Vivian D'Souza and Mario Fernandes are two persons I admire and hold in high esteem.
They have left behind their 'sussegad' life-style in the US and UK, respectively, to settle in our beloved Goa, at Soccoro and Divar. Day to day, they undergo the same trials and tribulations like any ordinary Goan brother and sister. So when they speak, I listen. To this short list I now add the name of Manuel Caldeira. This definitely shifts me out of the impartial category, so Vivian's initiative to seek an impartial assessment of of what he calls the 'Moira controversy' ( it is more of a personal vendetta ) is most welcome. To my dismay, I found that the deeper I dig, the murkier it becomes! The personal vendetta conducted by Matthew Mendes ( please note that I did not use the Prof. designation since he has no right to it, being only a 'mistry' ) and his wife, Jennifer Mendes, against Manuel Caldeira, is aided and abetted by none other than a certain politician from Saligao! The husband and wife "Moira Mafia" have been lodging a continuous string of complains to all and sundry, from the Village Sarpanch (who is Jennifer's personal friend) to the Police Dept., Health Dept., Electricity Dept., PWD, Sales Tax Dept., Handicrafts Dept., Pollution Control Board and even the Income Tax Dept., alleging a string of irregularities, from illegal construction, to water pollution, illegal use of power and water, evasion of sales tax and even illegal export of goods and evasion of income tax! My God, not even the Prime Minister of India's relative would have dared to accomplish such a handful of 'crimes', all at the same time! Any intelligent man, especially a Moidekar who is super intelligent ( my apologies to Floriano ), would know that a ceramic unit uses only wooden molds, clay and glazing powder as raw materials. The finished product is then baked in a gas-fired oven. So where is the scope for any type of pollution? The other materials used are wooden frames & stands. Ordinary carpentry machines are used for this purpose. So where is the scope for noise pollution? Even an ordinary grinder used by grill makers causes more noise! These spurious complains have been entertained by the government departments only because the Saligao politician has thrown his weight behind the Investment Agent from Moira. The politician has invested heavily through her and I would welcome a denial from him if Nazar da Silva would be good enough to forward this email to him. People who play with fire are bound to get their fingers burnt, and the Mendes' complaint to the Income Tax Dept. seems to have backfired. They were so incensed for being sent on a wild goose chase that they have initiated investigations on Jennifer Mendes' income tax assessment! Her earnings are reported to be in the 5 lakhs region and the IT Dept. are ascertaining if she has paid appropriate taxes. The pity of it all is that this personal vendetta is depriving 30 - 40 villagers from earning their livelihood at Manuel Caldeira's production unit. I hope Vivian makes it a point to talk to them, too. It is to Manuel Caldeira's credit that he has not responded in kind to all this harassment which is costing him dearly, but this Christian attitude has encouraged the Mendes' to carry on their vendetta relentlessly. Here's hoping that other "Returnees" will stand up and be counted. Olav Menezes On 4/22/06, Vivian D'Souza wrote: > > I read with interest, Floriano's and Olav's reports about the dificulties > that a Goan returnee from Canada has been having with his neighbors when > trying to run a ceramics business in Moira. _____________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
