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Goa’s Heartbeat: Know exactly what I like and what I don’t Pg 1

Goa: Regional Plan 2021 Pg 4 - a boon for Goa

(air surcharge Rs 2.00) pages 16+4

Sports: It’s not just about giving opportunities — Gambhir Pg 16

File FIR against Roy, Geelani: Court to cops

IN BRIEF Kiran extends olive branch to Jagan New Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy on Saturday extended an olive branch to rebel MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy as Congress appeared to be in no hurry to take any action against him despite mounting criticism of the anti-party campaign by his TV channel.

Kiran Reddy, who is here for discussions with the High Command on the constitution of his cabinet, said it was for the party high command to decide on any disciplinary action against Jagan and not for him. – PTI

PTI NEW DELHI, NOV 27

Dancers perform during the closing ceremony for the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou on Saturday.

Curtains come down on Games with a bang PTI GUANGZHOU, NOV 27

The skies lit up with dazzling fireworks as an emotional China brought the curtains down on the biggest Asian Games in a riot of colour, foot-tapping music and a cultural extravaganza at the Haixinsha Island on the Pearl River here on Saturday.

If the opening ceremony held at the same riverside venue on November 12th was high on technical wizardry, the closing

was a heart-touching display of warmth by the people of this South China city whose infrastructure has improved tremendously as a result of hosting the Games which saw India record their best-ever medal haul till date.

India finished sixth on the medal rostrum with a record 14 gold, 17 silver and 33 bronze for an overall tally of 64, eclipsing their earlier record of 57 medals in the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi.

The closing ceremony was also used by the Games hosts to present cultural segments representing the different regions of the continent, including South Asia in which Indian singers Ravi Tripathi and Tanya Gupta enthralled the capacity crowd.

Hosts China were unstoppable in their relentless march to titles and at the end of the Games had an incredible harvest of 199 gold in an overall haul of over 400 medals, proving

once again that they are in the top-most echelons of world sports.

Korea finished way behind in second place while Japan were third.

The prelude to the official part of the ceremony was punctuated by dance of Qiling (a legendary animal symbolising good luck) to celebrate the success of the Games that was followed by an exhibition of acrobatics and dance.

A local Court on Saturday directed the Delhi police to lodge an FIR against hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and writer Arundhati Roy on charge of sedition for their alleged antiIndia speeches here recently.

Metropolitan Magistrate Navita Kumari Bagha also came down heavily on the police for their prolonged inaction and “weird” reply that no offence was made out against Geelani and Roy, whose speeches had triggered a controversy.

“After giving my thoughtful consideration to the submissions made and the material on record, I have come to the conclusion that the complaint lodged with the police, clearly discloses commission of cognizable offences,” the court said, acting on a petition.

The court asked the police to conduct the investigation and submit a report on January 6.

While slamming the police, the court said “But, in the present case, the police has utterly failed to register the FIR for no reasonable justification, though the complaint of the complainant clearly discloses the commission of cognizable offence.”

Besides the Hurriyat hawk and the noted writer, other five accused, against whom the FIR would be lodged, are S A R Geelani, an accused in the Parliament attack case who was later acquitted, Sheikh Showkat Hus-

After giving my thoughtful consideration to the submissions made and the material on record, I have come to the conclusion that the complaint lodged with the police, clearly discloses commission of cognizable offences.

- Metropolitan Magistrate Navita Kumari Bagha sain, Shuddharbrata Sengupta and Sujato Bhadra.

They would he booked under various provisions of the IPC and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act relating to sedition, waging war against Government of India, promoting enmity between classes and imputations against integrity of the nation.

Complainant Sushil Pandit in his petition had alleged that the Hurriyat leader and Roy had made anti-India speeches in a conference on “Azadi-the Only Way” held here on October 21.

Roy had termed India as “colonial ...upper caste Hindu state”, the complainant alleged, adding that he was forced to approach the court for remedy

as the police chose not to act.

The court was critical of the delay in lodging the FIR in the case saying “despite the grant of time till November 26, no status report was filed by police, rather a weird reply was given... in which they have either admitted or denied the contents of the complaint.”

“Though, the police have admitted that the totality of the speech made by Geelani was regarding the independence of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, yet surprisingly it has been stated that no FIR could be registered because of lack of motive and evidence of malafide intention of Geelani and Roy.”

With Cong or not, New English test for seeking UK visa will contest from Navelim: Churchill PTI LONDON, NOV 27

HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, NOV 27

A visibly agitated PWD Minister Churchill Alemao on Saturday asserted that he would contest the next Assembly polls from Navelim constituency.

Reacting to news reports in a section of vernacular press that the high command has decided to nominate former MLA Luizinho Faleiro in Navelim for the coming Assembly polls, Alemao asserted that he does not require the ticket of any party to contest the polls.

He reminded newsmen that he had won the Navelim seat on the opposition banner, adding that it makes no difference for him whether he is given the Congress ticket or not.

The PWD minister said that he has not received any communication from the high command on any decision to field Faleiro in Navelim and he in Benaulim. In a lighter vein, Alemao said “may be the high command has communicated such a decision to the vernacular media”.

“For Churchill, ticket is not really an issue. Last time round, I had contested the polls on the SGF and won the Navelim seat.

It makes no difference whether

For Churchill, ticket is not really an issue. Last time round, I had contested the polls on the SGF and won the Navelim seat. It makes no difference whether the Congress ticket is given or not.

- Churchill Alemao the Congress ticket is given or not”, he asserted.

The PWD minister, however, conveyed a message that no one should ever dream that he would contest the coming polls from Benaulim. “I am confident that the Congress leadership will give me the ticket to contest the polls from Navelim. No one should dream that I will be told to contest from Benaulim”, he added.

Meanwhile, the PWD Minister (Continued on page 12)

Indian and other non-European migrants wishing to join their partner or spouse in Britain will have to pass a new English language test.

Applicants will need to show that they can speak and understand English to a basic level. They will usually meet this requirement by passing an English language test with a UK Border Agency-approved test provider as the government seeks to integrate migrants into British society.

According to an official an-

Even as drug peddling on the State’s beaches is considered as a biggest challenge for the State police force, the use of sniffer dogs to sniff out narcotics seems to be minimal.

A reply under Right to Information, Superintendent of Police (Crime Branch) M K Desai states that between September 2009 to September 2010, dog squad was used only twice to sniff narcotics.

This is at a time when Goa has got a dubious distinction after the police-drugs mafia nexus expose.

Further, the information reveals that Goa Police has only one dog who is trained in sniffing narcotics as against three dogs for explosives, three for tracking theft and murders and two are newly trained and yet to be classified.

The State has nine trained dogs who have attended 652 calls in last one year, which virtually makes for average two calls a day.

But the police record indicates that the dogs are used extensively to track down theft cases and election duty.

Of the nine existing dogs, the senior is Koki, 8.6 years old dog.

The youngest ones in the clan are Pooja and Goldy, both aged one-year-nine months.

Five dogs – Nappy, Lebro, Preeti, Bunty and Jenny, are aged three years each while Rani is four years and four months.

Police department data re-

Bachelor’s degree in the UK which was taught in English.

Applicants will need to provide the original qualification certificate with their visa application.

This English language requirement does not apply to visitors or the spouses and partners of those in the UK who are on a temporary visa, such as workers and students under the points based system.

In a decision earlier this week, the government announced a cap of 21,700 on the number of skilled workers from India and other countries

outside the European Union from April 2011, a decision likely to adversely impact thousands of Indians seeking to move to the UK. The figure is a cut of 6,300 on the equivalent figure for 2009.

Once the figure of 21,700 is reached, it is envisaged that no further employment visas will be granted during the year.

The cap excludes employees transferred by their companies from another country. The Inter-Company Transfer visa route is mostly used by Indian companies.

Key Adarsh society papers go missing PTI MUMBAI, NOV 27

Key papers pertaining to the scam-ridden Adarsh housing society are missing from the Urban Development Department here, police said on Saturday.

Police have registered a case of theft after a secretary of the department, Gurudas Bajpe, gave a written complaint to the Marine Drive police Friday night about the missing documents.

“We have registered a case against unknown persons. According to the Urban Development department officials,

Lone dog to sniff out narcotics!

VIBHA VERMA PANJIM, NOV 27

nouncement, applicants need to pass this language test before they apply for a visa and submit an original test certificate with their visa application from Monday.

The new language requirement is intended to help migrants integrate into British society - to open up more opportunities, help prevent exploitation, and allow them to benefit from, and contribute more to their communities.

It is also possible to meet the English language requirement by having an academic qualification equivalent to a

veals that 327 election related calls were attended by the dog squad in last one year while 301 calls were of theft tracking.

The probable bomb threat was diffused by dog squad 22 times throughout the year.

Dog squad, which is under Crime Branch, is headed by two assistant sub inspectors, 10 head constables, six police constables, four cooks and two sweepers.

What is more shocking is that the department has no trainer to train the dogs. Instead, they are trained at government training centres. Even their procurement is done through government agencies.

58 years may be ideal age for a policeman to retire from the service but when it comes to their skilled assistants, there is no specific age for superannuation.

State police department has clarified that there is no specific age of retirement.

several papers from the 10 files on Adarsh society were missing,” DCP Cherring Dorje said.

The disappearance of the papers was brought to the notice of CBI, which is investigating the multi-crore scam.

“The department had submitted to us 10 files pertaining to Adarsh society. During perusal we realised that four noting papers were missing from the files.

We brought this to the attention of the department,” a senior CBI official said.

The papers include the remarks of the State government officials and chief minister, the

official said.

“Investigations are on. We are questioning authorities of the Urban Development department,” Dorje said.

The Adarsh society, originally meant to be a six-storey structure to house Kargil war heroes and war widows, was converted into a 31-storey building, violating a number of laws. The flats were allotted to bureaucrats, politicians’ relatives and defence officers.

Meanwhile, facing criticism from BJP with reports about key papers related to the Adarsh Housing Society scam going

missing, Congress on Saturday said it was a “serious issue” if it has really happened.

“If papers have gone missing, it is definitely a serious issue.

But only a State government official can answer on it. The issue concerns the State and is not related to the Centre,” party spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed told reporters here.

Accusing the Congress of trying to “cover up” the scam, BJP said reports of key papers pertaining to the scandal going missing was a ‘deliberate” move to protect important people involved in it.

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46-yr-old man jumps to death in well at Khola

Film Fraternity of Goa upset with ESG HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, NOV 27

HERALD CORRESPONDENT CANACONA, NOV 27

A 46-year-old government employee committed suicide by jumping into a well near his house at Saleri-Khola on Friday night.

According to police sources, Jayendra Uttam Pagi had reportedly gone missing from his house at Saleri-Khola on Friday night.

On Saturday morning, some people noticing Pagi’s wallet and his footwear near a well in the locality and alerted the police.

Police along with the fire services later retrieved the body from the well and sent it for an autopsy.

The body was later handed over to relatives on Saturday evening for final rites.

Sources told Herald that the deceased, who was working in the State Government’s local office at Chaudi, was reportedly disturbed for some time.

MOrE OBITS ON PAGE 10 DySP Umesh Gaonkar seen in heated arguments with the president of New Market traders Vinod Shirodkar over parking boards.

Photo Santosh Mirajkar

New Market traders throw traffic off-gear in Margao HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, NOV 27

Agitated over the decision to notify the pickup stand road as no parking for four-wheelers, Margao New Market traders stopped traffic flow on the busy road this morning, throwing traffic out of gear in the city.

Traffic was restored only after Margao Sub Divisional Police Officer, DySP Umesh Gaonkar rushed to the spot and persuaded the agitating traders to withdraw their stir, promising to redress their grievances with the district magistrate.

Led by Vinod Shirodkar, the traders blocked the traffic flow this morning in protest against the no parking boards

erected along the Pick-up stand between Royal Foods and Borkar Super Stores.

They demanded the immediate removal of the boards meant for parking only for two-wheelers along the busy road or threatened to take the law in their hands.

“This stretch of road is being utilised by the traders for unloading of goods. We would face problems if the stretch is notified for two-wheelers”, he said.

An agitated Shirodkar demanded to know how and the basis on which the authorities, including the district magistrate and traffic officials decided to denotify the area for four-wheelers.

“If the authorities are so serious in ad-

dressing the parking issue, they should first crack a whip against the multi-storey buildings, which have come up in violations of all parking rules”, he demanded.

DySP Gaonkar, however, told the traders to submit a detailed memorandum listing out their grievances and promised to find a solution after discussions with the district magistrate. “The parking boards cannot be removed as per the whims and fancies since they are notified by the district magistrate”, DySP Gaonkar told Shirodkar and other traders.

A large posse of police, including armed police personnel were deployed near the pick-up stand area as a precautionary measure.

AGPBOA elects panel amidst heated debate to oust Sudip HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, NOV 27

The All Goa Private Bus Owners Association (AGPBOA) on Saturday elected a new committee amidst heated discussion to oust Sudip Tamankar.

The association comprising of 361 members had less than 100 members for the election at T B Cunha hall.

A 14-member committee was finally formed with Vishal Desai replacing Shivdas Kambli as the association president. Venkatesh Naik has been elected as the vice-president, Sudip Tamankar as General Secretary, two joint secretaries and nine executive members.

The new committee has decided to hold its first meeting on December 13, when it registers itself with the Registrar.

The meeting simmered when some attendees including Chimbel bus owners who participated

Pvt bus owners to go on indefinite fast HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, NOV 27

The newly-formed AGPBOA has resolved to go on an indefinite hunger strike against the Government’s decision on shutting the Old Margao bus stand.

Tamankar said that the association will present a notice on the same to the Government on Sunday.

“If the Government fails to concede to our demands by the third day of the strike, then we will intensify our agitation and request all transporters to remain-off road across Goa,” he said. in the election were not in favour to take Tamankar into the committee again.

They complained that the committee discards Chimbel group from being members in the committee.

“The committee did not distribute membership forms to us. We will not support the committee as long as Tamankar is in it…,” said one of the Chimbel

Smoking in public has reduced, says Dr Salkar HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, NOV 27

In what could be the fallout of fines being issued to those delegates found smoking at IFFI venues, smoking in public places has witnessed a steady drop, claimed National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE) General Secretary Shekhar Salkar.

“I feel that less people smoke at the IFFI venues and come out to smoke, which is allowed. The adamancy among smokers puffing cigarettes in public places has declined…I am happy with the action taken by concerned authorities,” he said.

Panjim police received constant complaints that few delegates including a lady jury member was found smoking at IFFI venue.

Soon thereafter the team identified the offenders and issued the challans to many.

Of the 32 cases so far, the police station received 16 cases this week as compared to 20 cases last week.

“We are maintaining a close vigil on the visitors at the venues…those found smoking are being challaned,” inspector Sandesh Chodankar told Herald.

A senior journalist working with a national news channel, in a candid talk with Herald said that a Goan stopped him from smoking in the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) premise.

“A person came to me and asked me to stop smoking or else I would be fined by the authorities. I did not know the rules here… ” he said.

Celebrities like Ajay Devgan, Arsad Warsi and few others who were found smoking in the ESG premise earlier have already been fined.

NOTE recently took objection to film posters of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Guzaarish showing Aishwarya Rai Bachchan smoking a cigarette.

bus owners.

To this Tamankar reacted that the members have never approached the committee with their grievances earlier.

“They always give anti-committee statements. If they wanted membership then why did they not approach us? They may have personal grudge against me,” he alleged.

Shop burgled HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, NOV 27

Unknown culprits burgled a hardware shop in the Madel area of the city here last night and decamped with cash of Rs 3000, besides a pressure pump worth Rs 15,000.

The miscreants effected entry into the shop by bending the shutters.

The Margao police are investigating.

Theft complaint

MARGAO, NOV 27 (HR) -- A hotel owner has lodged a complaint against a person, who was previously working as a room boy in the establishment for decamping with a gas cylinder, a brass lamp and flower pots from the hotel premises.

S R Ramnathkar lodged his complaint with the Margao police stating that the CCTV installed in the premises has clearly shown the accused entering the hotel at 2.10 am on November 26. The complainant has requested the Margao police to nab the culprit hailing from Karwar. Investigations are on.

Hot-mixing of Maddel roads soon: Damu HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, NOV 27

Fatorda MLA Damu Naik on Saturday inspected the Madel area of the constituency and assured the residents that the work of hot-mixing of roads and the nullah would begin soon.

During a visit to the ward this morning, the MLA said that he

had never ignored Madel during his 7-8 year tenure as MLA and added that his biggest achievement so far has been the completion of the sewerage project in Madel area.

“The sewerage project is almost complete. The nullah from the Red Roof side, besides hotmixing of roads at Madel will be taken up immediately”, he

added.

Saying that some people are misguiding the people just to take credit for taking up these works, the Fatorda MLA said any lay person can seek details from the PWD and see for themselves the proposals and the follow up action taken by him to get the projects sanctioned and executed.

Goa Dairy staff defers mass leave decision HERALD CORRESPONDENT MARCEL, NOV 27

The Goa Dairy employees have deferred their decision to go on mass leave on November 29, after Goa Dairy Chairman Madhav Sahakari assured to discuss the Sixth Pay Commission in the board of directors’ meeting on Wednesday.

It may be recalled that Goa Dairy employees had begun an agitation since November 22 demanding Sixth Pay implementation of wages.

The employees had decided to go on mass leave on November 29 to protest against the non-implementation of the sixth pay wages.

“Since Goa Dairy Chairman Madhav Sahakari has assured to take up the matter during the board of directors meeting, the decision to go mass leave has been postponed. However, we will decide on the future course of action only on Thursday,” said Workers Union leader Puti Gaonkar.

The Goa-based filmmakers under the banner ‘Film Fraternity of Goa’ who are screening their movies on the sidelines of the ongoing 41st International Film Festival of India (IFFI) are upset with Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG).

The film federation has said that the ESG assured written permission for screening Konkani movies across villages in Goa but ESG CEO Manoj Srivastava has stalled the proposal.

The written complaint by Srivastava against a filmmaker Sanjiv Prabhudesai to Panjim Town Police apparently is the fallout of same bitterness. Prabhudesai said that Srivastava was not moving the file giving them written permission for screening the movies.

“The Government has given us verbal permission to screen the Konkani movies in interiors of Goa on the sidelines of IFFI. On our request, Chief Minister Digambar Kamat had appointed a bureaucrat to prepare a written permission for screening of movies and forward the same to the ESG,” the filmmaker said.

However, ever since then, the members have been shuttling between different offices to get the permission even as the screening has already begun.

“When we went to follow up on our request, to our surprise we were told that ESG CEO has not moved the file,” Prabhudesai added. The fraternity has selected 25 Konkani movies of the 21st Century for screening in villages, the project for which has already embarked. The filmmaker also stated that the Government has verbally sanctioned Rs 40 lakh for the project.

Srivastava on Thursday had filed a complaint against Prabhudesai for threatening him. A non-cognizable complaint under Section 506 (threatening) is registered against the latter.

The filmmaker has refused claims by Srivastava and said that he will approach the Chief Minister to inform the “truth” behind the incident.

2 residential houses damaged at Comba

Chief Minister Digambar Kamat inquiring about the incident with owners of the house at Comba.

Photo Santosh Mirajkar HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, NOV 27

Two residential houses were left damaged after the structures collapsed on late Saturday evening in the Comba area of the city here.

The inmates of the two houses escaped unhurt. However, the incidents have caused

an estimated loss of Rs 2 lakh each. Police said household items including computers were damaged in the incidents.

Chief Minister Digambar Kamat along with Margao Municipal Chairperson Sushila Naik visited the spot and inquired about the incident with house owners.

Caretaker assaulted, Adpai temple cash stolen HERALD CORRESPONDENT MARCEL, NOV 27

Two robbers assaulted a caretaker and stole cash of Rs 14,300 from the Sai Baba temple at Adpai in Durbhat-Ponda on Saturday evening.

According to Ponda police, two unknown persons assaulted Raghuvir Naik (70) in the temple at about 3.30 pm and decamped with cash after breaking open the cupboard.

The injured has been admitted at Goa Medical College and Hospital at Bambolim.

This is the fifth theft in temples within the jurisdiction of Ponda police. PSI Laxi Amonkar is investigating the case.

NH4A WIDENING

Madkaikar satisfied over decision to keep land acquisition on hold HERALD CORRESPONDENT OLD GOA, NOV 27

Cumbharjua MLA Pandurang Madkaikar on Saturday expressed satisfaction over the State government’s decision to keep on hold the land acquisition process to widen the NH4A along the Old Goa-Corlim route.

It may be noted that the House Committee meeting on Friday had given its nod to finalise the alignment of 35-km stretch between Panjim and Usgao, but had kept on hold the decision on the alignment for the stretch between Old GoaCorlim and Bhoma.

Though the House Committee had unanimously decided

to impose Section 3(D) of land acquisition, it had suggested a bypass from Old Goa to Bhoma, which could save many structures.

Speaking to Herald, Madkaikar — who is also the House Committee member on the NH4A and NH17 — said he was part of the House Committee meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, on Friday.

“At that meeting, I had pointed out the affected houses along the NH4A route between Old Goa and Corlim, which falls in my constituency,” said Madkaikar.

“I had requested the commit-

tee to keep the land acquisition process on hold, as we do not want even a single house or anyone to be affected with the widened NH4A,” he added.

Commenting on the issue of a road divider, Madkaikar told the House Committee that a divider in the middle of the road would end up dividing a village.

“In Corlim, if a divider is put up it would not only divide the village but will also divide one ward of a village.”

“Due to this a lot of religious programmes would be affected and hence, I have suggested not to have road dividers in these areas,” the MLA said.

COMPLAINT AGAINST PI

Police Complaint Authority calls for further action HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, NOV 27

The State Police Complaint Authority has called for further action in respect of the complaint filed by social activist Anthony D’Silva against Margao Police Inspector Santosh Desai.

“We have gone through the facts on record and heard both the petitioner Anthony D’Silva and the respondent PI Santosh Desai. In view of the contradicting stand taken by both parties on material facts which may be relevant to adjudicate the complaint, we direct that further action be taken in order to ascertain the truth of the matter, ordered SPCA Chairman Justice Dr Eurico Santana da Silva.

Briefing newsmen, Anthony D’Silva said the preliminary order pronounced by the SPCA proves beyond

doubt that picking up of any citizen and detaining him at the police station for hours in a shabby manner is no more an unchallenged act of the police.

“I am happy for the people of Goa that my complaint has been accepted and admitted for arguments”, he said.

D’Silva had complained to the SPCA that he was detained by the Margao police on Independence Day while he was peacefully seating near the Margao Municipal garden.

He contended that the police after detaining him at the police station did not allow him to celebrate the Independence Day function at the District Collectorate building nor allowed him to even call his family or lawyer to convey to them about his detention.

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Decks clear for Centre to denotify 3 SEZs: MP HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, NOV 27

Decks are now clear for the Union Ministry of Commerce to denotify the three notified SEZ in Goa, said Shantaram Naik MP who has been vigorously pursuing the issue of denotification for the last two years.

In a statement issued Naik expressed his happiness over the judgement pronounced by Bombay High Court at Goa declaring allotment of land to the SEZ developers in Goa as illegal.

Naik said in the talks that the three developers of notified SEZs had with the then union minister of commerce Kamal Nath about two years back, indicated to him in presence of Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, myself and South Goa MP Francisco Sardinha that they were willing to give up their SEZ proposals as they were convinced of the commerce minister’s argument that they cannot go on with the SEZ in Goa against the wishes of the people and the government.

He alleged that the developers thereafter cunningly filed petitions in the court when in fact they were supposed to discuss the matter of compensation or some alternate smaller plot for non-SEZ activity as one of the developers sounded the minister about the same.

Naik said that to the misfortune of Goa, Union Commerce Ministry took a stand after their clear assurance to Goa delegation that the three SEZs

will be denotified after the minister accepted Naik’s argument that as per law, authority which has power to notify has, an inherent power to denotify, although under SEZ Act there was no specific power to denotify an SEZ, that the government took a stand that they would wait for the disposal of the pending petition.

Naik said that he argued with Anand Sharma who had taken over the Commerce Ministry that there was no order of injunction issued against the Centre by the High Court restraining them from denotifying the said three SEZs but Sharma did not appear to be in a mood to do anything while petitions were pending on the subject in the court.

Naik further added that he would meet Sharma on Monday and insist on issuing the notifications to denotify the three SEZs. It may be recalled here that Goa requested the Commerce Minister to denotify the said three SEZs after an agitation started in Goa and the people of the State realised that SEZ developers are only interested in land grabbing without any assurance to give jobs to Goans.

It was also discovered that the area of land that they sought was many times more than their actual requirement thus indicating that the developers had a hidden plan to use most of the land for commercial purpose.

ANC facing staff shortage, PSI Gudlar shunted HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, NOV 27

While, the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) is already facing serious staff shortage, the Goa Police have transferred ANC Police SubInspector Sunil Gudlar to security office at police headquarters.

It is also learnt through sources that PSI Meera D’Silva is also being transferred to Immigration but the relieving order is yet en-route.

Ironically, some of the existing staff has been diverted for IFFI and forthcoming Old Goa feast on December 3, literary bringing down the staff here to negligible.

After surviving so long without an officer to the rank of Police Inspector, the PSI Gudlar who arrested the international drug dealer David Driham alias Dudu is now being shunted.

Even as tourism season has mounted the worries of increased narco trade in the State,

the ANC - formed to counter the drugs - is feeling “weak in its knees”.

It may be recalled in the last month, Superintendent of Police Veenu Bansal had left on a fortnight long leave. With the tourist season picking up, it’s a known secret that drugs are pushed into the State during this time and kept hidden at several places only to be peddled later.

ANC which is having two police inspectors’ posts sanctioned presently does not have even single one. The sanction is looked after by two PSIs, a head constable and 11 constables, which are much lesser than the actual sanctioned strength.

Meanwhile, ANC’s fresh proposal to start a unit at Margao, which was rejected earlier, seems a distant dream now even as the chief minister had asked to put forth the proposal intending to start a unit in South.

Canacona cops give 27-pt guideline to entrepreneurs HERALD CORRESPONDENT CANACONA, NOV 27

Canacona Police have given a 27-point guideline to tourism entrepreneurs of Canacona taluka in connection with the ongoing tourism season.

Those engaged in tourism business have been asked to provide names, addresses and other details of Kashmiris/Nepalese putting up any shops, stalls within their premises of shacks/hotels to the police and are also advised to install CCTVs at their establishments.

“Narcotics and drug activities should be immediately informed to the police and informant will be suitably rewarded, while his/her identity will be kept a secret,” assured Canacona PI Raju Raut Dessai.

In a briefing at Canacona Police Station on Thursday, which was attended by about 100 coastal residents and others engaged in tourism, PI Dessai guided the concerned to furnish proper information of workers employed and guests.

“There won’t be any leniency in filing ‘C’ forms and submitting it to the police station in respect of each foreign tourist with special emphasis on their passport number and visa details, etc, within 24 hours of their check in,” said PI Dessai.

Dessai also mentioned about keeping information of Indian tourists upto date and asked to observe any suspected activities and intimate it to police for follow-up.

“Arrival of Indian tourist groups having girls as members should be observed minutely for their character and police should be informed before allotting them rooms, if their behaviour is found suspicious,” Dessai told the gathering.

They were also warned on child labour (under 14 years) and over-lapping with the timings of shacks/hotels/restaurants by keeping it open beyond the given timings to

avoid untoward incidents, besides playing music beyond 10 pm to avoid nuisance to locals.

“Sound systems will be seized by police, warned PI Dessai.

“Tourists/customers, especially foreigners, may also be asked to observe certain decorum and may be advised to avoid moving out of hotels after 12 pm and in odd hours,” he said.

“Also no details of foreigners should be disclosed to any person at any cost who is unknown and such enquiries should be immediately reported to police.

While reporting such incidents, identity of police staff should be asked for,” he added.

Establishments are also asked to keep a watch over foreign tourists inside their rooms and report it to them, if anything suspicious is noticed.

While asking the establishments to provide fire extinguishers at their hotel/shacks, entrepreneurs are advised to engage private security to protect customers and hotels/shacks property.

Cyber Café’s in the taluka have also instructed to install CCTVs and maintain register with all details, besides collecting photo copies of identity proof of the visitors.

Taxi drivers/rickshaw drivers and motorcycle pilots are also asked to communicate to the police station if any suspicious information is observed by them while travelling through their vehicles.

In an interesting observation, police asked entrepreneurs to keep garbage bins away from crowded places, as explosions have mostly occurred in garbage bins.

People are asked to contact Canacona Police on 2633357, 2633688 and SDPO Quepem on 2663900, while Canacona PI Dessai can be contacted on 9423886876.

Further speaking to Herald, PI Dessai said: “Police will make every effort to make this tourism season safe and enjoyable to the visitors in Canacona.”

GPCC demands ban on sale of agro land to foreigners HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, NOV 27

The Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) wants a ban on sale of agricultural land to foreigners.

GPCC president Subash Shirodkar said that a special legislation is necessary to ban sale of agricultural land to foreigners and non-Goans considering the land resource crunch.

Shirodkar said he would meet Chief Minister Digambar Kamat and urge him to speed up passing of the legislation in the State Assembly which is aimed at safeguarding the scarce land resources and help the State maintain its unique identity.

“Such legislation is definitely needed. I will ask the Chief Minister to speed up the process,” Shirodkar said.

Goa has been looking at Uttarakhand-style legislation, banning the sale of agricultural land to those who don’t belong to the State, including foreigners.

Civil society groups have been protesting the inability of the State Government to stop indiscriminate construction of mega housing projects in coastal villages, fearing such a rapid influx of non-indigenous population could upset the demographic profile of Goa within a short span of time.

Surla woman falls in well, dies HERALD CORRESPONDENT BICHOLIM, NOV 27

A 45-year-old woman from Dingne-Surla died after accidentally falling into a well on Saturday.

According to Bicholim police, Ujwala Vaman Ghadi (45) from Dingne Surla went to the nearby well to draw water in the morning at about 9.15 am.

As the well had no fences, Ujwala lost her balance and fell into the well. The body was later retrieved by villagers.

Bicholim police sent the body for an autopsy and later handed it over to relatives for final rites.

Bicholim PSI Ditendra Naik is investigating the case.

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Anjuna VP secretary nearly becomes Malaria breeding sites thrive victim of politically motivated transfer in Bicholim despite campaign HERALD CORRESPONDENT CALANGUTE, NOV 27

Anjuna-Caisua Panchayat Secretary Laxman Parsekar would have become a soft target by an arbitrary transfer due to political pressure, but luck favoured the secretary and the transfer order was stalled.

According to reports, the transfer was forced on the secretary for allegedly being people-friendly in providing the required information under the Right to Information Act. The information provided under the RTI Act related to 34 mega projects, which have been in the eye of a storm.

All the projects are yet to be completed, but permission from the Town and Country Planning, Health Services and Anjuna-Caisua Panchayat have reportedly been issued.

Mayem VP to elect deputy on Dec 2 HERALD CORRESPONDENT BICHOLIM NOV 27

Election to the post of deputy sarpanch of Mayem panchyat will be conducted on December 2 at 10.30 am.

The post fell vacant following the resignation of Suhasini Kinalkar.

Kajal Karbotkar is tipped to be the next deputy sarpanch.

In the 11-member panchayat Sarpanch, Nilkhant Nagvekar, Kajal Karbotkar, Reshma Sawant, Vinita Gaonkar, Tulshidas Chodankar and Sanjay Arondekar are in the ruling group, while Suhasini Kinalkar, Santosh Dhatkar, Krishna Chodankar, Diksha Pitre and Anita Lamgaonkar are in the opposition.

Surprisingly, nobody is ready to accept the blame for the illegalities with authorities passing the buck on each other.

Incidentally, the vigilance department has, till date, failed to act on a complaint by villagers of Anjuna-Caisua highlighting the illegalities with photographic evidence.

The matter of issuing permission without completion of the projects was being hotly debated at the recent gram sabha, which was adjourned by Anjuna-Caisua Sarpanch Lavino Rebello. “The panchayat takes prompt action into the illegal or wrong doings by the poor villagers but when the matter highlighting the illegalities of the mega projects or builders, there is no action forthcoming.

The matter is settled by under-

hand deals,� says Balbim. “The panchayat says that the permission was issued based on the clearances by Town and Country Planning and Health authorities, but was the panchayat unaware of incomplete projects of the company,� asked Naik. “The panchayat could have stalled the occupancy for the simple reason that the projects are still incomplete,� he added further.

When contacted, AnjunaCaisua Sarpanch Lavino Rebello said the occupancy permission was issued by the panchayat based on the no-objection certificates, etc, issued by the Town and Country Planning and Health authorities, who are the best to judge the readiness of the buildings or projects.

Street lights in BMC areas not functioning HERALD CORRESPONDENT BICHOLIM, NOV 27

The Bicholim Muncipal Council (BMC) and electricity department have turned a blind eye to the malfunctioning street lights in several wards of the city.

According to residents, the street lights in the ward represented by BMC Deputy Chairman Shashikant Halarnkar are not operating since the last three months. The areas from Pajwada to Gaonkarwada and from Atilpeth to Gaonkarwada are in darkness since a long time.

Several pleas by residents of the area to the electricity department have failed to produce any result.

It may be stated that the entire stretch is a major traffic area and there is also a private bank operating and other establishments in the area.

The residents have feared that some culprits might take the advantage of this darkness to indulge in criminal activities.

"We contacted the Junior Engineer of the electricity department, Burye but he is just giving us assurances and for most of the time the street lights are not operating," complained B R Natekar from Pajwada.

"We demand that BMC Deputy Chairman Shashikant Halarnkar should immediately look into the matter," he added.

“The department must have acted judiciously as per normal procedures. However, the occupancy was issued before I could take over as Anjuna-Caisua sarpanch,� he added.

According to sources, Parsekar was asked not to entertain the villagers under the RTI Act in providing the required documents relating to a concerned project, but the secretary provided the required information to the villagers as and when asked by the villagers. “This is the precise reason for targeting Parsekar,� said sources.

When Herald undertook a site inspection of the concerned projects, work was being carried out and the same were not ready for occupation.

GGEA meet to chalk out future plan HERALD NEWS DESK PANJIM, NOV 27

A joint meeting of the working committee and taluka committees of Goa Government Employees’ Association (GGEA) is convened on November 28 at 3 pm at the Patto office of GGEA to plan strategies for the possible indefinite strike from December 6, including paralyzing the essential services and the entire administration in the State of Goa until the government issues order of upgradation of pay scales to all the left out categories in view of sudden selective upgradation carried out by the government.

All the members of the working committee and the taluka committees are requested to attend the said meeting.

Regional Plan 2021: A boon for Goa ASHWIN TOMBAT PANJIM, NOV 27

Planning is a job for specialists.

Or is it? How do the concerns of the ‘aam admi’ get reflected in a plan; only by relying on socalled people’s representatives, too many of whom have deep vested interests? Or is there a way in which plans can benefit both from the grassroots perceptions of the masses, as well as from the wisdom of specialists? India’s smallest state – Goa – seems to have found an answer.

In 2003, it passed the Goa Children’s Act. This unique legislation on children was based on inputs from grassroots meetings held in each of the state’s 11 talukas, followed by district level and state level meetings of stakeholders, which distilled the public’s inputs into guidelines. A broadbased committee, which included NGOs, then submitted suggestions that the Law Dept finally formulated into legislation.

A people’s plan In 2010, Goa has done it again, with the Regional Plan 2021. After a huge people’s movement forced the former Pratapsingh Rane government to suspend Regional Plan 2011 – which sought to virtually hand over the entire coastal area of the state to the real estate lobby – one of the first decisions of the new Digambar Kamat government, in July 2007, was to set up a task force comprising eminent town planners, architects and representatives of the Goa Bachao Abhiyan (GBA), which led the mass movement, to draft a new plan in a transparent and representative manner.

There were many hiccups on the way, but the Task Force finally submitted a draft regional plan in September 2008. The public was to submit comments within 90 days, but this public participation process took over eight months. Over 8,500 individual comments, plus inputs from 176 Village Panchayats out of 188, and eight out of the nine Municipal Councils were digitised and put up on the government website, for transparency.

These were considered by the State Level Committee (SLC) that, apart from the CM, Town and Country Planning (TCP) officials and other key bureaucrats, included eminent architects Charles Correia, Dean D’Cruz, Bryan Soares and Rahul Deshpande. They came up with the final plan on 24 November 2010. It includes land use policies and develop-

ment recommendations for the entire state, as well as the land use plans for the talukas of Pernem and Canacona. The land use plans for the other nine talukas will be announced in the coming months, as preparing each one is an extremely laborious exercise.

Fraud-proof maps The SLC has adopted a unique, new land use mapping process with which it hopes to create fraud-proof maps. By integrating existing land survey maps with Survey of India topo sheets, all impermissible gradients of greater than 25 per cent have been identified and shown on the new land use maps. Anomalies have been identified and eliminated. This combination was then compared with Google’s high-resolution satellite photo imagery to identify and include road networks, paddy fields, water bodies, other natural features, as well as existing settlements that were not on the earlier plans.

It also enabled the SLC to remove marked settlement zones that fall within eco-sensitive areas such as low-lying paddy fields, steep slopes, water bodies, private forests, government forest, etc.

Wooded areas contiguous to forests were marked ‘natural cover’, pending a survey by the Forest Dept to determine whether they are orchards or forests.

The survey numbers have been super-imposed on the map and CRZ lines drawn. This eliminates ambiguities. A land owner, developer or NGO activist will now be able to instantly identify what zone a particular survey number falls under, and for what reason.

What this also does is to end the earlier multiplicity of maps that enabled a nefarious nexus of builders, politicians and pliant officials to wrongly zone areas and create concrete jungles. This feature alone makes the three-year wait for the Regional Plan worthwhile. But there’s more, much more.

Eco-sensitive zones To protect areas of ecological importance, two eco-sensitive zones have been identified. The Eco 1 Zone comprises forests, mangroves, water bodies, paddy fields and khazan lands, where no structures can be built. The Eco 2 Zone comprises salt pans, orchard, cultivable land, natural cover and CRZ areas, where only strictly limited activity is permitted.

Together these two eco-sensitive zones cover over 70 per

cent of Goa’s total area. Most important, they will also be applicable to the areas that come under the Outline Development Plans (ODPs) and Zoning Plans, which will now be modified accordingly to exclude these areas from development.

Population-based increase Requests for change of zone to settlement from Panchayats were often unacceptably huge.

First, all areas under Eco-I Zone were dropped. Applications for up to 1,000 sq metres were considered, only if it was in the Orchard zone and contiguous to existing settlement areas.

For other applications of change of zone, the projected population growth by 2021 was studied. Additional settlement area zoned was purely on this basis.

Floor area ratio (FAR) Earlier, Goa had a blanket Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 80 [per cent of land area] for all villages. In RP2021, FAR for villages has been rationalised. ‘Urban’ villages now fall in the VP1 category, with a permissible FAR of 80. However, this is not for big builders. Mega-projects in VP1 villages on a plot size of more than 4,000 sq metres get an FAR of only 60.

All other villages fall in the VP2 category, with an FAR of 60. But even here, mega-projects on plots larger than 4,000 sq metres get an FAR of only 50.

Height of structures Here is where the RP2021 scores a six. Under the old plan, structures in all villages had a maximum permissible height of 11.5 m. Later concessions allowed FAR-free stilt parking, raising this close to 15 m, and allowing inappropriate ‘mini high-rises’ to come up in villages.

While this continues in VP1 villages, RP2021 prescribes a maximum a height of not more than 9 m, including stilts, in all VP2 villages. FAR-free stilts will now only be available for ‘single family dwelling units’ (houses or bungalows), not for apartment buildings. This will significantly reduce the density of new developments in villages.

Hinterland corridor The plan recommends widening of existing state highways to create a new fourlane super-highway from Tivim to Usgao and from Usgao to Balli. This will not only be a viable alternative route for vehicles that want to transit through Goa, but also a ‘development corridor’ connecting the hinterland towns of Bi-

cholim, Sanquelim, Dharbandora, Usgao, Curchorem and Quepem.

The object is to boost development of industry and create job opportunities in this belt, as well as put exhausted mining areas along the route to alternative productive use. New ‘growth hubs’ are proposed at Pernem, Usgao-Dharbandora and Quepem.

Eco-tourism A new eco-tourism policy for both the coast and the hinterland, envisages very low-density resorts. The minimum plot size prescribed is 2 lakh sq metres, with a maximum FAR of 10. Only ground-plus-one structures are permitted. No matter how much the land, total built up area in such resorts cannot exceed 40,000 sq metres.

Micro-industrial zones As if to fulfill Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of a villagebased economy, micro industrial zones (MIZ) have been planned in each village panchayat to create proper infrastructure for the village as well as generate self-employment and jobs within the village.

Each MIZ will be approximately five hectares for village panchayats of projected population up to 10,000 by 2021.

Bigger panchayats can have larger MIZs. These will have plots from 600 sq metres to 1,600 sq metres in size with all basic infrastructure.

Tax on second homes It has become extremely fashionable for the rich from India’s metros to own a second home in Goa. Goa’s towns and coastal villages have many of these second homes and gated communities, which remain locked up for most of the year.

This phenomenon has caused a spurt in speculative development, and rising real estate prices have put even a modest home out of reach of the average Goan.

RP2021 has recommended that the government levy a stiff tax on these unoccupied second homes, to be collected by Panchayats and used to improve the village habitat.

Knowledge Economy Goa gets investments mainly in tourism, pharma and mining. It desperately needs investment in the knowledge sector, which is almost non-existent. RP2021 recommends that the state can become a sought-after education hub, if government policies encourage industry, academia and knowledge partners to build a world class knowledge society in Goa.

Anthony Gonsalves to be honoured at heritage jazz festival HERALD NEWS DESK PANJIM, NOV 27

Tyres piled up near a dustbin outside the KTC Bus stand at Bicholim.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT BICHOLIM, NOV 27

Even as the Bicholim Primary Health Centre and Bicholim Municipal Council have stepped up their campaign against malaria, there are still places near the KTC bus stand left unattained by authorities.

It may be recalled that the authorities had recently stepped up their campaign against malaria after about 28 cases were reported in Bicholim.

The PHC has also issued a notice to a construction site of the new PHC building after 22

cases of Malaria were detected at the site.

The deputy collector had also instructed the BMC to initiate action and form committees in every ward to maintain cleanliness in the area.

Despite these initiatives, many places in the city are still breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

Near the KTC bus stand, garbage and plastic have been dumped and the BMC has not taken any steps to remove them.

Besides, there are several tyre re-moulding sites near the

Photo by Sameer Umarye

bus stand and old tyres have been abandoned near the dustbins, thereby providing an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes.

These tyres have been lying near the dustbin since last several days and neither BMC workers nor PHC officials have taken any steps to remove them.

When Herald had earlier highlighted the matter a few months ago, the BMC immediately removed the tyres. But after some months, the old tyres have been dumped again near the dustbin.

Jewellery expo underway in Margao

Jewellery on display at the jewellery exhibition organised by the Chintamanis at Hotel Nanutel on Saturday.

MARGAO (HR): The two day jewellery exhibition organized

by Chintamanis got underway at Hotel Nanutel on Saturday.

The exhibition will be later held at Hotel Mandovi, Panjim

for two days on November 30 and December 1.

Chintamani said the objective behind holding the exhibition is to bring the very best of hallmark Gold jewelry and cer-

Jantar Mantar

tified diamond jewelry in Goa. The Chintamani’s is a favourite destination of all exclusive diamond and gold jewellery known in Goa. “We specialize in high-end customized jewellery according to the needs of customers. Chintamanis brings you a range of bridal gold and diamond jewellery for this wedding season�, the organizers said.

The Chintamanis have also introduced authentic Temple jewellery from South India at the exhibition. A special offer has been worked out for the old customers, while the organizers will accept old gold against exchange of new ornaments.

Star-Gazing

In the middle of Delhi city, there is a compound of huge orange structures known as Jantar Mantar.

These structures were built in 1974

by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Jaipur, and one of five similar setups in the country. They have become protected UNESCO World Heritage structures was intended to be an observatory. The instruments were sites. used to chart out the astronomical tables, and to predict the movement of the sun, moon and stars.

The 1st international Heritage jazz festival will open today at 7 pm with the felicitation of Goa’s music icon, Anthony Gonsalves.

He will be accorded the prestigious Karmaveer Award for lifetime achievement.

Pyarelal Sharma will be present at the awards function which will take place at Kala Academy today, and with this, the International Heritage Jazz Festival will commence with the high energy Austrian band K3.

The band comprises Herbert KĂśnighofer (sax, flutes), Robert Kainar (drums, percussion, electronics), Klaus Kircher (double-bass, e-bass, guitar) They will perform with Ranajit Sengupta, a highly accomplished Sarod performer who will also be accompanied by a tabla player.

On Monday, the equally energetic Mexican band, the Teresa Estrada band will perform.

The next band on offer is the Alex Stuart Quartet, which also consists of Guillaume Perret on saxophone, Yoann Serra on drums and Munir Hossn on bass.

The show is being held in association with the Entertainment Society of Goa, Tourism, Art and Culture department of Goa. More information can be got at www.heritagejazz.com The Herald is the media sponsor of the programme and the hospitality sponsors are Resort Rio, Estrela do mar. The show is also actively supported by the Australian High Commission and the Austrian Cultural Forum.

is able to measure other facets of the heavenly bodies.

Of course, the Jantar Mantar structures are no longer used for astronomical observations, but they remain an important part of astronomical history nonetheless.

The individual instruments were used in different ways and for different purposes. The tallest one is known as the Samrat Yantra (Supreme Instrument) and is in the obvious shape of a sundial. It is aligned to the Earth’s axis and These strange structures were orig- points towards the North Pole. It is inally used as astronomical de- significantly more sophisticated vices, and the entire complex of 13 than other sundials of its time, as it

are Comets?

What Comets are small, fragile, ir- and dynamic, but they all regularly shaped bodies composed of a mixture of non-volatile grains and frozen gases. They have elliptical orbits that bring them very close to the Sun and swing them deeply into space, often beyond the orbit of Pluto.

Comet structures are diverse

have a cloud of diffuse material, called a coma, that grows in size and brightness as the comet nears the Sun. Usually a small, bright nucleus is visible in the middle of the coma. The coma and the nucleus together constitute the head of the comet.

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Authorities chided for stopping religious sacrifice HERALD REPORTER VASCO, NOV 27

The state unit of the Jammat-EIslami Hind has criticised authorities in Vasco for stopping Muslims from fulfilling their religious obligations of symbolic sacrifice, at the behest of an NGO. In a press note, Syed Basheer of Jammat-E-Islami Hind has also condemned the "criminal treatment meted out to the organizers and the arrest of members of the community."

"The thoughtless action has deeply hurt the feelings of the community and has created lot of ill-feelings and mistrust," said Basheer.

"Jammat-E-Islami Hind appreciates the maturity and the calm shown by the community leaders and youngsters despite the provocation."

"The State government should either make arrangements in and around major

PFI also condemns act The Popular Front of India has strongly condemned the act of law enforcing authorities for arresting 35 members of Kurbani committee at Baina-Vasco and for confiscation of 29 buffaloes instead of having all the permissions as required under the law.

The Front said the harassment and discrimination of minority community is increasing day by day, not only by politicians, administration, bureaucracy etc but also by the so called secular fabric of Goa. “The fascist forces instigated Angela Kazi in Vasco to further their goal”, the Front

said.

The Front has called upon the government to check and curb such discriminatory action against the minority and help them celebrate their festivals with religious fervour and gaiety. “Islam stands for peace and preaches peace, the government of Goa should protect this peace”, the Front said.

Sayign that Eid-Ul-Adha is a festival of sacrifice, the Front said the Goa government should declare Eid day and three days after that as days of sacrifice in Goa to help Muslim community to celebrate Eid without any hindrances.

cities and towns for the slaughter of animals or alternatively, give permission to set up temporary slaugh-

ter houses for three days every year during Eid-ulAzha," the press note added.

HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, NOV 27

Vibgyor gives donation to Asro HERALD NEWS BUREAU PANJIM, NOV 27

The Vibgyor Charitable Trust recently contributed Rs 25,000 to Asro, a care home run by Caritas-Goa at Damedem-Tivim for children with HIV/ AIDS. The Asro centre presently houses around 25 children, mostly orphans, afflicted with the deadly virus, for no fault of theirs.

The contribution was towards the medical expenses of the children. The Trustees felt that although funds are channelised for the adult HIV/AIDS victims, mostly the orphaned/single parent afflicted children are not fully supported to meet their medical expenses.

The amount was handed over by the President Franky Viegas to the Superior of the Home.

Ian Zuzarte, Agnelo Oliveira, Paul D'Souza, Lourdes Kapoor, Genevive D'Souza and Arun Kapoor, trustees and volunteers were also present on the occasion.

The Vibgyor Charitable Trust conducts fund raising events and programmes whose proceeds go towards supporting few children from orphan homes and also supporting the lives of the under privileged, the less cared for senior citizens and other categories of less privileged

Toddy Tappers hold litany, prayer service HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, NOV 27

The All Goa Toddy Tappers Association held a litany and prayer service at its Margao office on Friday.

On the occasion, the president of the Association Gaspar Afonso disbursed financial assistances to a group of toddy tappers who met with accidents in recent times.

Afonso said the litany and prayer service is organized annually to seek the blessings of the Patron Saint of Goa, St Francis Xavier.

Toddy tappers and their families attended the prayer service in the Association office.

Exhibition on AIDS, TB HERALD NEWS DESK PANJIM, NOV 27

On the occasion of World AIDS Day, the Tuberculosis Association of Goa will organise its 19th annual exhibition on ‘AIDS and TB’, from December 1 to 31 in its premises at 403, Nizari Bhavan, Menezes Braganza Road, Panjim.

The exhibition will consisting of national and international publications, posters, stickers, leaflets, magazines, press clippings, video cassettes and CDs on HIV/AIDS and TB, collected since 1981 by the Honorary Secretary of the Association Dr Damodar Bhounsule.

This exhibition is intended to create awareness regarding the lethal association between HIV and TB as in India 55-60% of reported cases of AIDS had TB which is one of the leading causes of death in people living with HIV/AIDS.

within its ambit of social service.

The public are requested to support the activities of the Trust, which has been granted 80G 5 of the Income Tax Act, either through depositing directly to their A/c at the IDBI Bank, Mapuca Branch, or at the Trust office at No 1, Harshidd Bldg. opp. Parra Towers, Jacknim, Parra.

Further details are available on Ph: 2473155, Lourdes (Ph: 9822588823) or Olympio Almeida (Ph: 9822168112).

Bandora Sarpanch steps down HERALD CORRESPONDENT MARCEL, NOV 27

Bandora Sarpanch Damodar Naik on Thursday tendered his resignation from the post due to family matters.

Naik said his resignation is unconditional and due to family matters, he decided to step down from the post.

It may be recalled that Naik was elected unopposed as sarpanch in January, this year.

Before Naik, Dinesh Naik, Sukhanand Kurpaskar, P K Naik and Prabhakar Gaude have served as the sarpanchas. Naik was the fifth sarpanch during the current tenure.

“I stepped down due to family matters and I don’t have any issue. During my tenure as sarpanch, various developmental activities were undertaken,” said Naik. “I also tried to bring in many schemes to the needy. I got all the support from the panch members and hope the future sarpanch concentrate on developmental activities and work for the welfare of the people,” he added.

Awareness program held on disabled persons MARGAO (HR): The National Trust for the welfare of disabled persons in collaboration with ONGC held an awareness program in Margao on Saturday as part of Badhte Kadam 2010 campaign.

The All India discoverability campaign was launched by the National Trust for the welfare of persons with autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation and multiple disabilities.

The campaign was inaugurated by Margao Municipal Councilor Pratima Coutinho in the presence of additional district Collector Prasanna Acharya and others.

A representative of the Trust Liby Mendonsa said the campaign has highlighted the fact that the disabled persons enjoy various rights.

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David Coleman Headley Confessions - II ‘How I waged war on India’ This is the second part of what David Coleman Headley confessed to NIA sleuths. It was obtained by Dinesh Sharma of Zee News from highly placed sources in the agency and first appeared on Zeenews.com.

"I arrived in India for the first time on September 14 in 2006 at the Mumbai airport. I stayed at Hotel Outram and never called my Pakistani contacts from my new cellphone. This was done for me by Tahawwur Rana in Chicago. Here I submitted a form with RBI to open an immigration office for which I even appointed a Parsi woman as my secretary. This was a cover for me as I was super secretive – no one in India could imagine what I was up to.

I made extensive photographs of places like the Brihan Mumbai Corporation building, Haji Ali, Gateway of India, Hotel Taj, State police HQs, Azad Maidan, Marine Drive, VT Railway Station, Mumbai Central Railway Station, Leopold Café, etc. My reconnaissance videos were appreciated by ISI and LeT and were crucial in carrying out attacks in Mumbai in 2008. Qahafa and I did a serious study on Google Earth to conduct the reconnaissance of Hotel Taj. We plotted the entire route and spot that the attackers would use.

I also made videos of targets in Delhi, Pune, Goa and Pushkar. I shot some things on a camera given to me by my Pakistani mother-in-law. But I mostly used my mobile’s camera to do the recordings from April to June 2008 as well as in 2009 in India and Denmark. It has been seized by the FBI. The Mumbai attacks were financed and supported by the ISI. Every important LeT member is handled by ISI officials. My handlers were Major Iqbal and Major Sameer Ali. Lakhvi was controlled by Brigadier Riyaz who is based in Muzaffarabad. Major Iqbal provided money for my surveillance in Mumbai. The Rs25 lakh used to buy the first boat used to reach Mumbai was ISI money. This boat was used in September to reach Mumbai but that attempt failed. The boat hit a rock and the attackers had to be brought back in another one.

I was the one who apprised the ISI officers of our complete plan to attack India in my first meeting Major Iqbal and his boss Lt Col Hamza. After 26/11, LeT has created a naval wing under Yaqub which will be used against targets in India. They even had a frogman – a trained diver who can be used for combat – called Abdur Rehman, and I think he was from the Pakistan Navy.

Initially, it was planned to target only Hotel Taj. Till at least my sixth reconnaissance visit to the Taj, it was planned that two or three LeT men will attack the hotel and will enter through Nepal or Bangladesh. After March in 2008, the plan of multiple attacks in Mumbai and the use of sea route began to appear in LeT discussions. The plan was to attack during an annual conference of software engineers there.

I briefed my ISI handlers and LeT’s Sajid as well as Lakhvi about my first sojourn to India. Before leaving again for Mumbai in 2007, I was briefed by the ISI men. I landed in India on Feb 21, 2007 but soon returned to Pakistan as there were some issues I needed to sort out on personal front.

My LeT handler Sajid wanted me to conduct extensive work at the Taj. I did so in September and also videographed the Shiv Sena Bhawan for him. I even chatted with some security guards posted outside the building. I tried to get close to the PRO of Shiv Sena, Rajram Rege during this period.

Lakhvi and a frogman that I believe was from the Pakistan Navy discussed various landing options on the Mumbai coast. Lakhvi wanted me to explore entry through Taj Hotel side and the frogman said I must verify if there were any Indian vessels so as to avoid a gunfight with them.

Some more targets were discussed – the Taj Presidency, World Trade Centre, Naval Air Station, Siddhi Vinayak Temple, Chabad House, Assembly building, BSE, etc. It was planned that the attackers would take a train or a bus and reach Kashmir after the attacks, where they would lie low. But this option slowly died out and it was decided that Chabad House would rather be used as a stronghold by the attackers. Chabad House as a target delighted everyone from Major Iqbal to Pasha.

On my seventh trip to Mumbai, I also carried out reconnaissance at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) for the ISI. I conducted four boat rides at different places on the coast to decide on landing sites for the attackers. On April12, 2008 I visited Cuffe Parade area and was convinced that the attackers could land there, which eventually they did. I also caught some fish while looking for suitable locations!

On my eighth trip, I visited the Osho Ashram in Pune. I bought some red threads that Hindus wear on their wrists to be used for attackers – it was my idea which was appreciated by Sajid and applied as well.

I once told Sajid that the attack on VT Station may lead to killing of a number of Muslims. He dismissed it saying they would attack during iftaar, making that improbable. In August 2008, I checked SIM connections for the attackers – whether they would work in India. This I did at Wagah post.

During this duration, when I thought the Mumbai project had fizzled out, Sajid and ISI men discussed an operation in Denmark.

We wanted to target the cartoonist who had caricatured Prophet Mohammad and also the editor of the paper. Sajid gave me €3000 for a trip to Denmark.

An attempt to reach Mumbai by the attackers in the first week of November 2008 failed as they could not capture an Indian boat. But on November 26, I got an SMS from Sajid’s mobile asking me to switch on the TV. The attack on Mumbai had begun.

After the attacks, Lakhvi was put under arrest at the Udial jail where ISI DG Shuja Pasha visited him to understand the Mumbai attack conspiracy. Lakhvi gets home-made food in the prison and his family members as well as LeT members meet him regularly.

I made a final trip to India in March last year. This was to videograph various Chabad Houses in India as also the Israeli embassy.

I stayed at a hotel in Paharganj. On this visit I carried out a detailed reconnaissance of the German Bakery in Pune. I told Pasha on my visit back to Lahore that we could kill more Indian Army officers in an attack on the National Defence College that had been killed in all the wars between India and Pakistan.

Sajid told me they had got clearance for more attacks in India, probably at the Jamnagar oil refinery. I was told not to contact my ISI handlers as Kasab was singing in an Indian prison. But I moved on to the Denmark project which was being coordinated

by Ilyas Kashmiri and Pasha, till I got arrested while trying to fly out of Chicago. I volunteered myself as a suicide bomber for this attack, as a Mumbai-type option didn’t seem too viable.

But I was arrested by FBI on October 3, 2009, while I was going to Pakistan to meet my LeT handlers." (Concluded)

CBI begins quizzing Swami Asimanand PTI HYDERABAD, NOV 27

The CBI today began interrogation of Swami Asimanand, an accused in the 2007 Mecca Masjid bomb blast case, after taking him into their custody from Chanchalguda Central Prison here, official sources said.

After the XIV Additional Chief M e t ro p o l i t a n M a g i s t r a t e (ACMM) court here had yesterday remanded Asimanand in seven days police custody. He was today handed over to the CBI officials for further interrogation, they said.

According to CBI, the 59-yearold Asimanand whose real name is Naba Kumar Sarkar, who had been on the run since 2008, was arrested on November 19 from Haridwar in connection with the blast at the historic masjid here on May 18, 2007, that killed nine.

The Central investigation agency has claimed that the

Oscar winner Resul Pookutty dreamt of Nobel prize PTI PANAJI, NOV 27

Sound technician Resul Pookutty was fascinated with physics as a child and dreamt of winning a Nobel Prize but ended up bagging an Oscar for his work in Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire".

"I wanted to be a physicist and win a Nobel for India, but I ended up winning an Oscar instead. I'm just as happy," Pookutty said during his master class on 'Art of Sound and Music' at IFFI here.

"When I came into this field, I realized that sound engineering was not so much engineering but a craft. We choose every sound very carefully because we want the audience to hear what we wanted them to," Pookutty said.

Pookutty said that it was Boyle, who inspired him to go beyond the boundaries and experiment with new sounds in the movie, which won eight Oscars including two for musician A R Rahman.

"During the riot scene in 'Slumdog Millionaire', Danny came to me and said that he wanted to hear the sound when Jamaal comes out of the water. He was the first director who visualized the sound because not many directors care about it even though they are great with the camera," said Pookutty.

When asked to name the most important element of sound in cinema by filmmaker Goving Nihalani, who was in the audience, Pookutty promptly replied "silence".

"Silence is the most important element in sound and how we use it can create a different impact. I learnt the effective use of silence from Govindji, he was one of the pioneers of it and he is a great cameraman.

"I remember that in the climax of 'Ghajini' I convinced both the director and Aamir to make certain scenes soundless. But silence is not without sound, we use certain sounds to convey the feeling of silence," said Pookutty.

mecca masjid blast case gating Officer told PTI Through the interrogation of Asimanand, the CBI wants to extract details on the whereabouts of other accused including two prime accused in the Mecca Masjid case--Sandeep Dange and Ramchandra Kalsangra alias Ramji, both natives of Indore, who continue to remain elusive, he said.

The CBI in its case diary (CD) filed before the court had submitted that Asimanand gave shelter to his co-accused after the Mecca Masjid blast.

"Such places had to be lo-

BJP's 'chakka jam' agitation paralyses life in Jammu PTI JAMMU, NOV 27

Normal life was affected here today due to a three-hour 'chakka jam' called by BJP protesting the surrender policy for youths who went to PoK for arms training and demanding that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah withdraw his statement on accession of Jammu and Kashmir with India.

Public and private transport was off the roads and shops and business establishments remained closed, hitting the normal life from 0800 hours to 1100 hours in the city. There was very thin attendance in government offices, banks and educational institutions due to lack of transport facilities.

BJP activists staged sit-ins in various parts of the city and blocked the Tawi bridge on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway raising anti-government slogans. They also burnt effigies of government at several places.

"The agitation passed off peacefully. There was no untoward incident reported from

anywhere during the period of three hours," a police spokesman said.

"There was complete bandh today for three hours in protest against the statement of Omar on the floor of Assembly last month over accession of Jammu and Kashmir with India and also against return and rehabilitation of the militants from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir," BJP state president Shamshir Singh Manhas told reporters here.

The much-talked about surrender policy for youths who had exfiltrated from Jammu and Kashmir between 1989 and 2009 for arms training and have a change of heart now was cleared by the state cabinet on November 22.

Manhas said BJP warns the Chief Minister "not to compete with secessionists by making statements about the status of Jammu and Kashmir". NC and omar is "in competition" not only with PDP but with separatists to become "champion of Kashmir-centric approach," he charged.

cated, and also ascertained if Asimanand provided financial assistance to the co-accused," the agency said. The CBI has so far named five persons, all allegedly having links with a rightwing Hindu outfit, as accused in the case and brought two Ajmer blast accused, Devender Gupta and Lokesh Sharma to Hyderabad on June 17, as part of investigation into the Mecca Masjid case. Gupta and Sharma are presently under judicial remand in a prison here.

The CBI officials had recovered few false documents from the "hideout" of Asimanand at Bhadurabad in Haridwar besides Rs 39,350 from his possession and it wants to ascertain the source of the amount.

The CBI and Maharashtra ATS had earlier carried out searches at various places in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat as he was also wanted for his suspected role in connection with Malegaon bomb blast case.

PTI ITANAGAR, NOV 27

The famous Tawang Monastery in Arunachal Pradesh is under imminent threat of collapse following massive landslides around it.

The 330-year-old monastery, also known as Gaden Namgyal Lhatse, which stands on the spur of a hill about 10,000 feet above sea level, is witnessing massive landslide around it since Monday, officials said.

The landslide had already damaged the plantation and some electric posts around the monastery located in Twang-chu valley of Tawang district, they said.

Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu visited the site yesterday to assess the damage and asked the district administration and public works department to put their men and machine in place to contain further damage to the site.

Khandu also said he would take up the matter with the Centre to save the monastery, one of the biggest in the world.

New Andhra CM meets Sonia, PM PTI NEW DELHI, NOV 27

New Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy today held meetings with Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and a host of party leaders, during which the names of his Cabinet members are understood to have been finalised.

Reddy arrived here this morning on his maiden visit to the capital after assuming office on Thursday. He met Singh, Gandhi, Home Minister P Chidambaram and other Congress leaders and sought their cooperation in running the government.

During his meeting with Gandhi and Singh, the 50-yearold Chief Minister thanked them for choosing him for the top post and told them that his administration will be "transparent" to the people.

With Sonia, Kiran Reddy is also believed to have discussed the probable candidates for ministerial berths.

The Cabinet is likely to be constituted tomorrow, a day before the Winter Session of Andhra Pradesh Assembly starts.

The Chief Minister has already held one round of discussion

on the Cabinet formation with Law Minister Veerappa Moily, who is also the in-charge of party affairs in the state, in Hyderabad.

On his arrival, Kiran Reddy told reporters: "I am here to meet Madam Sonia Gandhi and other high command members to convey my thanks for the responsibility they have given to me.

I have come for Cabinet consultation with them.

"My agenda will be to try to give a clean and transparent government," he said in reply to a question.

Reddy will also meet Vice President Hamid Ansari, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, Defence Minister A K Antony and Urban Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy, who also hails from Andhra Pradesh.

Moily has already announced that the state will have a deputy chief minister from the sensitive Telangana region.

Lobbying for ministerial berths has already begun and there is speculation that supporters of Y S Jaganmohan Reddy will also be given ministerial berths, a move aimed at mollif ying the belligerent Kadapa MP.

Complex Open Heart surgery performed on new born baby

Step-father leaves child to starve, arrested

The operation was performed on Oct 27 by Dr Sunil G S, Professor, Pediatric Cardiac Surgery in collaboration with Dr Balu Vaidyanathan, Dr Edwin Francis and Dr Mahesh Pediatric cardialogists and Dr Suresh Nair and Dr Rakhi Cardiac Anesthesia/intensive care.

Dr Sunil performed a complex reconstruction of the narrowed aorta, relieving the obstruction in the aorta completely. The blood flow to the lung was maintained by the surgical insertion of a tube called BT shusnt, inserted between the aorta and the lung artery. The procedure helps in regulating the flow of excessive blood to the lungs and provide adequate blood supply to the whole body, he said.

The baby has been discharged from the hospital.

The operation is considered to be the most complex and difficult of all surgeries for children

A two-year-old girl left alone allegedly by her step-father to star ve in a shed with ants swarming around her was rescued and rushed to hospital by people at a village near here.

The incident took place at Meeyannur village yesterday.

After rescuing the skinny child with rake-thin limbs and her mother, the villagers informed the police and admitted the child to a hospital.

The step-father of the child has been taken into custody and a case registered against him for cruelty towards the tot, police said.

The child was living with her mother and step-father, both daily wage earners, who had come to the area only about a month ago.

PTI KOCHI, NOV 27

Hindu devotees from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) participate in a religious ceremony for Lord Hanuman for the construction of a Ram Mandir in Ayodhya at NTR grounds in Hyderabad,on Saturday.

complicity of Asimanand in the criminal conspiracy in the blast case came to light recently.

As part of further interrogation, we will also take Asimanand to Gujarat, Delhi and other places," a senior Investi-

Tawang monastery faces danger due to landslides

An extremely complex Open Heart surgery was performed on a 5 day old new born baby boy suffering from a complex and critical birth defect of the heart at the Amirta Instiute of Medical Sciences (AIMS) here.

This was the first successful Stage 1 Norwood operation in Kerala. The baby's left ventricle and aorta were completely underdeveloped as a result of a congenital anaomaly, Dr G S Sunil, Chief Pediatric Cardiac Surgeon, Dr Balu Vaidyanathan, Chief Pediatric Cardialogist of AIMS and Dr Edwin Francis, Internventional Pediatric Cardiologist, told reporters here.

The blood corculation to the body was maintained through an embryonic communciation between the lung artery and the aorta called PDA.

with birth defects of the heart.

The critical nature of the heart defect requires the procedure to be carried out in the neonatal period itself.

The Pediatric cardiac programme at Amrita has so far performed over 7500 open heart surgiers in children, including 500 newborn heart surgeries.

The team has also performed a similar number of catheter based procedures (closure of heart defects without scar).

AIMS has one of the most advanced facility of diagnosing heart defects before birth by the technique called fetal echocardiography.

By this technique many complex, difficult defects can be prevented by early diagnosis and termination of pregnancy while correctable problems can be offered treatment by a planned delivery in a cardiac facility.

PTI KOLLAM, NOV 27

Kamal Hassan to endorse brands only if revenue helps noble cause PTI CHENNAI, NOV 27

In his near five decade long career, actor Kamal Hassan has always stayed away from endorsements, but has now hinted at a change of mind, only if revenue from them helps a noble cause.

'This (cinema) industry has given me the confidence that I can sustain a livelihood from its own source of income even during the low-paid days,' Kamal, as he is called by his fans, said at a media interaction here.

Stating that brand endorsement had never been his cup of tea, the national award winning actor said he was not tempted to endorse brands even when other actors had spoken in support of them.

'As a matter of policy, I had stayed away from doing advertisements since I cannot endorse a product with which I am not associated with,' the veteran actor noted.

However he now seems to have had a change of mind, lending his image for various AIDS-related activities by Tamil Nadu

State AIDS Control Society (TANSACS), which had organised the interaction in association with private radio station Hello FM and

Population Services International (PSI), an NGO. The actor, who has interacted with AIDSaffected children and would be sharing his experiences on air through Hello FM as part of a campaign to raise funds for such children, said he may act in advertisement films if revenue from them could be useful for such causes.

'If I can give the entire money (received as wages) with tax free benefits, I can work in advertisement films,' he said, even as many younger cinema colleagues, men and women, are brand ambassadors for various local and international brands.

TANSACS Project Director P Amutha said the prevalence rate of AIDS in the state had dropped from 1.13 per cent in 2003 to 0.2 per cent now and credited the dip to growing awareness and proper treatment facilities offered by the state government.

She lauded the media for playing an active role in disseminating awareness on AIDS and HIV.

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INDIA

GOA, SUNDAY, 28 NOVEMBER, 2010

opinionated Of inaction, double standards and luxury

By ColIn SavIo Coelho

W

ith the advent of the rule, nay misrule, of our laissez-faire Chief Minister Digambar Kamat; we have faced numerous double standards and ineffective governance. While he does not seem to know, or pretends not to know, what exactly is the factual position of any administrative matter, there seems to be a conceited emphasis on non-action on his part.

This is very sad considering the high expectations we had when he took over as Chief Minister in June 2007. He has been bitten by the ‘appeasement’ bug. In fact, all the information and my subsequent views are coming forth because of the information provided by a ‘little birdie’ with knowledgeable antecedents!

I remember about three years ago, when a group of musicians and entertainers approached the CM on the issue of sound restrictions, he was quick to defend the governments unrealistic stance, “We now have the Police Reforms Commission. Police officers are not ready to go against the rules because they can fall into trouble.” But this double speak is very common with our now ‘double-edged’ Chief Minister.

What baffles me, though, is how Goa could reach a level where even the chief minister needs to be questioned and does this new trend need to grow into a die-hard habit?

The authorities have decided to stop all entertainment around the IFFI venue by 10 pm. This is fair enough considering the law of the land and the directives for its strict implementation by the Supreme Court. We, as Goans, may have a different view to this restriction. It holds no water because we are bound by the rules of the land, unless someone finds a way to convince the SC about our views. But until such time, we are bound by the laws on sound. But is the law applicable only to places on the shores of Goa? What happens ‘off-shore’? While Panjim is silenced at 10 pm, as far as entertainment on the land goes, the ‘Casino Pride’ offshore was revelling in festivities well past 1030 pm.

What was most interesting is that the loud music could be heard right at the Collectorate, in Panjim. But each of the authorities were ‘blissfully’ unaware of this. The upper deck of the ‘Off-shore Casino’ was ‘rocking’ as the new entertainment jargon would describe. The upper deck was the most ‘happening’ place just off the shores of Panjim while the authorities put Panjim to sleep! Again, this has been the double standards that have been encouraged by the government of the day.

It would do the government good to ensure that every citizen is treated with the same yardstick. Casinos included.

There is always an elaborate hint thrown with almost every action of the government that they do want to favour some group of citizens or the other. Is this the part of the game “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” that they seem to be playing at some personal level?

I was recently in New Delhi and had the opportunity of visiting the three-day Goa Festival organised by the Goenkarancho Ekvott at the national capital. I would say, it was, indeed, a lucky moment for the organisers to have the CM grace the occasion. Kumari Selja, the union tourism minister inaugurated the event, but CM Kamat was prominently absent for most part of the inaugural function. He does not seem to have learnt from the advice given to him on the microphone by Zakir Hussain at Margao some time ago. He arrived late as usual! But his wife Asha was there well in time and, in fact, it was announced that she was ‘representing’ him until his arrival.

But what was most interesting is that the president of Goenkarancho Ekvott, Mrs Suman Kurade, a lady who is dynamic and young at heart even at her respectable age, and handles a lot of the Ekvott’s activities almost single-handedly got up to tell the CM that the regional plan must be notified quickly. But the CM was not present to listen. Was this planned or was it a coincidence? The echoes of issues plaguing Goa seems to be finding a voice all over the country. But is the CM listening? But then, we all know that: “A man listens to what he wants to listen.”

Don’t get carried away by propaganda, Digambar Kamat warns us. But what can we call the real propaganda here? Is it the issues plaguing Goa or the hollow assurances given by the government? Are we really heading towards ‘sustainable development’ or are we going to continue to call issues related to that topic ‘propaganda’ and the ‘haphazard development’ that suit the CM and some of his cabinet colleagues as the 'true way' to develop Goa? Mr Kamat, can you introspect and ask yourself this question? I am sure you will think as a Goan first and not a minister or a chief minister or even a MLA when you look for the answers!

And one more thought, while I was at the national capital, I also noticed something that grabbed my attention. Goa Sadan, the place where many Goans find rest while in Delhi, is a beautiful place with nice lawns and a good number of vehicles parked behind the edifice. All the cars, mostly luxury sedans, have ‘Govt of Goa’ written prominently on their number plates. But speaking of the interesting fact I mentioned, there was something that met my curious eye. A white Merc majestically decorated the otherwise humble campus where even the toilets are not clean enough to visit. And things got even more interesting… The car had a Goa registration number (GA 01 G 0001). Well, while in Goa the ministers and bureaucrats live in comparative austerity, and we must congratulate them for this. But in Delhi, they want to flaunt their lavish superiority. Maybe that is why so many of them would to go to New Delhi so often. Surely all of them would be entitled to a jolly ride in the Merc! But mind you, they do it at our cost!!!.

India’s 20th nuclear power plant goes critical PTI KAIGA, NOV 27

India's 20th nuclear power plant today became operational here taking the total installed atomic power capacity in the country to 4780 MW. The indigenously-developed 220 MW capacity Unit 4 of the Kaiga Atomic Power Station attained criticality at 8.07.22 am making India the sixth country in the world to have 20 or more nuclear power plants in operation.

A nuclear reactor is said to have attained criticality when it is ready to maintain stability of the chain reaction indicating that the unit is has achieved a steady output of power.

The Kaiga-4 was built a few years ago but was unable to start power production for want of fuel.

India's exemption from the Nuclear Suppliers' Group guidelines in 2008 that facilitated its return to global nuclear trade

The Bombay High Court, in a recent order, upheld life sentence awarded by lower court to a man, who killed his wife by setting her afire.

Ironically, Rekha Kolhe, the hapless woman who suffered 99 per cent burn injuries and died after battling for life for forty hours in the hospital, was herself a police constable based in Ambajogai in Beed district.

Her husband and the main accused, Rajendra Kolhe, was serving in the army at the time of the incident.

As per the prosecution's case, Rekha's neighbours at her house in Ambajogai heard her screams on the night of July 22, 2002, and found, upon entering her house, that her clothes had caught afire.

While the neighbours -- who

were Rekha's colleagues in the police force -- tried to douse the flames, Rajendra and his younger brother Suresh were merely standing by.

At the civil hospital, in her dying declaration, Rekha told her colleagues that her husband, who had come back on leave on the same day, and her brother-in-law tied her hands and set her afire.

The apparent provocation was that her in-laws had told Rajendra that she was of bad character, and did not hand over her salary to them.

Rekha had told her superiors earlier too that she was being ill-treated by in-laws, who suspected her character. A week before the incident, they had not allowed her to participate in a district-level sports event, though she had been selected to represent police department.

Rajendra and Suresh ab-

criticality to commercial prod u c t i o n t a ke s a b o u t t w o months.

Three units of 220 MW each are already generating electricity at the Kaiga nuclear station at about 60 per cent of their capacity.

Kaiga is NPCIL's sixth nuclear power plant site.

The third unit at Kaiga attained criticality in February 2007 in less than five years of first pouring of concrete.

Kaiga 1 and 2 had attained criticality in 2000.

Kaiga 4 has raised the installed capacity at the power station here to 880 MW, the third largest site of NPCIL after Tarapur and Rawatbhata.

Presently, India produces 568 billion units of electricity and of that 23 per cent is from hydro-power, 64 per cent from thermal power, 10 per cent by non-conventional methods and only three per cent by the nuclear power.

India, China to hold crucial border talks ahead of Wen's visit PTI BEIJING, NOV 27

Special Representatives of India and China will hold the crucial 14th round of border talks here on Monday to resolve the longrunning boundary dispute between the two countries, ahead of a key visit of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to New Delhi.

National Security Advisor (NSA) Shivshankar Menon, the designated Special Representative of India who is arriving here tomorrow on a three-day visit, would hold talks with his Chinese counterpart State Councillor Dai Bingguo on November 29 and 30 to find a way forward to resolve the boundary dispute.

The last round was held in New Delhi in 2009 between the then NSA, M K Narayanan and Dai which ended without much progress.

India and China share about 4,000-km long borders.

China has staked claims to Akasai Chin in the Ladakh region and Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing refers to as southern Tibet.

Though India-China began discussions to resolve the border difference since 1980, the process got an impetus after the two countries agreed to hold talks by designated Special Representatives.

The two countries also signed

agreements in 1993 and 1996 to maintain peace and stability in the border areas.

In 2005, China and India signed a political guiding principle on demarcation of the boundary.

The border issue came up for discussion during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's meeting with Wen last month on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Hanoi.

On the boundary problem, both Singh and Wen said they looked forward to early resolution of the issue and asked their Special Representatives to deal with the subject with a sense of urgency.

The latest round of Special Representative talks from Monday assume significance as it will the final high-level discussions between the two countries before next month’s crucial visit of Premier Wen to New Delhi.

The talks come amid a row between the two countries on the issues of the stapled visas being issued by China to the residents of Jammu and Kashmir, presence of Chinese personnel building various projects in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK) and Beijing's plan to construct new nuclear power projects in Pakistan.

The issue of stapled visas has become a major irritant in bilateral ties as the recent refusal

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (C) and his wife Asma al-Assad greet his Indian counterpart Pratibha Patil (R) and her husband Devisingh Ramsingh Shekhawat (2nd-R) upon their arrival for a meeting at Al-Shaab palace in Damascus on Sunday.

HC upholds lifer for husband for killing police wife PTI MUMBAI, NOV 27

made the access to fuel possible.

The announcement of Kaiga4 attaining criticality was made

by Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Srikumar Banerjee in the presence of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) Chairman-cumManaging Director Shreyans Kumar Jain and a number of senior officials at the plant site.

"I announce that Unit 4 has attained criticality," said Banerjee. He said that it would be the endevour of the department to ensure that the new unit is connected with the grid as early as possible which could be followed by commercial production of power.

The Kaiga Unit 4 will now undergo a series of checks from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) before being synchronised with the grid. The commercial production will begin thereafter.

The entire processes from

sconded soon after she was taken to hospital. Rekha passed away two days later; the two were arrested in 2005.

Suresh being a minor, his case was transferred to juvenile justice board.

Sessions court convicted Rajendra in July 2008, against which he filed appeal in Aurangabad bench of High Court.

His defence was that her colleagues in the police department had recorded false dying declaration. Also, he was being implicated so that Rekha's parents could get the post-death service benefits instead of him, he argued.

But Division bench of Justices P V Hardas and A V Potdar refuted this defence, observing that dying declaration was "unshakeable", and upheld the life sentence for Rajendra in the order last week.

Programme for promotion of organ transplantation PTI NEW DELHI, NOV 27

Government today launched a national programme for promotion of organ transplantation under which a country-wide system of organ procurement is proposed to be established.

Setting up of new transplant facilities and strengthening of existing units are other highlights of the programme unveiled by Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad here.

Under the programme, training would be imparted to required manpower in the sector, he said inaugurating 6th world and first ever Organ Donation Day and Organ Donation Congress 2010.

The programme also aims at creating a nationwide organ donation card and registry and mentioning in driving licences if a person was willing to donate organs.

of visa to top Indian General B S Jaswal on the ground that he headed troops of Northern Command, which included Jammu and Kashmir, had provoked India to put on hold defence exchanges with China.

The row over stapled visas had been raised by External Affairs Minister S M Krishna during his meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jeichi on the sidelines of Russia, India, China (RIC) Ministers meeting at Wuhan in China on November 14.

appointments

Must sustain high-growth rate to address poverty: FM PTI KOCHI, NOV 27

India must sustain its economic growth rate for at least 10-15 years if issues like poverty and illiteracy are to be addressed, Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said here today.

"The growth rate must be sustained for at least 10-15 years if we want to address the problems of poverty, illiteracy, diseases and other issues. This requires an inclusive growth and empowering of large section of people who are outside the mainstream," he said.

Mukherjee said empowerment must be backed by entitlement and entitlement backed by enactment.

The Finance Minister said the economy was moving forward (rpt) forward and that there would have been few takers a decade ago if somebody had projected that the (Indian) economy would grow at 8.5 per cent of GDP. This growth is despite international slowdown and fiscal crisis, he said while delivering the inaugural address at the 42nd Regional conference of the Southern India Regional Council of the Institution of Chartered Accountants of India here.

The minister said economic growth in India and China was the catchword at the international fora. "This does not mean that we have overcome all our problems and we have achieved all the goals", he said.

appointments

appointments

Professional

OHERALDO

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GOA, SUNDAY, 28 NOVEMBER, 2010

In everloving memory of

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US warns India about WikiLeaks PTI NEW YORK, NOV 27

The US has warned India and other key governments across the world about a new potentially embarrassing release of classified documents by the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks which may harm the American interests and create

tension in its ties with its "friends".

"We have reached out to India to warn them about a possible release of documents," State Department Spokesman P J Crowley told PTI. "We do not know precisely what WikiLeaks has or what it plans to do. We have made our

position clear. These documents should not be released," Crowley said, ahead of the expected release by the website of millions of sensitive diplomatic cables.

It is not known yet what is contained in these documents about India-related issues.

The WikiLeaks has said there would be "seven times" as many s e c re t d o c u m e n t s a s t h e 400,000 Iraq war logs it published last month.

On his Twitter account, Crowley said the State Department officials have also contacted leaders in Germany, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Britain, France and Afghanistan.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton too reached out to Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, as the WikiLeaks, the whistleblower website, is expected to release some three million classified US cables involving some of its key allies including Australia, Britain, Israel, Russia,

Turkey and India.

Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, urged WikiLeaks to stop "dangerous" leaks.

"I would hope that those who are responsible for this would, at some point in time, think about the responsibility that they have for lives that they're exposing... and stop leaking this information," Admiral Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told CNN. "It continues to be extremely dangerous," he said.

"We are very mindful of the announcement that WikiLeaks made earlier this week, that there is a release of documents pending at some point in the future."

If the past is prologue, that would mean that certain news organisations may well already be in possession of specific documents, Crowley told reporters early this week.

Karachi Christians threatened, flee AGENCIES KARACHI, NOV 27

Several Christian families in this Pakistani city have fled their homes while many have sent their women to safer places after a Christian boy eloped with a Muslim girl, causing tension in their neighbourhood, a media report said.

The situation in Karachi's Saeedabad area has become tense after an 18-year-old Muslim girl eloped with a 20-yearold Christian boy last week, The News International reported.

The couple fled to Faisalabad, where the boy converted to Islam and married the girl.

Following the incident, the girl's family and activists of a political party allegedly threatened the Christian community of dire consequences if the girl did not return home.

The girl's family also stoned the locality's church, forced a local school to shut down and reportedly forced the Christian people to migrate from the area.

A Christian resident said on condition of anonymity that although a week has passed since

the incident took place, a tense atmosphere prevails in the area.

'I have sent my three children to my relatives' place since the activists have threatened us that they would start kidnapping our girls. Becoming terrified, many people locked their homes and ran away, while others have caged themselves up in their houses.

Now, the entire Christian community is paying the price for the boy's crime, he said.

William Sattar, a social activist, alleged that police were picking up boys from the area and beating them up.

'We are very worried as armed men are roaming in the area.

They have already attacked our church and we are scared that they might start attacking our houses,' he said.

Saeedabad police station station house officer Nasir Sami said police are doing all they could to control the law and order situation.

'The boy has sent his 'freewill' conversion and marriage certificate to police officials and calm and peace is returning to the area,' he said.

UN official Nambiar meets Suu Kyi AP YANGON, NOV 27

Released Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi met Saturday with a senior UN official and said she hopes the talks will be the first of many with the world body to solve the country's problems.

Suu Kyi met for more than an hour with Vijay Nambiar, chief of staff for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his special envoy to the military-controlled country.

Nambiar also planned to meet with government leaders during his weekend visit to Myanmar.

Suu Kyi told reporters in brief comments at her lakeside home

that the talks were "very valuable."

"But one meeting is not enough.

I hope this is the first of many meetings. I think we may need many and frequent meetings to sort out all the problems we are facing," she said.

Since her release Nov. 13 from more than seven years of continuous house arrest, Suu Kyi has been busy talking with diplomats, politicians and international agencies.

The 65-year- old Nobel Pe a c e P r i z e l a u re a t e h a s made it clear she plans to pursue her goal of a democratic Myanmar but has been careful not to verbally challenge the ruling junta.

Tips on burgling AGENCIES LONDON, NOV 27

A Japanese thief, who calls himself as a gentleman cat burglar, has written a book on how one can carry out burglaries.

Hajime Karasuyama, the pen name of the career burglar, who wrote 'Occupation, Thief; Annual income, Y30 million', provides tips on how to gain access to a locked property and then get away again without leaving any signs.

Karasuyama, who says he earns around 270,000 pounds a year from burglary, claims to have developed an uncanny ability to guess where cash and valuables have been stashed in a home.

"Once we get inside a house, us thieves have an instinct for knowing where the money is squirreled away," the Telegraph

quoted him as telling the Shukan Taishu magazine in an interview about his book.

Karasuyama provided details on how he is able to pick any lock at will and how to silently use a glasscutter on a window, and even recommended investing in a new hybrid car as they have engines that are very quiet and do not attract attention when on the "job".

Futabasha Publishing claims that a first print run of 10,000 copies of the book, which carries the warning "Please do not attempt to copy me" as its subtitle and costs 9.10 pounds, has almost run out in the 10 days since publication.

And it has dismissed suggestions that publishing what amounts to a manual of how to become a successful cat burglar is irresponsible.

FROM PAGE 1 With Cong or not

Churchill Alemao has said the National Highway 17 alignment will be finalised by next month after a re-survey by officials of the National Highway Authority and the PWD. Alemao said that the re-survey report will be placed before the MLAs for their comments on the alignment. “The government does not want to rush with the alignment for NH-17. Let the resurvey be completed first, before the report is placed before the MLAs and the Committee for approval”, he added.

Pg 13

SPORTS GOA, Sunday, 28 November, 2010

GOA DIARY DSYA selection trials

PANJIM (HSD) – The Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs will organise selection trials to select the State badminton U-14, U-17 and U-19 boys and girls teams and football U-14 boys and girls teams to represent Goa at 56th National School Games Championship, at Chandigarh from January 7 to 12.

The schedule of selections is as follows: Badminton players may report to Umesh Dicholkar, APEO on November 30 and December 1, at indoor hall, SAG, Campal-Panjim, at 9 a.m. For football, boys and girls (North District) may report on November 30 and December 1, respectively, to Nita Pednekar, TSO, at Peddem sports complex,

Mapusa, at 9 a.m while for South District, may report on November 30 and December 1, respectively, to Bevely Rodrigues, TSO, at PJN Stadium, Fatorda, at 9 a.m. Eligible players may report alongwith their ID card, kit and school authority letter.

3-a-side tie-breaker at Murida

PANJIM (HSD) -- Youth of Murida will organise their 1st All-Goa 3a-side football tie-breaker on November 28, at Murida, opposite Canape Restaurant, from 9 a.m. The winners will be rich by Rs. 10,000 while the runners-up will take home Rs. 7,000. Details may be obtained on 9049558107 or 9657247682.

5-a-side football at Karai-Shiroda

PANJIM (HSD) – The Foot Fighters Club, Karai-Shiroda will organise their 2nd All-Goa one-day 5-a-side football tournament on November 28, near St Joseph Church, Karai-Shiroda-Ponda, at 10 a.m. The winners and runners-up will be awarded Rs. 7,000 and Rs. 5,000 respectively. Details may be obtained on 9850714709.

Cricket selection trials

PANJIM (HSD) – The Goa Cricket Association will conduct selection trials to select the State U-14 boys team -- to participate in the KACA tournament in Bangalore on November 28 -- at Indoor Cricket Academy, Porvorim, at 2.30 p.m. Players should report to Sanjay Kanekar (9326126466) alongwith their birth certificates.

Goa University selections

PANJIM (HSD) – The Goa University will hold kabaddi and cricket selection trials on November 29 and 30 to select university kabaddi (men) and cricket (men) teams to participate in the West Zone Inter-University championships in Rajasthan and Gujarat respectively from December 10. Kabaddi selection trials will be held on November 29, at University ground, Taleigao, at 3 p.m. while cricket selection trials will be held on November 30, at Don Bosco College, Panjim, at 9 a.m. Students from the colleges affiliated to Goa University may report to Datta Betkar, university sports organiser alongwith a recommendation letter from the college principal and kit.

Maina SC book finals berth eslinda soccer HERALD CORRESOINDENT MARGAO, NOV 27

Maina Sports Club proved to be better shooters against Chandor Club 4-3 via the tie-breaker to march into the finals of All-Goa 2nd Eslinda Alemao memorial inter-village football tournament, organised by Cuncolim Union, at Cuncolim ground, on Saturday.

Maina held upper hand and had numerous scoring chances but their forwards let them down. Chandor too had their opportunities but all in vain.

In the ensuing tie-breaker, Bruno Fernandes, Beto Pereira, Agnelo Martins and Roque Carneiro were on target for Maina while Julio Fernandes, Cruz Gomes and Vitorino Fernandes scored for Chandor.

GOA, Sunday, 28 November, 2010

Pg 14

Pg 15

SPORTS GOA, Sunday, 28 November, 2010

Sagun to lead Ranji team against Hyderabad HERALD SPORTS DESK PANJIM, NOV 27

Sagun will captain the State Ranji team for the Ranji Trophy match between Goa and Hyder-

abad from December 1 to 4, in Hyderabad.

Other members: Vidyut Shivaramakrishna, Vaibhav Naik, Reagan Pinto, Ajay Ratra, Rahul Keni,

Robin D’Souza, Shadab Jakati, Harshad Gadekar, Amit Yadav, Sherbahadur Yadav, Saurabh Bandekar, Sahil Dhuri, Ryan D’Souza and Rohit Asnodkar.

Rajesh Kamath (coach), Sarvesh Naik (assistant coach), Subhash Phadte (manager), Danny Pereira (physio) and Prabhakar Bairgond (trainer).

St Anthony’s face Sirlim in VJT finals

Presents

HERALD CORRESPONDENT MARGAO, NOV 27

Confidant3292237

St Anthony ’s Sports Club, Deussua will cross swords with Youth of Sirlim in the finals of VJT Cup football tournament, organised by VJT Events Management on November 28, at Church ground, Chinchinim, at 4.30 p.m.

Macwill Fernandes, senior manager, United Spirits will be the chief guest while Simon Fernandes, sales director, Indev India will be the guest of honour.

Sirlim SC win Gfa u-16

HERALD CORRESPONDENT MARGAO, NOV 27

Sirlim Sports Club edged past Sarzora Sports Club 2-1 in the GFA U-16 League, at Assolna ground, on Saturday. The teams were tied 1-1 at half time.

Sirlim’s persistent forays paid the dividends when Selwyn Fernandes bulge the net in the 13th minute.

Stung by the setback, Sarzora piled on the pressure and restored parity in the 36th minute when Sanford punished the rival keeper with a stiff grounder.

Crossing over, Sirlim went into the attack and Sanford struck the match-winner in the 69th minute to troop out worthy winners.

Jerose hat-trick crush Faria HERALD REPORTER VASCO, NOV 27

A hat-trick by Jerose Oliveira helped Vasco Sports Club score an easy 4-0 win over debutants Faria Sports Management in Kingfisher Professional League, at Tilak Maidan, here, on Saturday.

Joy Ferrao was the other scorer, who added his name in the fag end. Vasco scored two goals each in both sessions to seal the fate of Faria.

Oliveira scored two quick goals in a short span of two minutes. He opened the account in the 38th minute when striker Koko Sakibo served him on a platter. A minute later, Oliveira doubled the lead and this time it was with the joint efforts of Sakibo and newly signed Nigerian Julius Akpele.

For Faria misery continued in the second half, in the 63rd

Vasco Sports Club’s Joel Sequeira in action against Faria’s Vikram Mane, at Tilak Maidan, Vasco, on Saturday.

Photo: M Prabhav

minute when Faria’s keeper Sugitesh Mandrekar brought down Joy Ferrao in the box. Jerose made no mistake to materialise.

Vasco wrapped up the score in the 90th minute, when Joy Ferrao scored off a pass from Joel Sequeira.

Goa win double crown Verna SC enter semis

national baseball HERALD CORRESPONDENT MARGAO, NOV 27

Goa won a double crown in men and women sections respectively in 25th Silver Jubilee Senior National Baseball Championship in Indore, MP on Saturday.

In the men’s finals, Goa overcame Delhi 7-6 homes. Captain

Kailash Gaonkar, Krupesh Palkar, Siddesh Naik, Prassad Pai Kumar,Vijay Mayekar and Prajyot Panjikar played a stellar role for Goa. In the women’s finals, Goa defeated Manipur 6-2 homes. Savita Gaonkar, Dipti Gaude, Anuja Mudhalkar, Nitisha Kalangutkar and Neha Bhomkar produced excellent performance for Goa.

Sarvesh, Sharmila to lead cricket teams

HERALD SPORTS DESK PANJIM, NOV 27

Sarvesh Naguesh Gaude and Sharmila Naik will lead the State men and women’s cricket teams at the 19th Federation Cup Tennis Ball Cricket Championship from November 29 to December 1, at YMCA Stadium, Chennai.

Nilesh Naik and Ajinkya Naik

will be the coaches and Devanand Naik and Trupti Naik will accompany the teams as managers. Teams were selected based on their performance in the pre-Federation camp held at Hedgewar HS ground, Panjim and Cuncolim ground, from November 11 to 24.

5-star Berbatov sends Man Utd back on top Aston Villa ....2 Man Utd ........7 West Ham ......3 Everton ..........1 Bolton ............2 Fulham ..........1 Stoke ............1 Wolver ............3 REUTERS LONDON, NOV 27

Dimitar Berbatov scored five goals to send Manchester United roaring back to the top of the Premier League with a 7-1 rout of Blackburn Rovers at Old Trafford on Saturday.

The Bulgarian, eclipsing team mate Wayne Rooney in the England striker’s first league start since the beginning of October, put in a five star performance after wrapping up his hat-trick two minutes after the break.

In the absence of champions Chelsea, who can reclaim the lead at Newcastle United on Sunday, Arsenal had earlier enjoyed a brief spell in first place after beating Aston Villa 4-2 in the day’s early match.

Unbeaten United now have 31 points from 15 games to Arsenal’s 29.

Carlo Ancelotti’s misfiring Chelsea, who have lost three of their last four Premier League encounters, fell to third overall

Arsenal ........4 Blackburn ..1 Wigan ..........1 West Brom ..4 Blackpool ....2 Birmingham 1 Man City ......1 Sunderland 2

with 28 points from 14.

Manchester City, held 1-1 at Stoke City after conceding a late equaliser, stayed fourth on 26 points.

Berbatov wasted no time in getting his name on the scoresheet, taking his first from close range in the second minute and his second in the 27th.

The fourth, again lashed in from close range, came in the 62nd and the fifth eight minutes later.

South Korean forward Park Ji-sung had made it 2-0 in the 23rd while Nani scored United’s fifth in the 48th with Blackburn, taken over this month by Indian poultry giant Venky’s, taking a roasting.

Chris Samba took a late consolation goal with a header seven minutes from time.

West Ham United remain bottom of the table despite a 3-1 home win over another relegation-threatened side Wigan Athletic.

gfa play-off

HERALD CORRESPONDENT MARGAO, NOV 27

Verna Sports Club defeated Orlim Sports Club 3-1 to enter the semi-finals of GFA Third Division play-off at Curtorim ground, on Saturday. The teams were locked 1-1 at half time.

Verna attacked from the start and shot into the lead when striker Santan Rego fired home in the 33rd minute. However, their joy was short lived when Dickson Rogtao neutralised the

Siolim Sodiem enter semis HERALD SPORTS REPORTER MAPUSA, NOV 27

Siolim Sodiem Sports and Cultural Association defeated ABC, Arambol 2-0 to enter the Bardez Zone semi-finals of GFA’s Third Division play-off at Duler Stadium, Mapusa.

Basil Fernandes (27th minute) and Anthony Fernandes (87th) were the scorers.

Raia in quarters

bro eulalio soccer HERALD CORREPONDENT MARGAO, NOV 27

Raia Sporting Club downed Ambelim Sports Club 2-0 to march into the quarter-finals of All-Goa Bro Eulalio Vaz memorial intervillage football tournament, organised by Don Bosco Oratory, at Don Bosco Oratory ground, Fatorda, on Saturday.

Raia led 1-0 at half time. Raia dominated the game and went into the lead early when Santan D’Cruz netted his snap shot.

Guilherme Gomes doubled the lead midway into the second half.

Ambelim tried their level best but their efforts proved futile.

lead with a grounder in the 36th minute.

Changing ends, Xavier Pereira struck a brace in the 71st and 90th minutes respectively.

Kingfisher Pro League football: Sporting Clube de Goa v. Goa Velha SC, Duler Stadium, Mapusa, 4 p.m.

GFA U-14 football: Colmorod Ratwaddo SC v. Sarzora SC, Rosary ground; Orlim SC v. United Boys, Palolem, Orlim ground; Verna SC v.

Mandopa SC, Verna ground.

Kick off 4 p.m.

VJT Cup soccer finals: St Anthony ’s Sports Club, Deussua v. Youth of Sirlim, church ground, Chinchinim, 4.30 p.m.

7th Rosary Cup soccer: Chris Boys, Curchorem v. Fatima Boys, Dicarpale, Rosary ground, Zorrivaddo-Davorlim, 4.30 p.m.

St. Francis Xavier soccer: Mendes Brothers, Chandor v.

Valankani Boys, Mapa Digas ground, Panchwadi, near St. Francis Xavier chapel, 4.30 p.m.

Anjuna-Caisua Panchayat Cup soccer finals: Calangute Association v. Candolim SC, Chapora ground, 4.30 p.m.

Flame of Unity Veterans soccer semis: Sporting Veterans v. Customs and Central Excise, Mabai ground, Per-Seraulim, Colva, 4.30 p.m.

3-a-side tie-breaker: organised by the Youth of Murida, opposite Canape Restuarnt, Murida, 9 a.m.

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SPORTS

Five-star Berbatov sends Man Utd back on top Pg 15

Eslinda soccer: Maina SC in finals Pg 13

GOA, SUNDAY, 28 NOVEMBER, 2010 www.oheraldo.in

India record its best-ever medal haul PTI GUANGZHOU, NOV 27

The super charge led by athletes, boxers and tennis players in the last seven days of the Asian Games not only provided the impetus to the floundering Indian campaign but also scripted a memorable climax as the country recorded its best ever performance at the sporting event.

India ended its campaign in the sporting spectacle in the sixth position with 14 gold, bettering the 13 won at home in Delhi 28 years ago, 17 silver and 33 bronze medals.

The total medal haul of 64 here is also the highest for India in Asiad history as it bettered the 1982 haul in Delhi of 57 comprising 13-19-25.

The sixth spot on the medal rostrum by India is the best it has attained since 1986 at Seoul, but a quarter century ago there

was no Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and the rest of the former Soviet bloc to make the competition as stiff as it was here. In fact Kazakhstan finished higher than India.

India ended fifth in Seoul, though with a more modest haul of 5-9-23.

Since that campaign nearly a quarter century ago, India have finished no higher than eighth, with their worst-ever show coming twenty years ago when they finished 12th in the Beijing Games.

The tally of 64 medals here pales in comparison to the 101 medals fetched at last month's Commonwealth Games in Delhi, containing 38 gold which helped India finish second for the first time in those Games.

However, the smaller medal harvest needs to be considered

in proper perspective as the mega event followed another huge event in close succession and the competition in the Guangzhou Games was much stronger in several disciplines than at the Delhi CWG. Hosts China are close to 200 gold medals - also their bestever medal haul that even exceeded what they did in 1990 when they grabbed 183-107-51 for a total tally of 341.

The Chinese dragon consumed all in its wake and though Korea and Japan, to a much smaller extent, tried to slow down the progress of the juggernaut, they could not arrest the hosts' relentless march.

The Asian Games, the second largest after the Olympics, showed starkly that the majority of the Indian contingent had no credentials to compete at this level.

It’s not just about giving opportunities to all: Gambhir PTI GUWAHATI, NOV 27

Vijender Singh hold the Indian flag at the closing ceremony for the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou on Saturday.

India's stand-in captain Gautam Gambhir did not disclose the XI but gave enough indications that he would not make wholesome changes to the squad that will take on New Zealand in the opening one-dayer of the fivematch series, here tomorrow.

Shorn of experience in the absence of regular skipper MS Dhoni and senior players like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan, Gambhir, more than experimentation, stressed on the need to win the series.

"The most important thing right now is to win the game, to win the series rather than thinking about giving opportunity to all the players.

"We are just about to begin the series and it's too early to say that you need to give opportunity to all the players," Gambhir, who has been appointed skipper for the first two ODIs, said on the eve of the match today.

"It's an international series and you are playing for your country. Rather than giving opportunity to all, it's all about winning the series and then taking it from there."

The skipper will open the batting with Murali Vijay while the middle-order would remain the

same as the one that played against Australia in Visakhapatnam last monttt This means Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina are likely to form the backbone of Indian batting.

Wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha is all set to make his oneday debut while Saurabh Tiwary, who had played in the team's last ODI, is likely to add spark

India v. New Zealand 8.30 a.m. down the order.

Going by the skipper's words, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and pacer Munaf Patel who did not play in Visakhapatnam, might have to wait for their turns.

Yusuf Pathan, who has been picked following his scintillating show in the Ranji Trophy, is likely to make the cut ahead of Sreesanth. That would mean R Vinay Kumar and Asish Nehra would have to share the new battt Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who is also decent with the bat, is likely to retain his place in the line-up.

The skipper was effusive in his praise for Saha and said: "He has done well in domestic cricket playing for Bengal. It's a good opportunity for him. We all feel that he is a very good wicket-

England fight to save Ashes opener AFP BRISBANE, NOV 27

England were battling to save going one down in the Ashes series after Mike Hussey and Brad Haddin posted centuries to give Australia a massive innings lead in the first Gabba Test today.

Hussey registered his highest Test score of 195 and Haddin

contributed 136 in a Gabba record stand of 307 runs to propel Australia to a 221-run innings lead on the third day.

England, who have not won a Brisbane Test since Mike Gatting's team prevailed by seven wickets in 1986, reached the close at 19 without loss with Andrew Strauss on 11 and Alastair Cook six.

England first innings: 260 Australia first innings (overnight 220-5): S Watson c Strauss b Anderson 36, S Katich c&b Finn 50, R Ponting c Prior b Anderson 10, M Clarke c Prior b Finn 9, M Hussey c Cook b Finn 195, M North c Collingwood b Swann 1, B Haddin c Collingwood b Swann 136, M Johnson b Finn 0, X Doherty c Cook b Finn 16, P Siddle c Swann b Finn 6, B Hilfenhaus not out 1. Extras: 21. Total: 481 all out. Fall of wicket: 1-78, 2-96, 3-100, 4-140, 5-143, 6-450, 7-458, 8-462, 9-472.

Bowling: Anderson 37-13-99-2, Broad 33-7-72-0 Swann 43-5-128-2, Finn 33.4-1-125-6, Collingwood 12-1-41-0.

England second innings: A Strauss batting 11, A Cook batting 6. Extras: 2. Total: 19. Bowling : Hilfenhaus 6-3-6-0, Siddle 4-2-7-0, North 2-0-50, Johnson 2-2-0-0, Doherty 1-1-0-0.

Bhupathi-Mirnyi in semis of ATP finals Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi sealed a semi-final place in the World Tour finals for the first time in their careers.

They had qualified for the season-ending finale after six years and have cleared the round-robin stage for the first time, after defeating Wesley Moodie and Dick Norman 6-4, 6-4 to grab the last available spot.

Saina claims 2nd spot in rankings Saina Nehwal rose to her career best 2nd spot in the World rankings despite having a bad run in Asiads.

Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal, who had a disappointing Asian Games campaign ending up without a medal, rose a rung to reclaim her career-high second spot after 13 weeks in the latest Badminton World Federation rankings.

Bopanna-Qureshi receive award Indian Davis Cupper Rohan Bopanna and his Pakistani partner Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi won the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year

Award during the ATP World tour finals in London for their peace message of ‘Stop War Start Tennis’.

The two players have been playing with the message of 'Stop War Start Tennis' for quite some time on the tour and in Grand Slams.

CWG OC official sent to custody A Delhi court on Saturday sent former CWG Organising Committee official M Jayachandran to 11 days' judicial custody in the case related to alleged financial bungling in conduct of the Queen's Baton Relay (QBR) in London last year.

Everton keen to lure Beckham Everton have offered former England captain David Beckham a chance to return to the Premier League on a short-term loan from the Los Angeles Galaxy during Major League Soccer's close season.

Everton manager David Moyes said that the 35-yearold, who is a close friend of captain Phil Neville, would be a welcome addition in the January window.

keeper, it's just about scoring some runs. It's all about carrying he momentum into international cricket. He is among runs, so he will be feeling confident."

The XIV will be picked again after the second ODI in Jaipur and, according to sources, Dhoni will continue to be rested with Gambhir retaining the captaincy for the series.

The only change the selectors might make for the last three ODIs would be to test Rohit Sharma ahead of the tired Raina.

We would like to rectify our mistakes:•Vettori

New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori wants to come out of their humiliating 0-4 series loss to Bangladesh by rectifying their mistakes against India in the five-match ODI series.

Talking to the reporters on the eve of the match, Vettori said a series win would help before they return to India again for the upcoming World Cup in February-April.

"It's important in our build up to the World Cup. I know we had a disappointing series over there (Bangladesh).

"We have come here to rectify that in a lot of ways. There are some changes, some good experienced players coming back into the team.

Lanka, Windies Test drawn AFP COLOMBO, NOV 27

Sri Lanka's spinners, led by Rangana Herath, put in an impressive performance as the second Test against the West Indies ended in a draw on the fifth and final day here today.

Left-armer Herath removed Dwayne Bravo, Sulieman Benn and Carlton Baugh (50) as the West Indies were bowled out for 243 in their first innings just before tea in reply to Sri Lanka's 387-9 declared.

Melanoma skin cancer: Cricketers in danger LONDON (UNI) -- Skin cancers are an occupational hazard of any sport, but cricketers are at especially high risk,

owing to the amount of time they spend in the sun. England coach Andy Flower ha d a melanoma removed from his right cheek.

Melanoma is not the most

Pg16 common type of skin cancer, but it is the most lethal and causes 75 per cent of skin cancer-related deaths -- some 48,000 annual cases are reported worldwide.

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Sunday, 28 Nov 2010

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‘I know Exactly What I Like and What I Don’t’

Glimpses of Contemporary Iranian Cinema at IFFI’10 I

Says artistic director of Locarno Film Festival, Olivier Pere, on his role as international jury member at IFFI’10. In an exclusive chat with Herald, Pere talks about his interest in collaboration with Indian filmmakers and how judging films is not a challenge

BY CHRISTINA VIEGAS HERALD FEATURES ne look at Olivier Pere, international jury member at IFFI’10 and you realise that he looks like the lead star of a Hollywood film. But this suave gentleman is no actor or filmmaker. He is the artistic director of the Locarno Film Festival. And his sole mission is in seeking out interesting filmmakers. “I am always looking to meet filmmakers from other countries especially Asian and Latino-American countries,” he says in his endearing foreign accent.

Olivier Père came to prominence as director of Cannes’ highly eclectic, non-competitive Quinzaine des Réalisateurs (Director’s Fortnight) strand, where between 2004 and 2009 he programmed films including Lisandro Alonso’s Los Muertos, Jonathan Caouette’s Tarnation, Albert Serra’s Honour of the Knights, Bong Joon-ho’s The Host, Miguel Gomes’ Our Beloved Month of August and Pablo Larraín’s Tony Manero.

Known for being a champion of auteur cinema and a rigorous programmer, he avers, “I don’t only talk about the most successful directors but I think about the most independent, brave and daring people who want to follow the most personal way of making movies whatever the system, whatever the kind of film.”

And what does he find fascinating about the films in our country? The reply is, “I’ve been observing Indian cinema; it is pretty interesting. There are a lot of talented filmmakers around. That’s why we have thrown open our doors to them.” Expounding further, he enlightens, “In the next Locarno Film Festival, we will be doing a special focus on India in the Open Doors Section. This section facilitates the trend of reaching out to other countries and this time it

O

ranian Cinema was brimming with creative impulses this year, making IFFI to select a handful of films with high aesthetics and heartrending content. The Festival tries to give glimpses of the creative energy of 10 prominent film makers from Iran in the Package “Glimpses of Contemporary Iranian Cinema”. The Films to be showcased in the Package are: Digari (The Other) by Mehdi Rahmani, Third Floor by Bijan Mirbagheri, Iraq, the Evening of the 10th Day by Mojtaba Raie, Shab-E-Vaghe’E (The Fateful Night) by Sharram Asadi, The First Stone by Ebhrahim Forouzesh, The Day Goes and Night Comes by Omid Bonakar & Keivan, There is Nothing Behind the Door by Shabnam Orfinejad, Tehroun by Nader T Homayoun, Please Do Not Disturb by Mohsen Abdolvahab.

Representing the package at the Festival are four leading directors Shahram Asadi, Mojtaba Raie, Nader T Homayoun and Nastaran Kheirandsih, and the lead actor of The First Stone, Mohsen Tanabandeh and its producer Alireza SabtAhmadi.

Post-revolutionary Iranian cinema has been praised at many international forums and has been recognised at various Festivals. Iranian Cinema’s distinct style, themes, authors, idea of nationhood, and manifestation of culture has attracted international audiences to it.

Films to watch out for today...

Abohoman (The Eternal)

Venice (Wenecja)

Juliets

Windfalls In Athens

Director: Rituparno Ghosh Cast: Ananya Chatterjee, Dipankar Dey, Jishu Sengupta Language: Bengali Country: India Running Time: 122 minutes Venue: INOX Screen II Time: 3.30pm Awards: Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Actress National Film Awards

Director: Jan Jakub Kolski Cast: Marcin Walewski, Magdalena Cielecka, Grazyna Blecka-Kolska Language: Polish Country: Poland Running Time: 110 minutes Venue: INOX Screen III Time: 11.30am Awards: Cinema Award at PFF Gdynia, Best Artistic Contribution Prize at 34th Montreal World Film Festival

Director: Yury Feting Cast: Vivian Hsu, Wang Bo-Chieh Language: Mandarin Country: Taiwan Running Time: 106 minutes Venue: INOX Screen IV Time: 11.45am

Director: Michael Cacoyannis Cast: Ellie Lambeti, Dimitris Horn, Giorgos Pappas Language: Greek Country: Greece Running Time: 95 minutes Venue: INOX Screen IV Time: 5.15 pm

will be India. This way, writers and filmmaker will get to interact with filmmakers on the international scene.” He continues, “I really admire young people who have the courage to make films in today’s competitive arena. I think it was relatively easier 20 or 40 years ago. I admire such people and want to support them and give them the opportunity to have success.”

Locarno’s Indian flavour will be further expanded by the inclusion of seven or eight films presented as works in progress. It will also put together an Indian film retrospective curated by the veteran Uma Da Cunha.

Would Pere like to enlighten us about the film industry in his part of the world? He elucidates, “We definitely don’t make as many films as the Indian film industry does, but we have a strong film culture. We have a very successful local market for our films.”

Getting to the panel of jury members, we find this group an eclectic mix of very talented people from their respective fields. Pere affirms, “Yes surely! I agree we are an eclectic mix on the jury. It is interesting and I’m looking forward to the deliberations and discussions on the films.”

Inform Pere that every jury member had opined that it was very challenging to sit in judgment of films and he confidently states, “I am a film buff and film critic and my job is to analyse films. I don’t find it a challenging role, as I’ve been doing it all along. I know exactly what I like and what I don’t.”

And for one who has directed the Locarno Film Festival, is he happy with IFFI’10? He replies in the affirmative, “Yes, festivals like this are required in keeping films vital. I am happy to be here and am looking forward to meeting up with many important film personalities.”

New Theatres back after 55 Years with Ami Aadu

Goan Talent on an International Short Film Front

BY NOMRATHA FERNANDES HERALD FEATURES he second time at the Festival, Nalini is excited, just like she was at the first. “I like that my film is featured here. The SFC is a place where work is judged and criticised, constructively on an international level, to a certain standard,” she states. Her 23 minute film Water (in the environmental film section) is all about water harvesting. Goa today faces plenty of water problems. Situations like there being plenty of rainfall – more presently unseasonal downpours – in some areas and in other, delivery of water by water tankers for a shortage of water. “I’ve heard complaints from relatives and friends on how they’ve had to wake up as early as five or six O clock to collect water from these tankers. It’s pretty ridiculous in this day and age,” she says.

In this day and age when The SFC is divided into the international one can har vest water and the environmental competition films. themselves is her point and In the environment section, two Goan films she has turned it into a Bondla Zoo by Rajeshri Bandodkar short film. “Why complain?

Why pass on the responsiKarapurkar and Water by Nalini Elvino De bility to the government, Sousa have been selected. Herald speaks although yes it is their reto the two filmmakers who await the sponsibility. Take it up yourprestigious Vasudha Award, India’s only self,” stresses the filmmaker.

That exactly is what the government award for an environment film short film highlights – how to harvest water yourself.

It is not just the water issues in Goa that propelled her to make this film but also her affinity to water by itself. “I love water bodies. Rivers, oceans, lakes are all very beautiful and we have to admit humanity has a dependence on them,” she inserts. Water in a nutshell teaches one to help themselves with regard to the elixir of life, and simultaneously help the environment and of course is an expression of the filmamaker’s passion for water.

The second time in the running at the SFC only magnifies her knack towards filmmaking. And her opinion on film talent in the state? “We’ve got plenty of talent, that’s for sure. But more have to come out and show themselves. I would love to see more Goan films in the SFC next year,” she says.

How would that be made possible, we ask her? Pat comes her reply, “Just begin. Don’t let the finance be an obstacle. It’s difficult but with talent of such a nature how can we just keep it in. Though it seems so, it’s really not that difficult. Get a little help from your friends.”

As for Rajshree Bandodkar Karapurkar, the environment is her everlasting love. All her works are towards it, she says confidently, “and this film was just another.” Her 9 minute film Bondla Zoo (in the environment film section) takes you through Goa’s prominent zoo, Bondla Zoo. This time you visit it through the eyes of the animals. “Human beings have by far considered

T

themselves superior, the rulers of all, and animals are below. I want to highlight the fact that they have feelings to, just like us, which are hurt, by our very behavior and attitude towards them,” she stresses.

The fact that her film is selected for something as big as IFFI gives her the feeling of being appreciated, but it doesn’t really change her life in anyway, states the passionate, down-to-earth woman. “I don’t rest on my laurels…it’s just something I can’t do,” she says with a laugh. These two have definitely proved t h e m u c h t a l ke d about fact that Goa does have talent.

Rajashree Bandodkar Karapurkar Ramprasad Adpaikar, whose film Sin is selected for the international short film competition becomes the first Goan to achieve this feat at the International Film Festival of India

Nalini Elvino D’ Souza

Photos by Shammiullah Sayyed

HERALD FEATURES simple village story that draws everyone viewing it into a rural world is what Ami Aadu (Sound of Love) is about; a film that was selected for the Indian Panorama and screened on November 26. An inspiring story set in a village in Bengal, it follows Aadu, a girl from a Hindu Brahmin family who falls in love with Suleman, a Muslim boy, and marries him against her parents’ will. Her husband goes to Iraq in search of a job that can build a comforting life and is caught in between the America-Iraq war.

“The film is about a simple village girl which becomes the story of not only every Indian but everyone in the world. It shows rituals and traditions that every region has in India and how we follow these rituals without knowing their significance. The boy and girl fall in love and marry against their parents’ wish and they are then separated against their wish,” said Somnath Gupta, the director of the film.

Ami Aadu is his first feature film. “I was very happy with the response the film has got as this is the first film of mine which has been shown at a film festival of this

A

stature. I didn’t know what to expect,” he added.

The film is produced by New Theatres Private Ltd, a name synonymous with good cinema. After a break of nearly 55 years, this is the first film the Sircar family is coming out with in the new era. The current producer is Romita Bose Sircar, granddaughter of B N Sircar and daughter of Dilip Kumar Sircar. “New Theatres Private Ltd founded

by B N Sircar in 1931 has over 150 films in different languages to its credit. I was happy with the social message and the communal harmony shown in this film. The film will be released in January 2011 in Bengal as it is a Bengali film. This is the first film to be screened at a film festival as previously at the time of operations, they were no film festivals in India,” said Romita Bose Sircar.

Shot in Murshidabad district in West Bengal, the Hindu household shown in the film was actually a Muslim house and the Muslim house was a Hindu house but still the villagers were very cooperative. The story, written by Swapnamoy Chakraborty, shows young village boys travelling in search of jobs to the Middle East which is a fact, but apart from that, the story is pure imagery.

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Sunday, 28 Nov 2010

WHAT’S UP IN GOA??

The 3rd All India Annual Art Competition and Exhibition 2010, organised by Bhikuram Jain Foundation, New Delhi is open for entries. Registration closes on November 30. The exhibition and the award presentation ceremony will be held on February 12, 2011. Call the Kala Academy, Panjim on 2420452.

Yoga sessions conducted by Hoor S Girglani are underway till December 18 from 6:30am to 7:30am at the International Centre Goa, Dona Paula. Call 9766015762 or 2451363.

‘Festival of Gold 2010’ organised

by MMTC will be held from December 1 to 7, at the Great Hall, Hotel Fidalgo, Panjim.

Daily kayaking expeditions organised by Goa Kayaking are underway till November 30. Call 9422056037, 2541715 ‘Our Cultural Diversity’, a workshop for in service school teachers up to the age of 48 years, organised by the Centre for Cultural Resources and Training, New Delhi will be held from December 1 to 11. The schools intending to depute their teacher can visit the Department of Art and Culture, Patto, Panjim.

Call 2438103.

Solo Dance Competition for under-16 year olds, organised by Omkar Cultural Association, Colvale will be held on December 30 at Kala Academy. Registration is open. Entry forms available at Tooty Fruity Ice Cream Parlour Vrindavan Chambers, Ground floor near Ruchi hotel, Panjim.

Call 9673997188 or 9823306652.

A painting exhibition of contemporary abstracts of acrylic on small and large, ready to hang stretched canvas is on display at Abstract Artz World, Borda, Margao. The work on display is done by Piety D’Silva. The exhibition will

HOROSCOPE be open from 4pm to 7pm from Monday to Saturday through the month of December. Visit www.piety-dsilva.artistwebsites.com. Email dasilvamaan@yahoo.com. Call 9822185185.

Festival of Carols, organised by the Kala Academy will take place on December 19 at the Kala Academy, Panjim. Call 2420452.

A display of Creative Craft Projects, organised by a Crafting personality Frenzie Gonsalves will be held on November 28 from 10am to 7pm at Hotel Paulino, Margao. Call 9850295442.

The IFFI Shopping and Food Festival ’10 will have various activities through all the participating shops at Margao.

Baby Olympics will be held on November 28 at Fidalgo for mothers of babies.

The egg-drop challenge will be held sometime during the week.Call 9011931607.

‘Crazy Idea Competition’, organised by the Staff Club of the National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula is open for registration. It will be held on the occasion of NIO Foundation Day. Visit www.nio.org/innovative ideas competition. E-mail crazyidea@nio.org.

The 20th Ranga Sammelan and Jeevan Gaurav Puraskar: Felicitation of Dr Ashok G Ranade for his contribution towards music will be held on December 17 and 18 at the Kala Academy, Panjim. Call 2420452.

‘Agencia – A Decade in Short Films!’, will be screened for the first time on November 30 at 3pm at the Sunaparanta – Goa Centre for the Arts, Altinho, Panjim. Inaugurating the screening will be Antonio Sabido Costa, the Consul General of Portugal in Goa. Call 2421311.

Dance Illusions Social Night will take place on November 28 at 7pm at Quatro in Verna.

It's okay to use your charm to get what you want today -- as 21 Mar - 19 Apr long as you're honest. Take a positive step toward better health today. It could be anything from eating a piece of fruit with lunch to walking five miles after your daily routines are over, but anything you do today can pay off greatly.

Taurus Visit a museum and get an important dose of aesthetic inspi20 Apr - 20 May ration. Soak in the art. Your social attachments are stronger than usual for the time being, but that doesn't mean that you can't forge some new friendships if the opportunity arises.

Your energy is just right for making people feel at ease.

Get new things Gemini started today - even if they need to be finished by some21 May - 20 Jun one else. You need to think through everything that's going on today -even what clothes you're wearing or fashion choices that seem trivial. Use that detail-oriented mind to maximize your fun!

Some of your domestic bliss might be challenged today, but all will work 22 Jun - 23 Jul out fine. Your ability to foresee difficulties and synergies makes today perfect for making plans. You can make the most of this mental energy if you take the lead at work or with your peers.

Take a stand for truth today -- and don't be surprised if oth24 Jul - 23 Aug ers agree with you.

Yo u r budget (if you've got one) is on your mind today. It may be time to start from scratch and see if you can figure out new ways to transform red ink into black. If anyone can do it, you can!

Deep and meaningful connections can happen at any 23 Aug - 22 Sep time. Open up to a stranger today. Things seem to click into place today, and you should be able to get your friends to see things your way if you need to bring them in to help. Your new understanding could be a signal of some sort.

Your flirting muscle could use some exercise -- get out 23 Sept - 22 Oct a n d s p r e a d some charm today. What have you forgotten? With luck, it's as trivial as the half-and-half for tomorrow's coffee, but if you keep ignoring that nagging voice in your head, it could be a much bigger deal indeed

Scorpio I f s o m e o n e tests your patience, steer clear of them 23 Oct - 22 Nov today. You don't need the stress.

You're focused on the details today, and with good reason.

Someone close to you may need some special help that only you can provide, but it's going to mean focusing on the small stuff for sure.

Sagittarius A well-known

Capricorn Dive into a new culture -- exploring its food, fashion and art 22 Dec - 20 Jan will teach new ideas. Productivity is key today, and you should be able to get your coworkers or family members to assist you in almost anything you want to do. See if you can move a few deadlines up while you're at it!

Aquarius Reach out to someone you don't normally interact with.

21 Jan - 19 Feb Connections drive success.

You're feeling pretty well grounded today, which is a welcome relief from holiday stress. You may want to just kick back and take the day off, or you could try to clear out a bunch of to-dos.

Settle a balance due to you -- whether it's money or you 20 Feb - 20 Mar t i m e , should be reimbursed. Make a move today - any kind of move. You need to be in motion, or at least in action, because the only thing worse than failure right now is indecision. If you feel stuck, force yourself to do something.

Aries

Libra

law of nature commands that no good deed 23 Nov - 20 Dec will go unpunis hed today.

You're having problems with the boss, or maybe someone else who thinks they're the boss of you. Authority is just harder to deal with than it usually is, so you have to watch your step.

WORD OF THE DAY

Cancer

Leo

Virgo

Pisces

DID YOU KNOW? These Huge Fish feast on Jellyfish

risible Pronunciation RIZZ-uh-bul Function Adjective Meaning 1: capable of laughing or disposed to laugh 2: arousing or provoking laughter; laughable Example Sentence Andy made an excellent stand up comedian with his ability to deliver risible comments with a completely poker-face expression.

LAFFS

The ocean sunfish, Mola mola, or common mola, is the heaviest known bony fish in the world. It has an average adult weight of 1,000 kg. The species is native to tropical and temperate waters around the globe and resembles a fish head with a tail; its main body is flattened laterally.

Sunfish can be as tall as they are long when their dorsal and ventral fins are extended. They live on a diet that consists mainly of jellyfish, but because this diet is nutritionally poor, they consume large amounts in order to develop and maintain their great bulk. Bony fish are a group of those fish that have bony, as opposed to cartiligeous, skeletons.

WIZARD OF ID

Funny Quote

“If two wrongs don't make a right, try three.”

– Laurence J Peter

DAILY GROOK GRAND STAND

by Francis Rodrigues the scarecrow says nothing yet to none does he yield, give him a nobel for being outstanding in his field!

SUN MOON TIDES

GARFIELD

MIND BENDERS

Tongue Twister Perspicacious Polly Perkins purchased Peter’s product And peddled pickles to produce a pretty profit!

Chance of Rain Sunday 33° C | 24° C 20% chance of precipitation

High 03:27

Low 09:45

TIDES High 15:23

23:45 Hung : This Is America or Fifty Bucks 08:00 10:00 12:05 14:05 14:35 16:50 18:50 21:00 22:55

My Bloody Valentine The Spirit The Eye Opening Night : Red & Unstoppable The Princess and the Frog Race to Witch Mountain Quantum of Solace Ninja Rob-B-Hood

09:00 Hey Arnold! The Movie 10:30 The Making of : The Dark Knight 11:00 The Dark Knight 14:30 Rocknrolla 17:15 Double Impact 19:15 Anaconda 3: Offspring 21:00 I Love You, Man 23:00 Hung : Thith ith a Prothetic or You Come Just Right

10:30 12:30 13:00 14:30 17:00 20:00 21:00 22:00

09:00 10:30 11:30 17:00 20:00

MasterChef India Superstar Buzz De Dana Dan Gulaal House Full Saath Nibhana Saathiya MasterChef India ITA Awards 2010

Comedy Circus Ka Jadoo Adaalat C.I.D We are Family Kaun Banega Crorepati

09:30 Khana Khazana 10:00 Jhansi Ki Rani

An electric train is going left while the wind is going right. What direction does the engine smoke blow?

Low High 21:16 –

D Tide timings are for Mormugao Harbour. For Panjim/Calangute add 20 mins. For Colva add 30 mins

09:15 12:30 13:00 16:50 20:00 23:30

11:30 15:00 19:00 22:30

My Friend Ganesha 3 Superstar Buzz Wanted Veer Sivaji: The Boss Paap Ko Jalakar Rakh Kar Doonga

Chamku Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein Don RoboCop

Last ‘Riddle Me This’ Answer: They were on different tracks

16:35 18:50 21:00 23:05

Black Death Charlie's Angels The Contract I Still Know What You Did Last Summer

12:00 Tezaab 16:00 Aamdani Atthanni Kharcha Rupaiya 20:00 Meri Jung 23:20 Dulaara

13:00 15:30 16:30 19:30 20:00

Milenge Milenge Pyaar Kii Ye Ek Kahaani Dhoond Legi Manzil Humein Rang stars ke sang Raajneeti: Politics... and Beyond

09:30 10:30 11:30 12:00 13:00 14:00

CSI: Miami : In Plane Sight CSI: Miami : Bad Seed Scare Tactics The Amazing Race Asia Ghost Hunters So You Think You Can Dance : 10 to 8 Minute to win it Ghost Hunters World Records Smashed So You Think You Can Dance Minute to win it A Civil Action

15:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00

09:55 3 Ninjas Knuckle Up 11:50 District 9 14:10 Shinjuku Incident 11:30 12:00 12:30 14:00 16:00

Dil Se Diya Vachan Jhansi Ki Rani Dil Se Diya Vachan Zee TV Special Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Singing Superstars 19:00 Shaan 23:00 Zee TV Special 23:30 Preet Se Bandhi Yeh Dori...

Ram Milaayi Jodi

08:00 09:00 11:30 12:00 14:30 17:30 20:00 23:00

Balika Vadhu Aabra Ka Daabra Mallika-E-Kitchen Tapori Wanted Singh Is Kinng Khatta Meetha Dabangg Bigg Boss : Extra Dose

11:30 11:55 12:00 14:00 14:30 15:00 17:00

Fit in 15 Red Carpet Superstar Superlives Business of Bollywood Page 3 Before the Rains Let'z Go!

SUDOKU 718

Riddle Me This

Sunrise 06:44 - Sunset 18:01 Moon rise 00:21 - Moon set 12:10

08:00 11:30 16:30 20:00

Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge Sholay Ishqiya Phir Hera Pheri

10:00 Warehouse 13 11:00 Koffee With Karan : Sonam Kapoor & Deepika Padukone

IDIOT BOX 18:30 19:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00 22:00 23:00 23:05

Business of Bollywood Planet Bollywood Bollywood This Week Ring a Star : Imran & Deepika Golden Radiance Launch My Desi Top 20 Remixed Red Carpet Let'z Go!

12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 18:00 19:30 20:00 20:30 21:00

09:30 18:00 18:30 19:00 22:00 23:00

Taarak Mehta Ka Oolta Malegoan Ka Chintoo Gutar Gu Chandni Jaankhilavan Jasoos Gutar Gu

12:30 Superstar Buzz

22:00 23:00

Modern Family The Simpsons Friends Koffee With Karan : Sonam Kapoor & Deepika Padukone Lie To Me MasterChef Australia Whose Line Is It Anyway?

How I Met Your Mother : The Bracket How I Met Your Mother : Ten Sessions Koffee With Karan : Director's Special Royal Pains Warehouse 13

09:30 Asian Tour Golf Show : UBS Hong Kong Open 10:00 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals : Semi Final 1 11:30 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals : Semi Final 2

13:00 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions 2010 H/ls : Quarter Final 1 16:00 TNA Badshah : Kaz 18:00 Superleague Formula 2010 19:00 FIM Motocross World Championship 2010 : Season Review 20:00 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals : Semi Final 1 21:30 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals : Semi Final 2 23:00 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals : Final

09:00 Summer of 99 10:00 ICC World Cup H/ls : 1992 Semifinal 2: England vs.

South Africa 11:00 ICC World Cup H/ls : Final 1992: England vs. Pakistan 12:00 ICC World Cup H/ls : 1975 Final: West Indies vs.

Australia 12:58 Sportscenter Weekend 13:00 ICC World Cup H/ls : 1983 Final: India vs. West Indies 14:00 ICC World Cup H/ls : Final 1992: England vs. Pakistan 15:00 Versus : India vs. Australia 16:00 Epic Encounters : Final 1975 17:00 Versus : England vs.

Pakistan 17:58 Sportscenter Weekend 18:00 Scorecast Sunday 18:30 Super Sunday 18:55 Barclays Premier League 2010/11 : Newcastle United vs. Chelsea 21:00 Super Sunday 21:25 Barclays Premier League 2010/11 : Tottenham Hotspur vs. Liverpool 23:30 Sec Women's Gymnastics : LSU vs. Georgia

09:30 UEFA Champions League Magazine Show 10:00 The Inside Story : Micro max Cup: 6th & 7th ODIs 10:30 ICC Cricket World 11:00 La Liga : Atletico Madrid vs.

Espanyol 13:00 WWE: NXT 14:00 WWE: Specials : Survivor Series 17:00 Italian Serie A : Juventus vs. Fiorentina 19:00 WWE: NXT

20:00 WWE: Specials : Survivor Series 23:00 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals : Singles: Final

09:00 Wild Russia : Siberia 10:00 Nat Geo Amazing!

12:00 Nat Geo Women's Hour : Fashion Memoir 13:00 Nat Geo Wild : A Man Among Bears 14:00 India : Mumbai Terror Attacks 15:00 Best of True Stories : Philippine Terror 16:00 True Stories : Sarno Slides 17:00 Wild Russia : The Secret Forest 21:00 Wonder World : Megabridges - Denmark to Sweden 22:00 Great Migrations : Born to Move

07:30 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 11:30 12:00 12:30

Flavors English News Konkani News Marathi News HCN Fine-tunes Clown Fiesta Flavors Konkani Palkachim Noketram 13:00 English News 14:00 Village Wise 14:30 Konkani Movie 15:30 Argham Dium-ia 16:00 Old Goa Novena Mass 17:00 Kids Club 17:30 Konkani Palkachim Noketram 18:00 Konkani News 19:00 Marathi News 20:00 English News 21:00 HCN Fine tunes 21:30 Greener Side 22:00 English News 23:00 Old Goa Novena Mass 00:00 Konkani Palkachim Noketram 00:30 Clown Fiesta 01:00 Art of living 01:30 Talking Talkies 02:00 Kids Club 02:30 Flavors 03:00 HCN Fine-tunes Note: Subject to change

Instructions for Sudoku 9 x 9 letter: To solve a Sudoku puzzle, every number from 1 to 9 must appear in each of the nine vertical columns, in each of the nine horizontal rows and in each of the nine boxes

SUDOKU SOL 717

HERALD CROSSWORD - 718 Across 1- Like a rock; 6- Contributes; 10- Skin; 14- Valuable collection; 15- Sci-fi princess; 16Banned apple spray; 17- Indian of Mexico; 18- Oxidize; 19- Ascend; 20- Idle talk; 22- Free; 24- ER VIP; 26- Theater district; 27- Mediterranean resort area; 31- Broke bread; 32- Mountain nymph; 33- Sandy bathing beach; 36- Fannie ___; 39Common street name; 40Hives; 41- Director Vittorio De ___; 42- Conger; 43- Similar; 44- Bridge positions; 45- A collection of articles; 46- Very long; 48- Trouble, slangily; 51- Aliens, for short; 52- Comedian; 54- Beginnings; 59- Greek letters; 60To ___ (perfectly); 62- Heart chambers; 63- French 101 verb; 64- Ticked (off); 65- Chambers; 66- Rhythmic swing; 67- This, in Tijuana; 68- Alleviates; Down 1- Adult male deer; 2- Rice-shaped pasta; 3- A great deal; 4- Folk singer Burl; 5- Determined; 6- Long-sleeved linen vestment; 7- ___ ex machina; 8- More urgent; 9- Capital of Chile; 10- Conditional release; 11- Marner's creator; 12- Cow catcher; 13- Corner; 21- ___ favor; 23- After the bell; 25- Island in the Bay of Naples; 27- Capital of Italy; 28- Dies ___; 29Face concealment; 30- Author Fleming; 34- Albanian coin; 35- Designer Simpson; 36- Atomizer output; 37- Pituitary hormone; 38- New Orleans is The Big ___; 40- Last; 41- Droop; 43- Ethereal; 44- Catch; 45- Evening; 47DDE's command; 48- All, musically; 49- Growl angrily; 50- Satisfies; 52- Examine by touch; 53- Depilatory brand; 55- Portico; 56- Archer of

myth; 57- Duration; 58- Back talk; 61- Conductor de Waart;

SOLUTION - 717

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Sunday, 28 Nov 2010

Documentary of the Life of an Environmental Activist A HERALD FEATURES fter screening the documentary, The Man Who Saved the Taj Mahal on November 26 at the 41st International Film Festival of India, director, producer and writer of the documentary, Jay Bajaj held a press conference to highlight the issues of environment pollution and how the documentary brings them to light.

“The man who saved the Taj Mahal is a 56 minutes documentary on TV. It was made for environmental pollution and global warming and is part of a six part series titled Who is Killing the Monuments of the World, dealing with same issue.

This film itself has seven chapters that deal with seven different cases that M C Mehta, a lawyer and environmental activist from New Delhi has fought. The documentary is about a man and his struggles to fight against the government for causing threats to the monuments. He sued the Indian Government stating that the Taj Mahal is dying of marble cancer. The industries like the Maturah Refinery and even the small scale industries are causing pollution and acid rain that is damaging the Taj Mahal,” said Jay Bajaj.

HERALD FEATURES press conference held in relation to the short film We Shall Overcome was held by the maker Yashwini Thembe and Dr Bhagwati Roza. A S Bhahal, who is connected to this film could not make it to the press conference for personal reasons.

The film revolves around the concept of teaching the common man how to defend themselves in times of situations of combat the maker informed. “Anyone can get attacked, at any time. One has to protect themselves in a time of combat. Through a certain discipline, one can do this, but one can do this in simple

A

ways too. The film shows you these ways,” she said. She is the founder of E Plus Foundation, an NGO in Gujarat.

With a focus on NCC methods and principles of non-violence she states the film is one of awareness and learning.

With no background in film making Thembe ventured out into the field and with plenty of help from family and friends made the film, she informed. The entire film is self sponsored she says. Released last year in October the film has received a positive response, inspite of the fact that it could be negatively perceived as training the next generation towards terrorism, religious based or otherwise. Commenting on this, Yashwini says, “Nothing of that sort is portrayed in the film.

Religious fanaticism is not my concern. That it can be used in a wrong manner is true, but the methods in the film are all towards protection and counter-attack.”

With regard to spreading the message of the film, she states she has taken it to schools, colleges, camps, corporate houses, etc.

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Closing Film to be Princess of Montpensier

Mehta single handedly fought the Indian Government in the Supreme Court for 12 years to save the Taj Mahal. He has founded the MC Mehta Environmental Foundation which is based in Eco Ashram in Dehradun, to protect the environment, the rights of the people to clean and fresh water and air and the protection of the cultural heritage of India.

“This was the Indian premiere of the documentar y; it was screened in Iran two weeks ago.

The documentary will be shown in Canada in January 2011. I am also planning a private screening in New Delhi for federal politicians. For the film, I met and interviewed Maneka Gandhi,” said Jay. “This planet is our planet. It is not only the politicians or the government that is responsible, we all are responsible. We should clean and preserve our environment or by the end of the decade, we won’t have anything. My album, Beyond Dreams will be releasing on December 23 which also has songs on the same theme,” said Elvis Rumion, who composed the music for the documentary.

We Shall Overcome teaches Self-defense

Parenting

The common man should be able to defend himself, says Thembe

BY NOMRATHA FERNANDES HERALD FEATURES You work at an NGO. What made you make a film?

Yes, I do. We conduct plenty of camps, workshops and other social activities. Through these activities and interactions I sensed plenty of apprehension from the people. Authorities are not doing enough, we need assurance was the general feeling. Why can’t we – the common man – do something about it ourselves I thought, and the film followed.

How did the NCC connect come into the picture?

My son has been a member of the NCC in Gujarat since his young days. He has achieved a lot. I too was a member and the experience doesn’t leave you.

Hence, the connect.

What was the immediate response to the film?

It was fantastic. Every place I’ve shown it, though I’ve not been physically present to witness it, I’ve got news that it has been received well. It has been to plenty of schools and colleges in Gujarat. There is no specialisation with these techniques; it is not a discipline per se, just an aid to self and to the country, against attack.

Where else?

Well, except for Kashmir this film has traveled from the north to the south, east and west of India, even the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It has even been shown in America and the UK.

HERALD FEATURES he mid festival press conference held in the presence of the CEO of the ESG, Manoj Srivastava, along with the junior director of DFF Shankar Moha; the director of the Festival SM Khan and the additional DG of the Press Information Bureau, B N Mohanty discussed the various grievances of the delegates and the upcoming films to be screened.

Details of the closing ceremony were also discussed. The closing ceremony will also witness a dance performance choreographed by actress Gracy Singh. The closing ceremony will be done at the hands of the Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Choudhury Mohan Jatua and actor Saif Ali Khan with the compeers Arjun Bajwa and Neetu Chandra.

The ceremony will also witness a dance performance choreographed by actress Gracy Singh.

The closing film is Princess of Montpensier, a 2010 French film.

S M Khan spoke about the Masterclass series that were held at the Inox Multiplex. “Resul Pookutty gave a very interesting insight into the technical aspects of the film making. We are going to have Boman Irani who will speak about the evolution of comedy in the Indian cinema and an Italian director who will speak about the aspect of dance in cinema,” he said, informing of the series.

Shankar Mohan highlighted the fact that the Festival revived the old classics, “it is one platform where you can revive old classics and get them back to the audience,” he said. He also highlighted that the movies that have been selected are not repetitions. “We have tried to bring people who were earlier undiscovered,” he said. The diverse categories that are a part of IFFI’10 include Polish, Taiwanese and Mexican films, a retrospective of certain NRI filmmakers, a Cannes Kaleidoscope, feature documentaries and the indicative cinema of Australia. Mohan enlightened about the selection of the screening halls for all the movies.

“Inox I is for the premiers of the films of the World, Inox II for Indian films, Inox III and IV for the retrospective films, the competition films and the Cannes Kaleidoscope.”

Some of the grievances discussed included the food issues, lapse in ticketing and the fact that the foreign delegates were put up at hotels very far from the venue. One person interjected that “the help desk was really helpless” and the lack of communication and transportation was a major issue.

The governing body represented at the dais promised that they would look into the situation.

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Photo by Christina Viegas

Speaker of Goa Assembly, Mr. Pratapsingh Rane and Mrs Rane catch a movie at The Short Film Centre

Felicitation for grace and rhythm: Renowned Kathak Dancer and Padmabhushan Awardee Uma Sharma

Interaction with delegates: Open Forum

This one’s for you: Rajkumar Hirani

Cosy couple: Director Amol Palekarand Sandhya Gokhale

A break from theatre to watch films: Dolly Thakore, veteran Indian theatre actress ‘Nine’ performs at nine: The band from Mumbai at Kala Academy

Taking tips from the experienced: Priyanka Bose and Mrinal Kulkarni

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Sunday, 28 Nov 2010

Home By Christmas

Cast: Martin Henderson, Chelsie Preston-Crayford, Tony Barry Director: Gaylene Preston Language: English hough there have been a number of films that have attempted at highlighting the serious side of New Zealand, especially war time, in its own way, Home

By Christmas should become the definitive New Zealand war movie.

The film is a narrative documentary with drama based on director Gaylene Preston’s father’s recollections of his service during World War II, contrasting with her mothers’s perspective.

The story is told through an interview with a veteran, which is a fitting way to communicate the events of World War II. Most of us have an elderly relative who went through the battles in far off lands and this method captures the time and distance between those happenings and us. This structure combines with richly-coloured recreations and

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Pogrzeb Kartofla

Starring: Franciszek Pieczka, Mariusz Saniternik, Grazyna Blecka-Kolska, Adam Ferency, Ewa Zukowska, Boguslaw Sochnacki Director: Jan Jakub Kolski Language: Polish an Jakub Kolski’s films always reflect a true-to-the-roots honesty that has the ability to appeal to the audience. One reason for this could be that from age eleven until age fourteen, Kolski lived in a small village, Popielawy, near Tomaszów Mazowiecki and Łódź. His life there became the inspiration for his later films and hence many of his stories reflect the reality of those days.

Pogrzeb kartofla (English: The Burial of a Potato), Kolski’s first feature film after a number of short films, too was shot in Popielawy in 1990, and was based on a real story of Kolski’s maternal grandfather, Jakub Szewczyk. In that film, as well as in his subsequent films, Kolski employed his own vision

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stylised stock footage that imbue the aesthetic with a faded old world charm, capturing a sense of both romanticism and the harsh realities of combat.

As well as the filmmaking itself, the story it depicts is absorbing.

Tales of prisoner-of-war camps contrast with the scent of illicit love affairs back home to create a genuine emotional core.

This is heightened by the disconnect between the two main characters, ably performed by Martin Henderson and Chelsie Preston-Crayford (playing her real-life grandmother).

A great mix of social history, romance and artistic vision combine to create a film every film-lover, whether New Zealander or not, should see.

of the world enriched with magic, and he is actually considered to be the founder of the ‘magical realism’ trend in Polish film making.

Set in 1946, the film tells the story of a Polish villager returning home after years in a concentration camp.

Mateusz is an old-timer, a saddler, who finds nothing but hostility when he makes it home after years away. He is not a Jew, though the villagers brand him one and give him a hard time. They have already taken his property; now they feel guilty about the death of his son at the end of the war, and do not want the father around.

In the background we see the beginning of the communist takeover in Poland, but this is not the major focus of the film. Rather, it is Mateusz’s struggle to fit in.

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Master of Sound at Masterclass T

Photo by Herald Features

FILM REVIEW

Parenting

HERALD FEATURES he Oscar winning sound editor and mixer, Resul Pookutty shared some of his valuable comments and insights into the importance of sound and music in a motion picture at the Masterclass on ‘Art of Sound and Music’ held at the Inox multiplex. This was the first time something so detailed was being held on the topic of sound, the importance of which has become so pronounced in the new age of cinema.

Pookutty enlightened the crowds about the importance of sound by the manner of presentation of clips with and without the background score.

“The sounds guide the audience, the sound makes the audience travel with us, giving the film a particular passion, depth and being constantly moved,” said Pookutty. He spoke about the qualities that are needed to be a sound engineer.

“Sound engineering is a craft that requires visualisation, you need to know and decide what you want the audience to listen,” he said.

The sound mixer who provided the music for dramatic films like Black, Slumdog Millionaire, and the more recent Robot, said that sound adds to the dramatic effect of a film. “Sounds like footsteps, the shuffling of the actors clothes give the audience sound ideas and add to the dramatic lines that are enhanced by the music.

The ambience sounds are the sounds of the area the scene is being shot at, like that of a railways station or bus-stop; certain sounds are associated with certain situations and the sound editor has to know which one fits where,” said Pookutty.

The sound director although provides the sounds, has to work in close co-ordination with the director of the film. “The director will guide you as to the way he wants the sound, like Danny Boyle had showed me exactly what kind of sounds he wanted for which scene,” said Pookutty.

Pookutty, a physics enthusiast, joked about wanting to bring to India the Nobel Prize but instead ended up bringing home the much coveted Oscar. He shared that it was by coincidence that he ended up in the industry, “I had joined FTII to learn sound engineering as a part of physics, but then when I got to working with sounds, I realised this is what I want to do.” Pookutty said.

Country Focus: Sri Lankan Films to be featured at IFFI

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n the country Focus section at IFFI 2010, Sri Lanka is another country in focus along with Georgia, Mexico and Taiwan. An overview of award winning Sri Lankan films from the year 2000 to 2010 will be IFFI’s gift to the lovers of Sri Lankan Cinema.

The nine films being screened in the Package are Saroja (2000), Me Mage Sandai (2001), Agni Dahaya (2002), Sudu Kaluwara (2003), Mille Soya (2004), Ira Madiyama, (2005), Udugan Yamaya (2006), Aganthukaya (2007) and Walapatala (2008). Eminent filmmakers from the country are expected to attend the Festival.

The themes covered in the films are contemporary as well as depicts political turmoil during occupation by Dutch forces (Agnidahaya) and story set during British occupation of the Island Nation (Sudu Kaluwara). The package has films such as Ira Madiyama and Udugan Yamaya depicting the society traumatised and disturbed by nearly twenty years of civil war.

Being Fat by Age 9 could affect Heart

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Jet Lag could cause Month-long Cloudy Memory

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esearchers claim that chronic jet lag affects the brain in ways that bring on memory and learning problems which stay for a month after a flight. Twice a week for four weeks, researchers subjected female Syrian hamsters to sixhour time shifts, the equivalent of a New York-to-Paris airplane flight.

During the last two weeks of jet lag and a month after recovery from it, the hamsters' performance on learning and memory tasks was measured.

As expected, during the jet lag period, the hamsters had trouble learning simple tasks that the hamsters in the control group excelled at, according to a University of California statement.

What surprised the researchers was that these effects persisted for a month after the hamsters returned to a regular day-night schedule. What's more, the researchers discovered persistent changes in the brain, specifically within the hippocampus – the part that plays an intricate role in memory processing.

They found that, compared to the hamsters in the control group, the jet-lagged hamsters had only half the number of new neurons (nerve cells) in the hippocampus following the month-long exposure to jet lag.

New neurons are constantly being added to the adult hippocampus and are thought to be important for hippocampaldependent learning, said Lance Kriegsfeld, associate professor of psychology at the University of California.

“This is the first time anyone has done a controlled trial of the effects of jet lag on brain and memory function...we see an impact up to a month afterward,” Kriegsfeld said.

“What this says is that, whether you are a flight attendant, medical resident, or rotating shift worker, repeated disruption of circadian rhythms is likely going to have a long-term impact on your cognitive behaviour and function.”

This acute disruption of circadian rhythms can cause general malaise as well as gastrointestinal problems because the body’s hunger cycle is out of sync with meal times, Kriegsfeld said.

hildren who are overweight by the age of nine have greater chances of developing heart disease, and by the time they are 15, they have higher blood pressure, cholesterol levels and blood insulin levels than normal, which raise the chance of a premature death from heart disease.

Tam Fry of the National Obesity Forum said the study provided more evidence that childhood obesity should be tackled earlier.

“We have left things too late for far too long. If you start early enough, you might be able to nip it in the bud. We should be assessing our children on a routine basis,” said Fry. The Bristol University study, led by Professor Debbie Lawlor of its School of Social and Community Medicine, surveyed more than 5,000 children aged nine to 12 whose body mass index (BMI) and other indicators of fatness were measured.

They were measured again at 15, when their blood pressure was also taken and blood samples analysed.

At the younger age, almost a quarter were either overweight or obese (18.5 percent and 4.5 percent respectively). Those who remained so at 15 had significantly higher blood pressure, cholesterol and insulin levels than thinner children.

However, those who thinned down tended to reduce their risk factors, with girls appearing to recover better than boys.

Short, Light Pulses to boost Data Transfer Speeds

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niversity of California - San Diego electrical engineers have designed ultra compact, low power pulse compressor on a silicon chip, which will enable ultrafast data transfer within computers.

This miniaturised short pulse generator eliminates a roadblock on the way to optical interconnects for use in PCs, data centres, imaging applications and beyond. They will have far higher data rates and generate less heat than the copper wires they will replace.

“Our pulse compressor is implemented on a chip, so we can easily integrate it with computer processors,” said Dawn Tan at UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering who led development of the pulse compressor.

“Next generation computer networks and computer architectures will likely replace copper interconnects with their optical counterparts and these have to be complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) compatible. This is why we created our pulse compressor on silicon,” he said.

The pulse compressor will also be a cost effective method for a variety of imaging technologies such as time resolved spectroscopy – which can be used to study lasers and electron behaviour, and optical coherence tomography which can capture biological tissues in three dimensions.

They will reduce power consumption caused by heat dissipation, switching and transmission of electrical signals.

“In the future, this work will enable integrating multiple ‘slow’ bandwidth channels with pulse compression into a single ultra-high-bandwidth OTDM channel on a chip. Such aggregation devices will be critical for future inter- and intra-high speed digital electronic processors interconnections for numerous applications such as data centers, field-programmable gate arrays, high performance computing and more,” said Yeshaiahu Fainman.

Editor –in-chief: R F Fernandes. Editor: Ashwin Tombat. Chief Editor-Features: Christina Viegas.

(Trends Courtesy: Agencies)

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