The first two parts of the Indian Express investigation, -- Published in Goa in partnership with Herald - on the contours and after effects of coal pollution caused during the movement of coal from Goa to other states was published last Sunday. Today, we bring you to voices of common people from the pollution-stricken regions
Lumina D’Costa Almeida, 63, Horticulturist, Seraulim
Living just 70 metres from the coal tracks, Almeida has first-hand experience of the trouble coal has caused —her husband Rodney now suffers from asthma.
"You bring highways and a sense of hurriedness. You won’t appreciate susegad (a ‘quiet’ life) and its importance for a healthy living. Your definition of development is different from ours.”
Zulema Barros Pereira, 85, Matriarch, Cansaulim
Pereira’s house is across the coal tracks. She says there is lack of basic healthcare in her village, forcing its residents to knock on the homes of private doctors even at odd hours.
"Development has to first be in accordance with the needs of the local inhabitants. First connect society with social parameters then coal with corporates. Give us a hospital first.”
Alcinha Fernandes, 45, Homemaker, Sao Jose De Areal
Trucks carrying petroleum coke pass by her verandah, while rail tracks parallel to her house carry coal to Karnataka. Her windows are sealed with plastic to keep coal dust out.
"We used to dry fish in our courtyard and chat in our balcaos. Nowadays, I sit and note registration numbers of trucks and the time they pass by my house. I know it will not change anything, but it’s for my satisfaction.”
Bharat Desai, 53, Farmer, Xelvona
His field is on a plot marked for a coal stack. The farmers are now planning to take the legal route to fight the acquisition.
"Everyone is behaving like coal ― landing up uninvited. We grow rice here; we cannot give it up for coal. Earlier we used dry fish as manure but port activity anyway killed that. Now, they have come here to spread coal dust on our fields.”
Efa Saldanha, 60, Columnist, Cansaulim
Sister of the late politician Jose Matanhy de Saldanha, who fought for special status for Goa, Efa says the coal tracks threaten her ancestral house built in the Kadamba era.
"So many rulers right till the Portuguese didn’t destroy our home. It’s sad that these coal trucks will finally bring it down. Matanhy always told me the fisherfolk were our identity. Now, our fish are being destroyed. Our fields are being filled up.”
Damodar Mauzo, 73, Writer, Majorda
His Goan “house of memories” is just 20 metres from the railway tracks at Majorda. From his window, he says, he sometimes counts endless wagons go by.
"I once wrote of a woman hugging a tree when the railways comes to acquire her land. Look at the irony. The drama will soon play out right outside my doorstep.”
Custodio D’Souza, 45, Fisherman, Khariwado
D’Souza has approached the National Green Tribunal to prevent the Mormugao port from dredging the seabed, to accommodate vessels that hold double the amount of coal.
"I keep hearing Manohar Parrikar returned to Goa for fish curry and rice. How then is he allowing such rampant abuse of the seabed, which is wiping out the indigenous fishing community. And for coal?”
Ramiro Mascarenhas, 43, Truck contractor, Loutolim
The PWD office has informed Mascarenhas that he stands to lose the entire courtyard of his ancestral home, he shares with wife Priti and infant daughter Chrysanne.
"I can build a house elsewhere too. But heritage, now that cannot be built. It is our identity. These rooms, balcaos and even our attic hold stories from our past… and they are non-negotiable.”
Milagres Fernandes, 61, Agriculturist, Khandepar
Fernandes is the owner of Pascoal Spice Farms, which draws tourists for its collection of exotic plants and spices. It is now in the path of the coal trucks.
"The government has to decide if it wants to encourage agriculture or coal. All these tropical species I grow will wilt if the trucks keep increasing as they will increase the temperature around here.”