Goa was rightly christened as `Rome of the East’. Its glorious sunshine, golden sands, verdant tropical fields, azure rivers, streams and lakes and sylvan forests and hills beckoned tourists from near and far to visit this abode of the Gods to bask in the lap of Mother Nature. Today, however the scent of the lure of lucre is intoxicating its rulers and government to indulge in the rapacious concretization leading to a sudden fall from grace, which if avoidable now is the right time to prevent.
In the name of attracting more tourists, Goa is on the brink of natural self-destruction, though the visitors themselves will agree that they’d rather lavish the rustic abode of Mopa, a region of the western Ghats which is known for its bio-diversity, flora and fauna, than see this beautiful plateau being converted into another airport that would not only be a monster-intrusion into this natural habitat, home to local and exotic animals, trees, butterflies, birds and rich flora, which will disappear if the Mopa airport comes into existence. Dabolim is strategically located and its expansion and efficient capacity utilization will suffice for the needs of tourists for the next 30 years. Mopa airport will destroy one of the most beautiful natural locales that attract tourists by its sheer ephemeral natural beauty. Mopa airport will also be a drain on the fragile finances of Goa and the same Rs. 3,000 crore can be utilized to bolster natural scenic beauty spots in Goa. Preserving the rustic charm of Mopa would be the most prudent thing to do. It is evident that such large tracts of land should not be wasted on a man-made creation displacing nature and ruining one of the most lovely scenic plateaus.
Leading Hotels in its ambitious quest for a Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) golf course will ruin acres and acres of prime land, a sparse commodity in Goa, to satisfy a few golf lovers, while forever transforming the place into an entire water-consuming green canopy and poisoning the ground water of the locality with dangerous, toxic pesticides. The number of tourists if the golf course materializes will reduce drastically compared to if the Terekhol (Tiracol) fort and its existing natural ambience is maintained and is not converted, only to fill the pockets of a few owners of the Leading Hotels. The inhabitants of the area have to resolutely oppose Leading Hotels from going against the wishes of the majority and cheating them of their land.
Marinas is another tourist attraction that Goa can do without, since it will concretize and destroy the coastal areas from where our local fishermen collect shell fishes such as Tisreo, khube and Calvam. Goa has enough water sports facilities and marinas is definitely not required.
It is the duty of the MoEF&CC the NGT and GSPCB to tighten the screws and resolutely oppose the imposition of so called development which is being resisted by the people of Goa. May better sense prevail and may the government realize their folly at the right time.
