Oppn trains guns on Forest Min, CM for fires across the State

PANJIM: The Opposition in the State on Saturday trained their guns on Forest Minister Vishwajit Rane for fire rages across the State and also did not absolve Chief Minister Pramod Sawant of the blame.

Goa Forward Party president and MLA Vijai Sardesai said that there is complete collapse of the government. “On the very first day of the fire incident I had tweeted asking the Chief Minister and the Forest Minister to drop everything and rush to Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary to contain the fire. I had even asked them to seek help from PMO India but they did nothing.”

Vijai further said that the government had received three wake-up calls – once in 2012, second in 2019 when the Draft State Action Plan for Climate Change was prepared and third was in January this year, where a major fire broke out in the paints factory at Pilerne. This insensitive government has no disaster management plan in place, but has money to spend on events.

Vijai alleged that the government first allowed Mhadei waters to be diverted and now they are burning the Sanctuary. “We have never seen such a fire before and this is happening because of this corrupt and insensitive BJP government,” he charged, adding that even an attempt was made by some miscreants to set fire close to his farm on Friday.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) president Adv Amit Palekar said that the raging fires look to be deliberated and demanded that the government be serious. “I demand an independent investigation for this, the forest portfolio allocated to Rane be taken away and given to another Minister,” he demanded.

Adv Palekar said that it is shocking that it is happening in Sattari taluka and it appears that local MLAs of the area Vishwajit Rane and his wife Deviya are trying to protect somebody and they are responsible. They are protecting culprits and are trying to sabotage the momentum of the people to declare it as a Tiger Reserve.

“It looks like some real estate people, who don’t want it to be declared Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary and Tiger Reserve, are behind this. They are scaring animals by setting fire,” he said.

Aldona Congress MLA Adv Carlos Alvares Ferreira said, “Forest fire is being mischievously put out by certain individuals. It is curious that fires have been raging across Goa. Question is whether forest is being cleared with an eye on potential development as Goa is becoming a real estate paradise. The forest department is running short of equipment to fight fire and we need to preserve our forest, environment and our green lungs.”

Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas alleged that the BJP government doesn’t want to declare Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary as a Tiger Reserve. It is the BJP who ignited the fire to drive away tigers from this Sanctuary. And to cover this they have asked their workers to put fire in other areas and now they are blaming soaring temperatures for the fire incidents.

Lokacho Aadhar president Trajano D’Mello demanded that the government should immediately appoint a time-bound judicial inquiry to find out the cause of the fire. But both, Chief Minister and Forest Minister are not serious and their failure to appoint judicial inquiry gives enough reasons to believe that they are shielding perpetrators.  

Congress media department chief spokesman Amarnath Panjikar said that with the arrest of one person it is very clear that the fire is a man-made disaster. Government is not serious about this. The Forest Minister did an aerial survey of the area, but till date has not come out with any solution. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant should take the onus as Minister for Forest. The BJP government is not serious about protecting Goa’s fragile environment.