Totally agree W Sent from my iPad Pro
www.wendellrodricks.com Address: Wendell Rodricks, Campal, Panjim, Goa. 403001. INDIA Off: +91-832-2420604 Shop:+91-832-2238177 E-retail: wendellrodricks.com > On 09-Apr-2019, at 12:16 PM, Goanet Reader <goanetrea...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Miramar beach is no place for another samadhi > > The urban beach falls in the no > development zone. A far better > tribute to Parrikar would be to > restore the entire stretch of > beach to its former pristine glory > > Devika Sequeira > devikaseque...@gmail.com > > A memorial for the late chief minister Manohar Parrikar is > proposed on Miramar beach, adjacent to the Dayanand Bandodkar > samadhi. The decision was the very first announcement made by > the new Chief Minister Pramod Sawant. No public feedback was > sought, nor was an opinion expressed by other members of the > current ruling co-operative -- among them Goa Forward and > independents -- though such a construction would be in > violation of the Coastal Regulation Zone laws. > > Already a large section of the beach at the site where the > late BJP leader was cremated has been sectioned off from > public view by a high wall of metal sheets. > > Parrikar is only the second chief minister after > Bandodkar to die in office. Unlike the BJP leader > who spent months battling cancer, Bandodkar's > life was cut short at the peak of his political > orbit by a sudden heart attack. Strangely, both > passed away at similar ages: Bandodkar at 62, > Parrikar at little over 63 years. There was an > outpouring of people from the remotest villages > in Goa for the Bandodkar funeral in August of > 1973. Just three years later, the Bandodkar > family would be struck by another personal > tragedy when the MGP leader's son Siddarth died > from a gunshot injury. His cremation which also > attracted huge crowds took place at the family's > property at Dona Paula. > > Closer to the sea at Miramar, a small marble memorial was > built more than half a century ago in memory of Mulk Raj > Sachdev who died when he was lieutenant governor here in > 1964. > > A monument to Parrikar at Miramar might seem but a natural > postscript to his cremation there. The existence of another > samadhi also makes for a reasonable argument of precedent, > except that the structure dedicated to Bandodkar came up 45 > years ago, long before the Coastal Regulation Zone law came > to be conceived. In fact as recently as 2015 a move by the > city's municipal corporation to restore the decrepit > children's park on the beach was turned down because of the > prevailing CRZ rules. > > Miramar comes under CRZ III and the beach is a no > development zone. Those conversant with environment > regulations confirm this. "Structures are permitted > on the landward side of the road, but nothing on > the beach side," an environmentalist affirms. A > relevant clause permitting memorials is found only > in areas marked CRZ IV -- that is in the water. > That too, "in exceptional cases", the rules say, > "with adequate environmental safeguards". > > This clause is believed to have been tweaked by the union > environment ministry to specifically accommodate the > extravagant Rs 2,500 crore Shivaji statue which is to come up > in the sea off the coast of Mumbai near Nariman Point. Pegged > as the world's tallest statue, the project has already run > into a storm over major technical flaws and safety issues. > > Let me go back to 2001, when Manohar Parrikar was confronted > with one of his first big challenges as chief minister in his > first term. His move to set up a Miramar beach management > plan, seen as an attempt to privatize the urban beach, came > up against strong resistance from the city's residents. After > a lot of back and forth, the government appointed a one-man > committee to conduct a public hearing and weigh the plan > against citizens' objections. Though Parrikar was personally > keen on the project he graciously accepted the recommendation > of the Nandkumar M Kamat committee to reject the plan. > > "Miramar beach cannot be equated with any other beach in > Goa... People unequivocally consider Miramar beach as a > special case, a unique beach, so far left intact as a > valuable public asset, public commons unlike other beaches in > Goa which are already congested and commercialized. People > are vehemently opposed to any regulation or restriction on > access to the beach but welcome notified free access points > so as not to disturb the dune flora," the report said, adding > that "People would not support any constructions on the beach > side or landscaping on sand dunes or restricting fishing > activity or promoting any water sports activity". > > So unusual was the concept of community participation in > decision making that the committee even chose to dedicate the > report to "the ecosystem, people of Goa, the fisherpeople in > particular and to Shri Manohar Parrikar, the man who launched > a novel and historic experiment in participatory governance > through this exercise of non-statutory public hearing and set > up a trend in India". > > To labour the point a bit, among the many voices to > oppose the city beach project was the former BJP > minister Matanhy Saldanha. Any future plans for the > "beautification" and "management" of Miramar beach > would do well to go back to the well-studied and > objective recommendations of the Kamat report. > > There's little doubt that the former defence minister was a > much-admired leader deserving of a memorial that reflects his > contribution to this state. So were many others who played > significant roles in the freedom movement and the Opinion > Poll which shaped Goa's political identity. But the beach is > no place for monuments and memorials. It could well set a > precedent for similar demands in the future, on other beaches > as well. With so many competing political narratives, where > would it end? > > The selection of a site and design for a public memorial to > Parrikar should not be governed by cloying sentimentality of > the kind displayed by Sawant who began his first day in the > chief minister's office with a portrait of Parrikar propped > upon the chair beside him. > > A far greater tribute to the former defence minister would be > to clean up the whole stretch of beach -- parts of which are > unbelievably dirty—and restore it to its former pristine state. > > -- > The writer is a senior journalist > This article appeared in the Herald, April 3, 2019 > Send your feedback and discuss the issue via > goa...@goanet.org