as North Block mandarins about India’s ability to even maintain the current growth rate given the many domestic and global headwind staring at the country.

The Economic Survey, tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on February 25, had forecast an over 9 per cent growth next fiscal and pegged the current year growth at 8.6 per cent.

Economists at the leading rating and research agencies maintained achieving the higher projected growth trajectory looks unlikely given the medium-term macroeconomic trends.

Ashwin Parekh of Ernst & Young said “The 9 per cent plus growth projection looks difficult to achieve. The past four months have completely changed the macroeconomic conditions not only for us but for the entire global economy.”

Stating that if the oil crisis arising from the Libyan political crisis is contained within the next one month, it may not

pose too big a challenge to the domestic economy but if it extends beyond two months, it will definitely pose greater challenge to us. “But as of now we have no clarity on when the crisis will end.”

Bullishness might have come from the assumption that the present crisis will be over sooner than anticipated and bring down crude prices to around USD 85 a barrel, he said.

Deloitte’s Principal Economist Shanto Ghosh said while projecting a higher GDP rate, the ministry has glossed over many issues. Dependence on the services sector for growth without adequate focus on skill development is risky.

“Risks to the exchange rate arising from volatile FII flows impacting current account deficit is also understated. Finally, while the report speaks on social sector priorities and inclusive growth, it fails to provide a clear roadmap on how this can be achieved,” pointed out Ghosh.

Crisil Chief Economist D K Joshi is of the opinion that the prevailing high inflationary headwinds and external vulnerabilities are more likely to see that the projected growth will not be easy to clock.

Pg 14

SPORTS Salgaocar too good for ONGC

GOA, Monday, 28 February, 2011

HERALD CORRESPONDENT MARGAO, FEB 27

MARGAO

Cont: 2789121/ 9822149512

Salgaocar Sports Club scored a roller-coaster 5-0 win over debutants Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) Mumbai in a 16th round match of I-League at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda on Sunday. Salgaocar led 2-0 at half time.

Man-of-the-match midfielder Gilbert Oliveira and Ghanaian veteran striker Yakubu Yusfi netted two goals each while Japanese Ryuji Sueoka was the other scorer.

Salgaocar’s superior fitness and agility were too much for the Mumbai team which struggled to move forward. Their midfielders were the chief architects of the victory. They once

GFA First Division: Mormugao Port Trust v. St Rock's SC, Raia ground, 4 p.m.

St Caetano soccer: SFX Vaddy Boys v. Marck Boys, Ponda, A Lua ground, Merces, 5 p.m.

Nagoa Panchayat Cup soccer: Verna SC v. Arlem YC, Nagoa panchayat ground, 4.30 p.m.

Laxmi and Subha soccer quarter-finals: Nagoa SC v. Sai Avtaar, Anjuna, Nerul ground, 4.30 p.m.

R E S U LT S Salgaocar 5 ONGC 0 Man-of-the match: Gilbert Oliveira (Salgaocar) HAL 1 Mumbai FC 0 Man-of-the match: M. Meetei (HAL) Air India 1 Chirag United 1 Man-of-the match: D Singh (AI) again produced a solid display and asserted their dominance in the midfield.

Central midfielders, Tomba Singh and Rocus L amare worked in tandem with livewire Gilbert Oliveira and Francis Fernandes to create openings for Yakubu Yusif and Ryuji Sueoka.

ONGC had their chances initially but Badmus Babtunde seemed to be out of sorts and his tries missed the target narrowly.

After missing some chances, Salgaocar finally broke the deadlock in the 30th minute after Gilbert floated the ball

CAC down Pax

nagoa panchayat trophy HERALD SPORTS DESK PANJIM, FEB 27

CAC Cansaulim scraped past beating Pax of Nagoa Sports Club 1-0 in Nagoa panchayat cup soccer at Nagoa panchayat ground on Sunday. There was no score at the lemon break.

Pax of Nagoa could have shot into the lead in the 8th minute but Valanko failed to capitalise.

Changing ends, Cansaulim’s only goal came in the 50th minute.

Nagoa tried hard to equalise till the final hooter, but all in vain.

for Yakubu who leapt high and beat his marker with a stump header. A minute later again, Yakubu made a valiant attempt to nod the ball home but missed off a chip from Ryuji Sueoka.

ONGC goalkeeper Prosenjit Ghosh must be blamed for the second goal in the 40th minute as he was caught off the line, failing to judge the flight of the ball sent by Gilbert.

Crossing over, Salgaocar struck yet again in the 50th minute following a well executed shot from midfielder Gilbert.

ONGC were a demoralised lot

and in the 57th, striker Ryuji was brought down by defender Kamal Thapa inside the rival penalty box. Referee Andrew Shekhar without any hesitation awarded the penalty. Ryuji himself took the resultant spot kick to send the ONGC keeper in the wrong direction.

The Mumbai team had their chances to reduce the margin.

First, striker Baba Tunde’s rasping shot was blocked by Salgaocar keeper Karanjit Singh and later Kailash Patil’s snap shot was parried away by the Salgaocar keeper for an abortive flag kick.

Yakubu scored when he calmly put it past the charging ONGC keeper Prosenjit Ghosh

to complete the whitewash.

With this win, Salgaocar continue to stay at the top with 39 points from 16 matches while relegation threatened ONGC have 11 points from the same number of encounters.

Salgaocar ’s coach Karim Bencherifa was mighty pleased

with his team’s showing. “I told them to keep the momentum going and stay focused. I asked them to put up a better performance with a consistent display to win, so that we could stay at the top and I am pleased with their overall performance,” concluded Bencherifa.

PTI KOLHAPUR, FEB 27

Hosts Air India came from a goal down to register a 1-1 draw against Kolkata-based Chirag United 1-1 in the 16th round ILeague match here Sunday.

After Subhasish Chakraborty

had given the visitors a lead in the seventh minute, Okorogor Praise scored in the 36th minute to restore parity for the hosts.

Chirag United now have 20 points from 16 games, while the airmen have 11 points from as many matches.

AGENCIES BANGALORE, FEB 27

which enabled them to total 19 points to avoid relegation.

The solitary goal was the result of the constant pressure from HAL. Xavier flicked the ball off a throw in to Malem who made no mistake in placing the ball in.

Mumbai FC manager, Henry

Picardo felt the better team had won, as his boys did not play up to the standard, and blamed his strikers for missing chances.

HAL manager M Muralidharan was all praise for his boys.

“Malem is a real asset to the team, he is performing well.”

AI draw with Chirag

HAL edge past Mumbai

After dishing out an entertaining game in the first half and mostly dominating in the second half, HAL secured full points from their round XVI engagement against Mumbai FC with a 1-0 victory

Clement tops BITS Spree marathon HERALD REPORTER VASCO, FEB 27

Goan ace marathon runner Francisco Clement ruled the day at BITS Pilani’s sporting festival ‘Spree’ winning a half marathon charity run organised by Nirmaan Goa and Vasco Club on Sunday.

The marathon had around a good response of 200 participants.

Francisco Clement was followed by Nillu and Nitesh Sawalas.

In football, defending champions VNIT, Nagpur handed over a drubbing to MITS, Indore 80.

Among the other matches, SRIEIT, Goa stood out with a 41 victory over MVSREC, Hyderabad.

On the cricket field, IIST, Indore beat IIIT, Gwalior in the cricket group stage.

However, Tarun of IIIT G wowed spectators with a magnificent innings scoring 103.

Goan ace marathon runner Francisco Clement at the finish line of Spree’s 'Run For Cause' at Sancoale.

BPGC girls got the better of GEC girls 13-8 in girls basketball.

Captain Neha Mohanty scored eight.

J S S Noida won comfortably against GEC, Barton Hill 41-28 in boys basketball.

MVSR, Hyderabad put up a tough fight against PCCE to con-

tain the score 48-60 with Ashish (PCCE) and R K (MVSR) scoring 24 and 22 points respectively.

BPGC sealed their place in the table tennis quarter-finals with a straight set win over NALSAR College and MEDICAP, Indore.

However, Dhempe College of

Cavelossim pip Salcete HERALD CORRESPONDENT MARGAO, FEB 27

Santa Cruz Club of Cavelossim huffed and puffed to a narrow 3-2 win over Salcete Football Club in GFA’s First Division League at Cuncolim ground, on Sunday. The teams were tied 1-1 at half time.

Levino Fernandes scored the fastest goal of the league within 10 seconds. Right at the start, striker Vitorino Fernandes gave a through pass to Levino who raced past the rival defenders and slotted past the rival keeper.

Stung by the early reverse, Salcete exhibited excellent football and made a couple of forays into the rival territory and were rewarded at the stroke of the lemon break when Francis Andrade floated the ball to Slegan Gracias who beautifully headed in.

Earlier, Cavelossim had scoring chances but their forwards

spurned sitters.

Crossing over, Salcete scripted a better display and went into the attacking mode. Their efforts bore fruits when Alison Fernandes put Salcete into the lead with a stiff shot. However, their joy was shortlived as Cadwick Furtado neutralised the lead with a snap shot.

With the match heading for a draw, Cavelossim struck the match-winner in the 85th minute when striker Vitorino was brought down by a Salcete de-

fender inside the box. Aaron Fernandes made no mistake with the resultant spot kick to send the Salcete keeper on the wrong way.

With this win, Santa Cruz Club of Cavelossim occupy the top spot with 25 points from ten matches.

“I am happy with the performance of my boys and especially because we got full three points,” stated Santa Cruz Club of Cavelossim coach Severino Fernandes.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT CALANGUTE, FEB 27

ising note and shot into the lead in the 9th minute through Aiken Dias. Aiken doubled the lead in the 22nd minute. Raia pulled one back in the 45the minute through Piedade Rebello.

Changing over, Raia restored parity in the 38th minute through Danny.

Calangute hold Raia

Calangute Association were held to a 2-2 draw by Raia Sports Club in GFA’s First Division League match at Poriat ground, Calangute on Sunday.

Calangute began on a prom-

Two first half goals from Sangolda Lightning was enough to down Saligao Sporting Club 20 in the quarter-finals of Aldona Cup soccer organised by Quitula Sports Club at Quitula ground on Sunday.

Sangolda opened the scoring in the eighth minute when Agnelo Cardoza picked out Raymond with a cross and he finished the move smartly, placing past the Saligao custodian.

Twelve minutes later, Loyed Mascarenhas went on a solo run, dribbling through the defence before punting in the second for Sangolda.

Sangolda Lightning will now meet Nerul Sports Club on March 5.

Mashem in semis

HERALD SPORTS DESK PANJIM, FEB 27

Mashem Cricket Club defeated Sar vodaya Sporting Club by 10 wickets Santosh Satarkar while Polem Cricket Club beat Vasco City by a super over to enter the semifinals of Nanda J Lolyekar 30th rolling trophy at Nirakar Maidan Dapot Mashem on Sunday.

Sarvodaya Sporting were 114 all out in 24.2 overs. Ankush Khutakar (14), Ajay Chavhan (11).

Yusuf Gadaf 3 for 21, Sanjay Naik 2 for 15. Julius Fernandes and Sudesh Prabhudesai took a wicket each.

In reply, Mashem Cricket Club were 117 for 0 in 15 overs. Santosh Satarkar 60 not out and Rohit Dhamasekar 40 not out.

PWD enter quarters

Sangolda up HERALD SPORTS REPORTER MAPUSA, FEB 27

Arts and Science lost to SSN College of Arts and Commerce.

Dhempe College emerged strong contenders in carrom alongwith BPGC. Renowned badminton player, Shirish Nadkarni played several exhibition matches with participants from various colleges.

civil services cricket HERALD SPORTS DESK PANJIM, FEB 27

Public Works Department beat Goa Medical College by 126 runs to enter the State level civil services cricket quarter-finals organised by DSYA at Chicalim sports complex.

Put to bat first, PWD started briskly scoring 39 runs in the first five overs, before losing their first wicket. The highlight of the PWD innings was the steady 68-run partnership for the 2nd wicket, between exRanji player, Mahesh Gawandi (55 in 44 balls) and Umesh Naik

(35 in 30 balls). A late flourish

by Parsekar brothers, Naresh (23 in 14 balls) and Nilesh (10 in 5 balls) helped PWD to a respectable 172/6 in 20 overs. Sarfraz picked up two wickets for GMC. In reply, GMC scored 46 runs.

A fine spell of swing bowling aided by a strong breeze, by PWD debutant Mayur Naik (5/23), Shailesh Naik (2/9) and captain Gomakant Mahambrey (1/2) saw GMC folding at 46, leaving the PWD victorious.

The fantastic swing bowling of Mayur Naik earned him the man-of-the-match award.

Earlier in the pre-quarters finals, PWD defeated Directorate of Accounts by 13 runs.

Electing to bat, PWD started unsteadily losing first four wickets at the score of 49. But a gritty 65-run partnership between Umesh Naik (69 not out) and Nanda Kamat Dhakankar (16) steadied the PWD to a defendable 145/5 in 20 overs.

Shankar was the pick of the bowlers for Accounts Dept claiming 2/15 in his allotted four overs, while Vishant, Krishna and Santosh took a wicket each.

In return, the Accounts Dept scored 132/8 in 20 overs. PWD’s Sameer Chodankar (3/17) and captain Gomakant Mahambrey (1/24).

A fantastic all-round performance by Umesh Naik earned him the man-of-the-match award.

Politics win Babu T20 tourney HERALD CORRESPONDENT MARGAO, FEB 27

Politics Cricket Club set aside the challenge of AEM Warriors, Curchorem by 10 wickets to emerge champions of 2nd Babu Brothers T20 cricket tournament organised by Babu Brothers Sports Association, Balli at SAG sports complex, Fatorda on Sunday.

AEM Warriors took the first strike at the wicket and were 125 all out in 20 overs.

Amar Arkas topscored with a valuable 31.

He was well supported by Vikas Desai who scored 20.

The target appeared decent with Abhijeet Bhandari striking a magnificent 65. However, Politics achieved the target with 10 wickets in hand. Abhijeet Bhandari of Politics was adjudged man-of-the-finals and man-of-theseries. Politics were richer by Rs 70,000 while AEM Warriors had to be content with Rs 30,000.

Chief Minister, Digamber Kamat was the chief guest and gave away the prizes in the

presence of Quepem MLA and president, Babu Brothers Sports Association, Chandrakant Kavlekar.

Brief score: AEM Warriors 125 all out in 20 overs. Bharat Arkas and Sagar Gosavi (18 each), Vikas Desai (20), Harish Naik (15), Harish Kutti (11), Amar Arkas (31). Shailesh Miskin 3-22, Balkrishna Jadeja 3-18, Bhavik Gaur 2-16, Manish Pednekar 1-33. Lost to Politics CC, 128 without loss in 14.3 overs.

Sachin Sardesai not out 37 and AbhijeetBhandari not out 85.

www.oheraldo.in

Pg15

GOA, MONDAY, 28 FEBRUARY, 2011

Windies using Bravo as motivation AGENCIES NEW DELHI, FEB 27

Even after he was ruled out for the rest of the World Cup by injury, Dwayne Bravo is still inspiring West Indies ahead of a crucial game against Netherlands on Monday.

West Indies captain Darren Sammy said the talented allrounder would be hard to replace, but was now a focal point for the rest of the squad after a left knee injury in the opening defeat to South Africa ended his tournament.

"Losing a key player like Dwayne, he's been an inspiration to us on the field and even when he gets injured he becomes an inspiration to the team," Sammy said on Sunday. "We'll be using his injury as a form of motivation for us."

Following a seven-wicket loss to the Proteas, West Indies would have "a different attitude

Injury-hit Kiwis take day off from practice PTI AHMEDABAD, FEB 27

The New Zealand cricket team, facing injury woes, today took a day off from their scheduled practice session at the Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, here.

While experienced fast bowler Kyle Mills has missed the team's first two World Cup matches following a back problem, skipper Daniel Vettori is nursing a hamstring p ro b l e m a n d v e t e r a n a l l rounder Scott Styris has a bruised finger.

The Black Caps arrived here yesterday for their match against Zimbabwe on March 4.

They were scheduled to practise this morning, but cancelled the session.

The team's media manager Ellery Tappin said that the practise session was put off but did not state any reasons for the same.

and a different mindset" against Bravo, and the team's extra a dangerous Dutch team in the knowledge of the pitch at the Group B match, Sammy said.

Feroz Shah Kotla stadium.

He called it a "must-win game" It will be West Indies' second for West Indies, with contests game of the tournament at the against co-hosts India and ground — and on a touch surBangladesh, face to predict England and Ire— while the TODAY’S MATCHES land still to Dutch have travZimbabwe v. eled from Nagcome. " We k n o w pur.

Canada what we have to "Yes, we have 9.30 a.m. do. Everyone is played on the West Indies v. w i c k e t . We responsible ... we know what Netherlands know what to we have to do expect so defi2.30 p.m. and it's about nitely we are our guys going much better out there and prepared," expressing ourselves and exe- Sammy said. "They (Netherlands) cuting properly," Sammy said. put on a good batting display "We must win against the against England. We saw how Netherlands."

England bowled against them There were still positives for and we know how we have to West Indies, according to the bowl against them." skipper, including the form of To compensate for the loss Dwayne's half brother, Darren of Bravo, West Indies is con-

1

sidering pushing big-hitting Kieron Pollard up its batting order and giving leftarm spinner Nikita Miller a start against the Dutch.

Sammy said Miller, who is also a steady batsman, had a "strong case" for inclusion.

He added West Indies needed to "maximize" the potential of explosive Indian Premier League player Pollard, who was out for a duck against the South Africans batting down at No. 8.

"It (moving Pollard up the order) is something we have looked at," Sammy said. "He has batted very well in India and he is one of our key players so obviously it is finding the right timing and place for him to go out there and be maximized to his full potential.

"He's done it in India, so he is one of the guys who brings a lot of experience in these conditions."

Canada, Zimbabwe lock 3 horns in ‘battle of minnows’ PTI NAGPUR, FEB 27

Beaten comprehensively in their respective opening encounters, Elton Chigumbura's determined Zimbabweans will take on Canada in the cricket World Cup's 'Battle of the Minnows' here tomorrow.

While Zimbabwe bowlers managed to restrict Australia to 262 in their first match, their batsmen couldn't soak in the pressure and were all-out for 171.

Canada, on the other hand, were no match for former world champions Sri Lanka as they were walloped by 210 runs in the newly built Hambantota stadium.

Tomorrow's Group A match will be the best chance for both teams to try and force a victory which will give them requisite confidence to fight in the

month-long tournament.

With the format being very difficult for the minnows, a victory will certainly keep these teams interested in showing stomach for fight.

On paper, Zimbabweans are a superior side with players who have a lot of ODI cricket against the big teams against their names.

However, winning is a habit and certainly something that hasn't been the strength of the African nation which has seen a lot of political turmoil in the last few years.

Yet the likes of Chigumbura, Tatenda Taibu, Brendan Taylor, Ray Price will hope to showcase their fighting ability on the biggest stage.

Since it will be a day match, the bowlers may expect a bit of help early in the morning but the Jamtha strip is an absolute

belter where batsmen will make merry once they set their eye in.

Charles Coventry, Taylor and Taibu are the three batsmen on whom Zimbabwe's hopes of a big total will rest.

A big innings would be expected from Coventry who once held the world record for the highest individual score in ODIs (194 not out) before Sachin Tendulkar surpassed him.

The Zimbabwean bowling is largely dependent on their spin trio of left-armer Ray Price, offie Prosper Utseya and leg-break bowler Graeme Cremer.

The Jamtha strip slows down as the day progresses and it might just help the slower bowlers.

Canada will be hoping that they put up a decent show which will have the big bosses of International Cricket Council sit up and take notice.

2

1) An Indian fan with a Lord Ganesha mask cheers the team on Sunday.

2) An England cricket fan gets her face painted at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Sunday.

3) Indian cricket fans get their faces painted before the start of the match between England and India on Sunday.

4) Indian cricket fans cheer in the stands during the England, India at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Sunday.

4

West Ham beat Liverpool; City held

Manchester City's Italian forward Mario Balotelli (center) is fouled by Fulham's Norwegian defender Brede Hangeland (floor) at The City of Manchester stadium, Manchester on Sunday.

Man City 1 Fulham 1 West Ham 3 Liverpool 1 REUTERS LONDON, FEB 27

West Ham United climbed off the bottom of the Premier League with an uplifting and well-deserved 3-1 home win

Zvonareva third time lucky in Qatar AFP DOHA, FEB 27

It was third time lucky for Vera Zvonareva in Doha as she shocked top seeded Caroline Wozniacki to win the WTA Qatar Open here on Saturday.

Zvonareva, the second seed, won 6-4, 6-4 to break her title hoodoo in Qatar where she has lost twice in the finals -- to Maria Sharaapova in this event in 2008 and to Venus Williams in the season-ending WTA Championships the same year.

Qatar is making a comeback to the regular WTA circuit after a two-year break.

"It's a special moment for me. I have so many fans here and it's an unbelievable feeling to come to Doha and win this tournament," the Russian said.

over Liverpool on Sunday.

In the day’s other game Manchester City were held 1-1 at home by Fulham as former City manager Mark Hughes enjoyed a satisfying return to his former club.

Scott Parker was again West Ham’s inspiration, defying a

shoulder injury to deliver a great performance and score the opening goal.

West Ham went ahead after 22 minutes with a superb goal

by Parker, the England midfielder playing a one-two with Thomas Hitzlsperger before placing a shot beyond Pepe Reina.

They doubled their lead at the end of the first half when Demba Ba headed in a Gary O’Neil cross.

Liverpool struggled to get control and though they pulled one back through Glen Johnson after 86 minutes West Ham had the final say when Carlton Cole blasted home in stoppage time.

The victory took West Ham to 28 points and above Wigan Athletic and West Bromwich Albion and behind Wolverhampton Wanderers only on goal difference. It completed a good week for the Londoners after they thrashed Burnley 5-1 on Monday to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. Liverpool remain sixth on 39 points, six behind fifth-place Chelsea.

Manchester United, who beat Wigan Athletic 4-0 on Saturday, lead the standings on 60 points, four clear of Arsenal, who were playing Birmingham City in the League Cup final on Sunday.

Manchester City remain third on 50 points, three ahead of Tottenham Hotpur, after failing to beat a battling Fulham side.

City led with a powerful shot

by Mario Balotelli after 26 minutes but did little else to impose themselves.

Fulham levelled three minutes into the second half when Andy Johnson crossed low for Damien Duff to finish.

Udinese smack Palermo for seven SERIE A Catania ................2 Cesena ................1 Roma ....................2 Bari ......................1 Cagliari ................1 Palermo ................0 Brescia ................2 Juventus ..............0 AFP ROME, FEB 27

Alexis Sanchez hit four and Antonio Di Natale three as Udinese hammered nine-man Palermo 70 in Sicily on a Sunday that saw Lazio drop precious points on the leaders in Serie A. Udinese’s twin strikers were in sensational form, hitting poor Palermo for five before half-time before letting off the gas after the hour mark with the home side reduced to nine men.

Genoa ....................1 Chievo ....................0 Parma ....................2 Fiorentina ..............1 Lazio ......................0 Udinese ..................7 Lecce ......................2 Bologna ..................2 Despite their eighth position in the league, Palermo coach Delio Rossi, who already has a fractious relationship with president Maurizio Zamparini, is tipped to be Serie A's next coaching casualty.

After Juventus’ 2-0 defeat at home to Bologna on Saturday, Lazio failed to keep pace with the leaders after a 1-0 defeat at Cagliari while Roma's woes continued after being pulled back to 2-2 at home to Parma.

In Sardinia, fourth-placed Lazio dropped points on the leaders after an own goal from Andre Dias five minutes before half-time settled a tight contest. Roberto Donadoni’s side climb to ninth, while Lazio are now just a point above fifth-placed Udinese.

Meanwhile back in Rome, a second-half brace from Amauri helped struggling Parma to a 22 draw at the Stadio Olimpico.

A Francesco Totti penalty after 19 minutes and Juan (36) strike appeared to hand Vincenzo Montella's Roma a second successive victory but the former Juventus striker had other ideas, cleverly finishing on 74 minutes before firing in the equaliser five minutes later.

It was a similar story at the bottom of the table with in-form Lecce coming back from two goals down to snatch a point at Brescia, who remain second from bottom.

Barca stretch lead to 7 pts as Real draw AFP MADRID, FEB 27

Barcelona moved seven points clear in La Liga after Real Madrid showed plenty of effort but insufficient invention as they drew 0-0 against a well-organised Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday.

After Barcelona's 3-0 win over Mallorca earlier, the pressure was on Real who went into the late game in confident mood after three consecutive wins.

From the start though it was evident that it would be a tough task as Deportivo defended deeply and appeared to be battling for their lives. Cristiano Ronaldo was a constant threat but most of Real's shots came from distance.

Their best openings came in a grandstand finish when first substitute Emmanuel Adebayor and then Ronaldo hit the post but they were unable to find the all important goal.

Barcelona had shrugged off claims that they were starting to feel the strain as a makeshift team overcame Mallorca.

Barça had not been at their

best as they lost to Arsenal in the Champions League and then struggled to beat Athletic Bilbao.

Injuries to Xavi Hernandez, Carles Puyol and Victor Valdes suggested that the exertion was starting to take its toll.

With Dani Alves also suspended it was an unfamiliar looking Barça side but after Messi opened the scoring with

LA LIGA Atletico Madrid ....2 Sporting Gijon ....0 Espanyol ..............4 Real Mallorca ......0 Deportivo ............0 a header following hesitation in the penalty area, they never looked back.

David Villa may have been narrowly offside as he raced clear of the defence to increase the lead and then Pedro Rodriguez completed the scoring.

After the game coach Pep Guardiola admitted that they were finding it difficult to break

down Mallorca until the first goal.

An impressive second half display by Espanyol helped them to a 4-1 win over Real Sociedad and put their European hopes back on track.

All the talk before the game was about the return of Sociedad's Raul Tamudo to his former club where he is the all-time

Sevilla ....................2 Real Zaragoza ........0 Real Sociedad ......1 Barcelona ..............3 Real Madrid ............0 highest goal scorer, but he failed to find a way passed an impressive Carlos Kameni in the Espanyol goal.

Against the run of play, Daniel Estrada put the ball into his own net but he made amends two minutes later to bring Sociedad level.

Espanyol, who had lost their last four games, were much improved after the interval with

In aid of Namah Society supporting the music education of the underprivileged

Dance Dance Artists Artists

Presents

Concert Anchor Mr. Updesh Swar

Thank you for the usic

{

Sergio Garcia's clinical finish followed by goals from Jose Callejon and Javi Marquez.

Atletico Madrid twice came from behind to earn a 2-2 draw with Sevilla.

In a match between two sides that have struggled for consistency, Alvaro Negredo gave Sevilla the lead but Jorge Koke headed Atletico level immediately after the restart. Ivan Rakitic restored the Andalusian side's advantage before Jose Antonio Reyes earnt Atletico a point.

Sporting Gijon's relegation clash with Zaragoza ended in a 0-0 stalemate as neither side showed sufficient courage to commit players in attack.

Valencia have taken advantage of a slump in form from Villarreal to move into third place but tomorrow they face a tough match away to Athletic Bilbao who have a strong home record.

Villarreal travel to Racing Santander having picked up just one point from three games as their extra commitments in the Europa League appear to be taking their toll.

ANTARA MAJUMDAR ANTARA MAJUMDAR DEBJANI GHOSH SHW ETA SHANK AR DEBJANI GHOSH

Brazilian Music - MAXIE MIRANDA & NAMAH CHORALE on February 28, 2011 at 6.30 pm VENUE : Ravindra Bhavan, Margao - Goa PASSES available at the VENUE, PEDRO FERNANDES- Margao & Panjim and

TONY COUTINHO - DON BOSCO, Benaulim - 982 335 2797

PEDRO FERNANDES & CO. Musically Promising

Desserts, Cakes, Chocolates & more...

pg16:Layout 1 2/28/2011 12:57 AM Page 1

www.oheraldo.in

Pg16

Contact us on: sports@herald-goa.com

GOA, MONDAY, 28 FEBRUARY, 2011

India, England in sensational tie Sachin scores record fifth WC hundred PTI BANGALORE, FEB 27

Indian team gather as they celebrate the wicket of England batsman Kevin Pietersen at The M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday.

AFP BANGALORE, FEB 27

India and England tied a thrilling World Cup clash here on Sunday in a match which yielded 676 runs and was adorned by blistering centuries from Sachin Tendulkar and Andrew Strauss.

England, chasing a World Cup record 339 to win, finished on 338 for eight having scored 13

off the last over when 14 were needed for victory.

Zaheer Khan's dramatic threewicket burst turned the match back in India's favour after England captain Strauss's man-ofthe-match winning innings of 158.

Earlier, India great Tendulkar's record-breaking 120 saw him become the first man to score

India: V Sehwag c Prior b Bresnan 35, Tendulkar c Yardy b Anderson 120, G Gambhir b Swann 51, Yuvraj c Bell b Yardy 58, Dhoni c sub (Wright) b Bresnan 31, Yusuf Pathan c Swann b Bresnan 14, V Kohli b Bresnan 8, Harbhajan Singh lbw b Bresnan 0, Zaheer Khan run out (Strauss/Prior) 4, Piyush Chawla run out (Anderson) 2, M Patel not out 0.

Extras: 15. Total: 338 all out. Fall of wickets: 1-46, 2-180, 3-236, 4-305, 5-305, 6-327, 7-327, 8-328, 9-338, 10-338.

Bowling: Anderson 9.5-0-91-1; Shahzad 8-0-53-0; Bresnan 10-1-48-5; Swann 9-1-59-1; Collingwood 3-0-20-0; Yardy 10-0-64-1.

England: A Strauss lbw b Zaheer Khan 158, K Pietersen c and b Patel 31, J Trott lbw b Chawla 16, I Bell c Kohli b Zaheer Khan 69, P Collingwood b Zaheer Khan 1, M Prior c sub (Raina) b Harbhajan Singh 4, M Yardy c Sehwag b Patel 13, T Bresnan b Chawla 14, G Swann not out 15, A Shahzad not out 6. Extras: 11. Total: 338 for 8. Fall of wickets: 1-68, 2111, 3-281, 4-281, 5-285, 6-289, 7-307, 8-325. Bowling: Zaheer Khan 10-0-64-3; Patel 10-0-70-2; Chawla 10-0-71-2; Harbhajan Singh 10-0-581; Yuvraj Singh 7-0-46-0; Yusuf Pathan 3-0-21-0.

Man-of-the-match: Andrew Strauss.

five World Cup hundreds.

Khan took three wickets for one run in six balls, including two in two, as England slumped from 281 for two to 285 for five.

Tim Bresnan (14) revived England's innings before he was bowled by leg-spinner Piyush Chawla to leave his side 325 for eight and needing 14 off the last over from Munaf Patel.

But Ajmal Shahzad launched Patel for six to leave England needing five from three balls in front of a frenzied crowd at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Shahzad and Graeme Swann ran a single to make the target four from two. They ran two more to leave England requiring two for victory off the last ball.

But they managed just a single to produce only the fourth tie in World Cup history.

Strauss and Ian Bell (69) put on 170 for the third wicket before Khan had Bell holing out.

Next ball he had Strauss lbw with a brilliant yorker to end the left-handed opener's 145ball innings featuring a six and 18 fours that beat his previous one-day best of 154 against Bangladesh last year.

Strauss's was the first hundred by an England captain at the World Cup and the highest score by an England batsman, beating the 137 made by Dennis Amiss against India in the competition's inaugural match at Lord's in 1975.

England then needed 58 off 43 balls with two fresh batsmen at the crease but they were in the first over of the batting powerplay.

K h a n t h e n b o w l e d Pa u l Collingwood and finished with three for 64.

There had been controversy when Strauss and Bell's partnership was worth just 52.

Left-arm spinner Yuvraj Singh thought he had Bell lbw on review for 17, with replays showing the ball would have hit the stumps.

Bell had started to walk off but because New Zealand umpire Billy Bowden's verdict was not out, the decision was returned to him by Australian replay official Rod Tucker and the Kiwi deemed Bell to be too far down the pitch.

But he enraged India fans who had seen Bell 'dismissed' on the giant replay screens.

An unruffled Strauss advanced to drive Yuvraj for a superb six before Bell completed a 45-ball fifty with a six when he swept leg-spinner Piyush Chawla.

Bell was reprieved again on 68, with England 278 for two in the 42nd over, when he was dropped by slip Virat Kohli off Chawla.

Earlier, Tendulkar had faced 115 balls with 10 fours and five sixes.

Yuvraj ensured there was no respite for England with a quickfire 58.

James Anderson conceded 91 runs in 9.5 overs to give the paceman the most expensive analysis by an England bowler at the World Cup, beating Derek Pringle's none for 83 against the West Indies at Gujranwala in 1987.

But Bresnan picked up several late wickets to finish with career-best figures of five for 48.

Dhoni happy to escape with a tie Tie a 'privilege' to play in: Strauss

Group A Pakistan Australia Sri Lanka New Zealand Zimbabwe Canada Kenya

P W L T NR P NRR 2 2 0 0 0 4 +2.160 2 2 0 0 0 4 +1.813 2 1 1 0 0 2 +1.990 2 1 1 0 0 2 +1.507 1 0 1 0 0 0 -1.820 1 0 1 0 0 0 -4.200 2 0 2 0 0 0 -4.897

Group B India England South Africa Bangladesh Netherlands Ireland West Indies

P W L T NR P NRR 2 1 0 1 0 3 +0.870 2 1 0 1 0 3 +0.126 1 1 0 0 0 2 +0.766 2 1 1 0 0 2 -0.600 1 0 1 0 0 0 -0.242 1 0 1 0 0 0 -0.540 1 0 1 0 0 0 -0.766

(Played, Won, Lost, Tied, No Result, Points, Net Run Rate) PTI BANGALORE, FEB 27

They could not secure win even after setting a mammoth 339run target against England but India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is happy to escape with a tie result, as he felt at one stage the English side were looking clear favourites to win the match.

Both the teams scored 338 runs in the group B clash, which was only the fourth tied result in the history of World Cup.

England skipper Strauss scored a magnificent 158-run knock and along with Ian Bell (59) almost pulled off an incredible win for his side while chasing the huge total.

"The way it was going, it seemed England would win it.

So happy with the tied result.

It (result) may reflect as a win in the (points) table," Dhoni said after the match.

"The way Strauss and Bell were going, it looked it would be all over by 48th over unless

Zak (Zaheer Khan) came bowled brilliantly," Dhoni said.

Dhoni though was also disappointed that their attack could not defend such a big total.

"I think so (it's defendable).

If 338 is not enough then perhaps in every match you will have to score 350-360 runs, which will be very tough to do.

"It was a different wicket and pretty flat in the second innings but then there was more pressure on England batsman. The lower order contributed, Swann, Bresnan and one more guy Shehzad all played well," he said.

Zaheer said: "I felt the wicket got better later on and Strauss obviously batted damn well to put pressure on us and it was a cliffhanger until the end.

"A win would have helped here but a tie is a also a good thing for the team. We've got some points out of this game," he said.

England captain Andrew Strauss said it had been a ‘privilege’ to play in a dramatic World

Cup tie with India on Sunday.

Strauss said he had mixed emotions after the nail-biting end to the game in Bangalore.

"We were in a great position to win the game after 41, 42 overs. We had a shocking powerplay and from that stage onwards India were favourites to win the game," he said.

"Ultimately it's just been a great game of cricket, there's no doubt about it. Great advert for the 50-over format.

In some ways we're happy, in some ways we're distraught."

But he said he felt "privileged to have played in a game like that."

And Strauss brushed off fears that England would be tired amid their exhausting schedule, which included an Ashes contest in Australia.

"In this format there's a lot of time to recover between games.

We're not tired at this stage.

We're excited about what's to come."

Handed the man- of-thematch award for his knock of 158, he said: "It's the best innings I've played and hopefully there's some more to come."

Sachin Tendulkar today reached another milestone as he became the highest century-maker in World Cup history by scoring his fifth hundred in the prestigious event.

The 37-year-old Tendulkar reached the landmark during the group B clash against England when he glanced burly paceman Tim Bresnan for a boundary towards the fine leg region in the first ball of the 35th over. It was his 47th ODI centur y and his 98th overall.

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly, current Australia captain Ricky Ponting and his former teammate Mark Waugh have all scored four World Cup hundreds.

With Ganguly and Waugh retired, it is only Ponting who has a chance to match or surpass Tendulkar.

Tendulkar scored 120 runs from 115 balls and the knock was adorned with five sixes and 10 fours.

Te n d u l k a r, p l a y i n g h i s sixth World Cup, also holds the records for most runs and most half-centuries in the flagship event of the ICC. He has accumulated 1944

Pak proved they have pride: Sangakkara PTI COLOMBO, FEB 26

Pakistan were hardly taken as a strong World Cup contenders after the recent spot-fixing scandal but Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara described them as a tough side after they lost to the 1992 champions by 11 runs in a group A match here today.

Sri Lanka are one of the leading contenders to win the World Cup but they failed to break by World Cup jinx after Pakistan batted first and posted 277 runs.

"They are a tough side. They proved that they have pride in themselves and I thought they played fantastic cricket today," Sangakkara, said.

"We tried to change that (the jinx) today. I am not too sure why that has happened over the years, but there were some critical moments in this game and we couldn't turn those critical moments in our favour," Sangakkara added.

Sangakkara became Shahid Afridi's 300th victim in ODI

Pak fined for slow over-rate AGENCIES COLOMBO, FEB 27

runs in 38 matches and has scored 13 fifties so far, followed

by Ponting with 1577 runs in 41 matches.

Ganguly is the only other Indian who has managed to score more than one thous a n d r u n s i n Wo r l d C u p matches.

He scored 1006 runs in 21 matches and stands 11th in the list of highest run scorers in World Cup.

The Pakistan team was fined for maintaining a slow over-rate during its win over Sri Lanka.

In accordance with ICC Code of Conduct regulations governing minor over-rate offences, players are fined 10 per cent of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time, with the captain fined double that amount.

cricket with the Pakistani captain becoming the third player from his country to reach the milestone after former captains Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis.

"Shoaib (Akthar) getting Mahela and Shahid (Afridi) getting Dilshan were critical moments of the game. Then Chamara (Silva) was a bit slow off the blocks, but he gained momentum towards the end and his finish was excellent," Sangakkara added.

Afridi, who picked up five wickets against Canada in Pakistan's opening game, was named Man-of-the-Match for his four for 34.

"I am thrilled with the performance today. I told 280 would be a good total. We knew the ball will swing and it will be tough to bat under lights. Initially our target was 300, but we were happy to get 277.

Everyone in the side wants to improve and we try to win every game we play," the Pakistani captain said.