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TRI Continental Film Festival - Dona Paula, Goa, Sep 28 - Oct 2, 2007 http://www.moviesgoa.org/tricontinental/tricon.htm For public viewing Registration at The International Centre Goa Ph: +91 (832) 2452805 to 10 Online Media Partner: http://www.GOANET.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------ NEWS UPDATE Margao CFC goes haywire! BY HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, SEPT 12 The Citizens Facilitation Centre Goas pilot project on e-governance is giving nightmares to Margao civic officials and citizens alike. A resident of Sancoale, who applied for his mothers death certificate, became the latest victim on Wednesday, of the nonfunctional CFC. The certificate issued to the applicant had no mention of the fathers/mothers names. Instead, the word not available was found against the father/mother-name column, raising eyebrows over the CFCs functioning. What was even worse was the fact that the name of the deceased was not complete in all respects. When Herald drew the attention of Chief Officer N D Agarwal, he promised to look into the matter. Agarwal later told the councillors at a meeting that theres a serious problem in data feeding. While showing concern, Agarwal assured the city fathers that the Council would not pay a single paisa to Kalyan Dombivili Municipal Corporation if the project were not put in place in all respects. The KDMC has to see that the CFC functions in toto as funds have already been paid by the municipal body, Agarwal said and promised concrete action to ensure that citizens are not put to hardships. When Councillor Savio Coutinho maintained that the KDMC is trying to take the civic body for a ride as the project will cost a whopping Rs one crore, the Chief Officer said, I will personally see to it that the KDMC ensures smooth functioning of the project. Todays incident is not the only one vis-a-vis the CFCs functioning. The software relating to house tax and rent besides other aspects appears to be unsatisfactory, say municipal authorities. Withdraw affidavit, Advani urges PM NEW DELHI, SEPT 12 (PTI) Senior BJP leader L K Advani sought immediate withdrawal of the Governments affidavit in connection with the Sethusamudram case. Advani told PTI that he also conveyed his protest over the affidavit to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when they were together at a dinner meeting. I told the prime minister that the affidavit was highly objectionable, he said. In election mode, the BJP earlier in the day drew a parallel between the row over the Sethusamudram shipping canal project and its Ram temple movement, saying it found similarity in the ruling Congress response to the saffron objections in both the cases. A comparison can be there, it cannot be there. I see a comparison in terms of the Governments response to both issues, said BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad. Prasad, however, was defensive when asked whether the BJP would put realignment of the Palk Strait shipping canal project on its manifesto. It would be demeaning to make this an election issue, he said, but hastened to add that the party did pass a resolution opposing the Sethusamudram project in its present alignment at its national executive. Prasad condemned the affidavit as a classic patent example of appeasement politics and an insult to our cultural heritage and Hindu sentiments. No proof of Lord Ramas existence, Centre tells SC NEW DELHI, SEPT 12 (PTI) The controversy over the Sethusamudram project took a fresh twist with the Centre telling the Supreme Court that there was no historical and scientific evidence to establish the existence of Lord Rama or the other characters in Ramayana. In an affidavit, the Centre stated that the contents of the Valmiki Ramayana, Tuslidass Ramcharitmanas and other mythological texts cannot be a historical record to prove the existence of the characters mentioned in the book. According to the Centre the Ram Setu/Adams Bridge is not a man-made structure, but rather a natural formation made up of shoals/sand bars, which are possessed of their particular shape and form due to several millennia of wave action and sedimentation. The Centre filed the affidavit in response to two pleas filed by ex-Union Minister Subramaniam Swamy and one Ram Gopalan who sought an assurance from the Government that there would be no destruction of Ram Setu during the construction of Sethusamudram project. The multi-crore rupees project proposes to provide a shorter sea route from Rameshwaram to Sri Lanka. The affidavit said there is no historical record to incontrovertibly prove the existence of the character, or the occurrences of the events, depicted therein. (Related report on page 7) The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) that filed the affidavit said it duly respected the deep religious imports bestowed upon these texts by the Hindu community, but said that such claims cannot be vouched by it without tangible material evidence. According to the ASI, the existence of human remains, whether in the nature of bones or in other forms of artefacts, is primary (essential) to prove archaeologically, the existence and veracity of a historical fact. It is submitted that no such human remains have been discovered at the site of the formation known as AdamsBridge, (Ram Setu), the affidavit stated. It asserted that the Ram Setu Bridge cannot be treated as a protected monument under the Ancient Monuments & Archaeological Sites & Remains Act, 1958 since it does not satisfy the requirements necessary for being qualified under the Act. It said that till datte the bridge has neither bee declared as a protected area, nor protected monument or for that matter as an ancient monument. Quoting Article 51A(f), the Centre said the Constitution encourages each and every citizen to develop a scientific culture. Therefore, in a country as rich in cultural and historical diversity as India which has an established history ranging over nearly 9000 years, the line between myth and reality is often obliterated, the Centre submitted before the Apex Court. The affidavit said the Adams Bridge formation can be classified as a series of shoals or a series of barrier islands, both of which are naturally occuring formations caused by tidal action and sedimentation. In the light of the various scientific studies conducted on the formation, it cannot therefore said to be a man-made structure, it said. The same is merely a sand and coral formation which cannot be said to be of historical, archaeological or artistic interest of importance, the Centre observed. Quoting an article in the journal published by Indian Society of Remote Sensing, the Centre said nothing has been observed at Adams bridge except coral and sand formations. At the best, this is a case of disputed mythology and not a matter of historical importance. This does not therefore, come under the purview of ancient monument, the affidavit added. Prezs re-election in uniform gets Pak Cabinet nod ISLAMABAD, SEPT 12 (PTI) Clearing the decks for President Gen Pervez Musharrafs re-election, the Pakistan Cabinet on Wednesday unanimously endorsed his re-election in uniform by the present Assemblies. All coalition partners present in the Cabinet said that the re-election of Musharraf is essential for the countrys stability, security and growth, an official statement said. The endorsement came a day after the announcement by the Pakistan Election Commission that the schedule of Presidential election would shortly be released. CEC, retired Supreme Court judge, Qazi Muhammad Farooq has said that election to the office of the President shall be held in accordance with the provision of the Constitution of Pakistan. Gen Musharraf has been saying that he plans to get re-elected in uniform by the present Assemblies between September 15 and October 15. His re-election and his continuation in dual posts had already been challenged in the Supreme Court by the Muthahida Majlis Amal,(MMA) President Qazi Hussain Ahmed. Musharraf maintains that he is constitutionally entitled to continue in uniform till the end of this year after which he would decide whether to shed it or not. He also promises to hold general elections perhaps by January 2008 after his re-election. The Government has stated that the Opposition could field its candidate to oppose him. Musharraf was confident to get re-elected as the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Q, (PML-Q) has enough majority in the National and three of the four provincial Assemblies, which comprises the electoral college for Presidential election. Give oppn due place on panels, Govt tells CCP BY HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, SEPT 12 The State Government on Wednesday directed the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) to reconstitute all its committees, giving proportionate representation to the opposition side. This directive comes following a complaint made by Opposition Leader Manohar Parrikar during a meeting with the Urban Development Ministry. While the meeting was convened primarily to discuss issues pertaining to the Panjim market, Parrikar drew the attention of the officials to the unfair means adopted by the CCP in leaving out opposition corporators from various committees. The majority-takes-it-all- policy is not acceptable, Parrikar told Herald. It was pointed out that no corporator from the Opposition faction of the CCP was included in any of the committees Standing Committee, Market Committee, Health Committee etc. It was alleged that the CCP continues to function without formulation of rules and that in the absence of the same, the old election rules (giving representation to the opposition on civic bodies) under the Goa Municipalities Act are being followed. It is learnt that the CCP is awaiting administrative directives to reconstitute the said committees. Japan PM Abe steps down TOKYO, SEPT 12 (AFP) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe resigned on Wednesday after less than a year in power, falling victim to a string of scandals that hampered his agenda and sent his approval ratings plummeting. The conservative 52-year-old, the youngest Japanese leader in modern times and the first to be born after World War II, came to office pledging to restore the nations pride and rewrite the pacifist constitution. But a series of gaffes and scandals cost his ruling party control of the upper house of parliament in July, and Abe conceded that the resurgent opposition had made it impossible to do his job. I have decided to step down from the prime ministers position, a visibly emotional Abe told a news conference. I thought the party should generate new momentum and progress under a new leader. He said he had instructed his Liberal Democratic Party to pick a successor as soon as possible. His resignation takes effect once a successor is chosen. Abe ran into trouble after the LDP lost control of the upper house for the first time in its history in July, and the resurgent opposition worked hard to scupper his reform agenda. He notably struggled to persuade the opposition to drop objections to the extension of a controversial military mission backing US-led forces in Afghanistan, and his opponents vowed to fight hard against his agenda. I have made my utmost efforts with my belief that we should not stop reforms. But unfortunately, the party cannot hold talks with the opposition party because I am the prime minister, Abe said. Rural voters deserted the LDP in droves in the recent election, failing to relate to Abes ideological agenda, which focused on building Japans global standing and rewriting the constitution. But the campaign failed to resonate among voters as the opposition pressed on bread-and-butter concerns such as mismanagement of the pension system and income inequality. Four of his cabinet ministers resigned under a cloud, and a fifth committed suicide. In the face of record low approval ratings and calls from backbenchers to stand down after the election defeat, he had refused to resign, insisting voters supported his agenda but were upset by the scandals. He reshuffled the cabinet on August 27 in hopes of a fresh start, and got a brief boost in approval ratings. But just one week later his new farm minister resigned over financial wrongdoing. Taro Aso, the LDP secretary general and a former foreign minister known for his blunt, conservative views, is seen as one of the front-runners to replace him. Thailand denies arresting Rajiv murder accused KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 (PTI) Thailand denied reports about the arrest of top LTTE leader Kumaran Padmanathan, who allegedly financed the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. According to immigration records for the past two years, there is no record of him (Padmanathan) entering the country, Chief of Thai Interpol, Col Apichart Suribynya, told reporters in Bangkok, adding that there have been no arrest of Sri Lankans in the past three to four days. Deputy Chief of Thailands Special Branch police, Maj Gen Trithot Ronnaritwichai, also denied that Padmanathan had been arrested. I have checked with all divisions concerned. No body has information about arresting any Sri Lankan man, he said. Thailand has served as a logistics centre for the Tamil Tigers in the past, especially on its Andaman Sea coast from which arms can be shipped to Sri Lanka. Thai Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Piyira Khempon was also quoted in the media as saying that the government was not aware of the arrest, if any was made. Thai police spokesman Lt General Narong Yangyern too dismissed reports of KPs arrest, saying a thorough check showed that the last time Thai police arrested any LTTE member was in 2003 and he was extradited on August 15, 2007 to Sri Lanka, the media reported. Meanwhile, the Indian embassy in Bangkok said it was awaiting response from the Thai government on its request for confirmation of the reports of arrest of Padmanabhan on charges of gun-running. We have sought confirmation from the Thai side and await their response, a senior Indian embassy official in Bangkok, who did not want to be named, told PTI over phone. Operation clean-up set to kick-start BY HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, SEPT 12 After a one-year break, the Tourism Department has once again set in motion the process to engage private contractors to clean the beaches. A welcome step, one may say. But, hold on. While the contractors will rake in profits by cleaning the beaches of waste and litter, mystery shrouds where the collected waste would be dumped, since the Tourism Department neither has any garbage dumps of its own nor would the collected waste be accepted by other civic and local bodies for disposal. Whats more, the tender notice from the Tourism Department is silent on the question of waste disposal by the private contractors. When this question was posed to Assistant Tourism Director Hanumant Parsekar, he said the Tourism Department would work out a strategy to ensure that the contractors do not dispose the waste in a haphazard manner. Incidentally, past experience shows that no such condition was imposed on contractors, indicating the absence of a monitoring mechanism on garbage disposal. Interestingly, Parsekar claimed that last time the garbage contractors had acquired a place in Colva to dispose the waste. He, however, could not explain whether the so-called acquired place had the clearance from the Goa Pollution Control Board or the local village panchayat. Take for instance, Salcetes coastal belt. The Margao Municipal Council does not accept any garbage from the coastal belt ever since the Sondodo dump-yard overflowed with waste. And, none of the village panchayats along the coast have been successful in identifying dumping sites till date. This has thrown up a very pertinent question: Where (and how) is the garbage generated in starred hotels besides waste collected from the beaches finally disposed? http://oheraldo.in/pagedetails.asp?nid=1093&cid=2 Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com