OHERALDO
GOA
Pg2
GOA, WEDNESDAY, 1 DECEMBER, 2010
South officials devising strategy to meet bus owner’s strike HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, NOV 30
The district authorities, South are devising an appropriate strategy to meet the hunger strike threat as the All Goa Private Bus Owners Association has served a statutory notice on the Chief secretary to make open Margao’s Old bus stand for the short distance route buses. The statutory notice has asked the government to open the Old bus stand for the 45 affected bus operators within seven days or threatened to sit on an indefinite hunger strike from December 6 in front of the office of the Deputy Collector, Margao. The bus owners have threatened to keep the buses off the road from the third day of the strike. The hunger strike has been threatened by the operators to protest what they called as the injustice meted out to the 45 operators. The operators maintained that the route on the Aquem, Gogol, Davorlim, Housing Board, Mandop etc have been prohibited from entering the old bus stand in the city
n The statutory notice has asked the government to open the Old bus stand for the 45 affected bus operators within seven days or threatened to sit on an indefinite hunger strike from December 6 in front of the office of the Deputy Collector, Margao. The bus owners have threatened to keep the buses off the road from the third day of the strike. and are forced to start from Anna Fonte Garden to their destination. “This Association had a meeting with the Chief Minister and the RTA Chairman on the issue and had explained the problems faced by the affected 45 bus operators. We were promised that the old bus stand will be closed for all the route buses and the place would be used for parking”, Association general Secretary Sudip Tamankar told the Chief Secretary, adding that “though 20 days have passed, it is noticed that except 45 buses, the other buses are being using the old bus stand so also KTC buses are entering the into the city”.
Tamankar charged the RTA for meting out injustice to the 45 operators and reiterated its decision to go on the hunger strike if the Old Bus stand is not made open for these operators. When contacted, RTA Chairman and Deputy Collector, Margao Johnson Fernandes said the matter will be discussed with the District Collector, South G P Naik to meet the situation. It may be recalled that the RTA, at its meeting on Monday, has decided to continue with the traffic changes, by ignoring the hunger strike call given by the bus operators.
Housing Board meeting papers forged: activists HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, NOV 30
After pulling the State Vigilance officers to court for not filing FIR in a land scam involving Housing Minister Nilkanth Halarnkar, social activists today alleged that Housing Board meeting papers are forged. Kashinath Shetye and Ketan Govekar have further filed a complaint at Vigilance Department that the Housing Board has altered parts of the record of the Board. “…Avinash Bhonsle was not even present at the 412th (May 2010) meeting as he was not a member of the board of the said date. He came into the picture only thereafter and as such could not have chaired the meeting on the said date,” the copy read. “Since the Goa Housing Board (GHB) Chairman (Francisco Pacheco) was not present in May 2010, the papers mention that the Board meeting was chaired by Bhonsle, but in fact he was never a member then,” Shetye alleged. The pair has simultaneously informed the court on the updates and alleged political interference. Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Panjim last week had issued notices to Vigilance Superintendent of Police Bosco George and Police Inspector Nilesh Rane for failing to register case on the alleged land scam.
Even as the officers were present, their request seeking three weeks time to appoint a counsel was turned down by the JMFC. They are instead asked to file a reply on the said matters on Monday. The activists had moved JMFC alleging that Vigilance Department did not register the complaint that alleged scam in conversion of GHB land at Colvale involving Housing Minister Nilkanth Halarnkar. They said that the land was acquired at the instance of GHB for the purpose of housing projects of the Board but it has now been allotted to Nilkanth Halarnkar Trust. They alleged loss to the exchequer of more than about Rs 57-lakh. The complainants also pointed out that the Chairman allotted 23,000 m2 land at a throwaway price of Rs 1000 per m2 which is worth about Rs 4,200 m2, to an institute of hotel management and the ownership is not known. They have estimated a loss of Rs 7.36 crore to the exchequer through the alleged illegalities. GHB Managing Director Melvyn Vaz however rubbished allegations levelled against the Board. He said that in the detailed lay out plan there are areas embarked for residential, commercial and institutional plots, housing open spaces and others.
Door-to-door waste collection after concession pact: MMC HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, NOV 30
The Margao Municipal Council appears not only looking forward to sign the Concession agreement with Fomento to dispose off the city’s waste by scientific treatment. But, the Goa-based company is likely to be drafted by the civic body to start door-to -door garbage collection in two wards – one each in Fatorda and Margao – as a pilot project in a bid to streamline garbage collection in the city. Margao Municipal Chief Officer, Prasanna Acharya said the pilot project would be implemented by the civic body no sooner the concession agreement is signed with Fomento. “The civic body would explore the possibility of engaging Fomento to start door-to-door garbage collection in the two wards. If the system turns out a success, it will be gradually ex-
tended to other wards”, he added. Admitting that garbage collection in the Commercial capital needs to be streamlined to meet the growing requirements, Acharya said that the situation would hopefully change for the better by next month. If Acharya is to be believed, Chief Minister, Digambar Kamat has given the green signal to the civic body to engage 30 additional workers for garbage collection. “These workers will be used exclusively for garbage collection. That should help streamline the garbage collection mechanism”, he added. That’s not all. Acharya said that the Margao civic body is procuring four garbage compactors, adding that the tenders will be issued soon. Besides, the civic body will soon place orders for 1500-plus
plastic bins to replace the worn out bins in the city. The Chief Officer on Tuesday met a delegation from Madel led by Purnanand Chari and Savio Dias, who called for efforts from the civic body to streamline garbage collection from the housing societies. The duo emphasised the need to lift garbage generated in the societies on a daily basis so that the waste does not find its way in the water nullahs and road sides. Sources in the know said the civic body is likely to ask builders and housing societies to make use of the area earmarked for garbage bins. At many place, it has been found that the area earmarked for a garbage bin inside the housing societies is not utilised for the purpose, forcing the household owners to dispose off the waste in the bins along roadside.
MP calls for denotifying SEZs FROM OUR BUREAU NEW DELHI, NOV 30
Goa’s Congress MP Shantaram Naik on Tuesday called on the Centre to denotify three SEZs (Special Economic Zone) projects in the State in the light of the Bombay High Court’s Panjim Bench quashing their land allotment. “Since the developers are now not having any land with them, the three SEZ proposals are deemed to stand de facto denotified and all that now remains to be done is a formal notification issued by the government,” he said in a statement issued here. He said he would be meeting Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, who is returning from abroad Tuesday night, in a day or two to request for denotifying the SEZ projects. Naik said the ministr y deemed fit not to denotify these SEZs earlier in view of the pending petitions of the promoters that now stand disposed of.
‘Ties with ESG excellent’ HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, NOV 30
Federation of Film Fraternity today said that their relation with the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) is ‘not only cordial but excellent.’ President Arnold D’Costa said that the verbal spat between filmmaker Sanjiv Desai and ESG officials on November 25 has no connection with the federation as a whole. “It is a matter of individual arguments the person had with the CEO (Manoj Srivastava). Hence the matter is to be resolved with the individuals. Our rapport with the Chairman and CEO is excellent, and at the request of Federation the series of so called T-20 cinema was dropped from IFFI 2010,” he said. He further said that ESG Chairman also given them an opportunity to screen Konkani & Marathi Films in “21st century Goa Village Film Festival 2010” where the Federation was given a go ahead to screen 20 films in 20 different villages in North and South Goa.
Pope raises Pilar Society to status of Pontifical Right HERALD NEWS BUREAU PANJIM, NOV 30
In a significant decision, Pope Benedict XVI has given his approval to the Goa-based Society of Missionaries of St Francis Xavier, Pilar (Society of Pilar) as a Society of Apostolic Life for mission Ad Gentes of Pontifical Right. To commemorate the event, His Eminence Oswald Cardinal Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay will preside over a Eucharistic Celebration at 4 pm, on December 4, in the Pilar Seminary Chapel, Pilar. His Eminence Telesphore Cardinal Toppo, Archbishop of Ranchi, Archbishop-Patriarch Filipe Neri Ferrao and Archbishop Emeritus Raul Gonsalves, of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman will concelebrate at the Mass. The official decree of the approval of the Society of Pilar as Society of Apostolic Life for mission Ad Gentes of Pontifical Right will be read during the celebration. Students from Nampong, Arunachal Pradesh will present a special one hour programme in the Seminary Annexe Hall, Pilar. An exhibition of the activities of the Society of Pilar will be inaugurated and special is-
HERALD NEWS BUREAU PANJIM, NOV 30
Prolonged efforts by the Society of Missionaries of St Francis Xavier Pilar (Society of Pilar) finally bore fruits, with the society getting raised to the Status of Pontifical Right. According to Fr Cosme Jose Costa, Professor of Church History at the Pilar Seminary, the indigenous Society of Pilar founded by Fr Bento Martins was discreetly instituted with the approval of Dom Valente, the first Patriarch- Archbishop of Goa on 26th September 1887. “However, since there was a ban on religious orders in Goa from 1835 to 1928, the Portuguese Government, would not allow new members to join the Society (when its existence came to their knowledge on the death of the Patriarch), and as the old members died out one by one, the Society by 1939, came to the verge of extinction with a lone survivor,” said Fr Costa. “The Society was re-organized on July 2, 1939 by Fr Conceicao Rodrigues and Fr Francis Sequeira and their companions
HERALD NEWS BUREAU PANJIM, NOV 30
Yet another revolution is set to enter the telecom sector with BSNL deciding to launch a cheap telephony service in the country. According to sources, BSNL has decided that starting from December 1, 2010, all calls to any fixed or WLL landline number anywhere in India from BSNL
HERALD NEWS BUREAU PANJIM, NOV 30
BSNL’s ‘Pyari Jodi’ launched recently during Diwali continues to make waves in the telecom sector combining BSNL’s landline
HERALD CORRESPONDENT LONDON, NOV 30
Tourists travelling along the NH17, which connects North and South Goa, would be dilemma of sorts, as signboards display different distances along the route. While travelling towards South Goa, one can see a huge signboard erected near Agassaim bypass showing Margao (23 kms), Canacona (48 kms),
Karwar (87 kms) and Mangalore (305 kms). However, if one drives further barely 200 mts, one more signboard alongside Zuari Bridge near Agassaim Police station is erected, which displays the distances of Margao (19 kms), Canacona (59 kms), Karwar (91 kms) and Mangalore (384 kms). Interestingly, an old roadside mileage stone too differs. The stone erected below the main
signboard near Agassaim shows Margao (19 kms), while the signboard shows (23 kms) and within 1-km stretch from Agassaim Police station to Cortalim junction, three mileage stones have been erected. The difference is astonishing between the two signboards erected at Agassaim by-pass and Zuari Bridge. Mangalore is nearly 79 kms, Canacona 11 kms, Margao 4 kms and Karwar 4 kms.
Commuters, especially the tourists, will be in dilemma to judge which signboard is correct. When few media persons stopped a tourist from Gujarat, who was heading from Panjim towards Canacona, and showed him two different signboards, he too was in dilemma which signboard is correct and how many more kilometers he will have travel to reach Canacona.
have to be amended to incorporate the changes ordered by the Congregation for the Evangelization for Peoples.” “These changes will be more regarding governance in order to reflect the new powers, rights and responsibilities of the major superiors in the society and about the relationship of the Society to the Holy See and to the other bishops,” said Fr Mascarenhas.
[7 new candidates (5 priests and 2 laymen)] with the above lone survivor,” he said. The re-organizers remodelled the Society’s constitutions in accordance with the requirements of the Code of Canon Law of 1917, and also “with a view to making them fit for a Society of Pontifical Right” and submitted them for the approval of the ordinary on 9-6-1942. However before getting the approval, the first two pages of the printed copies had to be changed, reprinted and pasted, dropping the ‘Pontifical Right’ provisions. The approval was granted four years later, on 24th June 1946, and one of the printed copies of the ‘MENS’ containing the changes, was officially given back, rubricated by the Chancellor of the Archdiocese. “It contains this modified clause ‘Constituitur in Archidiocesi Goanae Societas Missionariorum S. Francisci Xavierii ad norman Can. 673-681 C. I.C.’ The ‘Pontifical Right’ provisions stood consequently dropped,” stated Fr Costa. The second attempt was made by the
then Superior General and Council on June 26, 1968. A petition was sent to the S. C. Propaganda Fide asking “to give thought to the possibility of erecting the Society into a Society of Pontifical Right”. “There the matter ended as the Society was caught up in a web of crisis, necessitating three Apostolic Visitations,” he said. On February 2, 2009, the petition for the Pontifical Right was renewed by the present Superior General and Council, as the Society had expanded into 4 Provinces of Delhi, Goa, Kolkata, and Mumbai and the Agnel Region, as well as opened communities in Nepal, Rome, USA, UK and Germany. At present, the Society of Pilar has 458 professed members, of whom 319 are priests all formed in the Pilar Seminary, 11 Brothers, the remaining being scholastics under formation. They hail from Goa, Maharashtra, Mangalore, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, and are spread in a total of 130 houses, communities or residences.
landline will be of 3 minutes duration, 180 seconds. Interestingly, calls made from BSNL landline to any landline fixed or WLL number of any operator in anywhere in India will be of 3 minutes. Presently, 180 seconds (3 minutes) charging of landline-tolandline calls is eligible only within a telecom district, while landline-to -mobile calling
charges are calls to BSNL (Mobile) 1 minute and for other networks, 45 seconds makes up for 1 call. Calls from BSNL landline to BSNL Intra Circle Cellular number will be of 2 minutes (120 seconds) and for Inter-Circle BSNL Cellular number, it will be of 60 seconds. However, calls from BSNL landline to other operators (Cel-
and mobile services amid hopes to arrest steep decline in the landline phones. Under the plan, BSNL subscribers having a landline or WLL phones can avail a free of cost Mobile SIM card and make unlimited free local calls to his/her parent landline/WLL number. On activation of the ‘Pyari Jodi’ SIM card by a recharge voucher of Rs 33, the subscriber will get Rs 15 talk value, 1,000 local SMS and 1,000 national SMS and six months (180 days)
n Under the plan, BSNL subscribers having a landline or WLL phones can avail a free of cost Mobile SIM card and make unlimited free local calls to his/her parent landline/WLL number.
lular) numbers will be of one minute duration, 60 seconds only considered as one metered call. According to sources, BSNL has decided to launch this scheme as part of its aggressive marketing step in making BSNL the cheapest service provider than any other telecom providers in the nation.
‘Pyari Jodi’ making waves
Brit holidaymakers prefer sun to snow
HERALD REPORTER VASCO, NOV 30
cipline”. Father Theodore Mascarenhas, a Pilar Father in charge of the Departments of Asia, Africa and Oceania at the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Culture, stated that “the Society has to now gear up to its new role and new status.” “The missionary charisma is to be further strengthened and new ways should be found to exercise it. The constitutions
BSNL to launch cheap telephony service today
When contacted, National Highway Assistant Engineer Sadanand Arolkar said they have not erected the signboard and it was erected by the Panjim Division Cell.
Signboard erected barely 200 mtrs near Agassaim by-pass.
sues of Fr Agnelo’s Call - a monthly magazine and Vavraddeancho Ixtt - a weekly tabloid will be released on the occasion. Canon 593 of the Code of Canon Law explains the meaning of Pontifical Right as, “institutes of pontifical right are immediately and exclusively subject to the power of the Apostolic See with regard to internal governance and dis-
Prolonged efforts bear fruits, finally
Signboards — commuting dilemma along NH17!
Signboard near Zuari Bridge displays different distances. Photos by M Prabhav
Pope Benedict XVI greets Fr Tony Lopes, superior general of the Society of Pilar.
From August to October 2010, Goa was the top destination British holidaymakers searched for on the Internet, jumping 22 places in the Experian Hitwise travel ratings during the three months. Year-on-year, Morocco’s ‘red city’ Marrakech emerged as the fastest-growing destination, jumping 29 places from October 2009 to October 2010. Robin Goad, Experian Hitwise’s Director of Research said: “At this time of year we’d usually expect to see spikes in searches for winter sun destinations and ski resorts, but this quarter’s fastest movers are winter sun destinations. UK travellers are clearly looking forward to sun rather than snow this winter.”
validity period. The scheme was launched on October 27, 2010 for 90 days. The other major advantage of the ‘Pyari Jodi’ scheme is 1 paise per second billing to local as well as STD calls, all outgoing calls made from the concerned
mobile to rest of the numbers will be charged at 1 paise/per second plan. Any BSNL subscriber can approach BSNL counters with a photo, ID proof and a latest paid telephone bill to avail the free SIM card, informed a BSNL source.
Collector orders police protection at Davorlim HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, NOV 30
South Goa District Collector G P Naik has ordered police protection at Davorlim from Wednesday to carry out the work of desilting of the spring and construction of the retaining wall at Layamati-Davorlim. Maina Curtorim Police Station incharge, PI Sidhant Shirodkar said the Collector has issued the order as the work site witnessed some commotion on Tuesday morning. PWD Minister Churchill Alemao rushed to the site to ensure there is no obstruction to the work, even as the
n Maina Curtorim Police Station incharge, PI Sidhant Shirodkar said the Collector has issued the order as the work site witnessed some commotion on Tuesday morning. village sarpanch and others asked the contractor to produce the work order from the PWD. PI Shirodkar informed that the Maina Curtorim immediately police deployed personnel at the site after the Salcete BDO has issued a letter stating that the Panchayat is not taking up the work. Sources in the know said the police are not taking any
chances in the matter and will deploy adequate police force to tackle any law and order situation. Incidentally, last week, the contractor along with the PWD engineer had visited the spring site to carry out the work, but had to beat a hasty retreat after the villagers charged them for damaging the embankment during the cleaning operation.