The election to the Goa Assembly 2017-2021 is around the corner. In another 2 months we would have in place our representatives to the 40 assembly segments with freshly elected old and new faces representing us, and a new government too, which would be dictating our destination, as we would have entrusted our future in their hands.
Keeping at bay my observation about rest of Goa’s development for yet another day; I will concentrate on the evolving ‘Destiny of Panjim’- in the past, present and future. Being the capital city wherein I reside and know it the best for the last 50 years, I will speak my heart out. The avid readers of this new paper, as well as others, in the print media from Goa, know fully well about “the changing face of Panjim not for the better but for the worse”; over the last three decades from my writings on this issue.
Readers of this paper would recall my moans and groans on the dangers posed to residents living below the Altinho Hill slope; at Mala, Fontainhas, St Inez, etc due to destruction of the ‘hill slope’ to make way for bungalows, thus breaching the TCP rules that ban constructions along ‘hill gradients’ and on ‘hill-tops’, which reduce the carpet area for water percolation thus leading to landslides, flooding and ecological disasters in Panjim for eternity. Let alone that wonderful plant biodiversity, the varied species of wild berries, foxes, peacocks, fowl, birds, snakes, mongoose, antelopes, monkeys which are now gone forever; that Panjim which was receiving crystal clear fresh drinking water for 24x7x365, has to be contended with barely 2 hours of water per day – provided the Opa pipe line does not burst. Sadly, the ground water flowing from the Altinho hill has now been transformed into ‘sewage’ due to ‘soaking and leaking’ of sewage water into the ground water from residential and commercial complexes in the capital city. St Inez creek a water body today is an open sewer and Altinho- a concrete jungle.
Over the years, I have written about the wanton destruction of mangroves around Rua de Ourem, and outskirts of Panjim on the way to Ribander, Merces and Santa Cruz. The entire Patto Plaza complex which was a low lying area; full of salt pans and exuberant biodiversity, capable of sustaining traditional fishing community is forever gone. The mangrove massacre, the reclamation of Patto with mushrooming commercial structures have polluted not only the entire periphery of Panjim with dumped garbage, percolating sewage and discarded construction debris, but obliterated the estuarine biodiversity, commercial fisheries and added toxic heavy metals and pesticides to surviving fish, clams, crabs, barnacles, oysters habitats; thus threatening life down the food chain including man, who consumes marine biota and fauna. Let alone all my articles in international scientific journals on the rise in fish diseases and adverse impacts on shrimp aquaculture; my appeals over the decades in Goan news papers and to Panjim MLAs and local body representatives on Municipal Councils have been cold shouldered and afforded a Nelson’s eye. Panjim today is festering with festivities.
The sustained appeals to ensure scientific and holistic development of Panjim have met with support by all politicians while they were in the Opposition. But once elected, Panjimites know too well what really happens.
Panjim is reeling under traffic chaos, water shortages, stinking creeks, overflowing sewage, monstrous casinos over River Mandovi and around, mounds of garbage strewn in water bodies and mushrooming housing complexes without parking facilities or waste management systems in place.
“One must not eat and defecate in the same plate”- is a well proclaimed Goan saying often pronounced by elders (including my late father) whilst asserting the need of the society to keep the surroundings clean and salubrious. Sadly our representatives only preach but do not practice what they preach. Our then representative Manohar Parrikar was up in arms against menace of casinos on River Mandovi, whilst in the Opposition but today he is defending casinos and they are increasing by the day in Goa.
Our representatives have gone even further; Garcia de Orte garden and Azad maidan are the lungs of Panjim and they need to be rich in oxygen evolving biodiversity, required for the health of Panjimites, senior citizens and children. But alas and sadly so, these gardens are used for commercial activities be it for festivities, cultural programmes and thus trees are uprooted, lawns trampled upon and the gardens turned into open defecation and urination destination. “Ease of doing business” as PM Modi proclaims, is it? The Swatch Bharat mission receives lip sympathy because everything the elected representatives do is to earn commissions through festivities and leave the environment to degrade, fester and make the residents in Panjim prone to diseases with the quality of life deteriorating by the day, we require Health- not health related insurance schemes which are a scam.
When the government promotes festivities with sedentary lifestyles and transforms gardens, parks and open spaces into grounds for unregulated festivities, residents suffer the consequences. Diabetes, heart problems, enteric infections and respiratory problems are on the rise in the urban centres around Goa due to urban congestion, rising dust pollution, rise in water pollution, misuse of open spaces, water bodies and mounting challenges of garbage dumping on every nook and corner of the capital city, as well across the length and breadth of our State. From green Goa all we see is grey Goa with rising challenges of polluted water bodies and streams. Estuarine creeks are transformed into polluted nallahs full of sewage garbage and industrial dumps.
Interesting, countering claims made by scientists; our legislators assert that Mandovi river has crystal – clean waters fit for drinking. However, Panjimites have never ever seen our politicians volunteering to drink the river-waters and demonstrate its safety to us.
Very soon we would be asked to vote our choice for Panjim. Is it the devil or the deep sea which we would have to choose from? Sadly, none of the aspirants for Panjim particularly have inspired us. We have had the patrons from the CCP in the race also in the Aam Admi party promising us the moon, just as BJP did the last time around, besides independents. We, the residents of Panjim are always voting candidates who perennially do the U-turn or neglect Panjim and ignore the problems of Panjimites. It is always as usual Panjimites specially those residing in Panjim for decades, never take the challenge to clean and green Panjim by offering themselves as candidates. It is non residents, whom we always trust to spoon feed our development. Panjimites have suffered, are suffering and would continue to suffer flooding, landslides, polluted stream, restricted water supply, fluctuating power supply, garbage woes traffic chaos and road mortalities open urination and defecation on Panjim street corners by visitors to this once a heritage town.
The casino menace and increase in incidences of lifestyle diseases, cancer, skin and respiratory infections and depleted immunity has become the order of the day in Panjim. I for once am too scared to vote. For I know it would be my license to a candidate who would kill me with sweet words and precious nothing to improve the quality of my life and all those idiots like me residing in Panjim. Will Panjim voters vote wisely on February 4, 2017. Only time will tell.
