Bound to the Land TNN | Mar 13, 2012, 04.10AM IST Panchanama Ona-Maulinguem-Curchirem-Bicholim
Maulinguem, a village spread across 735.30 ha, is home to about 1,000 residents who, 50 years after Goa's liberation from Portuguese rule, are still bound by feudalism. The erstwhile rulers had deemed that together with Ona and Curchirem, Maulinguem would serve as revenue lands to the Rane clan. This Mokasdari system exists to date in Maulinguem, while for Ona (189.70 ha) and Curchirem (770.17 ha) the land owner is now the government of Goa. Maulinguem's land was owned, till his death very recently, by Baba Rane. The absence of a successor is an added worry for locals who in the absence of ownership rights are unable to avail government schemes, mortgages or even permission to construct their homes. Interestingly, despite the Rane clan producing two astute politicians-Poriem MLA Pratapsingh Rane, a former assembly speaker and a five-time chief minister and his son, Valpoi MLA Vishwajit Rane, a former health minister-efforts to improve the lives of Maulinguem's residents began just two years ago. "The residents are mostly illiterate and are very poor and efforts have been made to keep them that way," says Sunil Mhavalingkar, a resident of Harijanwada-Maulinguem. He adds that though the late Hindi film musician Dattaram Wadkar was from Naikwada-Maulinguem, youngsters with talent in the village get no chance to develop their skills. Unable to own land, the locals, mostly of the warrior clan of Nave Marathe, do not carry out agriculture or horticulture and large tracts of Maulinguem are jungle. Livelihood is often by way of daily-wage work or labour in laterite brick mines. Their lives are not unlike that of the poor dhangars (tribes) who reside at Kangaliniche Mol. "Our children have to walk 3km through jungles to the nearest primary and high schools. We walk with milk-laden pots on our heads for 4km to get to the nearest town. Our children have no jobs and though we now know that there are schemes for us, none have reached us," says 72-year-old Bhago Varak, a dhangar leader and former panch. Mhavalingkar adds, "There are around 30 dalit families residing in the hamlet who struggle for even basic amenities. There is no sound source of livelihood. The dropout rate among our youth is very high. No one has paid any heed to our woes." Shiva Shripad Gaonkar, sarpanch of Ona-Maulinguem-Curchirem village panchayat says, "We are victims of the Mokasdari system. Land ownership has prevented our villagers from availing benefits of government schemes." He adds that since he took over three years ago works under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme have been given priority in an effort to give the locals some source of income. Newly re-elected Mayem BJP MLA Anant Shet says, "I am aware of the problems faced by the village panchayat. I will try my best to resolve them with the help of our leader and chief minister Manohar Parrikar." -- Problems Problems Edu ailments The two-decade-old Rauji Rane Memorial High School today functions from the Government Primary School, Maulinguem, and has only four rooms with no basic facilities, while the Government High School Curchirem lacks appropriate teaching faculty as well as basic infrastructure. Dangerous lines "The village has high-tension wires running through settlement areas. Three years ago Sharda Shashikant Gaonkar was electrocuted. No proper steps are taken to provide safety to locals," says panchayat member Rajendra Usapkar. He adds that Barajanachi Rai, a sacred grove at Curchirem, also faces problems due to Gas Authority of India work. Woes galore In the absence of toilets, locals of Maulinguem and Curchirem defecate in the open. Maulinguem has a sub-health center with a lone nurse available only part-time, while BSNL's telephone connectivity is missing in Curchirem, say residents. People's Take Our children have to walk 3km through the jungle to get to the primary and high schools. We walk 4km to town with our milk-laden pots. We have no jobs and no schemes have reached us - Bhago Varak, former panch There are around 30 dalit families who call Harijanwada home and who are struggling for basic amenities. The dropout rate among our youngsters is high and we have no source of livelihood. No one has paid any heed to our woes - Sunil Mhaulingkar, resident of Harijanwada in Maulinguem Top View Land ownership has prevented our villagers from availing the benefits of government schemes - Shiva Shripad Gaonkar, sarpanch I am aware of the problems faced by the village panchayat. I will try my best to resolve them with the help of our leader and chief minister Manohar Parrikar - Anant Shet, MLA http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Bound-to-the-Land/articleshow/12240979.cms --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Protect Goa's natural beauty Support Goa's first Tiger Reserve Sign the petition at: http://www.goanet.org/petition/petition.php ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
