I am one of the few Goans alive today who have seen and experienced the Portuguese era from the perspective of an 18 year old and a lifetime of the so called liberated era since 1961. But, if I am asked to give my opinion on both, I would say that Goa was better off, though economically weak, with the Portuguese, especially on the Law and Order front.
We would work back-breaking hard during the day to make ends meet but when we came home in the night, we had no worries about relaxing even with our doors and windows wide open. This relaxed atmosphere of the Goans has been disturbed when more attention is being given to secure doors and windows of houses, fortifying them like impregnable forts and still remain insecure.
After the MGP rule of 17 years, the communal awakening was such that the earlier relaxed amity between the communities was destroyed and Goans starting clubbing themselves on religious lines. Earlier, during the Portuguese era, we were all Goans, without being conscious of being Hindus, Muslims and Christians. This was because the ruler was secular in its mindset with everyone was equal before the law.
I have, at times, said, without fear or favour, that Goa badly needs Portuguese rule minus the Portuguese, only because we need impeccable law and order after having experienced one. After the communal divide of 17 years of MGP rule, the BJP rule which followed the Congress rule may be termed as worse than the other, where the law and order has been given a go by completely and absolutely with the jungle-raj in place to make everyone insecure.
New political avatars are coming in, but there is no indication that the law and order will come back ever to this sensitive state. For that we need Goa’s own homegrown avatar which is grounded in (1) Secular neutrality and (2) Impeccable law and order to eradicate the ever increasing ills that this state is experiencing. And if anyone should ask me for my preferences, I would, without hesitation, say that Goa needs a strong united Democratic Regional Party (third front) to slam Congress and BJP, so that we may get some change of good days ahead.
Babluis Pereira, Pomburpa
—
Water shortage
In the good old days before tap water introduced, wells were the only source of water in homes in the villages and even in the cities. Almost every house in the state had a well in the backyard. These wells used to provide water for domestic use as well as for drinking purpose. But now it seems that most of the wells have become defunct. They are either buried or the ground water has become so polluted that the water in the wells has become unfit for human consumption. Now with water available through the taps for a limited period of time in a day and with many a times the taps running dry for several days, it is probably time to fall back on the good old wells for the daily requirement of water.
In the past the Civic bodies used to clean the well water of private wells just before the onset of monsoon. It appears that in several cities this practice has been stopped. It seems necessary for the municipalities and the panchayats to carry out the task of cleaning the water from private wells in the cities and villages respectively so that the water can be used by the owners of the wells. This will go a long way in mitigating the problem of water shortage faced by the citizens during the hot summer season. Steps also need to be taken to protect the groundwater from pollution so that clean and potable water is available in the wells.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
