-------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Add your name to the CLEAN GOA INITIATIVE | | | | by visiting this link and following the instructions therein | | | | http://shire.symonds.net/pipermail/goanet/2005-October/033926.html | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I was happy when Margaret, a dear friend and eminent writer, contacted me about the Clean Goa Initiative, and the morcha that would take place from the Panjim Church to the Mermaid Garden, followed by a public meeting, where several well-known speakers and activists would deliver speeches.
I and some of my friends went all the way from Margao and felt happy to lend our support to the initiative. That it was a gathering of elite or intellectuals without mass support it doesn't matter. What is more important is that these eminent people who could have been sitting at home and basking in their glory showed that they are ever ready to prove they are people with a heart, who will refuse to keep silent when Goa bleeds - Goa indeed sits on a time bomb, an epidemic like it happened at Surat looms large in the horizon. There is no room for public Carnivals and tamashas. It is time to pause, ponder, and to act in order to save the Goan paradise from becoming a "land of ghosts". Dr. Francisco Colaco, MD Margao. Goa. ==================================================== Some insights and comments (I am not a journalist or writer, please note and forgive the lapses), about the speeches that found less space in the media:- 3. SANJIT gave a very touching speech, told how everyone from the Municipality works overtime, to clear our mess, how he conducts meetings at various spots and Cooperative societies but the citizens, according to him, lack basic civic sense, leave alone the moral sense of doing the elementary. 40 of the 50 % of non-biodegradable waste are plastic and it is here more than elsewhere that there lies the rub. He gave beautiful statistics, but placed the responsibility squarely on the citizen. He evinced fury and helplessness when in the morning they all clear everything and in the evening the same type of garbage is strewn all over again. He deprecated the tendency of citizens to shut door on the face of municipal workers who come either to collect or to explain. He even brought special temper-free bins with covers from Gujarat,accordinging to him, but there are few takers. He placed himself on that day, rightly or wrongly, as the HERO and the MARTYR. Credit to Sanjit, nevertheless, for having made it to the venue. 4. CLAUDE spoke very well and in a very sober tone, with an air of humility all around him and therefore he sounded all the more convincing, sincere and honest. He stressed all he is doing for so many years and all was well taken by the audience. His credentials are well known to all. Noteworthy was what he said about Costa & Co. of Margao, the great industrialists with a heart. (I must say, departing from the issue, that it may be mentioned, that Dr. Ivo Azaredo, from Vinicola/Costa and Co. does a lot of charity without putting up any airs. It is all silent and many times goes unrecognised. He is one Maddganvkar that away from his profession has proved his mettle, and for sure is going to leave a legacy to the posterity). But, what was noteworthy was that his son Baba (junior Ivo) who also is known for his largesse and philantropy,took part in the morcha. This was unprecedented as businessmen only sit on the fence. Obviously Claude must have done miracles at his factory with EMs (essential microorganism) treatment. 5. OSCAR with his usual verve, mannerism and style gave a fiery speech (Margaret Mascarenhas called it a jazzy speech). He was well prepared and did not stammer or fight for breath even once. He confessed he has no first-hand experience, his is an Internet- kind of knowledge and advice, and gave well-intentioned suggestions. He did not touch upon the problem of incinerators, common agency for disposal with pooled resources for small nursing homes, etc.obviously because time was short. Oscar cleverly deviating from the point had a dig at the politicians and stressed on 2 lasting images that ought to be ingrained in peoples minds. There are four categories of people he said: a) Evil people, with good solutions. b) Evil people with bad solutions. c) Good people with bad solutions. d) Good people with good solutions (e.g., Margaret, Claude, Wendell). OSCAR said We must wage a W-A-R -WILL ACTION - RESOLVE/REFUSAL. RESOLVE to do what is good and REFUSAL to accept what is imposed by the corrupt politician AND IS SIMPLY NOT ACCEPTABLE TO US. 6. SANDESH PRABHUDESSAI, Sunaparant's editor, ex=students'Union Leader, in his revolutionary and fiery style criticized all including those like himself of media. He passed tangents at Sanjits remarks : If people close doors to Municipal workers, it is because they dont know how to talk and how to carry the message across to the citizens. Let them learn to be well-mannered, he said. To the media We are the greatest producers of garbage: What is reading material today is tomorrows garbage. To the politicians, Claude Alvares solution to the garbage problem that involves just 90 lacks is unacceptable to the politicians because 5 % kickback of 90 lakhs means nothing to them. They want 90 crores solutions, as proposed by Joaquim Alemao, because 5 % now becomes an attractive amount. 7. Finally, pointedly with a wry sense of humour SANDESH said: One of the speakers today mentioned, I am happy that today there is a large crowd. But I say, he corrected, This is hardly any crowd to boast of, and I am truly ashamed, he added. Sandesh further remarked, Immediately we can make out that what we see today is a gathering of the 5 % of people of Goa (élite and English- speaking people). What about the 95 % who only speak and understand Konkanni? Who will carry the message to them?. ==================================================== Kudos to Wendell, Margaret and Ethel though for their brave efforts to set the ball rolling. Dr. Francisco Colaco Margao. Goa __________________________________ Yahoo! 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