Goa, a jewel on India's crown as it was known, was blessed with beautiful pristine beaches on it's west coast and high range of mountains called the western Ghats on it's eastern border, full of diversely rich forms of flora and fauna for it's crown, along with different species of wild life as it's inhabitants and rich varieties of ore for her underbelly. The very geographical location had made Goa a paradise, call it the Maker's or Nature's generous gift to the people of Goa.
The first chapter in Economics tells us that, our wants are unlimited and the truth is, they are insatiable too, and in the quest to be the masters of commerce and economics, greed evolved as the worst evil, that has taken over in totality the human mind, body, heart and soul. As vision is blurred by greed, people fail to see the long term disasters that await them, in their pursuit for short term gains. Goa is the prime example of this great folly.We have heard the moralist story of the goose that laid the golden eggs, umpteen number of times since we were kids, yet we fail to learn the ethical moral of the story, when faced with reality. It's not just a story for building up morals in kids, but also for grown up adults, not to fall prey to glandular greed.
Today, Tourism is the bread and butter of most Asian developing countries, each competing with the other to get the lager slice of the tourism pie. Goa was struck by the hippy culture which started off on it's pristine beaches way back in the late sixties, and thus spread the word of the new found jewel to the outside world, Goa, in it's virginity was a sight for sore eyes, tourists then flocked to see this new found paradise on earth, and over the years the word of Goa's serene scenic beauty spread like wild fire and thus Goa was posted as the top destination in world Tourism.
Tourist were attracted to the natural beauty of Goa, mountains full of trees, fields lush and green, springs, rivers, lakes and most of all the endless clean pristine beaches, the generosity, simplicity and the good will of Goans added to the flavour, more than making up for the lack of basic infrastructure that the western world was used to, but they still made a bee line, over and over again and still they couldn't get it out of their system.Now with the ever increase in tourism, the seeds of evil greed were sown, politicians and bureaucrats forgot their promises to work for the good of man and sold their souls to the devil, looking for ways and means, more foul than fair to enrich themselves, using the clout of their political power and position, taking optimum advantage of gullible Goans. Preservation of our natural beauty to enhance tourism was forgotten and corruption flourished and became the 'modus oparandi', the name of the game. Land being acquired and sold to the highest bidder and unwarranted development in the form of mega housing, putting more pressure on the already weak over burdened infrastructure, destroying our hills, fields and plains started the rape of virgin Goa.
With increase in tourism, criminal activities too increased, drug trade at it's highest, murders and rapes everyday occurrences, gambling and prostitution flourishing, our corrupt politicians and police patronizing criminals for their share of the spoils, our pristine beaches littered with waste, shacks and beds, some areas even cordoned off by elite mafisos. The maiden has indeed lost her most precious virtue, she has been violated. Goa is no more virgin.
The lives of coastal Goans have become a living hell, as basic amenities are atrocious and prices of land, housing units and durable commodities rising steeply, law and order situation are at it's worst and to add to all their woes, the mother of all woes CRZ has come in furry destroying the homes and devastating the lives of poor Goans. How will the poor coastal Goans survive? Or will they have to move to the cities to survive, creating a vacuum in coastal Goa ? Why do they have to pay the price for the greed of some men in the name of commerce and economics?
Mining has no doubt contributed a great deal to the coffers of the Goa Government, initially even the limited form of mining had an adverse effect on ecology and the water bodies, but not to a great extent. Now with wealth dangling in front of our noses, overtaken by greed, we have gone full throttle, shredding the underbelly, least interested in the devastation and havoc caused to the crowning glory of the western Ghats, displacing it's very inhabitants, the wild life and destroying the water bodies, a life line to the very existence of human and wild life.
The rural villages where rampant mining is carried out, have had to bear the worst atrocities, air pollution being on the high, not only most of their houses are covered in dust but they also have to breathe in the dust, causing health problems. The field which the people of these areas lived on, were rich and fertile, today they remain barren and scorched, covered by the rejects and the unfertile dust of mining. Their wells, ponds, springs and streams have gone dry over the years. Police and politicians have become puppets of the mining barons intimidating and harassing the locals who are fighting for their right to survive. How will these people survive in their villages? Or will they have to move to the cities to survive creating a vacuum in rural Goa? Why do they have to pay the price for the greed of some men in the name of commerce and economics?
The cities too are congested and polluted with the infrastructure crumbling, sewage overflowing, garbage becoming a monstrous issue with no solution in sight, traffic ever increasing, parking vastly inadequate and unplanned, taps more often dry, than running, bulbs and tubes more often off, than lit, life in urban Goa, is already mired in misery, so how will rural and coastal Goa survive in urban Goa? More importantly will Goa survive?
Mining and tourism are the main sources of income for the Goa government, but at what cost ? When nature is destroyed the ambience changes and this in turn, can lead to a catastrophe, as we all saw in the case of floods at Canacona. The fury of nature is what man has failed to conquer. To survive we have to respect nature and live in ambience with nature.We blame the politicians for all the ills in Goa and it's true, they are the culprits, they are the traitors, they are the rapists, but the million dollar question is, WHO ELECTED THEM? The enemy is within, we need not go far in our search, it's each one of us contributing to the rape of our beloved Goa by our inaction, doing nothing, to right, the wrong we did in electing the corrupt, the selfish and the heartless, we are our own worst enemies. We need to get our priorities right and elect good people, with ethics, honest, hardworking and with true love for Goa in their hearts, to run Goa. This is the only choice we have. Are there any takers?
Freddy Agnelo Fernandes
Dubai/Nuem, Canacona
Jan 28, 2010
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gulf-goans/message/28065
www.goa-world.com
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