This morning’s newspaper was so bad I could not enjoy my breakfast which I take more seriously than my religious beliefs; after all, they are beliefs and I could be wrong or right. My breakfast, unlike religious beliefs is real, and I eat it in real time.
Anyway, we are informed there are cities in India where the level of coal pollution is much worse than in Goa. Are these cities on the world’s list of most polluted cities? Of the 20 most polluted cities in the world, 14 are from India. Is this good news which I read this morning and which destroyed my ritualistic breakfast?
Few Goans are going to open a champagne bottle or even a cheap bottle of wine to toast this sad and bad piece of news. MPT, in future, needs to keep uppermost in mind not only profit and the bottom line but also how the Trust makes money. Unfortunately, the manner in which they make money does not meet the approval of the residents of Vasco as it has been destroying their health for years now.
A new management team and Think Tank is necessary, new blood and creative ideas which will lead MPT and the port town, and Goa, to a new and different tomorrow, to a new era of prosperity without destroying the health of the people who live in Vasco. We are talking of human beings and not coal. A large part of the world has given up on coal and has stopped the extraction of coal because it is harmful to the environment and tourism but in our so-called spiritual country the life of a human being is worth less than coal and development.
The people who live in Vasco are demanding a stoppage of coal completely as it destroys their health. As this is no secret, the sooner the better the transportation of coal is stopped completely, the brighter is the future of the people of the port town. Clean air project plans are what this no-brain government has to begin working on immediately. The government needs to provide a progress report of the plans to the public. Only promises won’t do; as they say, you can’t eat the menu. The people demand real food, real nutrition, and good health! What right does the govt have to destroy the health of its citizens?
The people of Vasco have shown patience and fortitude in the face of suffering comparable to Padre Vaz who recently has been anointed a saint. They need to be praised and respected for it.
MPT is extremely lucky as the people who reside in Vasco have not sued the government for damage caused to their lungs and health. And, there are a lot of people who have health issues because of coal pollution.
Had MPT been in Britain the Trust probably would have had to shut down immediately. The Trust has sadly lost the trust of the people who live in this port town, and Goa. They are extremely lucky and should apologise to the people of Vasco for their business activities. And, promise in future, not to indulge in any toxic business which will harm the health of the people who live in Vasco. Then, and only then, will they be able to get rid of the smoke and dust in their relationship with the residents of the port town.
