ABEL PASCOAL BARRETTO
CANACONA: A visually impaired resident of Mashem in Canacona taluka laments that he is running from pillar to post to get the coconut trees removed which are posing constant danger to life and property.
The dry coconuts and leaves falling on his house is also causing him financial burden to his already strained purse while his own movement is hampered due to fear of him being hit by the falling missiles.
Rosario Barretto, now in his forties, lost his vision a few years back, and stays confined to his ancestral house in Mashem with his wife who works to make both ends meet.
Sandwiched between the old and new NH66 road alignment and a hostile land owner on either sides, life has been a constant struggle for Barretto since he totally lost his vision and his job.
There are at least five big coconut trees dangerously dangling over his about 300 sq mts of property enclosing a house which he inherited from his ancestors. During most part of the day being alone in his house he whiles away his time playing his favourite hymn “I Surrender All” by CeCe Winans on his guitar with no one to listen except for the adjoining coconut trees which sway to the slightest of the wind and the road building migrant workers behind his house.
“Now it’s over six months since I have complained to the authorities for removal of the five coconut trees which are on the verge of falling on my Mangalore-tiled house,” Barretto says grievously.
“Months have gone by since authorities passed an order to cut and remove these dangerous trees but the neighbour is adamant and I am left to the mercy of the landlord and nature as I can’t even come out of my house in the fear that dry leaves or coconuts might fall on me”, he added.
“The owner has pulled all the five coconut trees and tied them with a support GI wire, one of which snapped on Sunday during the high cyclonic winds which brought down at least 40 and another 10 coconut trees on the houses of not so lucky owners in Canacona taluka”, Barretto told this correspondent over the phone.
“Just blindfold yourself and see how cruel the life is, and coming to attend hearings from Mashem to Chaudi so many times by public transport is a difficult task and not a joke for a blind person like me; I expect the authorities who have laws in place to enforce their decisions, to deal with such erring land lords.
“I will mention this issue to the officer during the next hearing fixed on Friday,” Barretto said.
The five trees tied by a support wire must have survived the Sunday night nature’s fury but the future looks bleak as the question arises – how many more cyclones will these trees resist before they give up and fall bringing more misery to the already distressed family of Barretto and his wife? This question of life and death will only be answered by time unless the authorities spring up and take action into this and similar cases like these which prevail all over Canacona before it’s too late in the day.
