Mr Pereira,
More democracy in Goa?! No! theres is no democracy in Goa. Give me a
break!!!
Democracy is more than corrupt politicians sorting out traffic incidents
of "their own voters" , with money "from their own pockets" that in any
case have been filled with bribes from their own voters and other
people's voters and much corruption and extortion - that is why these
politicians in Goa are all so wealthy, and wealth that has certainly not
come as result of hard honest work, nor from their salaries as MLA and
Ministers of Goa government.... and this is common knowledge.
A Minister is voted to look after the interests of all citizens and not
just that of their own "voters" - that is democracy.
Corruption seems to be in the DNA of Goa government and administration.
Unfortunately corruption has been taken for granted, and I feel is
now part of the local culture and it seems that more and more people
can no longer distinguish between right and wrong, rule of law and
democracy and total shambles .
The CM , Churchill Alemao and Babush and all the rest of them will of
course promise heaven and earth to protesters to shut them up,
especially as elections approach..... Promises are just promises. There
is a big difference between sorting out the power supply one night in
some corner of Goa, or sending a bus to collect stranded passengers -
there is a difference between that and real governance like stopping all
the illegal mining in Goa, or scrapping grandiose plans imposed by the
mining lobby, or stopping the builders from ruining Goa, or cleaning up
the increadible and growing garbage problem, shortage of water,
destruction of agriculture and a long rosary of other important issues
in Goa.
No Mr Pereira, what you describe is not democracy, but just pure
hipocrisy and distraction from real serious issues in Goa.
Yes there is the beginning of civil unrest in Goa, and I hope soon will
develop into popular action like in Tunisia and Egypt.
Finally more and more people are beginning to wake up and are up in arms
fighting for justice, fighting against illegal plans in their villages
and towns, and trying to protect what is left of Goa from being sold
out, destroyed and devastated by ill conceived projects. If they
eventually begin to win their battles, and see some concrete measures
and actions, then yes, there will be a beginning of democracy in Goa.
Carmen Miranda
Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2011 10:30:56 +0000
From: Mauricio Pereira
People's power is true democracy. And the voter is king. For the couple
of months that I have seen in Goa, and from interactions with activists
and urban villagers, Goans stand apart. Their sentiments are very
strong. They have a say in the way they are governed. And their
political leaders bow to them. There have been many instances to support
this argument.
The latest is the protests of the Curchorem residents led by Ghanv
Rakhon Jagrut Manch marching to chief minister Digambar Kamat's
residence in Margao demanding the scrapping of the proposal to expand
the highway that connects the mining belt to Mormugao port to four-lane
for transportation of iron ore, mainly being exported to Japan and
China. The state highway connects Sanvordem and Curchorem in the
Quepem-Sanguem talukas in Goa. The locals instead want the government to
expedite land acquisition proceedings for the proposed 19 km
Uguem-Capxem mining bypass, which can connect to the Zuari river from
where the iron ore could be transported by barges to Mormugao port.
