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O HERALD O The Voice of Goa — Since 1900 panjim, Friday, OCTOber 8, 2010

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Sports: Shock exit for Paes, Sania in mixed doubles Pg 18

Business: India to soon achieve 9% GDP growth — FM Pg 12

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Goa’s Heartbeat: Tom, Jack may star in El Presidente Pg 14

K’taka rebels in Goa Reddy blames Cong for ‘house arrest’ HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, OCT 7

Photo by Santosh Mirajkar State BJP leaders Manohar Parrikar and Shripad Naik in conversation with the Karnataka MLAs. HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, OCT 7

High drama unfolded at the Taj Exotica, Benaulim on Thursday after 14 MLAs — nine BJP and five independents – who had withdrawn support to the BJP government in Karnataka flew into the State around noon, even as the BJP accused the Congress government of keeping the dissident MLAs in captivity.

Tension prevailed for some time after agitated BJP workers led by Leader of the opposition, Manohar Parrikar gate crashed and stormed inside in a bid to meet the dissident MLAs, but were again stopped by armed policemen led by SP, South Allan

De Sa and Deputy Superintendent of Police Umesh Gaonkar near the bungalow housing the MLAs. Police also confirmed that the workers who later assembled outside the main gate caused damage to the bumper of a vehicle carrying Janata Dal leader Kumaraswamy and Aleixo Sequeira into the hotel late this evening.

When the situation threatened to go out of control with BJP leaders insisting to meet the Karnataka party dissidents, the police allowed Parrikar to meet the MLAs who later told newsmen after the meeting that he would return back to the hotel on Friday morning to have another round of meeting with the MLAs. Parrikar said he had come to verify with his own eyes the situation and clarified that he did not come to negotiate with the dissident MLAs. I n c i d e n t a l l y, K a r n a t a ka Tourism Minister, Janardhan Reddy told newsmen that he was not allowed to meet the

party MLAs and charged the Congress government for the house arrest of the MLAs. BJP leader Prabhakar Kore and a member of the Karnataka legislative council told newsmen that the police stopped vehicles at the Karnataka-Goa border, besides checking vehicles near the football ground at Margao.

Before meeting the dissident MLAs, Parrikar told newsmen that the MLAs from Karnataka have been kept hostage by the government, accusing the police for not allowing people to go inside the hotel. “These MLAs have been held in captivity by the Congress government. On the one hand, the Congress says the crisis in Karnataka is BJP’s internal matter, and now they are using the police machinery to hold them captive”, he added.

Parrikar said he has come to meet only the 9 BJP MLAs since they want to leave for Bangalore.

“If the Congress is not involved in the episode, what is the home minister and other ministers (Continued on page 13)

Exuding confidence that the dissident MLAs would return back to Bangalore to support the Chief Minister, Karnataka Tourism Minister Janardhan Reddy was highly critical of the Congress government for the “house arrest” of the party MLAs and demanded to know whether they are living in Taliban, Pakistan, Italy or India.

Reddy, who was not allowed to meet the MLAs by the police blamed Home Minister Ravi Naik for using the police machinery to keep the BJP legislators in captivity. He, however, resolved not to leave Taj Exotica without meeting the dissident MLAs. “Our 9 MLAs have spoken to the chief minister over telephone and are ready to go back to Bangalore, but the Goa Police with the instructions of the Home Minister Ravi Naik are restraining them from doing so”, he charged.

Terming the BJP ML As as “honest”, he charged Ravi Naik for closely monitoring the house arrest of the MLAs with the police. “This is very bad. The whole country is watching the development. Sonia Gandhi should

Ravi pooh-poohs tabloid report on terrorists in Goa HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, OCT 7

Home Minister Ravi Naik has expressed strong apprehensions over a report in a Mumbai tabloid that two terrorists Kalimuddin Khan alias Rameshwar Pandit and Hafij Sarif belonging to Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) were in Goa. Naik said that such reports are attempts by certain elements to damage the on-going tourist season. “Such information is always flashed on television and media during tourist season.

Why such panicky information is not released during off-season,” he questioned.

Goa’s tourism season begins on October 1 with couple of chartered flights including from Netherlands and Russia have already brought thousands of passengers in just a week.

The tabloid has reported that Goa Police informed Mumbai police about one of the two HUJI

Such information is always flashed on television and media during tourist season. Why such panicky information is not released during off-season. members who left for Dadar in Mumbai via train on Tuesday.

Naik said that such alerts are being released by elements who do not want smooth tourist season in Goa. It has been reportedly learnt that intelligence inputs have cautioned the State to enhance security in wake of festivals and cricket match slated on October 24. “I don’t know who is spreading the wrong information. May be some hotel lobby or some-

one,” he said.

The minister revealed that Goa is already on general alert and that vital installations are being upgraded. Besides, marine police are constantly manning the coastal stretch and Indian Coast Guard is maintaining vigil along the shores.

Unknown caller: Goa police today ruled out sharing any information in writing to Mumbai police about spotting terrorists (Continued on page 13)

Cricket scam trial put on backburner?

HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, OCT 7

Justice delayed is justice denied, so goes the saying.

If the sensational 1989 countermanding of election conspiracy case finally ended in an acquittal after a long trial spanning 20 long years, the trial in the infamous 2001 ticketgate scam is yet to take off till date, nearly a decade after the cricket scam hit the State during the India-Australia One Day International Match at the Nehru Stadium on April 6, 2001.

Even as the Goa Cricket Association and the state administration is bracing up to host the India-Australia ODI tie on October 24, there’s no sign that trial in the fake cricket ticket case would commence in the immediate future.

For, the appeal filed by GCA chief Dayanand Narvekar challenging the order of the South Goa Sessions court upholding the order of the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Margao framing criminal charges against him and eight others is pending in the

THE ACCUSED Dayanand Narvekar Vinod Phadke Ramashankar Das Chinmay Fallari Devdutt Fallari Gajanan Bhise Joaquim Pires Venkat Raut Dessai Eknath Naik High Court for the last couple of years now.

Sources say the High Court had stayed the Sessions Court order upholding the order of the JMFC to frame charges against Narvekar, GCA officials Vinod Phadke, Ramashankar Das, Chinmay Fallari, Devdutt Fallari, Gajanan Bhise, Joaquim Pires,Venkat Raut Dessai and Eknath Naik.

Since then, the matter has been pending in the High Court, as a result of which trial in the sensational case has not begun, though nearly 10 years have

passed since genuine cricket ticket holders had to suffer the brunt of police batons outside the stadium.

The Margao police, which later investigated into the case, filed a chargesheet against the nine accused, charging Dayanand Nar vekar, Vinod Phadke and Ramashankar Das for allegedly conspiring with the ticket contractor Chinmay Fallari for the sale of tickets by manipulating the tender and awarding the contract to the contractor for a consideration of Rs 68 lakkhs.

That in furtherance of the criminal conspiracy, the three accused, who were members of the tender committee allegedly intentionally placed orders for 29,000 tickets/complimentary, before Hitech Print system, Hyderabad beyond the 27,300 seating capacity of the stadium.

Moreover, the police alleged that the excess tickets worth Rs 9.37 lakh were unauthorisely diverted to Narvekar’s brotherin-law Eknath Naik for sale.

Our 9 MLAs have spoken to the chief minister over telephone and are ready to go back to Bangalore, but the Goa Police with the instructions of the Home Minister Ravi Naik are restraining them from doing so. not have allowed this to happen”, he said.

Replying to a question, he said there is no threat to the BJP government in Karnataka, adding that the party would still enjoy a majority in the House without these nine MLAs. Meanwhile, in a related development, Karnataka Janata Dal leader and former Chief Minister, Kumaraswamy made his presence felt at Taj Exotica late Thursday evening and is believed to have had a meeting with the 14 dissident MLAs. Kumaraswamy made his entry into the hotel at around 9.30 pm in a vehicle with Power Minister, Alexio Sequeira. BJP workers who were present outside

the main entrance are believed to have stopped the vehicle and caused damage to the bumper.

Gaonkar confirmed that the vehicle’s bumper suffered some damage while it was coming inside from the main gate.

Late this evening, Alemao and other ministers, besides Sardessai were holed up inside the hotel.

PTI adds: The 29-month-old government plunged into crisis and was reduced to a minority yesterday after 14 BJP and five independent MLAs withdrew support to it prompting Governor H R Bharadwaj to ask the chief minister to seek a trust vote by October 12. The chief minister has said he will take the floor test on October 11.

Both the chief minister and the BJP exuded confidence that the government will win the trust vote.

“I hope by the evening of tomorrow all the MLAs who are outside now will return back and join our fold. I am very confident of winning the vote of confidence. I am 100 per cent sure that my MLAs will support me,” Yeddyurappa said shortly af ter Renukacharya’s comments.

Blue Alert against Lalit Modi PTI NEW DELHI, OCT 7

The Enforcement Directorate has issued an international Blue Notice Alert for detention of former IPL Chairman Lalit Modi for alleged “serious contravent i o n s ” o f t h e f o re i g n e x change law after its probe into the finances of the T20 cricket tournaments.

The “light blue alert notice” issued by Mumbai office of the ED earlier this month has asked law enforcement agencies across the globe that Modi “should be detained as and when noticed” and the agency be “informed immediately”.

Thanks a lot sir, but am I taking this to save the government or to topple it?

10 killed in suicide blasts on Sufi shrine PTI KARACHI, OCT 7

Two suicide bombers today struck venerated Sufi shrine of Abdullah Shah Ghazi in this Pakistani port city, killing at least 10 people and wounding 60 others in the latest in a slew of attacks on sacred places.

The blasts occurred in quick succession at the entrance of the packed shrine of Abdullah Shah Ghazi, considered to be patron saint of Karachi and is revered by millions of people.

No group claimed responsibility for the blasts.

The shrine located in the upmarket area of Clifton was packed with tho u s a n d s o f devotees, who had gathered on Thursday, considered an a u s p i c i o u s d a y, t o o f f e r prayers and distribute langar (food).

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Dept receives 382 applications for relocation of scrap yards HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, Oct 7

Since the introduction of the Goa Waste (scrap) Recycling by the Department of Industries, trade & commerce (Itc), it has received 382 applications seeking relocation of scrap yards. the scheme facilitates relocation of scrap yards which are mostly illegal and located in residential areas. the government intends to shift all scrap yards near industrial estate and Industrial Development corporation (IDc) has been directed to develop plots to accommodate them.

NCP forms two panels A local fisherman casting its net for a catch at Arambol beach in the early morning.

Photo by Rozario Estibeiro

Beggars, hawkers on the beaches to come under tourism dept scanner HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, Oct 7

Beware! Beggars and hawkers harassing tourists on the beaches and at other tourists spots. Shack owners who take liberty to put deck beds more than what they are permitted by the tourism Department also need to be careful. there’s possibility they can land into trouble if they continue with their high handedness for department will soon deploy its own security personnel to provide safety to tourists. the security personnel will be deployed at popular beaches and other spots – they’ll also be given the task to ensure that beggars and hawkers are kept

Case filed for damaging ATM HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, Oct 7

the Panjim town police have registered a case against an unknown person who tried damaging an AtM machine in the wee hours of Wednesday-thursday.

DySP Deu Benaulikar informed that they have sought cctV footage from the respective bank.

Unconfirmed reports say that authorities had recently withdrawn security guard from the AtM counter, situated along the Atmaram Borkar road.

away so that they do not irritate tourists, informed Swapnil Naik, D i r e c t o r, D e p a r t m e n t o f tourism.

Earlier, tourist police were entrusted with this job but they were hardly of any use to tD. In fact, there have complaints against them and allegations that received bribes from beggars and hawkers for access to the beach.

Recently, travel and tourism Association of Goa (ttAG) had also complaint about failure of the department in controlling nuisance of beggars and hawkers even as the season has began.

Some six months back the government sent tourist police

back to their parent department as tD under central scheme decided to raise its own force. the tourism Director said they had no control whatsoever on tourist police and they reported to their higher ups in the police department.

But things will be different now as the department will be in control now. It is in process of building its security force consisting of sixty ex-ser vice men and interviews are scheduled to be conducted this month.

At later, local youth will also be recruited and will form part of the tourist security force. It will help them to have better security arrangement at tourist

places, believe tD. l Once it has its security in place, the department intends to crack a whip against erring shack owners and those providing water sports facilities who undue advantage as currently, tD doesn’t have enough manpower to have regular checks.

At present, tD has two squads one each for two districts that consists of two-three tourism employees and they conduct random checks.

It’s evident they are not very effective as violations whether it is by shack owners or persons offering waters sports facility, are rampant. Beggars and hawkers swamp tourists places with immunity.

HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, Oct 7

the State Nationalist congress Party has formed two committees namely finance and disciplinary at a recent meeting of its Executive committee under the chairmanship of Jose Philip D’Souza. the finance committee will be headed by Jose Philip as chairman and MLA Mickky Pacheco, Senior Vice Presidents Dr carmo Pe g a d o , S u re n d r a S i r s a t , Sangeeta Parab and Pandurang Raut as members.

Similarly, the disciplinary committee has Jose Philip as its chairman and Nilkant Halarnkar, Dr Pegado, Sirsat, Parab and Raut as members. the meet also decided to support leaders and workers in the municipal polls. Halarnkar, Sirsat and Salim Sayed have been given the charge of Mapusa, while Pernem will be handled by Jeetendra Deshprabhu and Sangeeta Parab.

Mickky Pacheco has been given the charge of Margao. Quepem, Sanguem and curchorem and Mormugao will be looked after by Jose Philip and Sheikh Iqbal. charge of canacona has been given to Ulhas Naik and Prabhu Moni.

the government was compelled to act against illegal scrap yards after one Jatin Ramaiya from Ponda filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking directions to the government to take action against illegal scrap yards mushroomed in residential areas. the nodal department - Itc scrutinizing applications received -- physical verification is also done to check authenticity of the claims made by the applicant.

“All scrap yards existed as on April 29, 2010 are considered for relocation,” said the officer

Work on PWD Minister, churchill Alemao’s dream Sinquetim-Benaulim bridge has finally come to a full stop.

After the residents of Sinquetim-Navelim moved the high court for a stay on the bridge work on grounds the PWD has not obtained clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, the PWD on thursday filed an affidavit in the high court clearly stating that work on the construction of the bridge will not be recommended until the cRZ clearance is obtained from the MoEF. the high court has asked the

PWD to intimate the petitioners within a week in the event the clearance is finally granted by the Union Ministry. the high court had today fixed for orders the application filed by the residents for a stay on the bridge construction. the petitioners led by George Barretto, Jose Paul coutinho, Avertano Furtado and others had prayed to the court to restrain the PWD and the contractor from proceeding with the construction of the proposed bridge pending the hearing and final disposal of the petition.

Adv Bairon Rodrigues told Herald that the petitioners had submitted that the bridge under

nThe PWD on Thursday filed an affidavit in the high court clearly stating that work on the construction of the bridge will not be recommended until the CRZ clearance is obtained from the MoEF.

construction is blatantly illegal and in total violation of the provisions of the coastal Regulation Zone notification, adding that prior approval from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has to be obtained before any construction is commenced given that the estimated cost of the project is around Rs 8.45 crore.

He further stated that the petitioners strongly submit-

ted that the area where the bridge was likely to be constructed is rich in bio diversity and is eco sensitive and that it would destroy the fragile ecosystem and damage the environment beyond repair, if constructed.

In his affidavit filed in the court today, PWD Executive Engineer Anil Ringe said the department had approached the MoEF seeking grant of cRZ ap-

showing their link to the usage of land from their operating. “traders dealing in scrap are mostly non –Goans and locals are distrustful of them. Local owners though allow them to use the land on rental -- there are no documents to show that the land is being used by the scrap dealer,” he adds.

No of illegal scrap yards in municipal councils are: ccP— 2, Margao – 22, Mormugao – 17, Mapusa – 30, Ponda --NIL (illegal scrap yards removed in 2009), cuncolim– 4 Valpoi – 2, Sanquelim – 4 Bicholim – 2 and curchorem -- 7

Private bus operators revenue up, thanks to transport dept HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, Oct 7

transport Department’s drive to weed out irregularities in public transport system is paying back to the private bus operators.

Sources stated that the revenue of private bus operators have gone up as unaccounted money has been controlled.

“Several conductors had fixing with passengers which use to lead to loss of revenue but now this has been under control as they have to issue tickets,” sources said.

Sources said that the bus operators themselves were so confused that they were not able to detect the actual cause for loss in their business. “they unnecessarily blamed transport department for their losses. the fact was that they had no control over their business as it was operational under leadership of errant conductors and drivers,” sources stated. the private bus operators had once also alleged that in the ab-

Work on Sinquetim-Benaulim bridge comes to halt HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, Oct 7

from Industries Department.

However, final decision as to whether a particular applicant is a fit for re-location will be decided by the committee of the respective area. committees have been constituted consisting deputy collector, elected representative of the respective civic body, health official, officer of fire department and police official as members.

Determining ownership will be an uphill task because even though scrap dealers have commercial documents such as VAt and sales tax registration but do not have any documents

proval for the construction of the bridge with approach road connecting the villages of Benaulim and Sinquetim.

He stated that the proposal was discussed at the Approving committee of the MOEF on September 21, adding that the committee has sought clarification on the cRZ classification as per the approved cZMP; superimpose the layout showing the proposed facilities on the HtL/LtL map prepared by an authorized agency and submit details of mangroves present in the proposed site, along with types, density etc and submit the details of mangroves plantation.

sence of tickets the conductors and drivers used to siphon apart of the income from the total collection. the members of the All Goa Private Bus Owners Association were not available for comments over the issue.

Meanwhile, the transport department has said that the drive to keep a check over errant drivers and conductors has been a success till date.

“On an average we use to receive 20-30 complaints from commuters over rude behavior of conductors and rush driving.

Now the number has literally gone down. there have been two-three complaints in last five days,” transport director Arun Desai said. the director was satisfied the way, the drive has bought changes in the bus transport system in the state. “I have personally seen conductors issuing tickets for correct fares. Both drivers and conductors have started wearing uniform while on duty and you will see the doors been shut of most buses

while running,” he said.

“But the most important change has been reduction in the consumption of alcohol and tobacco while on duty,” director added. the drive, which kicked off on October 1 after private bus operators agreed to the fact that they have no control over erring drivers and conductors, has till date booked 250 cases. the challans have been mostly issued for overloading, non-production of documents, non-wearing of uniforms and absence of fare tables. the director however agreed that the drive has failed to contain over loading of buses. “Its something we cannot control,” Desai said.

Desai said that the main intension of the drive is to bring discipline in the system to give efficient and safe bus transport to the public. “the drive is not aimed to increase revenue but we want more and more people to avail the benefits of best public transport,” he said.

Car damaged in Panjim blast HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, Oct 7

A minor detonation occurred at a BSNL chamber on the 18 June road today late evening causing damage to a parked vehicle. the blast was so loud that it was heard even beyond 200 meters.

Maruti Zen bearing registration number GA-05-2388, which was parked near the chamber was damaged.

No casualties were reported even as it triggered brief commotion among residents and the passers-by.

Owner of the car Wency D’Souza told Panjim police that

nNo casualties were reported even as the blast triggered brief commotion among residents and the passersby. he was at an AtM counter to withdraw money when the incident occurred at about 8:30pm.

Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) was called upon to examine the scene.

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Security tightened in Goa: Deshpande HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, OCT 7

Goa police has implemented routine enhanced security precautions in wake of happening events like festivals, elections and cricket match round the corner.

Speaking at a press briefing on Thursday police spokesperson SP Atmaram Deshpande told reporters that they have already heightened the security in Goa as precautionary measure.

“We are taking routine precautions owing to festivals, municipal elections, cricket match and other

activities being in the tourist season.

We have enough law and order at this stage…” he said.

The officer said that the department is most likely to deploy tight security on October 16, being the first anniversary of Margao bomb blast.

“We may heighten security on October 16 and November 4 (Diwali-eve), as an explosive last year was carried out on Diwali-eve,” Deshpande said.

A powerful blast had ripped off on busy street at Margao when explosives kept on Eterno

scooter went off on Diwali-eve.

The two men – Malgonda Patil and Yogesh Naik, belonging to Hindu right wing organization Sanathan Saunstha who were allegedly carrying explosives died in the blast.

Government would besides request additional force to be deployed at the cricket match venue on October 24.

“The stadium will be packed with nearly 25,000 to 30,000 spectators. We will use our force but additional force would ease out pressure…we will ask for additional force for the match,” said the officer.

Goa is hosting one-day international cricket match between India and Australia at Nehru stadium, which is the final ODI that will bring down curtains on the ongoing Australia tour to India.

Dy collector’s order quashed HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, OCT 7

The high court on Thursday has quashed the order dated August 13 passed by Deputy Collector, Margao directing the Fabrica da Igreja da Orlim to give an access through its property under survey No 86/20 to Meenaxi Financial Consultants and Swastik Dwellings to remove the stones from the Fabrica property to enable the builder to go to his property wherein construction is in progress for the 66 flats and a swimming pool.

The Attorney for the Fabrica da Igreja da Orlim said the High Court has held that the order of the deputy Collector is contradictory to law and that no prima facie case has been made out by Meenaxi Financial Consultants and Swastik Dwelligns on the existence of the right of way through the Fabrica property at Palcutta-Orlim.

He said the builder had got his plans passed by showing the existing road touching his property which in reality is not the case as there is no road touching the builder’s property.

Inadequate staff delayed extra security for Ravi Naik HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, OCT 7

Goa police today said that additional security approved for the Home Minister Ravi Naik in May could not be provided due to adequate staff shortage. Police spokesperson SP (Special Branch) Atmaram Deshpande said that staff shortage was one of the reasons why enhanced security could not be furnished to the minister for four months.

“We have manpower issues.

Goa police is going under severe crisis of manpower. The availability issue is one of the reasons why security cover enhanced to home minister was prolonged,” he told reporters at a press conference.

It is reliably learnt through sources that security review meeting in May had decided to provide additional security to the minister. It though could not be implemented immediately.

Naik was provided enhanced security cover only in September after an intelligence report pointed out threat to his family.

The security threat was disclosed during interrogation of pistol-wielding chief Michael Fernandes of giving contract to one Joe Boy to kill Naik’s son Roy. Following this, both his son’s Ritesh and Roy are also provided security. Boy is still at large managed to give the police a slip before they could reach him. A police team who was dispatched to Mumbai to search him returned back empty handed.

Deshpande said that Michael is being interrogated to gather more details.

The officer said that the department is in utter need of additional force owing to growing responsibilities. “Responsibilities and requirements are growing more and more. We are taking up additional job making sure that we are doing a decent job,” he said.

Muslim community to float panel for Margao civic polls HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, OCT 7

Members of Margao’s Muslim community is an agitated lot accusing the Congress of using the community as a “tissue paper” and has resolved to field its own panel in the ensuing polls for the Margao Municipal Council.

The community singled out Chief Minister Digambar Kamat for using the minorities only for his selfish political ends and demanded to know why the Margao MLA did not deem fit to field candidates in wards having sizeable Muslim population.

That’s not all. They threatened to field a Muslim candidate against the Chief Minister in the next Assembly polls.

Addressing a press conference, Iftikar Shaikh said the Congress under the name of secularism has sidelined the Muslims. “The Kabrastan issue comes to the fore only during the elections.

They have not solved the issue for the last 30 years”, he said.

He said though the Constitution does not provide for reservation of municipal seats on religious lines, nothing has stopped the Congress leaders, including the Chief Minister to field candidates from the community in the wards of their influence.

He said the Congress wins minimum six seats in the Assembly polls on account of the support from the Muslim minority and helps the party to form the government.

General Secretary of the Sirvodem Masjid, Abdul Matin Carol said the Congress party cannot fool all the people all the time and charged the Congress leaders including the Chief Minister for treating the Muslim community as a vote bank.

In fact, Carol said the Minorities were better placed during the tenure of former Congress Chief Minister, Pratapsing Rane, adding that Rane used to take the minorities into confidence on all issues.

He said Digambar Kamat has been getting elected from Margao with the support of the Muslim community, but lamented that the community has not gained in any way with Kamat at the helm of affairs.

Coming down heavily on the government on the reservation issue, he said the reservation was unveiled on the eve of filing of nomination papers, Carol said the government has reserved ward No 3 for ST community though the ward has a large presence of the Muslims.

“We have now decided to field a panel of candidates from the Muslim community. The community will also field a candidate in the Assembly polls from Margao”, Carol asserted.

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DMA urged to hold refresher course for councillors Madgao Loksamiti to

CIVIC POLLS ROUND-UP

open election office HERALD NEWS DESK PANJIM, OCT 7

Overwhelmed by the public support, the Madgao Loksamiti will open its election office on October 8, at K B House, opposite David & Co, Margao at 11 am.

A number of aspiring candidates have already shown interested in contesting and Madgao Loksamiti is in the process of finalising its panel.

Expressing the hope that the forthcoming elections will be held in a free and fair manner, Madgao Loksamiti’s spokesperson Mohandas Lolienkar however expressed his dismay at the totally arbitrary, undemocratic and illegal manner in which the process of delimitation and reservation of wards for the Margao Municipal Council has been carried out. “The lack of geographical continuity and contiguity in the delimitation

process has resulted in a wholly illogical numbering of wards and shifting of ward boundaries. The haphazard manner in which this delimitation has been done is obvious in that electoral rolls for certain wards have been allegedly changed even after the notification of the election process,” he said.

Lolienkar further questioned the logic of reserving wards for STs and OBCs in areas which hardly have any sizeable voters of ST or OBC population.

“This injustice and insult of the entire ST community is a result of the feudal mindset of casteist politicians who manipulate the reservation policy for their personal vested interests. OBC voters are also being deprived of a rightful representation in the municipal council as a result of these machinations,” he added.

Ex-MMC chief files nomination from Ward 3 HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, OCT 7

Former Chairperson Piedade Noronha has filed her nomination papers from Ward 3 of the Margao Municipal Council.

Another sitting Councillor Livramenta Baretto filed her nomination papers from Ward 4 of the Civic body.

Accompanied by her close supporters, Piedade made her presence felt before Returning Officer Johnson Fernandes and submitted her papers.

She told newsmen that she has decided to recontest the council elections from Ward 3 after the people approached her, adding that she would bring all round development in the ward if re-elected.

Meanwhile, Shazia Shaikh has filed her papers for Ward 13 currently represented by Rajendra Azgaokar. Rajendra, who accompanied Shazia to the office of the Returning Officer, said that he has given preference to his workers when many a councillors are making way for their wives and families.

Sitting Councillor Livramenta Barreto said that she is contesting from Ward 4 this time since the ward is reserved for a woman. She said that lot of development needs to be done in Ward 4, adding that she has decided to contest from the ward after being approached by the people.

Other candidates who filed their papers for the Margao Municipal Council are Subhash S T T (9), Agnelo Miranda (9) and Loyola Rodrigues (12). Meanwhile, Sheetal Desai has filed her nomination papers for Ward 10 of the Cuncolim Municipal Council.

Sanguem tally touches 6 HERALD CORRESPONDENT SANGUEM, OCT 7

Sanguem Councillor Romualdo Fernandes' wife Analina filed her nomination in Ward 1 (Bamonsai), taking the tally of aspiring candidates for Sanguem Municipal Council elections to six.

Hundreds of supporters accompanied Analina Fernandes at the office of the Returning Officer, Sanguem. The supporters vowed to fully support the candidature of Analina Fernandes.

Incidentally, the supporters of Analina Fernandes claimed Romualdo had achieved a lot

development projects at Bamonsai since the last five years.

The need for Analina Fernandes to file her nomination arose after the government reserved Ward 1 for women.

Till Thursday, those who filed the nominations are Shaikh Imtiaz, Zalil Shaikh, Shaikh Iqbal, Lusi D’Costa and Analina Fernandes.

Speaking to Herald, Romualdo Fernandes claimed that the presence of a large number of supporters for filing the nomination form of his wife Analina is enough prove that she will get elected from the ward.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT CURCHOREM, OCT 7

Mission Bypass Convenor Pradip Kakodkar has urged the Directorate of Municipal Administration (DMA) to organize a refresher course for all winning candidates in the municipal elections to make them aware of rights and duties of elected candidates.

“Lack of knowledge on rights and duties of a councillor leads to the failure of development works in their respective wards and they are dubbed as inefficient though educated,” said Kakodkar.

During the last Curchorem Cacora Municipal Council (CCMC) election, people came together and in order to end misrule and corruption in CCMC administration, had elected new faces in 11 out of the 12 wards.

But the new councillors could not keep up to the expectations of the voters, as they could not identify the main problem of the general people, besides traffic congestion, stray cattle, parking problem, etc.

“The Mission Bypass was formed to pursue the demand of the bypass road, as people were fed up of traffic congestion due to mining traffic. Unfortunately, we could not get active support from the municipal council,” claimed Kakodkar.

“Due to the relentless efforts of Mission Bypass, Section 4 (Acquisition of land) was published by the government and even tenders were floated. If CCMC had taken the lead, the construction of bypass road would have gained momentum,” he said.

“Now, the only solution is to keep mining closed for two months in the season and in the next two months, the bypass road will be ready. If the municipal council passes a resolution not to allow mining traffic via town, then the traffic can be stopped and the problem of congestion will be solved,” said Kakodkar.

“Presently, CCMC’s work of collecting garbage is done by Kudchade Vikas Sanghatana, which is formed by MLA Satardekar, and Goa knows what the councilors are doing,” stated Kakodkar.

“The councilors are the representatives of the people, they represent the whole municipal area. They should have been more concerned about the problem of the people than us, the common men,” he added.

Bicholim councillors in a fix over reservation HERALD CORRESPONDENT BICHOLIM, OCT 7

Some councilors of Bicholim Municipal Council (BMC), including Chairman Satish Gaonkar, are in a fix, as their wards have been reserved.

As per the 50% reservation in the 10-ward BMC, five wards have been kept reserved. Ward 1 and 7 are reserved for women from general category, while Ward 8 has been reserved for Schedule Tribe community and Ward 9 for OBC. Ward 10 has been reserved for OBC women.

However, this reservation seems to have posed a serious concern for some aspiring candidates and councilors. Sine Ward 1 is reserved for women, Councilor Bhagwan Harmalkar, who was elected from this ward for the last two tenures, is in a fix.

This time, he would have to either contest from some other ward or will have to file his field his candidate in this ward.

The worst affected is the BMC Chairman Satish Gaonkar from Ward 8, which is now reserved for Schedule Tribe community.

Some aspiring candidates, including ex-councillor Rajan Kadkade and Rajanikant Lawanis, are also hit due to reservation of Ward 9. This time, the ward has been reserved for OBC, which will again pose a problem for Councilor Usha Kadkade.

Councilor Adv Manohar Shirodkar, who got elected for two consecutive terms in Ward 10, has already shifted his attention to Ward 9 and filed his nomination.

The only respite seems to be for the wife of BMC chairman and Councilor Anuja, as her ward is reserved for women from general category.

Several elected representatives, including Chairman Gaonkar, are in a fix due to reservation and are trying to consider an alternative ward for contesting the elections.

Another aspirant files papers in Canacona HERALD CORRESPONDENT CANACONA, OCT 7

One aspirant filed his nomination paper for the Canacona Municipal Council (CMC) elections on the fourth day on Thursday, taking the total number of nominations to six.

According to sources at Returning Office, one Wilson Fernandes has filed his papers to contest elections from Ponsulem, Ward 4, represented by CMC Chairperson Shayamsunder Dessai.

With this, seven nomination sets have been submitted by six candidates, as one candidate has submitted two sets of papers for the October 31 municipal elections at Canacona.

So far, one each candidates has submitted nomination papers in Ward 2 (Chaudi, General), Ward 4 (Ponsulem,

General), Ward 5 (Kindlem, General), Ward 8 (Bhagatwada/Sawantwada, General), Ward 9 (Palolem-I, OBC) and Ward 10 (Palolem, Women).

The four wards, which are yet to open an account with nominations, are Ward 1 (Nagarcem, reserved for women), Ward 3 (Mastimoll, reserved for ST), Ward 6 (Rajbag-Tarir, general) and Ward 7 (Patnem, reserved for OBC women).

According to returning office sources, a heavy rush of candidates and their supporting electorate is expected on Friday at Deputy Collectorate’s office, Chaudi, with expectations of more nominations being filed on the day.

It is learnt that the auspicious/inauspicious factor has kept away several aspiring candidates from filing their nomi-

nation papers so far.

Meanwhile, some aspiring candidates at ST reserved Mastimoll Ward 3 are angered at being left out due to reservations and have reportedly ganged-up to field a joint candidate residing from outside the Mastimoll ward.

According to sources, this ward has a single household belonging of ST community with only three voters and has no rivalry or competition at least from or within the ward.

One of this family member close to Canacona MLA is said to be sure to file his nomination papers.

Interestingly, Mastimoll is the home ward of Canacona MLA Vijay Poi Khot, which he previously represented as a councilor before being elected as MLA eight years ago.

7 more file papers in Valpoi HERALD CORRESPONDENT VALPOI, OCT 7

Seven candidates have filed their nominations papers with the Returning Officer and Mamlatdar Sattari Gaurish Kuttikar on Thursday.

According to sources, three candidates who have filed their nomination papers for the Valpoi Municipal Council elections in Ward 4 are Chandan Krishna Gawas, Gaurish Kumar Gawas and Laxman Gawas.

In Ward 6, outgoing VMC Chairperson Gulzar Bi Khan has filed her nomination papers, Sharifa Bi Khan (Ward 7) and Ulfat Khan Gafur and Dharmendra Salunke (Ward 9).

Meanwhile, no candidate filed nomination in Wards 1, 2, 3 and 8 till Thursday.

With this, the total number of candidates has gone up to 15, as eight candidates filed their nominations on Wednesday, while no nominations were filed on the first two days.

Only five nominations thus far in Mapusa HERALD CORRESPONDENT PORVORIM, OCT 7

During the course of last four days, only five nominations have been received by the Returning Officer Mapusa for the 15-member Mapusa Municipal Council (MMC) elections.

It may be recalled that on October 4, no nomination papers were filed, on October 5, three women Alpa Bhaidker and Kiran R Dessai, both from Ward 1 and Asha Mashelkar from Ward 14 filed their nominations, while on October 6 and 7, one nomination each has been filed by Marlene Oscar D’Souza (Ward 4) and Pallhal Hari Apte (Ward 9).

Interestingly, none of the sitting councilors have filed their nomination so far.

Strong contenders for the post of MMC chairperson Subhash Narvekar and Ryan Braganza are yet to file their nominations.

Subhash Narvekar and Ryan Braganza are the sitting councilors. Narvekar will be contesting from Ward 2 and Braganza from Ward 6.

All eyes are focused on these two wards as to who will jump in the fray to take on these two strong contenders. More nominations are expected to be filed on Friday.

Garbage dump: Sarpanch says area BJP opens election office in Valpoi does not fall under Guirim VP HERALD CORRESPONDENT VALPOI, OCT 7

HERALD NEWS BUREAU PANJIM, OCT 7

Continuing with the war of wards over the jurisdiction of a field which has become a garbage dumping ground, the Guirim sarpanch has hit out at his Parra counterpart for his ‘baseless’ allegations against the Guirim Panchayat.

Guirim Sarpanch Ongus Menezes has stated that the allegations made by Parra Sarpanch Benedict D’Souza against the Guirim Panchayat are “incorrect”.

“Sarpanch Benedict D’Souza should first verify the facts properly before making any

baseless allegations, the correct jurisdiction the field where garbage is dumped comes under,” stated Menezes.

“The road passing through Arradi-Guirim is being used by the people of neighbouring villages like Calangute, Saligao, Canca, Sangolda, Arpora, Socorro, Parra, etc as a short-cut,” added Sarpanch Menezes.

“It is immature and irresponsible on the part of the Parra sarpanch to accuse the people of Guirim. If the Parra sarpanch was aware of a particular person or persons, then he should have complained to the concerned authorities and not

point fingers at others,” claimed the Guirim sarpanch.

It may be recalled that Parra Sarpanch Benedict D’Souza while refuting the allegation of Shiv Sena Ad Hoc member Philip D’Souza that a field in Parra has become a dumping ground for garbage, had stated that the field falls under the jurisdiction of Guirim Panchayat.

“The paddy field falls under the jurisdiction of Guirim Panchayat and therefore laying the blame on Parra Panchayat for garbage accumulation is uncalled for,” Parra Sarpanch D’Souza had claimed.

Course in citizen journalism HERALD NEWS DESK PANJIM, OCT 7

India's first teaching programme in citizen journalism, a certificate course launched by the J M Foundation for Excellence in Journalism, will be held from November 12 to 14 at the Inspectorate of Factories and Boilers, Altinho, Panjim.

The three day empowerment course is conducted in Goa, in association with the Goa Union of Journalists (GUJ).

There is no age barrier, nor any qualification or language barrier to register for this course.

There will be three sessions every day, concluding on Sunday afternoon. The course will cover aspects like understanding news, verifying, laws that impact news gathering (civic, police,

consumer and human rights) and the Right to Information and Press Laws. Participants would also be taught basic writing, editing and technology skills which will help write news stories and upload on the website.

At the end of the course, participants would get a certificate, an email id (first name.last name@citizenjournalist.com).

They would also get access to www.citizensreport.in, a web platform specially created for this purpose where their work will get displayed.

Senior journalists, Aloke Thaore and Shishir Joshi, founders of the JM Foundation for Excellence in Journalism will be the course coordinators, along with veteran Goa journalist Frederick Noronha.

Eminent experts from Goa will

also be involved in conducting some of the sessions.

To register, participants have to: email name, contact details and CV to citizenjournalism@journalism.org.in, send a draft or cheque of Rs 3000 favouring ‘JM Foundation for Excellence in Journalism’ and a hard copy of the CV to 302 Shubham Centre ‘A’ CHSL, Cardinal Gracias Road, Chakala, Andheri (East), Mumbai 400 099.

College students can avail 50% discount.The last date for registration is October 25.

For further details, contact Prakash Kamat on 9422443093, Frederick Noronha on 0832 2409490 and 9822122436 (after 2 pm) and Shishir Joshi on 098209 85853 (Mumbai).

The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) opened its election office near city hall Valpoi on Wednesday.

North Goa MP Shripad Naik inaugurated the office in the presence of BJP candidate for Valpoi bye-elections Santosh Haldankar, Vinay Tendulkar, Ulhas Asnodkar, Narhari Haldankar, Govind Parvatkar, Anil Hoble, Vasudev Parob, Govind Korgaokar and D Naik. A large number of BJP workers were also present.

Speaking on the occasion, MP Shripad Naik appealed to the BJP workers to work tirelessly to give victory to BJP candidate Santosh Haldankar.

“To uproot corruption from the North Goa MP Shripad Naik inaugurates election office at Valpoi in the presence of BJP candidate Santosh Haldankar and other State, we must end Congress rule in BJP leaders.

Photo by Ashraf Khan the State,” stated Naik.

World is facing climatic disorder, opines MP HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, OCT 7

Rajya Sabha MP Shantaram Naik has said that what the world is facing today is not climatic change but climatic disorder and called for a scientific study on the issue of possible rise in sea level affecting coastal areas, including his home state Goa. He said this while intervening in a discussion on the three-day conference on effect of climatic change on human health organized by World Health Organisation in Thimpu, Bhutan.

Intervening further, Naik said “when one goes from one area to another and gets cold and cough , one often remarks that

it is due to change of climate but today, we are not, in reality, discussing about climate change but “climate disorder”.

He said that issue of possible rise in sea level should be scientifically studied as people living in coastal areas, adding that it has been said that his home state Goa after some years the costal areas of the State will be wiped out.

At this point, Dr Poonam Ketrapal Singh, Deputy Regional Director of World Health Organisation said that similar is the case of Mumbai, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka etc and hence assured the delegates that WHO will look into these aspects.

The Indian delegation to

Thimpu consisted of, besides Naik, Mabel Rebello, MP, Viplov Thakur MP, Surinder Singla, former Finance Minister of Punjab and Manmohan Singh, Executive Secretary of Indian Association of Parliamentarians on Population and Development.

Delegates from India, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Bangladesh are participating in the seminar.

Mabel Rebello who made her presentation on effect of climate change on human health said that climate change would badly affect India’s water resource, adding “therefore, it will be difficult for the country to feed its population which is today, 120 crores”.

Appeal to help poor woman HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, OCT 7

A poor woman in the Chorla Ghat area lost her cow when a tiger attacked it some time back. This cow was her only source of income. The Vivekanand Environment Awareness Brigade, a local NGO, has initiated a campaign to buy a cow for her, so that the people of the area do not turn against the tiger. The cost of a cow is Rs 15,000. So far, the Brigade has raised Rs 7,000. Eco Treks Goa is supporting this cause, and has so far collected Rs 700 from its

founder members and leaders.

Those wishing to support the cause are urged to make a donation. Please contact Durgadas Parab 9422445444, Arati Das 9822522119, or Amit Soiru 9422442973.

Your amount can also be deposited directly in the account of the Vivekanand Environment Awareness Brigade, Keri-Sattari, through the State Bank of India. The account is in the SBI Keri Branch, A/c.

No: 11485244727. In case you contribute, kindly email the details to Deepak Gawas on deepakngawas@yahoo.com.

ShORt takeS Consumer expo underway

PANJIM (HND): India Expo Interior Consumer’s exhibition currently underway at Kala Academy, Panjim is drawing large crowds.

This is one of the biggest and major lifestyle shopping exhibition cum festival in the State. Various lifestyle and household items by major market leaders in the corporate sector are on display and sale. Major furniture houses have put up designer furniture stalls with imported furniture at competitive prices.

Customers can choose from various brands of jewellery, home, office and children furniture, kitchenware, fitness equipments, Lotus imported furniture, Videocon TVs, Reliance Big TV, Fridges, cutworks, decorative wall hangings and paintings, office and complete home furniture, range of home appliances and electronics, health and herbal products, artificial flowers, magnetic health care products with money back facilities if unsatisfied, frames, ladies fashion items, garments, ladies purses, men’s wear, kids wear, suits, foldable plastic tables, Korean ladies hand bags, doormats, toys, shoes, paintings, Punjabi Pulkaris, dress materials, Gujarat handicrafts, and lots of other indoor as well as outdoor lifestyle items.

There are wide range of imported garden furnitures for display.

The exhibition is open from 10.30 am to 9 pm till October 11.

UPCOMING eVeNtS Lok Adalat

PANJIM (HND): A Lok Adalat of claim petitions cases of South Goa district will be conducted by the District Legal Services Authority, South Goa, Margao on October 9 in the District & Sessions Court building, Margao from 10 am onwards.

Concerned parties whose cases are referred to the Lok Adalat are required to be present at 10 am sharp on the above mentioned date.

Desmond D’Costa, District Judge-2 and Addl Sessions Judge, South Goa, will be the presiding officer for the Lok Adalat duly assisted by the panel members of senior advocates.

Seminar on cochlear implant

PANJIM (HND): Sound Hearing Centre in association with Cochlear Limited, Australia will conduct workshops to create awareness and provide information regarding cochlear implants. The workshops are meant for hearing impaired patients or their relatives aiming to bring to them the latest developments in technology and how they can benefit from it.

The workshops will be held on October 9 at Hotel Jyothi Plaza, Isidorio Baptista Road, Pajifond, Margao, at 3.30 pm, and on October 10 at Hotel Orion, Nova Cidade Complex, Alto Porvorim, at 10.30 am. For any information and details, contact Shalini Malhotra (Audiologist and Speech Therapist) on 9822488466.

Sound Hearing Centre is the only permanent, specialty hearing healthcare clinic providing professional service in the field of audiology and speech pathology to the people of Goa for the past 7 years. It is the only centre in Goa who provide assessment, mapping and habilitation facilities for cochlear implants since 2005.

A cochlear implant is a surgical intervention indicated for patients who do not get adequate benefit from hearing aids.

It is especially helpful for congenitally hearing impaired children with severe to profound hearing loss. If implanted at an early age these children, with training, can develop near normal auditor, speech and language skills.

Dandia, Garba contests

VASCO (HR): Nivedam, New Vaddem-Vasco, a social, cultural and sports club, will organize its 3rd All Goa Dandia/Garba Dance competition on the occasion of Navratrotsav celebration (Dandia Blast-2010) at Vaddem Nagar Government High School ground, New Vaddem, from October 8 to 17.

The special attraction of the event will be the attendance of Bollywood film stars, Isha Koppikar and Aditya Pancholi, on October 17.

Revenue Minister Jose Philip D’Souza will inaugurate the competition on October 8. Mormugao Municipal Council Chairperson Shekhar Khadapkar and former MMC deputy chairperson Dhananjay Naik will also attend the function.

Addressing a press conference in Vasco, Nivedam President Rupesh Fatji, Vice President Sudesh Bhosle and former MMC deputy chairperson Dhananjay Naik said during the 10-day event, various troupes from the State will participate in the competition.

The winners will be awarded cash prize of Rs 16,000. The second, third and fourth prize winners will be awarded Rs 13,000, Rs 10,000 and Rs 6,000 respectively, besides trophies.

Prizes will also be given to the best couple and best male and female dancer. Fireworks display will be held every day, besides opportunity will be given to the people to dance on the floor.

For entries, interested participants (troupes) may contact Sarvesh Shirodkar (9923296911), Rajan Faldessai (9823994624), Jagdish Sawant (8805002542) and Deepak Naik (9822748079).

POweR ShUtDOwN OCTOBER 8 MORJIM: From 9 am to 2 pm. Areas affected are VP Morjim, VP Agarwada-Chopdem.

BAMBOLIM: From 9 am to 2 pm. Areas affected are Alto St Cruz, new/old Bambolim, Alto Bambolim, Palmar Colony, Rego Bagh, BSNL Staff Qtrs.

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GOA, FRIDAY, 8 OCTOBER, 2010

HC refuses to grant stay on civic polls HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, OCT 7

The Bombay High Court at Goa today refused to grant stay on the forthcoming municipal polls scheduled for October 31.

Residents of Fatorda had filed a petition in the High Court seeking directions to the director of municipal administration to hold elections to the Margao Municipal Council.

Hearing the petition the High Court refused to grant stay on the elections saying it cannot interfere with the democratic process.

However, the High Court issued notices to the government, the State Election commission and the other respondents, ask-

nThe High Court refused to grant stay on the elections saying it cannot interfere with the democratic process. However, the High Court issued notices to the government, the State Election commission and the other respondents, asking to file affidavits

by Monday. ing to file affidavits by Monday.

Arguing on behalf of the petitioner, Advocate Nigel D’costa said that the government did not follow any criteria while finalising the reservations.

The petitioners, L aurel Abranches, Cryodon Madeira and Succoro D’Souza called for a stay of the operation, implementation and execution of the order of the director of munic-

ipal administration on reservation of wards pending the hearing and final disposal of the petition.

The trio has prayed for an order of interim relief to restrain the DMA from proceeding with the elections to the Margao Municipal Council in furtherance of the order dated October 4.

Saying that the entire process

Garbage again being dumped along NH-4 at Priol

Garbage dumped along the highway at Priol-Mardol bypass.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT MARCEL, OCT 7

Dumping garbage has resumed along the NH-4 at Priol-Mardol, much to the annoayance of the local panchayat.

Heaps of waste is seen along the route, but authorities are unable to identify miscreants dumping waste along the route.

It may be recalled that a cou-

Tourism Day celebrations at Panjim

ple of months ago, the Priol-Veling Panchayat had filed po lice complaints against unknown persons for dumping waste.

However, the miscreants stopped dumping garbage for a while, but since the last few days, garbage is seen dumped along the route.

It seems that this particular

Photo by Amresh Parab

route has become an easy dumping ground for garage and other waste materials like construction and other household materials.

Even a truck load of mud was dumped next to the garbage dump, which was later used to cover up the dumped garbage.

The activity is going on since the last few days.

of notifying the elections and election programme of the Margao Municipal Council undertaken by the DMA is illegal, arbitrary and malafide, the petitioners said the order dated October 4 is illegal and contrary to the provisions of Section 11 of the Goa Municipalities Act, 1968.

They stated that the delay in notifying the election programme and issuing the order under Rule 4 is deliberate and done with malafide intention of abating certain politicians who are involved in manipulating the electoral rolls in order to have their chosen candidates elected to the Margao Municipal Council to control the civic body.

Aussie, NZ films at IFFI SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT PANJIM, OCT 7

‘Animal Kingdom’, ‘Samson and Delilah’, ‘Beneath Hil 60’, ‘Bran Nue Dae’ and ‘Mother Fish’ will screen at the 41st International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa next month. “We hope that Australia, through its cinema, will find a platform in India,” said IFF director and curator Shankar Mohan.

“It is thrilling to show our film to an audience that has such a strong connection to music, dance and cultural values in everyday life. I believe that India is the centre of the globe and can’t wait to screen our film in the home of the world’s leading force in dance and music filmmaking,” said ‘Bran Nue Dae’ producer Robyn Kershaw.

Kershaw, along with filmmakers Jeremy Sims, Bill Leimbach and David Michod have all been invited to introduce their films to the audiences. New Zealand films ‘Boy’ and ‘Home by Christmas’ have also been selected for IFFI.

MORE GOA NEWS ON PAGE 9

Potholes pose hazard to Mapusa road users

HERALD NEWS BUREAU PANJIM, OCT 7

The World Tourism Day celebrations were held at the Travel and Tourism Department of Don Bosco College in Panjim.

T TAG President Gaurish Dhond inaugurated the World Tourism Day at Don Bosco College. Dhond was the chief guest, while environmentalist Clinton Vaz was the guest of honour.

Don Bosco College Principal Dr Marie Raj, while speaking on the occasion, spoke on the growth of the college from a single stream to its present strength and of all its achievements.

A number of intercollegiate events were also organized on the occasion, which included a photography competition on ‘Creatures of the monsoons’, a quiz competition, elocution competition, collage competition and a Fashion show on the theme of the event ‘Tourism and Biodiversity’.

As many of six Management colleges participated, MES College, Rosary College, Navelim, IHM College, Xavier’s college, Saraswat College and Dempo College. Dempo College was adjudged overall winners.

The potholes on the main road between Nagoa, Parra and Mapusa.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT CALANGUTE, OCT 7

Potholes on the main road between Nagoa, Parra and Mapusa are posing a serious threat to life and property of the motorists and vehicles moving to and from Calangute-Mapusa.

The potholes get widen due to wear and tear of the road, posing even greater threat to the lives of two-wheeler riders.

On Tuesday, three two-wheelers skidded due to the potholes, but escaped with minor injuries.

Photo by Thomas Fernandes

A middle-aged rider was the first to sustain minor injuries, who was helped by the residents.

An elderly couple had a fall too, but escaped being hurt, while a girl was injured and was rushed to a nearby hospital.

Workshop for veterinary officers held HERALD CORRESPONDENT OLD GOA, OCT 7

Minister for Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services Ravi Naik on Wednesday inaugurated a two-day State level workshop for veterinary officers and progressive dairy farmers on ‘Nutritional Inter ventions for Sustainable Dairy Production in Goa’ at ICAR Research Complex, Old Goa. Goa State Cooperative Milk Producers Union Chairman Madhav Sakhari, ICAR Director Dr N P Singh, Animal Husbandry Director S V Naik and others were present at the workshop.

The workshop aims at deliberating various discussions on intensive fodder production for dairy farming in Goa. Besides, an open discussion among researchers, veterinary officers and progressive dairy farmers has been planned during the two-day Seminar.

Minister for Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services Ravi Naik inaugurates a two-day workshop at ICAR Seminar Hall at Old Goa. Photo by Kanzil Rodrigues

The seminar will also take a stock of the present feed and fodder in Goa and also devise the needed strategy to meet the challenges faced by milk producers in Goa, providing a road map for dairy farmers in the State.

Speaking at the function, Ravi Naik said: “Since population in the country have increased,

Goa’s population has also increased and has gone up from five lakhs to 15 lakhs, but at the same time, we are not able to do a better planning, which is needed for the betterment of the State in the field of water, power and roads.”

“Without doing proper planning for the next 25 years, we have kept on working. Therefore

in our State, there has to be a proper plan set up to increase milk production, increase in fodder and increase in nutrition,” he said.

“Therefore, there is a need of involvement of everyone connected with dair y farming through which milk production can be increased at the village level in the State,” added Naik.

ICAR Director NP Singh said: “Without dairy, science without animal sector in a country like India, agriculture will not be able to sustain although we are talking much about fertilizers.”

“If one looks at Goa, milk production is not sufficient to meet the demand of milk in the State,” added Singh.

“Goa being a tourist destination, there is a lot of demand for milk and milk products, but we were getting most of the milk products from neighbouring states, for which our money is going out to other states,” he said.

Inter-religious meet held at Rachol seminary HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, OCT 7

The Patriarchal Seminary of Rachol held an inter-religious prayer meeting on the occasion of on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.

This inter-faith meet assumes special significance this year, as the Seminary celebrates the 4th centenary of its establishment.

The theme chosen for the day’s reflections was: Union with God, Values in Life (Deva Sangatan, Totvam Jivitant) The Seminary Orchestra prepared the hearts of the participants with a bhajan, based on the Gayatri Mantra. Fr Donato Rodrigues, the acting-Rector, extended a warm welcome to all those present for the evening’s celebration.

The special invitees for the occasion were Venktesh Naik Gaonkar, representing the Hindu faith, Iqbal Mohiddin, representing the Islamic religion, and Anselm Pereira, representing the Catholics.

Reflecting on the message of the Bhagavad Gita, Gaonkar, who hails from Ponda and has worked as Assistant Commissioner of Transport, Government of Maharashtra, highlighted the need for human concurrence with the divine law.

Explaining the all-embracing nature of the Hindu philosophy, he stressed the need for inculcating values like kindness, tenderness, love and humility, which are essential for human well-being.

Speaking on behalf of the

Muslim community, Vasco-based businessman Mohiddin emphasized on the values of unity and peace and spoke ho w t h e world today gives more importance to materialism than lasting virtues.

Sharing his reflections in the light of the Beatitudes in the Holy Bible, an employee of the Goa Shipyard from Chinchinim Pereira, stressed how values enrich our day to day living and focused on the virtues of forgiveness and love, that are necessary for establishing lasting peace.

The service was well attended by the people of Rachol and the surrounding villages, as well as by students, from different communities and from the

nearby Colleges.

The meeting concluded with a pledge by the participants to live in peace, love and unity.

The meeting was compered

by Sem. Americo Rodrigues and co-ordinated by Sem. Dylon D’Costa.

The Auditorium bore an enchanting atmosphere, with flowers, posters and the typical rangoli.

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O HERALD O

Ideological dilemma in Mahatma land

Vol No CX No: 253 Goa, Friday 8 October, 2010

Fundamentalism and terrorism

C

ongress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi has triggered a huge political controversy by equating the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) with the banned terrorist outfit, the Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). “Both SIMI and the RSS are fanatical, and hold fundamentalist views,” he said at a press conference in Bhopal. When someone pointed out that the SIMI was a banned terrorist outfit, which was not the case with the RSS, Rahul said that this did not matter much for him.

Rahul is wrong. While the RSS, no doubt, is a fundamentalist organisation, SIMI has been classified as a terrorist organisation.

The two are not the same. Nowadays, ‘fundamentalism’ and ‘terrorism’ are terms that are widely used interchangeably.

But ‘fundamentalists’ were originally certain sects of Protestant Christians in the United States; people who believed that every word in the holy Bible was divine, and to be interpreted literally.

The term ‘terrorism’ became popular only after 9/11 in New York. Mumbai experienced massive bomb blasts in 1993, soon after the demolition of the Babri Masjid. But the perpetrators were then called extremists or militants. After 9/11, however, the media started to call it ‘cross-border terrorism’.

Devout or orthodox followers of any religion are not ‘fundamentalists’. These people are rarely a nuisance to society, and are mostly harmless. Fundamentalism constitutes the social and political use of religion, for a narrow, sectarian agenda. For example, ‘Hinduism’ is a religion, but the ‘Hindutva’ espoused by the RSS is actually a fundamentalist political philosophy that claims it is based on religion.

Terrorism, on the other hand, is the use or threat of violence to create fear. It happens when ardent believers in a religious and/or political ideology use force or violence to intimidate those who do not share their view. But even the UN has failed to evolve a comprehensive definition of the term because, all too often, one person’s terrorist is another’s freedom fighter.

For example, those who are freedom fighters for the Palestinians are ‘terrorists’ for the Israelis. Besides, all terrorists are not fundamentalists. Many Palestinian groups and the LTTE, for example, are nationalist.

‘Fundamentalism’ need not necessarily lead to ‘terrorism’, though regrettably it often does. This process starts when to impose their narrow sectarian beliefs on the people, fundamentalists resort to coercion. Extreme coercion almost invariably involves violence, as people do not accept such enforcement willingly.

Often, though, terrorists who claim to wage holy war – jihad or dharma yudh – have nothing to do with religious teachings. Can the Mumbai 26/11 attack or the New York 9/11 attack be considered acts of ‘Islamic terror’ when the Koran clearly lays down that killing any person without just cause amounts to killing the whole of humanity?

SIMI members have been repeatedly accused of planting bombs. The same cannot be said of RSS members. That is why, despite his accurate analysis that both are ‘fundamentalist’ outfits, Rahul’s equating the two is not correct.

But there is at least one Hindu terrorist outfit – Abhinav Bharat – which has been accused of engineering blasts in over half a dozen places. Closer to home, we have the Sanatan Sanstha, whose activists have been accused of exploding bombs in Thane and Margao. The RSS has not made any serious effort to differentiate itself from these organisations.

It hasn’t come out in condemnation of the accused in any of these bombings. On the contrary, top BJP leaders like L K Advani have actually spoken up in their support. In Goa, BJP leaders as well as their RSS counterparts continue to regularly hobnob with Sanatan Sanstha ‘seekers’ as part of the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS).

Clearly, it’s a very thin line that Rahul crossed.

Prevent airport accidents Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco After the recent spate of cases of bird hits at the Dabolim airport, now there has been a case of a passenger coach hitting the wing of Indigo Airlines plane. The consequences would have been disastrous if the aircraft was in motion. All this does not augur well for the state, as it has cast aspersions on the safety aspect at Dabolim Airport. This has come at a time when the tourism season has just commenced. Luckily, there were no casualties. The Goa Government should look into this matter seriously so that events of this nature do not occur in future.

Migrants rule Goa Manuel D’Costa, Raia Half of Goa has been invaded by Delhites and the remainder by so called migrants.

100 Years Ago

Can the High Court say who was born where on the basis of faith, asks YugAnK nAiK

S

ometimes the environment around you makes you uncomfortable and restless. Sleepless nights and restless mind; something was happening in this mighty nation. Security beefed up, bulk SMSs and e-mails banned and top political faces of country appealing for calm and peace.

India was witnessing an unusual calm and silence for a week. The Allahabad High Court was to give its verdict on the impending title suit of the 2.77-acre Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi disputed land. In Delhi, all eyeballs were on the heavily hyped Commonwealth Games. India was on the world stage. Poor management and money making brought a bad name to the Games. But all passed off well.

It was the 140th birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation. It was not the usual Gandhi Jayanti this year. We may have many complaints for him regarding the state of the nation. But I have two questions for the old man: (1) The Mahatma marched the length and breadth of this country and finally died saying: ‘He Ram’. I want to know which Ram he was referring to. The same, whose birth and birth place has to be proved in a court of law?

(2) Another question: this man crusaded for independent India, and opposed colonial ambitions and imperialist ideas his whole life. He marched across the country in khadi. But is he aware of the Queen’s baton rally in his country?

The Queen was the symbol of the world’s largest colonial empire…

On 30 September, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court gave a fragmented verdict.

The disputed land must be divided within three parties. One-third each to the All India Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhada and to Ramlalla Virajman.

We live in a Constitutional democracy, where the conduct of courts can be only debated in the parliament. But the verdict was surprising. This is a country of long religious epics, which sometimes dominate the character of the society and state. Finally, mythology overshadows history.

One of the comments made by Justice Dharam Veer Sharma would be debatable in a constitu-

8 October 1910 Military issues warning

The Spanish Military authorities warned the new Government of dire consequences should the members of the Royalty are harmed in any way.

President’s assurance

The new incumbent President Braga notified the potential nations about the establishment of the new provisional Republican regime and assured safety to the public.

War ships leave for Lisbon

Two Spanish War Cruisers and other foreign war vessels left their respective Ports on route to Lisbon.

British Envoy meets Prez

In a closed meeting with British Envoy, President Braga asserted his great respect towards Great Britain and said that he would strive to maintain the same fraternal politics followed by the Monarchy.

tional democracy: “The disputed building (mosque) was constructed by Babar against the tenants of Islam. Thus, it cannot have the character of mosque.”

A man called Mahatma Gandhi lived and died for the concept of ‘Ek Desh, Ek Pradhan, Ek Sanvidhan’ (one county, one leadership, one constitution). Courts in this country operate on the Indian Constitution. Every religion may have its own set of rules, laws and beliefs. Do the laws in the Hindu texts permit destruction of a mosque to build a temple? I would not ask this silly question if the court had not passed that comment.

I really do not know whether Lord Ram existed or not. But I do know that courts are meant to run on the basis of proof and evidence. We have cases in which hard core criminals have been acquitted because of lack of evidence. It’s very difficult to get a ration card or school admission without a valid document of existence. Can the High Court say who was born where on the basis of faith?

I would like to ask the Father of our Nation: Did he want his Ram’s birth or existence to be proved in a court of law? The ghost of Ayodhya is still alive, and such verdicts have kept it alive.

Whatever happened on 6 December 1992 was barbaric, and an act of extreme cruelty. It was politically motivated.

We have a word called ‘secular’ in the preamble of our Constitution, and that makes it one of our national policies. Therefore, all organs of the

T

ake any public place in Goa, be it a fish market, the bus terminus or the village ‘tinto’, one is bound to find the average urban ‘Goenkar’, verbalising in English, in the colloquial version. There is no denying the fact that we are comfortable, and in fact, take pride in speaking this particular foreign tongue. What the Portuguese failed to do in a couple of centuries, (ie, to impose their language on us), we have surpassed them and in a couple of decades, and have mastered this alien tongue, namely English.

In fact, I find it strange when I find myself conversing in English with my kids, who gurgle back delightedly – yeah, yeah, yeah.

Whatever happened to my dear mother tongue? Brought up and married into a family that communicates and takes pride in conversing in ‘Konkani’, I am in two minds, as to whether I should carry on with English tutoring, which is invariably heavily laced with a Konkani accent and more often than not, is adulterated with plenty of Konkani words. It is but natural that I find myself running short of English terminology and more often than not, I lapse into the original tongue. So what is it that compels me and propels me to take up a foreign tongue and introduce my child to the same, at such a tender age?

For one, my set of friends, colleagues as well as relations seem

Greedy talathies, mamlatdars and ministers have given them ration cards for money.

People of Sancoale have already accepted and elected a migrant lady sarpanch.

Soon outsiders and migrants will rule Goa, and thus Goans will be kicked out.

Communal antics Raj Antao, Kolkata BJP with the help of Sangh Parivar, Shiv Sena, etc., have created a total mess in the country. They have targeted Christians and Muslims by using the conversion issue in the case of the former and Babri Masjid and Gujarat riots as in the case of the latter.

This is to gain votes and be in power.

Most educated Hindus refuse to be part of a communal BJP. Communal politics is a detriment to our country. Out of the various communities prevalent in India, the Christians and Parsees are well respected and educated. They respect the law of the land.

The BJP and its allies should work towards providing Roti Kapda and Makaan and stop indulging in dirty politics.

Jerry Fernandes, Saligao The so-called ‘historic’ verdict of the Allahabad High Court on the Ayodhya issue sounds like a local Panchayat verdict, because the entire judgement has been made on popular ancient religious sentiments, beliefs and faith. This is not a genuine verdict, but some kind of match fixing in favour of Hindu fanatics. It has given them nothing but a permanent license to indulge in almost anything. These fanatics can now go on demolishing historical structures of other communities with impunity and yet come out winners. They have the Indian courts to protect them. Is this the secularism that we practice in our country? This surely rankles as Incredible India at its worst moments!

Unwanted publicity Cedrick Fernandes, Margao There has been a lot of hullabaloo going on, some of which is reflected in the local dailies and particularly by our CM, of the publicity being given to the ensuing Valpoi by-poll in general, and the forthcoming Municipal elections in particular.

state become custodians of it. But here, we have to form our own opinion after this verdict, that it doesn’t mean that it condones that barbaric act of 6 December.

It is true that the matter was actually regarding the title suit. But it is hard to accept this verdict after the deliberate and politically motivated destruction of a historical monument. For any thinking being, Ram is a part of our mythology. But Babar and Mir Banki are a part of our history.

And so is 6 December 1992…!

Another thing that disturbs me is the concept of the Commonwealth. Sorry, I am not talking about the Delhi Commonwealth Games and the much-talked-about corruption carnival. Every time I think about this concept, it looks more and more like a British imperial relic. The Commonwealth Nations Federation was earlier known as the British Empire, and the games were called the Empire Games. No doubt the Commonwealth Games are a big sporting extravaganza, but what does it mean for India?

It was 2 October, and the news struck that the Queen’s baton had reached Delhi. It was welcomed with a lot of ‘band baja’. Sportsmen and politicians were running with the torch, oblivious to what it represented. If this is Gandhi’s nation, do we even know who this Queen was? And what she meant to India?

After independence, India voluntarily remained a part of the Commonwealth federation. But the Father of Nation Mahatma Gandhi had a different

(A graduate in Political Science from Pune University, the writer is currently studying Mass Media at Dhempe College of Arts and Sciences, Panjim. This article first

Colloquially speaking

Aping the West

Whither verdict?

PRIMEIRO DIARIO NAS COLONIAS PORTUGEZAS

Young View

view. Gandhi always supported India’s membership, because India has to work with other weak nations. As India formed the Non-Alignment Movement and became a part of the UN, it stayed a part of the Commonwealth too. Sixty years of independence also means 60 years of being part of the Commonwealth.

What have we achieved? It is sad to see that we are part of the same imperial culture. It seems only the name ‘British Empire’ has been changed to ‘Commonwealth’, but the protocol remains the same.

If we are a democracy and a republic, why should we accept the age-old Queen of Britain as the head of the Commonwealth? She is not even elected! Why do we need Prince Charles to declare the games open? Why is the games baton called the Queen’s baton? Why do we spend crores of rupees to take the Queen’s baton across our country?

It will be unfair to say that we should not be a part of the Commonwealth. But we should claim our dues; our piece of the pie. It’s like the dialogue from the popular film ‘Raajneeti’: “Power hum tayar kare, aur button unke hath mein dein?” It’s India’s taxpayers’ money. We create state-of-theart infrastructure, a lavish games village, and who is this Prince Charles to declare the Games open?

We have a significant role in the Commonwealth.

India is one of the Commonwealth nations whose potential cannot be questioned. Why do we need Britain’s Queen to head it? Why is India not able to claim its due? It’s our country, our land, our money; shouldn’t we get to call the shots? Why do we need Queens and Princes from museums?

What kind of Mahatma’s land is this? His Ram from ‘He Ram’ has to be given a ‘birth certificate’ by the court of law. The relic of British colonialism and exploitation of India, the British Queen’s baton, is celebrated on the streets where the mascot of peace and independent nations should be roaming.

Would the Mahatma have said “He Ram” now?

to be obsessed with the ‘phoren’ tongue. I, for one, have already developed an inferiority complex of sorts and dread that my child may develop the same.

Such common sense prompts me to get him initiated in quickly blurting out a few common place conversational English phrases to tide over the situation. It’s English, English and more English everywhere. I often hear my neighbourhood kids playing, shouting and settling their squabbles by using this lingo. Even the errand boys swear in English. Gone are the days when mothers use to sing lullabies to their young ones in their mother tongue, (‘remember ‘needh mhoje bai…) Well, that’s history. Nowadays, we have sophisticated working mothers who speak and spawn English tones.

Why are we embarrassed with our very own tongue? English has an international standard, acceptance, recognition and the like. But, it would, indeed, be foolish on our part to give up our very own mother tongue to make place for a polished aunt and a superficial substitution to satisfy our false ego.

If we elders have such tainted looks and a step motherly attitude towards our language and culture, it would not be far off when we will have anything to claim as our own. Slowly and surely, this

By Smitha Bhandare Kamat

blind aping of the ‘West’, be it the tongue, the costume, the cuisine, the dance and what have you, have come to stay. I find myself in a short crop and trousers, as very convenient and handy as against a six yard sari and a bun.

And, then again, I find myself feeling guilty, for sacrificing my language and undoubtedly my culture, since they are all interlinked and cannot be isolated from one another. All these precious constituents of life are sacrificed at the altar of modernism, convenience and the drive to move with the times. It makes me wonder where we all would be heading – towards a uniform global culture, an unvarying westernized custom. Would homogeneity, in turn, create monotony?

Would we then take pride in the same, while the anthropologists and social scientists would do research on what was once our tongue, and our roots.

Future generations can blame mothers like me who were instrumental in introducing, seconding and backing such transformation. Of course, change is inevitable, but let’s retain, enhance and take pride in what is ours coz it is unique, it is exclusive and it is irreplaceable. Let every mother bring up her child to be a true Goan and more importantly, take pride in being one.

Letters to the Editor Letter of the Day

Spreading falsehood

John Fernandes, Margao

The letter ‘Church and Politics’ by M Souza (Herald, 29 Sept) is an attempt to spread falsehood. Fr Diogo Fernandes went to bless the office premises of one of the active parishioners, Franky Fernandes but did not take part in the political function nor got himself involved in any political activity.

A handful of frustrated individuals cannot digest Fr Diogo’s good work. A school building and other projects were carried out successfully during his tenure. The Archbishop is aware that misguided individuals are making attempts to tarnish his fair image.

This will only serve to bolster the resolve of Fr Diogo to work harder with vigour and enthusiasm.

Is Goa tranquil and at peace with itself?

The CM and the Home Minister beg to differ. In other spheres, rampant corruption reigns supreme whether across the countryside or Goa. Take the example of the Sonsoddo garbage treatment plant. Nothing has materialised in this regard except a pre bid meeting with consultants. This is nothing but unwanted publicity in the name of the forthcoming civic polls.

Where’s the complex?

Ayres Sequeira, Salvador do Mundo The village panchayat of Salvador do Mundo had put up a temporary structure in the Church property from where it functions since 1965 without paying any remuneration for its use. The govt. sanctioned Rs 1 crore to construct a panchayat complex. It was to house the Panchayat ghar, the Talathi’s office and a community hall attached to a playground.

The stone laying ceremony was held in 2008 amid much funfare in the presence of local dignitaries. Last September, as I was passing by the site, I noticed water logging on the open ground. But where is the Panchayat complex? In addition, government had also allotted Rs 30 lakhs for a Panchayat ghar. That too has not seen the light of the day.

Ban the RSS Col Cyril P D’Souza (Retd), Calangute This refers to the news report (Herald, 7 Oct) where Rahul Gandhi has equated the

RSS to SIMI, the terrorist outfit. He is absolutely right and should work towards banning the RSS and investigate its repeated anti national statements. This serves to polarise Indian society and fan communal passions. Riots and unnecessary bloodshed, as a result of this, often leads to suffering and affects the very sphere of our nation.

Some hardcore RSS leaders have been making irresponsible statements, of late, including those who hold public office, that Christianity must be weeded out of India.

L K Advani and Narendra Modi have fanned the flames of communalism with their dastardly acts, in the past.

Rahul Gandhi’s call for a total ban of the RSS would augur well for the country and its future.

Pre-historic dissemination Ian Watson, Calangute This refers to your report on the Digital Cyclone Warning Dissemination System (Herald, 6 Oct). It seems to be a case of updating a half-baked information dissemination system with a digital half-baked system. No disrespect to the IMO, though.

Why has the Goan Government declined to provide space for a system that could save properties, lives and the livelihood of its people?

Why the radio frequency problem was not easily solved? Why does it require round the clock monitoring? Surely, alerts can be broadcast to mobile phones, dedicated or otherwise, radio pagers etc.

Why is it assumed that the Panaji Police

Station is always manned by alert, awake personnel? Try giving them a call one night and gauge the available response. Why is space an issue, won’t a simple PC or laptop suffice?

On the face of it, this sounds like an excellent idea but the method of dissemination of the information between the IMO and government is pre-historic considering the technology available today. Warning the public is a further problem what with those who do not have radio or television access. A bit more thought would save lives, money and a lot of heartbreak.

CWG opening ceremony Dr Gladstone D’Costa, Dabolim The opening ceremony of the CWG 2010 has somewhat restored my confidence in the future of this nation. Firstly, it demonstrated that we are capable of producing results. Secondly, the alternate jeering and cheering showed the emergence of a young and discerning crowd.

If only we could find a way of translating these sentiments into the ballot box; but on second thought, we would probably end up totally bereft of politicians!

Empty stands at CWG Nelson Lopes, Chinchinim The empty stands at the CWG 2010 in various sporting disciplines are disgusting to television viewers and the media. This lack of interest demands thorough introspection.

Filling of the stands with free incentive to students is the best cosmetic treatment and a face saving device.

It is touted that the CWG is to provide a fillip and create permanent interests. Under the present atmosphere, it looks doubtful.

India is a country of a billion plus inhabitants and spectators must throng venues by showing keen interest in various sporting disciplines. In this manner, we can show the world as to why the CWG 2010 is hosted in Delhi.

Letters should be 150 words or less in length, and should have the writer’s name, address and telephone number. The editor reserves the right to edit letters for size and readability, and to delete any personal attacks or libellous /objectionable matter.

Paths of Wisdom

A Source of Hope

By Samir Khan “(O Prophet!): Proclaim to them the parable of the present life: it is like the vegetation of the earth which flourished luxuriantly when it mingled with the water that We sent down from the sky, but after that, the same vegetation turned into stubble which the winds blew about. Allah alone has the power over all things.

Wealth and children are an adornment of the life of the world. But the deeds of lasting righteousness are the best in the sight of your Lord in reward, and far better a source of hope. Bear in mind the Day when we shall set the mountains in motion and you will find the earth void and bare. On that Day We shall muster all men together, leaving none of them behind.”

(Al-Qur’an – 18:45-47) God grants life as well as death.

He enables people to rise as well as causes them to fall. He causes the blossoming of the spring, and also ordains that it will be followed by autumn. If someone happens to flourish and enjoy prosperity, he ought not to be deluded into believing that this state would necessarily last forever. It is God who has granted man all bounties and he will be instantly deprived of them the moment God so wills.

The ‘Day when we shall set the mountains in motion’ refers to the time when the present order of things will be disrupted. The earth will lose its gravitational pull and the mountains will float about as clouds. The same point has been made elsewhere in the Qur’an: ‘And you see the mountains and think that they are firmly fixed, but they shall pass by like clouds’ (Holy Qur’an - 27:88).

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

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

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Students protest against inefficient teacher, refuse to attend classes HERALD CORRESPONDENT CANACONA, OCT 7

When things don’t work in normal course, people are forced to raise their voices in a harsh manner to open eyes of the authorities concerned.

On Tuesday at Gowal-Khola,

IMA conference at Cidade HERALD CORRESPONDENT BICHOLIM, OCT 7

The Indian Medical Association (IMA), Bicholim branch, will organise annual state conference of Goa state IMA, ‘GIMACON 2010’ at Hotel Cidade de Goa Dona Paula on October 9 and 10.

Addressing a press conference here in the city, organising committee Chairman Dr Shekhar Salkar said they had earlier organised such a conference in 2003 and this is their second chance to host the event.

Chief Minister Digambar Kamat will inaugurate the conference on October 9 at 4.30 pm.

During the inaugural function, three senior IMA members, Dr Vishun Vaidya from Sanguem, Dr Santosh Usgaonkar from Ponda and Dr Digambar Naik form Mapusa, will be felicitated for their service to the community and also for their distinguished individual achievements in the medical field.

Besides, there will be a felicitation of the Chartered Accountant for IMA Goa, Satish Dhume and Raja Khedekar for making a prize winning float of the old GMC heritage building at the Republic day parade.

During the seminar, Oncosurgeon from Breach Candy Hospital Mumbai Dr Ramakant Deshpande will talk on ‘Evaluation of lung cancer therapy in India’, followed by highlights of the conference, a Satellite Symposium on liver transplant live with Dr Gagandeep Singh, Director John Wayne Institute Los Angeles USA. This symposium will be moderated by Dr Rahul Kakodkar, senior liver transplant surgeon.

On the second day, the conference will begin at 9 am with paper presentation by five eminent doctors from Goa, including Dr Shivanand Bandekar, Dr Pravin Bhat, Dr Wilfred D’Sa, Dr Jagdish Kakodkar and Dr Shailesh Kamat.

This will be followed by a lecture on ‘Robotic Surgery in India’ by Dr Shailesh Puntambekar, oncosurgeon from Pune.

Later, there will be a symposium on breast cancer by a panel of doctors, Director of Tata Memorial Centre Mumbai, Dr Rajan Badwe, Medical Oncologist Tata Memorial Hospital Mumbai Dr Sudeep Gupta and Radiotherapist from Tata Memorial Hospital Mumbai Dr Anusheel Munshi.

This symposium will be moderated by Oncologist from Pune Dr Shona Nag. To de-stress all the delegates, there will be a talk by Pandit Vijayshankar Mehta on ‘Leading a stress-free life the spiritual way’, followed by the annual general body meeting of Goa state IMA.

BioNeutral chief scientist to meet Vishwajeet HERALD BUSINESS DESK PANJIM, OCT 7

New Jersey (USA) based specialty chemical company BioNeutral Group announced on Monday that its chief scientist Dr Andrew Kielbania has been invited to meet Goa Minister of Health and Agriculture Vishwajeet Rane and other officials.

Apparently, the minister wants to explore how BioNeutral's specialty antimicrobial disinfectants, cleaners and toxic gas neutralisers can “improve the health and environment of Goa”, the company said.

“We believe that our innovative Ygiene antimicrobial products and our Ogiene cleaners and toxic gas eliminators will be well received by the Ministry. They can deliver significantly improve the healthcare of Goa. We should have very productive discussions,” said Kielbania.

BioNeutral has developed a technology platform that neutralises environmental contaminants, toxins and dangerous micro-organisms including bacteria, viruses, mould, fungi and spores. Company products Ygiene and Ogiene kill germs and clean surfaces with high speed and power. The company's antimicrobial products have already been approved for sale in Germany, the UK, France and Sweden, but are yet to be approved for sale in the United States.

31 students of a government primary school, backed by their parents, refused to enter their classes in protest against one of the two school teachers for his ignorance in teaching standard.

According to PTA Chairman Jorgo Zoranvkar, students have been complaining against the erratic and inefficient teacher and no one seems to pay any heed to their pleas.

“The situation has reached to such an extent that parents have to either send their wardens to tuitions, which is not affordable for them, and hence most of them are forced to seek educated neighbours help,” said Zoranvkar.

According to ADEI sources in Canacona, the particular teacher is responsible for teaching in Std I and -III, while another teacher does well with Std II to IV in GPS Gowal-Khola.

“There are no complaints against the other teacher, but one male teacher, which children complain of, also leaves the school early,” informed sources.

Canacona ADEI Sharda Dessai informed that the matter was resolved after PTA members, including Chairman Zoranvkar, also spoke with higher officers of Directorate of Education.

Dessai further informed that normalcy returned and students attended their classes on Wednesday and it has been agreed to take suitable action after the election code of conduct is lifted. “In the meantime, para-teacher will be deputed to the school,” added Dessai.

Para teachers are temporary teachers appointed by Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, informed ADEI Canacona.

Gold ornament found: PANJIM (HR): The Kaka Yuvak Sangh of St Estevam, which annually puts up the award winning ‘dekhavo’ of Lord Ganesh, has reported that it has found a gold ornament near the site of the display. Anybody who has lost a gold ornament may contact the Sangh President Ramanand Chodankar at Tonk vaddo, St Estevam, and claim the ornament. The Sangh has also announced the draw of its lucky draw. Details of the winning donation coupons were announced in the ‘Herald’ of 7 October on Page 5.

Appointments

Appointments WALK-IN INTERVIEW We are Goa’s leading Honda Two Wheeler Dealer with branches at Nuvem,Ponda,Vasco & Margao.We are on look out for smart, result oriented individuals for the below mentioned posts.

Sales Executive - Nuvem- (5 Nos) Candidate should be a Graduate having experience in Similar field.

Should possess a smart & pleasing personality along with good verbal & written communication skills. Should be Computer Literate.

Field Sales Executive- Nuvem -(5 Nos) Candidate should be Graduate having experience in Sales Field. Should possess a Smart & pleasing personality along with good verbal communication. Should possess a valid driving License.

Service Advisor-Nuvem & Vasco-(5 Nos)

Candidate should be a Graduate/ Dip in Automobile/ Mechanical Eng having experience in similar fields. Should possess a smart & pleasing personality along with good verbal & written communication skills. Should be Computer Literate.

Technician-Nuvem,Vasco-(5 Nos) Candidate should be ITI / Xth, having experience in repairing two-wheeler vehicles.

Cashier - Nuvem -(1 No) Candidate Should be BCom Graduate Knowing Tally package & having experience in handling cash.

Accounts Assistants-Nuvem-(1 No) Candidate Should be a BCom Graduate having knowledge of Tally Package.

Billing Clerk-Vasco-(1 No) Candidate should be Graduate having experience in Tally Accounting Package.

Salary will commensurate as per Qualification & Experience. PF & ESI as per rules.

Freshers may also apply as Trainee

Interested Candidates, Walk in for Interview with your Resume on Saturday,9th October 2010 at 10 a.m. at below mentioned Address

Goa Rajee Auto Pvt. Ltd Honda Exclusive Authorised Dealer 76/A Cupem, Nuvem Salcete Goa Phone No: 2791751 - 55

OHERALDO GOA, FRIDAY, 8 OCTOBER, 2010

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Interpol issues arrest warrant against five Pak nationals PTI NEW DELHI, OCT 7

International arrest warrants were issued by the Interpol against five Pakistani nationals including two serving Army Majors for their alleged role in Mumbai terror attack and plotting to carry out more strikes in this country.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the role of PakistaniAmerican LeT operative David Headley in India, had approached the court of Additional Sessions Judge, Delhi which issued a non-bailable warrant against the five Pakistanis.

The Interpol Red Corner Notice were issued against Illyas Kashmiri, Major Sameer Ali, Major Iqbal, Abdur Rehman Hashim

Rahman bags Indira award HERALD CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI, OCT 7

The 44-year old Oscar award winner Allah Rakha Rahman, who prepared and sang the Rs 5-crore Commonwealth Games theme song at the opening ceremony here on Sunday, has bagged the Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration, jointly with the Ramakrishna Mission Ashram of Narainpur in Chhattisgarh, for the year 2009.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi will be presenting the award to him as an individual and the Ashram as the institution on October 31, the martyrdom of Indira Gandhi, in the Teen Murti House Auditorium here. The award consists of a citation and cash of Rs 2.5 lakh to be presented to each winner.

alias “Pasha” and Sajid Majid alias Sajid Mir, a NIA official said on Thursday. The action followed a request from India.

India had already secured a Red Corner Notice against founder of terrorist outfit Lashker-e-Taiba(LeT) Hafeez Saeed, his close aide Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Mohammed Ramadhan Mohammed Siddiqui alias Abu Hamza.

The court issued the non-bailable warrant against the five after the NIA submitted interrogation report of Headley conducted by its official during the visit of its team to Chicago in June this year.

The names of these five were also included in several dossiers sent by India to Pakistan.

Headley helped NIA identify voices

of handlers giving instructions to the holed-up terrorists during the 60-hour carnage in Mumbai in November 2008.

The handlers included Abu Hamza, the man who carried out the attack on the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, and a key planner, instructor and handler.

He also identified Sajid Majid, a top LeT terrorist, who asked the terrorists in Chabad House to ensure that none of the Israelis were left alive.

Abdur Rehman retired in 2007 from the Pakistan army as a Major. He worked closely with Lashkar-e-Taiba and coordinated the activities of Headley. He was arrested in 2009 in Pakistan on unspecified charges and later released.

Eco-spiritualism marks celebrations of Fatima Cathedral feast at Belgaum HERALD CORRESPONDENT BELGAUM, OCT 7

Eco-spiritualism, a theme being promoted by Fr Eusebio Fernandes in his attempt to save nature and ecology marked the celebrations of the annual feast of the Cathedral at Belgaum, which is devoted to Our Lady of Fatima.

Priests and people from all over who had gathered in large numbers to take part in the Feast Mass recited the prayer dedicated for ‘Care of Creation’.

The statue of Our Lady of Fatima that arrived Belgaum on Thursday from Portugal via Goa was also received in the Cathedral in a procession. Belgaum Bishop Rev Dr Peter Machado presided over the feast mass.

The main attraction of the

feast was the prayer dedicated for the protection of ecology.

“Lord, when I look at the sky which you have made, the moon and the stars, which you set into place, the trees, the plants, the animals and the birds of the air, I think of you. Your greatness is seen in this entire beautiful world. In the story of creation, we know that at the end of the day, after completing your work, you found that all was good and beautiful. May we learn to admire, respect and protect this environment, the work of your hands. May we fight against the culture of death and promote a culture of life for humankind and your creatures of the sea, the air and land,” the devotees who had gathered in large num-

Mahasabha to move SC for total ownership of land PTI AYODHYA, OCT 7

Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha (ABHM), one of the parties to Ayodhya title suits, on Thursday said it would challenge the Allahabad High Court’s decision to split the disputed land into three parts and seek total ownership of the land to Nirmohi Akhara.

Mahasabha state President Kamlesh Tiwari told PTI that ABHM has decided to challenge the High Court’s order regarding

distribution of the land in three parts in the apex court.

AYODHYA ISSUE “The petition is most likely to be filed by the end of this month. We are taking legal advise on the issue,” he said.

“We will file an appeal in the apex court for complete ownership of the dispute land in Ayodhya to Nirmohi Akhara. The Mahasabha will also plead that

the Akhara should be given right to perform puja at the makeshift temple,” Tiwari said.

He said a delegation of ABHM met Mahant of Nirmohi Akhara Bhaskar Das this afternoon and had a detailed disussion with him.

“If required, we will file a joint appeal with the Akhara,” Tiwari said.

He claimed that since 1730 Akhara was performing puja in Ayodhya and it should get the right back.

Muslim body rejects reconciliation bid PTI NEW DELHI, OCT 7

A body of Muslim scholars and clerics from Delhi and Uttar Pradesh on Thursday rejected the verdict of the Allahabad High Court on the Ayodhya title suit or any reconciliation bid and demanded that the Centre clear its stand on the issue.

Led by Shahi Imam of the Delhi Jama Masjid Maulana Syed Ahmed Bukhari, nearly 40 scholars met here and passed a resolution in this regard.

“We reject the judgement of the Allahabad High Court and demand that the central government express its stand clearly with regards to this verdict. We also demand that the Congress party make its stand clear,” Bukhari told reporters.

He said they have written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh regarding the issue and sought time to meet him.

Priyanka voted most ‘kissable’ PTI NEW DELHI, OCT 7

‘Desi girl’ Priyanka Chopra has beaten off competition from fellow Bollywood beauties Aishwarya Rai and Kareena Kapoor to bag the title of the most kissable star.

The 28-year-old actress who became an instant pin-up with her turn in a gold bikini for ‘Dostana’ topped the survey conducted by men’s magazine ‘Fantasy’.

“It was a close run but Priyanka Chopra’s bee-stung lips made her a perfect candidate to top this list,” said the magazine about the winning candidate.

Aishwarya who is riding high with the success of Rajinikanth starrer ‘Robot’ came second while Kareena Kapoor grabbed the third spot.

Bollywood’s favourite Bengali beauty Bipasha Basu came fourth and Katrina Kaif rounded off the top five.

“Aisha” star Sonam Kapoor occupied the sixth spot and Mallika ‘Hiss’ Sherawat was the seventh entry on the list.

Deepika Padukone, Genelia D’Souza and Asin rounded off the top ten.

“We hold the Congress directly responsible for all the antiMasjid acts perpetrated right from the raking up of the Babri Masjid issue till this verdict. Congress party, on one hand, kept the Muslims under deception while, on the other hand, it helped communal forces,” Bukhari alleged.

To a question if representatives of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board were present

at the convention, Bukhari replied in the negative.

“Some AIMPLB members are involved in some back-door talking about some sort of negotiations. We did not invite them because we do not want to be part of any such talks.

What kind of compromise formula will they work out when Muslims will not settle for anything less than a Masjid at that site,” he said.

ber prayed.

Stating that Mary, the mother of creation was on a pilgrimage of the Diocese of Belgaum, Bishop Peter informed that the statue of Our Lady of Fatima would be taken out throughout the diocese which comprises districts in north Karnataka and Chandgad taluka in Kolhapur district.

This was for the first time that a priest is promoting ecology effectively combining it with religious celebrations.

Fr Eusebio Fernandes assisted by the parishioners had made adept arrangements for the feast. Rev Msgr Lucio Mascarenhas, Fr Freddy Raj and a large number of priests and nuns along with the devotees of Our Lady of Fatima were present.

Hidden language discovered in Northeast PTI ITANAGAR, OCT 7

A “hidden” language spoken by only about 1200 people has been discovered by researchers in a remote corner of Arunachal Pradesh, the home to diverse ethnic tribes and the cauldron of language diversity.

Koro, a Tibeto-Burman language on the verge of extinction, has been discovered recently in West Kameng district during a ‘National Geographic’ expedition for its ‘Enduring Voices’ project.

According to researchers, he Northeast is known as a hot spot of language diversity.

Confirming the existence of such a language, Director of Research Tage Tada told PTI, “Arunachal with diverse ethnic tribes has many languages still undiscovered. We are undertaking research works on linguafranca of different major tribes in the state...Since the language is spoken by a handful of people from Aka and Miji communities, we have not carried out any research work on Koro.”

Pak scuttles direct Haj flights from Srinagar HERALD CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI, OCT 7

Pakistan always tries to pamper the Kashmiris, but it has antagonised this time by depriving them of the direct Haj flights from Srinagar that they enjoyed past one decade.

It always used to be the Air India flights that flew the Haj pilgrims to Mecca and Medina from Srinagar, but it lost the bid this year to the Saudi Arabia airlines to ferry the pilgrims from across India. The Saudi airline, however, will not be able to pick up the pilgrims from Srinagar as Pakistan has denied it the overflight permission to land in the Jammu and Kashmir capital.

Sources here said Islamabad made it clear to the Saudi airline that it has no problem in allowing its air space to a friendly country but it cannot allow it used to land in Srinagar because of the disputed nature of the region.

The Kashmiris wanting to go for the annual pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia are in a quandary as the Haj travels are all set to start from Saturday and the J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s appeal to the Centre to help them yielded no result.

A total of 6,700 Muslims who registered themselves in the state for the Haj pilgrimage this year did not visualise the problem as they expected the CM to sort out the problem, using the kind of access and response he enjoys in Delhi. The state government sources say he did try and in fact made a specific request to the Prime Minister in his last meeting on Monday, but he has no influence over the Saudi airline that bagged the contract to ferry the pilgrims this year.

Since the Saudi airline has refused the government’s suggestion to make Delhi as a hopping station to fly to Sri-

nagar to pick up the pilgrims as uneconomical, the Civil Aviation Ministry is understood to have asked Air India if it

can coordinate their airlifting from Srinagar to help them take the Saudi Arabia flights from Delhi.

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India to soon achieve 9% GDP growth: FM PTI NEW YORK, OCT 7

India, the world's second fastest growing major economy, has called the global investor community to participate in the growth story saying the country was poised to expand by 9 per cent.

"In the short term it is reasonable to expect that the (Indian) economy will go back to the robust growth path of around 9 per cent average", he said addressing the seventh India Investment Forum meeting on Wednesday.

Recalling how the country managed to withstand the impact of global financial meltdown, which pulled down the economic growth to 6.7 per

cent in 2008-09 from 9 per cent in the preceding three years, Mukherjee told the global investors that "India presents an opportunity for investment that you cannot afford to miss."

India's economic growth rate was 7.4 per cent in 200910 and is expected to be over 8.5 per cent during the current fiscal. From over 9 per cent average for three years till 200708, growth slipped to 6.7 per cent in 2008-09 owing to the global economic crisis.

Pointing out that GDP was 8.8 per cent in the first quarter (April-June 2010), Mukherjee said, "There has been a revival in investment and private consumption demand, though the

IMF: India for greater say to developing PTI NEW YORK, OCT 7

India pitched for increasing the voting power of emerging economies in the International Monetary Fund by 5-6 per cent, which will give developing countries a greater say in how the 186-nation Fund is run.

"Quota reforms in IMF is one of our basic objectives... we want at least 5 to 6 per cent quota should be increased in IMF and emerging market economies of the world should have their shares," Mukherjee told PTI here on Wednesday.

In April this year, India wrested greater say in the affairs of World Bank when member nations approved a shift in voting rights. This saw India's voting rights increase to 2.91 per cent from 2.77 per cent making it the seventh largest member.

"This is one of the subjects that will emerge in the course

Tata Com ups cloud offering PTI MUMBAI, OCT 7

Tata Communications today expanded its cloud offering by launching two new more scalable, cost-effective and instant services--InstaCompute and InstaOffice--to help organisations further enhance their productivity and connectivity.

These offerings, coming from the company's managed services business, are on a selfservice, pay-as-you-use IT application and data centre infrastructure services, accessed through the Interne.

of my discussions with the authorities of the World Bank and IMF," he added.

Mukherjee will raise the matter at the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the WB, which kicks off in Washington on Thursday.

Once their voting powers are increased, developing nations would be able to influence how and where the funds are deployed, such as fighting poverty and fostering development.

The Brussels Declaration on more effective global economic governance, adopted at the conclusion of the eighth Asia-Europe Meeting, stated that IMF quota shares should be shifted to dynamic emerging markets and developing countries by at least five per cent from over-represented to under-represented countries.

Nokia launches C3 PTI KOCHI, OCT 7

recovery is yet to attain the pre-2008 momentum."

The International Monetary Fund has projected the Indian economy to grow by 9.7 per cent in 2010, driven by robust industrial production and macro-economic performance.

The Minister further said that Indian exports were recording "impressive growth" since November-December 2009 and seen a substantial pick up in corporate earnings and profit margins.

Besides improvement in capital flows and business sentiments, he said, "The manufacturing sector has been showing a buoyancy reminiscent of the pre-slowdown years."

USE, ICAI for currency derivatives PTI MUMBAI, OCT 7

Protectionist policies not acceptable: Pranab PTI NEW YORK, OCT 7

In a move to impart knowledge about financial markets, United Stock Exchange (USE) has signed an MoU with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).

As part of the MoU, the exchange plans to educate members of ICAI by organising seminars, workshops on financial markets and corporate governance, a press release issued here today stated.

ICAI would provide institutional support and facilitate interactions with its members wherein the exchange would impart relevant knowledge, it said.

USE's Managing Director and CEO, T S Narayanasami, said that "through this association, we hope to build knowledge about financial markets, especially sophisticated instruments like currency derivatives in India. I am sure both USE and ICAI would learn from each other and develop a very fruitful relationship."

Rejecting the 'protectionist policies' of the US, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said free flow of goods, services and capital would ease the global financial crisis.

"Protectionist policies are not acceptable," Mukherjee told PTI after landing in New York on Wednesday where he stopped for a day to address the India Investment Forum.

The minister is expected to take up the issue of protectionist measures by the US with top government officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

"We shall have to keep in view that if the world economy is to come out of the present crisis, then protectionism is not the answer," Mukherjee said.

Noting that the US protectionist policies could impact India’s software companies, the minister said that the financial crisis would ease if "uninterrupted flow of goods and services and capital are al-

lowed to take place".

Protectionist measures like Ohio state banning outsourcing of state IT contracts to companies in places like Bangalore had stirred a hornet's nest in India. The move was preceded by Washington's decision to hike fee for H-1B and L1 visas to fund a US border security fund. This had also invited strong criticism in India.

Indian software exporters fear both these measures would hit the USD 50 billion Indian IT industry which earn more than 50 per cent of its revenues from America.

However late last month, Republicans in the US Senate successfully blocked the passage of an anti-offshoring bill that would have denied tax breaks to US companies which move jobs overseas. The bill proposed a ban on government contractors from using American taxpayers' money to move jobs offshore.

Mukherjee said India would be speaking out against protectionism at the meeting of the Finance ministers of G20

countries in South Korea later this month.

"If there be no robust demand for exports from the developed countries then our exports may suffer...it may affect our trade balance in the course of time," he said.

Mukherjee's US visit follows a bilateral meeting between Foreign Minister S M Krishna and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last month, where India had voiced its concerns about the hike in visa fee, export controls and ban on government outsourcing.

Touching upon the Indian economy, the finance minister said it was still too early to say that the country has come out of the financial crisis. "After watching the status of growth in the second quarter and third quarter I will be in a position stay whether we are total out of it or not," he said.

Indian economy grew at 8.8 per cent during the first quarter of current fiscal. The government had projected a growth of over 8.5 per cent for the whole fiscal.

3 Indian women figure in Forbes' powerful PTI BOSTON, OCT 7

Three Indian women, including Pepsi Co's head Indra Nooyi, figure in the Forbes' 100 most powerful women in the world topped by US First Lady Michelle Obama.

Nooyi, the Chennai-born CEO of Pepsi Co, ranks 6th on the list.

The other Indian women giving her company on the list are Axis Bank's Chief Executive Shikha Sharma and ICICI Bank's Chanda Kocchar.

Sharma is ranked 89 while Kocchar comes in at the 92nd spot.

Sensex loses 228 pts PTI MUMBAI, OCT 7

The BSE benchmark Sensex dropped by 228 points today, the most in over one month, on brisk selling in IT and financial stocks.

The Bombay Stock Exchange’s 30-share barometer, which moved in a very narrow range for the most part of trade, ended at 20,315.32 points, down by 227.76 points, or 1.11 per cent.

The wide-based 50-share Nifty Index of the National Stock Exchange too shed 1.07 per cent to settle at 6,120.30 points.

Market started the day on a firm note and was moving in a narrow range till afternoon session but profit booking in the last hour of session dragged indices down and settled at near the day’s low level.

This year, Forbes has divided the 100 power women candidates into four groups of politics, business, media and lifestyle.

It ranked the women in each group, and then group against group.

Nooyi, Sharma and Kocchar have also been ranked separately under the 'business' category.

Nooyi is the second most powerful woman in the world in the field of business after Kraft Foods chief executive Irene Rosenfeld.

Out of the 39 women listed in the business category,

Aban Offshor, 899, 907, 867.05, 876.45 Abb Ltd., 923.75, 949.4, 915.55, 935.3 Abg Shipyard, 285, 290.05, 272.85, 278.95 Acc Limited, 1031, 1050, 1018.75, 1031.05 Adani Enterp, 662.5, 698.4, 662.5, 690.15 Aditya Birla, 886, 907.5, 867.05, 876.1 Allahabad Ba, 244.9, 245.9, 240.2, 240.85 Alstom Proje, 858, 875, 841.5, 845.7 Ambuja Cemen, 142.1, 144.6, 141.15, 141.85 Andhra Bank, 171, 172.8, 167.5, 168.25 Ashok Leylan, 77.4, 78.55, 74.5, 76 Asian Paints, 2705, 2748, 2670, 2700.65 Axis Bank Li, 1562.25, 1583, 1561, 1568.7 Bajaj Hindus, 135.9, 138, 131.2, 132.45 Bank Of Baro, 918.2, 933, 913.65, 920.6 Bank Of Indi, 575, 589, 568.6, 575.75 Beml Limited, 1190, 1208, 1133.15, 1152.4 Bharat Elect, 1870.05, 1928.4, 1865.95, 1874.8 Bharat Forge, 386, 386, 367.3, 370.25 Bharat Petro, 760.05, 776.2, 746, 752.95 Bharti Airte, 354.7, 360.5, 353.4, 354.85 Bhel, 2675, 2694, 2591, 2605.6 Bhushan Stee, 527.1, 534, 506.15, 511.7 Biocon Limit, 380, 412.5, 377.75, 401.65

Sharma's rank is 33 and Kocchar's is 35.

Nooyi, whose total annual compensation package last year was USD 10.6 million, nudged a USD 20 million slice of the company's USD 616-million-a-year ad budget away from traditional to social media spends.

Forbes said Pepsi's worldwide campaign, Pepsi Refresh, allocates USD 1.3 million each month for a US project, such as the recent "Do Good For the Gulf," which offers stipends to build a shelter for animals whose owners lost their homes to the oil spill and to

Bombay Dyein, 645.5, 664.8, 640, 645.55 Bosch Limite, 6225, 6298, 6163.3, 6198.6 Brigade Ente, 148.1, 151.85, 144.25, 145.6 Cairn India, 345.1, 345.9, 337.55, 339.7 Canara Bank, 642, 642, 620.25, 625.1 Central Bank, 201.45, 201.95, 196.25, 197.2 Century Text, 547.2, 552.4, 524.2, 527.6 Cesc Ltd, 411.5, 412.6, 396.05, 397.35 Chambal Fert, 76.4, 77.55, 73.6, 74.2 Chennai Petr, 265.95, 269.2, 255.05, 257.75 Cipla Ltd, 327, 332.95, 326.5, 331.15 Colgate Palm, 873, 880, 845, 850.05 Container Co, 1326.25, 1362, 1314.9, 1323.65 Crompton Gre, 332.1, 340.95, 328.6, 333.8 Cummins Indi, 738, 749, 730.5, 732.85 Dabur India, 108.1, 111.4, 108.1, 108.95 Deccan Chron, 135.45, 141.3, 134.55, 136 Dish Tv Indi, 56.85, 56.85, 54.6, 55.05 Divi’s Labor, 725, 735.7, 717, 718.8 Dlf Limited, 394, 395.1, 378.1, 381.35 Dr. reddy’s, 1526, 1574, 1526, 1553 Edelweiss Ca, 62.6, 62.6, 56.75, 59.25 Educomp Solu, 638, 648.8, 626.3, 633.6

provide mental health services and job training.

"Brands have to speak to millenniums; young people want to make a difference," Forbes quoted 54-year old Nooyi as saying.

Referring to Sharma, Forbes said with the first year of her three-year term as CEO of India's third-largest private bank behind her, "it's time look forward" for the 49 year old.

For Sharma, "much of the tough transitional work is over, including fighting the very public opposition to her getting the job from outgoing Axis chairman PJ Nayak."

Eih Limited, 138, 142, 136.55, 138.5 Engineers In, 355.1, 357.2, 348.15, 349.55 Essar Oil Lt, 145, 147.9, 138, 140.05 Essar Shippi, 118.65, 119.7, 113.55, 114.65 Exide Indust, 172.25, 176.6, 170.2, 171.45 Federal Bank, 425.5, 430.6, 416.35, 420 Financial Te, 1221.8, 1221.9, 1179, 1184.3 Gail (india), 491.1, 493.4, 481.65, 483.7 Gammon India, 215, 217.95, 210, 212.95 Glaxosmithkl, 2298, 2309.9, 2271.25, 2275.05 Glenmark Pha, 320.25, 321.5, 307.1, 313.7 Gmr Infrastr, 59.85, 61.2, 58.65, 58.95 Godrej Indus, 233.9, 235.9, 223, 225.75 Grasim Indus, 2357.95, 2370, 2332.25, 2344 Great Offsho, 392, 400, 386, 387.75 Gtl Infra.Lt, 45.8, 45.95, 45, 45.15 Gujarat Mine, 144.7, 146.05, 137.1, 139.75 Gujarat N R, 65.3, 65.8, 63.1, 63.6 Gujarat Stat, 118, 119.5, 115, 116.7 Gvk Pow. & I, 48.5, 48.5, 46.4, 46.8 Hcl Technolo, 434, 437.8, 427.4, 429.8 Hdfc Bank Lt, 2457, 2470, 2426.55, 2433.55

Hdfc Ltd, 749.9, 749.9, 722.25, 725.8 Hero Honda M, 1823, 1851, 1823, 1843.6 Hindalco in, 212, 217.3, 209, 211.8 Hindustan Co, 64.5, 66.3, 63, 63.6 Hindustan Ma, 76.45, 76.9, 74.5, 74.8 Hindustan Pe, 516.5, 526.35, 510.55, 514.4 Hindustan Un, 301.9, 307.9, 294.5, 296.35 Hindustan Zi, 1230, 1237.8, 1186, 1195.5 Housing Dev, 285, 291.2, 275.25, 279 Icici Bank L, 1149, 1151, 1131.9, 1137.6 Idea Cellula, 73.05, 74.6, 71.55, 72.15 Ifci Ltd, 68.2, 73.1, 68.1, 69.5 India Cement, 123.5, 124.4, 118.25, 120.1 India Infoli, 120.2, 129.65, 118.2, 124.3 Indiabulls F, 168, 180, 167.6, 170.95 Indiabulls R, 201.8, 201.8, 187.25, 190.4 Indian Bank, 309, 316.25, 308, 310.4 Indian Hotel, 103, 105.25, 101.55, 102.65 Indian Oil C, 421, 433.7, 418.25, 424.55 Indian Overs, 147.7, 150.6, 145.2, 148.1 Indus Dev Ba, 161.75, 162.8, 155, 155.9 Indusind Ban, 279, 280.4, 273, 278.4 Infosys Tech, 3089, 3097.5, 3042, 3053.45 Infra. dev., 212, 213.3, 203.3, 205.3

For some one who had never previously worked in a bank, Sharma is focusing on introducing a retail broking platform and the possibility of expanding internationally.

"Every job comes with its tough decisions, and this has not been any different," Sharma says, pointing specifically to "getting the right organisation structure in place" and "mapping the team to the best fit roles."

The upside is a net profit for Q1 2010-2011 of USD 160 million and for FY 2009-2010 of USD 542.5 million.

Kocchar, who is "the first Ispat Indust, 23.85, 24, 22.65, 22.85 Itc Ltd, 173.8, 174.4, 171.2, 171.9 Ivrcl Infras, 167.6, 169, 162.2, 162.55 Jai Corp Lim, 265.05, 274.35, 261.75, 264.4 Jaiprakash A, 138.5, 139.05, 134.2, 135.15 Jet Airways, 814, 839.9, 808.5, 820.5 Jindal Saw L, 217.35, 218.95, 212, 212.7 Jindal Steel, 751.55, 754, 731, 736 Jsw Steel Li, 1384.05, 1392, 1363, 1370.9 Kotak Mahind, 516.95, 523.2, 509.05, 512.8 Lakshmi Mach, 2440.4, 2535.05, 2440.4, 2482.15 Lanco Infrat, 71.25, 73.8, 70.4, 71.1 Larsen & Tou, 2080, 2080, 2026, 2036.75 Lic Housing, 1477, 1490.1, 1417, 1447.8 Lupin Limite, 414.75, 415.25, 405, 407.1 Mahanagar Te, 66.95, 68.45, 65.7, 66.1 Mahindra & M, 744.9, 747, 719, 725.45 Maruti Suzuk, 1519.05, 1524.4, 1485, 1490.1 Max India Lt, 175, 178, 168.3, 169.4 Maytas Infr., 220, 220, 211.5, 212.8 Moser-baer (, 71.95, 72.7, 69.8, 70.1

Nokia today announced the launch of the Nokia C3 in India, the first device to bring a full QWERTY keyboard to the world's most popular mobile phone platform- Series 40.

Nokia C3 allow users to view, post, comment, share locations and even update their status on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter straight from the homescreen, T S Sridhar, Regional General ManagerSouth, Nokia Inida, told reporters here.

The new device is preloaded with Ovi Mail and Ovi Chat for the first time users which will help them set up email and chat accounts stratight from the device without the need for a PC. Other features include a megapixel camera, rich colour screen and support for up to 8GB memory card.

It is available now in two colours -- golden white and

slate grey and soon in hot pink too. Nokia C3 will be available nationally starting with Nokia Pirority Stores at an MRP of Rs 7249.

BOARD MEETINGS REI Agro SRM Ener Cranes Soft K Sera Sera Murudeshwar Cer My Fair Lady Encore Soft Source: Indiainfoline.com

MF FUNDA BIRLA SUN LIFE MUTUAL FUND has filed offer document with SEBI to launch Birla Sun Life Gold ETF, an open ended gold exchange traded fund.

Each unit of Birla Sun Life Gold ETF shall be issued at a premium equivalent to the difference between the allotment price and the face value of Rs 10 each. Each unit is approximately equal to one gram of gold.

Minimum application amount: Minimum of Rs 6,000 and in multiples of Rs 2,000 thereafter per application.

Minimum target amount: Rs 100 million Benchmark: Domestic price of physical gold Fund Manager: Satyabrata Mohanty TAURUS MUTUAL FUND has announced the revision of exit load structure for Taurus Nifty Index Fund and Taurus Bonanza Fund with effect from October 8, 2010.

Accordingly, the exit load charge for Taurus Nifty Index Fund which was 1% if redeemed / switched out within 15 days from date of allotment and nil after 15 days has been revised to Nil load under both Lump sum Investment Plan and Systematic Investment Plan.

Similarly, Taurus Bonanza Fund exit load has also been revised to Nil compared to existing 1.00% if exited before 1 year and Nil after 1 year.

Taurus Nifty Index Fund is an open ended index linked equity scheme with an investment objective of the scheme to replicate the S&P CNX Nifty Index by investing in securities of the CNX Nifty Index in the same proportion / weightage.

IDFC MUTUAL FUND has filed an offer document with SEBI to launch IDFC Small Cap Equity Fund, an open ended equity fund.

The NFO price is Rs 10 per unit.

Investment options: Growth and dividend. Dividend reinvestment option is also available.

Minimum application amount: Rs 5000 per application and in multiple of Re. 1 thereafter.

Minimum target amount: Rs 10 million.

Exit load: 1% if redeemed within 365 days from the date of allotment/investment.

Investments in derivatives - upto 50% of net assets.

Investments in securities lending - upto 35% of the net assets of the Scheme Investments in foreign debt instruments - up to 35% of the net assets of the Scheme Investments in foreign securities- upto 50% of the net assets of the scheme.

Benchmark: BSE Small Cap index Fund manager: Kenneth Andrade.

CANARA ROBECO MUTUAL FUND has filed offer document with SEBI to launch Canara Suraksha Fund-Series 1, a close ended Capital Protection Oriented Fund. The NFO price is Rs 10 per unit.

Investment options: Growth and dividend (payout).

Minimum application amount: Rs 5000 and multiples of Re 1 thereafter.

Minimum target amount: Rs 10 million for each plan.

Benchmark: Crisil MIP Blended Fund Index Fund managers: Ritesh Jain and Anand Shah.

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Tata Power C, 1403.25, 1465, 1395, 1438.25 Tata Steel L, 680, 682, 647.1, 649.7 Tata Teleser, 23.35, 23.95, 23.1, 23.2 Tech Mahindr, 780, 787.9, 758.7, 763.9 The Ge Shpg., 335.5, 337.5, 321.35, 323.4 The Phoenix, 255.05, 262.95, 251, 253.2 Thermax Ltd, 796.5, 838.4, 796.5, 824.15 Titan Indust, 3425.1, 3457.95, 3345, 3365.05 Torrent Powe, 332, 335.5, 329, 330.8 Triveni Engg, 125.35, 126.5, 119.2, 122.25 Tv18 India L, 94.95, 94.95, 91.5, 92.2 Uco Bank, 128.45, 128.7, 123.1, 123.95 Ultratech Ce, 1104.45, 1137, 1095.55, 1105.1 Union Bank O, 404, 405.95, 390, 393.7 Unitech Ltd, 97, 98.4, 92.5, 93.95 United Phosp, 188.8, 189.55, 182, 183 Videocon Ind, 291.8, 292.45, 280, 280.9 Vijaya Bank, 90.35, 92.2, 89, 89.9 Voltas Ltd, 244, 257.4, 238.95, 241.15 Wipro Ltd, 465, 466, 456.4, 457.7 Yes Bank Lim, 354, 354, 343.15, 344.8 Zee Entertai, 305, 305, 285, 294.6

OHERALDO

Pg13

GOA, FRIDAY, 8 OCTOBER, 2010

Kashmir should be resolved

by India, Pak bilaterally: US PTI WASHINGTON, OCT 7

As President Barack Obama prepares to visit India next month, the US has hoped that India and Pakistan can address and resolve the “important” Kashmir issue bilaterally.

“This is an issue that we hope that the two sides can address and resolve, but this is obviously an important bilateral issue between the two governments,” State Department spokesman P J Crowley told reporters at his daily news briefing.

“This is an issue between Pakistan and India. It is important.

There have been successful discussions between Pakistan and India on this subject in recent years,” he said.

“Some of those very fruitful discussions occurred between the former governments of India and Pakistan,” as he referred to the back channel talks between New Delhi and Islamabad when the two countries, according to media reports, were on the verge of arriving at a negotiated settlement which could not take place due to the fall of the

Musharraf regime.

The Obama administration has been maintaining that the Kashmir issue has to be resolved

by India and Pakistan and that it does not intend to interfere.

President Obama is slated to undertake the “landmark” visit to India in the first week of November during which he is expected to travel to Mumbai and New Delhi, where he will hold talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other Indian leaders on further upgrading Indo-US strategic ties.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the United Nations was willing to use its “good offices” in resolving the Kashmir issue if both India and Pakistan sought the assistance of the world body.

“As far as this role of good offices is concerned, the United Nations normally takes that initiative when requested by both parties concerned,” Ban told journalists during his monthly briefing at the UN Headquarters.

“India and Pakistan, they are neighbouring countries, impor-

tant nations in that region peace and security would have important implications,” the UN chief said.

Kashmir Valley has been in grip of violent protests since June.

“I regret the latest loss of life.

I have been calling for an immediate end to violence and urge calm and restraint by all concerned,” Ban said. “That is the position of the United Nations at this time.”

While India maintains that Kashmir is an internal matter, Pakistan asserts that it is on the UN docket and has been calling for international intervention especially from the United States.

Last week, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna told the UN that Pakistan was sponsoring terrorism in Kashmir, and this later led to a strong exchange of words between the diplomats.

“Jammu and Kashmir, which is an integral part of India, is the target of Pakistan-sponsored militancy and terrorism,” Krishna had said.

Ozawa to stay in ruling party REUTERS TOKYO, OCT 7

Japanese powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa, facing charges over a funding scandal, said today he will stay in the ruling party, clouding government efforts to reach policy deals with opposition parties in a divided parliament.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan is struggling with a wide range of challenges including not only how to deal with Ozawa but also a weak economy threatened by a rising yen and strained ties with China.

“I would like to clarify the facts there (in court) and want to do my best to reach a conclusion showing that there has been no wrongdoing,’’ Ozawa told reporters.

“I will simply continue political activities so long as I am needed.’’

A judicial panel ruled on Monday that Ozawa, who leads the largest bloc in the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), must be charged over a funding scandal, clouding his chances of making another grab at power after having just lost a party leadership vote to Kan last month.

US, Afghan negotiating peace deal with Haqqanis: report PTI LONDON, OCT 7

The US and Hamid Karzai-led Afghan government are negotiating a peace deal with the dreaded ‘Haqqani network’, a group of militants who are more powerful than the Taliban insurgents led by Mullah Omar, a media report said today.

Afghanistan government held direct talks with senior members of the Haqqani clan, a close al-Qaeda ally over the summer, the Guardian reported today quoting well-placed Pakistani and Arab sources.

The US contacts have been indirect, through a western intermediary, but have continued for more than a year.

The Afghan and US talks were described as extremely tentative. The Haqqani network has a reputation for ruthlessness, even by the standards of the Afghan insurgency, and has the closest ties with al-Qaeda.

But Washington and Kabul have come to the conclusion that they cannot be excluded if an enduring peace settlement is to be reached.

According to the report, a senior western official said the US

n Afghanistan government held direct talks with senior members of the Haqqani clan, a close al-Qaeda ally over the summer, the Guardian reported today quoting wellplaced Pakistani and Arab sources. now considers the Haqqani network to be more powerful than the Quetta Shura, the 15-man leadership council headed by the Taliban’s leader, Mullah Omar.

“The Quetta Shura is still important but not as much as people thought two years ago. Its prestige and impact have waned, and they are increasingly less important on the battlefield. Now the military threat comes from the Haqqanis,” the official said.

The twin poles of the insurgency are located at least 400 km apart along the Durand Line, the lawless Pakistani border.

The Haqqanis, who come from Khost in Afghanistan, are anchored in the Pakistani tribal area of North Waziristan.

The Washington Post reported yesterday that there had been top-level contacts between Kabul and Quetta Shura, but not

the Haqqani network.

Kabul and the Haqqanis have also denied any contacts. The CIA chief, Leon Panetta, said in June that he did not believe the group had any real desire for reconciliation.However, the contacts were confirmed to the newspaper by western, Arab and Pakistani official sources, who all said the Haqqanis sense that a negotiated settlement is the most likely outcome of the conflict, which enters its 10th year today, and are anxious not to be excluded.

Speaking of Sirajuddin Haqqani, who has taken over militar y leadership of the Haqqani group from his ailing father, Jalaluddin, a diplomat involved in the discussions said: “The ice has broken. He realises he could be a nobody if he doesn’t enter the process.”

Fonseka loses parliamentary seat PTI COLOMBO, OCT 7

Firefighter try to extinguish burning oil tankers carrying fuel for NATO forces in Afghanistan after suspected Islamic militants attacked tanker trucks in Nowshera, in the militancy-hit Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan, on Thursday. Firefighters in north-western Pakistan were trying to extinguish a fire that engulfed 54 trucks carrying supplies for NATO troops in Afghanistan after the latest suspected militant attack on supply convoys, police said. The raid took place in Nowshera district in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province late Wednesday. The trucks were waiting for the reopening of the Torkham border crossing, which was closed a week ago after NATO helicopters attacked a Pakistani post along the Afghan frontier.

FROM PAGE 1 bus stand.

K’taka rebels in Goa jimAKTC Mumbai tabloid – Mumbai Mirror had quoted doing inside the hotel”, Parrikar asked and accused the government for playing a dubious role in the episode. “You can call the episode as coercion, abduction, threats etc”, he added.

Police officials defended the huge presence of police personnel at the hotel by saying that the force is deployed to ward off any ugly situation.

Gaonkar told Parrikar that there were only 10 policemen at the hotel initially, but additional reinforcements were sought after BJP workers started pouring in at the entrance gate.

Local BJP leaders, including MP Sripad Naik, former MLA Rajendra Arlekar along with other party workers came in strength and were found shouting slogans in favour of the party.

Earlier around noon, the dissident MLAs were flown into the state and were straight away led to Taj Exotica, where they were huddled with Congress leaders Public Works Department Minister Churchill Alemao, Power Minister Alexio Sequeira and Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) General Secretary Vijay Sardessai. Besides the police force, a large number of supporters of these Congress leaders were also seen inside the hotel.

This evening, Churchill told waiting newsmen that he had come to meet his close friend Prabhakar Kore and BJP MLA Nasnodkar at the Taj Exotica, adding that he has nothing to say on the BJP MLA’s presence in the state.

Meanwhile, taking no chances, the police has brought in more reinforcements and has strengthened security in and around the hotel in anticipation of political activity on Friday.

Ravi pooh-poohs tabloid in Goa who were planning to trigger explosions at religious places in Mumbai.

Addressing a press conference at the police headquarters today evening, police spokesperson SP (Special branch) Atmaram Deshpande said that Panjim police control room (PCR) only intimated Mumbai PCR about two suspicious people at Pan-

the officer as saying that Goa Police had passed on the information to Mumbai railway police that two terrorists – Kalimuddin Khan alias Rameshwar Pandit and Hafij Sarif were spotted in Goa and that one of them boarded a train to Mumbai on Tuesday.

“The unknown caller told the Panjim PCR that he overheard two people speaking in Hindi that ‘Tum apna kam karke Mumbai aa jao. Dadar mein milenge’ (After finishing your work, come to Mumbai. Let’s meet in Dadar) and one of them passed a longish object to another. After that both split and disappeared,” he said.

The call to the Panjim PCR was made at about 7:30pm after which the same information was verbally shared with Mumbai PCR. “Since it was a matter relating to Mumbai, we promptly conveyed the inputs to Mumbai PCR. The caller, however, could not identify the duo but only that one of them had worn a red shirt,” the officer added.

On tracing the number, Goa police found out that the call was made from a coin-box telephone at Porvorim super-market. The caller is untraceable. Deshpande reiterated that it did not inform Mumbai police that one of the two terrorists had boarded the train to Mumbai and was supposed to get down at Dadar railway platform on Tuesday.

Although the tabloid claimed that the letter was received by Mumbai police on Tuesday, Deshpande stated that the incident happened only on Wednesday at 7:30pm. “It was general information. We had sent our PCR van to bus stand and Porvorim but nobody was found,” he said.

The officer further ruled out that there was any specific input on terror alert in Goa. “Possibility cannot be ruled out. But as of now there is no specific information…we have maintained general alert,” he said.

The tabloid also quoted Mumbai additional director general of police (railway) Raj Khilani confirming an alert was received about the two terrorists. Deshpande clarified that he was misquoted.

Sri Lanka’s former army chief Sarath Fonseka’s brief stint as an MP has come to a sudden end in the wake of his 30-month imprisonment for corruption in defence deals, amid reports that the President may consider pardoning him if a plea is made personally by him or a family member.

Sri Lankan Parliamentary Secretary General Dhammika Kithulgoda today informed Election Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayaka that the parliamentary seat of 59-year-old Fonseka, who leads the opposition Democratic National Alliance (DNA), has fallen vacant.

Authorities have requested the EC to nominate a person for the seat in Fonseka’s place.

Fonseka is serving a 30-month jail term imposed by a court martial after the ruling was approved by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his capacity as the commander in chief of the armed forces of Sri Lanka. He was sent to jail on Thursday last for corruption in defence deals during his tenure as the army chief.

The Sri Lankan Parliamentary

system allows the candidate securing the second highest votes to succeed the elected member of the respective constituency in the event of the incumbent’s demise or disqualification.

An ordinance in this regard also clearly states that if a member is jailed he loses his seat immediately, sources told PTI. Fonseka had contested the April 8 general elections from the Colombo district constituency.

The Daily Mirror newspaper, meanwhile, reported that Rajapaksa has said he would only consider a plea to release Fonseka if it is made by the former army chief himself or a member of his family.

The President said there was a laid down procedure for the granting of pardon and that had to be followed, it reported.

Rajapaksa said he would not consider any “politically motivated” plea for Fonseka’s release.

Reacting to the move to disqualify Fonseka from his parliamentary seat, DNA General Secretary Vijetha Herath told PTI that the alliance will challenge the decision.

He said the opposition alliance

UK Nobel prize winners flay immigration cap PTI LONDON, OCT 7

Eight Nobel prize-winning British scientists have warned the David Cameron Government’s decision to impose an annual limit on professionals from India and other non-EU nations will deprive Britain of science and industry of talent.

Two Manchester-based Russian-born scientists Professor Andre Geim and Professor Konstantin Novoselov, today joined six other Nobel prize winning British scientists to criticize the restrictive immigration measure that imposes a limit on universities and companies.

Besides Geim and Novoselov, another foreign-born scientist based in Britain to win the Nobel prize was Tamil Nadu-born Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, who won the prize for Chemistry in 2009.

He is based at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge. In a letter to The Times, the eight scientists said the new immigration restrictions imposed by the Cameron government would deprive science and industry of talent.

They said it was a “sad reflection” that scientists and engineers could not be afforded the same exception to the rules as Premier League footballers.

Several universities are struggling to recruit academics from

outside the European Union because under the new restrictions, they have been given a small number of quota.

Chris Marlin, pro vice-chancellor at the University of Sussex, said: “We have had more than 20 years of research assessment with the aim of building up the performance of the UK and making it internationally competitive, which then attracts the best people from overseas.

Now we have immigration rules putting universities in a situation that may choke this off.”

Professor Marlin said that if the low limits continued under the permanent cap, it would “change the way UK universities operate”.

Imposing an annual limit on non-EU migrants was one of the key items on the coalition government’s agenda.

The government introduced the controversial cap of 24,100 non-EU migrants until April 2011, by when a permanent limit will be imposed.

In the letter, the academics wrote: “The government has seen fit to introduce an exception to the rules for Premier League footballers.

It is a sad reflection of our priorities as a nation if we cannot afford the same recognition for elite scientists and engineers.”

They added: “International collaborations underlie 40 per cent of the UK’s scientific output, but would become far more difficult if we were to constrict our borders.

The UK produces nearly 10 per cent of the world’s scientific output with only 1 per cent of its population; we punch above our weight because we can engage with excellence wherever it occurs.

The UK must not isolate itself from the increasingly globalised world of research - British science depends on it.”

Besides Geim and Novoselov, other signatories to the letter are Sir Paul Nurse, Sir Tim Hunt, Sir Martin Evans, Sir Harry Kroto, Sir John Walker and Sir John Sulston.

The annual cap has come under considerable criticism from inside and outside the government, including by key ministers such as Vince Cable (Business) and Chris Huhne (Environment).

The Confederation of British Industry and university vicechancellors are among many who have urged the government to reconsider the restrictive measure.

Downing Street said the limit would be implemented in a way that still allowed the brightest and best to come to Britain.

Poor healthcare may shorten American lives, says study REUTERS WASHINGTON, OCT 7

Americans die sooner than citizens of a dozen other developed nations and the usual suspects — obesity, traffic accidents and a high murder rate — are not to blame, researchers reported today.

Instead, poor healthcare may be to blame, the team at Columbia University in New York reported.

They found that 15-year survival rates for men and women aged 45 to 65 have fallen in the United States relative to the other 12 countries over the past 30 years.

Such figures are frequently cited by supporters of healthcare

reform, and critics often point out that the United States also has higher rates of obesity, more traffic fatalities and more murders than these countries.

Columbia’s Peter Muennig, who led the study published in the journal Health Affairs, said his team accounted for these factors this time.

“But what really surprised us was that all of the usual suspects — smoking, obesity, traffic accidents, and homicides — are not the culprits,’’ Meunnig said in a statement.

“The US doesn’t stand out as doing any worse in these areas than any of the other countries we studied, leading us to believe

that failings in the US health care system, such as costly specialized and fragmented care, are likely playing a large role in this relatively poor performance on improvements in life expectancy.’’

In June, the Commonwealth Fund, which advocates on and does research focusing on healthcare reform, reported that Americans spend twice as much on healthcare as residents of other developed countries — USD7,290 per person — but get lower quality and less efficiency.

Muennig and Sherry Glied compared the United States to Australia, Austria, Belgium, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland.

will send a letter to both the Election Commission and the Parliamentary Secretary General as they have no right to disqualify him. “ We will also approach Supreme Court in this regard shortly,” he said.

On reports that President Rajapaksa might consider a request for pardon by Fonseka or his close relatives, Herath said will not make such a plea.

Meanwhile, Mass Media and Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said that had Fonseka’s wife Anoma wanted, she could have taken the appropriate measures for getting him released.

He noted that former President Chandrika Kumaratunga had pleaded on many occasions for the release of her husband Vijaya Kumaratunga when he was taken into custody by the J R Jayawardena regime on charges of being involved with the Naxalites.

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Friday, 8 Oct, 2010

Parenting

Pg14

Rangeelo maro dholna…

Dance to the Beats of the Dandiya There is an exclusive magic in the air during the nine nights of ‘Navratri’ which, apart from the religious flavour, are also synonymous with fun, frolic and romance indeed. As various communities gear up for the magic from tonight onwards, Herald strikes the sticks to get behind the beat

BY CHRISTINA VIEGAS HERALD FEATURES unique form of dance that stands out from other forms is the ‘dandiya’.

Reason: large number of dancers involved, their colourful traditional outfits, the multi hued ‘dandiya’ bamboo sticks and the scope that this dance offers with regard to creativity, innovation and improvisation. No wonder then, that from the tiny tribal pockets of ancient India, it has traversed every corner of the country and even to many places abroad.

Conversing with people in Goa, who religiously flock to participate in this dance form every night, it is enlightening to learn that the saga of ‘dandiya’ has successfully risen above the bounds of all human devices of religion, nationality and sects. Today, it is an eagerly awaited occasion for the coming together of not just the Gujaratis but other communities as well.

In a euphoric mood, the youngsters delightfully elucidate, “It is such a popular dance form, we long for these nine nights when we just chill out. It is an occasion to have fun and socialise.”

With an air of mischief, they add, “Perhaps, this is the only time of the year when we get permission from our parents to stay out late.”

During these mystical nine nights, there is a surreal feel that envelopes one and all. No wonder, it also happens to be an exciting time of romance as young men dart messages with their eyes to the young maidens who are not as coy as the maidens of yore and manage to reciprocate quite efficiently. There have also been instances of youngsters finding their life partners during these nights.

There is laughter galore as a couple of young girls pipe in, “This happens to be an occasion when boys get courage in approach-

A

ing the girls who they get attracted to as they are not alone; they hover around with their other male friends who act like Cupids.”

Interestingly an aged lady enlightens, “The rhythmic striking of the sticks has a symbolic meaning in our Gujarati culture. The movement of the sticks represents the harvesters using their sickles in the fields. But unfortunately, many youngsters are unaware of this.”

Other elderly folk enlighten, “In the olden days, ‘dandiya raas’ was mainly performed to the beat of the ‘dhol’ and singing entered the scene only much later and they revolved around Lord Krishna. But today, with the entry of Bollywood remixes, the dance is performed to these pre-recorded Hindi songs.”

There is the occasional lament about commercialisation too. Some of the older generation Gujaratis are aghast that the music and other aspects connected to

thentici t y. T h e c a l l o u s commercialisation that promotes it as a socialising occasion has sounded a death knell to the art form.

There are those that also decry the influx of communities mingling with the Gujarati community saying that the dance form is losing its originality and purpose which initially was religious in nature. There are others who counter this saying that the intermingling of communities is welcome but the religious importance should not be sidelined or overlooked where ‘dandiya’ is being touted only as a community gathering.

Many even whine about the increasing instances of misbehaviour by youngsters and even adults, thereby marring the reputation of ‘dandiya’ being religio-cultural tradition.

Yes, there are the bouquets as well as the brick-bats. Intense emotions do the rounds, whether they are joy, romance or anger. But one look at the revelers and it is clearly evident that this one tradition that is celebrated to the fullest with immense gusto. A nine nights’ occasion which will leave indelible memories!

Creative Ties – Like Mother Like Son

Meet Keshto Mukherjee of the Konkani Stage “I had a dream, a song to sing; I would be a tiatrist and parody life’s lines; I would fulfill my dream; Come what may…” These lines, a modified version of the popular ABBA song, are synonymous with Sheikh Amir’s dream of becoming a tiatrist. Herald catches up with this talented artiste who made this dream a reality against all odds

BY ELVIS SEQUEIRA HERALD FEATURES

‘Vatt Chuklim’. He was introduced to the director by his good friend, Bab John F, who requested reams come true for those Premanand Sangodkar to give Amir an opporwith a determination to tunity to sing. Amir’s very first performance make them come true and on stage received much applause from the auSheik Amir has proved this dience and that is how his professional career statement every step of the way, took off.

Besides mimicry which is his forte, Amir making his dream come true and surpassing all odds that came his plays the role of a drunkard to perfection. His portrayal of a drunkard is so real, that many a way.

Sheikh Amir, presently resid- times he has been misunderstood and people ing at Corlim, Ilhas traces his end up thinking that he is a real drunkard. His roots to Caranzalem where his histrionics as a drunkard has won him 24 best was the only Muslim house- actor awards in the 25 one-act play competitions hold in a Catholic dominated that he participated in. He also won the Kala area. Being a place where Academy Best Actor Award for his role of a tiatrs were staged annually drunkard in Candido Araujo’s tiatr ‘Kallo Daag’. on the occasion of the village feast, his His most cherished moment on stage came in friends were part of the drama troupe but ‘Goencho Avaz’, a tiatr written and directed by would not allow him to take part because of late Father Freddy J da Costa, where he shared his religion. Not only his friends, but even his the main comedy role with the Charlie Chaplin parents objected to his desire of becoming a of the Konkani stage, Late Jacint Vaz. When tiatrist. This was due to the fact that acting in melody King, late Alfred Rose performed his musical show in Dubai, Amir had the privilege tiatrs is considered taboo by them.

But Amir, the only successful tiatrist from of being the only artiste from Goa to be part of the Muslim community at present, was deter- the cast, whilst the rest of the artists were from mined to pursue his dreams of becoming a tia- Mumbai.

Gifted with a flair to mimic popular voices, trist at all costs. His parents, who initially opposed their son’s entry into the tiatr world, Sheikh Amir has over the years, mimicked voices later bowed down to his wishes. Till date, his of famous tiatr personalities like late Jacint Vaz, parents, four brothers and two sisters have not Marcelin de Betim, late Robin Vaz, Marcus Vaz, seen him act. As a tiatrist, Amir had to face an- Francis de Tuem, Anthony San, William de Curother social barrier in his quest to realise his torim, late Father Freddy J da Costa, Trio Kings dream, this time, from the fairer sex of his late H Britton, M Boyer, Lorna, besides politicians community. No Muslim girl was willing to accept such late Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Churchill him as her life partner unless he stopped acting Alemao and others.

Amir has also won other awards such as the in tiatrs. Even these factors were no deterrent to the determined man in realising his dream. Kala Academy Best Singer, Best Actor and Best Today, Amir is happily married to a Catholic Comedian Award besides numerous other laurels. girl Perpetua, to whom he attributes his success This year, Sheikh Amir completes 25 glorious as a tiatrist. Undoubtedly, Amir is a gifted actor years on the Konkani stage. As part of the celeand singer. But it is his inimitable style of im- brations, he has released his first ever Konkani personating the voices of famous tiatr person- music CD of 10 songs, which he sings in voices alities, singers, film stars and politicians that of famous Konkani stage personalities. The has earned him fame as a tiatrist. lyrics for the songs have been penned by Amir Sheikh Amir made his professional debut as himself and the music is arranged and played a tiatrist in 1985 in Premanand Sangodkar’s by Rabin D Pietro.

D

­H­O­R­O­S­C­O­P­E Your actions will have major consequences right now, so try not to be too dominant. You (21 Mar – 19 Apr) have got to consider everyone else's feelings today -more than your own, anyway. That's not a permanent situation by any means, but it could lead to a permanent friendship or two.

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You won't see the finish line yet. Jazz up your (20 Apr – 20 May) schedule with an impromptu party or some banter that comes from nowhere -- your coworkers, fellow students or family are sure to appreciate the break in their routines.

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There is less resistance to your ideas now, so try some bold ones on for size. You should see if (22 Jun – 22 Jul) you can get your partner (or roommate or maybe neighbor) to get off your back for a minute so you can really talk. It's not easy, but you can navigate the issues with grace.

Your ability to anticipate the actions of someone else will save you time right now. You need to (22 Dec – 19 Jan) jump ahead of the crowd in some way, though you may not feel fully supported yet. That's okay -- you can push yourself a little harder, if need be. Things are looking up!

It is a dangerous thing to quit when you're close to finishing. Don't let it happen. People are def(23 Jul – 22 Aug) initely on your side right now, so you may want to seize the opportunity to push your side of the argument a little further. You could also just revel in the bonhomie and have a good time.

Circumstance beyond your control will trigger change -- it's a major turning point. Try to get to(20 Jan – 18 Feb) gether with someone from your past -- you never know when someone who used to be close wants to try again. Your great social energy guarantees good results if you make a move now.

Act for the sake of what you care for -- and be prepared to make some sacrifices. You need to (23 Aug – 22 Sep) show off a little today - so break out of your routines and show your people you can be unpredictable! Your energy is just right for making life a little crazier for everyone involved.

For a better perspective on your current problem, step back and look at it again. Your old baggage (19 Feb – 20 Mar) has to go -- so dump it somewhere! You need to pick up the pace and try to get your love life or career back on track, and that can only happen once you break those old chains.

‘dandiya’ have undergone a sea change in recent times and diluted its a u -

A camera in the hands of the right person can do wonders. In this case, 11-year old Naitik Jain handled a digital Cannon 400 D to perfection and now the young lad along with his artist mother Rina will showcase their creations at the exhibition, Travel Discovery

BY DOLCY D’CRUZ HERALD FEATURES eturning back from their travels to different exotic countries, Rina and Naitik Jain were eager to showcase what they saw in the form of an exhibition. Travel Discovery is the exhibition that will display both Rina’s five paintings and over 30 of Naitik’s photographs. “We travelled to pictur-

course on Fundamentals of photography in 2008, and in 2010, a three-day course on Aesthetics. I was always the youngest in class,” says Naitik.

When asked about the most difficult shot while travelling, Niatik replies, “There wasn’t anything that was difficult but the timing had to be perfect. I was visiting the Eiffel Tower in Paris and was not getting the proper lighting effect I wanted so I had to wait patiently till the time was right. Another chal-

esque places such as Bali-Indonesia, Paris, Venice, England, Spain, Netherland, Portugal and Switzerland to name a few. Each place is wonderful, very inspiring and beautiful with different climates. But at the end of the day, home is still the best place to be. I will be displaying five oil-on-canvas paintings based on the flowers that I had seen in the different places. I have painted orchids from Singapore, tulips from Netherland, amapola from Spain and almond and saffron flowers from Kashmir,” says Rina who previously displayed her artwork on glass, sandpaper and sola wood in Mumbai. “I loved travelling around Venice and Spain just to watch the scenic beauty,” adds Rina.

Naitik has a fascinating story to tell through his photographs. A Class VIII student of Vidya Vikas Academy, Margao, he has tried to capture different types of shots. “This is my first solo exhibition. I focused on landscape and climate in different cities. Spain has a beautiful landscape while Barcelona, the second largest city in Spain, was very pleasant,” says Naitik who has participated in several photography competitions.

“I attended two courses on photography at Prasad Pankar’s CMYK Academy, a six-day

lenging photograph was clicking the sun rays passing through a huge cloud. We were travelling from Spain to Palmona for an exhibition and on the way I saw this cloud with sun rays penetrating through it. We were travelling at quite a speed and being a highway we could not stop, so I literally stuck my head out of the car, battling against the wind and took the photograph. The photograph is titled ‘God’s Shower’ and will be on display at the exhibition,” Next, Naitik will be travelling to his native state, Rajasthan for Diwali holidays and will focus on clicking Rajasthani women in their traditional attire.

The exhibition will be inaugurated tomorrow, October 9 at 5pm at Kala Academy

by Chief Guest Manohar Parrikar. Prasad Pankar will be the Guest of Honour. The exhibition will be open till Octo ber 12.

R

Tom and Nicholson may star in ‘El Presidente’

I

s there a screen big enough for this dynamic duo? Cruise and Jack Nicholson may share the big screen again. The two actors are rumoured to be teaming up for El Presidente, an action comedy focused on a dedicated Secret Service agent responsible for protecting an idiotic ex-president written by former Late Night with Conan O’Brien and Daily Show writer Dan Goor.

Known for their infamous “you can’t handle the truth” exchange in the courtroom/military drama A Few Good Men, it sounds like the duo will again play government officials. They will reunite on screen after nearly 20 years as they last worked together in 1992's A Few Good Men. Warner Bros has offered the presidential part to Nicholson and Cruise attached himself to the project as the agent.

Few plot details are available, but what we do know is that the two will be working together when they face danger -- a death threat is made on the expresident. But, it doesn’t sound like El Presidente will be a serious flick. Nicholson

looks to play a bumbling and senile old man, which goes against Cruise’s stoic and serious character.

A few years ago, no one would know what to think about this type of project from these two -- specifically Cruise. But after his performance as loud and obnoxious Hollywood agent Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder, it’s pretty obvious that the dude has a comedic side ripe with new potential. And on the other side, hopefully Nicholson will be able to channel his maniacal persona a la Anger Management. A pairing of these two screen legends demands, though, no matter what the tone of the film turns out to be.

Relationships

Sports

Business

Health

Art

Culture

Environment

Education

GOA’S HEARTBEAT

CURR

Friday, 8 Oct, 2010

WHAT’S UP IN GOA??

Navaratri Utsav, will be held from October 9 to 17 at Shree Ravalghadi Gramastha Panchayatan Devasthan, Aldona. Call 9881773097, 9765508338 or 2293321.

‘Meet the Author’, a special programme organised by Sahitya Academy, New Delhi will feature Konkani writer Bonaventure D’ Pietro. It will be held on October 8 at 5.30pm at the Kala Academy, Panjim. Call 2420452.

A painting exhibition by a Manipuri artist will be on display on October 8 from 10am to 7.30pm at the Kala Academy, Panjim. Call 2420452.

36th Tiatr Competition, organised

by Kala Academy, Panjim is underway at the Kala Academy through the month of September and October.

Call 2420452.

The annual Navratrotsava and Kaul Prasad of Shri Navadurga, Madkai will be held from October 8 to 16 daily between 7.45pm to 9.45pm and later at 10pm.

The 7th Interactive Session of the Series on Health, organised by the International Centre Goa will be held on October 8 from 6pm to 7:30pm at the International Centre Goa, Dona Paula. The 8th session will be held on October 15. Call 9765404391.

‘A Citizens Manifesto for the Municipal Elections’ will be the topic that will be discussed at Friday Balcao’s fortnightly discussion which will be held on October 8 from 4pm to 6pm at the Goa Desc Resource Centre, Mapusa.

E-mail goadesc@gmail.com.

Graphic Poster Competition, organised by the Entertainment Society of Goa is open for registration. The theme is the 41st International Film Festival of India, Goa, 2010. Registration closes on October 21. Log on to

dissertate

“Instead of giving a politician the keys to the city, it might be better to change the locks.”

– Doug Larson

Parenting

Pg15

Convoy of Coupes... from Vintage to Ultra Modern

Photos by Rozario Estibeiro Photos by Rozario Estibeiro

ceptional. The audience received the concert happily expressing their appreciation even between movements.

The show was organised by the Kala Academy and the Cosme Mathias Menezes Group that is celebrating 100 years of service – 1910 to 2010. This concert is a part of a series of musical concerts that will be h e l d later in t h e

Tourism

HERALD FEATURES t is believed that there is only one thing better than owning a Mercedes Benz… and that is enjoying it with Mercedes Benz lovers.

Aiming at achieving just this is Ashvek Vintage World, the organisers of the Carlsberg Mercedes Benz Enthusiasts Meet, an exclusive gathering organised for the proud owners of Mercedes Benz cars as well as Mercedes Benz fans.

The convoy will comprise vintage and classic cars dating back to early 1930’s and also the ultra modern cars of the 20th century.

Cars from Goa and neighbouring states will participate in the event to be held on October 10, 2010.

The convoy will be flagged off by the Chief Minister Digambar Kamat in the presence of Power Minister, Alexio Sequeira and Deputy Speaker Mauvin Godinho.

The Mercedes Benz cars will gather at SGPDA Ground, Margao by 10am and the convoy will commence at 11am. The fleet of cars will move on to Panjim with the end point being Cidade De Goa, and this will be followed by lunch at the Hotel.

(For more information, contact Convenor Pradeep Naik at 9822100339, Viraj Dhond (Panjim) at 9860868888 or Pradip Joshi (Mapusa) at 9823120159)

I

year, all in celebration of the aforesaid.

DAILY GROOK DOCK TALK

by Francis Rodrigues if you're sick at sea cos ur boat does rock, make sure you quickly head back to the doc!

Musical instruments, reminiscent of those used in the Baroque era of classical music lie on a table behind the performers

36th Tiatr Competition 2010-11 - Day VIII

Instructions for Sudoku SUDOKU SOL 673 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

GARFIELD

WIZARD OF ID

09:00 Comedy Circus Ke Superstars 10:00 Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega 13:00 Baat Hamari Pakki Hai 13:30 Aahat 14:30 Aahat 15:00 Aahat 15:30 Aahat 16:00 C.I.D 20:30 Baat Hamari Pakki Hai 21:00 Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega 21:00 C.I.D

email us at: goasheartbeat@herald-goa.com

A Rendition of Baroque Classics

‘L

Travel

INGS

CMM’s Centenary Celebration

BY NOMRATHA FERNANDES HERALD FEATURES a Gioia Koln’, a quartet that plays classical music from the 17th and 18th century, which the Baroque era of classical music is in, recently performed at the Kala Academy, Panjim.

Stephanie Bosch on transverse flute and treble recorder, Julia Belitz on Baroque oboe, Christof Boerner on violin and Johannes Rapp on violoncello were dressed in black and looked happy to be there.

The members of the group are all trained under teachers that specialise in Baroque music. Authentic period instruments, which were Baroque era for this concert, were used in the performances. They include the treble recorder, oboe, the violin, the traverse flute, basso continuo and the voice flute – all typical of that era of classical music – harmoniously synced together through the course of the classical pieces. The start to each piece was sharp and the musicians co-ordinated well. The nine pieces chosen reflected the emotions of real life. The s l o w pieces, which a r e usually difficult, were taken on with near perfection by the musicians. They made these pieces flow like musical waves through the hall.

It is rare to hear live, Baroque music with instruments of such a nature and the grace the group exuded was ex-

Fashion

Funny Quote

Pronunciation dis-er-teyt Function Verb Meaning : to discuss a subject fully and learnedly; discourse Example Sentence The speaker dissertated in detail about the rise in rapid rise in population resulting in poverty, illiteracy and unemployment.

10:00 Tere Liye 10:30 Saath Nibhana Saathiya 11:00 Mann Kee Awaaz Pratigya 11:30 Behenein 12:00 Sapna Babul Ka ...Bidaai 12:30 Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai 13:00 Tere Mere Sapne 13:30 Hamari Devrani 14:00 Chaand Chupa Badal Mein 14:30 Mann Kee Awaaz Pratigya 15:00 Kaali: Ek Agnipariksha 15:30 Sapna Babul Ka ...Bidaai 16:00 Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai 16:30 Mann Kee Awaaz Pratigya 17:00 Sasural Genda Phool 17:30 Saath Nibhana Saathiya 18:00 Tere Liye 18:30 Sabki Laadli Bebo 19:00 Saath Nibhana Saathiya 19:30 Sasural Genda Phool 20:00 Chaand Chupa Badal Mein 20:30 Behenein 21:00 Sapna Babul Ka ...Bidaai 21:30 Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai 21:00 Tere Liye 21:30 Mann Kee Awaaz Pratigya

EN

PEN T HAP

Entertainment

LAFFS

WORD OF THE DAY

SUDOKU 674

www.iffigoa.org. Call 2428111.

A cycle rally from Panjim to Betim to Pomburpa to Britona and back to Panjim will take place on October 10 from 7am onwards. Call 9158880300.

Animation course, organised by Arena Animations will be held from mid October. Registrations are open.

E-mail mgmanimations@gmail.com.

Call 2225153, 9423885224, 9 8 2 3 0 1 3 4 8 4 , 9 8 2 3 6 11 8 2 4 o r 9890432246.

‘Exploring Watercolours’ an art workshop for children below 16 years, organised by Gallery Gitanjali will be held on October 23 from 4pm to 6.30pm at Gallery Gitanjali, Fontainhes, Panjim. Registration closes on October 15.

Visit www.gallerygitanjali.com. E-mail gallerygitanjali@gmail.com. Call 9823572035 or 9823253361.

‘Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation’ will be the topic of the interactive session with Dr Vijay Naik as part of the series on health, organised by the International Centre Goa in association with Manipal Hospital. It will take place on October 8 from 5pm to 6:30pm at the International Centre Goa, Dona Paula. E-mail prog@incentgoa.com.

Call 9765404391 or 2452805-10.

An Indo-Jazz fusion programme, organised by the Pandit Prabhakar Chari Pratishthan will be held on October 10 at 6pm at the Kala Academy.

Free entry passes will be available on October 8 at the Kala Academy, Panjim. Call 2420452.

‘Kaleidoscope’, the first round of the language quiz that will be held in Konkani, Portuguese, French and Hindi will be to be aired on October 9 at 9pm on HCN. It is organised by Communicare Cultural Centre and students of higher secondary schools all over Goa are participating in it.

Information Technology

10:00 Preet Se Bandhi Yeh Dori...

10:30 Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya...

11:30 Pavitra Rishta 12:00 Sa re ga ma pa Singing Superstar 12:30 Yahan Main Ghar Ghar Kheli 13:00 Jhansi Ki Rani 13:30 Pavitra Rishta 14:00 Sanjog Se Bani Sangini 15:00 12/24 Karol Bagh 15:30 Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya...

16:00 Pavitra Rishta 16:30 Jhansi Ki Rani 17:00 Yahan Main Ghar Ghar Kheli 17:30 Preet Se Bandhi Yeh Dori..

19:00 12/24 Karol Bagh 19:30 Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya...

20:00 Jhansi Ki Rani 20:30 Yahan Main Ghar Ghar Kheli 21:00 Pavitra Rishta 21:30 Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Singing Superstars

10:00 Papad Pol 10:30 Taarak Mehta Ka Oolta 11:00 Lapataganj 11:30 Mrs. & Mr. Sharma Allahabadwale 12:00 Gutar Gu 12:30 Taarak Mehta Ka Oolta...

13:00 Sajan Re Jhoot Mat Bolo 13:30 Papad Pol 14:00 Taarak Mehta Ka Oolta 14:30 Lapataganj 15:00 Mrs. & Mr. Sharma Allahabadwale

08:25 Birds of America 10:10 The X Files 12:15 Rob-B-Hood 14:45 Disturbia 16:55 What's the Worst That Could Happen?

18:55 Adventureland 21:00 Bride Wars 23:50 Face/off

Goykaramcher Dustt Porinam R E V I E W

09:00 Race 13:00 Shortkut: The Con is on 16:30 Kurukshetra 20:00 Deewar: Man of Power 21:45 Sbo Gold 23:15 Deedar

09:30 Dor 12:30 Aulad 16:00 Tirchhi Topiwale 20:00 Khamoshi 09:15 Slap Shot 3 11:15 Revolutionary Road 13:45 Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection 16:00 Beowulf 18:30 Hairspray 21:00 Ghost Ship 22:45 Anaconda 3: Offspring

10:30 The Affair of the Necklace

BY RON FIDELIS he best thing about this tiatr was that clash dialogues didn’t have to be screamed out. Kalpesh Fondekar, who played the reporter, seemed so smooth and comfortable with his dialogue delivery - not getting carried away with the euphoria of the moment - that his ever-so-gently but correctly toned clash dialogues were the only ones that received claps.

A maiden venture, with 25 days of rehearsal, by Machi Mogi Morjim Cultural Sanskrutic Saunstha, this artist was probably the only one to do things differently considering that the plot was one that has turned into a cliché by now for many; besides comedian Brian Fernandes and his antics. However, according to the playwright Joaquim Faleiro, this plot had to be rubbed in since there did not seem to be a change in this state of affairs.

The reporter is killed. The son becomes a drug peddler and the daughter gets AIDS. These are shown as the ill-effects of migrant trafficking and greed.

Then again, money makes the world go round and the pennies drop. So the current situation in our state is only brought to light once again - of Goans falling prey to material pleasures rather than values. Thankfully the playwright does not delve much into this derogatory slant with regards to the portrayal of migrants. It however did have this cliché disposition with a character role of an outsider playing PA to the lady minister. And right from Rosefern’s tiatr, Ami Goenkar Tumi Konn that set the trend for such ‘save Goa’ plots, we all already know by now how this migrant PA’s language would sound like.

The minister’s husband is shown to be morally more worth it, so-to-speak, but yet, one without a spine. He succumbs to his wife’s opinion; who is plainly obsessed with control. The opinionated wife who later looses her son and daughter to bad morals is played by well, Fatima Fernandes. Another character who is given prominence to make a point was the Goan youth who indulges in killing the journalist midway in the plot and then gets betrayed by the politician who was to keep him from going to jail. In the jail, another slice of Goan life is exposed wherein this boy (melodramatically performed by Eddie Casiano D’Souza) is being used by the police to do their dirty drug deals. A well shown

T

12:50 Resident Evil 14:45 Into the Sun 16:45 Art Heist 18:45 200 Cigarettes 21:00 Resident Evil: Extinction

12:00 Mile Jab Hum Tum 12:30 Mano Ya Na Mano 13:00 Rang Badalti Odhni 13:30 Geet

14:00 Dill Mill Gayye 14:30 Mile Jab Hum Tum 15:00 Geet 15:30 Rang Badalti Odhni 16:00 Dill Mill Gayye 16:30 Mile Jab Hum Tum 17:00 Geet 17:30 Rang Badalti Odhni 18:00 Dill Mill Gayye 18:30 Mile Jab Hum Tum 19:00 Geet 19:30 Rang Badalti Odhni 20:00 Dill Mill Gayye 20:30 Sarabhai vs Sarabhai 21:00 Mile Jab Hum Tum 21:30 Geet 21:00 Rang Badalti Odhni 21:30 Dill Mill Gayye

11:00 MasterChef Australia 12:00 The Moment of Truth 13:00 Friends 15:00 Ugly Betty 16:00 Best of Koffee with Karan 17:00 The Moment of Truth 18:00 How I Met Your Mother 20:00 V.I.P. 21:00 The Moment of Truth 21:00 Ugly Betty 23:00 V.I.P.

11:30 Chandni 16:00 JisDeshMeinGangaRehtaHai 20:00 Inquilaab 23:15 Traffic Signal

12:00 Henna 16:00 Loafer 20:00 Taarzan: The Wonder Car

E N T E R TA I N M E N T 15:30 Gutar Gu 16:00 Taarak Mehta Ka Oolta...

18:30 Papad Pol 19:00 Gutar Gu 19:30 Mrs. & Mr. Sharma Allahabadwale 20:00 Malegoan Ka Chintoo 20:30 Gutar Gu 21:00 Papad Po 21:00 Taarak Mehta Ka Oolta

Photos by Rozario Estibeiro

Lifestyle

12:00 Cyril: Simply Magic 13:00 Ncis: Los Angeles 14:00 So You Think You Can Dance 16:00 Cyril: Simply Magic 17:00 Criss Angel Mindfreak 18:00 Charmed 19:00 Fear Factor 20:00 E Buzz 20:30 Guinness World Records 21:00 Ghost Adventure

10:00 Ugly Betty

10:00 China Open 16:30 Golf Focus 17:00 China Open 19:00 MotoGP World Championship 20:30 Ace 21:00 Score Tonight 21:30 TNA Sikander 23:30 China Open

10:00 Kolon Korea Open 12:30 Ironman 13:30 Barclays Premier League 15:30 PBA Tour 17:00 Premier League World 17:30 16 Nations: Road to Qatar 18:00 Ironman 19:00 World of Football 19:30 Football Asia 20:00 Sportscenter India 20:30 Sportscenter Asia 21:00 Bpl Express 21:00 Sportscenter India 21:30 Sportscenter Asia 23:00 Football Asia

08:30 ATP World Tour 17:00 WWE: Smackdown 19:00 European Tour 21:00 Winning Post 21:30 WWE: Smackdown

expose, besides this being an ideal thing for the police to remain behind the scenes and yet earn, what stands out is the default flip-flop nature of those in power due to their lack of morals thus bringing them back full circle to be revealed as spineless themselves. Inevitably, if one flows with the wind, sooner or later, he would be gone. The difference is, while the husband’s morals are still in place at the end, the lady minister finally looses her mind to insanity.

Trios and quartets (written by the playwright in this case) have always been more enjoyable in tiatrs. However, having couple tiatrists Olga and Anil Pednekar in the songs side helped. Besides Connie de Nuvem and Seby Colaco’s well sung duos, Olga’s beautiful voice, kudos must be given to Anil for penning the lyrics for their duet on how irresponsible Goans use their mobiles while driving – a nice topic. With much to be desired in the acting front and direction, what did stand out as well done were the end still poses and lights handled by Nandkishore Polle. The band was Fillipe de Sanvordem’s with some great support by keyboardist Jose Carvalho. Meena Rodrigues took care of the costumes. Comedian Michael Fernandes helped the playwright with the comedy parts while comedian Brian debuting at the Tiatr Competition was the icing on the cake for this tiatr.

Up next, is Christopher Menezes alias comedian 64’s play called Thembe, to be put up by Krist Kreations, Divar on October 8 at the Kala Academy, Panjim.

HERALD CROSSWORD - 674 10:00 Creative Vision 10:30 Creative Vision 11:00 Nat Geo Wild 12:00 Trapped 13:00 Construction Zone 13:30 Construction Zone 14:00 True Stories 15:00 Big 16:00 Nat Geo Junior 16:30 Snake Wranglers 17:00 Most Amazing Moments 18:00 Big, Bigger, Biggest 19:00 Air Crash Investigation 20:00 Nat Geo Wild 21:00 Big, Bigger, Biggest 21:30 Nat Geo Amazing!

07:30 Health Watch 08:00 English News 09:00 Konkani News 10:00 Marathi News 11:00 Care for mother Earth 11:30 Gospel 12:00 Lorna Rocks Goa 12:30 Flavors 13:00 English News 14:00 Konkani Movie 15:00 Concert of Classical Music 15:30 Sangeet 16:00 Lorna Rocks Goa 16:30 Fantacia 17:00 Kids Club 17:30 Care for mother earth 18:00 Konkani News 19:00 Marathi News 20:00 English News 21:00 Fairyland 21:30 HCN Smash Hits 22:00 English News 23:00 Care for Mother Earth 23:30 Gospel 00:00 Sanz Sangodachi 00:30 Fairyland Note: Subject to change

Across 1- Pianist Myra; 5- A type of bake; 9- Hawaiian greeting; 14Monogram ltr.; 15- Mother of Ares; 16- Compare; 17- Essays; 19- Intervening, in law; 20Store for the sale of food; 21Brother of Moses; 23- Go along with; 25- Bear lair; 26- Codebreaking org.; 29- Teachers' org.; 30- Divided into four parts; 33- Pang; 34- Eye inflammation; 35- Game played on horseback; 38- Green prefix; 40- Riga resident; 41- Ring of color; 44- Component of organic fertilizer; 47- Bladder worm; 49- Gumshoe; 52- Chopper; 53- Bruins great Bobby; 54Generally; 56- Move stealthily; 58- Boring tool; 59- Flat surface; 62- Dodges; 64- Protection; 65Large jug or pitcher; 66"______ sprach Zarathustra"; 67- Tumults; 68- Calamitous; 69- Attendee; Down 1- Hired killer; 2- Infuriate; 3- Mountain range; 4- Post; 5- Twitter; 6Bandleader Brown; 7- Calculus calculation; 8- Ancient fortress in Israel; 9- Social worker in a hospital; 10- Legal claim; 11- Approves; 12Female fowl; 13- Hydrocarbon suffix; 18- Molars, e.g.; 22- Do followers; 24- Siouan speaker; 26- Brief letter, paper money; 27- Diamonds, e.g.; 28- Kind of prof.; 31- Happen again; 32- Anger; 33- Bender; 35Tailless rodent; 36- Large African

antelope; 37- ___ majeste; SOLUTION - 673 39- Killer whale; 42- Pride woman; 43- Area of 4840 square yards; 45- Forbidding; 46- Autocratic Russian rulers; 48- Rubbed out; 49- Black gum; 50- Pass by; 51- Official examiner; 55- Put a new price on; 56- Agitated state; 57- Flightless bird; 59- Acceptable score for a professional golfer; 60- Wreath of flowers; 61- "…and seven years _____"; 63- ___ Rosenkavalier;

Pg16

SPORTS GOA, Friday, 8 October, 2010

Govt HS Sadar-Ponda top HERALD CORRESPONDENT MARCEL, OCT 7

Government High School, Sadar, Ponda won the Ponda Taluka U17 football tournament defeating St Joseph High School, Karai, Shiroda 4-0 at sports complex ground, Ponda.

Two goals came in the first half and were scored by captain Vikram Singh while in the second half Charles Cardozo and Zigma Laceram scored one each.

In the semi-finals, Government HS, Sadar defeated Pragati HS whereas St Joseph’s defeated St Anthony’s also from Shiroda.

Government HS, Sadar had ten of its players from the Sports Authority of India, who are undergoing a training in football.

This enabled Government HS to an easy win over St Joseph’s.

Government HS enjoyed maximun ball possession.

The winning team captain, Vikram Sigh said, “We were confident of winning. However, we

Govt HS, Sadar, winners of Ponda Taluka U-17 boys football tournament alongwith coach and officials.

could not score more goals as expected. In the end, it was an easy win. During the tournament we had a couple of tough

matches but we easily overcame our opponents. Thanks to our school coach as well as our coach at SAI.”

Administrator of SAI, Surinder Rajput was the chief guest at the finals.

In all, 19 team participated.

United Boys sail into semis HERALD SPORTS DESK PANJIM, OCT 7

Third Division Football League: Panjim Footballers v. Aivao United FC, Dr Remigio Pinto ground, Taleigao; Parish Youth, Consua v. Baina SC, Tilak Maidan, Vasco; Quitula SC v. Augustias SC, Quitula ground; Candolim SC v. Sangolda Lightning, Anjuna ground; Y.C of M a n o r a v. Ra i t u r a S C , Loutolim ground. Kick off 4.15 p.m.

United Boys Dando, Colva beat Sporting Club of Davorlim 3-2 via the tie-breaker to move into the semi-finals of All-Goa Telaulim Panchayat Cup intervillage football tournament at Telaulim Panchayat ground on

Thursday. The teams were goalless at the break.

In the 15th minute, Davorlim veteran Jose Colaco’s shot hit the crossbar. A few minutes later, Dando’s John Fernandes had a golden opportunity but he shot wide.

Changing ends, Davorlim came with brilliant ideas

through Piedade and Melvin but their efforts bore no fruit.

In the tie-breaker, John, Dhilon and Franky netted for Dando while Agnel and Ashley shot in for Davorlim. Shots from Wilson, Melvin and Rosebud were saved by Dando goalkeeper Denzil Coutinho.

Goa River Marathon on December 19 HERALD REPORTER VASCO, OCT 7

Vasco Sports Club launched the ‘Goa River Marathon, Goa Go Green’ campaign on Gandhi Jayanti near Vasco Municipality.

The Goa River Marathon, a first of its kind event, will be held on December 19, stated secretary of the club, Rakesh Unny.

There will two events, both starting from Baina beach pavement. The half marathon will proceed along the picturesque Zuari river, towards Cortalim, turn around at Marman Shipyard and back to Baina beach.

Cash prizes, medals and certificates will be awarded.

The second event, a Fun Run Walk, will also start at Baina beach and will go around the

Fatima Convent champs

MARGAO (HC) -- Fatima Convent HS, Margao won the Salcete Taluka U-17 girls throwball title beating Manovikas English HS, Margao 25-20, 25-15. St Thereza’s Convent, Ganapoga clinched the third place defeating St Joseph HS, Aquem 25-13 and 25-16.

city and end at Baina beach.

The president of Vasco, Nitin Bandekar said that the website of the events is already operat i o n a l a s w w w. g o a r i v e r marathon.com and already 200 participants from Haryana, Ludhiana, Kolkata, Meerut, Mumbai, Pune, Nasik, Hyderabad, Vishakapatnam, Bangalore, Belgaum, Goa and few internationals had already registered.

Bandekar along with a huge

crowd later took a Green Pledge to strive for an eco friendly lifestyle and declared November 12 as no car day.

Bandekar has invited entries for an All-Goa song lyrics competition for the theme song on Goa River Marathon and entries will close on October 20.

The club merchandising sales programme of team jerseys and polo neck T-shirts was also announced.

GCA directed to furnish information under RTI HERALD SPORTS DESK PANJIM, OCT 7

The Goa State Chief Information Commissioner, Motilal Keny ruled that Goa Cricket Association (GCA) does come under the ambit of the Right to Information Act, on Thursday.

Pronouncing the verdict on the complaint filed by Adv. Aires Rodrigues, Keny has directed the GCA to furnish within 30 days the information sought by Aires.

The State Chief Information Commissioner has ruled that the Government notification dated July 8, 2010 that all sports organizations and State Sports Associations recognized by SAG would be covered under the RTI Act was binding on GCA. The Commissioner also declined the request made by the lawyer representing GCA to stay the order to enable the associ-

ation to move the High Court, Aires stated.

Aires, it may be recalled, had filed the complaint following GCA’s refusal to furnish information under RTI. The GCA had taken the stand that it did not come under the purview of the RTI Act as it had not received any financial or other assistance from the Goa Government or SAG. Aires had submitted documentary proof that the GCA had been granted a 99-year lease for land admeasuring 1,30,328 square meters at Tivim for the construction of a cricket stadium at a rent of Rs 50,000 per year and that the SAG had also granted financial assistance of Rs 50 lakh in 2000.

Aires had sought information from GCA on the fees paid to lawyer Subodh Kantak.

GOA DIARY Inter-ward football at Carambolim

PANJIM (HSD) - Friends of Carambolim will organise an interward football tournament on October 10 and 17 at Carambolim football ground, behind village panchayat, Carambolim. The winners and runners-up will be awarded Rs. 5,001 and Rs. 3,001 respectively.

Cycling programme in Panjim

PANJIM (HSD) - The Goa Cycling Club will conduct daily cycling short rides from October 11 in Panjim. The rides will start at Cafe Coffee Day, Mira Mar and will go on to different routes on weekdays at 6.50 a.m. Patricia Pinto will be the ride leader. Details may be obtained from Patricia on 9822802629.

7-a-side football at Khorlim

PANJIM (HSD) – The Sai Sporting Club will organise their 2nd all-Goa 7-a-side one-day football tournament on October 10 at 10 a.m. at Saraswat College ground, Khorlim, Mapusa. Spot entries will be accepted upto 2 p.m. The winners will pocket Rs. 8,000 alongwith a trophy while the runners-up will be awarded Rs. 5,000 and a trophy. Details may be obtained Hrishikesh on 9623626939 or Mahendra on 9822387592 or Imran on 9923655586 or Babu 9422445425.

PYKKA inter-school athletics

PANJIM (HSD) – The Nehru Yuva Kendra (NYK) and SAG will organise PYKKA U-16 inter-school athletics competition on October 13 at Peddem sports complex ground, Mapusa. Schools have been asked to submit entry forms to NYK, Panjim on or before October 9.

7-a-side soccer at Morjim

PANJIM (HSD) – The MSC Morjim will organise their 7-a-side allGoa one-day football tournament on October 10 at 10 a.m. at Govt. HS, Agarwada ground. The winners and runners-up will be richer by Rs. 12,000 and Rs. 10,000 respectively. Consolation prizes will also be awarded. Details may be obtained from Parwesh on 9823646979 or Damu on 8888802815.

Blanche memorial TT at Colvale

PANJIM (HSD) – The Youth Sports Club of Colvale will organise their 1st all-Goa Blanche Gouveia memorial major ranking TT tournament from October 15 to 17 at Colvale church hall for men and ladies (seniors). The finals will be played on October 17. Besides Bardez taluka level men singles tournament will be conducted for non-ranked, non-seeded and amateur players.

Details may be obtained from Ashok Mahambre on 9763817905 or Domnic Pereira on 9422395222 or Lenie do Rosario on 9822176086 at BPS Club, Margao. The last date for submitting entries is October 12 before 5 p.m.

SPORTS GOA, Friday,8 October, 2010

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2 Goans in India U-19 camp HERALD SPORTS REPORTER PANJIM, OCT 7

Albino Gomes and Pandhari Chopdekar are the two Goans in the India U-19 men’s team that left for Shanghai, China on Thursday evening for a 23-day preparatory camp in a run up to AFC U-19 championship qualifiers next year. The India juniors will return on October 31.

Colm Toal will be the head coach, while Goa’s Francisco Bruto da Costa and Thomas

Joseph will be the assistant coaches, Feroze Sheriff (goalkeeper coach), I LVIjayan (physio), Tempo Bhutia (manager).

The players: Goalkeepers: Kamaljit Singh (Punjab), Shibinraj K. (Kerala), Albino Gomes (Goa).

Defenders: Sonu (Haryana), Rajib Boro (Assam), Arijeet Singh (WB), Pawan Kumar (Haryana), Syed Imran (Karnataka), Akashdeep Singh (Chandigarh), Lallunfela (Mizoram), Pritam

Kotal (WB), Edwin (Karnataka), Avik Guha (WB).

Midfielders: Shankar. S (Karnataka), Prabir Das (WB), Souvik Das (WB), Siam Hangal (Jharkhand), Jayabrata Dhar (Jharkhand), Rajib Ghorui (WB), Yumnam C Meetei (Jharkhand), Anto Xavier (Karnataka).

S t r i k e r s : S u m e e t Pa s s i (Chandigarh), Rajinder Kumar (Chandigarh), Lalnunmawia (Mizoram), Pandhari Chopdekar (Goa).

World yoga champion Nhehern Acharya alongwith his father Navin, mother Pooja, brother Nethan and uncle Fr Felix Lobo.

3 pitches ready for Goa ODI match HERALD SPORTS REPORTER PANJIM, OCT 7

Three pitches have been readied for the Australia-India ODI match to be organised by Goa Cricket Association (GCA) at Nehru Stadium, Fatorda on October 24.

“All the three will be put to

Chicalim win

PANJIM (HSD) --Chicalim Youth Club trounced Patrong Sports Club 5-0 in a GFA 3rd division league match on Thursday.

In the other matches, Odxel SC beat Aivao YC 3-2, Nauxim and Portais Sporting Club were held to a 1-1 draw with Sunil Pereira scoring for Nauxim in the 3rd and Etesh Haldankar equalising in the 56th.

Arlem YA hammered Shiroda YC 6-0, Nerul SC and Clube Athletico de Parra played a goalless draw.

the test starting October 9 when a practice match against the State team will be played,” disclosed GCA secretary Prasad Phatarpekar. The second one will be put to the test the next day, Sunday and thereafter the assessment will be done, the official added.

More matches will be played thereafter and then the best among the three pitches will be used for the D-day, Phatarpekar said.

Actually the first practice match was scheduled on Tuesday, but it had to be put off due to sudden showers.

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SPORTS GOA, FRIDAY, 8 OCTOBER, 2010

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India keep second spot for third day running l Geeta gives first gold from women’s wrestling l Vijay, Gurpreet shoot gold in pistol pairs l Sudhir bags bronze in 77 kgs weightlifting l Eves clinch bronze in compound team event l India wins its first gymnastics medal l Archers claim silver, bronze PTI NEW DELHI, OCT 7

The Indian medal hunt continued in right earnest on the fourth day of competitions in the Commonwealth Games which enabled the hosts to retain their second spot in the medals ladder for the third day running today.

The hosts grabbed three gold and silver medals apiece, apart from four bronze, to take their haul to 34 (14-11-9) but Australia continued to widen their overall lead over the rest and grabbed 33 gold, 19 silver and 18 bronze.

England, trying hard to catch up with India, were two gold medals behind the home nation and a red-hot race to capture the second place in the Games seems to have started with Canada too within striking distance of the other two with a tally of 11 gold.

India's ten-medal scoop came from expected quarters – the shooting range where pistol shooter Gurpreet Singh struck a double by combining forces with Vijay Kumar and Omkar Singh to take home the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Pairs and 10m Air Pistol Pairs titles.

Haryana's Geeta gave India their third gold of the day on

the first day of women's wrestling, that made its debut, by comprehensively winning the 55kg freestyle event.

The shooting gold medals provided by the men's pistol wielders took the country's overall gold tally from the Dr Karni Singh range to 6, showing how much the marksmen and women have contributed in keeping India's flag flying high.

Grappler Geeta trounced her rival Emily Bensted of Australia in the 55 kg category final. She entered the gold medal round by defeating Lovina Odohi Edward of Nigeria, but her teammate - 63kg grappler Suman Kundu - lost in the semi-finals.

Men's double trap shooting ace Ronjon Sondhi got a silver medal along with the men's archery compound team and women's 48kg freestyle grappler Nirmala Devi.

The four bronze medals came in archery (women's team compound event), woman grappler Suman Kundu (63kg) 77kg weightlifter Sudhir Kumar and Ashish Kumar, a surprise medallist in men's gymnastics (floor exercise).

Strong signals of more medals in the offing for the hosts came later from the star-studded boxing

Para sport shot putter sets new world record PTI NEW DELHI, OCT 7

Canada's Kyle Pettey today set a new world record in men's para sport shot put F32/34/52 event with a throw of 11.44m to win gold on the second day of track and field competition of the Commonwealth Games here today.

27-year-old Pettey, bronze medalist at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, bettered his own earlier world record of 11.24, to give Canada their first gold in track and field competition.

outfit with Asian gold-medallist Suranjoy Singh (52kg) and Amandeep Singh (49kg) advancing to the quarterfinals and defending champion Akhil Kumar (56kg) booking a place in the last 16.

On yet another day of dominance by Indian boxers, a packed audience at the dome-shaped arena was treated to some flamboyance by Akhil, tactful boxing

by Amandeep and loads of energy by Suranjoy.

In tennis Leander Paes and Sania Mirza, gold medal favourites, were stunned in straight sets by Colin Fleming and Jocelyn Rae of Scotland in the quarter finals.

Rushmi Chakravarthi also got eliminated from the women's singles quarter finals but all others, including men's singles top seed Sania and Somdev, progressed to the semi finals.

Ace Indian shuttlers Chetan Anand and Saina Nehwal notched up contrasting wins as India thrashed Canada 3-0 to set up a semifinal clash with England in the mixed badminton team event.

Mixed doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and V Diju just took 19 minutes to make short work of NG Toby and Gao Grace 21-8 2112 in the first match of the day to give India a 1-0 lead.

In archery, men's and women's team claimed a silver and a bronze in events respectively.

Shedding their tag as 'underachievers', the men's trio of Jignas Chittibomma, Chinna Raju and Ritul Chatterjee claimed their first ever medal at any international level when they lost to the Englishmen 229-231 to settle for the silver.

The women's trio of Bheigyabati Chanu, Jhano Hansdah and

Gagandeep Kaur beat 223-219 in the bronze play-off.

In athletics, Jhuma Khatun clocked her personal best timing to qualify for the women's 1500m final while compatriot Sushma Devi fell by the wayside with a disappointing performance.

Country Australia India England Canada South Africa Nigeria Malaysia Singapore Scotland Kenya Jamaica Nauru Uganda

Gold 33 14 12 11 5 4 3 2 1 1 1 1 1

New Zealand's envoy expressed 'deep regret over the hurt' caused to Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit over a rude remark by a Kiwi television anchor which New Delhi dubbed racist.

Rupert Holborow offered the apologies to Lata Reddy, Secretary (East) in the External Affairs Ministry, after the Indian gov-

ernment summoned him to voice its disgust over the television comment.

Earlier this week, New Zealand TV anchor Paul Henry made fun of Dikshit's name, telling viewers how it should be pronounced. He also made derogatory remarks about Indians.

A furious Indian government asked New Zealand to take im-

mediate 'demonstrative action' against the journalist. A strong demarche was issued to the New Zealand envoy.

“It was conveyed to him (envoy) that (India) strongly and unequivocally denounces the racist remarks of the journalist in question,' a statement from the ministry said.

'It is shocking that such bigoted views have been aired by

Nadal, Condoms block up Roddick in CWG plumbing quarters PTI NEW DELHI, OCT 7

japan open

The troubled Commonwealth Games in Delhi have been hit by a new problem: thousands of condoms blocking drains at the £150m athletes' village.

Games organisers have said they will work round the clock to clear the prophylactics from pipes at the accommodation blocks housing more than 7,000 athletes and officials.

Mike Fennell, president of the Commonwealth Games Federation, sought to put a positive spin on the story at a news conference, saying: "If that is happening, it shows that there is use of condoms and I think that is a very positive story.

Athletes are being responsible."

"If they are so active then that's very good," a spokesperson for the organisers said. "We are promoting safe sex."

One official told the local Mail Today newspaper, which broke the story, that more than 4,000 condoms had already been taken from free vending machines since athletes started arriving 10 days ago.

The condom blockage follows an outbreak of gastrocolic problems such as diarrhoea among swimmers this week. Fennell said an urgent inquiry had been ordered into whether contaminated water at the event's newly refurbished swimming pool was responsible for 15 Australian and English swimmers becoming sick.

"If there is something that is unsafe, you can't swim in that water. It's a matter we have to deal with with the greatest of urgency," said Fennell, who has been criticised for his handling of the chaotic runup to the games.

The Indian organisers have insisted that water in both the main pool and the warm-up pool at the aquatic complex was tested, with nothing untoward found. "We don't know why they have fallen ill but it is not the water. Not all the swimmers have fallen sick. Maybe this group went out to eat something somewhere," a spokeswoman said.

AGENCIES TOKYO, OCT 7

Top-ranked Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick cruised into the quarterfinals of the Japan Open with straight-set victories Thursday.

Nadal, who has won three Grand Slam titles this year, beat Canada’s Milos Raonic 6-4, 6-4, while second-seeded Roddick downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 7-6 (4).

Viktor Troicki beat fifthseeded Jurgen Melzer 7-6 (7), 3-6, 7-6 (3) for his first win over the Austrian, ranked 13th in the world. He will face Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain.

Wozniacki captures top ranking

BEIJING: Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki captured the world’s No. 1 ranking with a win Thursday at the China Open, replacing Serena Williams in the top spot.

Wozniacki accomplished the feat with a 6-3, 6-3 win over No. 34 Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic in the third round in Beijing.

Wozniacki faces off in Friday’s quarterfinal against Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, who downed seventh seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4).

In the men’s bracket, secondseeded Andy Murray was into the quarterfinals with a 7-5, 63 win over Albert Montanes.

He’ll play Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia, who beat Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine, 6-3, 7-6 (2).

Silver 19 11 23 2 5 4 3 2 2 1 1 -

Bronze Total 18 70 9 34 11 46 11 24 6 16 5 13 4 10 4 8 3 6 1 3 2 1 1

Wales athlete claims harassment PTI NEW DELHI, OCT 7

An athlete from Wales participating in the Commonwealth Games has lodged a complaint with police claiming that she was harassed by unknown persons, police said today.

The Security Advisor of the team approached the police station in the Games Village yesterday and lodged the complaint.

"A case of harassment has been registered against unknown person after the complaint was made regarding the althlete's claim that someone took her photograph using a mobile phone,"

Kiwis says sorry over Dikshit slur IANS NEW DELHI, OCT 7

In table tennis Indian women defeated England 3-0 to enter the gold medal round while the men entered the semi finals ousting South Africa 3-1.

But the Indian swimmers came up with a poor display with all of them, including best hope Virdhawal Khade, making exits before the finals.

Goa’s Talasha Prabhu finished 18th in her pet event - 50m freestyle today. Pushed against some of the world’s best talent, Talasha, did not get a good start but held plenty of promise as she competed against 48 participants, heat-wise.

In hockey, Australia proved too hot for India to handle as the world champions spanked the home team 5-2 in a Pool A match and inched a step closer towards the semifinals of the men's event.

representative of a mainstream media organisation of a multiethnic democracy like New Zealand. These remarks are totally unacceptable to India and should be condemned by all right thinking people and nations,” it added.

Dikshit kept her cool, though, saying while the remarks against her 'were not appropriate', they made no difference to her.

Somdev, Sania sails into singles semis; Chetan, Saina move into semis; Jhuma, Hari Shankar qualify for finals; Shock exit for Leander-Sania pair; England thrashed 3-0 in TT, assure silver; Australia tame India in hockey ; Talasha finishes 18th