To Goanet - I reckon that what Dean D'Cruz really has an issue with is the sunshine directed at the architect community. So he labels it slander. Let me tell D'Cruz what slander looks like. Slander is when F Noronha attempts to smear a distinguished Goan scientist based in the USA and cast him as a communal bigot. Slander is when a GBA coward hides behind a fake ID on Goanet and throws muck on folks like Claude Alvares without a shred of evidence to back up his claims. (This fellow was swiftly introduced to sunshine.) Slander is when some GBA members (and the omnipresent F Noronha) fabricate malicious gossip that Soter & I are recipients of backdoor funding from BJP/Manohar Parrikar or that we are working at their behest. I could go on, but I trust that Dean-bab gets the idea.
It is okay to call into question the professional activities of an architect/builder/civil engineer that are a matter of public record for they are part of the very industry that has upended our erstwhile paradise. Given Goa's advanced state of ruin we can no longer make a distinction between "good builders" and "bad builders" any more than we can draw a distinction between "good miners" and "bad miners." These cartels have destroyed the land, its culture, its life. The miners, builders, architects, contractors, politicos are all supping from the same fetid pool. Then there is the other point: the Save Goa poseurs have been shown to be deceitful. Case in point, the footsie-dancing ex-convenor of GBA who told Goans one thing in public while cozying up to Digu's govt behind closed doors. Soter and I were both right on that call. D'Cruz and his cohorts have put on this "Save Goa" schtick for over 3 years now and what do they have to show for it? Bupkiss. Nada. Even after this epic flop, they want no accountability, no questions asked. Some conceit, eh? Anyone claiming to be a Save Goa warrior while concurrently breaking bread with the "villains" deserves to be challenged. Especially if the claimant has wangled the perfect trifecta - a seat on govt bodies involved in policy making, a seat in the now discredited GBA swamp, and a home within the very industry responsible for Goa's destruction. These fellows use the cover of activism to get a seat at the policy making table to protect their own interests, but when anyone raises concerns they are quick to shout slander. Now, of course, it is a free country, and people are entirely free to ply their trade in any way they deem fit - that is their prerogative. What they cannot do is play on both the teams and then expect the rest of us to hold our peace. Regards, r