The G20 member countries represent around 85% of the global GDP, over 75% of the global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population. Holding the Presidency of the G20 is a moment of pride for the nation which has always believed and rightly envisaged ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ or ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’ as the theme for the Summit 2023.
Being one of the host cities should be a moment of great enthusiasm and cheer for Goa and Goans. In October 2016, Goa hosted the heads of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries. However, the State is hosting an intergovernmental Summit of such a large scale almost after four decades, the last being the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in November 1983, wherein representatives of the 58 member countries descended in Goa. The CHOGM road in Porvorim is a permanent memorial of the event.
While Goa hopes to receive a share of the pie in terms of economic prosperity, especially a leap in the tourism sector, the State has submerged into massive infrastructure development works and beautification of almost every major street that falls within the scheduled routes. From the Dabolim Airport, Bambolim to Dona Paula road, to the whole of Panjim city, a sea of changes is visible as the date approaches for the international leaders’ arrival.
Even as the city is being beautified, the recently laid-out grass at various spots in and around the city has become a good source of green pasture for stray cattle. One would assume that the stray cattle menace will see a pause during the tenure of the G20 Summit in Goa.
However, the capital city of Panjim fits perfectly into the terminology of being in a vegetative state as there’s no life currently left in the city and no one seems to be responsible or accountable for the haphazard manner in which the city is being treated.
First, the Smart City project ensured that the city is dug in such a manner that an aerial view depicts a war-torn city with craters everywhere. Then, the quality of the work being carried out sent shock waves, as within days eight trucks fell into the under-construction roads that caved in, apart from the hours-long traffic congestion on the internal roads of Panjim, which has put life out of order for every resident of the city as well as those visiting the capital.
Turning the capital into a Smart City and hosting an international event such as G20 should have filled the hearts of its citizens with pride, however, locals, including owners of businesses, have become critical of the government for the manner in which preparations are underway.
The recent fiasco regarding the government’s direction to dismantle all the overhead cables exposes the lack of planning, despite being well aware of being one of the host cities almost a year in advance. The move to remove all the overhead cables has affected not just the population but also businesses and the government offices located in Panjim. Ironically, the internet service providers who had managed to have some preparedness by switching to underground cable networks are in a lurch as the underground cables have been damaged by those carrying out the Smart City development works.
Hosting the G20 Summit should have been a symbol of prowess but it turns out that a full month is going to be a case of hardships and troubles, despite hundreds of crores of rupees being spent to host the event.
