--------------------------------------------------------------------------- **** http://www.GOANET.org **** ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Protect Goa's natural beauty Support Goa's first Tiger Reserve Sign the petition at: http://www.goanet.org/petition/petition.php --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you Freddy for your posting - Mining, The Elephant In The Room. To add to what you said, may I just clarify that the issue of mining in Goais now viewed with distorted glasses thanks to myths and misinformation about its contribution to Goa’s state coffers and economy and employment. I can assure you that mining is not the backbone of Goa’s economy. I can assure you that even taking into account the number of people who are directly employed and indirectly employed by this industry, it is still a minority of people whose work is seasonal, not permanent or regulated, and it is short-term. The problem is that the few that have benefited are the ones who shout louder. People get the impression that mining is what kept Goa’s economy going so far because they get impressed with the noise and pollution by the 15.000 trucks (80% non-Goans) transporting ore up and down our narrow roads, and get impressed with the constant flow of 400 barges that go up and down Mandovi and Zuari rivers transporting ore and spilling several hundred thousand tones of iron ore in the rivers each year to the point of NIO having said that the estuaries of Mandovi and Zuari are in danger of total environmental collapse. Also there is the issue of presence of heavy metals in the food chain in Goa as result of pollution from mining dust and many other related issues that are conveniently swept under the carpet. But while so much noise is made by the few that are benefiting from the destruction of Goa, no one is saying much about the thousands of people whose livelihoods have been destroyed, whose health has been destroyed , whose entire villages have been dug out for mining, whose wells and ponds have dried up, whole agricultural land has been silted and so on…and this impact is as result of legal mines and illegal mines. The legality or illegality of it is not the issue . It is the destructive nature of the industry - can Goa's fragile ecosystem cope with it? There is an urgent need to make people aware of the myths and inconvenient truths about mining in Goa. And having started this process with Goans in the UK, I now hope to try and do a bit of awareness raising during my visit to Goa next month – especially I wish to impress upon people that there are alternatives to mining in Goa, alternatives that will bring long-term benefits and sustainability to livelihoods of our people. Goans should be armed with knowledge of real facts and figures about this issue, instead of just believing what the mine owners and government officials entangled in the webs of corruption, want Goans to believe. Carmen Miranda