The rains have arrived with a bang! We were not prepared, were we? We had expected some usual pre-monsoon showers but had never anticipated that it would pour down so unpredictably or so incessantly. With just a few days of rain, flooding and landslides have been reported in so many places across Goa and the visuals have been shocking.
Why is this happening? Why are we surely and increasingly heading towards such disaster like situations? Are these man made? Are these irreversible?
Today Goa is rapidly getting urbanised and concretised. Look at the extent of construction of massive highways cutting across this tiny state taking away not just land but precious resources like old trees, agrarian lands, wetlands, plateaus, hill slopes and forests. Besides this, we are also witnessing rampant construction of luxury homes, row houses, villas, huge housing colonies and commercial buildings. The Bhutanis, DLF, L&T, Lodhas and many more developers, construction companies with their presence in the metros of India are now here building in Goa. But how are they building with artificial beaches, swimming pools and such unsustainable and completely insensitive ideas that are not at all with the intent to conserve and protect Goa's rich ecology, biodiversity and culture. This urbanisation is propelled by the new settlers from urban cities in India who are seeking Goa as a commodity. All are searching for peace in a piece of Goa. Many of these villas/ apartments are second and third homes requiring unsustainable resources like steel, cement and concrete besides stone and sand that is now sourced from neighbouring states! Everywhere we are noticing massive construction sites where the land is excavated nearly 3 floors deep underground disturbing ground water, felling old trees, impacting hill slopes and aiding soil erosion.
With sudden rain, all such locations particularly those on hills are a danger to the settlements or people living at the base of the slope. In the last few days, we have heard and seen horrific images and videos of accounts of residents in despair as silt and rain water has gushed into their homes, neighbourhoods and main streets. We have seen unbelievable videos of bike riders and cars caught in the heavy currents of rain water overflowing from gutters and streets. In this short time with these cloud bursts, we have seen rain water filling up to capacity excavated pits, waterways and nallahs overflowing and roads flooding because there is just too much water everywhere which is not having a chance to drain easily causing destruction and loss of ecology and risk to life.
Can you recall how Goa was just a decade ago? It was still so pristine! Recent reports have confirmed loss of large amount of tree cover, loss of mangroves and biodiversity, massive cutting of hills, huge red gaping pits where soil has been gouged out. Indiscriminate construction near and into fresh water springs, eco sensitive zones, heritage zones, fields, wetlands and even on sand dunes on beaches.
Why are we allowing this? While civil society members and citizens have been vocal about the destruction of Goa, our local representatives seem to have completely sold their souls with no will, empathy and concern to this, our precious motherland.
We talked to children and parents, and everywhere we hear the unanimous lament that Goa is dying, she is bleeding. And we must do everything in our power, drive and sheer will to save her.
What can we do? Let's look around, what do we see? Within our neighbourhoods, we can change so much. Speak to your neighbour, speak to your ward member. Do they care? Are they concerned? Make the connection with them about our land, air and water and how all of these are impacted by each and every action that is destructive, polluting.
Show them how ground water needs conservation and how scarcity is already a problem in many countries on the brink of a water war. Show them how every bit of plastic is coming back to us from soil, water and air and how are bodies have 95% micro plastics. Show them how supermarkets and processed foods are impacting our immunity, health and connect to our landing its biodiversity.
Show them how local food, local farmers are our security to survival. Show them that the sewage we are letting into our rivers and seepage into our ground water is going to contaminate it and deplete the little that we have. Show them how Goa is getting desertified with scorching temperatures in winter and summer. Show them that living in concrete boxes with synthetic finishes is causing us to become more sick and mentally depressed and the alternative is natural, sustainable and regenerative spaces for simple living, happiness and better well being. Show them that this earth, this land is our gold not to be pillaged and finished but to safe guard and nurture for our children, the future generations. Let's repair, let's salvage what we can of what's left of our fragmented Goa, fragmented of its bounty of green cover, fragmented of it's rivers, lakes and springs, fragmented of its hill slopes and lush fields, fragmented of its coastline. Let's wake up. Let's Save Goa before it gets completely washed away.
(Tallulah D’Silva is an Architect and silver awardee of the Golden Door
Award 2020 for truth and integrity.)