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My alphabet soup for beloved Goa: A few requests for the
chief minister to ponder over....
By Oscar Rebelo
in Gomantak Times
July 9, 2007
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
BARELY A MONTH in the hot seat, and the Chief Minister has
had to face darts, barbs, arrows, demands and counter
demands. Phew!! Like the mountaineer, he must be realising
that it gets tougher to breathe there at the top. But then,
'Yehi Hai Goa Meri Jaan'.
So, now that everyone and his aunty has been dishing out free
advice, I thought I'd also gate-crash into the party and be
presumptuous enough to offer my two penny's worth,
unsolicited wish-list for the CM.
Here comes my Alphabet Soup!
Sorry to get my alphabets all muddled up at the beginning,
but my wish-list starts with...
G - GOA FIRST.... No compromises here. Ever!
A - AGRICULTURE: A chronically-neglected field. But our land
could cleverly be used for agri, flori, horti, pisciculture
and generate big moolah, no? Could we keep concrete to the
minimum?
B - BI-PARTISANSHIP: One would have to co-ordinate with *all*
parties to work for the welfare and greater good of Goa. A
BJP/UGDP/SGF voter is a Goan and a lover of Goa, just as much
as anyone else.
C - CORRUPTION: Destructive, stifling and oppressive. It
sucks the oxygen out of the state like an RDX device.
D - DELHI: Quick Geography recap that Delhi is the capital of
India and not of Goa.
E - ENVIRONMENT: Our forests and hills, our rivers and
orchards are not for sale to the highest bidder. No way, mate.
F - FOOD: With Goa being less and less self-reliant on the
food front, don't think "Reliance Fresh" will help tide over
the crisis. It's well known that the humble onion can crash
down a government.
H - HEALTH: Good zero-in on the casualty department in public
hospitals. Next, please focus on Primary Health Centres. The
poor access health care there and only there.
I - INDUSTRY: Non -polluting, non-guzzling, non fly-by-night
and job-generating for the Goan.
J - JANTA: People are the most powerful keys -- the magic
wand to power.
K - KONKANI: Our culture, our unquestioned identity. Marathi
must also glitter as bright.
L - LAW: We'll all have to learn the fundamental lesson of
civilization: Respect the Law! Respect the Law!! Respect the
Law!!!
M - MAHADEI: The lifeline of this state. If it dries, we die.
N - NARCOTICS: If drugs, prostitution and paedophilia
continue at the rate it is, then we could seriously move an
application in the US to be the new capital of Thailand.
O - OSTENTATION: Dazzling IFFI; glitter malls; super
highways; makes no sense when we are still searching for
basic 'Roti Kapda and Makaan'.
P - PARTICIPATION: From municipal bodies to village
panchayats to gram sabhas, let democracy be everyone's
responsibility.
Q - QUEUES: To avoid interminable queues, could we have
broadband quickly as a huge boon and solution to Goans
accessing the government services?
R - RTI: Open and transparent governance must be the order of
the day.
S - SECULARISM: Goa's priceless asset. Her jewel in the
crown. Never to be lost. Always to be nourished and
cherished.
T - TRANSPARENCY: Do whatever! But let all of us -- the
people of Goa -- at least know about it.
U - USURPING: Land grabbing and displacement of indigenous
and marginalised Goan people is a surefire recipe for social
disaster.
V - VENDETTA: Basta! Enough! Let's stop the Vendetta politics
of the last decade or so. My favourite line, "Revenge breeds
revenge breeds revenge breeds revenge...."
W - WOMEN: In a man's world, I hate to admit this, women are
really the stronger sex. Their inputs and advice are
priceless. Trust me. I always depend on my wife.
X - XENOPHOBIA: Please, please let's understand that not all
foreigners and 'bhaile' are out to destroy Goa. They are as
much the backbone of our economy as anyone else.
Y - YOUTH: Their imagination and idealistic zeal must be
fired. Booze, chicken xacuti and easy money cannot be the
road to the future.
Z - ZOPADPATTI: Easily, the Congress' most loyal vote-bank.
Let's provide them decent housing someday.
It would be nice to remember this old Chinese proverb, "To be
a great politician you need to be deceptive, manipulative,
even destructive... but to be a great statesman all one needs
is to be a decent human being." But, then, do decent human
beings last out in Life's race?
