The past few days there have been a number of reminders from the people to the government that there is a lot that still needs to be done for the State, even 60 years after it gained freedom from colonial rule. The Chief Minister may have just said that he wants the support to rebuild temples that were demolished by the erstwhile colonial government of the Portuguese, but for the people across the State, there are more pressing issues that they would want addressed by the government – issues that should be on the priority list of the adminstration but all too often get forgotten. Here are just a few of the issues that have been brought to the attention of the authorities over the past days and which the government would do well to address.
In a unique form of protest, a man sat in the water on the road at Chorao, to draw attention to the fact that this road gets innundated due to the tidal movements. This occurs since the bund around the island got broken three years ago and has not been repaired. In Panjim, motorists exiting the Atal Setu at Merces face a similar problem of the road getting flooded at every high tide. Much of South Goa remained mainly dry during the past weekend, underlining another problem that the district faces every time there is a malfunction at the Selaulim water treatment plant or the pipeline from the plant bursts, which happens quite often. Elsewhere, in Guirdolim, the Liberation Day weekend saw the villagers protesting the dumping of mud at a lake, while in Shel Melauli villagers have threatened to launch a second agitation if the criminal cases against them are not withdrawn and have demanded ownership of ancestral property.
These are but some issues that have been highlighted in the past days by the people, there are a lot more that arise throughout the year. Across the State there are issues that need to be taken up by the government and resolved quickly. Many of these may appear to be minor to people who are not directly affected, but to the people who face these they are actually very significant as it all affects their daily life. People want development and this is not necessarily new roads, but an improvement of the quality of the life they lead. They want water trickling out of the taps when they turn on the faucet, and not the claim that the State is the first to have a tap in every household. They want the bunds around the islands repaired so that water does not inundate the roads and the fields, turning the latter uncultivable. Can the government provide this basic needs of the people?
The absence of these necessities – these are not comforts that the people are asking – indicate that there is lots that still requires to be done and that there is a dearth of governance in Goa. The bottomline is that though the State has taken many steps forward, the political establishment has not been able to deliver on its promises. Setting aside all other issues, the government has to prioritise its actions and give the people what they want. Development can have many connotations and the most important of all is having the basics for a comfortable life. If the government can guarantee that and then deliver on the promises, it can claim that it has brought about a change in the lives of the people. Goans require an eight-lane bridge as much as they require pothole free roads. Can the government promise this? it will definitely have the support of the people for this.
