Drastic decline in smoking in state
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Beedi smoking is down by more than 50% in the state, reveals a new report published by the Union ministry of health and family welfare.
The report ‘Beedi smoking and public health’, prepared in March 2008 reveals that the consumption of beedis in rural Goa has come down from 34.84% in 1993-94 to 16.55% in 1999-2000, while consumption of cigarettes has dipped from 4.54% to 3.78% during the same period. In urban Goa cigarette consumption has fallen from 4.21% to 1.78% and beedi consumption has reduced from 31.01% to 14.14%.
The report arrives at its conclusions by comparing the National Sample Survey data from 1993-94 to 1999-2000. It focuses on multiple harm caused by beedis and reducing beedi consumption. Besides, the report attempts to develop effective strategies to expand the focus of tobacco control programmes to all types of tobacco use.
Doctors agree that tobacco consumption has declined in the state. “The Goan literate population is aware that smoking can lead to cancer, lung and heart diseases,” said Dr Wiseman Pinto, head, department of pathology, GMC.
But there are those who believe that smoking can be reduced even more. “If the government acts a little tougher, Goa could well become the first state to be completely tobacco free,” said Dr Shekhar Salkar of the National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication, an NGO.
July 1, The Times of India, Goa edition
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Notice to Big B
Panaji: The High Court of Bombay at Goa issued a notice to Amitabh Bachchan and others on Monday for allegedly violating Goa’s antitobacco laws.
Goa-based National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE) filed the case after billboards showing the megastar smoking a cigar, were put up along NH 17 highway.
The notices to Bachchan, Anchor Electric appliances, Keshu Ramsay and others are returnable by July 28. They’ve been issued before admission.
A lower court NOTE had approached earlier, refused to entertain the case on grounds that it had no substance. This has been challenged in the HC.
Bachchan had apologised earlier claiming that neither ABCL nor he promoted Anchor products or tobacco products. Calling himself a teetotaller since the last 30 years, he added in his letter to NOTE India general secretary Shekhar Salkar, “I am deeply apologetic of the advertisement that has hurt the sentiments of the people at large and organisations such as yours.”
July 1, The Times of India, Goa edition
Goa-based National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE) filed the case after billboards showing the megastar smoking a cigar, were put up along NH 17 highway.
The notices to Bachchan, Anchor Electric appliances, Keshu Ramsay and others are returnable by July 28. They’ve been issued before admission.
A lower court NOTE had approached earlier, refused to entertain the case on grounds that it had no substance. This has been challenged in the HC.
Bachchan had apologised earlier claiming that neither ABCL nor he promoted Anchor products or tobacco products. Calling himself a teetotaller since the last 30 years, he added in his letter to NOTE India general secretary Shekhar Salkar, “I am deeply apologetic of the advertisement that has hurt the sentiments of the people at large and organisations such as yours.”
July 1, The Times of India, Goa edition
Beedis: Rolled Away
Beedis: Rolled Away
At 0.3%, Goa has lowest number of beedi consumers amongst countrywide student population, reports Preetu Nair
Beedis, those leaf-wrapped tobacco sticks that have oft found favour with fisherwomen and hippies alike, are burning out in Goa.
‘Beedi smoking and public health’, a report published in March this year, by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, New Delhi says beedi consumption has reduced in Goa. In rurural Goa the drop is from 34.84% (1993-94) to 16.55% (99-2000), while urban areas have seen a decline from 31.01% to 14.14%. Cigarettes too have lost favour in the cities, dropping from 4.21% to 1.78% .
The cause for this decline is the state law Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 that bans smoking and its advertisement in public places, says the report.
The report also found that Goa has the lowest number of beedi consumers, 0.3%, amongst the student community. Kids aged between 13-15 years, across India, were studied. While an average 8.3% smoked and 2.3% lit up beedis, Manipur had the highest student beedi smokers at 14.2%. The information was drawn from Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) data for 26 states, conducted between 2000-04.
A current beedi smoker was defined as one who smoked one or more beedis, on one or more days, in the prior 30 days. Those who smoked in multiple forms (besides beedis) were not included. Frequent beedi smokers were those who smoked on 20 or more of the 30 days preceding the survey. Nicotine dependence was assessed by the question do you require tobacco first thing in the morning.
The survey also revealed that boys were more likely to be current smokers than girls. The current beedi smoking prevalence was found to be low (1% or less) in Goa, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. Intermediately low (1.1%- 2.9%) in Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tripura, Orissa, Uttaranchal, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana. Intermediately high (4.6%-9.2%) in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh and Meghalaya. High (10.6%-14.2%) in Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim. TNN
MYTH
Beedis are smaller and contain lesser tobacco than conventional
cigarettes and are therefore less harmful
FACT
After smoking a beedi, participants showed similar or slightly higher plasma levels of nicotine than found after smoking a cigarette. This suggested that health consequences of beedis were likely to be similar to those found from smoking regular cigarettes. Researchers also concluded that beedis were more dangerous than cigarettes because their low combustibility contributed to deeper inhalation of beedi smoke. Beedi smoking causes oral cancer, cancer of the lung, stomach and esophagus, coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction, and chronic bronchitis.
Flavoured & Herbal
Forget the foul smelling regular beedi, flavoured and herbal ones are around, albeit catering to a very small market in India. Abroad though, it’s a different story. The Health Ministry’s ‘Bidi smoking and public health’ report found that beedis in as many as 18 flavours are aggresively marketed in the West, especially to US importers.
The flavours include:
Strawberry Cardamom Chocolate Cinnamon Clove Grape Lemon Mango Mint Vanilla Wild Cherry Orange Honey Coconut Raspberry
July 1, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
At 0.3%, Goa has lowest number of beedi consumers amongst countrywide student population, reports Preetu Nair
Beedis, those leaf-wrapped tobacco sticks that have oft found favour with fisherwomen and hippies alike, are burning out in Goa.
‘Beedi smoking and public health’, a report published in March this year, by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, New Delhi says beedi consumption has reduced in Goa. In rurural Goa the drop is from 34.84% (1993-94) to 16.55% (99-2000), while urban areas have seen a decline from 31.01% to 14.14%. Cigarettes too have lost favour in the cities, dropping from 4.21% to 1.78% .
The cause for this decline is the state law Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 that bans smoking and its advertisement in public places, says the report.
The report also found that Goa has the lowest number of beedi consumers, 0.3%, amongst the student community. Kids aged between 13-15 years, across India, were studied. While an average 8.3% smoked and 2.3% lit up beedis, Manipur had the highest student beedi smokers at 14.2%. The information was drawn from Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) data for 26 states, conducted between 2000-04.
A current beedi smoker was defined as one who smoked one or more beedis, on one or more days, in the prior 30 days. Those who smoked in multiple forms (besides beedis) were not included. Frequent beedi smokers were those who smoked on 20 or more of the 30 days preceding the survey. Nicotine dependence was assessed by the question do you require tobacco first thing in the morning.
The survey also revealed that boys were more likely to be current smokers than girls. The current beedi smoking prevalence was found to be low (1% or less) in Goa, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. Intermediately low (1.1%- 2.9%) in Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tripura, Orissa, Uttaranchal, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana. Intermediately high (4.6%-9.2%) in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh and Meghalaya. High (10.6%-14.2%) in Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim. TNN
MYTH
Beedis are smaller and contain lesser tobacco than conventional
cigarettes and are therefore less harmful
FACT
After smoking a beedi, participants showed similar or slightly higher plasma levels of nicotine than found after smoking a cigarette. This suggested that health consequences of beedis were likely to be similar to those found from smoking regular cigarettes. Researchers also concluded that beedis were more dangerous than cigarettes because their low combustibility contributed to deeper inhalation of beedi smoke. Beedi smoking causes oral cancer, cancer of the lung, stomach and esophagus, coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction, and chronic bronchitis.
Flavoured & Herbal
Forget the foul smelling regular beedi, flavoured and herbal ones are around, albeit catering to a very small market in India. Abroad though, it’s a different story. The Health Ministry’s ‘Bidi smoking and public health’ report found that beedis in as many as 18 flavours are aggresively marketed in the West, especially to US importers.
The flavours include:
Strawberry Cardamom Chocolate Cinnamon Clove Grape Lemon Mango Mint Vanilla Wild Cherry Orange Honey Coconut Raspberry
July 1, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Dead techie’s parents seek DNA test
Dead techie’s parents seek DNA test
Decomposition Raises Doubts
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Parents of software engineer Meghna Subedar, missing since April 2008, have asked for a DNA test and blood group analysis of the serum or blood to confirm the identity of the decomposed body that was found near River Princess at Candolim beach.
In their letter to Calangute police on Sunday, Mohan and Anjali Subedar, an ENT surgeon and a gynaecologist, said, “Since the body of Meghna was totally decomposed and in a mutilated condition at the time of post-mortem, we request you to kindly allow DNA test with parents and blood group analysis of the serum/blood to confirm on scientific basis as the facilities are available. This will alleviate any scope of ambiguity.” The test would be conducted at Goa Medical College and Hospital on Monday.
“We have some doubts, as the body was decomposed. We want to be certain that the body is of Meghna,” said Meghna’s mother Anjali.
Mohan said that he had identified the body as that of Meghna because during post-mortem it was found that there was an old collar bone fracture, small fibre in the uterus and the age of the body, that tallied with that of his daughter. INTENSIVE PROBE
Meghna’s parents suspect murder
Panaji: Parents of software engineer Meghna Subedar have sought a DNA test and blood group analysis of the blood to confirm the identity of the decomposed body that was found at Candolim beach.
“She was a brave girl and would never commit suicide. Moreover, if she planned to commit suicide, why did she kill herself after being missing for 75 days,” said the victim’s mother Anjali Subedar.
“If she had to commit suicide why did she remove her clothes. There were no clothes on her body,” said the aggrieved mother.
According to the father Mohan Subedar, there are ante-mortem injury marks all over the body due to which they suspect that she was assaulted and then smothered
in the sand. The police have registered a case of murder against unknown persons, but no arrests have been made so far.
Meghna was missing from the Mumbai VT station from April 11, while returning home to Korba, Chhattisgarh.
She had been working as an engineer at an IT firm in Bangalore but had quit on April 1, 2008 and was looking for another job.
The parents are clueless about the motive of the murder. “We have no enemies. Neither has anyone called us with a ransom demand. I just can’t understand the purpose of killing our daughter,” said Dr Mohan.
The only time money was withdrawn from Meghna’s ATM account was on April 15, 2008 between 12 am to 1 am, which is again raising the parent’s suspicion.
“The CCTV clippings show that she was tense and upset. The CST railway police failed to act despite several clues. If they had acted in time, our daughter would have been alive,” said the father. With the CST railway police failing to act, the parents had made a desperate attempt to search for their elder daughter in Goa.
June 30, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Decomposition Raises Doubts
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Parents of software engineer Meghna Subedar, missing since April 2008, have asked for a DNA test and blood group analysis of the serum or blood to confirm the identity of the decomposed body that was found near River Princess at Candolim beach.
In their letter to Calangute police on Sunday, Mohan and Anjali Subedar, an ENT surgeon and a gynaecologist, said, “Since the body of Meghna was totally decomposed and in a mutilated condition at the time of post-mortem, we request you to kindly allow DNA test with parents and blood group analysis of the serum/blood to confirm on scientific basis as the facilities are available. This will alleviate any scope of ambiguity.” The test would be conducted at Goa Medical College and Hospital on Monday.
“We have some doubts, as the body was decomposed. We want to be certain that the body is of Meghna,” said Meghna’s mother Anjali.
Mohan said that he had identified the body as that of Meghna because during post-mortem it was found that there was an old collar bone fracture, small fibre in the uterus and the age of the body, that tallied with that of his daughter. INTENSIVE PROBE
Meghna’s parents suspect murder
Panaji: Parents of software engineer Meghna Subedar have sought a DNA test and blood group analysis of the blood to confirm the identity of the decomposed body that was found at Candolim beach.
“She was a brave girl and would never commit suicide. Moreover, if she planned to commit suicide, why did she kill herself after being missing for 75 days,” said the victim’s mother Anjali Subedar.
“If she had to commit suicide why did she remove her clothes. There were no clothes on her body,” said the aggrieved mother.
According to the father Mohan Subedar, there are ante-mortem injury marks all over the body due to which they suspect that she was assaulted and then smothered
in the sand. The police have registered a case of murder against unknown persons, but no arrests have been made so far.
Meghna was missing from the Mumbai VT station from April 11, while returning home to Korba, Chhattisgarh.
She had been working as an engineer at an IT firm in Bangalore but had quit on April 1, 2008 and was looking for another job.
The parents are clueless about the motive of the murder. “We have no enemies. Neither has anyone called us with a ransom demand. I just can’t understand the purpose of killing our daughter,” said Dr Mohan.
The only time money was withdrawn from Meghna’s ATM account was on April 15, 2008 between 12 am to 1 am, which is again raising the parent’s suspicion.
“The CCTV clippings show that she was tense and upset. The CST railway police failed to act despite several clues. If they had acted in time, our daughter would have been alive,” said the father. With the CST railway police failing to act, the parents had made a desperate attempt to search for their elder daughter in Goa.
June 30, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Lovers spurned: Several European women duped in state
Lovers spurned: Several European women duped in state
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: The case of British national Patrina Churm (55) being duped by her lover may not be an isolated one. Women activists say that while Churm may have managed to send the man to jail, many other foreign nationals concede the fight after an initial complaint.
“Incidents of European women who share a live-in relationship with young Indian men complaining about being financially duped and violence in the relationship is common. But the problem is that soon after we initiate action they either request us not to pursue the matter or just disappear, forcing us to close the case,” said chairperson of the Goa state commission for women Dr Pramod Salgaonkar.
Take the case of fifty-nineyear-old Dutch national Eva Thurston (name changed), who met a 35-year-old Kashmiri man in February 2004 in Goa. Eva refused to reveal her boyfriend’s name and said, “I am trying to sort out things with him amicably and naming him may spoil things”.
Duped by her lover, Eva had lodged a complaint with the Calangute police in March 2008. The Calangute police confirmed receipt of the complaint. “We did receive a complaint and called both parties to the police station to sort out things. But after some time the woman left the country,” Calangute police said.
Eva’s story is no different from that of Churm and many others like her. She was holidaying in Goa in 2002, when she met her ‘soul mate’. A friendship developed and Eva financed a shop in North Goa, the purchase of a house, a vehicle and even opened a joint bank account. But in a span of four years, as her financial status went downhill, the relation strained. “One day, I was thrown out of the house, denied my share in the business and house and rendered penniless,” said Eva. But after an initial complaint she has resigned herself to her fate and is trying to settle the matter amicably.
“A majority of the European women in a similar situation put up a brave front initially but back out later as they have no protection nor any back-up support in Goa. On the other hand, the man, being an Indian national, has connections and family,” said advocate Caroline Collaco.
Police officials admit that live-in relationships between elderly European women and younger Indian men is a common feature in the coastal belt. “While Goan or lamani boys get friendly with a European woman intending to travel abroad, we commonly come across cases where woman allege that Kashmiri men have duped them off their money after faking love. But there are no documents to prove these allegations,” the officer added.
“Most of the time there is no marriage certificate,” said advocate Vikram Varma.
Activists said that not only are women robbed financially, but there are even instances of Kashmiri men keeping their marital status under wraps and marrying elderly European women either in ashrams or mangal karyalayas.
In one such case, 40-yearold Angela Kanska married a 27-year-old from Rainawar, Srinagar, who runs handicrafts shops in Candolim and at Osho ashram in Pune.
Initially, everything looked perfect, till he learnt that she was pregnant. “He told me that he was already married with a wife in Kashmir and my whole world collapsed,” said Angela.
June 30, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: The case of British national Patrina Churm (55) being duped by her lover may not be an isolated one. Women activists say that while Churm may have managed to send the man to jail, many other foreign nationals concede the fight after an initial complaint.
“Incidents of European women who share a live-in relationship with young Indian men complaining about being financially duped and violence in the relationship is common. But the problem is that soon after we initiate action they either request us not to pursue the matter or just disappear, forcing us to close the case,” said chairperson of the Goa state commission for women Dr Pramod Salgaonkar.
Take the case of fifty-nineyear-old Dutch national Eva Thurston (name changed), who met a 35-year-old Kashmiri man in February 2004 in Goa. Eva refused to reveal her boyfriend’s name and said, “I am trying to sort out things with him amicably and naming him may spoil things”.
Duped by her lover, Eva had lodged a complaint with the Calangute police in March 2008. The Calangute police confirmed receipt of the complaint. “We did receive a complaint and called both parties to the police station to sort out things. But after some time the woman left the country,” Calangute police said.
Eva’s story is no different from that of Churm and many others like her. She was holidaying in Goa in 2002, when she met her ‘soul mate’. A friendship developed and Eva financed a shop in North Goa, the purchase of a house, a vehicle and even opened a joint bank account. But in a span of four years, as her financial status went downhill, the relation strained. “One day, I was thrown out of the house, denied my share in the business and house and rendered penniless,” said Eva. But after an initial complaint she has resigned herself to her fate and is trying to settle the matter amicably.
“A majority of the European women in a similar situation put up a brave front initially but back out later as they have no protection nor any back-up support in Goa. On the other hand, the man, being an Indian national, has connections and family,” said advocate Caroline Collaco.
Police officials admit that live-in relationships between elderly European women and younger Indian men is a common feature in the coastal belt. “While Goan or lamani boys get friendly with a European woman intending to travel abroad, we commonly come across cases where woman allege that Kashmiri men have duped them off their money after faking love. But there are no documents to prove these allegations,” the officer added.
“Most of the time there is no marriage certificate,” said advocate Vikram Varma.
Activists said that not only are women robbed financially, but there are even instances of Kashmiri men keeping their marital status under wraps and marrying elderly European women either in ashrams or mangal karyalayas.
In one such case, 40-yearold Angela Kanska married a 27-year-old from Rainawar, Srinagar, who runs handicrafts shops in Candolim and at Osho ashram in Pune.
Initially, everything looked perfect, till he learnt that she was pregnant. “He told me that he was already married with a wife in Kashmir and my whole world collapsed,” said Angela.
June 30, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Monday, June 30, 2008
ATTN: GERMAN SPECIAL POLICE ARREST NAZI WAR CRIMINAL NEAR GOA
Around 20 Journalists in Goa received this email from Perus Narkp. The email also had an attachment giving details of the arrest of the suspected Nazi war criminal.
Is this one of the hoax in Indian Journalism?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Perus Narkp
Subject: Subject: ATTN: GERMAN SPECIAL POLICE ARREST NAZI WAR CRIMINAL NEAR GOA
Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2008
Dear Ma'am/Sir
Please find enclosed a three page press note issued by the Perus Narkp, Intelligence wing of the German Chancellor's Core to the media in Goa.
The Perus Narkp have arrested a former Nazi War Criminal Johann Bach on the Goa -- Karnataka regions border, in Khanapura. He was living in Calanguta for the last some months.
The 88-year old Johann Bach was responsible for the genocide of 12,000 Jews at a Berlin concentration camp. He had been absconding for the last 40 years.
The top secret joint operation which resulted in Bach's arrest was carried out by senior agents of the Perus Narkp in co-ordination with senior Intelligence Officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.
The accused has been and will be kept at a secret undisclosed location until the first hearing at the ICJ, Hague.
A special media briefing will be held on Sunday by the top officials of Perus Narkp and Ministry of Home Affairs Government of India.
The 3 page press note carries the sequence of events leading to Bach's arrest along with his file photograph.
You are requested to release this story immediately today and give this successful joint operation by intelligence teams of both Germany and India wide publicity in the lead up to the press conference on Sunday. Perus Narkp will be dispatching personal invitations to representatives of media houses tomorrow.
Looking forward to your co-operation
Hamman Smit
Dr�ngen Sie Offizier (Press Officer)
C.C.1. Copy to all accredited journalists in Goa, India and journalisten in Berlin
C.C.2. Copy to PIB, India and Bundesinformationsstelle Germany
Perus Narkp
13/108
Town Berlin Polize
Shede Road
Berlin VT 05602
802-223-4409
802-223-4415
perus.narkp@berlin.com
wolfez@dps.berlin.vt.us
Is this one of the hoax in Indian Journalism?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Perus Narkp
Subject: Subject: ATTN: GERMAN SPECIAL POLICE ARREST NAZI WAR CRIMINAL NEAR GOA
Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2008
Dear Ma'am/Sir
Please find enclosed a three page press note issued by the Perus Narkp, Intelligence wing of the German Chancellor's Core to the media in Goa.
The Perus Narkp have arrested a former Nazi War Criminal Johann Bach on the Goa -- Karnataka regions border, in Khanapura. He was living in Calanguta for the last some months.
The 88-year old Johann Bach was responsible for the genocide of 12,000 Jews at a Berlin concentration camp. He had been absconding for the last 40 years.
The top secret joint operation which resulted in Bach's arrest was carried out by senior agents of the Perus Narkp in co-ordination with senior Intelligence Officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.
The accused has been and will be kept at a secret undisclosed location until the first hearing at the ICJ, Hague.
A special media briefing will be held on Sunday by the top officials of Perus Narkp and Ministry of Home Affairs Government of India.
The 3 page press note carries the sequence of events leading to Bach's arrest along with his file photograph.
You are requested to release this story immediately today and give this successful joint operation by intelligence teams of both Germany and India wide publicity in the lead up to the press conference on Sunday. Perus Narkp will be dispatching personal invitations to representatives of media houses tomorrow.
Looking forward to your co-operation
Hamman Smit
Dr�ngen Sie Offizier (Press Officer)
C.C.1. Copy to all accredited journalists in Goa, India and journalisten in Berlin
C.C.2. Copy to PIB, India and Bundesinformationsstelle Germany
Perus Narkp
13/108
Town Berlin Polize
Shede Road
Berlin VT 05602
802-223-4409
802-223-4415
perus.narkp@berlin.com
wolfez@dps.berlin.vt.us
Saturday, June 28, 2008
SEA OF TROUBLE AHEAD?CRZ scanner on foreigners
CRZ scanner on foreigners
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: On the one hand the Enforcement Directorate, Mumbai, is investigating illegal purchases of land by foreigners in the state. On the other, the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) is examining whether structures constructed by foreigners are in violation of CRZ rules and the Environment Protection Act.
GCZMA has discovered constructions by foreigners, especially Russians, that have been built in violation of CRZ rules. Though the precise number is not known, government sources said, “There are quite a number of constructions by foreigners in violation of CRZ. A majority of the violations are by Russians. In Morjim alone, there are more than ten constructions that have violated CRZ norms.”
Some of the major properties under the GCZMA scanner are: Artlidori Resort Pvt Ltd, Casa Blanca and La Valencia hotel, all in Morjim. GCZMA is also reviewing a property purchased by a Russian company—True Axis Resort Pvt Ltd—which purchased about 22,631 sq m of land falling under CRZ area. Incidentally, True Axis is also under investigation by Enforcement authorities as it had purchased about 20,000 sq m of agriculture/forest land in Morjim despite a ban on foreigners purchasing agricultural/forest land in India.
GCZMA member secretary Michael D’Souza said, “We are awaiting a report from the office of the North Goa Collector and only then will we initiate appropriate action against foreigners who have constructed in violation of CRZ and EPA.”
‘Nobody can build in violation of CRZ’
Panaji: Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) is investigating cases of CRZ violations by foreigners in the state.
Environmental lawyer Norma Alvares said, “Nobody can build in violation of CRZ. The question of foreigners building residential houses in CRZ doesn’t arise at all. If they are building resorts, they require permission from the ministry of environment and forests. This is given after the village panchayat forwards the application to GCZMA, which can recommend the approval of permission.” GCZMA officials say that no such permission have been sought from them.
According to GCZMA authorities, the major violators are foreigners who have constructed in partnership with Indians. Explaining the modus operandi, Rajan Ghate, who spearheaded the movement protesting the sale of land to foreigners said, “A foreigner holding a commercial visa teams up with a Goan and they float a partnership firm. The firm invests in properties in Goa, starts a business, buys land and develops it. After a few months, the Goan partner resigns, leaving the properties in the hands of the foreign national.”
However, Vikram Varma, advocate for the Consul General of Russian Federation in Mumbai, said, “We have not received any notice from GCZMA as yet about CRZ violations. On receipt of any such information, we will scrutinise the cases individually.”
June 28, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: On the one hand the Enforcement Directorate, Mumbai, is investigating illegal purchases of land by foreigners in the state. On the other, the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) is examining whether structures constructed by foreigners are in violation of CRZ rules and the Environment Protection Act.
GCZMA has discovered constructions by foreigners, especially Russians, that have been built in violation of CRZ rules. Though the precise number is not known, government sources said, “There are quite a number of constructions by foreigners in violation of CRZ. A majority of the violations are by Russians. In Morjim alone, there are more than ten constructions that have violated CRZ norms.”
Some of the major properties under the GCZMA scanner are: Artlidori Resort Pvt Ltd, Casa Blanca and La Valencia hotel, all in Morjim. GCZMA is also reviewing a property purchased by a Russian company—True Axis Resort Pvt Ltd—which purchased about 22,631 sq m of land falling under CRZ area. Incidentally, True Axis is also under investigation by Enforcement authorities as it had purchased about 20,000 sq m of agriculture/forest land in Morjim despite a ban on foreigners purchasing agricultural/forest land in India.
GCZMA member secretary Michael D’Souza said, “We are awaiting a report from the office of the North Goa Collector and only then will we initiate appropriate action against foreigners who have constructed in violation of CRZ and EPA.”
‘Nobody can build in violation of CRZ’
Panaji: Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) is investigating cases of CRZ violations by foreigners in the state.
Environmental lawyer Norma Alvares said, “Nobody can build in violation of CRZ. The question of foreigners building residential houses in CRZ doesn’t arise at all. If they are building resorts, they require permission from the ministry of environment and forests. This is given after the village panchayat forwards the application to GCZMA, which can recommend the approval of permission.” GCZMA officials say that no such permission have been sought from them.
According to GCZMA authorities, the major violators are foreigners who have constructed in partnership with Indians. Explaining the modus operandi, Rajan Ghate, who spearheaded the movement protesting the sale of land to foreigners said, “A foreigner holding a commercial visa teams up with a Goan and they float a partnership firm. The firm invests in properties in Goa, starts a business, buys land and develops it. After a few months, the Goan partner resigns, leaving the properties in the hands of the foreign national.”
However, Vikram Varma, advocate for the Consul General of Russian Federation in Mumbai, said, “We have not received any notice from GCZMA as yet about CRZ violations. On receipt of any such information, we will scrutinise the cases individually.”
June 28, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Friday, June 27, 2008
Foreigners get the Goa jitters
Foreigners get the Goa jitters
Sell Off Homes, High Commission Worried
Preetu Nair | TNN
Calangute: Foreign nationals who had ‘legally’ invested in property in Goa are placing these on sale, worried over the growing resentment against foreigners purchasing property in Goa.
Take the case of Stephanie (57) and Richard Parker (59) from West Coast, UK. Highly paid executives in an American firm, this couple decided to make Goa their post-retirement home. In 2000, they purchased an old bungalow in Candolim for about Rs 20 lakh and spent another Rs 30 lakh fashioning it into their dream house. Eight years later, they are anxious to dispose of the property and return to the UK.
“We love Goa and connect with the people here. That’s the reason why, after seeking legal advice, we sold our ancestral property in UK and purchased a home in Goa. But now we are eager to sell our house as we are deeply agonized and alarmed by the way we are being targeted, though we have not violated any law,” said Richard.
The Parkers don’t figure in the 400-odd names that makes up the list of the Directorate of Enforcement of those who have been served show-cause notices for having purchased properties allegedly in violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999.
Russians and the Britishers top the list of foreign nationals who have invested in properties in Goa, mostly by forming companies or by complying with the mandatory 180 days residence in the country.
Yet, wary of future trouble, they are eager to sell off the same property. “We wanted to settle in Goa because with the £3,000 pension we would have been able to live a more comfortable life in Goa than in the UK. But it’s better to be at home than in a place where you are worried about either your property being taken away or your visa being denied,” added Richard.
“There is a class of well-educated European professionals who purchased property in Goa but now there is a sense of insecurity amongst such settlers, which is increasingly encouraging them to exit from Goa with their investments,” said advocate Vikram Varma.
But law minister Dayanand Narvekar doesn’t think that those who have complied with all the formalities should have reason to worry. Said Narvekar, “I don’t think foreigners who have purchased property legally in Goa in compliance of FEMA rules and with money coming through proper RBI channels, should have any problems.”
The Parkers, however, are not the only Britishers eager to liquidate their property. Harry (55) and Caroline (48) Smith, who put in Rs 25 lakhs to purchase a bungalow three years back and then spent another Rs 25 lakh on renovation, have put their property on sale. “The market value of the house is Rs 80 lakhs plus. But even if we get the amount we had invested in the house, we are more than willing to sell,” added the Smiths.
Government’s tough stance worries foreigners
Calangute: Trouble for foreigners owning property in Goa began two years ago with the launch of a movement against the sale of land to foreigners. But it is the state government’s decision not to sell land to foreigners that has many worried.
“An increasing number of Britishers in the coastal belt want to sell off their properties at a decent price or start a company and transfer the house in the company’s name,” admitted a real estate broker from the North Goa coastal belt.
This was confirmed by Calangute sarpanch Joseph Sequeira, who said, “The foriegners are feeling helpless and troubled with the stand taken by the state government. There are an increasing number of foreigners who are now coming to the panchayat to register a company and then transfer their house in the name of the company. Under FEMA a foreign owned company can purchase house.”
The British Deputy High Commission in Mumbai is concerned about the problems their citizens are having in the state.
“We would be very concerned if there were to be any question of property acquired legally by British citizens being expropriated through the retrospective application of any new legislation. We have raised our concerns with the Indian authorities at both the state and national level and will continue to do so,” said the High Commission spokesperson.
There is another problem too. A large number of Britishers are being cheated by developers promoting their available apartments on the net. British National Claire Solomon (45) saw an advertisement on the internet, contacted the developer, entered into an agreement and paid an advance amount of about Rs 10 lakh to purchase a one bedroom flat in Calangute. Everything appeared above board until she came to Goa to register the sale deed and take possession. “It is then that I was told that I can’t possess a house in Goa as I don’t fulfill FEMA regulations. My money is lost and I feel cheated,” said Claire.
Explaining this advocate Raju Poulekar said, “When selling property to foreigners, builders don’t explain the legality of buying such property and often the foreigners fall into a trap.”
(Few names of UK nationals changed to protect identity)
June 27, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Sell Off Homes, High Commission Worried
Preetu Nair | TNN
Calangute: Foreign nationals who had ‘legally’ invested in property in Goa are placing these on sale, worried over the growing resentment against foreigners purchasing property in Goa.
Take the case of Stephanie (57) and Richard Parker (59) from West Coast, UK. Highly paid executives in an American firm, this couple decided to make Goa their post-retirement home. In 2000, they purchased an old bungalow in Candolim for about Rs 20 lakh and spent another Rs 30 lakh fashioning it into their dream house. Eight years later, they are anxious to dispose of the property and return to the UK.
“We love Goa and connect with the people here. That’s the reason why, after seeking legal advice, we sold our ancestral property in UK and purchased a home in Goa. But now we are eager to sell our house as we are deeply agonized and alarmed by the way we are being targeted, though we have not violated any law,” said Richard.
The Parkers don’t figure in the 400-odd names that makes up the list of the Directorate of Enforcement of those who have been served show-cause notices for having purchased properties allegedly in violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999.
Russians and the Britishers top the list of foreign nationals who have invested in properties in Goa, mostly by forming companies or by complying with the mandatory 180 days residence in the country.
Yet, wary of future trouble, they are eager to sell off the same property. “We wanted to settle in Goa because with the £3,000 pension we would have been able to live a more comfortable life in Goa than in the UK. But it’s better to be at home than in a place where you are worried about either your property being taken away or your visa being denied,” added Richard.
“There is a class of well-educated European professionals who purchased property in Goa but now there is a sense of insecurity amongst such settlers, which is increasingly encouraging them to exit from Goa with their investments,” said advocate Vikram Varma.
But law minister Dayanand Narvekar doesn’t think that those who have complied with all the formalities should have reason to worry. Said Narvekar, “I don’t think foreigners who have purchased property legally in Goa in compliance of FEMA rules and with money coming through proper RBI channels, should have any problems.”
The Parkers, however, are not the only Britishers eager to liquidate their property. Harry (55) and Caroline (48) Smith, who put in Rs 25 lakhs to purchase a bungalow three years back and then spent another Rs 25 lakh on renovation, have put their property on sale. “The market value of the house is Rs 80 lakhs plus. But even if we get the amount we had invested in the house, we are more than willing to sell,” added the Smiths.
Government’s tough stance worries foreigners
Calangute: Trouble for foreigners owning property in Goa began two years ago with the launch of a movement against the sale of land to foreigners. But it is the state government’s decision not to sell land to foreigners that has many worried.
“An increasing number of Britishers in the coastal belt want to sell off their properties at a decent price or start a company and transfer the house in the company’s name,” admitted a real estate broker from the North Goa coastal belt.
This was confirmed by Calangute sarpanch Joseph Sequeira, who said, “The foriegners are feeling helpless and troubled with the stand taken by the state government. There are an increasing number of foreigners who are now coming to the panchayat to register a company and then transfer their house in the name of the company. Under FEMA a foreign owned company can purchase house.”
The British Deputy High Commission in Mumbai is concerned about the problems their citizens are having in the state.
“We would be very concerned if there were to be any question of property acquired legally by British citizens being expropriated through the retrospective application of any new legislation. We have raised our concerns with the Indian authorities at both the state and national level and will continue to do so,” said the High Commission spokesperson.
There is another problem too. A large number of Britishers are being cheated by developers promoting their available apartments on the net. British National Claire Solomon (45) saw an advertisement on the internet, contacted the developer, entered into an agreement and paid an advance amount of about Rs 10 lakh to purchase a one bedroom flat in Calangute. Everything appeared above board until she came to Goa to register the sale deed and take possession. “It is then that I was told that I can’t possess a house in Goa as I don’t fulfill FEMA regulations. My money is lost and I feel cheated,” said Claire.
Explaining this advocate Raju Poulekar said, “When selling property to foreigners, builders don’t explain the legality of buying such property and often the foreigners fall into a trap.”
(Few names of UK nationals changed to protect identity)
June 27, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Thursday, June 26, 2008
The Big Fat Goan Story
Surgery could help too
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Bariatic surgery, a procedure in which the stomach is shrunk to reduce food intake, is gaining popularity in Goa. In the last six months, seven such operations were carried out at a Margao hospital. Three patients were Goans, the rest foreigners. Michael Fernandes (name changed on request) was the first Goan to go under the bariatic scalpel. “I was 132 kg and could hardly stand. After the surgery, I lost 34 kg and am more active,” says the 37-year-old. Adding that he feels “healthier today than I ever did in my teens”, the insurance agent says the weight loss helped him “land a job of my choice”. There are three types of bariatic surgeries—laparoscopic gastric banding (lap band), gastric bypass and gastric sleeve. These are decided depending on individual problems. “For a morbidly obese person (with a BMI above 40), bariatic surgery (that costs between Rs 2 and Rs 3 lakh) is the only solution, as there is a 50-60% weight loss,” says Dr Rajkumar Palaniappan, bariatic surgeon at Apollo Victor hospital. However, the surgery is not without complications. “Nearly 20% develop vitamin B deficiency and have to take vitamin tablets for life. Some also become anaemic, if they are not careful about their diet,” he says.
Michael agrees that he has to be careful about his diet and can’t smoke or drink. But he is not complaining. “I am happy to be alive and I now feel healthier,” says Michael.
What is BMI?
Body Mass Index (BMI) indicates body fatness. It is calculated by dividing a person’s body weight by the square of one’s height. For example, if you weigh 52 kilos and your height is 5 ft (1.52 mtrs), your BMI is 23.111 {BMI = weight (kilos)/height (sq m)}.
BMI categories: Below 18.5 - Underweight 18.5 to 24.9 - Normal 25 to 29.9 - Overweight 30 & above - Obese
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Bariatic surgery, a procedure in which the stomach is shrunk to reduce food intake, is gaining popularity in Goa. In the last six months, seven such operations were carried out at a Margao hospital. Three patients were Goans, the rest foreigners. Michael Fernandes (name changed on request) was the first Goan to go under the bariatic scalpel. “I was 132 kg and could hardly stand. After the surgery, I lost 34 kg and am more active,” says the 37-year-old. Adding that he feels “healthier today than I ever did in my teens”, the insurance agent says the weight loss helped him “land a job of my choice”. There are three types of bariatic surgeries—laparoscopic gastric banding (lap band), gastric bypass and gastric sleeve. These are decided depending on individual problems. “For a morbidly obese person (with a BMI above 40), bariatic surgery (that costs between Rs 2 and Rs 3 lakh) is the only solution, as there is a 50-60% weight loss,” says Dr Rajkumar Palaniappan, bariatic surgeon at Apollo Victor hospital. However, the surgery is not without complications. “Nearly 20% develop vitamin B deficiency and have to take vitamin tablets for life. Some also become anaemic, if they are not careful about their diet,” he says.
Michael agrees that he has to be careful about his diet and can’t smoke or drink. But he is not complaining. “I am happy to be alive and I now feel healthier,” says Michael.
What is BMI?
Body Mass Index (BMI) indicates body fatness. It is calculated by dividing a person’s body weight by the square of one’s height. For example, if you weigh 52 kilos and your height is 5 ft (1.52 mtrs), your BMI is 23.111 {BMI = weight (kilos)/height (sq m)}.
BMI categories: Below 18.5 - Underweight 18.5 to 24.9 - Normal 25 to 29.9 - Overweight 30 & above - Obese
The Big Fat Goan Story
Surgery could help too
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Bariatic surgery, a procedure in which the stomach is shrunk to reduce food intake, is gaining popularity in Goa. In the last six months, seven such operations were carried out at a Margao hospital. Three patients were Goans, the rest foreigners. Michael Fernandes (name changed on request) was the first Goan to go under the bariatic scalpel. “I was 132 kg and could hardly stand. After the surgery, I lost 34 kg and am more active,” says the 37-year-old. Adding that he feels “healthier today than I ever did in my teens”, the insurance agent says the weight loss helped him “land a job of my choice”. There are three types of bariatic surgeries—laparoscopic gastric banding (lap band), gastric bypass and gastric sleeve. These are decided depending on individual problems. “For a morbidly obese person (with a BMI above 40), bariatic surgery (that costs between Rs 2 and Rs 3 lakh) is the only solution, as there is a 50-60% weight loss,” says Dr Rajkumar Palaniappan, bariatic surgeon at Apollo Victor hospital. However, the surgery is not without complications. “Nearly 20% develop vitamin B deficiency and have to take vitamin tablets for life. Some also become anaemic, if they are not careful about their diet,” he says.
Michael agrees that he has to be careful about his diet and can’t smoke or drink. But he is not complaining. “I am happy to be alive and I now feel healthier,” says Michael.
What is BMI?
Body Mass Index (BMI) indicates body fatness. It is calculated by dividing a person’s body weight by the square of one’s height. For example, if you weigh 52 kilos and your height is 5 ft (1.52 mtrs), your BMI is 23.111 {BMI = weight (kilos)/height (sq m)}.
BMI categories: Below 18.5 - Underweight 18.5 to 24.9 - Normal 25 to 29.9 - Overweight 30 & above - Obese
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Bariatic surgery, a procedure in which the stomach is shrunk to reduce food intake, is gaining popularity in Goa. In the last six months, seven such operations were carried out at a Margao hospital. Three patients were Goans, the rest foreigners. Michael Fernandes (name changed on request) was the first Goan to go under the bariatic scalpel. “I was 132 kg and could hardly stand. After the surgery, I lost 34 kg and am more active,” says the 37-year-old. Adding that he feels “healthier today than I ever did in my teens”, the insurance agent says the weight loss helped him “land a job of my choice”. There are three types of bariatic surgeries—laparoscopic gastric banding (lap band), gastric bypass and gastric sleeve. These are decided depending on individual problems. “For a morbidly obese person (with a BMI above 40), bariatic surgery (that costs between Rs 2 and Rs 3 lakh) is the only solution, as there is a 50-60% weight loss,” says Dr Rajkumar Palaniappan, bariatic surgeon at Apollo Victor hospital. However, the surgery is not without complications. “Nearly 20% develop vitamin B deficiency and have to take vitamin tablets for life. Some also become anaemic, if they are not careful about their diet,” he says.
Michael agrees that he has to be careful about his diet and can’t smoke or drink. But he is not complaining. “I am happy to be alive and I now feel healthier,” says Michael.
What is BMI?
Body Mass Index (BMI) indicates body fatness. It is calculated by dividing a person’s body weight by the square of one’s height. For example, if you weigh 52 kilos and your height is 5 ft (1.52 mtrs), your BMI is 23.111 {BMI = weight (kilos)/height (sq m)}.
BMI categories: Below 18.5 - Underweight 18.5 to 24.9 - Normal 25 to 29.9 - Overweight 30 & above - Obese
Silent killer stalking Goans
Silent killer stalking Goans
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Goan adults are far more overweight than other Indians and this is causing a serious concern among health professionals. And when it comes to being obese, Goan women outdo the men.
The percentage of women who are overweight or obese is 27, much higher than the all India figure of 14.8%. The men are not far behind though, with 20.8% of Goan men being obese or overweight, again higher than the all India percentage of 12.1. This has been revealed by the Health Intelligence Bureau report, 2007, of the Directorate of Health Services.
The year of reference for the data is 2005-06 and it reveals the nutritional status of adults (age 15 to 49).
“Obesity is a growing disease among Goans. It is a silent killer,” said Dr Digambar Naik from Vrundavan Hospital, Mapusa. Naik added that 60% of the patients above the age of 40 who come to the hospital are obese, with a body mass index (BMI) of more than 30.
“Abdominal obesity is a problem in Goa and about one-third of the adult population is obese,” said Dr Rufino Monteiro from Vintage Hospital, Panaji.
A person with a BMI between 25 and 35 is deemed obese or overweight and those with BMI of 35 and above are considered to be morbidly obese.
“The socio-economic status in Goa being the highest in the country, we have the additional burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular ailments and cancer, which are linked to sedentary lifestyles that lead to obesity,” said Goa Medical College’s preventive and social medicine associate professor Dr Jagdish Cacodcar.
Sedentary lifestyle causing obesity
Panaji: Goans are more obese than other Indians, a study by the directorate of health services has revealed.
The problem lies in the lifestyle of the people. “We have a sedentary lifestyle, with not much physical activity. Besides, we are increasingly eating junk food that is adding to the problem,” said Dr Wiseman Pinto, head of the Pathology department, GMC.
Doctors said that obesity has to be controlled in childhood or it leads to pyscho-social problems, cardiovascular problems, endochrinal diseases, pulmonary, gastro-intestinal, muscular skeletal problems and even cancer in adulthood.
“With morbid obesity, majority of the organs collapse,” said Panaji based physician Dr Oscar Rebello. However, there has been no specific study in the state to show that obese people are more susceptible to hypertension, diabetes, heart attack, stroke and arthritis than healthy people.
Leading heart specialist Dr Uday Khanolkar, who daily sees about four new patients with heart ailments, said that though obesity is an independent risk factor for heart ailments, there are also other common risk factors such as age, diabetes, hypertension, smoking, genetic predisposition and consumption of cholesterol rich foods.
However, there is some good news. “Some 70% of overweight persons can return to normal weight with exercise and diet. However, the other 30% move from being obese to morbid obesity and develop complications related to obesity” said Dr Rajkumar Palaniappan, bariatic surgeon at Apollo Victor hospital, Margao.
June 26, 2008, The Times of India , Goa edition
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Goan adults are far more overweight than other Indians and this is causing a serious concern among health professionals. And when it comes to being obese, Goan women outdo the men.
The percentage of women who are overweight or obese is 27, much higher than the all India figure of 14.8%. The men are not far behind though, with 20.8% of Goan men being obese or overweight, again higher than the all India percentage of 12.1. This has been revealed by the Health Intelligence Bureau report, 2007, of the Directorate of Health Services.
The year of reference for the data is 2005-06 and it reveals the nutritional status of adults (age 15 to 49).
“Obesity is a growing disease among Goans. It is a silent killer,” said Dr Digambar Naik from Vrundavan Hospital, Mapusa. Naik added that 60% of the patients above the age of 40 who come to the hospital are obese, with a body mass index (BMI) of more than 30.
“Abdominal obesity is a problem in Goa and about one-third of the adult population is obese,” said Dr Rufino Monteiro from Vintage Hospital, Panaji.
A person with a BMI between 25 and 35 is deemed obese or overweight and those with BMI of 35 and above are considered to be morbidly obese.
“The socio-economic status in Goa being the highest in the country, we have the additional burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular ailments and cancer, which are linked to sedentary lifestyles that lead to obesity,” said Goa Medical College’s preventive and social medicine associate professor Dr Jagdish Cacodcar.
Sedentary lifestyle causing obesity
Panaji: Goans are more obese than other Indians, a study by the directorate of health services has revealed.
The problem lies in the lifestyle of the people. “We have a sedentary lifestyle, with not much physical activity. Besides, we are increasingly eating junk food that is adding to the problem,” said Dr Wiseman Pinto, head of the Pathology department, GMC.
Doctors said that obesity has to be controlled in childhood or it leads to pyscho-social problems, cardiovascular problems, endochrinal diseases, pulmonary, gastro-intestinal, muscular skeletal problems and even cancer in adulthood.
“With morbid obesity, majority of the organs collapse,” said Panaji based physician Dr Oscar Rebello. However, there has been no specific study in the state to show that obese people are more susceptible to hypertension, diabetes, heart attack, stroke and arthritis than healthy people.
Leading heart specialist Dr Uday Khanolkar, who daily sees about four new patients with heart ailments, said that though obesity is an independent risk factor for heart ailments, there are also other common risk factors such as age, diabetes, hypertension, smoking, genetic predisposition and consumption of cholesterol rich foods.
However, there is some good news. “Some 70% of overweight persons can return to normal weight with exercise and diet. However, the other 30% move from being obese to morbid obesity and develop complications related to obesity” said Dr Rajkumar Palaniappan, bariatic surgeon at Apollo Victor hospital, Margao.
June 26, 2008, The Times of India , Goa edition
ANUJ JOSHI MURDER
ANUJ JOSHI MURDER
Joshi killer had burgled his house 4 times
Accused Claims His Intention Was Not To Murder, But To Demand Rs 50,000
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Somnath Shelar alias Raju Samanth, who has confessed to the gruesome and baffling murder of restaurateur Anuj Joshi at his house, barely a few yards from the Calangute police station, had burgled Joshi’s house four times before he
was arrested for the crime in October 2005.
However, a police complaint was lodged only once by the deceased.
Shelar was arrested on June 7, 2008 by the Calangute police for murdering Joshi on July 2, 2006. Police officials said that Shelar, after he was arrested in October for theft at Joshi’s house, was sent to eight months judicial custody.
“After his release, Shelar left for Pune and for 10 days was sleeping at the Pune railway station,” said an officer from the Calangute police.
Though Shelar is a resident of Memanwadi village in the Daund taluka of Pune, he has not visited his home since last eight years.
Police officials said that after 10 days, Shelar returned to Goa and few days later bought a kitchen knife from Mapusa.
“He claims that his intention was not to murder Joshi, but to demand Rs 50,000 from him by threatening with a knife,” said police.
They said that Shelar went to Joshi’s house on the night of July 1, but seeing the watchman, changed his plans and went to the woods near Joshi’s house to rest.
“He returned on the morning of July 2 at 6.30 am. On seeing Joshi sleeping, he tried to open the cupboard. When Joshi woke up and tried to confront Shelar, he hit him on the head thrice with an adjustable spanner, before he collapsed on the floor. Then he slit his throat with the kitchen knife,” the police said
Shelar’s crime doesn’t end here. The police said that he then tried to destroy evidence by washing the bloodstained clothes he wore and cleaning the knife.
“He left the clothes to dry in the room, wore one of Joshi’s bermuda pants and tshirt and escaped from the house at 7.30 am with Rs 10,000 and the victim’s mobile phone,” the police said.
Incidentally, in 2005 Shelar had also stolen Rs 10,000 and a mobile from Joshi’s house.
Joshi, 43, was found lying dead on the first floor bedroom of his hillside bungalow with his throat slashed on July 2.
Joshi had returned home around 3.30 am after closing “The Bar”, a very popular pub and watering hole in Baga for tourists as well as locals.
“After murdering Joshi, he went to Mapusa and caught a bus to Pune and from Pune went to Mumbai. Though we had sent our team to Pune we couldn’t trace him as he was hiding in Mumbai,” a police official said. The police team from Calangute was in Pune for 15 days.
According to the police, a month after Joshi’s murder, the accused, was picked up by the Pune police for burglary and he was sent to Yerawada jail, Pune for ten months.
“He befriended others with similar criminal backgrounds and started indulging in burglary along with them after his release from jail. Everytime after committing a burglary he would come to Goa with his group for holidays,” said a police official.
However, the third trip proved unlucky for Shelar as the Goa police had got information about his activities in Pune and were keeping a watch on him.
Shelar was caught on the very day he arrived in the state in a jeep along with his three friends.
“It is a gang of four members, between the age group of 19 and 25 and all of them are involved in criminal activities in Pune and Goa,” the Calangute police said.
June 26, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Joshi killer had burgled his house 4 times
Accused Claims His Intention Was Not To Murder, But To Demand Rs 50,000
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Somnath Shelar alias Raju Samanth, who has confessed to the gruesome and baffling murder of restaurateur Anuj Joshi at his house, barely a few yards from the Calangute police station, had burgled Joshi’s house four times before he
was arrested for the crime in October 2005.
However, a police complaint was lodged only once by the deceased.
Shelar was arrested on June 7, 2008 by the Calangute police for murdering Joshi on July 2, 2006. Police officials said that Shelar, after he was arrested in October for theft at Joshi’s house, was sent to eight months judicial custody.
“After his release, Shelar left for Pune and for 10 days was sleeping at the Pune railway station,” said an officer from the Calangute police.
Though Shelar is a resident of Memanwadi village in the Daund taluka of Pune, he has not visited his home since last eight years.
Police officials said that after 10 days, Shelar returned to Goa and few days later bought a kitchen knife from Mapusa.
“He claims that his intention was not to murder Joshi, but to demand Rs 50,000 from him by threatening with a knife,” said police.
They said that Shelar went to Joshi’s house on the night of July 1, but seeing the watchman, changed his plans and went to the woods near Joshi’s house to rest.
“He returned on the morning of July 2 at 6.30 am. On seeing Joshi sleeping, he tried to open the cupboard. When Joshi woke up and tried to confront Shelar, he hit him on the head thrice with an adjustable spanner, before he collapsed on the floor. Then he slit his throat with the kitchen knife,” the police said
Shelar’s crime doesn’t end here. The police said that he then tried to destroy evidence by washing the bloodstained clothes he wore and cleaning the knife.
“He left the clothes to dry in the room, wore one of Joshi’s bermuda pants and tshirt and escaped from the house at 7.30 am with Rs 10,000 and the victim’s mobile phone,” the police said.
Incidentally, in 2005 Shelar had also stolen Rs 10,000 and a mobile from Joshi’s house.
Joshi, 43, was found lying dead on the first floor bedroom of his hillside bungalow with his throat slashed on July 2.
Joshi had returned home around 3.30 am after closing “The Bar”, a very popular pub and watering hole in Baga for tourists as well as locals.
“After murdering Joshi, he went to Mapusa and caught a bus to Pune and from Pune went to Mumbai. Though we had sent our team to Pune we couldn’t trace him as he was hiding in Mumbai,” a police official said. The police team from Calangute was in Pune for 15 days.
According to the police, a month after Joshi’s murder, the accused, was picked up by the Pune police for burglary and he was sent to Yerawada jail, Pune for ten months.
“He befriended others with similar criminal backgrounds and started indulging in burglary along with them after his release from jail. Everytime after committing a burglary he would come to Goa with his group for holidays,” said a police official.
However, the third trip proved unlucky for Shelar as the Goa police had got information about his activities in Pune and were keeping a watch on him.
Shelar was caught on the very day he arrived in the state in a jeep along with his three friends.
“It is a gang of four members, between the age group of 19 and 25 and all of them are involved in criminal activities in Pune and Goa,” the Calangute police said.
June 26, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
‘Good governance requires consistency’
‘Good governance requires consistency’
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Upset with the arbitrary behaviour of the state government regarding the SEZ issue, Cipla officials said that the move to scrap the notified SEZs in the state would have an adverse impact on the investment climate in Goa.
“We believe that good governance requires consistency in policy and that once you declare a policy and people have acted on that, it is wrong to reverse it and cause difficulties and losses to investors,” said Amar Lulla chief executive officer of Cipla Ltd., Mumbai.
Reacting to the government’s decision to withdraw the allotment of land and their submission to the high court of Bombay at Goa that the government has lifted the stop work order issued to Meditab Specialities Pvt Ltd, which was setting up a SEZ in Keri, Ponda, Lulla said, “We will have to take steps as are legally advised. This can’t be the end of the road for us, as we have already invested close to Rs 200 crore in the project.”
He said that they had invested in Goa pursuant to the government policy inviting development of SEZs. “The whole purpose was to set up a dedicated SEZ for pharma units. This would have brought substantial investment and employment benefits to Goa.
Further, the units were to be non-polluting and putting no infrastructure burden on the State. The idea was to set up a world class pharma park in Goa,” he said.
Meditab, that was allotted land at Keri, Ponda for setting up a pharma park/SEZ had approached the court stating that the chief secretary of the state, J P Singh had threatened them. They were allotted 12,32,000 sq mts land by Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) on April 28, 2006 and a year later, on April 10, 2007, the development commissioner, ministry of commerce and industry, GoI notified the area as SEZ for sector-specific pharmaceutical industries.
In May 2007, Meditab allotted two plots of land to Cipla Ltd to set up its units for manufacturing aerosol. Trouble started from November 22, 2007, when people started objecting to the Meditab SEZ project.
Lulla said that many strongly believe that the SEZ movement is a politically motivated movement and is not one which is reflective of the views of the majority of the people of the state.
“The SEZ is clearly in the public interest and the opponents are misinformed and misguided. The Goa government is legally and constitutionally bound to implement the SEZ policy which was a validly notified policy and on the basis of which we have acted and incurred huge costs and liabilities. The attempt by the government to change its stand is unjustified and illegal,” he added.
June 26, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Upset with the arbitrary behaviour of the state government regarding the SEZ issue, Cipla officials said that the move to scrap the notified SEZs in the state would have an adverse impact on the investment climate in Goa.
“We believe that good governance requires consistency in policy and that once you declare a policy and people have acted on that, it is wrong to reverse it and cause difficulties and losses to investors,” said Amar Lulla chief executive officer of Cipla Ltd., Mumbai.
Reacting to the government’s decision to withdraw the allotment of land and their submission to the high court of Bombay at Goa that the government has lifted the stop work order issued to Meditab Specialities Pvt Ltd, which was setting up a SEZ in Keri, Ponda, Lulla said, “We will have to take steps as are legally advised. This can’t be the end of the road for us, as we have already invested close to Rs 200 crore in the project.”
He said that they had invested in Goa pursuant to the government policy inviting development of SEZs. “The whole purpose was to set up a dedicated SEZ for pharma units. This would have brought substantial investment and employment benefits to Goa.
Further, the units were to be non-polluting and putting no infrastructure burden on the State. The idea was to set up a world class pharma park in Goa,” he said.
Meditab, that was allotted land at Keri, Ponda for setting up a pharma park/SEZ had approached the court stating that the chief secretary of the state, J P Singh had threatened them. They were allotted 12,32,000 sq mts land by Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) on April 28, 2006 and a year later, on April 10, 2007, the development commissioner, ministry of commerce and industry, GoI notified the area as SEZ for sector-specific pharmaceutical industries.
In May 2007, Meditab allotted two plots of land to Cipla Ltd to set up its units for manufacturing aerosol. Trouble started from November 22, 2007, when people started objecting to the Meditab SEZ project.
Lulla said that many strongly believe that the SEZ movement is a politically motivated movement and is not one which is reflective of the views of the majority of the people of the state.
“The SEZ is clearly in the public interest and the opponents are misinformed and misguided. The Goa government is legally and constitutionally bound to implement the SEZ policy which was a validly notified policy and on the basis of which we have acted and incurred huge costs and liabilities. The attempt by the government to change its stand is unjustified and illegal,” he added.
June 26, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Goa;Youth form 40% of HIV patients
Youth form 40% of HIV patients
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Panaji: HIV/ AIDS has been found to have a profound impact on teens and young adults and nearly 40% of new HIV infections and almost one-third of the global total of people living with the disease are aged between 15 and 24.
In Goa, about 23% of the detected HIV cases in 2007 belonged to the age group 15-29, said Goa State AIDS Contol Society (GSACS) project director Dr Pradeep Padwal.
Dr Padwal said that while more than one-third of the females infected belong to the age group 15-29 in the state, about one-fifth of the infected males belonged to this age group.
“Males and females were almost equally infected in the age group 15-29, whereas in the higher age groups the proportion of males around 70%,” he said.He was speaking at a media consultation programme ‘A coordinated response to HIV/AIDS in Goa- Building partnerships with the media’ on Tuesday, which was organised by Zindagi, a state network of people living with HIV in collaboration with Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR) under the aegis of Indian network of people living with HIV.
Dr Padwal said, “The government has taken good measures to effectively control the epidemic in the last ten years and the HIV spread has plateaued in the last three years.”
Observing that HIV /AIDS which was considered as a
male disease two decade ago, is now distributed almost equally among male and female, he said that more than one-third of the females infected during 2007 in Goa were in the age group 15-29 as compared to less than one-fifth of the infected males.
He said that women are more vulnerable than men to HIV infection because of biological, economic, social and cultural factors. “Male-to-female transmission is 2 to 17 times higher than vice versa. While the proportion of females to total HIV cases detected was about 35.7% in 2007, it ranged between 10 to 12 % during 1995-98,” Dr Padwal observed.
Goa along with Gujarat and Pondicherry are moderate prevalent states and trends indicate that HIV spreads from urban to rural areas and from high-risk groups (HRG) to low risk group (LRG).
“The time lag for the infection to spread from HRG to LRG is 3 to 5 years, as the infection will spread from CSWs to their clients that act as the bridge population and then to wives/ other sexual partners of these clients during the period,” he said.
According to him, the future course of the epidemic will largely depend on efforts in preventing HIV infection among young people.
“For this we have to form strategies to help young people to protect themselves, access to sound information, help to build skills for living, provide a safe and supportive environment as well as quality health services including counseling and also there is a need for special skills and ways of communicating with children,” said Dr Padwal.
To catch people young, the director of GSACS believes that schools are important channels.
“Teachers are the key people who influence children’s behaviour and easy accessibility of young children in different age group to impart age appropriate knowledge,” he added.
June 25, The Times of India, Goa edition
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Panaji: HIV/ AIDS has been found to have a profound impact on teens and young adults and nearly 40% of new HIV infections and almost one-third of the global total of people living with the disease are aged between 15 and 24.
In Goa, about 23% of the detected HIV cases in 2007 belonged to the age group 15-29, said Goa State AIDS Contol Society (GSACS) project director Dr Pradeep Padwal.
Dr Padwal said that while more than one-third of the females infected belong to the age group 15-29 in the state, about one-fifth of the infected males belonged to this age group.
“Males and females were almost equally infected in the age group 15-29, whereas in the higher age groups the proportion of males around 70%,” he said.He was speaking at a media consultation programme ‘A coordinated response to HIV/AIDS in Goa- Building partnerships with the media’ on Tuesday, which was organised by Zindagi, a state network of people living with HIV in collaboration with Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR) under the aegis of Indian network of people living with HIV.
Dr Padwal said, “The government has taken good measures to effectively control the epidemic in the last ten years and the HIV spread has plateaued in the last three years.”
Observing that HIV /AIDS which was considered as a
male disease two decade ago, is now distributed almost equally among male and female, he said that more than one-third of the females infected during 2007 in Goa were in the age group 15-29 as compared to less than one-fifth of the infected males.
He said that women are more vulnerable than men to HIV infection because of biological, economic, social and cultural factors. “Male-to-female transmission is 2 to 17 times higher than vice versa. While the proportion of females to total HIV cases detected was about 35.7% in 2007, it ranged between 10 to 12 % during 1995-98,” Dr Padwal observed.
Goa along with Gujarat and Pondicherry are moderate prevalent states and trends indicate that HIV spreads from urban to rural areas and from high-risk groups (HRG) to low risk group (LRG).
“The time lag for the infection to spread from HRG to LRG is 3 to 5 years, as the infection will spread from CSWs to their clients that act as the bridge population and then to wives/ other sexual partners of these clients during the period,” he said.
According to him, the future course of the epidemic will largely depend on efforts in preventing HIV infection among young people.
“For this we have to form strategies to help young people to protect themselves, access to sound information, help to build skills for living, provide a safe and supportive environment as well as quality health services including counseling and also there is a need for special skills and ways of communicating with children,” said Dr Padwal.
To catch people young, the director of GSACS believes that schools are important channels.
“Teachers are the key people who influence children’s behaviour and easy accessibility of young children in different age group to impart age appropriate knowledge,” he added.
June 25, The Times of India, Goa edition
TIMES IMPACT
TIMES IMPACT
Vishwajit’s balm for patients
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Panaji: Doctors at the Goa Medical College and hospital will now have to ensure that the medicines they prescribe to patients admitted at the hospital are available at the hospital pharmacy.
“All GMC department heads have to check with the GMC pharmacist about the availability of medicines and then prescribe them to patients,” said health minister Vishwajit Rane. If a particular medicine is not available in the GMC pharmacy, the hospital will have to procure it, and not the patients, as was the practice so far. This is to
ensure that patients admitted at GMC don’t have to spend money on purchasing drugs.
“It is necessary for us to evaluate the free medicine scheme. There are reports in the newspapers and I have also come across complaints from patients admitted to GMC and also from their relatives that they have been forced to purchase medicines from outside, though the government gives medicines free to all patients admitted in the hospital. This is happening despite the government sanctioning about Rs 5 crore annually for free medicines,” said Rane.
TOI had reported on Saturday that despite the an increase in the budget allocation for medicines from Rs 200 lakh in 2003-04 to Rs 500 lakh in 2006-07, medicines were scarce at the GMC pharmacy. TOI had also spoken to doctors who admitted that there is not just a lack of drugs and basic amenities like gloves and cotton, but that patients are asked to purchase these.
GMC medical superintendent Rajan Kuncolienkar has been appointed as the nodal officer to ensure that the inpatients get medicines free. AT YOUR SERVICE
Govt for 24-hr
pharmacy
at GMC
Panaji: The health minister Vishwajit Rane said on Tuesday that the doctors at the Goa
Medical College and Hospital will have to ensure that the medicine they prescribe to patients admitted at the hospital is available at the hospital pharmacy.
“evaluation of the availability of medicines would be done on a weekly basis,” said Rane.
“If necessary, the medical superintendent shall procure the medicines in order to ensure that the patients do not have to go out and purchase
medicines. This is to ensure that the common man seeking treatment at the GMC is not put to any hardship,” said Rane.
Rane said they are considering making a provision for a 24-hour pharmacy at GMC and also suggested that the two district hospital — Asilo at Mapusa and Hospicio at Margao — may tie-up with private chemists to provide medicines round the clock to patients.
The director of health services has been asked to ensure the availability of medicines in the two district hospitals.
Meanwhile, the Yatri Niwas at the GMC complex would be inaugurated on Thursday and the new nursing college would be commissioned on July 4.
The health minister said that he has asked the director of health services Rajnanda Dessai to consider starting a course in home nursing at the nursing college.
The GMC is also set to get its own housekeeping staff, besides female security for women admitted in the female wards. “We have already tendered for the same,” Rane said.
25 June,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Vishwajit’s balm for patients
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Panaji: Doctors at the Goa Medical College and hospital will now have to ensure that the medicines they prescribe to patients admitted at the hospital are available at the hospital pharmacy.
“All GMC department heads have to check with the GMC pharmacist about the availability of medicines and then prescribe them to patients,” said health minister Vishwajit Rane. If a particular medicine is not available in the GMC pharmacy, the hospital will have to procure it, and not the patients, as was the practice so far. This is to
ensure that patients admitted at GMC don’t have to spend money on purchasing drugs.
“It is necessary for us to evaluate the free medicine scheme. There are reports in the newspapers and I have also come across complaints from patients admitted to GMC and also from their relatives that they have been forced to purchase medicines from outside, though the government gives medicines free to all patients admitted in the hospital. This is happening despite the government sanctioning about Rs 5 crore annually for free medicines,” said Rane.
TOI had reported on Saturday that despite the an increase in the budget allocation for medicines from Rs 200 lakh in 2003-04 to Rs 500 lakh in 2006-07, medicines were scarce at the GMC pharmacy. TOI had also spoken to doctors who admitted that there is not just a lack of drugs and basic amenities like gloves and cotton, but that patients are asked to purchase these.
GMC medical superintendent Rajan Kuncolienkar has been appointed as the nodal officer to ensure that the inpatients get medicines free. AT YOUR SERVICE
Govt for 24-hr
pharmacy
at GMC
Panaji: The health minister Vishwajit Rane said on Tuesday that the doctors at the Goa
Medical College and Hospital will have to ensure that the medicine they prescribe to patients admitted at the hospital is available at the hospital pharmacy.
“evaluation of the availability of medicines would be done on a weekly basis,” said Rane.
“If necessary, the medical superintendent shall procure the medicines in order to ensure that the patients do not have to go out and purchase
medicines. This is to ensure that the common man seeking treatment at the GMC is not put to any hardship,” said Rane.
Rane said they are considering making a provision for a 24-hour pharmacy at GMC and also suggested that the two district hospital — Asilo at Mapusa and Hospicio at Margao — may tie-up with private chemists to provide medicines round the clock to patients.
The director of health services has been asked to ensure the availability of medicines in the two district hospitals.
Meanwhile, the Yatri Niwas at the GMC complex would be inaugurated on Thursday and the new nursing college would be commissioned on July 4.
The health minister said that he has asked the director of health services Rajnanda Dessai to consider starting a course in home nursing at the nursing college.
The GMC is also set to get its own housekeeping staff, besides female security for women admitted in the female wards. “We have already tendered for the same,” Rane said.
25 June,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Landlords defend sale to non-Goans
Landlords defend sale to non-Goans
We Have The Right to Dispose Our Properties To The Highest Bidder
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: As activists demand that the sale of land to outsiders at exorbitant prices be banned, thereby stopping the rape of Goa by builders, land owners or bhatkars in Goa believe they have the right to sell their land to the highest bidder.
“The price of land has gone up because there is a demand. Today we are a capitalist society and if anyone wants to keep the land for Goans then they should purchase it at market value from landlords and preserve it,” said Agostinho Proenca, a land owner from Calangute.
Proenca doesn’t see any reason over people cribbing about landlords selling land at hefty prices.
“Check out the cost of living in Goa. Who would sell land or for that matter anything at a lower price. As a seller I am not interested in what a buyer or a builder does with the land. There are government agencies in place in Goa to check on these issues,” added Proenca.
Victor Albuquerque, chairman and managing director of the Alcon Victor Group, said, “If the price of land is high, then the price of flats also naturally increases. Nowadays, the cost of the land is almost equal to the cost of the construction of a multi storeyed building.”
“There are prime properties like Dona Paula where the cost of constructing the bungalow is less than the cost of the land,” he added.
Landlords believe that it’s not the seller who should be blamed if a Goan buyer can’t afford the rate of land.
They also feel that holding on to the land is risky. Landlords complain that it is becoming extremely difficult to maintain the land; for one, there are encroachers, problems with tenants, and mundkars out to ‘grab land’ from landlords.
“There is no justice. If you retain your property, a mundkar could encroach and neither the panchayat nor government helps. The only option is either to sell off the property at the price the mundkars demands or approach the court. I don’t have time to follow up matters in the court, so I am developing buildings in the vacant plots,” says Dr A J Cardoso, a landlord from Santa Cruz.
While tenants are actual tillers of an agricultural land, mundkars are those who looked after the property for the bhatkar over generations.
“The general feeling amongst bhatkars is that after the Mundkar and Tenancy Act, landlords have been suppressed and so they feel cheated. So when you get a higher price you should sell the property,” said Alba Sequeira, a land owner from Siolim.
However, she said that she would prefer selling her plot to a Goan, provided they are willing to pay what she called a ‘moderately high’ sum.
In the past year, opposition against sale of land to foreigners and even Indians, alleging that the price of land has skyrocketed to such an extent that it has become unaffordable for a middle class Goan to purchase a house or land in the state, has grown.
Interestingly, given a choice, not many would like to sell their plots to non Goans, but rue that more than often the locals are not willing to pay the price.
“I prefer selling my land to Goans, but I also sell it to non Goans settled in Goa, if they are willing to pay the price,” said Vishnudas Kare from Gogol, Margao.
Some landlords argue that if Goans can travel, work, purchase land, build houses and settle anywhere in the country or the world, others too have a right to settle in the state.
“I will definitely sell my property to a person who pays a higher price and completes the transaction legally. Can we stop another Indian from buying property in Goa? Haven’t Goans purchased property and built homes in Mumbai and rest of the country and abroad,” added Savio Mendonca, a landlord from Siolim.
June 23, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
We Have The Right to Dispose Our Properties To The Highest Bidder
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: As activists demand that the sale of land to outsiders at exorbitant prices be banned, thereby stopping the rape of Goa by builders, land owners or bhatkars in Goa believe they have the right to sell their land to the highest bidder.
“The price of land has gone up because there is a demand. Today we are a capitalist society and if anyone wants to keep the land for Goans then they should purchase it at market value from landlords and preserve it,” said Agostinho Proenca, a land owner from Calangute.
Proenca doesn’t see any reason over people cribbing about landlords selling land at hefty prices.
“Check out the cost of living in Goa. Who would sell land or for that matter anything at a lower price. As a seller I am not interested in what a buyer or a builder does with the land. There are government agencies in place in Goa to check on these issues,” added Proenca.
Victor Albuquerque, chairman and managing director of the Alcon Victor Group, said, “If the price of land is high, then the price of flats also naturally increases. Nowadays, the cost of the land is almost equal to the cost of the construction of a multi storeyed building.”
“There are prime properties like Dona Paula where the cost of constructing the bungalow is less than the cost of the land,” he added.
Landlords believe that it’s not the seller who should be blamed if a Goan buyer can’t afford the rate of land.
They also feel that holding on to the land is risky. Landlords complain that it is becoming extremely difficult to maintain the land; for one, there are encroachers, problems with tenants, and mundkars out to ‘grab land’ from landlords.
“There is no justice. If you retain your property, a mundkar could encroach and neither the panchayat nor government helps. The only option is either to sell off the property at the price the mundkars demands or approach the court. I don’t have time to follow up matters in the court, so I am developing buildings in the vacant plots,” says Dr A J Cardoso, a landlord from Santa Cruz.
While tenants are actual tillers of an agricultural land, mundkars are those who looked after the property for the bhatkar over generations.
“The general feeling amongst bhatkars is that after the Mundkar and Tenancy Act, landlords have been suppressed and so they feel cheated. So when you get a higher price you should sell the property,” said Alba Sequeira, a land owner from Siolim.
However, she said that she would prefer selling her plot to a Goan, provided they are willing to pay what she called a ‘moderately high’ sum.
In the past year, opposition against sale of land to foreigners and even Indians, alleging that the price of land has skyrocketed to such an extent that it has become unaffordable for a middle class Goan to purchase a house or land in the state, has grown.
Interestingly, given a choice, not many would like to sell their plots to non Goans, but rue that more than often the locals are not willing to pay the price.
“I prefer selling my land to Goans, but I also sell it to non Goans settled in Goa, if they are willing to pay the price,” said Vishnudas Kare from Gogol, Margao.
Some landlords argue that if Goans can travel, work, purchase land, build houses and settle anywhere in the country or the world, others too have a right to settle in the state.
“I will definitely sell my property to a person who pays a higher price and completes the transaction legally. Can we stop another Indian from buying property in Goa? Haven’t Goans purchased property and built homes in Mumbai and rest of the country and abroad,” added Savio Mendonca, a landlord from Siolim.
June 23, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Scarlett Keeling Case;Julio fears arrest, files anticipatory bail plea
SCARLETT KEELING CASE
Julio fears arrest, files anticipatory bail plea
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Panaji: British teenager Scarlett Keeling’s friend in India, Julio Lobo, a resident of Siolim, has filed an anticipatory bail application before the children’s court on Monday fearing his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Julio in his application said that he fears that he would be falsely implicated in the case.
The CBI officials who are presently in Goa to investigate the rape and murder of the British teenager had interrogated Julio on June 20.
Julio in his bail application has alleged that the officials who searched his house on Saturday took away his aunt’s torch stating that he had used the torch when he was on the beach near
Lui’s shack - in front of which Scarlett’s body was found - inspite of him insisting that he never went in search of the deceased teenager.
He has also said in his bail application that at present the CBI officers have for the first time taken on a new attack against him by claiming that he was on the Anjuna beach on the early morning of February 18, 2008 - the day on which Scarlett was found dead - with a torch and as such had met the girl around the time at which she died.
A notice has subsequently been served to the CBI and the matter will be heard on June 27, 2008.
Besides, another of the accused in the case, Placido Carvalho alias Shana Boy, has also made an application before the children’s court stating that a passport size photo of his seized by the CBI should he returned to him or that the investigating agency should be directed not to make, maintain or distribute any copies of the said photograph.
The matter will be heard on July 4, 2008.
June 24, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Julio fears arrest, files anticipatory bail plea
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Panaji: British teenager Scarlett Keeling’s friend in India, Julio Lobo, a resident of Siolim, has filed an anticipatory bail application before the children’s court on Monday fearing his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Julio in his application said that he fears that he would be falsely implicated in the case.
The CBI officials who are presently in Goa to investigate the rape and murder of the British teenager had interrogated Julio on June 20.
Julio in his bail application has alleged that the officials who searched his house on Saturday took away his aunt’s torch stating that he had used the torch when he was on the beach near
Lui’s shack - in front of which Scarlett’s body was found - inspite of him insisting that he never went in search of the deceased teenager.
He has also said in his bail application that at present the CBI officers have for the first time taken on a new attack against him by claiming that he was on the Anjuna beach on the early morning of February 18, 2008 - the day on which Scarlett was found dead - with a torch and as such had met the girl around the time at which she died.
A notice has subsequently been served to the CBI and the matter will be heard on June 27, 2008.
Besides, another of the accused in the case, Placido Carvalho alias Shana Boy, has also made an application before the children’s court stating that a passport size photo of his seized by the CBI should he returned to him or that the investigating agency should be directed not to make, maintain or distribute any copies of the said photograph.
The matter will be heard on July 4, 2008.
June 24, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Search on for Scarlett’s Israeli friend
Search on for Scarlett’s Israeli friend
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Panaji: The CBI officials who are in Goa to investigate the alleged rape and murder of Brit teenager Scarlett Keeling have been searching for an Israeli boy who was friendly with Keeling before she met Julio Lobo.
Police officials reveal that Keeling had met the boy soon after she had come to Goa and he had also helped her mother, Fiona Mackeown around soon after Keeling’s body was found. However, highly placed sources reveal that the Isareli has already left the country.
It is learnt that the CBI raided Lobo’s house and took a torch and few papers, including a paper from Julio’s aunt’s diary in which she had written a name “Fiona” (which is also Scarlett’s mother’s name) and a phone number written in pencil. Top officials reveal that the CBI also questioned Lobo about his relationship with Keeling and asked him whether he went searching for Keeling on the early morning of February 18, 2008 when the British teenager was allegedly drugged, raped and murdered on the Anjuna beach.
During the initial stages of the investigation, police officials had informed that the main accused in the case, bartender Samson D’Souza had left Scarlett in the water to die, after he saw someone approaching towards them with a torch.
Besides, sources revealed that the CBI also raided Shanaboy’s house on Saturday and questioned him again on his role in the murder. “The accused has been asked to come to our office at Altinho on Monday,” sources in the CBI confirmed.
June 23, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Panaji: The CBI officials who are in Goa to investigate the alleged rape and murder of Brit teenager Scarlett Keeling have been searching for an Israeli boy who was friendly with Keeling before she met Julio Lobo.
Police officials reveal that Keeling had met the boy soon after she had come to Goa and he had also helped her mother, Fiona Mackeown around soon after Keeling’s body was found. However, highly placed sources reveal that the Isareli has already left the country.
It is learnt that the CBI raided Lobo’s house and took a torch and few papers, including a paper from Julio’s aunt’s diary in which she had written a name “Fiona” (which is also Scarlett’s mother’s name) and a phone number written in pencil. Top officials reveal that the CBI also questioned Lobo about his relationship with Keeling and asked him whether he went searching for Keeling on the early morning of February 18, 2008 when the British teenager was allegedly drugged, raped and murdered on the Anjuna beach.
During the initial stages of the investigation, police officials had informed that the main accused in the case, bartender Samson D’Souza had left Scarlett in the water to die, after he saw someone approaching towards them with a torch.
Besides, sources revealed that the CBI also raided Shanaboy’s house on Saturday and questioned him again on his role in the murder. “The accused has been asked to come to our office at Altinho on Monday,” sources in the CBI confirmed.
June 23, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Goa Medical College;Desperately seeking resuscitation
Desperately seeking resuscitation
At GMC, heal on own Hundreds use their services everyday, but with equipment and staff stretched to breaking, Goa’s govt hospitals are...
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Irrespective of the ailment, being a patient at the Bambolimbased Goa Medical College and Hospital, commonly called the GMC, is painful indeed.
Take this list of woes told to TOI by patients past and present:
If you are to be operated, you may have to purchase gloves and disposable syringes for the doctors who will operate on you. Once operated, if you are shifted to a general ward, you run the risk of contracting infections. If you opt for the private ward instead, where you pay about Rs 450 a day, you run the risk of developing convulsions due to the faulty oxygen supply.
Things are no better in the Intensive Coronary Care Unit (ICCU). The dysfunctional air conditioning has forced patients to carry their own table fans in the recent past.
As for medical procedures such as X-rays, CT scans and echocardiography (Echo), they are either short stocked (X-ray films) or non-functional, forcing patients to throng to private practitioners. In the case of procuring a CT scan the patient has to travel to Margao-based Hospicio hospital.There’s more. Despite the budget allocation for medicines being increased from Rs 200 lakh in 2003-04 to Rs 500 lakh in 2006-07, there is a shortage at the GMC pharmacy. And the ambulances, presumably well equipped, have neither wheelchairs nor stretchers, forcing patients brought in to be carried.
To top it all, ill-maintained wards, cobwebs, soiled beds, unclean toilets and bathrooms, garbage scattered around the premises and sometimes in the wards, broken window panes... the list is endless.
“My mother, who had to undergo a back surgery, was infected with bed sores in the general ward and we had to shift her to a private ward to escape any kind of infection,” said Sarla Samant (Name changed on request).
Things were no better in the more expensive ward. “Mom suffered a terrible convulsion and was in urgent need of oxygen, but the central oxygen supply, which comes via the pipes to all the rooms, was not working and the oxygen cylinder that was brought was found to be leaking and the manometer was faulty,” said Samant.
Horrified, Samant said, “Even basic facilities are missing. In the wards, taps leak. In private rooms there are no night lamps. And dirty linen is used for patients. Instead of beautifying the hospital, authorities should look at fulfilling these basic medical facilities,” she added.
With primary and secondary health care facilities failing in Goa, the burden falls on GMC, said hospital authorities. While there are 26 government hospitals in the state, with a collective bed capacity of 2,454 beds, about 1,030 beds are at the GMC alone. Official figures show a 1:636 doctor-patient ratio at GMC, but doctors said the pressures on them were huge.
“Not only is there a lack of drugs, basic amenities like gloves and cotton is not available in the surgery ward, and patients are asked to purchase these,” said doctors. A forensic doctor added, “Since the last two months, we don’t have scalpel blades and we’ve had to purchase these from the pharmacy on an almost daily basis.”
The Good
All services available at one hospital Economical Qualified doctors and nurses Superspeciality treatment available
The Bad
No gloves Untidy bedsheets, dirty corridors Dysfunctional machines Delay in operations
June 21, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
At GMC, heal on own Hundreds use their services everyday, but with equipment and staff stretched to breaking, Goa’s govt hospitals are...
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Irrespective of the ailment, being a patient at the Bambolimbased Goa Medical College and Hospital, commonly called the GMC, is painful indeed.
Take this list of woes told to TOI by patients past and present:
If you are to be operated, you may have to purchase gloves and disposable syringes for the doctors who will operate on you. Once operated, if you are shifted to a general ward, you run the risk of contracting infections. If you opt for the private ward instead, where you pay about Rs 450 a day, you run the risk of developing convulsions due to the faulty oxygen supply.
Things are no better in the Intensive Coronary Care Unit (ICCU). The dysfunctional air conditioning has forced patients to carry their own table fans in the recent past.
As for medical procedures such as X-rays, CT scans and echocardiography (Echo), they are either short stocked (X-ray films) or non-functional, forcing patients to throng to private practitioners. In the case of procuring a CT scan the patient has to travel to Margao-based Hospicio hospital.There’s more. Despite the budget allocation for medicines being increased from Rs 200 lakh in 2003-04 to Rs 500 lakh in 2006-07, there is a shortage at the GMC pharmacy. And the ambulances, presumably well equipped, have neither wheelchairs nor stretchers, forcing patients brought in to be carried.
To top it all, ill-maintained wards, cobwebs, soiled beds, unclean toilets and bathrooms, garbage scattered around the premises and sometimes in the wards, broken window panes... the list is endless.
“My mother, who had to undergo a back surgery, was infected with bed sores in the general ward and we had to shift her to a private ward to escape any kind of infection,” said Sarla Samant (Name changed on request).
Things were no better in the more expensive ward. “Mom suffered a terrible convulsion and was in urgent need of oxygen, but the central oxygen supply, which comes via the pipes to all the rooms, was not working and the oxygen cylinder that was brought was found to be leaking and the manometer was faulty,” said Samant.
Horrified, Samant said, “Even basic facilities are missing. In the wards, taps leak. In private rooms there are no night lamps. And dirty linen is used for patients. Instead of beautifying the hospital, authorities should look at fulfilling these basic medical facilities,” she added.
With primary and secondary health care facilities failing in Goa, the burden falls on GMC, said hospital authorities. While there are 26 government hospitals in the state, with a collective bed capacity of 2,454 beds, about 1,030 beds are at the GMC alone. Official figures show a 1:636 doctor-patient ratio at GMC, but doctors said the pressures on them were huge.
“Not only is there a lack of drugs, basic amenities like gloves and cotton is not available in the surgery ward, and patients are asked to purchase these,” said doctors. A forensic doctor added, “Since the last two months, we don’t have scalpel blades and we’ve had to purchase these from the pharmacy on an almost daily basis.”
The Good
All services available at one hospital Economical Qualified doctors and nurses Superspeciality treatment available
The Bad
No gloves Untidy bedsheets, dirty corridors Dysfunctional machines Delay in operations
June 21, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Mike Masala rues being witness in Scarlett case
Mike Masala rues being witness in Scarlett case
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: British national Michael Mannion, a crucial eyewitness in the Scarlett Keeling rape and murder case, has advised all British nationals never to volunteer to depose in India if they are a witness to a crime.
Unhappy with the way he has been treated by the police, Mannion said, “I am quite disappointed. As a witness I had volunteered to assist the prosecution and had complied with every directive of the investigating agency. I will certainly not recommend any British national to ever come forward and depose on matters if he or she is ever a witness to the crime.”
Mannion, 35, popularly known as Mike Masala in Anjuna, is the main witness in the teenager’s rape and murder and has deposed before the police that he had seen Samson D’Souza, a bartender (one of the two accused) lying atop Scarlett on the night of Scarlett’s death. Mannion, who left Goa a little after Scarlett’s bruised body was found on Anjuna beach on February 18, had stated that he feared for his life from Samson and therefore left the state, but not the country. In March, he appeared before superintendent of police (North) Bosco George to depose in the case only after a lookout notice was posted, barring his leaving the country. This was done after Manion approached the British consulate in Mumbai saying that he has vital information in the case and needed protection. SCARLETT KEELING CASE
Mannion irked for being detained in Goa
Panaji: British national, Michael Mannion, a crucial eyewitness in the Scarlett Keeling rape and murder case,
lamented that despite having recorded his statement before the police, the police have not allowed him to go back to his country.
“I was promised by the Goa police that immediately after my deposition and statements, I would be permitted to go home. Having named the accused in my statements, I now fear for my life and I have also informed the Goa police that my father is on his death bed and as a son I want to be with him. Despite this, I have not been allowed to go,” said Mannion. Giving Manion moral and emotional support is his brother Paul.
“I had always wanted to come forward to depose for the sake of justice, but when I think of the stress I have undergone as a witness and the fact that I can’t attend to my sick father, I do regret my decision to depose in the case,” Manion added.
June 19, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: British national Michael Mannion, a crucial eyewitness in the Scarlett Keeling rape and murder case, has advised all British nationals never to volunteer to depose in India if they are a witness to a crime.
Unhappy with the way he has been treated by the police, Mannion said, “I am quite disappointed. As a witness I had volunteered to assist the prosecution and had complied with every directive of the investigating agency. I will certainly not recommend any British national to ever come forward and depose on matters if he or she is ever a witness to the crime.”
Mannion, 35, popularly known as Mike Masala in Anjuna, is the main witness in the teenager’s rape and murder and has deposed before the police that he had seen Samson D’Souza, a bartender (one of the two accused) lying atop Scarlett on the night of Scarlett’s death. Mannion, who left Goa a little after Scarlett’s bruised body was found on Anjuna beach on February 18, had stated that he feared for his life from Samson and therefore left the state, but not the country. In March, he appeared before superintendent of police (North) Bosco George to depose in the case only after a lookout notice was posted, barring his leaving the country. This was done after Manion approached the British consulate in Mumbai saying that he has vital information in the case and needed protection. SCARLETT KEELING CASE
Mannion irked for being detained in Goa
Panaji: British national, Michael Mannion, a crucial eyewitness in the Scarlett Keeling rape and murder case,
lamented that despite having recorded his statement before the police, the police have not allowed him to go back to his country.
“I was promised by the Goa police that immediately after my deposition and statements, I would be permitted to go home. Having named the accused in my statements, I now fear for my life and I have also informed the Goa police that my father is on his death bed and as a son I want to be with him. Despite this, I have not been allowed to go,” said Mannion. Giving Manion moral and emotional support is his brother Paul.
“I had always wanted to come forward to depose for the sake of justice, but when I think of the stress I have undergone as a witness and the fact that I can’t attend to my sick father, I do regret my decision to depose in the case,” Manion added.
June 19, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Goa;‘It’s 7.30 pm. Too late. Can’t come to OT’
‘It’s 7.30 pm. Too late. Can’t come to OT’
Kidney Patient Rushed Out Of GMC To Pvt Hospital As Anaesthetist Plays Truant
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Ramesh Rawal a 65-year-old kidney patient had to be rushed out of the Goa Medical College hospital and operated in a private hospital, as the government anaesthetist refused to attend to the patient, stating that it was “too late”.The patient, who was brought from Maharashtra was admitted to the urology department at GMC, complaining of urine retention. As his condition deteriorated with danger of his kidney collapsing, the doctors decided on an emergency procedure and securing permission from the dean of the GMC, the surgery was fixed for 7.30 pm.
However, as the anaesthetist refused to attend to the patient, he had to be taken to a private hospital in Panaji, where he was operated upon and brought back to GMC, for post-operative treatment, before being discharged.Admitting this happened, GMC dean, Dr V N Jindal played down the situation saying, “Yes, a patient had to be shifted out of GMC and was operated in a private hospital. But it was due to a little misunderstanding. The matter is
settled now.”
Before returning to his home state, the patient lodged a complaint with the directorate of Health Services, based on which, the government has initiated an inquiry against associate professor of anaesthesiology Dr Shaila Kamat, who had refused to attend to the patient, and anaesthesiology department head Dr Marilyn Nazareth.
Sources in the health department confirmed this and said that the doctors had not only put a patient’s life at risk but also violated the Hippocratic Oath. The Hippocratic Oath that every doctor takes states: “I will follow that method of treatment which according to my ability and judgement, I consider for the benefit of my patient and abstain from whatever is harmful or mischievous.”
“If the case is high risk, then the anaesthetist can refuse to attend to the patient after examining the patient or it can even be a case of mere neglect. But the GMC dean is the best person to handle it,” added Disciplinary and Ethics committee chairman of Goa Medical Council Dr Ulhas Karpe.
(Patient’s name changed to protect identity)
June 20, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Kidney Patient Rushed Out Of GMC To Pvt Hospital As Anaesthetist Plays Truant
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Ramesh Rawal a 65-year-old kidney patient had to be rushed out of the Goa Medical College hospital and operated in a private hospital, as the government anaesthetist refused to attend to the patient, stating that it was “too late”.The patient, who was brought from Maharashtra was admitted to the urology department at GMC, complaining of urine retention. As his condition deteriorated with danger of his kidney collapsing, the doctors decided on an emergency procedure and securing permission from the dean of the GMC, the surgery was fixed for 7.30 pm.
However, as the anaesthetist refused to attend to the patient, he had to be taken to a private hospital in Panaji, where he was operated upon and brought back to GMC, for post-operative treatment, before being discharged.Admitting this happened, GMC dean, Dr V N Jindal played down the situation saying, “Yes, a patient had to be shifted out of GMC and was operated in a private hospital. But it was due to a little misunderstanding. The matter is
settled now.”
Before returning to his home state, the patient lodged a complaint with the directorate of Health Services, based on which, the government has initiated an inquiry against associate professor of anaesthesiology Dr Shaila Kamat, who had refused to attend to the patient, and anaesthesiology department head Dr Marilyn Nazareth.
Sources in the health department confirmed this and said that the doctors had not only put a patient’s life at risk but also violated the Hippocratic Oath. The Hippocratic Oath that every doctor takes states: “I will follow that method of treatment which according to my ability and judgement, I consider for the benefit of my patient and abstain from whatever is harmful or mischievous.”
“If the case is high risk, then the anaesthetist can refuse to attend to the patient after examining the patient or it can even be a case of mere neglect. But the GMC dean is the best person to handle it,” added Disciplinary and Ethics committee chairman of Goa Medical Council Dr Ulhas Karpe.
(Patient’s name changed to protect identity)
June 20, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Goa;Mike Masala rues being witness in Scarlett case
Mike Masala rues being witness in Scarlett case
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: British national Michael Mannion, a crucial eyewitness in the Scarlett Keeling rape and murder case, has advised all British nationals never to volunteer to depose in India if they are a witness to a crime.
Unhappy with the way he has been treated by the police, Mannion said, “I am quite disappointed. As a witness I had volunteered to assist the prosecution and had complied with every directive of the investigating agency. I will certainly not recommend any British national to ever come forward and depose on matters if he or she is ever a witness to the crime.”
Mannion, 35, popularly known as Mike Masala in Anjuna, is the main witness in the teenager’s rape and murder and has deposed before the police that he had seen Samson D’Souza, a bartender (one of the two accused) lying atop Scarlett on the night of Scarlett’s death. Mannion, who left Goa a little after Scarlett’s bruised body was found on Anjuna beach on February 18, had stated that he feared for his life from Samson and therefore left the state, but not the country. In March, he appeared before superintendent of police (North) Bosco George to depose in the case only after a lookout notice was posted, barring his leaving the country. This was done after Manion approached the British consulate in Mumbai saying that he has vital information in the case and needed protection. SCARLETT KEELING CASE
Mannion irked for being detained in Goa
Panaji: British national, Michael Mannion, a crucial eyewitness in the Scarlett Keeling rape and murder case,
lamented that despite having recorded his statement before the police, the police have not allowed him to go back to his country.
“I was promised by the Goa police that immediately after my deposition and statements, I would be permitted to go home. Having named the accused in my statements, I now fear for my life and I have also informed the Goa police that my father is on his death bed and as a son I want to be with him. Despite this, I have not been allowed to go,” said Mannion. Giving Manion moral and emotional support is his brother Paul.
“I had always wanted to come forward to depose for the sake of justice, but when I think of the stress I have undergone as a witness and the fact that I can’t attend to my sick father, I do regret my decision to depose in the case,” Manion added.
June 19, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: British national Michael Mannion, a crucial eyewitness in the Scarlett Keeling rape and murder case, has advised all British nationals never to volunteer to depose in India if they are a witness to a crime.
Unhappy with the way he has been treated by the police, Mannion said, “I am quite disappointed. As a witness I had volunteered to assist the prosecution and had complied with every directive of the investigating agency. I will certainly not recommend any British national to ever come forward and depose on matters if he or she is ever a witness to the crime.”
Mannion, 35, popularly known as Mike Masala in Anjuna, is the main witness in the teenager’s rape and murder and has deposed before the police that he had seen Samson D’Souza, a bartender (one of the two accused) lying atop Scarlett on the night of Scarlett’s death. Mannion, who left Goa a little after Scarlett’s bruised body was found on Anjuna beach on February 18, had stated that he feared for his life from Samson and therefore left the state, but not the country. In March, he appeared before superintendent of police (North) Bosco George to depose in the case only after a lookout notice was posted, barring his leaving the country. This was done after Manion approached the British consulate in Mumbai saying that he has vital information in the case and needed protection. SCARLETT KEELING CASE
Mannion irked for being detained in Goa
Panaji: British national, Michael Mannion, a crucial eyewitness in the Scarlett Keeling rape and murder case,
lamented that despite having recorded his statement before the police, the police have not allowed him to go back to his country.
“I was promised by the Goa police that immediately after my deposition and statements, I would be permitted to go home. Having named the accused in my statements, I now fear for my life and I have also informed the Goa police that my father is on his death bed and as a son I want to be with him. Despite this, I have not been allowed to go,” said Mannion. Giving Manion moral and emotional support is his brother Paul.
“I had always wanted to come forward to depose for the sake of justice, but when I think of the stress I have undergone as a witness and the fact that I can’t attend to my sick father, I do regret my decision to depose in the case,” Manion added.
June 19, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Goa;Irked DGP lashes out at police complaint panel
Irked DGP lashes out at police complaint panel
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: The State Police Complaint Authority (SPCA) is acting beyond its jurisdiction and eroding the very foundations of the criminal justice system through its interference in the day-to-day administrative functioning of and investigations by the police, the director general of police has complained to the chief secretary in a confidential letter.
The letter was sent by DGP B S Brar to the chief secretary on June 9 requesting the state government to take immediate steps to prevent the collapse of the police administration and to maintain the sanctity of the criminal justice system as the conflict between the police and SPCA had reached “grave proportions” due to “constant and vehement interference” by the SPCA.
The SPCA was set up under a directive from the Supreme Court , which while defining the role of SPCA said it was to “take cognisance of only allegations of serious misconduct by police personnel which would include incidents involving deaths, grievous hurt or rape in police custody. The district level complaint authority would, apart from the above cases, also inquire into allegations of extortion, land and house grabbing or any incident involving serious abuse of authority”.
Chief secretary J P Singh admitted receiving the complaint. “The government is examining the matter in consultation with all concerned,” he said.
The DGP said that the criminal justice system consisting of the police, prosecution and the judiciary is being bypassed. “The CrPC has empowered the police and competent courts with various statutory powers which are being unlawfully disregarded. This will lead to the breakdown of the criminal justice system as envisaged under the law, including the CrPC,” he said.
The DGP also complained that the SPCA is admitting all kinds of applications and calling police officers, even of the rank of SP, who are then paraded, humiliated, pressurised in front of frivolous complainants, few of whom have been accused of serious offenses, including murder, or have been booked under the explosives act. “Inquiries conducted by SPCA are now taking the shape of trials where the police officers are treated as accused,” the letter said.
If the SPCA continues to call officers and other policemen in all types of complaints, it will not only erode the moral authority of the body, but also adversely affect the noble and lofty intentions of the SC to bring objectivity in policing, the DGP said.
June 18, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: The State Police Complaint Authority (SPCA) is acting beyond its jurisdiction and eroding the very foundations of the criminal justice system through its interference in the day-to-day administrative functioning of and investigations by the police, the director general of police has complained to the chief secretary in a confidential letter.
The letter was sent by DGP B S Brar to the chief secretary on June 9 requesting the state government to take immediate steps to prevent the collapse of the police administration and to maintain the sanctity of the criminal justice system as the conflict between the police and SPCA had reached “grave proportions” due to “constant and vehement interference” by the SPCA.
The SPCA was set up under a directive from the Supreme Court , which while defining the role of SPCA said it was to “take cognisance of only allegations of serious misconduct by police personnel which would include incidents involving deaths, grievous hurt or rape in police custody. The district level complaint authority would, apart from the above cases, also inquire into allegations of extortion, land and house grabbing or any incident involving serious abuse of authority”.
Chief secretary J P Singh admitted receiving the complaint. “The government is examining the matter in consultation with all concerned,” he said.
The DGP said that the criminal justice system consisting of the police, prosecution and the judiciary is being bypassed. “The CrPC has empowered the police and competent courts with various statutory powers which are being unlawfully disregarded. This will lead to the breakdown of the criminal justice system as envisaged under the law, including the CrPC,” he said.
The DGP also complained that the SPCA is admitting all kinds of applications and calling police officers, even of the rank of SP, who are then paraded, humiliated, pressurised in front of frivolous complainants, few of whom have been accused of serious offenses, including murder, or have been booked under the explosives act. “Inquiries conducted by SPCA are now taking the shape of trials where the police officers are treated as accused,” the letter said.
If the SPCA continues to call officers and other policemen in all types of complaints, it will not only erode the moral authority of the body, but also adversely affect the noble and lofty intentions of the SC to bring objectivity in policing, the DGP said.
June 18, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Goa;Drug traffickers get smart
Drug traffickers get smart
Mafia Constantly Invents New Ways To Evade The Law
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Goa is not just an epicentre, where drugs are sold at rave and trance parties, but now Goa has become a transit point for drugs, from where it is shipped out to European countries and even neighbouring states.
“Inter-state and inter-country drug trafficking has raised serious concerns for us in Goa and it has serious ramifications. While the police have borders, drug dealers have no borders,” said DGP BS Brar.
The Goa police has finally woken up to the fact that there is an urgent need to check trafficking of narcotic drugs from Goa to other states and out of the country and have requested the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to set-up its unit in the state. Customs officials agree that in keeping with the trend, the drug traffickers are coming up with innovative ideas to escape the law. “Not only are they using minors as 'mules' and carbonised suitcases to export their drugs to Europe”, said a custom official, these drugs -- charas, heroin and cocaine are either taken by air from Mumbai or through chartered flights by European "passengers", whose complete trip and stay in Goa is sponsored by the well-networked drug mafia, the officials informed.
Unsold drugs like coke or cocaine and MDMA have a shelf life of 500 days and once the season is over, the demand in Goa is less. “The remaining drugs are exported out of the country,” said a cop from Anti-Narcotic Cell.
Carbonised compartments fitted in suitcases and bags hamper the detection of drugs, added customs official. “There is not a single officer or sepoy in the narcotics cell of the Customs department. We have just one superintendent, who has additional responsibilty. This is the situation since the last two years,” added Customs official.
Interestingly, according to the custom officials, while European “passengers” take the charter flights, the Isarelis lure young girls or women, who are addicted to drugs, to carry a “consignment” for a friend.
In return, they are promised a free trip. Take the case of an Italian minor girl who was caught at the Dabolim airport in Goa with ecstasy tablets and MDMA drugs on March 14, 2006.She was due to board an Indian Airlines flight to Mumbai enroute to Auckland (New Zealand) via Singapore and the whole trip was sponsored. She was arrested under the NDPS Act and sent to Apna Ghar, Merces.
In 2007, about 70 kgs of narcotic drugs were recovered by the police in North Goa and about 30 drug peddlers were arrested.
Admitting the trend, SP (Anti Narcotic Cell) Omprakash Kurtarkar said, "Wherever there is demand, there is supply. Outsourcing of drugs from Goa to other states or even out
OUTSOURCING DRUGS
TRICK 1: Using carbonised suitcases Method: Suitcases are purchased and 4 locals in Anjuna expertise in putting carbonized compartments in the suitcase. Drugs are stored in a carbonized compartment, then screened for any errors by using a personal Xray machine. Rs 1 to 2 lakh for packing 5 to 10 kg of charas. To pack, 1 to 2 kg of cocaine, the price is Rs 5 to 10 lakh. This was exposed when the minor Italian girl was caught at the Dabolim airport with the drug consignment TRICK 2: Using minor girls or women Method: Drug is stored in condoms and put in the vagina of the girl and trafficked abroad. It is also stored in special carbonated boxes, manufactured in Mumbai and packed into hollow arti-facts. TRICK 3: Pill will Method: Ecstasy pills are mixed with calcium tablets.
June 18, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Mafia Constantly Invents New Ways To Evade The Law
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Goa is not just an epicentre, where drugs are sold at rave and trance parties, but now Goa has become a transit point for drugs, from where it is shipped out to European countries and even neighbouring states.
“Inter-state and inter-country drug trafficking has raised serious concerns for us in Goa and it has serious ramifications. While the police have borders, drug dealers have no borders,” said DGP BS Brar.
The Goa police has finally woken up to the fact that there is an urgent need to check trafficking of narcotic drugs from Goa to other states and out of the country and have requested the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) to set-up its unit in the state. Customs officials agree that in keeping with the trend, the drug traffickers are coming up with innovative ideas to escape the law. “Not only are they using minors as 'mules' and carbonised suitcases to export their drugs to Europe”, said a custom official, these drugs -- charas, heroin and cocaine are either taken by air from Mumbai or through chartered flights by European "passengers", whose complete trip and stay in Goa is sponsored by the well-networked drug mafia, the officials informed.
Unsold drugs like coke or cocaine and MDMA have a shelf life of 500 days and once the season is over, the demand in Goa is less. “The remaining drugs are exported out of the country,” said a cop from Anti-Narcotic Cell.
Carbonised compartments fitted in suitcases and bags hamper the detection of drugs, added customs official. “There is not a single officer or sepoy in the narcotics cell of the Customs department. We have just one superintendent, who has additional responsibilty. This is the situation since the last two years,” added Customs official.
Interestingly, according to the custom officials, while European “passengers” take the charter flights, the Isarelis lure young girls or women, who are addicted to drugs, to carry a “consignment” for a friend.
In return, they are promised a free trip. Take the case of an Italian minor girl who was caught at the Dabolim airport in Goa with ecstasy tablets and MDMA drugs on March 14, 2006.She was due to board an Indian Airlines flight to Mumbai enroute to Auckland (New Zealand) via Singapore and the whole trip was sponsored. She was arrested under the NDPS Act and sent to Apna Ghar, Merces.
In 2007, about 70 kgs of narcotic drugs were recovered by the police in North Goa and about 30 drug peddlers were arrested.
Admitting the trend, SP (Anti Narcotic Cell) Omprakash Kurtarkar said, "Wherever there is demand, there is supply. Outsourcing of drugs from Goa to other states or even out
OUTSOURCING DRUGS
TRICK 1: Using carbonised suitcases Method: Suitcases are purchased and 4 locals in Anjuna expertise in putting carbonized compartments in the suitcase. Drugs are stored in a carbonized compartment, then screened for any errors by using a personal Xray machine. Rs 1 to 2 lakh for packing 5 to 10 kg of charas. To pack, 1 to 2 kg of cocaine, the price is Rs 5 to 10 lakh. This was exposed when the minor Italian girl was caught at the Dabolim airport with the drug consignment TRICK 2: Using minor girls or women Method: Drug is stored in condoms and put in the vagina of the girl and trafficked abroad. It is also stored in special carbonated boxes, manufactured in Mumbai and packed into hollow arti-facts. TRICK 3: Pill will Method: Ecstasy pills are mixed with calcium tablets.
June 18, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Goa:Frequent power cuts lead to rise in inverter sales
Frequent power cuts lead to rise in inverter sales
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Frequent power cuts in the state have sent people scrambling to suppliers of inverters, raising sales to 650 per cent as compared to around five years ago.
“There is a huge demand for the appliance as people are increasingly complaining of erratic electricity supply. I have been installing three to four inverters per day this monsoon,” said Vasco Dias of Superlife Battery Agencies, Panaji.
As the state witnesses frequent power cuts, especially at night and with the electricity department officials unable to act instantly to restore power, inverters have become a necessity rather than a luxury. “It is now popular amongst the middle class, for whom an inverter has become indispensable,” said Steve Gomes of Milson Batteries.
According to suppliers, sales of inverters that were just about 200 per year about five years back have risen to more than 1500 in a year, a 650 per cent rise in sales. The highest selling inverter for households
is the 800 VA model that can keep three fans, six tube lights and a television running. This appliance costs approximately Rs 19,000 with a recognised battery brand.
Higher income groups opt for the 2.5 KVA model inverters, which can supply power to 10 fans, 16 tube lights and two televisions. This model costs between Rs 45,000 to Rs 50,000.
All inverters can provide backup electricity of up to three hours.
“We have frequent power cuts during the monsoon and use the inverter almost daily. With the failure of the government to provide uninterrupted power supply, we si ply need inverters,” said Anand Madgavkar a resident of Dona Paula.
Added Lucio D’Sa from Ribandar, “I purchased an inverter because of my children. When the lights go out they can’t study. In the monsoon its all the more important to have an inverter.”
“The fear of power failure and uncertainty about when the power supply will be restored has encouraged people to invest in inverters. We sell two to three everyday during monsoon,” reiterated Nikhil Shah of Crown Electronics, Panaji.
“With the growing demand, inverter companies have also come in with sleek and technically advanced appliances that ensure 100 per cent safety,” added Gomes. Cashing in on the rise in interest of inverters, suppliers in Goa are offering free installation and trolleys.
June 17, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Frequent power cuts in the state have sent people scrambling to suppliers of inverters, raising sales to 650 per cent as compared to around five years ago.
“There is a huge demand for the appliance as people are increasingly complaining of erratic electricity supply. I have been installing three to four inverters per day this monsoon,” said Vasco Dias of Superlife Battery Agencies, Panaji.
As the state witnesses frequent power cuts, especially at night and with the electricity department officials unable to act instantly to restore power, inverters have become a necessity rather than a luxury. “It is now popular amongst the middle class, for whom an inverter has become indispensable,” said Steve Gomes of Milson Batteries.
According to suppliers, sales of inverters that were just about 200 per year about five years back have risen to more than 1500 in a year, a 650 per cent rise in sales. The highest selling inverter for households
is the 800 VA model that can keep three fans, six tube lights and a television running. This appliance costs approximately Rs 19,000 with a recognised battery brand.
Higher income groups opt for the 2.5 KVA model inverters, which can supply power to 10 fans, 16 tube lights and two televisions. This model costs between Rs 45,000 to Rs 50,000.
All inverters can provide backup electricity of up to three hours.
“We have frequent power cuts during the monsoon and use the inverter almost daily. With the failure of the government to provide uninterrupted power supply, we si ply need inverters,” said Anand Madgavkar a resident of Dona Paula.
Added Lucio D’Sa from Ribandar, “I purchased an inverter because of my children. When the lights go out they can’t study. In the monsoon its all the more important to have an inverter.”
“The fear of power failure and uncertainty about when the power supply will be restored has encouraged people to invest in inverters. We sell two to three everyday during monsoon,” reiterated Nikhil Shah of Crown Electronics, Panaji.
“With the growing demand, inverter companies have also come in with sleek and technically advanced appliances that ensure 100 per cent safety,” added Gomes. Cashing in on the rise in interest of inverters, suppliers in Goa are offering free installation and trolleys.
June 17, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Goa- Crackdown on quacks in state
TAKING STOCK
Crackdown on quacks in state
20 Docs Reprimanded, Five Issued Notice
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: The treatment involved just a few tablets and maybe a cough syrup.
But what the patient, a 10-year-old girl got was Decdak, a steroid, given to patients suffering from acute rheumatic conditions, bronchial attacks or fatal cardiac conditions.
The 10-year-old joins the increasing number of patients who are ‘treated’ by quacks, only to get into bigger complications.
When she developed cold and fever, her parents took her to a ‘physician and surgeon’ in Sanquelim.
“For every MBBS doctor in the state, there are two quacks running successful private practice,” said Disciplinary and Ethics Committee chairman Dr Ulhas Karpe.
According to Dr Karpe, they mainly operate in the villages.
“They carry out practice especially in villages of Canacona, Paryem, Mollem, Keri, Cuncolim, Valpoi and Honda, where the of government clinics are less,” said Dr Karpe.
Alarmed with the increase in incidents of quackery and cross practice by unqualified persons in the state, the Goa Medical Council (GMC) at its meeting in December 2007 decided to appoint Dr Karpe and conduct a survey to collect information regarding such quacks.
It was also decided to issue notices to them (quacks), conduct inquiries and then take appropriate action.
“During the survey, we learnt that there were two types of people indulging in quackery in the state — ayurvedic and homeopathic graduates prescribing allopathic drugs and persons having no medical qualification, doing medical practice,” said Dr Karpe.
He added that the Disciplinary and Ethics Committee has already filed a case against one ‘quack,’ reprimanded about 20 doctors and sent notices to five. “And, the list is still increasing,” insists Dr Karpe. During the survey the committee also learnt that there were some ‘doctors’ who ran successful practices and
charged anything between Rs 70 and Rs 200 as fees.
It was also shocking to learn that they did not even complete high school.
Take the case of a mother and son have a roaring medical practice in Indiranagar.
“While the mother calls herself a “ladies’ specialist” and has no qualification, the son, armed with a diploma degree in health care treats men in the area. This is illegal,” said Dr Karpe.
The Goa Medical Council (Amendment) Act, 2005 clearly states that those falsely claiming to be registered and using titles or degrees without authority can be punished and convicted with a fine that may extend up to Rs 50,000 or imprisonment up to two years or both.
“Though the law is in place, there nothing is being done,” added Dr Karpe.
June 16, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Crackdown on quacks in state
20 Docs Reprimanded, Five Issued Notice
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: The treatment involved just a few tablets and maybe a cough syrup.
But what the patient, a 10-year-old girl got was Decdak, a steroid, given to patients suffering from acute rheumatic conditions, bronchial attacks or fatal cardiac conditions.
The 10-year-old joins the increasing number of patients who are ‘treated’ by quacks, only to get into bigger complications.
When she developed cold and fever, her parents took her to a ‘physician and surgeon’ in Sanquelim.
“For every MBBS doctor in the state, there are two quacks running successful private practice,” said Disciplinary and Ethics Committee chairman Dr Ulhas Karpe.
According to Dr Karpe, they mainly operate in the villages.
“They carry out practice especially in villages of Canacona, Paryem, Mollem, Keri, Cuncolim, Valpoi and Honda, where the of government clinics are less,” said Dr Karpe.
Alarmed with the increase in incidents of quackery and cross practice by unqualified persons in the state, the Goa Medical Council (GMC) at its meeting in December 2007 decided to appoint Dr Karpe and conduct a survey to collect information regarding such quacks.
It was also decided to issue notices to them (quacks), conduct inquiries and then take appropriate action.
“During the survey, we learnt that there were two types of people indulging in quackery in the state — ayurvedic and homeopathic graduates prescribing allopathic drugs and persons having no medical qualification, doing medical practice,” said Dr Karpe.
He added that the Disciplinary and Ethics Committee has already filed a case against one ‘quack,’ reprimanded about 20 doctors and sent notices to five. “And, the list is still increasing,” insists Dr Karpe. During the survey the committee also learnt that there were some ‘doctors’ who ran successful practices and
charged anything between Rs 70 and Rs 200 as fees.
It was also shocking to learn that they did not even complete high school.
Take the case of a mother and son have a roaring medical practice in Indiranagar.
“While the mother calls herself a “ladies’ specialist” and has no qualification, the son, armed with a diploma degree in health care treats men in the area. This is illegal,” said Dr Karpe.
The Goa Medical Council (Amendment) Act, 2005 clearly states that those falsely claiming to be registered and using titles or degrees without authority can be punished and convicted with a fine that may extend up to Rs 50,000 or imprisonment up to two years or both.
“Though the law is in place, there nothing is being done,” added Dr Karpe.
June 16, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Goa- SEZ units will quaff much water
SEZ MESS
SEZ units will quaff much water
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Even as scientific reports assert that the existing water resources are insufficient to meet the potential water demand, the three notified Special Economic Zones would be an additional burden.
Information sought under RTI and available with anti SEZ activists reveals that in their application K Raheja Corp Pvt Ltd had stated that their per day water requirement would be 40 lakh litres per day, while ‘under formation’ Peninsula Research Centre Pvt Ltd’s requirement of water would be 25,000 litres daily. Interestingly, Meditab never filled out the application form, but sent only a letter. Hence no details about their daily water requirement are available.
The summary report on the Study on Augmentation of Water Supply and Sanitation for the Goa state prepared by Japan International Co-operation Agency states that there is a clear need for additional water supply in Goa, especially for cities, industrial estates and tourism resorts in the southern districts of Goa. Two of the SEZs are in South Goa.
According to the report, Goa gets a total of 391 million litres daily (MLD) from the 12 water treatment plants in the state. Mormugao taluka, where these SEZs will be situated, gets water from Selaulim water treatment plant, which also supplies 160 MLD to three other talukas in the South.
Tiswadi and Ponda receive their share of water from Opa which releases 112 MLD of water. The report states, “the PWD is currently facing a number of technical problems across Goa’s water supply schemes, extending from the water source to service connections.”
The report further states, “The current average per capita consumption for urban areas is currently 144 litres per capita per day (lpcd) and for rural areas is 88 lpcd”.
It adds that the current per capita consumption for urban and rural areas in the state already exceeds the standard consumption rate of 135 lpcd in urban areas and 70 lpcd in rural areas.
However, most importat is the following sentence in the report: “The existing supply capacity is not sufficient to meet potential water demand.”
In the application form, it is clearly mentioned by Goa Industrial Development Corporation that the companies should make their own arrangement for water during the construction of factory building.
The lease deal signed with the companies states that GIDC shall not be liable or responsible for the supply of water to the SEZs as the corporation itself is dependent on government authorities for this.
Yet, the Goa SEZ Policy 2006 states, “the SEZ authority shall ensure the provision of adequate water supply within the SEZ zones for SEZ units.”
Interestingly, the report on dynamic ground water resources of Goa prepared by Central Ground Water Board, South Western Region and Goa government’s water resources department, states that the net ground water availability of the state is 26,712.2 hectare metre and the existing gross ground water for domestic and industrial water supply is 3,266.87 hectare metre and irrigation is 3,943.83 hectare metre.
The report adds that the allocation for domestic and industrial water supply for next 25 years is 4,288.39 hectare metre, while for future irrigation development is 18,480.20 hectare metre.
In other words, according to this report prepared in 2005, even without SEZs Goa would be exploiting almost all of the existing ground water resource.
If you are one of those willing to overlook the water problem for potential employment opportunities, then there is some other disturbing news.
In their application Peninsula stated that they would employ 15 M pharms “non-Goans” in managerial positions, while a majority of Goans (about 85) would be employed in the unskilled and other staff.
June 14, The Times of India, Goa edition
SEZ units will quaff much water
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Even as scientific reports assert that the existing water resources are insufficient to meet the potential water demand, the three notified Special Economic Zones would be an additional burden.
Information sought under RTI and available with anti SEZ activists reveals that in their application K Raheja Corp Pvt Ltd had stated that their per day water requirement would be 40 lakh litres per day, while ‘under formation’ Peninsula Research Centre Pvt Ltd’s requirement of water would be 25,000 litres daily. Interestingly, Meditab never filled out the application form, but sent only a letter. Hence no details about their daily water requirement are available.
The summary report on the Study on Augmentation of Water Supply and Sanitation for the Goa state prepared by Japan International Co-operation Agency states that there is a clear need for additional water supply in Goa, especially for cities, industrial estates and tourism resorts in the southern districts of Goa. Two of the SEZs are in South Goa.
According to the report, Goa gets a total of 391 million litres daily (MLD) from the 12 water treatment plants in the state. Mormugao taluka, where these SEZs will be situated, gets water from Selaulim water treatment plant, which also supplies 160 MLD to three other talukas in the South.
Tiswadi and Ponda receive their share of water from Opa which releases 112 MLD of water. The report states, “the PWD is currently facing a number of technical problems across Goa’s water supply schemes, extending from the water source to service connections.”
The report further states, “The current average per capita consumption for urban areas is currently 144 litres per capita per day (lpcd) and for rural areas is 88 lpcd”.
It adds that the current per capita consumption for urban and rural areas in the state already exceeds the standard consumption rate of 135 lpcd in urban areas and 70 lpcd in rural areas.
However, most importat is the following sentence in the report: “The existing supply capacity is not sufficient to meet potential water demand.”
In the application form, it is clearly mentioned by Goa Industrial Development Corporation that the companies should make their own arrangement for water during the construction of factory building.
The lease deal signed with the companies states that GIDC shall not be liable or responsible for the supply of water to the SEZs as the corporation itself is dependent on government authorities for this.
Yet, the Goa SEZ Policy 2006 states, “the SEZ authority shall ensure the provision of adequate water supply within the SEZ zones for SEZ units.”
Interestingly, the report on dynamic ground water resources of Goa prepared by Central Ground Water Board, South Western Region and Goa government’s water resources department, states that the net ground water availability of the state is 26,712.2 hectare metre and the existing gross ground water for domestic and industrial water supply is 3,266.87 hectare metre and irrigation is 3,943.83 hectare metre.
The report adds that the allocation for domestic and industrial water supply for next 25 years is 4,288.39 hectare metre, while for future irrigation development is 18,480.20 hectare metre.
In other words, according to this report prepared in 2005, even without SEZs Goa would be exploiting almost all of the existing ground water resource.
If you are one of those willing to overlook the water problem for potential employment opportunities, then there is some other disturbing news.
In their application Peninsula stated that they would employ 15 M pharms “non-Goans” in managerial positions, while a majority of Goans (about 85) would be employed in the unskilled and other staff.
June 14, The Times of India, Goa edition
Goa- SEZ units will quaff much water
SEZ units will quaff much water
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Even as scientific reports assert that the existing water resources are insufficient to meet the potential water demand, the three notified Special Economic Zones would be an additional burden.
Information sought under RTI and available with anti SEZ activists reveals that in their application K Raheja Corp Pvt Ltd had stated that their per day water requirement would be 40 lakh litres per day, while ‘under formation’ Peninsula Research Centre Pvt Ltd’s requirement of water would be 25,000 litres daily. Interestingly, Meditab never filled out the application form, but sent only a letter. Hence no details about their daily water requirement are available.
The summary report on the Study on Augmentation of Water Supply and Sanitation for the Goa state prepared by Japan International Co-operation Agency states that there is a clear need for additional water supply in Goa, especially for cities, industrial estates and tourism resorts in the southern districts of Goa. Two of the SEZs are in South Goa.
According to the report, Goa gets a total of 391 million litres daily (MLD) from the 12 water treatment plants in the state. Mormugao taluka, where these SEZs will be situated, gets water from Selaulim water treatment plant, which also supplies 160 MLD to three other talukas in the South.
Tiswadi and Ponda receive their share of water from Opa which releases 112 MLD of water. The report states, “the PWD is currently facing a number of technical problems across Goa’s water supply schemes, extending from the water source to service connections.”
The report further states, “The current average per capita consumption for urban areas is currently 144 litres per capita per day (lpcd) and for rural areas is 88 lpcd”.
It adds that the current per capita consumption for urban and rural areas in the state already exceeds the standard consumption rate of 135 lpcd in urban areas and 70 lpcd in rural areas.
However, most importat is the following sentence in the report: “The existing supply capacity is not sufficient to meet potential water demand.”
In the application form, it is clearly mentioned by Goa Industrial Development Corporation that the companies should make their own arrangement for water during the construction of factory building.
The lease deal signed with the companies states that GIDC shall not be liable or responsible for the supply of water to the SEZs as the corporation itself is dependent on government authorities for this.
Yet, the Goa SEZ Policy 2006 states, “the SEZ authority shall ensure the provision of adequate water supply within the SEZ zones for SEZ units.”
Interestingly, the report on dynamic ground water resources of Goa prepared by Central Ground Water Board, South Western Region and Goa government’s water resources department, states that the net ground water availability of the state is 26,712.2 hectare metre and the existing gross ground water for domestic and industrial water supply is 3,266.87 hectare metre and irrigation is 3,943.83 hectare metre.
The report adds that the allocation for domestic and industrial water supply for next 25 years is 4,288.39 hectare metre, while for future irrigation development is 18,480.20 hectare metre.
In other words, according to this report prepared in 2005, even without SEZs Goa would be exploiting almost all of the existing ground water resource.
If you are one of those willing to overlook the water problem for potential employment opportunities, then there is some other disturbing news.
In their application Peninsula stated that they would employ 15 M pharms “non-Goans” in managerial positions, while a majority of Goans (about 85) would be employed in the unskilled and other staff.
June 14,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Even as scientific reports assert that the existing water resources are insufficient to meet the potential water demand, the three notified Special Economic Zones would be an additional burden.
Information sought under RTI and available with anti SEZ activists reveals that in their application K Raheja Corp Pvt Ltd had stated that their per day water requirement would be 40 lakh litres per day, while ‘under formation’ Peninsula Research Centre Pvt Ltd’s requirement of water would be 25,000 litres daily. Interestingly, Meditab never filled out the application form, but sent only a letter. Hence no details about their daily water requirement are available.
The summary report on the Study on Augmentation of Water Supply and Sanitation for the Goa state prepared by Japan International Co-operation Agency states that there is a clear need for additional water supply in Goa, especially for cities, industrial estates and tourism resorts in the southern districts of Goa. Two of the SEZs are in South Goa.
According to the report, Goa gets a total of 391 million litres daily (MLD) from the 12 water treatment plants in the state. Mormugao taluka, where these SEZs will be situated, gets water from Selaulim water treatment plant, which also supplies 160 MLD to three other talukas in the South.
Tiswadi and Ponda receive their share of water from Opa which releases 112 MLD of water. The report states, “the PWD is currently facing a number of technical problems across Goa’s water supply schemes, extending from the water source to service connections.”
The report further states, “The current average per capita consumption for urban areas is currently 144 litres per capita per day (lpcd) and for rural areas is 88 lpcd”.
It adds that the current per capita consumption for urban and rural areas in the state already exceeds the standard consumption rate of 135 lpcd in urban areas and 70 lpcd in rural areas.
However, most importat is the following sentence in the report: “The existing supply capacity is not sufficient to meet potential water demand.”
In the application form, it is clearly mentioned by Goa Industrial Development Corporation that the companies should make their own arrangement for water during the construction of factory building.
The lease deal signed with the companies states that GIDC shall not be liable or responsible for the supply of water to the SEZs as the corporation itself is dependent on government authorities for this.
Yet, the Goa SEZ Policy 2006 states, “the SEZ authority shall ensure the provision of adequate water supply within the SEZ zones for SEZ units.”
Interestingly, the report on dynamic ground water resources of Goa prepared by Central Ground Water Board, South Western Region and Goa government’s water resources department, states that the net ground water availability of the state is 26,712.2 hectare metre and the existing gross ground water for domestic and industrial water supply is 3,266.87 hectare metre and irrigation is 3,943.83 hectare metre.
The report adds that the allocation for domestic and industrial water supply for next 25 years is 4,288.39 hectare metre, while for future irrigation development is 18,480.20 hectare metre.
In other words, according to this report prepared in 2005, even without SEZs Goa would be exploiting almost all of the existing ground water resource.
If you are one of those willing to overlook the water problem for potential employment opportunities, then there is some other disturbing news.
In their application Peninsula stated that they would employ 15 M pharms “non-Goans” in managerial positions, while a majority of Goans (about 85) would be employed in the unskilled and other staff.
June 14,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Goa decides to revoke SEZ land allotment
Goa decides to revoke SEZ land allotment
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: The Goa Industrial Development Corporation in a board meeting on Friday resolved to cancel and revoke allotments of land and execution of leases in connection with establishment of special economic zones (SEZ) of seven companies.
The decision was prompted by a government directive to the GIDC a week ahead of the government filing a reply before the high court in a petition filed by the SEZ promoters.
The letter, on behalf of the government, was sent by the director of industries, trade and commerce, who is also a GIDC board member, to the GIDC managing director on June 12, 2008. In the last couple of days TOI has been highlighting the irregularities in the entire issue.
The decision was taken when under Section 16 of the GIDC, the government directed the corporation not to allot any land owned by it to any party by way of lease or otherwise for the purpose of establishing SEZs. It also directed the GIDC to take steps in accordance with the law to cancel or revoke the allotments by way of leases made to the developers for the purpose of setting up or establishing SEZs. The government has asked for immediate compliance of these directions. The state government has also directed the GIDC not to allot or lease GIDC owned lands within the industrial area for the purpose of establishing SEZs.
GIDC chairman Chandrakant Kavlekar said, “We have taken legal opinion in the matter and have the powers to withdraw the land allotted to these companies.” Other board members who attended the meeting include Nitin Kunkolienkar, Atul Kane and Prisco Sequeira. Sources in the government said that the government would soon issue a notification withdrawing the land allotted from the seven SEZs. The seven companies include the three notified SEZs — Meditab Specialities Pvt Ltd at Keri, K Raheja Corp Pvt Ltd at Verna and Peninsula Pharma Research Centre Pvt Ltd. The other companies to whom land had been allotted and would now be withdrawn include Paradigm Logistics & Distribution Pvt Ltd, Inox Mercantile Co Pvt Ltd, Planetview Mercantile Co Pvt Ltd and Maxgrow Finlease Pvt Ltd.
June 14,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: The Goa Industrial Development Corporation in a board meeting on Friday resolved to cancel and revoke allotments of land and execution of leases in connection with establishment of special economic zones (SEZ) of seven companies.
The decision was prompted by a government directive to the GIDC a week ahead of the government filing a reply before the high court in a petition filed by the SEZ promoters.
The letter, on behalf of the government, was sent by the director of industries, trade and commerce, who is also a GIDC board member, to the GIDC managing director on June 12, 2008. In the last couple of days TOI has been highlighting the irregularities in the entire issue.
The decision was taken when under Section 16 of the GIDC, the government directed the corporation not to allot any land owned by it to any party by way of lease or otherwise for the purpose of establishing SEZs. It also directed the GIDC to take steps in accordance with the law to cancel or revoke the allotments by way of leases made to the developers for the purpose of setting up or establishing SEZs. The government has asked for immediate compliance of these directions. The state government has also directed the GIDC not to allot or lease GIDC owned lands within the industrial area for the purpose of establishing SEZs.
GIDC chairman Chandrakant Kavlekar said, “We have taken legal opinion in the matter and have the powers to withdraw the land allotted to these companies.” Other board members who attended the meeting include Nitin Kunkolienkar, Atul Kane and Prisco Sequeira. Sources in the government said that the government would soon issue a notification withdrawing the land allotted from the seven SEZs. The seven companies include the three notified SEZs — Meditab Specialities Pvt Ltd at Keri, K Raheja Corp Pvt Ltd at Verna and Peninsula Pharma Research Centre Pvt Ltd. The other companies to whom land had been allotted and would now be withdrawn include Paradigm Logistics & Distribution Pvt Ltd, Inox Mercantile Co Pvt Ltd, Planetview Mercantile Co Pvt Ltd and Maxgrow Finlease Pvt Ltd.
June 14,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Friday, June 13, 2008
Goa SEZ MESS-Unauthorised meet okayed land
SEZ MESS
Unauthorised meet okayed land
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Not only did the Goa Industrial Development Corporation act in haste to allot plots to the K Raheja Corp Pvt Ltd for an SEZ, but they increased the floor area ratio (FAR) on par with the IT habitat at Dona Paula and even sacrificed plans of setting up a government SEZ to allot 300 acres to Meditab Specialities Pvt Ltd. In addition, though the still ‘under formation’ Peninsula Research & Development Centre, Sancoale, had applied for Export Processing Zone status, SEZ status was conferred. The reason: the ‘government feels it could be an SEZ’.
The list of irregularities goes on. Documents acquired by anti-SEZ activists under RTI reveal that allotment of land to Raheja’s was done at the GIDC board meeting on April 19, 2006, attended by only four members—GIDC chairman Chandrakant Kavlekar, MLA Aleixo Sequeira, Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Nitin Kunkolienkar and Managing director A V Palekar. Other board members, including the director of industries were absent.
A possible explanation for their absence is that they received the notice of the meeting at the time when the meeting was already in progress. Three board members — secretary industries, director industries and chief electrical engineer—acknowledged receipt of the notice with signatures on April 19, 2006 at around 5 pm, an hour after the scheduled start of the meeting.
Going by the industries and labour department regulations this meeting should not have taken place as there was no quorum. The regulations state: ‘four members present will form a quorum provided that at least one of the members nominated under section 4 (1) (d) (in this case industries director) of the Goa, Daman and Diu Industrial Development Act, 1965, other than the chairman is present’. Meditab asked for 250 acres, GIDC offered 300 instead
Panaji: At another BOD meeting on March 9, 2007, it was resolved to approve ‘the proposal to allot for development adjoining open areas and to construct and maintain land under roads to the respective units at the rate of Rs 100 per sq mt’. This was decided as the BOD felt that if the Goa Infrastructure Development Corporation (GIDC) was to develop the open spaces and also construct roads, it would have cost the corporation at least Rs 250 per sq mt.
Therefore to save this Rs 250 per sq mt, they allotted the Rahejas (as per the lease agreement) 1,85,173 sq mts for Rs 100. Had GIDC charged Rs 600 for this area of 7,91,732 sq metres, the same that they had charged for the plot, it would have earned a cool Rs 11 crore and more.
After all approvals were granted to the Rahejas and a lease deal signed on July 25, 2006, in GIDC board meeting held on March 9, 2007, it was decided to increase the FAR to 150, at par with the IT park at Dona Paula. This was subsequently approved by the Town and Country Planning (TCP) department.
If exclusive treatment to Rahejas by GIDC shocks, then there is more.
When Meditab Specialities wrote to the then industries minister Luizinho Faleiro on March 10, 2006 requesting allotment of 250 acres land at Keri, not only did the minister send a note to the GIDC asking it to allot 250 acres to Meditab, but also had a discussion with the industries secretary, wherein it was decided to scrap the GIDCs proposed SEZ, “if the party insists on the larger area then it would be appropriate to consider their request for the entire area of 300 acres instead of 250 acres.”
This is clearly mentioned in the agenda note for GIDC’s March 28, 2006 meeting regarding the Meditab proposal for allotment of land.
And shockingly, though Meditab states that they have sub-leased the plot acquired by them, a letter from the GIDC dated February 19, 2008 states ‘sub-lease by the company of portion of land granted to the company at Keri for SEZ is not available with us’. This despite the fact that if any SEZ developer wants to sub-lease land, they have to inform the GIDC as per the lease agreement.
Further, the third notified SEZ in Goa, the ‘under formation’ Peninsula Research & Development Centre, had applied on March 2, 2006 for the status of an Export Processing Zone. However, it got SEZ status as ‘the government feels it could be a SEZ’. This is recorded in the minutes of the GIDC BOD meeting dated March 28, 2006.
June 13, 2008, The Times of India, Goa Edition
Unauthorised meet okayed land
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Not only did the Goa Industrial Development Corporation act in haste to allot plots to the K Raheja Corp Pvt Ltd for an SEZ, but they increased the floor area ratio (FAR) on par with the IT habitat at Dona Paula and even sacrificed plans of setting up a government SEZ to allot 300 acres to Meditab Specialities Pvt Ltd. In addition, though the still ‘under formation’ Peninsula Research & Development Centre, Sancoale, had applied for Export Processing Zone status, SEZ status was conferred. The reason: the ‘government feels it could be an SEZ’.
The list of irregularities goes on. Documents acquired by anti-SEZ activists under RTI reveal that allotment of land to Raheja’s was done at the GIDC board meeting on April 19, 2006, attended by only four members—GIDC chairman Chandrakant Kavlekar, MLA Aleixo Sequeira, Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Nitin Kunkolienkar and Managing director A V Palekar. Other board members, including the director of industries were absent.
A possible explanation for their absence is that they received the notice of the meeting at the time when the meeting was already in progress. Three board members — secretary industries, director industries and chief electrical engineer—acknowledged receipt of the notice with signatures on April 19, 2006 at around 5 pm, an hour after the scheduled start of the meeting.
Going by the industries and labour department regulations this meeting should not have taken place as there was no quorum. The regulations state: ‘four members present will form a quorum provided that at least one of the members nominated under section 4 (1) (d) (in this case industries director) of the Goa, Daman and Diu Industrial Development Act, 1965, other than the chairman is present’. Meditab asked for 250 acres, GIDC offered 300 instead
Panaji: At another BOD meeting on March 9, 2007, it was resolved to approve ‘the proposal to allot for development adjoining open areas and to construct and maintain land under roads to the respective units at the rate of Rs 100 per sq mt’. This was decided as the BOD felt that if the Goa Infrastructure Development Corporation (GIDC) was to develop the open spaces and also construct roads, it would have cost the corporation at least Rs 250 per sq mt.
Therefore to save this Rs 250 per sq mt, they allotted the Rahejas (as per the lease agreement) 1,85,173 sq mts for Rs 100. Had GIDC charged Rs 600 for this area of 7,91,732 sq metres, the same that they had charged for the plot, it would have earned a cool Rs 11 crore and more.
After all approvals were granted to the Rahejas and a lease deal signed on July 25, 2006, in GIDC board meeting held on March 9, 2007, it was decided to increase the FAR to 150, at par with the IT park at Dona Paula. This was subsequently approved by the Town and Country Planning (TCP) department.
If exclusive treatment to Rahejas by GIDC shocks, then there is more.
When Meditab Specialities wrote to the then industries minister Luizinho Faleiro on March 10, 2006 requesting allotment of 250 acres land at Keri, not only did the minister send a note to the GIDC asking it to allot 250 acres to Meditab, but also had a discussion with the industries secretary, wherein it was decided to scrap the GIDCs proposed SEZ, “if the party insists on the larger area then it would be appropriate to consider their request for the entire area of 300 acres instead of 250 acres.”
This is clearly mentioned in the agenda note for GIDC’s March 28, 2006 meeting regarding the Meditab proposal for allotment of land.
And shockingly, though Meditab states that they have sub-leased the plot acquired by them, a letter from the GIDC dated February 19, 2008 states ‘sub-lease by the company of portion of land granted to the company at Keri for SEZ is not available with us’. This despite the fact that if any SEZ developer wants to sub-lease land, they have to inform the GIDC as per the lease agreement.
Further, the third notified SEZ in Goa, the ‘under formation’ Peninsula Research & Development Centre, had applied on March 2, 2006 for the status of an Export Processing Zone. However, it got SEZ status as ‘the government feels it could be a SEZ’. This is recorded in the minutes of the GIDC BOD meeting dated March 28, 2006.
June 13, 2008, The Times of India, Goa Edition
Goa's SEZ mess: How it all started
SPECIAL TREATMENT FOR SPECIAL PEOPLE?
SEZ mess: How it all started
How Pratapsingh And Luizinho Pushed Deals And How Land Went As Cheap As Rs 80 Per Sq Metre
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: The Special Economic Zone Act was enacted by the Centre in June 2005, but the Goa government was exploring possibilities right from December 2004.
The first time that the government considered SEZs was on December 29, 2004, when under the chairmanship of then chief minister Manohar Parrikar a decision was taken at a Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) meeting to earmark land for a food park, a biotech park and an SEZ.
At a subsequent meeting on April 15, 2005 chaired by industries secretary Jayashree Raghuraman (Goa was then under Central rule), it was decided to “explore the possibility of setting up food park and SEZ at Keri and bio-tech park at Verna”.
It was two months later—June 23—that the Centre enacted the SEZ Act 2005 and another 12 months—June 5, 2006—before the Goa government came up with an SEZ policy. In the meantime, in March and April 2006 GIDC had already accepted applications from companies for SEZs.
Information available with TOI reveals that allegations of procedural impropriety and blatant irregularities against the SEZs could well be true. These facts and many more irregularities have come to light following documents made available by the government under the Right To Information Act
The documents reveal that land was allotted to the companies even before the Goa SEZ policy was formulated.
Of the three notified SEZs, two—K Raheja Corp Private Limited and Meditab Specialities Pvt Ltd—had the blessings of then chief minister Pratapsingh Rane and industries minister Luizinho Faleiro.
“The said proposal has been forwarded to us by the industries minister with the approval of the chief minister with the direction to consider their proposal,” said the agenda note for GIDC’s March 28, 2006 board meeting regarding Meditab’s proposal.
Similarly, the agenda note for the April 19,2006 GIDC board meeting said, “The chief minister as well as the industries minister are in support of the above allotments (land for Raheja and others).”
The third SEZ, Peninsula Research & Development Centre, was “under formation” when GIDC reviewed their application and decided to allot land on March 28, 2006. Interestingly, in the April of that year, before the Goa SEZ policy came into existence, GIDC had already accepted applications from the three SEZs.
The irregularities continue. Two of the applications, those of Raheja and Peninsula, don’t have the company seal, nor an inward stamp of GIDC and just one eye witness, instead of two. This raises doubt over the date the applications were received by GIDC and whether the GIDC issued the mandatory seven day notice to call a board meeting.
The industries and labour department regulations clearly state that ‘the secretary shall give seven clear days notice of the ensuing meeting to each member of the corporation’.
Though GIDC in its agenda note for a meeting on February 7, 2006 proposed to revise the premium rate of plots in the industrial estates, it went easy on the three SEZs. This despite the fact that GIDC had decided that all new applications for plots and transfer of plots will be based on revised rates.
While the price of plots for the industrial units at Verna phase I, II and III was hiked to Rs 750, the SEZs in phase IV were charged only Rs 600. Further, while the rate of land at Sancoale industrial estate was hiked from Rs 125 to Rs 400, Peninsula was charged just Rs 250, as the ‘area proposed for allotment is sloppy and without proper access’. Meditab got its land at the cheapest possible price of just Rs 80 per sq m.
The documents also reveal that GIDC relaxed the land rates, reduced the 2% annual lease rent that it had unanimously decided to charge in industrial estates effective from April 1, 2006, to 0.5% for the three SEZs. The lease signed is for 30 years, with a provision to extend it to 95 years.
Further, though in the lease agreement with the three SEZs transfer of land was prohibited without GIDC consent, minutes of the GIDC meeting of April 19, 2006, reveal that the GIDC will not charge transfer fees, sub-lease or assignment charges from them. This would allow the SEZ developers to sub-lease or transfer the land to anyone at a price, without in turn paying the GIDC.
June 12, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
SEZ mess: How it all started
How Pratapsingh And Luizinho Pushed Deals And How Land Went As Cheap As Rs 80 Per Sq Metre
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: The Special Economic Zone Act was enacted by the Centre in June 2005, but the Goa government was exploring possibilities right from December 2004.
The first time that the government considered SEZs was on December 29, 2004, when under the chairmanship of then chief minister Manohar Parrikar a decision was taken at a Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) meeting to earmark land for a food park, a biotech park and an SEZ.
At a subsequent meeting on April 15, 2005 chaired by industries secretary Jayashree Raghuraman (Goa was then under Central rule), it was decided to “explore the possibility of setting up food park and SEZ at Keri and bio-tech park at Verna”.
It was two months later—June 23—that the Centre enacted the SEZ Act 2005 and another 12 months—June 5, 2006—before the Goa government came up with an SEZ policy. In the meantime, in March and April 2006 GIDC had already accepted applications from companies for SEZs.
Information available with TOI reveals that allegations of procedural impropriety and blatant irregularities against the SEZs could well be true. These facts and many more irregularities have come to light following documents made available by the government under the Right To Information Act
The documents reveal that land was allotted to the companies even before the Goa SEZ policy was formulated.
Of the three notified SEZs, two—K Raheja Corp Private Limited and Meditab Specialities Pvt Ltd—had the blessings of then chief minister Pratapsingh Rane and industries minister Luizinho Faleiro.
“The said proposal has been forwarded to us by the industries minister with the approval of the chief minister with the direction to consider their proposal,” said the agenda note for GIDC’s March 28, 2006 board meeting regarding Meditab’s proposal.
Similarly, the agenda note for the April 19,2006 GIDC board meeting said, “The chief minister as well as the industries minister are in support of the above allotments (land for Raheja and others).”
The third SEZ, Peninsula Research & Development Centre, was “under formation” when GIDC reviewed their application and decided to allot land on March 28, 2006. Interestingly, in the April of that year, before the Goa SEZ policy came into existence, GIDC had already accepted applications from the three SEZs.
The irregularities continue. Two of the applications, those of Raheja and Peninsula, don’t have the company seal, nor an inward stamp of GIDC and just one eye witness, instead of two. This raises doubt over the date the applications were received by GIDC and whether the GIDC issued the mandatory seven day notice to call a board meeting.
The industries and labour department regulations clearly state that ‘the secretary shall give seven clear days notice of the ensuing meeting to each member of the corporation’.
Though GIDC in its agenda note for a meeting on February 7, 2006 proposed to revise the premium rate of plots in the industrial estates, it went easy on the three SEZs. This despite the fact that GIDC had decided that all new applications for plots and transfer of plots will be based on revised rates.
While the price of plots for the industrial units at Verna phase I, II and III was hiked to Rs 750, the SEZs in phase IV were charged only Rs 600. Further, while the rate of land at Sancoale industrial estate was hiked from Rs 125 to Rs 400, Peninsula was charged just Rs 250, as the ‘area proposed for allotment is sloppy and without proper access’. Meditab got its land at the cheapest possible price of just Rs 80 per sq m.
The documents also reveal that GIDC relaxed the land rates, reduced the 2% annual lease rent that it had unanimously decided to charge in industrial estates effective from April 1, 2006, to 0.5% for the three SEZs. The lease signed is for 30 years, with a provision to extend it to 95 years.
Further, though in the lease agreement with the three SEZs transfer of land was prohibited without GIDC consent, minutes of the GIDC meeting of April 19, 2006, reveal that the GIDC will not charge transfer fees, sub-lease or assignment charges from them. This would allow the SEZ developers to sub-lease or transfer the land to anyone at a price, without in turn paying the GIDC.
June 12, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Desperate acts by Goa’s HIV+ve
Desperate acts by Goa’s HIV+ve
Patients Let Health Falter To Receive Financial Assistance From State
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: The tragedy is not that they are dying, but that they want to die so that they can live. Already living desultory lives, shunned by society and suffering terribly, many HIV positive individuals are prepared to get sicker, and all for just a thousand rupees.
Since the state finance minister announced Rs 1,000 a month to those put on antiretroviral treatment (ART), HIV positive persons are looking at this financial bonanza as a way out of their financial straits.
“HIV positive people are increasingly asking to be put on ART without understanding the complications linked with it. This is happening with speculation that the compensation of Rs 1000 will be only given to those on ART,” says Sofia, of the NGO Rishta working with HIV patients in North Goa.
Mahesh Govekar of Zindagi, an NGO which runs a drop-in centre for HIV/AIDS patients in South Goa, said, “Many HIV persons are desperate to get financial help as it fills them with a sense of security to fight social criticism. There
are several doubts in the minds of the HIV positive persons about the scheme. But once we counsel them, they tend to understand.”
Forty-five-yearold Charles, an HIV positive individual, is praying and working to ensure that the next time he goes for a blood test, his CD 4 count shows less than 200 (very low immunity) and that he is immediately put on ART.
“I need the money to run my home. If being HIV positive and healthy means being denied the Rs 1000 benefit, then it is better to be ill. At least I can be of some help to my family,” said Charles.
“I am happy to be on ART,” said Sheena from Calangute. “This means that I can give a better life to my three children, one of them
suffering from HIV.”
Goa State Aid Control Society deputy director Elmira Pereira said, “Every patient put on ART would be given Rs 1000 at the ART centre.” About 510 patients currently on ART will benefit from the scheme, which has upset some of the 10,000 odd persons living with HIV/AIDS. Under the scheme a person gets financial assistance of Rs 1000 per month in the first year which will increase at the rate of 5% annually.
But what these patients don’t realize is that they are playing with their lives, as a CD count of below 200 can be dangerous. Once a person is started on ART this treatment will have to be continued with always.
Doctors say that an HIV positive individual has to follow a strict diet regime and lead a healthy life to maintain his health. “If their CD 4 count goes below 200, there is destruction of immune cells and the body’s ability to fight infections decreases. Such patients are more susceptible to opportunistic infections and need to be put on ART to improve their immunity,” said Dr N G Dubhashi, head, department of medicine, Goa Medical College.
SCHEME & ASSISTANCE
No clarity in monthly help for HIV victims
Panaji: There is still no clarity on the monthly assistance of Rs 1,000 for HIV positive people promised by the finance minister in his budget speech three months back.
Speculation is rife amongst persons living with HIV, sometimes forcing them
to do the unthinkable.
Even NGOs are ignorant about the scheme. “I have no idea about the scheme. But I hope it extends to all HIV positive persons, to ensure that they lead a healthy life with dignity,” said Jaffar Inamdar of Positive Life Foundation, a drop in centre for HIV positives in North Goa.
Fatima from Chicalim has striven hard to hide her HIV status. Life has been hard for her. Her husband and son died of AIDS five years back and she has a 65-year-old sick mother to take care of. The two of them subsist on about Rs 600 a month. But now she is eager to reveal her status ‘on paper’.
Though the scheme is yet to be introduced, she has already obtained an income certificate from the village panchayat. “When the panchayat asked me to cite reasons for seeking the certificate, I disclosed my HIV status. This is extra financial help,” said Fatima.
(Some names changed to protect identity)
June11,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Patients Let Health Falter To Receive Financial Assistance From State
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: The tragedy is not that they are dying, but that they want to die so that they can live. Already living desultory lives, shunned by society and suffering terribly, many HIV positive individuals are prepared to get sicker, and all for just a thousand rupees.
Since the state finance minister announced Rs 1,000 a month to those put on antiretroviral treatment (ART), HIV positive persons are looking at this financial bonanza as a way out of their financial straits.
“HIV positive people are increasingly asking to be put on ART without understanding the complications linked with it. This is happening with speculation that the compensation of Rs 1000 will be only given to those on ART,” says Sofia, of the NGO Rishta working with HIV patients in North Goa.
Mahesh Govekar of Zindagi, an NGO which runs a drop-in centre for HIV/AIDS patients in South Goa, said, “Many HIV persons are desperate to get financial help as it fills them with a sense of security to fight social criticism. There
are several doubts in the minds of the HIV positive persons about the scheme. But once we counsel them, they tend to understand.”
Forty-five-yearold Charles, an HIV positive individual, is praying and working to ensure that the next time he goes for a blood test, his CD 4 count shows less than 200 (very low immunity) and that he is immediately put on ART.
“I need the money to run my home. If being HIV positive and healthy means being denied the Rs 1000 benefit, then it is better to be ill. At least I can be of some help to my family,” said Charles.
“I am happy to be on ART,” said Sheena from Calangute. “This means that I can give a better life to my three children, one of them
suffering from HIV.”
Goa State Aid Control Society deputy director Elmira Pereira said, “Every patient put on ART would be given Rs 1000 at the ART centre.” About 510 patients currently on ART will benefit from the scheme, which has upset some of the 10,000 odd persons living with HIV/AIDS. Under the scheme a person gets financial assistance of Rs 1000 per month in the first year which will increase at the rate of 5% annually.
But what these patients don’t realize is that they are playing with their lives, as a CD count of below 200 can be dangerous. Once a person is started on ART this treatment will have to be continued with always.
Doctors say that an HIV positive individual has to follow a strict diet regime and lead a healthy life to maintain his health. “If their CD 4 count goes below 200, there is destruction of immune cells and the body’s ability to fight infections decreases. Such patients are more susceptible to opportunistic infections and need to be put on ART to improve their immunity,” said Dr N G Dubhashi, head, department of medicine, Goa Medical College.
SCHEME & ASSISTANCE
No clarity in monthly help for HIV victims
Panaji: There is still no clarity on the monthly assistance of Rs 1,000 for HIV positive people promised by the finance minister in his budget speech three months back.
Speculation is rife amongst persons living with HIV, sometimes forcing them
to do the unthinkable.
Even NGOs are ignorant about the scheme. “I have no idea about the scheme. But I hope it extends to all HIV positive persons, to ensure that they lead a healthy life with dignity,” said Jaffar Inamdar of Positive Life Foundation, a drop in centre for HIV positives in North Goa.
Fatima from Chicalim has striven hard to hide her HIV status. Life has been hard for her. Her husband and son died of AIDS five years back and she has a 65-year-old sick mother to take care of. The two of them subsist on about Rs 600 a month. But now she is eager to reveal her status ‘on paper’.
Though the scheme is yet to be introduced, she has already obtained an income certificate from the village panchayat. “When the panchayat asked me to cite reasons for seeking the certificate, I disclosed my HIV status. This is extra financial help,” said Fatima.
(Some names changed to protect identity)
June11,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Your path lab may be giving wrong results
Your path lab may be giving wrong results
No Pathologist At 67% State Laboratories
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Your path lab may not be giving you the correct result. A 34-year-old learnt this the hard way recently.
He went to several pathological laboratories seeking to find the reason behind his frequent fever. And they all gave different diagnoses. Finally, he was referred to the Goa Medical College, where tests revealed that he was suffering from leukemia, said Dr R G Wiseman Pinto, who heads the Disciplinary and Ethics Committee for Pathology, Bacteriology and allied fields.
The reason behind the different and incorrect results is not hard to seek. Some 100 of Goa’s 150 pathological laboratories are operating without qualified pathologists. They are manned by laboratory technicians with a diploma in medical laboratory technology (DMLT).
Confirming this, Dr Pinto says the state has just about 50 qualified pathologists.
“Though Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 clearly states that the practise of pathology can’t be permitted by a DMLT, many in the state have been running the laboratory without a qualified pathologist,” he said.
Now, the Goa Medical Council is planning to regulate all pathological labs. All existing and new labs will have to register themselves with the council.
It has proposed that standalone labs or independent ones have to be either run by an MD or diploma holder in specialised branches recognised by the Medical Council of India. Pathological labs must be run by MDs
Panaji: The Goa Medical Council has proposed that independent pathological laboratories must be run by an MD or diploma holder in laboratory medicine, pathology and bacteriology, microbiology, biochemistry, clinical pathology, histopathology and other allied specialised branches recognised by the Medical Council of India.
Laboratories attached to private hospitals will have to be manned by a recognised MD or doctor with a diploma. However, if they fail to get an MD or diploma doctor, they can also be manned by an MBBS with three years experience in laboratory medicine in a recognised institute or laboratory.
However, corporate hospitals will have to be run by an MD or diploma holder in laboratory medicine.
Laboratories attached to physicians’ clinics should at least be handled by an MBBS registered with the Goa Medical Council.
Laboratory technicians are not able to identify specific ailments. “Technicians can’t corelate between clinical findings and the results of the test. Moreover, technicians on their own are not supposed to examine patients as only a qualified pathologist can study the history of the patient before arriving at a diagnosis,” said Dr R G Wiseman Pinto, who heads the Disciplinary and Ethics Committee for Pathology, Bacteriology and allied fields. Dr Pinto added that the majority of laboratories manned by DMLTs are in rural areas of the state.
“We had send circulars to several pathology laboratories in the state asking them for details of the laboratory. Not a single one responded,” said Dr Ulhas Karpe, chairman, Disciplinary and Ethics Committee, Goa Medical Council. “But now it has become important to ensure that laboratories are manned by qualified pathologist because even Bombay high court has emphasised this,” he added.
June 10, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
No Pathologist At 67% State Laboratories
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Your path lab may not be giving you the correct result. A 34-year-old learnt this the hard way recently.
He went to several pathological laboratories seeking to find the reason behind his frequent fever. And they all gave different diagnoses. Finally, he was referred to the Goa Medical College, where tests revealed that he was suffering from leukemia, said Dr R G Wiseman Pinto, who heads the Disciplinary and Ethics Committee for Pathology, Bacteriology and allied fields.
The reason behind the different and incorrect results is not hard to seek. Some 100 of Goa’s 150 pathological laboratories are operating without qualified pathologists. They are manned by laboratory technicians with a diploma in medical laboratory technology (DMLT).
Confirming this, Dr Pinto says the state has just about 50 qualified pathologists.
“Though Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 clearly states that the practise of pathology can’t be permitted by a DMLT, many in the state have been running the laboratory without a qualified pathologist,” he said.
Now, the Goa Medical Council is planning to regulate all pathological labs. All existing and new labs will have to register themselves with the council.
It has proposed that standalone labs or independent ones have to be either run by an MD or diploma holder in specialised branches recognised by the Medical Council of India. Pathological labs must be run by MDs
Panaji: The Goa Medical Council has proposed that independent pathological laboratories must be run by an MD or diploma holder in laboratory medicine, pathology and bacteriology, microbiology, biochemistry, clinical pathology, histopathology and other allied specialised branches recognised by the Medical Council of India.
Laboratories attached to private hospitals will have to be manned by a recognised MD or doctor with a diploma. However, if they fail to get an MD or diploma doctor, they can also be manned by an MBBS with three years experience in laboratory medicine in a recognised institute or laboratory.
However, corporate hospitals will have to be run by an MD or diploma holder in laboratory medicine.
Laboratories attached to physicians’ clinics should at least be handled by an MBBS registered with the Goa Medical Council.
Laboratory technicians are not able to identify specific ailments. “Technicians can’t corelate between clinical findings and the results of the test. Moreover, technicians on their own are not supposed to examine patients as only a qualified pathologist can study the history of the patient before arriving at a diagnosis,” said Dr R G Wiseman Pinto, who heads the Disciplinary and Ethics Committee for Pathology, Bacteriology and allied fields. Dr Pinto added that the majority of laboratories manned by DMLTs are in rural areas of the state.
“We had send circulars to several pathology laboratories in the state asking them for details of the laboratory. Not a single one responded,” said Dr Ulhas Karpe, chairman, Disciplinary and Ethics Committee, Goa Medical Council. “But now it has become important to ensure that laboratories are manned by qualified pathologist because even Bombay high court has emphasised this,” he added.
June 10, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
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