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Vote bank politics to blame for Goa tragedy Wednesday July 27 2005 00:00 IST PANAJI: The death toll in the landslides caused by torrential rain and subsequent floods at Dicarpale in south Goa has reached 11, leading to calls for a post-mortem into the tragedy. However, South Goa Collector and District Magistrate J B Singh has said: "The need of the hour is obviously to provide relief and prevent further such occurrences. Therefore I do not believe that investigation into the cause of the tragedy is needed for now." Even so, there are few doubts that government negligence, the contractor lobby and vote bank politics is responsible for the tragedy. The victims were all migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh living on a hillock close to a quarry which was reportedly abandoned more than a decade ago. Neighbours who tried to help the workers have said the local fire services department and police dragged their feet during the crisis. However, timely help was provided by Armymen from the Signal Training Centre camp at nearby Ravonfond. The thriving real estate market in the state is being sustained by the non-Goan migrant population. Absence of housing for these labourers has led to the creation of many slums which have developed into vote banks for local politicians. Local authorities have failed to demolish these illegal constructions due to the interference of MLAs who see the slums as vote banks. A hillock in Margao, which borders Dicarpale, has been converted into a fully empowered slum and is known to be under the protection of the local MLA. There is a big slum near the domestic airport as well. There are several Uttar Bharatiya "welfare" associations in Goa, which make their presence felt during elections, but they were not to be seen during the recent landslide and floods.