Vasco lockdown issue: It is NOT better late than never, say Port town residents

DHIRAJ HARMALKAR

dhiraj@herald-goa.com

VASCO:  The Port town is seething. Its residents are traumatized and worried as the number of cases and deaths surrounding their town are increasing. And then there’s the shocking stigma of being called out by people from other parts of Goa and made to feel like travelling viruses.

Many locals, civil society members including the local MLA feel that the earlier requests done by the people after the first COVID case surfaced in Mangor, could have curtailed the coronavirus infection from spreading and that it would have also led to a decrease in the overall cases.

Civil society members’ feels that the State government got cowed down to the pressure of a few business tycoons. On that note, they say that in order to protect the business interests of a few from the coal business lobby, the total Vasco lockdown in the initial phase was not imposed.

Sanjay Redkar, an anti-coal activist from Vasco said that the town should have been locked down when there was the first case of COVID detected in the Mangor. 

“Although I feel it is never too late to rectify the mistake. The government still has the chance to save the lives of the many people by having a complete Vasco lockdown at least for a week’s time (that’s beyond the three-day State lockdown) which is mandatory”, he said. 

Responding to a query as to why 

he believes the government didn’t go for a complete Vasco lockdown initially, Redkar opined that it was clear, according to him, that the business and transportation of coal from the port had to go on and that similarly the business lobbies had to be protected.

Concurring with the view about what should have been done when the first COVID case detected in Mangor, Captain Viriato Fernandes, Co-convener of the Goencho Avaaz (GA) organisation also questioned why the government did not listen to the people and impose a total lockdown in Vasco for a few days, at the time when the common folk without any medical background and fearing a threat to their lives and families were demanding for a lockdown. 

GA has been pointing out so many times that the coal, which had come in the vessels at the port, had to be unloaded and thus if there had to be a lockdown, then there could have been losses to a few. 

“The local MLA, councillors, surrounding panchayats were all demanding for a Vasco lockdown. However, to safeguard the interest of the few from the coal lobby, the lockdown was not imposed in Vasco. Secondly, not listening to the plight of the people to impose a Vasco lockdown while opening the State borders has also resulted in the spreading of infection,” Fernandes added.

Vasco BJP MLA Carlos Almeida said, “It is better late than never”, regarding the call for a lockdown in Vasco against the backdrop of the State-wide lockdown that began on Thursday night. 

“The infection has spread from Mangor to New Vaddem, Chicalim, Zuarinagar, Verna and other parts of Goa. This spread could have stopped at the initial step itself, but at least the government has to take good steps,” he added.  

Importantly, Almeida opined that if the government had listened to his plea at the time when just one COVID case had been detected in Mangor, the situation in Vasco would not have turned “so bad”, which is prevalent now.

Preetam Queloscar, a social activist said that the government has not given serious thought to the COVID scenario in Vasco. 

“It looks like they have purposely neglected the requests of the local MLA, councillors, along with the locals who wanted a Vasco lockdown. If the govt had listened at that point of time, then things would have been different now. I feel the decision to not impose lockdown initially was done to protect some business lobby”, Queloscar added.

He further added that the local administration has failed to provide essential services and essential goods to the people. 

“Opening of State borders has also resulted in an increase in the cases and the spread of the infection. I feel there should be a 21-day-strict lockdown in Vasco so that the chain of the virus is broken and the COVID cases recover within this period bringing the COVID cases to zero,” he added. 

The lockdown, quite naturally has led to political finger-pointing. 

Goa Congress Vice President Sankalp Amonkar said there were around 12 vessels, which were used for coal and iron ore transportation and those who were involved in the handling of this ore and coal in the port, would have suffered if there had been a lockdown, therefore, there was no lockdown in Vasco initially.

Amonkar also said that there was no immediate implementation of the three-day Statewide-lockdown because there was a vessel named Globe Cleopatra, which was allegedly supposed to be unloaded in the Port and would allegedly go off on Thursday. “So it is true that to protect some coal mafias the decisions are being taken in their favour”, Amonkar signed off.