JOSE MARIA MIRANDA
The onset of rains might have brought some relief from the sweltering heat, which we experienced, this year, but the announcement of a possible weak monsoon is surely unwelcome news. It may not have been our worst summer, but the heat felt was much stronger than the official figures released. It is also worth noting that Goa recorded some of the harshest ultraviolet radia tion levels, making midday sun exposure dangerous. Occasional intermittent showers failed to provide any relief and only added to increase in humidity levels and people’s discomfort. Thankfully, warnings about the scorching sun, kept many indoors, inciden tally proving a blessing in disguise to motorists who found enough space in our otherwise parking-starved cities. The government may derive some comfort from the possibility of climate change having hit us se verely, but it is surely an undisputed reality that fell ing of trees and reduction of forest cover in Goa have greatly contributed to the harmful changes in our cli matic conditions. Deforestation removes the natural shade and cool ing effect that trees provide, releasing moisture and leading to higher tempera tures. Rapid urbanisation, highway expansion, major infrastructure projects like airports and railway ex pansion, real estate devel opment, etc. have resulted in loss of green canopy and clearance and diversion of hundreds of hectares of for est land and orchards.
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While data from the Un ion Ministry of Statistics itself shows a massive five fold increase in tree cover from 64 sq. kms to 334sq. kms in the first decade of this century, it also records a complete reversal in the last decade with a loss of over one fifth. This started in 2010-11 and by 2021, it had decreased by 76 sq. kms to 258 sq kms, with the biggest loss being in just two years, of 51 sq kms, be tween 2016 and 2018. While Forest Department claims that Goa’s forests make up about a satisfacto ry 60% of State’s landmass, environmentalists dispute this and argue that that “open forests,” which are areas with lower canopy density inflate this number, masking the degradation of core interior forests. Forest fires, registered in Goa in 2023, left a trail of destruc tion scorching endemic trees, birds and reptiles in Western Ghats, one of the eight world biodiversity spots of the world.
Let us not have any doubts that it is the in satiable greed of the au thorities and the builders’ lobby which has led us to this situation, which add ed to severe shortage of water in some areas, have put the people of Goa to extreme and unforgettable discomfort. If the Govern ment continues to behave irresponsibly, as it has so far, and does not tread cautiously, we may reach a point of no return with problems, unsolvable and irreversible. And Goa, which has been facing this distressing and insensitive onslaught, tak ing a toll on people’s health, lives and livelihoods, has also sadly and simultane ously been coping with the unfortunate reality of losing some of its kindest souls, who made a differ ence in the lives of many and to Goa itself. God seems to be choosing and plucking some of the best flowers for His garden. Their passing has made us and Goa poor er. Some left us a while ago, some recently, some too early, when much was ex pected of their talents and goodness, some passion ate about Goa and nature and who did all they could, within their reach, for their protection. Some were low profile, simple and humble people, who went away unnoticed, sometimes per haps even ignored or op posed because they dared swim against the tide.
Their contributions, work and service to the socie ty went unrewarded and unrecognised. Among those whose love for Goa knew no bounds, permit me to recall my good friend Siddharth Karapurkar, who though he left few years ago, is still remembered for his environmental battles and as a relentless fighter for many good causes, dear to Goa. Later, we lost Ser gio Carvalho and more recently, Diana Tavares and Edgar Ribeiro, who thankfully lived a long and fruitful life and taught us many lessons on planning and environment, which some of us might willfully ignore. Fr Bolmax Pereira’s death came as a shocker but he left a valuable leg acy, besides his intrepid utterances and concerns over environment, the Chicalim Youth Farmers’ Club, giving it a proper direction and guidance in sustainable agriculture, which hopefully will, in the years to come, live up to his expectations and be the best tribute to his beloved memory. However, just last week, another blow was dealt to Goa and its environment, by the sudden death of Roque Fernandes from Be naulim, popularly known as the ‘garbage warrior’. Like many of those who went before him and oth ers still fighting, he per ceived the environment as the life-line of our very existence and survival. Roque was a simple unas suming and soft-spoken gentleman, who was a taxi driver and had recently given up his profession due to health reasons.
He served with dedication and commitment the Taxi Union and was framed for standing with his col leagues in opposing the Ola and Uber taxi service and had to make trips to Delhi to defend his case. He was a great lover of nature and greenery and would spend of his own to keep some areas green and clean. He was a man with a mission: of reaching out to others and keeping his village free from litter and garbage and he fulfilled it with passion. He practised what he preached and would, him self, dig into garbage bags, to find bills or any other evidence to identify the culprits. He would often be seen keeping a watch over certain areas prone to unau thorised garbage littering. He took particular interest in the area around the St. John the Baptist Church, where he got the Church to install CCTV cameras to keep polluters at bay. These are our unsung heroes, who believed in the famous saying: I shall pass through this world but once…whatever good I can do, let me do it today, for I shall not pass this way again. (The author is a retired banker)
