Unfortunately, Goa is today ridden with mining gloom and doom, agriculture strangulation, coal dust and industrial pollution adversely affecting our health and as insolent Goans, 90% of us, have forgotten that: “Hard work is prayer and worship” and have allowed ourselves to be fooled by BJP jhumlas, the return of black money, good relationship with our neigbours, the end of terrorism, growth in employment, etc. The haphazardly implemented demonetisation and the GST have killed the poor instead of killing poverty. In Happiness Index, both Goa and India is rated low: suicides, morbidity, crime have increased alarmingly.
Amidst the gloom are the the consistent efforts of our NGOs who are working to protect and preserve Goan resources, ecosystem, our health and culture for prosperity. Whilst environmental groups like the Revolutionary Goans, Goencho Avaaz, the Green Goa brigade are truly and tirelessly working to ensure that mangrove massacre does not happen, the low budget tourists do not cook, ease themselves and flood the Goan fields, forests and beaches with mounds of litter. Quality tourism is dying in Goa.
As haphazard development of Goa is making Goa lose it gleaming culture and identity, we must remind ourselves that Goa today is losing its traditional past and over 40% of Goa is consisting of migrants, who are absolutely disconnected with the rich Goan identity, traditions, dances, folklore music, language and history. We must, however, acknowledge that it is the Goan singers, tiatrists, dramatists that have, and will continue to awaken the “sleeping Goans” from the viles and giles of the crooked politicians, during the election seasons. We today desperately require a Central as well as a State government, which recognises the need to protect our ecosystem, biodiversity and the environment and help improve the temper of science in our country and more specially in Goa, where the BJP government is promoting highways, bridges unutilisable parking lots, concrete gardens, and thereby killing salubrity and health, inducing life style diseases, respiratory infections and cancers in our State. While Panjimites are in deep slumber, the Captain of Ports has encroached the precincts of the Panjim jetty to construct yet another building. The Captain of Ports is depriving the common man, the basic free space around the river front and freely allowing the prime riverine stretch to the casino industry. Sadly, the people and the main opposition in the Assembly are silent.
The series of jhumlas both by the Government at the Centre and in Goa has caused a series of misgivings and apprehension that the government of the day is totally unconcerned about the need for a holistic life for an average Goan and sustainable livelihoods for the people of Goa. Looking pensively over the last decade, Goans are consistently made to suffer from the illegal mining scams, equating a coconut tree to grass and thus undermining the importance of these trees. We were promised that the offshore casinos would be out of Mandovi, the pollution would stop, and the health of our rivers would be the prime focus. It was also promised to us that the waters of Mandovi would be made drinkable. But sadly, Mandovi River is dying and drying, mangroves on river banks are mercilessly cut and with the 50m NDZ reduced from the earlier distance of 200m, our entire coast would be concretised.
We call the activity effective and efficient if maximum people benefit with minimal costs, with sustainable usages over a period of times. How many amongst us know that we now and the generation next later on, would be paying for the next 10 years from now on, Rs 13 lakh per day to allow us to treat only the 100 tonnes of garbage daily at Saligao. The government wants this exercise replicated elsewhere, leaving little money for education, health and quality life or livelihoods. The Goa centric research at Goa University is negligible and thus issues concerning Goa’s degradation lying in Courts fail to convince the judges due to lack of data on established environment degradation through research.
How many of us are aware that we have seven engineering institutions in public as well as private sectors in Goa, with less than 1% of the Goan population and truly making use of this facility.
It is fine to declare positivity. Have the Goans reflected to find out the development and positivity is for whom and at what cost and from whose pockets the money comes and goes? Have we pondered upon, how cost effective and beneficial would the three bridges within stone throwing distance be for the natives of Goa?
Industrial manufacturing in Goa is in shambles and unemployment growing. We talked at length about the third Mandovi Bridge, standing against the strong monsoons. This problem was recognised only after the bridge had come up. Sadly, we forget totally that “climate change ill effects” can in one moment of fury bring down everything as the “Humpty-Dumpty”. Whether rich Americans build bridges or bridges made American rich is a matter of debate. The third bridge is not for pedestrians, also not for two wheelers and not for Panjimites too. I foresee I would never use it myself positively. But along with the majority Goans I would pay taxes for the service that I would not utilise and remain for me as a White Elephant and a Goan must not be blind to the fact that Goa is getting costlier, sicker, unsafe.Sadly we choose to remain blind and a God to perform miracles. Goa is only living on doles, debates and disastrous development, all at the costs of future generations.
(The writer is a retired
University Professor and an Environmental Activist)
