Team Herald
Margao: Goan Seamen Association of India (GSAI) has condemned what they described to be atrocious and shocking statement made by PWD Minister Deepak Pauskar.
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The Minister had stated that Seafarers and persons coming to Goa from abroad shouldn’t teach them about the protection of environment and further said that people from the talukas are suffering due to restrictions on forest and lands with green cover in Goa.
GSAI maintains that to protect, protest and achieve awareness should be every Indian citizen’s right and accused Pauskar of tarnishing the image of the government by targeting the seafarer community.
GSAI added that the basic safety and environmental protection is the minimum basic training every seafarer possesses and its implementation is also carried out in practice whether onboard or ashore.
“He should understand that seafarers are considered essential workers. When the whole world was affected by COVID-19 and countries including India were facing challenging times under lockdown, the seafarers were on the front line, ” said Frank Viegas GSAI President.
“Seafarers are mostly engaged onboard for a period of 3 to 9 months and our contribution goes in a long way for the development of the State. Pauskar shouldn’t be making statements when the Seafarers community hasn’t made any baseless allegations against him,” Frank added.
