BJP has signed the death warrant of our beloved Coconut Tree.

By Nisser Dias

The swaying palms along the western coast line, the coconut trees gracefully swinging while hugging the foothills of our eastern mountainous range.  Thousands and thousands of coconut trees lined up along every bund of our fields. Coconut trees beautifying our gardens at homes, adding its own unique charm amidst manicured lawns.

It was always the coconut tree, but the BJP have reduced this pride which used to enhance the natural beauty of State of Goa to mere grass, in a bid to satiate their greed, line their pockets and fatten their accounts.

Coconut is part of our ‘Ismitai’ and ethos. In short Goans or ‘Goenkarponn’ and coconut trees simply cannot be separated.

Goan cuisine is not complete with coconuts, be it our daily curry or vegetables or xacuti.

Our festive sweets most of which cannot be prepared without coconut. The world famous ‘Bebinca’ besides ‘dodol’ and many others.

Coconut vinegar is used for cooking, as a preservative and tenderizer. Can we forget our mouth-watering accompaniment like ‘Parra’, ‘Molho’, ‘Balchao’ not forgetting sorpatel and Goan sausages. These famous items cannot be prepared without vinegar.  

Coconut toddy is also used for authentic Goan Cuisine and to extract Coconut Feni. The use of coconut oil is legendary.

Incidentally, the hypocrisy of BJP led government in the State stands exposed because as recently as two months they had resolved to give ‘Heritage Tag’ for Coconut Feni alongwith ‘Caju Feni. And now they de-classify the coconut by bring in an amendment to catergorize it as grass.

Coconut tree is one of the main features that emphasizes the natural beauty of Goa and cannot be replaced.

The politicians had another use of the coconut they used to break it while inaugurating a public project, but now BJP wallas will have to break alcohol bottles manufactured at the Vanxim  distillery.

And the BJP government in Goa under the leadership of Chief Ministership of Laxmikant Parsekar, Forest minister Rajendra Arlekar remote-controlled by Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has just signed the death warrant of our beloved coconut trees.

 

This means that lakhs and lakhs of coconut trees could be felled without seeking any permission from the Forest department.

Goans may hang their heads in shame before the world for passing such an atrocious bill to declassify the Coconut from ‘Tree’ to grass in the Assembly by our elected represented. I wonder which type of grass gives fruits. Could the educated Chief Minister, Forest minister and IITian Defence Minister tell us or better name some varieties of grass that yields fruits?

With this one move or rather an amendment, empowers the BJP government to chop down lakhs of coconut trees in Tiracol for the golf project, lakhs of coconut trees from Pernem to Canacona for the Mopa airport and widening of the highway. It authorizes the government to allow industrialists, builders to axe hundreds of coconut trees without the blink of any eye.

Somewhere in the year 2011, I was part of a delegation of 5 parents which met Manohar Parrikar as Opposition Leader to explain our fight against English medium private school Trusts over arbitrary fee hikes without approval from the department of Education. During the meeting this same man (Parrikar) urged us to defeat the Congress stating that otherwise they would finish Goa.

Today it is allegedly that he and his bunch of party legislators that are causing irreversible damage to Goa through a blanket licence to slaughter coconut trees.

If Ravi Naik can be called the father of Conversions, Churchill Alemao as the father of Defection, Manohar Parrikar surely qualifies to be termed as father of Destruction of Goa’s natural beauty and of U-turns. Can we forget that Manohar Parrikar during his earlier tenure had also tried to cut decades old trees lining Panjim-Campal road and similar protest like hugging the trees was led by Patricia Pinto. This is an indication that Parrikar has no respect for environment.

In the same breadth if Congress legislators can be accused of being looters and plunderers of Goa economy, BJP can be charged as looters, plunderers, communal and murderers of Coconut Tree.

They initially attempted to murder mangroves during the third bridge over Mandovi but were stopped in their track by the Supreme Court of India. Besides the coconut tree they have also planned the destruction of identified eco-sensitive zones in the Goa.

Goa has to be salvaged from the greedy BJP vultures otherwise Goa is in a great danger of completing losing its natural beauty, its identity, its character and uniqueness.

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