When the Congress Party was in the seat of power in Goa and people from other states were flocking to Goa, then chief minister Manohar Parrikar observed intelligently how it would be possible to stop the inflow of people from outside the state with the right policies. Today the BJP government’s policies are on the same track as that of the Congress. Goans need to approach Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to use his influence to stop the BJP government from promoting policies that are of little or no benefit to the people of Goa.
What, then, is an anti-Goan community project? The Tiracol hotel and golf course project is a good example which instantly pops up in a Goan’s mind as it is not only uprooting the villagers’ lifestyle but also destroying the village. The government is forcing the villagers to go the same way; way down the drain as the original inhabitants of Mumbai! All Goans should support the anti-Tiracol forces, for if they do nothing about it now, then it will be first Tiracol followed by other parts of Goa.
Does Tiracol village really need a 76 crore bridge for only 40 families? Newspaper reporters have been asking this question for weeks now. And, as there is already a bridge, the people in Tiracol and the whole of Goa too are having a hard time making any sense of this project.
If a small community needs an extra bridge worth 76 crore, how much will the government have to spend on a community of 3000, 4000 or 5000 people? How can the Goa government justify the cost of an extra bridge which does not appear necessary at all, even as the Goan economy is in the doldrums and the government does not have enough money to fund several projects?
Why does the government not spend a few crores of rupees on home-stay programmes in Tiracol so the local people can benefit from tourism and create jobs and additional incomes for the villagers without destroying the village and making villagers aliens in their own land? Why not self-reliant community development and preservation of the village? Why do everything for big business and everyone except the villagers?
Besides, environmental issues this project is going to emasculate the villagers, economically and culturally, reducing them to a once-upon-a-time community. Can the Goa government be crueler to Goans than this?
