(24 Dec ’06)
Few weeks ago, I wrote
on the environmental problems Goa was likely to face. An unknown (wrote under a
pseudonym) person responded and said ‘Goa hasn’t changed for 20 years’. Was
this person unseeing or with frozen memory/intellect I wondered. Just
Taleigaon, near Panjim, is unrecognizable from what it was a mere five years
back. Panjim, that pretty Portuguese town, should never have had ‘new’
architecture, office complexes, or traffic jams. That’s bad management. Talk of
population, crime, deforestation, water shortages, Goa’s seen many, many
changes in 20 years. Really wonder what made that reader write that sentence.
The gathering at the
Azad Maidan on Monday has assured me that the people here are concerned about
the future of the state even though the politicians aren’t. How could a reader
with no contacts or influence, do his/her bit?
Firstly, by wanting to
know just what the government is up to. Read the papers thoroughly and
question, question, question everything that’s happening around. Why’s this
road being built? Is it really benefiting the village or the MLA? Who’s cutting
this tree? Who benefits? How long will it take for another to grow? Who will
plant it? Where will I get shade from? Why are certain kinds of fruit no longer
available? Why am I paying so much for local produce? From these simple
questions others will arise: Is my village really being sold for a song? Are
builders really concerned about what happens to the fields here? The forests?
Does the government ‘own’ the land it wants to ‘control’? Does control mean
converting good, healthy, land into concrete ugliness? What will happen to this
land when I’m old? By the time my children are grown? Are communidade
properties mine? My village’s? My ancestors’? Who has the right to sell them?
Can they be sold at all? Who is benefitting from all this?
All right, I’m a
pessimist. I believe that things are going wrong. I believe that Goans aren’t
doing enough. I’m sure we’re messing things up for ourselves, our children. I’m
certain that the tourists are going to dry up because we haven’t given a
thought to why they come here to begin with: the clean, green landscape, the
unique flora and fauna, the gentle culture (sigh, no longer so—told you I’ve
become pessimistic). I’d love to be proved wrong.
Go on, challenge your
local politician and find out what he’s upto. Ask the government to SHOW its
plans for YOUR state. This is your home, protect it, cherish it and don’t
things happen unchallenged. There are some who believe all mankind is made of
good people. I don’t agree. There are greedy snatchers who can ruin the rest of
us if we’re not careful. And Gandhi had said, “It’s not enough to be good, one
must also be careful.” Let’s check out the old man’s philosophy, it’s the only
way to SAVE GOA. We’re running out of time. We don’t need MORE technology
parks, golf courses, five star hotels. We do need leaders who care. More
importantly, we need people who will fight for what’s right. What can you do?
For a beginning, when
you give a Christmas gift this year, make sure it’s a living plant. When
someone comments on it, tell them your concerns. Tell them Goa’s forests are
under threat, that Goa’s wealth lies in them and in its greenery. Spread the
good word. This is the season for it.
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