PANJIM: Civil society groups, trade unions and organisations working for the rights and concerns of women, children, LGBTQIA communities, tribals, Dalits, disabled persons, coastal people’s rights, rural people’s rights, artists and poets have come united for eight-day campaign in Goa from the first week of September demanding social, economic, political, and environmental justice.
The campaign stressed on the need to build alliances amongst various people’s movements and put up a united front to thwart the systematic attack on the various institutions of oversight in Goa and across the country.
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A joint press statement issued by the group stated that attention was drawn to the lack of safety for those who challenge the institutional discrimination and the kind of governance. The gruesome murder of Gauri Lankesh and journalists who were killed in the last few years was also listed.
Musicians, artists and poets through their art forms rued that even the semblance of democracy and ecosystem of justice would be lost, if we don’t act on a war footing.
“People from across the length and breadth of Goa registered their protest against the discarding of democratic processes and violations of Constitutional safeguards. Voices of Collem said government needs provide amenities that are lacking rather than imposing double-tracking of railway lines, and condemned the three linear projects of four-lane highways and a transmission line through the forested area, all of which will disrupt their lives and livelihood and benefit only private players dealing with transportation of coal. Goencho Ekvott and Goyant Kolso Naka also submitted representations to the concerned MLAs and organised a bike and car rally,” it said.
The recurring theme in the slogans, placards and demands of various groups across Goa, was ‘no’ to unnecessary infrastructure projects for a coal hub, through four laning of highways, double tracking of railways and laying of a 450 KV transmission line and to save Mollem and Collem.
There was even a studied presentation that was shared by Zeferino Fernandes that indicated the pre-story of the coal corridor through Goa. The recent notification bypassing the powers of panchayats to decide whether or not to give NOCs for mobile towers, also was strongly condemned as being in total violation of the 73rd and 74th amendments. The non-implementation of the 5th Schedule of the Constitution of declaring tribal areas as scheduled areas in Goa, came under censure, as also the non-implementation of the reservation policies.
The demands also included restoring functionality in democratic institutions meant to safeguard the rights of citizens particularly women, children, disabled persons and marginalised sections of society, rightful treatment of Dalits, tribals, migrants and disabled women’s rights as women’s rights, repeal of Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, with its excluding provisions and abandonment of due process for OCIs, abolishing of contract system in all permanent employments, people-centric justice tourism and opposition to xenophobia, action against corporate defaulters and fraudsters.
“Give us what Goa lacks, not double tracks”, “Notify tribal areas as per 5th Schedule”, “implement filling of backlog reservations”, “Save Goa, save the planet”, “Lungs are important #SaveMollem”, “If we do not rise, we will all have to pay the price”, “save the girl child”, “reservation is a right, so we fight”, “we demand transparency, accountability at all levels of governance”, “save biodiversity, do not let our lungs burn out”, were some of the on-point expressions on the placards.
