The official Republic Day functions across the State were well utilised by the government to list out their achievements of the past year, and announce what the citizenry can look forward to in the coming 12 months. For instance, the State Governor, in his Republic Day address at Panjim made mention of the upcoming airport at Mopa and the 8-lane cable-stayed bridge over River Zuari, as well as the Atal Setu that was thrown open a year ago. The Governor sought to portray these as tourist attractions, in a State that is staring at a drop in arrivals. He also mentioned that Goa is among the fastest-growing States in the country and has a well developed social, physical, industrial, tourism, sports infrastructure and virtual connectivity. He also stressed that infrastructural development has been the government’s priority.
There can be no argument that infrastructure has indeed been on the priority list of the government, but the State is looking at major projects, as listed by the Governor, while ignoring the tiny other issues that affect the people’s quotidian and require to be upgraded or improved. Take for instance the condition of the roads in the State. They are at this point of time in much better condition than they were a few months ago, but there are still many that sport potholes and hence need to be asphalted. There are also constant complaints of power outages, especially in the rural areas, which the Governor said would be a priority, but garbage of course still remains as one of the main issues that require immediate solutions.
There was mention of the bridges as tourist attractions, but the mere presence of the new links over the Mandovi and the Zuari will not bring an extra large number of tourists to the State. An airport at Mopa would make it easier for tourists to travel to the State. But can this airport be the game changer for tourism in Goa? Goa’s tourism is at a point where it requires innovative strategies to get it back on track. The State has neglected to create tourism infrastructure, it cannot now depend merely on such bridge projects to change its dwindling fortunes.
There is much that the State has to look forward to in the coming months. Goa will be hosting the National Games in October this year, and much of the infrastructure is yet to be completed. The deadline for it had been March last year, but over ten months later, the State is yet to see the work having progressed to such a level that it has neared completion. Along with the stadia and courts for the games, there athletes also have to be housed during their stay, and while Goa has decided to do away with a games village, it plans to provide lodging and boarding at hotels across the State. Imagine the travel congestion that will take place, especially at the site where the new bridge over the River Zuari is being constructed, as athletes, officials and viewers travel from north to south.
Missing from the speeches were the solutions from the government to the Mhadei imbroglio, the mining impasse, and also no reference was made to burning issues like the protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act. Just two days earlier there had been a massive meeting in Margao opposing the CAA and the related NRC and NPR. Republic Day being the occasion on which the Constitution came into force, clarity on this subject should have been forthcoming. Along with what is going right for the State, there is need to also address what is not falling into place. It makes for a balanced approach towards governance.
