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| Wishing all Goanetters |
| a Prosperous |
| and |
| Happy New Year - 2006 |
| Goanet - http://www.goanet.org |
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HEART TO HEART ( Dec 25)
By Ethel Da Costa
Together for a `Garbage Free' Panjim
Dear Santa,
My girls have been complaining that friends at school have been weaving
theories to them of your non-existence and that you fell down the chimney
and broke your neck! I'm horrified. I've made the right attempts at
maintaining the right, serious expressions at dinner to express my shock at
these 'false rumours' of your death. And I've worked bloody hard and extra
this Christmas just to prove the point to them that you're alive and
kicking. So, I'm adding my wish list too to your never ending legacy. In
all sincerity and concern, I hope you will not disappoint me.
I've worked hard not to burden you this year with a request for a pair of
Chanel shoes. Especially when I know not what I'm stepping onto these days,
with the landfill site choking to its brim and the citizens of Panjim and
Taleigao finding shortcuts with their waste into the neighbour's backyard,
field, pathway and footpath. The horror of confronting human body waste
every step of our way on a site inspection behind the PWD Sewage Office,
Tonca, and the unbearable stench that can gag sensitive stomachs and
sensibilities still remains freshly imprinted on my mind. It's a horror
story I've confronted. I shudder to think of Curca. But Panjim is sitting
on the verge of turning into a garbage dumpsite too, and it's all because
people have forgotten how to minimize their waste and educate themselves on
how not to use plastic for disposing bio-degradable waste; how not to use
plastic at all and live healthy. It's un-cool. And it's turning my stomach
at all the unpleasant sights and smells that greet us, as we scout for
another landfill to cope with the pressures of a city struggling with
unscrupulous builders (who have turned into voracious land sharks) without
thought or concern for making arrangements in their colonies for composting
stations. Nallahs, drains and riverbeds choking with plastic waste, even as
we add more without a thought that we're killing our planet with our
ignorance and lethargy. For turning a blind eye to politicians, panchayats,
sarpanchs, MLAs and ministers and other twits who have lop-sided priorities
when it comes to planning garbage management plans. Citizens who waste
hours of precious time gossiping about the neighbour's daughter, son,
daughter-in-law and single girl, but don't think it necessary to educate
their peers on waste segregation, safe disposal and ban on plastic. NGOs
who beat their chests at a public meeting and then lose steam when it comes
to the crux of fighting out a corrupt politician in their taluka, who does
not care where you dump your garbage as long as it's not his compound.
We're rocketing into a 'plastics only' 21st century. We're all going to die
choking on plastic as it gags our existence with dependency.
But not me, Santa. I've declared a ban on plastic in my home. And I've been
telling off the shopkeeper, book house and designer who has been thrusting
plastic into my life and into my home, that I don't want their trash. It's
time we form human chains of information, awareness and education with our
involvement and commitment towards keeping our spaces plastic and garbage
free by not adding to the menace; by involving heads of schools and
colleges to educate their students about waste management and segregation;
by accepting responsibility towards non-generation of non-biodegradable
waste; by being community partners and spreading the good word that the
solution to reducing waste is by encouraging the growth of more composting
stations. We're determined to do it for Panjim. And we're committed that we
will succeed. Let's work together for our city. Let Panjim set the right
example (for Margao, Vasco, Mapusa, Calangute, Candolim, Baga) as a city
that makes us proud we belong to her. It's time to reclaim our villages
too. Because there's no power greater than community power to turn
wastelands into fields of gold. Do it with pride! Do it because we care
what happens to our environment. Do it because we want our children to live
safe lives. Do it because we want our fields and mountains to grow green
again. Do it because we want Goa to be a model State, who does not brush
her garbage under the carpet while forgetting that out of sight may not
necessarily mean free of stench. Do it because the only answer to survival
is through self empowerment.
My girls have sent out their Santa lists. And it's another Christmas of
love and belief. Thank You Santa for keeping those sleigh bells ringing.
Merry Christmas!
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| Goa - 2005 Santosh Trophy Champions |
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| Support Soccer Activities at the grassroots in our villages |
| Vacationing in Goa this year-end - Carry and distribute Soccer Balls |
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