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The Voice of Goa — Since 1900 panjim, mOnday, august 9, 2010
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Municipal elections set for October 31 Reservation for ST, OBCs finalised HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, AUG 8
Be slow of tongue and quick of eye — Cervantes
IN BRIEF
Models walk on the ramp during grand finale 'Max Icon 2010 in Lucknow.
‘Centre must spell stand on Naxals’ On the eve of Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee’s rally in Maoist stronghold in Lalgarh, the CPI-M today said this signalled “joint collaboration” between her Trinamool Congress and the outlawed Naxals in West Bengal and demanded that the Centre spell out its views. - (PTI)
Shoes hurled at Zardari in Britain AGENCIES LONDON, AUG 8
A man threw both his shoes at Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari when he was addressing a public meeting in Birmingham. The shoes landed just short of him. The Telegraph on Sunday reported that Zardari, who has been criticised for visiting Britain while there were floods in his country, was in the middle of his speech when an elderly man in the crowd hurled both shoes at him. An unidentified man was later taken away from the Saturday evening meeting by police and security officials. “Zardari was in the middle of a long campaign speech when a man towards the back of the crowd hurled the shoes at him”, an eyewitness was quoted as saying. “They landed short of him, and it wasn’t clear what exactly the man was protesting about”. While talking to the British daily, Zardari had dismissed claims that he should have stayed at home. He said that the visit had resulted in the floods receiving far more international attention than they might otherwise have done.
Urban Development Minister, Joaquim Alemao has said that elections for the Municipal bodies in the State will be held on October 31 this year. During an interaction with newsmen, Alemao said the Election Code of Conduct will come into effect by September end and the polls will in most likelihood take place on October 31. On the ticklish question of reservation of seats for the Scheduled Tribes and OBCs in the coming polls, the urban development minister set at rest speculations on the number of seats that would be reserved for the ST and OBCs. If the minister is to be believed, A class municipalities such as Margao and Vasco having 20 members will have four seats reserved for the OBCs and two for the ST community. “As far as the B Class Civic bodies are concerned, two seats will be reserved for the OBCs and one for the STs”, he added. Alemao said the Government has already taken a decision on the number of seats to be reserved for the OBCs and STs in the coming polls, adding that an official notification will soon be issued to give effect to the seat reservation. He said it is now for the State Election Commission to implement the reservation of seats in the coming Municipal polls. “Let the Commission enforce the seat reservation in the future as per the 2011 population census”, he added.
Queen sees red over corruption in Games PTI LONDON, AUG 8
The British Queen is said to be furious over allegations of corruption involving a UK-based firm and the baton relay of the Commonwealth Games which is to be held in New Delhi this October, a media report said. The baton relay, which was launched in London last October and attended by the British Queen and Indian President Pratibha Patil, has been sullied by claims it has been used by the UK-based Indian-owned firm, A M Films, to cash in on the Royal brand, the Sunday Express reported. The baton bears a message from the British Monarch and is carried by runners around the world before it arrives in the host city. In fact, the Commonwealth Games organising committee is alleged to have paid A M Films UK, over 450,000 pounds for laying on cars and associated services for the London launch of the baton relay last October without any proper paperwork. Now, the Queen is in a “cold fury” over the affair which she sees as besmirching the sym-
bolic baton, the British newspaper said, without quoting any Buckingham Palace source. Even Suresh Kalmadi, the Chairman of the Commonwealth Games organising committee, has admitted there was no written contract under which paym e n t s w e re m a d e t o t h e company. The CWG organising committee has also formed a threemember panel to look into the allegations that an e-mail from the Indian High Commission in Britain, which it claimed recommended A M Films for the Queen’s Baton Relay inaugural in October last year, was tampered with. The Commission has denied recommending A M Films.
Co-option for Schedule Castes HERALD EPORTER MARGAO, AUG 8
There’s good news in store for Scheduled Castes in the coming Municipal polls. If the Government has decided to reserve seats for STs and OBCs in the civic bodies, the STs can look forward for co-option in the Municipalities. Chief Minister, Digambar Kamat on Sunday announced that the Government would co-opt a member from the Scheduled Caste community in the municipal bodies. “This Government is working for the
2 runaway juveniles traced HERALD CORRESPONDENT OLD GOA, AUG 8
Two juveniles among the five who had escaped from Apna Ghar protective home at Merces were traced within three hours in Merces itself on Saturday night. It may be recalled that five teenagers had escaped from the Apna Ghar by bending the toilet grills on Saturday evening. The Superintendent of Apna Ghar had informed Old Goa police that the incident took place sometime between 5.45 and 6 pm, when the five aged between 12 and 14 years broke the toilet grills and jumped over the compound wall. Locals noticed the two juveniles who were wearing Apna Ghar uniform and moving in Merces village informed Old Goa police who rushed to the spot and brought the duo back to Apna Ghar. According to Old Goa Police, the five juveniles were not criminals, but had been found missing and were sent to the Apna Ghar. Police further informed that they are still in search of the other three juveniles, who are yet to be traced.
common man and it will not lag behind in co-opting a member from the Scheduled Caste in the Civic bodies”, Kamat said. The chief minister made the announcement after Panchayat Minister, Babu Azgaonkar requested the Government to ens u re t h a t S C c o m m u n i t y member is co-opted in the Municipal bodies. Referring to the Government decision to reserve seats for the ST and OBCs in the Municipal polls, Azgaonkar demanded that the Government (Continued on page 10)
Landslides wreak havoc in China, 127 killed PTI BEIJING, AUG 8
At least 127 people are dead and 2,000 missing as flood triggered landslides wreaked havoc in a Chinese province as water with sludge and rock submerged a township with 1.3 million population, mainly inhabited by Tibetans destroying everything that came in its way. Hundreds of homes were found toppled and several residents still trapped in the Chengguan Township and several villages in northwest China’s Zhouqu County in the Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Gansu Province, official media reports reaching here said, quoting ruling Communist party officials. “76 people were injured, while nearly 2,000 others in the county were still missing. About 45,000 people have been evacuated,” Xinhua news agency said, quoting a statement from the provincial civil affairs department. Sludge as thick as two meters was spread across some major roads in the county. Many trapped residents were waiting for rescuers atop buildings an official statement said adding that a primary school and some governmental offices in the county were damaged. Thirty three per cent of the people of the prefecture were Tibetans. As soon as the news broke out Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao rushed to the spot while President Hu Jintao ordered all out efforts by army and civilian forces to mount a massive rescue efforts to save people. Wen had set up temporary headquarters for rescue work aboard a plane heading for landslide-hit Zhouqu County to coordinate the relief activities.
NCP doubts safety of police armoury HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, AUG 8
“If drugs can go missing from the ‘malkhana’ of Anti-Narcotic Cell, then what is the guarantee that ammunition from the State police armoury was in safe hands?” questioned State Nat i o n a l i s t C o n g r e s s Pa r t y Spokesperson Trajano D’Mello on Sunday. D’Mello said he was raising this query as the Home Minister Ravi Naik had made a serious allegation in the House that politicians were paid ‘haftas’ to protect drug lords which points to sordid affairs in the functioning of politicians and police. He mentioned this was the reason he doubted the seriousness of the police in guarding the State armoury. It is high time there is a serious investigation by an external agency into the politician-police-drug mafia nexus which may also throw light into this aspect which I have raised, he observed. In light of recent serious allegations by the home minister, D’Mello called upon the Chief Minister to intervene and handover the investigation to the CBI or any national investigating agency to save the image of the coalition Government and to know what’s rotting where. Addressing a press conference, he said the so-called nexus attains more seriousness because it could have links to terrorists and the home minister’s charge attains bigger relevance. But at the same time, D’Mello chided the home minister stating the latter cannot make them believe neither he nor his son
Beware of what you eat! Vegetables not checked for quality HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, AUG 8
A large quantum of vegetable and fruit products that Goans consume is imported from neighbouring Belgaum in Karnataka, even as people are not too sure on the quality of the stuff they consume was healthy or not. In the just-concluded Monsoon Session of the Goa Legislative Assembly Canacona MLA Vijay Pai Khot raised the issue questioning the quality of the vegetable and chicken products entering the Goan market from Belgaum. Khot had raised the issue during one of the demands for grants sessions wherein he highlighted apart from vegetables even the chickens that are imported into the State were injected with hormones for faster growth. When contacted, Director of Food and Drugs Administration said vegetables were farm products and as a result this department was not responsible for checking their quality. Farm products are not listed in FDA’s definition of food, he
Almost three days after nature’s fur y unleashed in Leh and nearby areas claiming at least 145 lives, the picturesque landscape has been transformed into a disaster zone. What remains to be seen as one walks through Choglusmar village today are just piles of cars that have smashed into houses and shops, and slush everywhere following the sudden cloudburst that triggered flash floods on Thursday night and Friday morning. The magnitude of the natural disaster in the area popular with foreign tourists can be gauged from the fact that even two-storied houses are buried below tonnes of silt. The anxious relatives and
friends of the missing persons were seen searching for their loved ones and acquaintances. Some people also got into an altercation with the rescue workers and officials of the local administration, as they were not able to find their near and dear ones for the last two days since the disaster struck. The elevation of the mud mounds has, at certain points, reached the topmost level of the high tension wires. The height of the slush also caused apprehension that many of the over 500 missing could be buried beneath. As Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Army and General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) ploughed through the rummage with earth movers, cranes and other machines, one also could
stated. Director Agriculture Department S S Tendulkar said Goa receives nearly 70 per cent of vegetable produce from Belgaum. However, he informed, there was no system in place to ascertain quality of vegetables grown locally and those imported from outside the State. Tendulkar said the process of checking quality of vegetables was an expensive one and required a sophisticated lab. Elaborating on Tendulkar’s assertion, officials at the Indian Council for Agricultural Research said apart from having a sophisticated laboratory, the process for checking quality of vegetables requires highly
skilled personnel. Basically, the officials described, two types of equipments – High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and Gas Liquid Chromatography (GPC) — are sufficient to carry out specialised checks on vegetables to ascertain their quality standards. During the Monsoon Session Opposition MLAs cornered the ruling faction on the issue by asserting locally produced vegetables were rich in quality than the ones sourced from outside. They charged that the Horticulture Department had done nothing to encourage local farmers to give priority to these locally grown products.
US, UK ask citizens to avoid Ladakh PTI NEW DELHI, AUG 8
The devastation in Leh after the flash floods.
see tourists lending a helping hand as they removed boulders that had rolled down the hill with the slush and tended to the injured in makeshift relief camps. Few foreigners, putting behind their worries to leave the disaster zone, were also seen
actively taking part in rescue missions. Both the ITBP and the Army have set up various camps to look after the hundreds injured. The ITBP had also set up ‘langar’ (community kitchen) along the roads which is feeding hundreds of homeless.
Investigation should also be able to find out whether the armoury of the police department was intact and whether some of the arms have gone out to the underworld was part of the politician-police-drug mafia nexus. The spokesperson, again, raised serious doubts on the postings of police personnel in all these years. “One of the important aspects of the CBI investigation should focus on postings to find out whether these were routine or were influenced by higher-ups to facilitate the drug trade”, he stated. D’Mello demanded the investigation should also be able to find out whether the armoury of the police department was intact and whether some of the arms have gone out to the underworld. It is a well-known fact there are a lot of illegal arms in (Continued on page 10)
Oil spill worsens as ship tilts further PTI MUMBAI, AUG 8
Leh: once a scenic landscape, now a disaster zone PTI CHOGLUMSAR (Leh), AUG 8
TRAJANO TALK If drugs can go missing from the ‘malkhana’ of AntiNarcotic Cell, then what is the guarantee that ammunition from the State police armoury was in safe hands.
The US and UK today issued advisories asking its citizens to avoid travelling to Leh and the surrounding areas of Ladakh, which are recovering from severe damage caused by Friday’s flashflood and landslide. The travel alerts also advised its citizens who are stranded there, to contact local airlines for information on outgoing flights. “American citizens are advised to avoid travel to the Northern Indian city of Leh and the surrounding mountainous area of Ladakh, which are recovering
from severe damage caused by extensive flash flooding and landslide over the weekend. Newsreports indicate that over hundred persons have died in the incidents with hundred more still missing,” the US travel advisory said. The UK in its alert said, “due to on-going disruptions following flood, we advise against travel to Leh and the surrounding areas at the current time.” The UK also advised monitoring of local and international weather update for details of impending weather depressions, which are common at this time of the year.
A cargo ship, which collided with another vessel a few nautical miles off the coast here, continues to spill oil for the second consecutive day as it further tilted, dropping more oil containers into sea, as the Coast Guard carried out anti-pollution operations. A day after the collision involving Panamanian cargo ships - MSC Chitra and MV Khalijia-III —, traffic at the city’s harbour remained suspended. The Coast Guard, in its bid to contain the spill, pressed into service five ships and two helicopters with anti-pollution dispersal spray systems. “Traffic has been suspended as the containers are still sighted floating into the channel thus making navigation hazard,” a Coast Guard official said. Officials are yet to locate the leakage as some portion of Chitra has submerged into the water. Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Shipping has initiated an investigation into the incident, Directorate General of Shipping’s Chief Nautical Advisor M M Savvi told PTI, adding “the Coast Guard and senior officials are now at the site”. According to officials, Chitra was carrying about 1200 containers which had over 266 tonnes of fuel. “Nearly 250 containers have fallen into the sea after the ship tilted further to 75 degrees today,” the official said.
Waste of power? Nonsense!! These streetlights never work in the night...