Here's an impassioned, interesting and inspiring article that
appeared in today's *Herald* (Goa) penned by Samir Kelekar.
http://oheraldo.in/pagedetails.asp?nid=21357&cid=14
ALTERNATIVES TO MINING
By Samir Kelekar
It doesn’t need a rocket scientist or a Nobel Prize Winner to tell us that
mining is killing
Goa, and needs to be stopped. Mining is an environmental disaster. Yes, there
will be
some money, but only for the families involved in the mining business or the
truck
business.
It needs no repetition that Goa is a huge brand worldwide. It is a brand for
tourism, and
Goa is rated among the top five tourist destinations of the world. Mining not
only has
nothing to do with this, but mining is in fact out to finish off that brand.
The Western
Ghats adjoining Goa are also one of the 12 ecological hotspots of the world,
and mining
is once again out to destroy that status.
In today's globalised world, brands mean everything. In this article, I wish to
discuss how
we can capitalise on the Goa brand, instead of finishing off the Goa brand,
which mining
is bound to do.
Today, Goan ministers only think of selling Goan land. Again it needs no rocket
scientist
to tell us that once sold, the land is gone. Such a business is unsustainable.
Instead, here
are some sustainable businesses that can leverage on the Goan brand.
SALT PANS: A piece of land which is notified as a salt-pan, can be used to make
and sell
salt. A relative of mine makes Rs 10 lakh a year making and selling salt in
Goa. Sure, if
he sells the land now, he could get Rs 4 crore, but note that if he instead
makes salt, the
land remains his and its value keeps growing.
HYDROELECTRICITY: The country needs power, and that too in huge amounts. Every
year
during the summers, we see huge power cuts all over the country. Not only this,
but the
power shortage has given rise to the controversial 1-2-3 agreement, opening the
doors for
US nuclear power companies to come to India. Hydroelectric power based on small
dams
and not big ones is one of the environmentally cleanest sources of energy. It
is possible –
and this needs to be studied – that the slopes of the Western Ghats may be
ideal for
generating such power. Hydroelectric power can be a highly sustainable business.
HEALTH TOURISM: Health tourism and healthcare in general are picking up big
time in the
country. Goa, with its ideal tourist location, can combine tourism with
healthcare to offer
not just foreign tourists but even non-Goan Indian tourists a combined health
retreat-cum-
tourism experience.
CONFERENCE DESTINATION: Big companies already have huge conferences in Goa. A
year or two ago, Intel held its Asia Pacific retreat for managers in the Inter
Continental
Hotel at Canacona. A party of hundreds of managers was flown in from as far as
Hong
Kong for a week-long conference. I can imagine Goa becoming the conference
destination of the world. With discount air packages thrown it, it could also
be one of the
cheapest. This would definitely be a most sustainable business.
EDUCATION: Education in India is booming. Goa is an ideal destination for
colleges. One
caveat here, though: in Goa, ministers have the unique ability of turning every
business
into a land grab. So, I can see ministers salivating at the prospect of having
more colleges
in Goa. We already know with what eyes the government looks at the Goa
University
land. Wasn’t it offered to Wipro?
Let me emphasise here that large bits of land are no prerequisite for having a
world-class
university. Columbia University in the city of New York has only a 32-acre main
campus. More Nobel Prize winners are associated with this university than with
any other
university in the world. So, let us not fall for the argument that huge land is
needed for a
university or college.
FOOTBALL: Football runs in Goans' blood. Goa could be the center of football
for the
whole country. Highly sustainable businesses can be built up out of this.
Again, the
caveat is that this should not turn into a land grab. In Bangalore, I know at
least one
sports company that does not have a ground of its own. It keeps renting out
grounds as
and when it needs them.
HINTERLAND TOURISM: The opportunities here are endless. Right from trekking in
the
Sahyadris to bird watching trips to visiting the uniquely Goan Kulagars,
everything
would be sustainable. Tourists could be sold even demonstrations of traditional
skills
such as salt making, feni making or pottery. There is much to learn from the
West in this
regard. We go to the US and pay through our noses just to visit some
settlements of
American Indians, while here we sell our valuable heritage for a pittance.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: Today, in India, the information age is booming.
Everything
is moving to the Internet. My sister in Goa tells me that she bought a laptop
via the
Internet. Blue Dart courier delivered it at her door, and the pricing was very
reasonable.
Here in Bangalore, cakes are ordered over the Internet, and bills are also paid
in this
fashion. People use voice over IP (VOIP), a computer telephony technique, to
phone
people. There is no end to what one can do with computers, but someone is
needed to
develop the software. IT, a non-polluting industry, is ideal for Goa. The same
caveat
applies here too – this shouldn’t be used as a backdoor for land grab.
URRACK AND FENI: I was in Goa to cast my vote a few days ago. While returning to
Bangalore, I took with me a bottle of Goan urrack. As I sat sipping urrack with
a friend of
mine from Orissa, he said, "I feel as if I am in Goa." To me, urracks is no
less than
Bacardi or Mexican Tequila, which are worldwide brands.
Country liquor – and urrack is one such product – is banned in Karnataka, Andhra
Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. That is partly because here turpentine and suchlike
stuff is
mixed to make this cheap liquor and as a result hundreds die. Not so in Goa. I
haven’t
heard of a single death in Goa because of adulterated liquor. Still, tragically
the urrack
bottle that I bought can't be sold outside Goa. Why? The fact is Goan urrack
and Goan
feni will sell like hot cakes all over India.
Can our CM Digambar Kamat and the Karnataka CM Yediurappa not sign an MoU
where we can have Goa's urrack and other specialities being sold in Karnataka,
and do
the same for Karnataka specialities in Goa? For instance, as a quid pro quo,
some
Karnataka IT companies could get a better deal while starting their divisions
in Goa. It is
time we take the Goan brand of liquor outside Goa. For all you know, developing
such a
cordial relationship between the neighbouring states could even lay the
foundation for
solving the vexing Mhadei problem to the satisfaction of both parties.
I have mentioned a few alternatives to mining. I am sure there are many more.
All of
them are potentially money spinning and sustainable, and leverage on the Goan
brand
rather than destroying it. Are the powers that be or the mine owners willing to
listen?
(ENDS.)
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The above article appeared in the May 8, 2009 edition of the Herald, Goa
