Mining doesn't help Goans
Lionel Messias
They keep telling us how the tourism industry is our savior notwithstanding our
firm dependence on St Francis Xavier. They said the same about the mining
industry, only we discovered that some of the biggest gainers were a few of the
men who turn out as your duly elected MLAs, and particularly even those who
contested and lost. The thousands that get the fringe jobs because of the
mining industry are largely migrant workers. Many of the barge owners too are
non-Goans or politicians with deep pockets. And that goes for the barge crew
too. Point is the tourism industry really doesn't help you and I, the real aam
aadmi. In other words, we the people without the SUVs, pony tails, designer
clothes, Page 3 mentions and that swagger that comes with piles of cash.
Point is also, tourism has also degraded Goa to the worst extent. Only, it has
never been recognized as so. With the exception of perhaps two originally Goan
owned 5-star hotels, all the rest are owned by big chains based outside Goa.
If my memory services me correct, no Goan has built possibly even a single
3-star-upwards hotel in Goa in the last decade. On the other hand, take the
case of the shack owners who literally have to beg for a license on which the
government has put a cap and which as happened this year, were issued quite
late in the day. But when it comes to licensing hotels, it matters little
where you want to build one.
More at:
http://www.goanspirit.com/index.php/bits-bytes/256-lion-roars-2
~Avelino
