Serula Gaunkars elect new panel -Herald

January 22, 2013 PORVORIM: Defying order of the North Goa collector to postpone the elections, the Gaunkars of Serula Comunidade elected their new managing committee on Sunday. The Gaunkars of the Serula Comunidade had gone to the Gadge Maharaj hall at Porvorim and found the doors of the hall closed and a notice by Collector R Mihir Vardan displayed on the door. The notice stated that he has postponed the elections of Serula Comunidade as there were allegations about serious anomalies in the records maintained in the comunidade and other irregularities. Terming collector’s order as a “violation of the Code of Comunidades”, the Gaunkars went ahead and elected their new managing committee in defiance of the order of the collector. A senior Gaunkar, Edgar Pinto, presided over the meeting in the absence of any members of the outgoing managing committee. The Gaunkars unanimously elected the new managing committee at the end of the meeting, after inviting nominations, by show of hands. The Gaunkars elected on the new managing committee are Antonio Lobo (president), Eurico Mascarenhas (attorney), Norman Albuquerque (treasurer), Melchier Pinto do Rosario (substitute president), Edgar Pinto (substitute attorney) and Cyrus Sanches (substitute treasurer). In a press note, Gaunkar, Sigmund de Souza, stated that if there were any complaints about irregularities in the Serula Comunidade, it should have been dealt in accordance with and within the time limit set by the Code of Comunidades. “There is no provision in the Code to cancel elections once notified by the Administrator. The Gaunkars also voted that all shares that were not transmitted by succession/inheritance should be declared void ab initio,” states the press note. “This resolution was necessary due to the entry of non-Goans and other persons who were detrimental to the interest of the Serula Comunidade through the shareholders list,” added the press note. The Gaunkars also resolved to cancel the membership and Zonno of three persons, whom they said were not Gaunkars of their Comunidade and had entered their names in the Gaunkars’ register by fraud, adds the press note. The newly elected managing committee will meet Governor and Administrator of Comunidades of North Goa to request them to accept the democratically elected choice of the Gaunkars, failing which they will be forced to seek legal action. http://heraldgoa.in/News/Local%20News/Serula-Gaunkars-elect-new-panel/69753.html