My beautiful village of Ribandar is situated on the banks of the scenic river Mandovi facing the picturesque villages of Britona, Divar, Chorao, Sao Pedro and Chimbel. Fishing is an important source of employment for my fellow Ribandarites. The casino-cum-luxury floating hotel Deltin Caravela anchored in the fishing zone of river Mandovi threatens the traditional occupation of fishing of my villagers. The right to work is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and recognized in international human rights law through its inclusion in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, where the right to work emphasizes economic, social and cultural development. The preamble to the constitution of India secures social, economic and political justice to all citizens of India. But some families, in Ribandar have been prevented of their right to work and engage in productive employment through their traditional occupation of fishing as they cannot cast the floating nets in the river Mandovi due to the anchoring of casino cum luxury floating hotel Deltin Caravela in the fishing zone. The anchoring of the Deltin Caravela in the fishing zone has led to the reduction of the water pressure in the river Mandovi. This has led to the destruction of the catch of fish by the traditional fishing community from the village and has caused huge losses to their traditional business of fishing. The waste released by the casino-cum-luxury floating hotel Deltin Caravela in the river Mandovi will make fish, the staple diet of the people of Goa unfit for human consumption.
The pressure in the river caused by the frequent trips of the engine of the feeder boats which are used to ferry the customers to the casino-cum-luxury floating hotel Deltin Caravela from the jetty and back has caused huge financial losses to the traditional fishing community by destroying the fish eggs and killing the fish during the breeding season. If the casino-cum-luxury floating hotel Deltin Caravela is not removed from the fishing zone of river Mandovi, the families belonging to the traditional fishing community from Ribandar and the surrounding villages will die of hunger. The noise pollution created by the casino vessel also affects the beautiful local and migratory birds which have made Dr. Salim Ali bird sanctuary, an estuarine mangrove habitat at Chorao their home. There is a danger of the local youth getting attracted to gambling and other sinful bad habits.
When Matanhy Saldanha died, an influential citizen of our state shed tears at his funeral. He must remember that although Matanhy Saldanha belonged to the financially elite class, he always fought for the cause of the traditional fishermen of Goa. Matanhy Saldanha never compromised the interest of the poor and the traditional fishermen of Goa at the altar of the wealthy investors. When he fought to protect the interest of the traditional fishermen of Goa, he was scourged mercilessly. The stripes seen by me on Sir Matanhy Saldanha’s body symbolically remind me of the beautiful lines from the Holy Bible Mathew Chapter 25 verse 40 “I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, you did it for me”. In the last by-election to the Panaji constituency in February 2015, the people of Ribandar voted for Siddharth Kunkolienkar of the BJP. By immediately removing the casino cum luxury floating hotel Deltin Caravela from the fishing zone in the river Mandovi, the Government of Goa needs to fulfill its promises of “Ache din ayenge”. The former President of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln said, “Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.”
After joining the BJP, Matanhy Saldanha said, “It is better to live in hope than to die of fear”. But today, the traditional fishermen in my village lift their hands in prayer for the fulfillment of their aspirations and pray, “God, give us this day our daily bread.”
(The writer of this article Tennyson Xavier Fernandes is an executive member of the National Confederation of Human Rights Orgainisation, NCHRO Goa unit)
