Team Herald
MARGAO: Goans for Sustainable Development (GSD) has called upon all traditional communities, citizens, and lovers of Goa, to wholeheartedly rally behind the ramponkars
In a statement issued on Saturday, GSD said it saluted the ramponkar community, which was fighting for their traditional livelihoods and making a “heroic” stand to safeguard the State’s vulnerable coastline and precious marine biodiversity at great costs to themselves.
“The values guiding the traditional fishing communities are the principles of sustainable development our government claims to be searching for, while it continues to ruthlessly destroy natural resources and sustainable economies in blind slavery to short-term profit and corruption,” said Fr Eremito Rebello of GSD.
GSD member Ramkrishna Jalmi stated, “Since Goa is a coastal state, the contribution of the ramponkars to preserving and protecting the coastal zone is invaluable. Through the decades, it has been the ramponkars who have taken an uncompromising stand on the side of Mother Nature. It was the ramponkars who insisted that the monsoon ban be adhered to and who have been consistently fighting against destructive and rapacious fishing practices, like bull trawling and now LED light fishing, as well as pollution of our rivers and coastal areas.”
Regarding its call for all traditional communities to back the ramponkars, GSD reasoned that this is not only the fight of the ramponkars, but the fight of all traditional communities and sensible citizens against “anti-Goa, unsustainable and suicidal policies”.
“This predatory onslaught of vested interests is actively aided and abetted by the present State government,” he added.
