OHERALDOThe Voice of Goa Since 1900

Business: India has no plan to

ban Dow Chemicals Pg 13

Visit us at:www.oheraldo.in panjim, friday, august 20, 2010 priCE rs. 3.00 (air surcharge rs. 1.50) pages 18

Make sure only the ship is goingto be removed, not my govern-ment.(Continued on page 11)

(Continued on page 11)

Sports: Probe corruption charges

against CWG Fennell Pg 18India: Eesha miffed at

item girl tag Pg 9

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, AUG 19

Nine senior students of GoaMedical College were expelledfrom the boys hostel for raggingtheir juniors. They were laterarrested by the Agassaim policeunder different sections of theIndian Penal Code for offencesbailable under the law.

In his complaint to the police,Director (administration) GMCS V Naik said the nine studentshad indulged in ragging sevenstudents of first-year MBBS inroom number 10 of the hostel.He stated the seniors used crim-inal force and intentionally in-sulted their juniors.

Naik gave the names of thesenior students as BhanuMishra, Vivek Kaser, Ankit Jain,Lalit Kumar, Vaibhav Shakya,Praveen Sen Shahi, Prosenjit Hal-dar and Manish Ujjwal.

He s t a ted Gu igwang KNagam, Deepak Sehrawat, Ab-hishek Singh, Suyash Gupta, Bra-jmohan Jo sh i , A sh i toshSwarankar and Gautam Gondalare the junior students whowere ragged on August 18 be-tween 9 pm and 11 pm.

Medical Superintendent GMCDr Rajan Kunkolienkar said theanti-ragging committee of thecollege met under the chairman-ship of Dean V N Jindal. Thecommittee decided to expel thestudents from the hostel untilfurther orders as per the MedicalCouncil of India, he said.

Goa Prohibition of Ragging(Amendment) Bill, 2010 waspassed on August 4 in the Goalegislative assembly during themonsoon session. The bill con-tains strict measures to maintaina vigil over ragging activities ineducational institutions.

9 GMC students booted out from

hostel for raggingHERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, AUG 19

In an interesting development,celebrated playwright Girish Kar-nad today withdrew his resig-nation after Chief MinisterDiagamabar Kamat personallyspoke to him, the chief minis-ters office said here.

Media advisor to the chiefminister Suresh Walve told Her-ald that the actor withdrew hisresignation after the chief min-ister convinced him to be a partof the Golden Jubilee Develop-ment Council.

The chief minister convincedhim on the importance of hispresence on the golden jubileecouncil, Walve said adding following this, the actor with-drew his resignation.

The official further said thatKarnad was of the opinion that

since the chief minister had per-sonally spoken to him he is with-drawing the resignation.

Karnad, who was named oneof the members of the council which is to be headed by therenowned scientist Dr Raghu-nath Mashelkar, had expressedshock over the attack on JosePereira exhibition recently.

Let me say how deeplyshocked I am to hear of the at-

tacks by self-styled standard-bearers of Hindu culture on theworks of Jose Pereira, a scholarand artist of eminence, Kar-nad had said in a letter toChief Minister DigamabarKamat.

I should like to withdraw myname from the high level com-mittee which you were kindenough to invite me to serveon since this is not the cultureof Liberation I had hoped to cel-ebrate, Karnad had said.

The Hindu Janjagruti Sanghprotested against an exhibitionat the XCHR which has on dis-play some epiphanies of Hindugods by Jose Pereira.

The groups have continued asustained campaign brandingthe paintings obscene. Fol-lowing the protests the paint-ings were withdrawn.

Karnad withdrawsresignation

VIbHA VERmA

PANJIM AUG 19

Even after a year, the Centralgovernments scheme of sup-plying safety equipment to fish-ermen is yet to be acceptedcompletely. Of the four majorfishing jetties at Malim, Cut-bona, Vasco and Chapora, onlyfirst two jetties have been sup-plied with Garmin marine de-vices.

Speaking to the media, Fish-eries Director S C Verenkar saidthat the supply was in quick re-sponse to proposals put forthby trawler owners belongingfrom respective fishing jetties.Basically, trawler owners werenot aware of the scheme and ifsome of them did know, theylacked financial backing, thedirector replied to a question

on the poor response to thescheme.

The safety device kit com-prises a global positioning sys-tem (GPS), very high frequency(VHF) wireless sets and fish find-ers, fitted in each of the trawlers.The kits under the scheme supply of safety equipmentsunder development of marinefisheries are supplied by MegaSoft Pvt Ltd, who is the autho-rised dealer of Garmin Equip-ments in Goa.

Verenkar stated that the de-partment has received 150 freshproposals from more trawlerowners including Cortalim fish-ing jetty.

When the 90-lakhs schemewas announced to fishermenacross the coastal states, thegovernment assured to bear 75

percent of the total expense ofthe kit, each of which costsabout Rs 70,000.

Whereas, the remaining 25percent had to be borne by eachof the trawler owners. Verenkarinformed Herald that 118trawler owners at Malim jettyand 73 from Curbona societyhave already received these de-vices.

Chairman of the MandoviFishermen Cooperative SocietyMenino Afonso stated that ofthe total only 88 trawlers boatsare outfitted with the devices.

Each of the kits helps tracelocation of the trawler, commu-nicate immediately without anyhindrance and spot deep seafish.

According to an officer, who

Safety kit scheme fails to hook trawler owners

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 19

Where is the Goa Reconstructionof Registers and Records Act,2005? Has the 2005 Act andthe Rules framed in 2008 beenconfined to the record booksby the government instead ofimplementing it to help recon-struct torn and mutilatedrecords in the offices of sub reg-istrars.

It seems so, as the govern-ment has been dragging its feetto set up a mechanism to en-force the law, which could havehelped save precious documentslying in ruins in sub registrar of-fices.

State Registrar, V G Salkar was

candid in admitting that the GoaReconstruction of Registers andRecords Act, 2005 has not beenenforced till date. Another sen-ior officer informed that the actcould not be implemented sincethe last half decade for want ofany mechanism.

According to Salkar, the post

of deputy district registrar hasbeen created only a couple ofmonths ago. A deputy districtregistrar is a competent author-ity to decide applications re-ceived from the offices of subregistrars for reconstruction ofthe documents. Since the postis finally created, the Act will beimplemented in the forceablefuture, he said, adding that thedeputy district registrar will berequired to sit in the office ofthe Directorate of Planning andStatistics

Herald, however, understandsthat it may take time for the lawto be finally given effect as thepost of the deputy district reg-istrar will have to be filled up

by the Goa Public Service Com-mission. Yes, the post of deputydistrict registrar is a gazettedpost. It has to be filled up bythe GPSC, Salkar said, addingthat it may take a couple ofmonths before the post is filledup and the mechanism estab-lished to implement the Goa Re-construction of Registers andRecords Act.

What has surprised presentand past officials is the inordi-nate delay by the governmentto give effect to a law whichwas passed half-a-decade ago.First, the act was not imple-mented on the pretext that therules were not framed by the

Act to save damaged records gathering dust

PTI

NEW DELHI, AUG 19

The Nuclear Liability Bill wastoday embroiled in a fresh rowwith the Bharatiya JanataParty(BJP) and Left objecting toan amendment proposed by aparliamentary panel on suppli-ers obligation in case of an ac-cident but the governmentsought to allay the apprehen-sions of opposition parties.

The Union cabinet meetingscheduled to consider the billwas postponed till tomorrow,apparently to consider the ob-jections raised by the opposition.

BJP and Left parties raised ob-jections to addition of a wordand in the Clause 17 which saysthat The operator of a nuclearinstallation shall have a right torecourse where (A) such rightis expressly provided for in acontract in writing.

The parties fear that insertionof the word dilutes the obliga-tions on the suppliers of equip-ment in case of a nuclear accident.

The government, on its part,sought to allay apprehensionsover the recommendations ofthe standing committee, sayingall concerns would be addressed.

I assure my friends in BJPand Left that we have already

taken their concerns on board.If there are any concerns, thereare some concerns that havebeen raised today, all those con-cerns will be addressed in allseriousness, Minister of StatePrithviraj Chavan told reporters.

Wait till the amendmentsare brought to parliament, hesaid when his attention wasdrawn to objections raised overthe amendments.

The report of standing com-mittee on science and technol-ogy, which examined the CivilLiability for Nuclear DamagesBill 2010, proposed that theClause 17(A) may end with wordand.

It also proposed modificationof Clause 17(b) to say the nu-clear incident has resulted as aconsequence of latent or patentdefect, supply of sub-standardmaterial, defective equipmentor services or from the grossnegligence on the part of thesupplier of the material, equip-ment or services.

BJP, which had agreed withCongress on changes in the bill,shot off a note to the govern-ment, saying clubbing of Clause17(A) and (B) dilutes provi-sions relating to the liability ofsuppliers.

Nuclear Liability Billembroiled in new row

PTI

NEW DELHI, AUG 19

With questions raised over com-pletion of CommonwealthGames projects in time, the gov-ernment today announced ap-pointment of 10 senior officialsto oversee preparation of majorvenues of the event, a moveseen as further stripping of pow-ers of Organising CommitteeChairman Suresh Kalmadi.

Prime Minister ManmohanSingh, who had stepped in toclear the mess in the wake ofcontroversies in the run-up tothe games beginning October3, approved the appointmentof these experienced bureau-crats to solve coordination prob-lems.

However, Kalmadi maintainedthese officers have been ap-pointed at the request of the OC.

The officers have been em-powered to take on-the-spot de-cisions to tie-up any loose endsor resolve conflicts betweengovernment agencies and or-ganisations before the games,the cabinet secretariat said in itsorder.

Of the 10 officers, four are ofthe rank of additional secretaryin the government and the restjoint secretaries.

They are Subhodh Kumar (AS-Telecom), S R Rao (AS-IT), R CMisra (AS-UD), Amarjeet Singh,Executive Director, Health Min-istry, J S Deepak (JS-Commerce),Rohit Nandan (JS-Civil Aviation),Shashi Shekar (OSD-Power Trad-ing Corporation), Tara Dutt (JS-Cabinet Secretariat), GopalaKrishna (Secretary, Sports Au-thority of India) and Rajeev Kapur(JS-Personnel and Training).

10 senior officials tooversee CWG projects

Centre asksStates to beon high alert

PTI

NEW DELHI, AUG 19

The country has been put onhigh alert following intelligenceinputs that Pakistan-based ter-rorists may strike during the up-coming festive season.

The Centre has asked Stategovernments to take all possiblesteps to foil attempts by militantgroups, particularly Lashkar-e-Taiba, to disrupt peace duringongoing Ramzan and the up-coming festivals of Raksha Band-han, Idd-ul Fitr and Onam.

Sources said the advisory is-sued by Home Ministry askedall States to increase vigil andtake precautionary measures toensure security as Pakistan-based groups may strike at pub-lic places.

The ministry asked states likeDelhi, Karnataka and Kerala todeploy additional forces in sen-sitive locations.

Onam will be celebrated onAugust 23, Raksha Bandhan onAugust 24 and Idd-ul Fitr onSeptember 13.

Damaged records in the office ofSalcete Sub Registrar.

Pak violates ceasefire againPakistani troops violated the ceasefire yet again today firingrockets and mortars at Indian forward posts along the Line ofControl in Poonch district in the wee hours with an aim to sendmilitants across the border. (PTI)

Dont divulgeModi remarkon riots: SC

PTI

NEW DELHI, AUG 19

The Supreme Court today askedthe Special Investigation Team(SIT) not to make public GujaratChief Mi n i s t e r N a re n d r aModis statement in connec-tion with post-Godhra riotsand disapproved the conduct ofactivist Teesta Setalvad in con-tacting a prosecutor in one ofthe cases.

We direct the SIT not to di-vulge any information collectedduring the course of investiga-tion to anyone except the trialcourt and public prosecutor con-cerned,a special bench headedby Justice D K Jain said.

The direction came when itwas pointed out to the benchby the SIT that the commissionheaded by Justice G T Nanavati,probing the sequence of eventsin the 2002 riot cases, hassought the statement of Modirecorded by the investigatingteam.

Page 1_Layout 1 8/20/2010 12:22 AM Page 1

GOA, FRIDAY, 20 AUGUST, 2010

GOA Pg 2OHERALD

O

MMC workersservice

regularisedHERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 19

The long-drawn struggle for jus-tice by aggrieved Margao Mu-nicipal worker W Silva has finallyborne fruit.

The Margao Municipal Coun-cil on Thursday signed a settle-ment with the aggrieved workerbefore the deputy labour com-missioner, appointing him as aworker with immediate effect.

While the civic body will is-sued the appointment order onFriday, Silvas appointment asthe worker will come into effectfrom Thursday, informed MMCChairperson Savio Coutinho.

Coutinho along with MMCChief Officer, Y B Tawde, besidesthe aggrieved worker Silva andCWC President Sriram Raiturcarwere present before the deputyLabour commissioner on Thurs-day evening.

Silva had gone on an indefi-nite hunger strike a fortnightago, claiming he was discrimi-nated by the civic body by ig-nor ing h i s c l a im fo rregularization of his service.

The worker had contendedthat he had put in 14 years ofservice on daily wages, but wasignored by the civic body whenregularizing the services of 39workers, some of whom did notcomplete 240 days of continu-ous service in one calendar year.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CANACONA, AUG 19

The Canacona Flood Relief Com-mittee (CFRC) has stepped in toinsure 187 flood-prone housesin Canacona taluka to the tuneof about Rs 6 crore.

Some of the house insurancepolicies were handed over tobeneficiaries in a function at theShree Shradanand VidyalayaPoinguinim on Thursday.

Those attending the functionincluded insurance company of-ficials and CFRC members, be-s ides the i n su rancebeneficiaries.

The insurance premium willbe within the range of Rs 125-135 per annum, while eachhouse will be insured for an av-erage amount of Rs 3 lakh.

Most of the houses were ei-ther completely destroyed orpartially damaged and had tobe rebuilt, while some housesinundated in the unprece-dented Canacona floods atPoinguinim, Loliem, Mangan,Mohard and Kindlem have alsobeen insured.

The first annual premium on

Canacona committee steps in to insure 187 flood-prone houses

A flood-affected resident is handed over an insurance cover of Rs 3lakh for his house. Photo by Kathy Pereira

behalf of all these insurers hasbeen paid by CFRC ChairmanSandeep Ramesh Painguinkar inhis individual capacity, while in-dividual insurers have to bearthe premium from the secondyear.

Sandeep Painguinkar an-nounced that the committeehad built 16 houses destroyedin the October 2009 floods, be-sides providing assistance in the

form of construction materialsto build another 60 houses inCanacona taluka.

Sandeep Dessai, Develop-ment Officer with National In-surance Company, informedthat calamities always strikewithout warning and said thecompany offers a decent in-surance cover to all propertieswhich can be destroyed by nat-ural calamities.

Chicalim murder probe moving at snails pace

HERALD REPORTER

VASCO, AUG 19

The murder of 26-year-oldNaresh Dourado continues tobaffle police, as investigationshave been moving at snails pacenearly 20 days after the youthwas found murdered at hisbrothers flat at Chicalim.

While Vasco police managedto trace the missing car at AaradiBand in Taleigao, the mobile andlaptop of the deceased are yetto be located and these twogadgets could throw more lighton the events leading to thedeath of Naresh.

Police has been interrogatingmost of his friends, colleaguesand relatives who were in touchwith Naresh.

Vasco Police claims to haveestablished some leads in thecase, but is reluctant to divulgeit to the press, fearing that suchleaks could hamper the investi-gations.

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

MAYEM, AUG 19

While shops in Sanquelim gotflooded mainly due to a heavydownpour in the Virdi andChorla Ghat region, the WaterResource Department (WRD) aswell as officials at the AnjunemDam came in for severe criticismon Thursday.

At a special meeting in theoffice of the North Goa CollectorMihir Vardhan, the WRD was ac-cused of failing to start the fourlift irrigation pumps in time,while officials at Anjunem Damwere criticised for releasingwater without intimating thepublic.

"Had the WRD started all four

lift irrigation pumps as soon aswater began to enter into themarket, the water would nothave flooded the shops," claimedSanquelim Municipal CouncilChairman Anand Naik.

He also accused authoritiesat Anjunem dam for releasingthe water without prior intima-tion, claiming that it was nec-essary to do so in public interest.

Besides Collector Vardhan,others attending the meetingincluded Deputy CollectorNarayan Gaad, Sanquelim ChiefOfficer Bhanudas Naik, WRD en-gineers Kulachari, Badami andAssagaonkar and other officials.

Meanwhile, the flood-affectedtraders from Sanquelim were

busy salvaging items and clean-ing their shops on Thursday.

Said a businessmen, AnandKanekar: "The people from San-quelim, especially the traders,have lost faith in the govern-ment authorities. We are afraidto even stock goods in bulk dur-ing the forthcoming GaneshChaturthi as they could get de-stroyed in similar floods."

SMC Chairman Anand Naikhas informed that residents willbe given a demonstration onrescue operations in the even-tuality of similar floods in thefuture.

Health authorities have alsobegun a drive to protect villagersfrom epidemics due to floods.

2 held for scooter

theftHERALD CORRESPONDENT

CALANGUTE, AUG 19

Two persons were arrested byCalangute Police in connectionwith the theft of a two-wheelerat Candolim on Thursday.

According to Calangute PoliceInspector Nolasco Raposo, the po-lice received a phone call from aperson stating that a scooter (GDN1463) parked in front of the Gov-ernment Primary School, Can-dolim, was being taken in arickshaw.

Acting swiftly, a message wasrelayed to the Calangute RobinPolice, while PI Raposo himselfalong with a police team rushedto intercept the rickshaw.

The rickshaw carrying thescooter (GDN 1463) was inter-cepted at the Parra junction. Twopersons, Sylvester Fernandes (39)of Ximer-Candolim and one Hiru-das of Aradi-Candolim, but a na-tive of Nepal, were detained inthe connection. Mahesh Rivonkar,scooter owner had filed a policecomplaint. Investigations are inprogress under the supervisionof PI Nolasco Raposo.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 19

Margaos roaring omelette pavbusiness at the Old Bus Standwent missing on Thursdayevening. Barring one or two,around seven handcarts sellingomelette pav were found in theMargao municipal garden in-stead of the old bus stand.

Reason: The Margao Munici-pal Council attached these fastfood kiosks following a requisi-tion from the Margao Traffic Cellthat the gaddas were causingobstruction to parking at thebus stand.

A team of municipal workersseized the gaddas kept at thebus stand this morning andbrought them to the municipalgarden. When news of the mu-nicipal action reached the gaddaowners, they came rushing tothe municipal body, but ChiefOfficer Y B Tawde refused to re-lease the seized kiosks.

Instead, Tawde told the kioskowners to approach the DistrictCollector, South G P Naik sayingthat action against the fast foodhandcarts has been initiated uponorders from the district magis-trate. Pleas by the kiosk owners

that they will suffer loss if thegaddas are not released fell ondeaf ears as the municipalitystuck to its decision.

When contacted, Margao Traf-fic Cell incharge, PI Prabodh Shir-waikar told Herald that theaction has been initiated againstthe handcarts since they werecausing obstruction to parkingat the bus stand. The ownersof these handcarts are not sup-posed to keep their carts at thebus stand, but are mandated totake them away to their placeof residence, he said, addingthe traffic police has no objec-tion to the business activity ifthe handcarts are towed awayfrom the bus stand every dayafter business hours.

Though the sudden actionhas left the owners fuming,many in the civic body has ques-tioned the police action, de-manding to know whethersimilar action will be initiatedagainst the non-Goan vendorscarrying out business near trafficjunctions and parking lots.

In fact, sources in the knowsaid the police has questionedabout the presence of dozens offruit selling handcarts on the cityroad, causing traffic bottlenecks,especially during peak hours.

Anjunem Dam officials flayed for Sanquelim market flooding

The seized omelette pav handcarts at the Margao Municipal garden.Photo by Santosh Mirajkar

MMC confiscates sevenomelette pav handcarts

Missing person fished out

HERALD CORRESPONDENT

CANACONA, AUG 19

The body of one of the two per-sons feared drowned was fishedout from the Galgibaga River onThursday morning.

According to the fire services,the body of Mohan alias GuneshChari, who has reportedly slippedover a footpath near his house atIdhar-Poinguinim and fell into arivulet, was noticed floating in theriver.

It may be recalled that fireservices personnel and life-guards of Dhristhi at Galgibagabeach had been on the lookoutfo r two pe r sons f romPoinguinim village reported tohave been missing in two dif-ferent incidents on Tuesday andWednesday.

The search continues for theother missing Galgibaga resi-dent, Patrick Barretto (35), whowas feared drowned on Wednes-day morning.

Work out pension schemefor panchas: forum to govt

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 19

The Goa Panchayat Democratic Forum has urged the governmentto work out a pension scheme for the Panch members, besidesmonthly allowance for the Panchayat elected representatives.

When MLAs and other elected representatives are receivingmonthly allowances and pension, the same benefit should be ex-tended to Sarpanchas and Panchayat members, demanded Forummember and Rachol Sarpanch, Joseph Vaz.

Briefing newsmen, the Forum expressed satisfaction over thegovernment decision to bring about Amendment to the PanchayatRaj Act making provision for a district Court as the Appellate au-thority. The common citizen or Panchayat can challenge the orderpassed by any authority before the court of law if they feel thatthe order is illegal. This will prevent miscarriage of justice as theorder of the government officers can now be tested by the Judiciary,asserted Cavelossim Sarpanch Edwin Barretto.

He said the government wanted to take control of the villagepanchayats through the back door by bypassing duly elected pan-chayat bodies by amending Section 47 of the Goa Panchayat RajAct. Through this proposed Amendment, the Village Panchayatsecretary could have executed the order or direction from anyauthority such as a Director of Panchayat, BDO and Deputy Directorof Panchayats without consulting the Panchayat body, Barrettosaid.

H1N1 count rises to 40

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, AUG 19

Six more cases of H1N1 virushave been confirmed taking thetotal number of those afflictedwith the disease to 40 since thebeginning of the year. These sixcases were from the 18 samplespending tests since the last fivedays.

Epidemiologist Dr Jose DSatold Herald 12 more sampleshave been sent to National In-stitute of Communicable Dis-eases, Delhi, for testing. In thesix cases the patients fromTiswadi (1), Salcete (4) and Mor-mugao (1) were treated and havefully recovered.

GOA, FRIDAY, 20 AUGUST, 2010

GOA Pg 3OHERALD

O

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, AUG 19

Pilerne Citizens Forum has served a 15-day ulti-matum to the Government to eliminate namesof voters into the electoral roll, who have beenincluded without following proper procedure.

At a press briefing on Thursday, advocate YatishNaik asked the Government to scrutinize theentire process wherein, he alleged, that Mamlat-dars of all 11 talukas included names of severalthousand voters without following proceduresand guidelines laid down by the Election Com-mission of India.

The forum has threatened to move BombayHigh Court at Goa, if the Government fails to ini-tiate steps. Naik assured to seek intervention ofthe chairman of the Goas Golden Jubilee PanelDr Raghunath Mashelkar to take cognizance ofthe matter and advise the Government to followrules.

Using the RTI, the PCF submitted commonquestionnaires to all 11 Mamlatdar offices, repliesof which were inconsistent.

The entire procedure needs to be scrutinizedand since it clearly appears from the replies and

admissions that proper and common procedurewas not followed by the Mamlatdars in Goa. Therolls must be redone to correct the serious er-rors, he said.

The PCF used RTI to first ask the Chief ElectionCommission at New Delhi on November 28, 2009for information about election procedures andguidelines laid down to enroll voter names. Itwas only after receiving replies that PCF dashedquestions under RTI to respective Mamlatdar of-fices.

With the process of enrolling new voters isunderway and the final roll to be published onAugust 26, PCF has demanded not to proceedwith the final roll without ascertaining facts.

Naik clarified they were not against new votersbut it ought to be carried out following properprocedures to avoid bogus voting.

The forum members ridiculed that Chief Min-ister Digambar Kamat on the floor of the Houseand joint chief electoral officer also admittedthat Mamlatdars furnished varied replies to thesame query. Despite the candid admission, theadvocate rued that no corrective action has beeninitiated.

PCF wants govt to scrutinise electoral roll procedure

Threatens to move High Court

Kelekar hospitalised

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 19

Jnanpith Award winner, RavindraKelekar was taken ill at theApollo Victor Hospitals after hecomplained of respiratory dis-orders.

Kelekar (85) is admitted inthe Intensive Care Unit of theApollo Hospital and is beingattended by a team of doc-tors.

Dr Rajesh Javherani told news-men that Kelekar is sufferingfrom respiratory problem andis being diagnosed for chest in-fection.

He is recovering, but it willtake some time for him to fullrecover, given his age and hislung condition. Kelekar will con-tinue to stay in the hospital for2-3 more days, Dr Javheraniadded.

Replying to a question, DrJavherani said Kelekar is re-sponding to treatment and isshowing some signs of improve-ment. If this continues, I willbe able to discharge him fromthe hospital after 2-3 days time,he said.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 19

Demanding that the governmentappoint independent experts toprobe into the death of Vernagirl, Ravina Rodrigues, womensorganization Bailancho Ekvottand her family members haveserved seven-day deadline onthe government to initiate ac-tion against the erring doctorsor face action.

Briefing newsmen, Ravinasrelatives and Bailancho EkvottConvenor Auda Viegas squarelyblamed the doctors as being re-sponsible behind the younggirls death at the Goa MedicalCollege and Hospital, Bambolim.

Demanding the arrest of theGMC doctor on grounds of al-

leged moral turpitude andmalafide acts including profes-sional negligence resulting inthe death of a precious life, Vie-gas vowed that her womens or-ganization will pursue the caseto its logical and rational con-clusion and take all appropriatemeasures and action as per law.In order to ensure justice toRavina and other women, wedemand that impartial and sep-arate medical opinion be ob-tained by government andindependent medical expertswithin seven days. Otherwise,our organization will be com-pelled to initiate such an inde-pendent inquiry by appointingneutral doctors with request tosubmit their medical report,

she asserted.Bailancho Ekvott also de-

manded that an independentcommission be appointed by

the government for the pur-pose of suggesting remedialmeasures on certain issuesconcerning non ethical pri-vate practices of governmentemployed doctors while theyare paid non practicing al-liance.

This case of medical callous-ness and negligence with regardto the tragic death of Ravinashould serve as an eye openerfor every concerned citizen inthe state of Goa. The case alsosends ultimatum to the policeauthorities and concerned med-ical practitioners to act in ac-cordance with the sentimentsof justice and not to test pa-tience of innocent women folk,she added.

Appoint independent experts to probe Verna girls deathn In order to ensure

justice to Ravina and otherwomen, we demand thatimpartial and separatemedical opinion beobtained by governmentand independent medicalexperts within seven days.Otherwise, ourorganization will becompelled to initiate such an independentinquiry by appointing neutral doctors withrequest to submit their medical report. --Auda Viegas

Babush, son served notices HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, AUG 19

Education Minister Atanasio Monserrate and his son Amit havebeen served notices for allegedly attempting to take away anaccused arrested by the police after entering Panjim Police Stationon February 19, 2008.

The Panjim Chief Judicial Magistrate today served notice overthe chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)under Section 353 (assault to deter public servant from dischargeof duty) read with Section 34 (act done by several persons in fur-therance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.

Former Panjim Mayor Tony Rodrigues and CCP contractor RajeshRavindran are also been served notices over the matter.

On the basis of an FIR lodged by the then Panjim PI in the attackcase, the CBI in their chargesheet had mentioned that the accuseddemanded the release of one Mainardo alias Toto from police cus-tody.

They entered the police station and attempted to take awaythe arrested accused and obstructed the complainant (Panjimpolice PI) and other police persons in discharge of their duties,the chargesheet reads.

It had also pointed out that four police personnel were injuredduring the incident.

Meanwhile, the court has adjourned the hearing on thechargesheet against 37 accused in connection with violent attackon city police station in February 2008.

The matter was adjourned after Advocate Arun Bras DSa ap-pearing on behalf of Monserrate sought time stating that theyhave challenged the chargesheet in the High Court and the appealto quash the chargesheet is pending.

CBI has filed a chargesheet against 37 accused including theminister, his wife Jennifer, city mayor Carolina Po and former mayorRodrigues. All accused face charges for rioting, attack on publicservants with dangerous weapons, causing mischief by damageto public property and also use of fire and explosives.

MMiinniissttrryy ooff IInnffoorrmmaattiioonn aanndd BBrrooaaddccaassttiinnggGGoovveerrnnmmeenntt ooff IInnddiiaa

Nation pays tribute to Rajiv Gandhi

on his

20th August, 2010

.... PPaattrriioottiissmm iiss nnoott rreesseerrvveedd

RRaajjiivv GGaannddhhii

ffoorr aannyy oonnee ccoommmmuunniittyy;; iitt fflloowwss iinn tthhee bblloooodd ooff eevveerryy IInnddiiaann..

davp 2

2202/1

3/0

025/1

011

GOA Pg 4sHoRt tAKes

GOA, FRIDAY, 20 AUGUST, 2010

upcoming events

OHE

RALD

O

Salgaocars Students Council PANJIM(HND): The students of VM Salgaocar College of Law

elected their representatives to the Students Council of thecollege recently. Prachi Sawant was elected General Secretary.Yemane DSouza, Amir Jamadar and Gitesh Shetye were electedas deputy general secretary, cultural secretary and sports sec-retary respectively.

Others elected to the Students Council are Clen Madeira,Yadnyesh Kotkar, Gaurij Kanulkar, Prashant Gunjikar, MatlockDSouza, Prajakta Pissurlenkar and Aga Nasreen, all representingthe LLB Degree Section. The LLB Honours section is representedby Allan Fernandes, Agnetha Lobo, Cannigia Carvalho, ChaitanyaNaik, Natasha Mayenkar, Piroj Bhandare, Tanvi Bharne andAshwin Gaonkar. Prof B S Patil will officiate as chairman of theStudents Council for the academic year 2010-11.

Satyanarayan PoojaPANJIM(HND): Canara Bank, Panjim branch will be organising

Satyanarayan Pooja on August 21 at 7 am at the branch officeat Mathias Plaza, 18th June Road, Panjim.

Prasad will be from 10 am to 5:30 pm. Bhajan programmewill be held from 3:30 pm to 5 pm, says a press release.

Sadbhavana Diwas todayPANJIM(HND): The 66th birth anniversary of former Prime

Minister of India late Rajiv Gandhi will be observed as Sadb-havana Diwas in Goa on August 20 as in the rest of the country.Chief Minister Digambar Kamat will lead the people of Goa inpaying homage to the departed leader.

Kamat will garland the portrait of Rajiv Gandhi in the Secre-tariat Complex at Porvorim at 11 am and will administer theSadbhavana Diwas pledge to the Secretaries, Special Secretaries,Joint Secretaries, Under Secretaries to Government and staffof Secretariat. Prior to this, the Chief Minister, GPCC chiefSubhash Shirodkar, will offer floral tributes at the statue oflate Rajiv Gandhi at Bambolim at 9.30 am and at CongressHouse in the city at 10.15 am.

Book release functionPANJIM(HND): Institute Menezes Braganza, Panjim will or-

ganize a book release function of book publication Govapuriedited by Ramesh Bhagwant Veluskar on August 23 at 4:30 pmat the GUJ Hall, Shramshakti Bhavan, 6th floor, Patto, Panaji.

Dilip Deobagkar, Vice Chancellor, Goa University has con-sented to be the chief guest and release the book.

Students Council installed

The management, staff, guests and the newly elected StudentsCouncil of MES Higher Secondary School.

PANJIM(HND): The MES Higher Secondary School, StudentsCouncil for the academic year 2010- 2011 was inaugurated bythe chief guest Dr Luis Mesquita, Principal of Padre ConcecaoCollege of Engineering, Verna.

Speaking to the Council leaders and audience, the IIT Prin-cipal, Dr Luis Mesquita guided the students on their respon-sibilities and career opportunities. At the outset PrincipalMelita Quadros welcomed the gathering while Devika Soodintroduced the chief guest. Students Council ChairpersonNelly Rodrigues administered the oath. She guided the studentson their role as student leaders and said that as a team thesecretaries of various associations and class representativesshould work to bring out all round development in sports,cultural and other fields. Manager of the School, Dr N M Jambgipresided over the function and also spoke on the occasion.

Others present on the dais were Prof Milind Mhadgut, viceprincipal in charge of Vocational Stream, Bharat Naik, and AvitaDias. The General Secretary Melissa Luis then proposed thevote of thanks while Toshita Pilgaonkar compered the function.

WEATHER REPORTMax Temp: 29.80C Min Temp: 23.40C

Humidity: 87%

Rainfall past 24 hrs: 006.8 mm

Seasonal Total: 2640.4 mm

Forecast: Occassional spells of rain or thundershower would occur in some areas.

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 19

The information technologyboom has caught the KonkanRailway Corporation as well. Aninformation kiosk hitherto as-sociated with the airlines indus-try became a reality at theMargao Railway Station and willprovide passengers with a one-stop-shop for a range of travel-related and local information atthe touch of a screen.

Thats not all. If KRC top brassis to be believed, Konkan Railwayis looking forward to establishsimilar kiosks in running trainson its popular Konkan Kanya Ex-press and Mandovi Express be-tween Goa and Mumbai.

We should have an informationkiosk on the trains, which wouldhelp the passengers confined in-side during the journey. The pas-sengers would not only get accessto information, but also entertain-ment, remarked KRC Director, Fi-nance Shahzad Shah, afterinaugurating the information kioskat the Margao Railway Station on

Touch screen information kiosk opened at Margao Rly Station

KR looks to establish similar kiosks in trains: Shah

A foreigner scans through the Information Kiosk at the Margao Rail-way Station after its inauguration by KRC Director, Finance,Shahzad Shah. Photo by Sidharth Mehta

Thursday noon.Shah urged service provider,

SkyTech solutions, which has as-sociated with KR to set up thekiosk, to examine establishinginformation kiosks in the trains.The Konkan Railway is a pioneerin many things as part of its en-deavour to be up constantly. We

have the anti-collision device.We have carried out geo safetyworks in the tunnels, he said.

Saying the information kiosk isa pilot project undertaken by theKRC in collaboration with SkyTech,Shah said the project would beextended to other Konkan Railwaystations as well if proved success-

ful. Even Indian Railways willcome running for the project iffound successful, he added.

The pilot project launchedtoday is the innovation ofSkyTECH Solution, a joint ven-ture between the TCG groupand one of the worlds largestairlines, United Airlines, US

TCG President, and CEOSkyTECH Solutions, AniruddhaLahiri said: We are very happy tobe a part of this pioneering initia-tive that aims to bring relevantinformation to passengers at thetouch of their fingertips. We hopeto see this pilot project becomea major success, he added.

The kiosk has software whichallows passengers to scan infor-mation in around 10 languages,including Hindi, Marathi, English,German and French. Though ithas a provision for informationin Konkani, the information isnot ready as of now.

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, AUG 19

Criticising the government forneglecting the youth, GoaPradesh Youth Congress Com-mittee (GPYCC) today demandedthat the government should im-mediate formulate a youth pol-icy for the youth of Goa.

Addressing a press conferenceon the eve of the 66th birth an-niversary of the former PrimeMinister Rajiv Gandhi, GPYCCPresident Sankulp Amonkar saidthat the youth has always beenneglected in the state.

The 60 per cent populationof Goa is youth but youth hasbeen neglected, he statedadding We dont have state ayouth policy. We have all kindof policies but no policy foryouths.

Amonkar further said thatthey will submit a memorandumto the Chief Minister Digamber

Kamat tomorrow at the functionto mark Rajiv Gandhis anniver-sary at Bambolim urging forma-tion of youth policy for the state.

We have national youth pol-icy and several states too havetheir youth policies but Goadoes not have one although 60per cent of population areyouths, GPYCC president said.

He said that the policy willcater to the various issues facedby the current generation.

Amonkar said that thereshould be separate directoratefor youth affairs as against club-bing it with the sports depart-ment.

The Youth Congress presidentsaid that the state has failed todeclare youth awards for pastalmost six years. If state gov-ernment fails than youth Con-gress will declare awards for thedeserving youths, he an-nounced.

Govt should formulate youth policy: GPYCC

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, AUG 19

Breaking a record since lasthalf decade, monsoons in Goacrossed 100 inches this monthas against the tradition ofcrossing the mark in Septem-ber.

Monsoons, which hit Goa onJune 10, had not seen a singledry spell nor were its currentsdisturbed through climatic phe-nomenon.

This is the first time since2007, that the rainfall hascrossed 100-inch mark in mid-August. In 2007, the rainfall hadhit a century on 27th of thismonth, Indian MeteorologicalObservatory in-charge K V Singhtold Herald.

As per our study, since lastseveral years the rainfall had

crossed 100 inch on or afterSeptember 25, he added.

Ti l l date, the State hasrecorded 103.2 inches of rainfall,which is 92 percent of the totalannual 285 cm rainfall.

Data available from the MetDepartment reveals that in 2009,the rainfall crossed the hun-dredth mark at the end of Sep-tember as against September13, 2008.

However, in 2006 the rainfallwas much below normal.

At the beginning of the sea-son, the department had pre-dicted a near normal monsoonfor the State but the seasonalrainfall is 47 cm higher thanwhat was predicted, he stated.

Goa had also received abovenormal rainfall for the month ofJune, this year, with rains touch-

ing 92 cm mark over the normal87 cm.

Singh stated that even thoughthe monsoon currents were dis-turbed in the beginning, itpicked up fast thus giving ex-cellent rainfall to the State forlast three months.

The currents were weak inthe beginning but later pickedup and were strong till the firstweek of August. Apart from this,the monsoon season has notwitnessed any dry spell. Therains were continuing in smallproportion in some or the otherparts of the State, he ex-plained.

The Met Department has saidthat the heavy rains would bereduced in next two days butState will continue receivingsmall quantity of rainfall.

Monsoons crossed 100 inches this month!

Couple arrestedfor cheating HERALD CORRESPONDENT

MUMBAI, AUG 19

Karnataka Police arrested a cou-ple from Bangalore on Wednes-day for allegedly cheating sixUS-based doctors out of Rs 8.5crore, by promising them wind-fall profits if they invested in amillion-dollar project to buildbungalows in Goa. The doctorswere to fund half the cost ofthe Rs17-crore project, andclaim half the profits.

Accused Amrish Bhawania andhis wife Ishita, from Indira Nagarin Bangalore, were arrested fromthe home of Ishitas parents at Parelin Mumbai. The Bhawanias had ap-proached six doctors in the USthrough their relative, SangitaShroff, who is also based in America.

According to the Bangalore po-lice, Amrish floated a company,New Web, in Bangalore, and reg-istered the firms office in the USin the name of Indigo LLC. Thedeal was that costs would be shared50-50 and, after completion of theproject, the bungalows would besold and profits shared equally.

GOA GOA, FRIDAY, 20 AUGUST, 2010

Pg 5OHERALD

O

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, AUG 19

Its been a decade since M V River Princessgrounded off Sinquerim beach but the State Gov-ernment is still stuck with floating and re-floatingof tenders for removal of the vessel which hascaused immense environmental damage in thelast ten years.

It looked, the government had finally got itsact correct when it went in for re-tendering inFebruary this year, and, in principle decided toaward the tender to M/s Titan Salvage but indi-cations are that the government is likely to re-think its decision in the face of objections raisedby M/s Madgaonkar Salvage, which was one ofthe two companies shortlisted along with M/sTitan Salvage.

M/s Salgaocar Mining Industries Ltd, (SMIL)which has shown keen interest in removing thegrounded vessel, is also likely to prove trouble-some.

It must be recalled that it was SMIL that char-tered M V River Princes before it was groundedon June 6, 2000.

According to the government records, it failedto remove the vessel and also did not comply

with the orders of the Magistrate.Objection raised against M/s Titan Salvage is

that lump sum amount Rs 125 crore quoted by itfor removal of the vessel was handwritten andthat too after the bids were opened.

The government has now sought legal opinionfrom the ex-advocate general Atmaram Nadkarniand also Law Department has been consultedwhether the tendering process is maintainable.

When contacted Swapnil Naik, Director ofTourism though confirmed that legal advice hasbeen sought, he said he was not aware of whatopinion has been given by the legal advisers asthe file has been sent to the chief secretary SanjaySrivastava, head of the State Disaster Manage-ment Committee (SDMC).

The chief secretary however was not con-tactable.

If the government decides to go for re-tender-ing, it means the grounded vessel will have toweather 2011 monsoon season, too.

If we decide to re-tender, it will take anothersix months to complete the tendering processleaving very little time for removing the vesselbefore the next monsoon sets in, said a gov-ernment officer on the condition of anonymity.

Princess removal: Govt still stuck in the muck

HERALD REPORTER

MARGAO, AUG 19

The Discriminated TeachersForum has expressed their an-guish and discontentment overthe inaction by the governmentin finding a solution to theirgenuine grievances during therecently concluded Assemblysession.

These teachers had highhopes that their problems wouldbe addressed to by the govern-ment during the last Assemblysession. Since nothing has comeout of the session, the Forumhas now fixed taluka wise meet-ing at Ponda on August 21 at 4pm at Vishwa Hindu ParishadSabhagraha at Kadpaband.

The Margao meeting for thebenefit of the Salcete, Canaconaand Mormugao taluka teacherswill be held at Loyola highschool, Margao on August 23,

while the Curchorem meetingwill be held at the New Educa-tional Institute on August 26 forthe teachers of Sanguem, Cur-chorem and Quepem areas. Themeeting for the benefit of Ma-pusa, Bicholim, Pernem and Sat-tari areas will be held on August31 a Walawalkar HSS, Khorlim,Mapusa at 3.30 pm.

Forum President Neves An-thony Rebello has appealed toall aggrieved teachers to attendthe taluka meetings in largenumbers with suggestions sincethe Forum will be preparing anaction plan for the approachingTeachers Day celebrations inSeptember in Panjim.

In the meantime, Rebello saidhe has sought an urgent appoint-ment with Chief Minister Digam-bar Kamat since the EducationMinister had assured on the floorof the Assembly to find a solution

to the genuine grievances facedby the prematurely retired teach-ers at the age of 58.

Teachers unhappy over govt inaction

HERALD REPORTER

VASCO, AUG 19

If you happen to reside some-where in the port town, be pre-pared to receive a slew of giftsor junkets for free. Or rather,for your vote.

Free tour packages to ShirdiSai Baba and Vailankani, donationsto tournaments, free umbrellas,books and other items are up forgrabs, as candidates prepare forthe forthcoming polls to the Mor-mugao Municipal Council (MMC).

Although the council goes topolls in October end, aspiringcandidates in various wards ofMMC comprising 20 wardsspread over three constituencies have already begun distrib-

Get gifts for your precious vote!uting gifts to potential voters.

There will certainly be a hugecash flow during the council elec-tions, especially since two promi-

nent politicians are keen to havetheir candidates win the councilpolls, remarked a sitting coun-cillor, who spoke on condition of

anonymity. Recently, an aspiringcandidate from New Vaddem or-ganised a pilgrimage for his vot-

ers to Shirdi Sai Baba, while an-other person from New Vaddemhas arranged a pilgrimage to

Free medicalcamp

CURCHOREM(HC ) : TheSanguem Qupem PatrakarSangha along with NUSI Wock-hardt Hospital will conduct afree medical check up on August22 from 8 am to 1 pm at Sarvo-daya High School, Curhcorem.

Physician Dr Mahendra Kare(MD), Dr Keerthi Nagesh Naik(PGDCC) and two MBBS doctorsattend to patients. The servicesrendered during the camp in-cludes ECG, testing of RandomBlood Sugar, blood pressuremonitoring, computation ofBody Mass Index (BMI), compu-tation of waist-hip ratio and gen-eral consultation.

GOA, FRIDAY, 20 AUGUST, 2010

GOA Pg 7OHERALD

OHealth cards

mandatory forlabourers on

fishing vesselsHERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, AUG 20

Directorate of Health Services,Panjim has noticed that the mainreason for spread of Malaria inthe State is parasitic load amongstthe infected labour force comingfrom the other states which arehighly endemic to malaria.

Inorder to curb the menace,the Directorate of Health Serv-ices has informed that everylabourer should carry a Healthcard after getting screened formalaria. In the recent times itis observed that the labourerswho are working on fishingtrawlers/barges are carriers ofthis infection.

All owners/masters of thebarges, shipyards/drydocks, pas-senger launches, ferry boats,tindels of fishing trawlers andoperators of the mechanizedand non mechanized craft in-cluding the tourist boats etc.plying in the Inland Waters ofGoa are advised to ensure thatall labourers employees underthem are screened for malariaand carry the health cards beforethey are engaged for work.These services are available atall Community/Primary/UrbanHealth centre of the Directorateof Health Services.

Violation of these rules willbe viewed seriously says a pressrelease issued by the Captain ofPorts.

Bogmalo Lions Club to collect old spectacles

HERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, AUG 19

Lions Club of Chicalim-Bogmalois launching a novel permanentproject of Old Spectacles Col-lection Centers in Vasco daGama on August 21, at 10.30am. The four collection centersare M/s Ice Sensation, M/s Ma-rine Electrical Agencies, M/s AceMarketting and M/s RodriguesAuto Repairs & Engineering.

An acknowledgment will begiven to those who donate theold spectacles.

The old spectacles collected,once they reach a sizeable quan-tity will be handed over to theruling District Governor NitinMaganlal. The District Governorwill thereafter send them toLions Clubs International wherethey will be segregated accord-ing to the reading numbers.These spectacles with readingnumbers indicated will be givenfree of cost to the needy, aftereye screening camps.

Tiatr workshop organised

at RaiaHERALD NEWS DESK

PANJIM, AUG 19

Tiatr Academy of Goa in collab-oration with St Therezas ConventHigh School, Raia, organized aworkshop on Tiatr, its song andmusic on August 18 from 9:30am onwards at the School Hallat Raia, Salcete. In all 57 studentsparticipated in the workshop.

Tomazinho Cardozo, Presi-dent of TAG conducted the 1stsession in which history of tiatrwas told to the participantsthrough a question and answersession. The information aboutthe pioneers of tiatr and aboutthe contribution of tiatr artistesof yester years was also givento the students.

The 2nd session dealt withacting and hence the partici-pants were divided into twogroups. The resource personsfor this session were Joe Roseand Premanand Sangodkar, bothtiatr artistes of repute.

The students were guided toproduce a small skit which waspresented to the participantsby different groups. The otherparticipants who did not act inthe skits evaluated the perform-ances critically and numeroussuggestions for better actingwere provided by the partici-pants and teachers.

Earlier, the resource personswere welcomed by the Head-mistress of the school Sr AmeliaDSouza. Students were givencertificates of participation.Thomas Fernandes a teacher ofthe school proposed the voteof thanks.

Filling of exam forms

PANJIM(HND): Students ofDhempe College who were un-successful in the Semester V &VI examinations (Repeaters) andregular students of TYBA/BScwho will answer their examina-tion for Semester V should filltheir exam forms without latefees by Saturday, August 21 andwith late fees from August 23upto August 28.

Polluters must payElvino Rodrigues, Navelim

Union Environment and Forest MinisterJairam Ramesh said the law demands thatthe polluters must pay (Herald, 15 August),in reference to the oil slick caused by thecollision of the two ships off the Mumbaicoast. He said that the Ministry and theCentral Pollution Control Board are talkingto law firms to file a case against the ship-ping companies involved, and that the gov-ernment is assessing the environmental lossand compensation for the fishermen af-fected.

In line with the above, why shouldnt AnilSalgaocar pay for the disaster and losscaused by the MV River Princess off thecoast of Candolim? The same law must beapplied and Anil Salgaocar must compensatefor all losses caused by the irresponsibilityand negligence of his staff.

Parrikars true faceNitin Kamat, via email

I strongly support Jerry Fernandes (StopGlorifying Parrikar, Herald, 19 August) andcommend him for exposing the greatestmanipulator in Goan politics. If Parrikar isas clean as he says, can tell us the numberof minority candidates who applied for postsin the Electricity Dept and Goa Police duringhis tenure, and how many were appointed?

How many crimes were solved, and whatwas the rate of conviction during his tenure?What action did he take against MickkyPacheco for assaulting public servants?Shame on those who glorify such manipu-lators.

Cansaulim criesAshley Fernandes, Cansaulim

It isnt Oscar by Ifa Saldanha (Herald, 19August) hits the nail on the head. TheSarpanch of Cansaulim-Arrossim-Cuelimcuts a very sorry figure when, time andagain, he cries that he does not have thenumbers in the Panchayat to support himand is helpless to act as per law. If so, heshould resign or be given the boot!

The elected panchas think that Cansaulimis their personal fiefdom, to make hay whilethe sun shines. This is possible just becauseof the fence sitters and the lethargy of thesimple village folk, who by their silenceallow this group of lustful connivers to holdthe whole village to ransom for their never-ending greed. Sorrowing lies our home-land.

CM duped OscarKrishna Gaokar, Mapusa

Frederick Noronhas article Shed no tearsfor Dr Oscar (Herald, 18 August) ought tohave given a deeper and more objectiveanalysis. The article tried to weigh socialleaders in the same balance as political lead-ers like Shiv Sainiks. That is unfair. Politicshas degenerated into a full-time business,but social leadership is still seen as selflessservice.

The Shiv Sena, Congress, BJP, Bandodkar,Babush, Mickky, Alemao and Rane got over50 per cent of the words in the article. Theculture and character of Dr Oscar and the

GBA is not related even remotely to politicos,and as such it was pure blah-blah.

Fredericks concern is that if well-intendedpeople are sacrificed, undeserving ones willclaim the leadership. This is a generalisedhypothesis. The writer did not substantiateit in the matter of Dr Oscar and the GBA.

The crux of the Oscar episode is: all socialactivists must understand that they are an-swerable to the public and to that extentwould get a fair bit of mud-slinging fromthose affected.

But they must treat criticism as a perk ofservice. If they cant, better to remain a pri-vate person.

Oscar succeeded when Pratapsingh Ranewas CM, but the new CM Digambar Kamatdodged him on the RP front and made himlook like a failure. It is this failure that madehim susceptible to bad-mouthing.

The Karnad snubWillie Severes, Majorda

The resignation of renowned actor and play-wright Girish Karnad from Goas Golden Ju-bilee Development Council is a majorembarrassment for Digambar Kamat. Thegovernment and the Goa Police failed toprotect Dr Jose Pereiras painting exhibitionfrom the Hindu JanJagriti Samiti (HJS). The

HJS does not know our culture nor do theyrespect our communal harmony.

The CM is in dreamland with his Goa Vi-sion 2035, when the state is facing manyburning problems. I request scientist DrRaghunath Mashelkar to follow Karnadsfootsteps and snub this council.

Great English tiatrJohn Eric Gomes, Porvorim

With Tomazinho Cardozo and his wholefamily of talented actors, singers, scriptwriters and directors, I have no doubt thatEnglish plays by Kala Mogi will eventuallysurpass the Mumbai plays we are used to.We got innovative sets, an original script,powerful, hard hitting, social relevant mes-sages, finesse and humour, in United WeStand, which played to a packed house atKala Academy.

Princess bluesJames First, England

As a visitor to Goa since 1994 and a propertyowner in Candolim, I must say how frus-trating it is that the rotting mass of metalcalled the MV River Princess is still blightinglives and beaches.

How much easier it would have been if

the authorities had removed it 10 yearsago, as soon as it was marooned, and wor-ried about the cost of salvage afterwards.Or is it just another case of authoritiestaking remuneration from tenderers andlining their pockets to the detriment of thelocal people and environment.

Come on, cant they forget personal profitfor the sake of Candolim?

Dirty politicsAugustinho Fernandes, Sanquelim

Goa is emulating the dynastic politics ofthe Nehru family, specially among CongressMLAs. They all want to promote their familymembers in politics, so that they can con-tinue to rob the state at will. Goans, beinglazy, are sleeping. I pray that in the nextelection, people will wake up and teachthese 40 fools a lesson.

Tender riggingSocorro DSouza, Fatorda

In Goa, the most common form of corrup-tion in public procurement is collusion orcartelisation for bid rigging of tenders. Bid-ders form a cartel, which then tries to ma-nipulate the award decision in favour ofone of its members, with or without the in-volvement of a corrupt official.

Each cartel member gets a chance to bea successful bidder, through prearrangedbidding for several contracts bid for by thesame set of firms. This undermines compe-tition in the industry and scuttles its pricelowering impact.

Certain factors help bidders to collude,like high entry barriers that make it difficultfor new or smaller Goan firms to bid, sothat the contracts are given to non-Goanfirms. Corrupt politicians bureaucrats turna blind eye to bid rigging, as they get ashare in the windfall gains earned by col-luding firms.

Will my country always remain poor?

Over the 15,000 years of sketchy history ofman, he transformed himself from beinga hunter to a farmer, and from a wanderer

to a settler. As a wanderer, man belonged tothe world, but when he settled down, man slowlystarted believing that the world belonged to him.In pursuit of his belief, man not only started be-coming possessive and self centered, but alsoambitious and exploitative.

As the animal instinct of mere survival trans-muted into social attitudes of co-existence, agri-culture flourished, bringing peace and prosperity.The great civilisations passed through the stoneage, and then the bronze age and the iron age,with the blossoming of art, culture, science andreligion.

Availability of food and water was the basicnecessity, and civilisations flourished around riverbanks; but the use of fire, tools and implements,and traditional knowledge resulted in progressiveagriculture, fisheries and animal husbandry, fu-elling the blossoming of art, culture, songs anddances centring essentially around the harvest,and the rewards of fishing and hunting.

Mahatma Gandhi said that there is enough inthe world for every mans need, but not for onemans greed. Man started becoming greedy andpossessive. By then, he had already assumed con-trol over other animals, and the plant kingdomwas under his domination. Ancient man exploitednature for survival, but also worshipped it, as heunderstood little about the marvels of the ecosys-tem.

Success and happiness was attributed to theperceived God, while failure and destruction toan invented Devil or Satan. God always could becharmed or persuaded into protecting one andpunishing the enemy. The concept of God wasused (rather, misused) to inflict defeat on a con-ceptualised Evil, its manifestation being the other tribe, geography or kingdom. Recall Moses andthe God of the Hebrews; or the Gods of NorthIndia undermining the Dravidian Asuras.

Religion a concept that was supposed tobuild a society based on positive attributes ofhuman talents and resources became exploitativein nature; in the name of God, the Devil, andcaste-based classifications in our country. The

knife used to eat became a spear to kill, the firemeant to heat was used to destroy.

The concept of God, initially a benevolent un-known energy, evolved. God became a divinehuman being. Man, who considered himself mas-ter of the Earth, simply created a God in his ownimage.

God was a divine being, omnipotent, om-nipresent, all knowing, perfectly loving, but ca-pable of great anger and wrath, punishing thosewho would not conform. But when man encoun-tered disorder, hatred, chaos, floods, famines anddestruction, he was perplexed. How could a per-fect God also have created violence, crime, disease,hunger and natural disasters? That is how theconcept of Devil, Satan, Evil, Spirits and Anti-Godwas born.

But soon, man found himself in grey areas, be-tween good and evil. A terrorist in one countryor kingdom was a martyr or patriot in the other.A saviour in one religion was a criminal fit forcrucifixion in another. Dictated value systems andcodes of conduct placed man against man, creatingsoldiers and borders.

Now, we prefer to allow grains to rot ratherthan reduce hunger among the poor. We buildtemples, churches, mosques, gurudwaras andsynagogues, declare them sanctum sanctora andbestow on them cash, gold and luxuries, so thatthe rich who have amassed wealth through ex-

ploitation are able to acquire pseudo-consolationthat they have contributed their mite to society.

While the poor live from hand to mouth, unsureof tomorrow, the rich and so called holy menengage in the worldly pursuit of materialistic life,which they themselves condemn and preachagainst. Thefts and burglaries in places of worshipare increasing nowadays. Perhaps the hungrypoor, discriminated against, find these places ofworship as their only means of survival.

If the wealth showered on places of worshipby hypocrites and white-collar thieves is offeredto the poor, this world would be a better place.Every action has a reaction, but it depends onhuman conscience. Gandhiji reacted to violencethrough non-violence; Christ by sacrificing hisbody. Todays messengers of peace (or Gandhigiri)reply to brickbats with flowers.

Nature is not always passive. Man cannot dounscientific mining and expect nature to replenishthe ore. Our greed for raping mother Earth willsurely result in floods, landslides, water scarcity,pestilence, drought and, finally, the eliminationof mankind.

If we believe that gambling and lopsidedtourism laced with drugs, drinks and deceit ushersin economic prosperity, we must be prepared forrapes, suicides, divorces, and other economic,social and political crimes. If we explode nucleardevices in the sea, we must be prepared for

tsunamis. In nature, reaction is not only equaland opposite, but often unpleasant. Satan is Manhimself; nothing external exists.

The Universe is a complex entity. There is noth-ing perfect and still. As the Universe expands,our Sun continues to sustain us. Cant it also de-stroy us, as it did the dinosaurs 65 million yearsago?

Some affirm that God and Satan are two intel-ligent beings, working against one another. Ourhuman mind is small, and we restrict our feelingsin human terms, relating to everything aroundus as per our senses and perceptions. Just as asoldier and patriot of our country is an enemy,spy or persona non grata for those across theborder, the existence of God and Satan must beseen as co existing phenomena.

To attain peace, we have to perceive chaos. Tobelieve in God, we must feel the Devil in us. Togive rise to a black hole, a star has to implode.For new life to generate, death is inevitable.These cycles, of life and death, failure and success,order and chaos, God and the Devil, will continueto haunt and taunt us for eternity. The realisationthat the attributes of God and the Devil are bothwithin us is vital to a holistic understanding.

It is nice to aspire for a world free of destruction.We all love order, peace, harmony. We stronglybelieve that we are the epitome of good, andevil is the others doing. If we all become thechange we would like to see, we could reducedestruction in our perception; though at the uni-versal level, God is all-in-one Generation, Or-ganisation and Destruction.

This holistic approach makes the Universe lookperfect. Imperfection is a process that allows usto move towards perfection, just as failure is thestepping stone for success. The Devil is foreveralive, for it is one aspect of the force to seek torealise God within us.

Just as positivity and negativity gives neutrality,dark particles and dark energy are complimentary,and a black hole is necessary for the birth ofstars, the co-existence of the concepts of Godand Devil results in the sustainable existence ofhumanity. God does not need protection frompseudo-zealots, it is only their own egos thatthey need to take care of.

OPINIONwww.oheraldo.in

Pg8Vol No CX No: 211

Goa, Friday 20 August, 2010

Letters to the EditorLetter of the Day

Stop mining trucksVishant Shirodkar, Ponda

The 1980s Hindi movie HathKadi starring Shatrughan Sinha and Reena Roy had manyaction scenes shot in Goas mining belt, in a village called Pale near Sanquelim. Thoseof you who remember the film will recollect fight scenes on a suspended conveyorsystem with buckets.

The conveyor system was set up by Goan mine owners to carry ore in these bucketsfrom Pale to the village of Kothambi (several kilometres away), where it was loadedonto barges. I am trying to point out here that even three decades ago, our rich mineowners had machinery in place to transport their precious minerals without relyingon killer trucks that run at breakneck speeds on congested roads. People inSanvordem/Curchorem live in fear of being crushed under these trucks.

The mine owners must be told that trucks are not the appropriate answer to theirlogistics problems. These privately held companies must be forced to come up withbetter solutions to transport their minerals, whether it is a private railway or suspendedconveyor systems. If pushed, I an sure they can come up with a good, viable solutionto this vexed issue.

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 ForLetters 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 concernedauthors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Herald editor, publisher, and/or owners.

Paths of Wisdom

The attributes of god and the Devil are both within us, says Dr Joe DSoUZA

OHERALDO

Science vS Religion

On the eve of Independence Day, a news report caught myattention. It said that 4.2 crore Indians in eight North Indianstates were poorer than 4.1 crore Africans living in the 26

poorest countries in Africa. No politicians, journalists or analysts thought it worthy of com-

ment. It was as if we are resigned to our fate and our senses aretoo numbed to react to such a damning indictment of our country.As an aam admi, it made me think; what went wrong these 63years, that we are still mired in poverty, filth and squalor? Here aresome of my thoughts:

(1) Our freedom fighters all our revered leaders were tooclose to the Raj. They had seen how the British lived lavishly, sys-tematically exploiting the Indian peasantry. These leaders becameour rulers after Independence. They occupied Lutyenss Delhi andchose to follow basically the same system practiced by the British.Thus, a new class of rulers was born. For the oppressed classes,Independence brought nothing but a change of rulers. Till today,their plight remains the same.

(2) Over a period of time, our rulers realised that theres a lot ofmoney in politics. Lumpen elements with ill-gotten wealth enteredpolitics. Their sole aim was self-aggrandisement. That is why

dynastic politics has become the order of the day. These politiciansare only after power and wealth. Keeping both in the familybecomes vital, resulting in personal fiefdoms. Nobody has time tolook at basic problems like eradication of poverty, education,health care, affordable housing, safe drinking water, etc, whichcan uplift the oppressed.

(3) The electorate is too gullible. Most politicians have perfectedthe art of managing elections by spending huge amounts of moneyto buy votes and create solid vote banks, rake up emotive issuesto sway voters, and play the religion card. In Goa, one formerChief Ministers taluka is still the most backward, despite he beingCM for 13 years and being in other powerful posts for nearly 30years. Another Minister broke from a national party, formed a newregional party, played on an emotive issue on the eve of theelection, got elected, duly re-joined the same national party andbagged a lucrative ministry.

(4) The third pillar of democracy, the Judiciary, has been system-atically undermined by these same politicians. Law and order is ina mess. It takes decades for people to get justice. There is a backlogof three crore pending cases in various courts. Can any countryprogress without effective law and order?

(5) All government institutions, vital cogs in a vibrant democracy,are filled with political cohorts and sycophants, who are too pleasedto crawl when asked to bend. The only motto of civil servants isloot and let loot. India is one of the most corrupt countries in theworld today. What can we expect in such a dismal scenario?

(6) It is a real paradox that despite having the best brains, weremain poor. Why? It pays to keep the proletariat poor and de-pendent. Who will wash utensils, drive cars, water gardens and dohousehold chores, if all Indians become middle class? This may bea very cynical view, but it is not too far from the truth.

Here are some simple musings from a highly disillusioned aamadmi. Political Science tells us that we get the government we de-serve.

Therefore, it is amply clear that the buck stops at our doorstep.It is time for each one to look within and find out why we arebeing taken for a ride all these decades. The need of the hour isfor the people of this country to rise up from their stupor andelect people who have personal integrity, clear vision and com-passion, irrespective of the party they represent. Can we not find500 honest, intelligent, committed people in a country of 100crore?

Question time

By S Kashyap

OHERALDO

The CriterionBy Samir Khan

Highly blessed is He, Who has sentdown Quran ( Al-Furqan), to His servantso that it may be a warner to allmankind.

(Al-Quran 25:1)The Arabic word tabaraka, with whichthe verse begins in arabic, is very com-prehensive, its meanings may begrasped as follows. Allah is the mostBeneficent: that is why He has bestowedthe great blessing of Al-Furqan (TheCriterion) by degrees on His servantso that he may admonish all mankind.He is the most Exalted and Great: forthe Sovereignty of the heavens and theearth belongs to Him. He is the mostHoly, Pure and Perfect: He is free fromevery tinge of shirk and has neither apartner in His Godhead, nor needs ason to succeed Him; for He is Ever-Lasting. He is the Highest and the MostSupreme in rank: the Kingdom and theDominion wholly and solely belong toHim, and there is none who has anyshare in His Authority and Powers. Heis the sole Creator of the universe andhas created each and everything in itand predetermined its destiny.

The Quran has been called Al-Furqanbecause it is the Criterion for judgingright and wrong, virtue and vice, truthand falsehood. The word nazzala impliesrevelation of the Quran piecemeal bydegrees. The Quran has been sent towarn all mankind of the evil conse-quences of their heedlessness and de-viation. The warner may be Quran(Al-Furqan) or the Holy Prophet towhom it was revealed. In fact, bothwere the warners because they wereboth sent for one and the same pur-pose. The message of the Quran andProphethood of Muhammad (may Allahbless and greet him) were not meantfor any particular country but for thewhole world; and not for their owntime, but for all times to come. Thishas been stated at several places in theQuran.

100 Years Ago

20 August 1910Cholera awarenessThe Government of British India hasbeen circulating pamphlets in vernacularIndian languages about the evils of fast-spreading Cholera.

Quarantine station closed The quarantine station at Reis Magoswas closed for good. However it willcontinue to be available for other sani-tary purposes.

Teachers vacancyThe contest to fill the vacancy left inthe Womens Primary School in the vil-lage of Anjuna was announced by theInspectorate of Education.

Scholarship awardedThe Maharaja of Bhavnagar presenteda purse of Rs12,000 to the meritoriousRaikhass Pestonjee, to study Metallurgy,Geology, and Mineralogy in London.

PRIMEIRO DIARIO NAS COLONIAS PORTUGEZAS

Letters should be 150 words or less inlength, and should have the writers name,address and telephone number. The editorreserves the right to edit letters for size andreadability, and to delete any personal attacksor libellous /objectionable matter.

Disastrousmanagement

No matter how dire the disaster and how pious thepromises that it will not be allowed to happen again,it seems the Goa government just cannot get its act

together when it comes to protecting its citizens from thevagaries of nature. No lessons have been learnt from thecalamitous Canacona deluge last year. Not only that, so-calledflood control measures at Sanquelim, at an unbelievable costof Rs22 crore, have proved to be completely ineffective.

The Meteorological Department, which nearly always getsits forecasts wrong, was right on the spot this time, when itsaid that heavy rains were likely to continue for around sixdays. The Sanquelim Market is one of the most vulnerableplaces for flooding, owing to the nearby Valvanti River. So, itwas known that there was going to be heavy rain, and thevulnerability of the site was no secret.

Still, when the skies opened up on Tuesday night, wherewas Goas famed Disaster Management machinery? Was itsleeping snug, safe and sound in the dry indoors, while thetraders of the Sanquelim market ran from pillar to post inpouring rain to try and save their merchandise from the ram-paging waters?

Instead of helping people, officialdom seems to have goneout of its way to cause them losses. Irrigation Departmentofficials opened the two closed gates of the Anjunem Damwhen the water touched the danger mark, but apparentlyfailed to give adequate warning to the people of Sanquelim.Not surprisingly, most shops in Sanquelim market wereflooded by the wee hours of Wednesday. The flood water de-stroyed clothes, grains, groceries and other goods in theshops, even as the traders scrambled to retrieve their be-longings. A few managed to salvage some of their possessions,but most could not do so.

The Sanquelim market area is at high risk from floods, notonly because of the nearby river, but especially since themarket has structures on all sides, making it difficult for waterto flow away from the area. And, though an astronomicalsum of Rs22 crore has been spent on alleged flood controlmeasures including a retaining wall, no drainage systemseems to have been created. Instead, a pump house been in-stalled.

Never mind the wisdom of such quixotic measures thatseem to have been designed to spend as much money aspossible (to generate the highest possible kickbacks) ratherthan effectively tackle floods; but the pumps were not turnedon when they were most needed. It was only later in themorning, well after the market was inundated and all thedamage was done, that the authorities started up the pumpsto remove the water from the market area.

The shopkeepers in Sanquelim say that they desperatelytried to contact the Water Resources Department employeeswho were responsible for pumping the water out, but to noavail. North Goa Collector Mihir Vardhan has promised thatan inquiry will be initiated into the non-working of thepumpset and action will be taken against those responsiblefor negligence. We hope that he is as good as his word.

Kerala capitulates

Now that an all-party meeting in Kerala has acceptedthat highways in the state will be 45 metres wide, canwe hope that Goa too will fall in line? The National

Highways Authority of India (NHAI), whose norms require a60-metre width for highways, has already given Goa andKerala a 25 per cent special reduction.

The width cannot be reduced anymore, as vehicles dontget any narrower regardless of the size of the state. Thosewho have a genuine grievance should ask for the highway tobe re-routed in their areas.

God, Devil are in Man

GOA, FRIDAY, AUGUST 20, 2010

Pg9opinionateD

Living understressBy RUI DA gAmA

Stress is the biggest killer in present times. It is the begin-ning of mental, emotional, physical illness and spiritualbankruptcy. There is no human being on earth who can

say that he/she is perfect. Stress is an inner struggle whichgrows unnoticed. It is then seen as a misbehaviour, depression,mental illness, psychopathic, etc. Mental health drugs andmethods only help to control the misbehaviour, but createa chemical dependence on drugs, leading to other mentaland physical side effects. But there is still hope, in Coun-selling and Spirituality. Modern medical science has acceptedthat without a combination of both, their medical scienceand treatments will not work. Spirituality cannot be sepa-rated from Psychology which is the study of Human Be-haviour. The character of a person should be that of hisCreator.The inner struggles that a person faces can be observed intwo ways. The first, is the outer manifestations of our innerstruggles, and the other is hidden way of Silence. The innerstruggles that people can start right from the time of birth,influenced by the state of mind, or parents and the surroundingswithin the family. Stress builds up slowly as we grow up, in-fluenced by the circumstances of behaviour of parents andadults which has a direct bearing on the emotional and mentalstate of mind of a child. The culture, traditions, neighbours,society, schools, colleges, type of Government, etc., all play apart in influencing the mind of the child, as he/she grows tobe an youth, and later an adult. Stress is contagious, becausesuch behaviour passes from one member to the others livingtogether in a family, amongst friends, office colleagues, exec-utives, corporate and political bosses or anyone in closecontact with a stressful or depressed person. There are a largenumber of Masked Depressed Persons walking around us andwe feel it is a normal situation. People who are building upstress within themselves do not realise that it is really happeningto them. But it is important for us to bring it to their noticebefore the worst happens.The signs of the inner struggle begins with fear, insecurity,doubts, anxiety, etc., which take over our feelings and emo-tions. Spirituality is what helps us cope with our feelingsand emotions. Therefore, the spiritual foundation of the Par-ents and the Family , play an important role in building up achild from the time of birth, to growing up as a youth andan adult. In todays world, we can the inner struggle people facewhether they are rich or poor, when marriages and relation-ships break up, in political and religious disputes, in theyouth committing suicides, violence and crime, greed formoney and property, rapes and murders, gossip and slan-dering, etc.Our States, Nations and the World looks confused and stressedout as they battle for Power to secure themselves from theirenemies, least realizing that the enemy is within us. Innerstruggles lead to suppression of the spirit, emotional weakness,genetic and immune diseases, leading to allergies and lifestylesickness of modern times. Most of the social unrest, corruption,rioting, theft, murder, rape, wars, are the fallout of stress andour inner struggles. There is no peace within Man. Happinessis being purchased with money value and estimates of materialwealth. But this worldly happiness does not last for long. Howabout working for the Joy of Life. To build a Joyful Family anda Joyful State? Spiritual bankruptcy can be the root cause of our inner strugglesor stress or depression, as you may call it. Our emotionalstrength lies in our spiritual relationship with the Creator.Being religious does not necessarily mean that we are spirituallystrong. Our emotional strength and growth depends on theIntimate Relationship we have with our Creator. As adults andparents, we pass on our stress to our children, right fromtheir birth, even though a family is established in an intimaterelationship with the Creator. A family cannot survive on rituals, traditions, superstitions,doctrines, dogmas, etc. It is the Intimate Relationship withGod the Father or our Creator that strengthens the spiritualhealth of a family. We have to work on our inner struggles ofstress which not only effect the whole family, but a largenumber of people, who will one day be a burden the State.This stress related illness is now progressing in Goa and hasto be urgently attended to. The number of stressed, depressedand mentally ill people is on the increase. Prayer and Counselling is our new hope. But Counselling canbe taken up by only those who are compassionate towardsfellow human beings. Counsellors need to be paid their wages.But Counselling cannot be another business or a money makingracket. Love and Spirituality together with Psychology is thefoundation of Good Counselling. One must have a passion to love and serve others. Counsellingcannot be only based on College degrees to earn money. Oneneeds a lot of life experiences in order to give good counsel.Counselling cannot be taken up with the sole purpose of itbeing a lucrative field and earning money. Without goingthrough the pains of being Human, we will not be able toidentify nor counsel the one who is in a struggle in life. Bookishand theoretical knowledge only, will not help us to mirror thelife of those in a struggle. Psychology cannot be separatedfrom Spirituality. Both require each other. But without intimaterelationship or closeness to the Creator, all types of Counsellingwill fail. All Counsellors have to live a life of truthfulness .OnlyGods love is perfect and perfect love casts out all fears. Andwhat is not possible with Man, is possible with God. Faith isin believing in the works of Invisible. There is Joy in Spiritfilled living.The Writer is the Senior Counsellor of Asha Counselling Centre, Ma-pusa.

INDIAOHERALD

O

ap po i n tmen t s

PTI

MUMBAI, AUG 18

Bollywood actress Eesha Narang,better known as the 'Khallas' girldoes not take kindly to the 'item'tag attached to her following aseries of special appearances inmovie songs.

"Even people today refer tome as 'Khallas' girl.. I take it asa complement.. But I believethey must not be called 'item'(whether songs or girls)... itsounds negative.. derogatoryand disrespectful," Eesha toldPTI.

In 2002, the actress ap-peared in RGV's 'Company' forthe popular item number 'Khal-las' which earned her the nick-name and the most excitingnew face trophy at the Stardustawards.

"I still don't understand whyit is called 'item' and in whatcontext it is called so ? The

Even people today refer to

me as 'Khallas' girl.. I take it

as a complement.. But I be-

lieve they must not be called

'item' (whether songs or

girls)... it sounds negative..

derogatory and disrespect-

ful.

-- Eesha

Eesha miffed at item girl tag

term is created by media andto some extent even by pro-ducers and directors," shesaid.

"They are special or friendlyappearances why call it 'itemsong'... we are human beingsnot any object to be called anitem," the 33-year-old actress,who did 'Ishq Samundar', in San-jay Gupta's 'Kaante' said.

Eesha, will be seen in SubhashGhai's 'Hello Darling' releasingon August 27. The movie, whichdeals with the issue of sexualharassment, also stars CelinaJaitley, Gul Panag, and Javed Jaf-frey.

Elaborating on her charac-ter, she said, "I play the roleof a Haryanwi girl SatvariChautala. She is the charm-

ing, aggressive and a no non-sense person. She is the onewho provokes other twowomen in the film to raisetheir voice and do somethinga g a i n s t t h e i r l u s t y b o s s(Javed)."

'Hello Darling' deals with ex-ploitation of women in theworkplace. Being a comedy withan issue of sexual harassment,the film has also been given anadult certificate.

Eesha married her long-term boyfriend Rohit (Timmy)Narang in November 2009and is working after a gap ofalmost two years but doesnot consider it to be come-back.

"I won't call this film as a newinning as I took a sabbaticalfrom work for over a year or soto enjoy my married life...it wasa new phase altogether," shesaid.

ap po i n tmen t s

PTI

NEW DELHI, AUG 19

Amidst reports of delays andshoddy work, Prime MinisterManmohan Singh may nextweek inspect some of the ven-ues of Commonwealth Gamesto be held in the national capitalin October.

"Commonwealth Games Fed-eration (CGF) president MikeFennell has seen (the venues)and I hope to take Prime Minis-ter (to the venues) next week,"Sports Minister M S Gill said re-plying to supplementaries dur-ing Question Hour in RajyaSabha here.

The venues, he said, are readyand only temporary fittingworks are being carried out now.

Responding to questions onirregularities in tendering andaward for construction of thevenues, Gill said the Prime Min-ister has already stated that theguilty if any will not be spared.

"We will take it to logical con-clusion."

He said the observations byChief Technical Examiners' Or-ganisation (CTEO) of Central Vig-ilance Commission (CVC) afterinspecting the sports stadia arepreliminary.

"These are not final report,"he said adding observations orqueries raised by CTEO are sentto concerned departments andupon their satisfactory repliessome are dropped.

In all 40 observations were

raised with regard to MajorDhyan Chand Stadium, of which38 have been dropped afterreplies, he said adding similarwas the case in many other ven-ues.

The CTEO had sought clarifi-cations on certain preliminaryobservations made by them dur-ing the inspection on Siri Fortindoor badminton and squashstadium, Shivaji Stadium, MajorDhyan Chand Hockey Stadium,Talkatora Boxing Stadium, SPMSwimming Pool, rugby venue atJamia Millia Isla