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South Asian Film Festival in Goa from Fri (June 27) to Mon (June 30) At Kala Academy, and ESG, Panaji, Goa http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2008-June/076384.html --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Goanet Digest, Vol 3, Issue 781 essage: 5 Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:13:30 +0530 From: "Dr. U. G. Barad" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Goanet] Goa of Our Dreams: Living Within a China Wall To: <goanet@lists.goanet.org> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Message: 4 Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:56:56 +0400 From: Rocky <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Goanet] Goa of Our Dreams: Living Within a China Wall To: goanet@lists.goanet.org Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Subject: [Goanet] Goa of Our Dreams: Living Within a China Wall Response to Mr. Sinha I totally agree with Roque and Dr. U. G. Barad , The article of Mr. Sinha is really touching and thought provoking. It looks like we Goans don't know where we are heading, by opposing all mega housing projects and the mining activities. The end of his article has left me in a limbo, is he really showing us the directions or pulling our legs. First and foremost what is development ? A lot of mega housing projects ? Excessive mining at the cost of ecology and AMM ADMI ? Big polluting Industries which deplete the ozone layer even further or "unchecked" Tourism which leaves behind, drugs, prostitution and crime ? Do you want this for Goa Mr. Sinha ? Development at this cost is not what we want for Goa or what Goa needs. The development that we want is, in the basic requirement of the AMM ADMI, improved and good infrastructure, quality education, proper water and electricity for AMM ADMI, quality health services, preservation of our natural recourses, non polluting industries, good quality schemes for farms and farmers to enhance our agriculture, Controlling river and sea pollution, improving sewerage and garbage disposals and recycling technology, encouraging cottage industry, a stronger Panchayat Raj and the mother of all evils, eradicate corruption. Now let's take each of these in details, Infrastructure, do we have good enough roads and bridges in cities as well as villages for easy commuting or traveling which is very essential for development, at the moment the roads that we have in Goa are death traps, it should not be just the airport road, on which all the high and mighty travel and forget to see the rest, like our governments our bridges too don't seem to last long. Is this development ? Quality education, it is the quality of education that makes a person, our government boasts of above 80% literacy, are 80% Goans really literate ? Has anyone seen in what state, the government schools are run, the staff who have got jobs through "vasta", can they impart quality education ? People who have money run to schools run by private institutions in the cities, I am a resident of Nuem, Khola (Cabo-de-Rama), I remember during my school days, some of us who could afford would be in boarding school, Loyola, Fatima (Margoa), Guardian Angle (Sanvordem) or even Bardez and it's over thirty years since I passed my SSC and people from our area are still staying in Margao for want of quality education, is this the development, we have to show even after more then 45 years of liberation ? And this is just a small part of Goa. Water and electricity, In the case of water I do consider myself very fortunate as we have fresh water springs running 24 x 7 x 365 in our village, we also have a pipeline where the water is pumped to a tank and supplied to the entire village but this particular phenomena (pipeline water supply) is at the mercy of the electricity, no power no water in the pipes, which is more often then not, I have seen a lot of places where people keep their utensils (pots and bucket) in line at the public taps even in the cities, I have a flat in the city, where we have to store water in drums and use it sparingly to sustain, for a period of time, as I said before I am one of the lucky ones, some people have to wait for tankers to supply water even today, is this development ? Electricity, the less said, the better, in the villages it's worse, I know a lot of people who switch on their tube by 5.00 PM, because after six there in not enough power for the tube to come on, in our village we do not have electricity for days at a time, and still I call myself luck because some people are in a more precarious situation. Goa does not have power of it's own and have to depend on our good neighbors for it, is this development ? Quality health services, what is the state of our public health centers ? Do we see any qualified personnel or equipment, apt to handle emergency cases at these centers, I was present at a case where in a pregnant lady was taken to Bali Medical Centre for delivery as she was in labor, from where we were asked to take her to Margao, even after her water bag had burst and she delivered right there in the sumo on the way to Margao hospital, is this development ? No facilities even for a basic human requirement, a delivery, how many people do, actually come out alive from the public hospitals, the conditions in these hospitals actually contribute to the diseases spreading not only to the other recovering patient but even to the healthy visitors visiting these hospitals, as for me the very idea of visiting some one in these hospitals gives me the shivers. Preservation of our natural recourses, Oil is the most sought after natural resource, what does America do even in this crunch situation ? Does it go all out on it's output in Alaska and other oil fields ? No because they know that these resources will not last for eternity, where as our mining industry is going all out to empty it's resources like tomorrow will not exist. What's the forest department doing ? Most of the flora and fauna are disappearing and bald mountains have taken the landscapes, along with the trees, the wild life too is loosing out, excessive mining has badly hit our water resources as well, wells have either run dry or contaminated, silt deposited in rivers and fields, making the fields and other agricultural land impotent. Constant blasting has weakened the crust of the earth, what are we heading for ? Is this development ? Non polluting industries, and organic farming, does our government have a clue to what it is or how to source out these industries and how to encourage it ? Organic farming is a must these days, all over Europe and America, organic farming is "the" thing now a days, people are become more and more health conscious and their governments are helping and encouraging them with finance and technology. What's our Government done ? What special schemes has the government come up with to help farmers or to farm government land ? or is our government only interested in acquiring and giving land for mega housing projects ? Controlling river and sea pollution, improving sewerage and garbage disposals and recycling, in this modern day atmosphere, pollution in any form is a crime, but in Goa it's more of a every day phenomena, our rivers are full of waste material, garbage bins overflowing and garbage left all over the place, garbage dumps in close proximity with residential areas, it's just kept on dumping, no reprocessing, here in the UAE, garbage is recycled and use as fertilizers for all the plants and greens alike. We are fortunate to have the sea by our side but even that is not spared, you go to the numerous beaches in summer April, May what do you find, oil residues, petrochem byproducts and other hydrocarbons deposited and floating on the beaches in large quantities, affecting marine life, humans and animals as well, what's the government done to apprehend these culprits ? This has been going on for years, the untreated sewerage still flows into rivers, ponds and the sea, is this development ? A stronger Panchayat Raj for grass root development, prioritize Panchayat power and development, let the people decide the type of development they want in their villages and not leave it up to the whim's and fancies of a few 40 rogues who would sell even their women for commission. Last but not the least, get the mother of all evils "corruption" out of our system, educate the public about the RTI act and then implement and enforce it. After all this is taken care off then rest will fall in place by it's self. Mr. Sinha, like Roque mentioned burying your head under the Navhind Times owned by a mining magnet does not purify the ills of mining, if you have the guts say something about the ills of mining, we all agree that mining and tourism are the main source of income for the Goa government but at what cost ? If we get our basic infrastructure, health, water, electricity and a greener Goa in order that will be development and tourism will flourish by it's self, without any of these, all mega housing or tourism projects will only be a burden on Goa and Goans, let the government get the priorities right first. Tourism and mega housing without getting all these above in place is like having a party of 500 in a one room apartment with just one toilet, get the message Mr. Sinha ? Mr. Sinha, is this vision good for Goa ? I can assure you that, even after all this people will fly to greener pastures that's basic human tendency, like you came to Goa from your native place, a number of years back !!!!! VIVA GOA. Freddy Agnelo Fernandes D G Jones International Ltd. Dubai Mall - Project P.O. Box 62256 Dubai United Arab Emirates Tel : 00971 4 4073599 Mob : 00971 50 541 7001 -------------------------------------------------------- The content of this electronic communication is intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom it is addressed and any others who are specifically authorized to receive it. It may contain confidential or legally privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or otherwise placing reliance on the contents of this information is prohibited and may be unlawful in certain legal jurisdictions. 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