he bugle for the elections to the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) has been sounded. For us, the citizens of the devastated capital of Panjim, these elections seem to be a bitter cry for survival amidst growing ruins and despair. Almost all those elected have deceived the voters for the last 30 years and more. The majority of the Mayors of Panjim have been turncoats at one time or other. Interestingly, those candidates blessed by the Congress to date have conveniently switched sides without batting eyelids.
Sadly, most candidates strongly blessed and supported by the Congress, a number of times, over the last three decades have transformed themselves as faithful bhakts of the saffron brigade leaving the minorities in Goa high and dry, all in the pseudo garb of development. We as citizens of Panjim, continue to wail and ail as we see both, betrayal of the voters and the utter degradation of our heritage.
For me, the Corporation elections are a farce, as a resident of Ward 27, with all my neighbours enlisted therein, I have been shunted exclusively in Ward 24, which is over a kilometre outside my jurisdiction from CoP jetty where I reside to St Inez, and being a senior citizen, both challenging and meaningless as I would expect my candidate based in St Inez and primarily chosen to serve that ward to look after a lone resident living under the menacing threats and challenges of the casino industry which is a huge nuisance operating nocturnal offshore gambling, open free parking in no parking zone near residential houses, street brawls and loud noise. The MLA of Panjim has asserted that Ward 27 is in chaos because police are not doing the job but he forgets conveniently that the government as well as the State Election Commission have failed the voters miserably. This time around, the delimitation activity was a total farce and a glaring example of manipulation of voters. All round family members from one household were haphazardly distributed into two to three wards without social and scientific justification.
To add a nail to the coffin of woes, the residents of the newly carved 27 have been reserved for women, for the last 15 years and what is silly is the residents of coastal Panjim that are today facing nocturnal challenges and have to depend on women corporators to address the daily challenges by night as policing at night is a non-starter, the corporators and municipal administrators find it convenient to blame the government or vice versa and quality of life after CCP election would be the same. Deterioration of Panjim ambience continues unabated, and murders of senior citizens in festering Panjim is a possibility, as we see this menace growing security for senior citizens and quality of life is abysmally low with poor parks, pavements, stinking river, St Inez Creek and traffic chaos and criminals looming all around.
As I pensively sit to pen down this piece, the reality staring at Panjim and Panjimites seem that once again there are greater chances for us to be cheated in the name of ‘development and protection of our economy’. Panjimites must realise that healthy society makes it wealthy too and not the other way around. Political parties across ideological confines are promising us ‘Acche din’. It is disgusting to note that the cure suggested by political formations in Goa is far worse than the disease of destruction we see all around us with poor quality of our lives. The casino culture has made the residents of Panjim morbid. For the last 20 years, Panjim is reeling and raging under mounting pollution of our atmosphere, sewage releases in River Mandovi, garbage woes, traffic chaos, communal divide and exploitation on pseudo religious sentimentalism; with the silencing of the lambs in Panjim. We have been promised 24x7x365 water supply but in Central Panjim, taps are dry almost 3 days a week with a low water pressure.
There are two major groups up in arms against one another. There is the Atanasio Monserrate headed panel and the Ami Ponjekar of the United Citizen knitted opposition, against the 15-year rule of the current Panjim MLA. With neo saffronites arrogating the lotus symbol, the original loyalists of BJP are tacitly up in arms against the saffron party being hijacked by opportunism. Thus there are very many BJP loyalists working and standing against the neo turn coats under the umbrella of the present MLA of Panjim.
For us the Panjimities, we are at sixes and seven, as the scenario is intriguing and very complex. The conglomerate of AAP, are hand in hand along with the traditional BJP loyalists to pin down the neo saffronites. However, many nominated by the Congress and used Congress party as a pay toilet – use it and discard.
Congress is in shambles today and Panjimites absolutely wary of the true intentions of the Congress leadership. Some local Congressmen are unwittingly playing to the tune of BJP by eating into the votes of the opposition by fielding opportunistic elements as Congress candidates, lowering thus the index of opposition unity in the We Ponjekar panel.
As such in Panjim the scenario is abundantly clear. It is BJP versus a civil society opposition. The Congress in Panjim seems to be running with the hare and hunting with the hound. Sadly, we voters being left confused and in dismay. The Panjim Congress is not performing as a principled opposition party, as a result the cream of the Congress has abandoned the party. The situation is so grim and scary for the voters, that parasites are using the age old party and cultivating vested interests at the cost of credibility of the grand old party. No doubt, the 13 defectors into BJP from the Congress have asserted in the Supreme Court that there is no Congress in Goa and the opposition is just symbolic. The voters of Panjim are sceptical as they are totally at sea as to how the elected member from the opposition panel would behave even after we have voted against the BJP but same candidate will jump into BJP after getting elected on a Congress or other opposition parties.
The casinos have utterly destroyed lives and livelihoods of Panjim residents. Our garbage woes are at an all time high. The Captain of Ports has polluted the River Mandovi with trawlers, cruise boats, casino and feeder boats, and luxury yachts. By declaring Panjim as a port, the city of Panjim is in chaos, traffic woes have increased and the sewage from casinos not only polluting our rivers and destroying fisheries, but our iconic St Inez creek is today a sewer sublime, as hundreds of sewage tankers are dumping the waste into the creek via the cover burden and fatigued sewage treatment plant at Tonca.
The planning and parking of vehicles in Panjim is haphazard and laden with acute corruption. The parking scam, the market scam, the house tax fiascos has made the income generated by CCP a leaky resource. The ghost workers scam is still a reality and a means to siphon the CCP exchequer. No doubt, we hardly have seen any aspirant to the CCP in the coming election present for the CZMA public hearing to present the Panjim woes. The builders and the casino lobby seem to score by ensuring that constructions grow in the River Mandovi and the casino menace perpetuate. Panjimites in slumber even during the election season, is a sad reality.
Will we throw up good city fathers to our corporations and municipalities, only time will answer.
