Uniting for Goa is the need of the hour -- By Jose Maria Miranda

Jose Maria Miranda

Goa will be going to the polls in around seven months’ time. Yet, it seems early to decide which Party will get our vote. Perhaps, none of the Parties, in the fray, will deserve being voted for. And, perhaps, it would, once again, be a negative vote to prevent the rise of an undeserving candidate.

It is rather disheartening that this time too, we could be in a dilemma: Either undeserving candidates thrust on us or if one or two happen to be different, they are unlikely to save their deposits. Hence, a vote for these could only favour an unwanted. People of good standing or of known integrity are generally unwilling to enter politics, solely because these very qualities come in the way of them being elected. Often, they themselves are apprehensive, not so much that they may not be able to resist temptations, but that they may not be strong enough to withstand pressures and thus refuse to sail with the tide. After all, the development of one’s constituency depends often on one’s ability to keep one’s mouth shut or to toe the line. And that is, unfortunately, the sole measure of the representative’s capabilities. Fear of defeat is also a major factor deterring people from venturing into the election arena. And this stems from the fact that good people are generally unwanted by most, because of their unwillingness in obliging law violators. A retired Chief Justice once remarked that corruption starts from the bottom. I beg to differ. It is the elected representatives who have trained their constituents to go ahead with illegalities, generally at a price or in return for votes or other favours. Had, on the contrary, people been warned that illegalities would be punished, we would have not reached a stage where an Act was brought to regularize illegalities.

If our democracy worked well initially, it was solely because our elected representatives and even our bureaucrats were of different mettle. They were generally honest and of impeccable character, who felt that they needed to be accountable to the people. Their conscience demanded that they do what is right and perhaps even feared being dishonest or unscrupulous. People, at times, would accept moral culpability for acts or accidents which they were not directly responsible for. Lal Bahadur Shastri’s offer of resignation, as Railway Minister, was rejected when a train accident in Mahbubnagar killed 112 people in 1956. But, it was eventually accepted when he again insisted on the loss of 144 lives in another mishap, a little later, in Ariyalur in TN. Nehru, while reluctantly accepting his resignation, stated emphatically that he was doing so solely to set an example in constitutional propriety. Can today’s politicians, even those holding the highest positions in the country, ever match the highly dignified behaviour of our revered ex-Prime Minister Shastri?

In Goa, perhaps there are no regrets that Congress was driven out but surely there are that a worse Party was brought to power. Goans are a desperate lot today, having witnessed the betrayal of trust and cheating both by Congress and BJP. We cannot afford it again. Having tasted the inefficient, ineffective and corrupt rule of the first and the equally corrupt, but surely much more destructive and highly despotic rule of the second, we Goans ought to have come together to have a credible Goa-centric Party. But it may remain a distant dream. While there may be dearth of qualities and caliber of leadership in many of us, surely there isn’t of people who love Goa immensely and are angry at the wanton destruction of our land by greedy and unscrupulous politicians and their accomplices. But our inflated egos, minor hurts, crab mentality, suspicious nature of distrusting or mistrusting everyone, doubting one’s sincerity and our inability to sink petty differences for the sake of a greater cause, have stood in the way of us coming together for the love of Goa. Sadly, these shortcomings seem a part of our ethos.

Though surveys and our own assessment indicate large scale discontentment against the present dispensation, we need to be reminded that BJP got a substantial majority in Lok Sabha, despite a vote share of only 31%. This is sure to happen if anti-BJP forces do not unite in Goa. It is difficult to convince political leaders to stay away, particularly when they overestimate themselves or have other dubious reasons to contest. But that is not the case with the group of credible citizens and spirited activists who have come together with the sole desire of uniting for Mother Goa. They are genuine and selfless and their love for Goa can never be in doubt. But for these very reasons, it may be imprudent for them, at this stage, to turn into a political force, giving margin to further vote splits and defeating the very purpose of their unity.

Our greatest blessing in this country has been the united efforts of Opposition parties to derail the obnoxious and determined plans of the BJP to impose their agenda of religious and casteist hatred among the people of India. Besides the minorities, the dalits and a good section of students are also up in arms. The BJP will not have it easy in the country. But when parties from various regions, with different ideologies can unite because the need of the hour is not to allow a greater enemy to rise, why can’t this smallest State emulate them, if our love for Goa is sincere and we are willing to put its interests above our own? Is it too much of a sacrifice for our land and our people?

 

The Return of the Ghost of Official Language -- By Fr. Victor Ferrao

Fr. Victor Ferrao

Can we avoid an oedipal relation to the issue of official language that has come to haunt us again? An oedipal response is always triggered by anxiety and fear.  Perhaps, we will have to be watchful lest we become captive to the Oedipus complex. We Goans seem to be living with a fractured self. The mother tongue controversy is also one ground that fragments us.  Konkani in spoken as well as written form is determinable. The mode of speaking and writing of Konkani has religious, regional as well as caste lines that draw lines of division among the people both in Goa and beyond it. If it was possible to remove all these lines of division and reach an ideal Konkani, will we have any Konkani left at all? Will not such an abstraction of Konkani only blow away our mother tongue? Konkani lives and breathes in its speakers and writers and hence, always remain in its pilgrim condition. Hence, like all other classical languages that died on the altar of standardization, Konkani might die if we snuff out its plural nature.  In fact, the return of the ghost of Official language seems to draw its teeth from a reductive ‘nagrization’ of Konkani. Most Goans appear to agree that ‘nagrized’ Konkani does not represent all speakers and writers of Konkani.  This sense of being left out by the Official language may be the under current that fires a sense of dissatisfaction which irrupts often in different ways in our society. Hence, there is a profound resistance to a singularized representation of Konkani.

The question that we may need to ask: Can we really represent the profound vibrancy, creative fertility and dynamic plurality of Konkani? Can the legal aspect represent the social, psychological, linguistic and anthropological dimensions of Konkani? Language like music resists our tendency to capture it into reductive and static categories. Hence, we need to understand that the dynamism of Konkani requires us to accept a kind of non-unitary approach that is open to the excess or surplus that is both enmeshed and springs forth from our mother tongue. This means we are challenged to interrogate the uncritical acceptance of Konkani as self same through binary of identity (same) and difference. By this logic every other forms of Konkani are de-Konkanized and set aside. But can the fertility and dynamism of Konkani be de-Konkanized in the power of law?  It appears that the oedipal hand of law is inadequate. Hence, we are challenged to recognise that Konkani cannot be fully represented in caged legal, religious, national and even caste categories, though all of them cross lines within it. There is always the other Konkani that resists such reductive thinking.  Hence, Konkani resists its devaluation and degradation that is imposed with the arm of law in Goa. That is why a non-unitary mode of thinking of Konkani might assist us understand why the ghost of the official language has come back to haunt us after thirty peaceful years. 

It might assist us to understand the dynamic plurality of Konkani if we continue this detour into musicology. Music is enjoyed and appreciated by humans because it lends itself to recognition of a sense of repetition of an experience. It is this sense of repetition that draws humans and leads them to identify some sameness which produces pleasant, enjoyable and meaningful affects.   Like the musical experience, Konkani, both in its spoken as well as written forms works within the logic of sameness that is recognised and construed. But every repeated experience of music is never the same. Indeed, a repeated musical experience leads us to actualize the experience of joy and content in different degrees the virtual potentials that embedded in it. This means every repeated experience is somewhat new. The same is true about Konkani. It is through the recognition of repetition that bestows on its speakers a sense of joy and meaningfulness of life as Goans, that Konkani lives and flowers. It is in this recognition of relation of repetition and difference that we can see how every repeated speaking or writing of Konkani is creating difference. This construction of difference in the very act of speaking , writing  and even thinking becomes the spring board for the eruption of the other Konkanis. Unfortunately, this other Konkanis are viewed as corrupted and are deemed as causes of disruption. The truth is Konkani can only be Konkani by inscribing difference into it. If we fail to recognize this difference speaking in and through Konkani and view it in positive terms, Konkani is certain to die.

The de-recognition of difference that is pouring out of Konkani is the cause of the return of the ghost of the official language. The rejection of the Romi version of Konkani has led a sizable number of Catholics in Goa to seek substitute in English. The perception of caste difference that is gushing forth from the ‘nagrized’ version of Konkani has already pushed the bahujan Hindus towards Marathi.  In some way we may have to grant that it is the absence of the mother tongue that produces a sense of loss that seems to be pushing some Catholics and the Hindu bahujans  towards English and Marathi respectively. Everyone is inscribing difference in taking these positions. But unfortunately this difference is put on a ladder of hierarchy of purity and pollution and thus converted into a cultural capital that feeds into narcissism and its surrogates across all lines of the above divide. Thus, the out pouring of difference in Konkani not just constructs other Konkanis in Goa but also degrades some of them. The degradation mainly happens because a certain difference that springs forth from a ‘nagrized’ Konkani is put into a static mould and is regarded as a measure or standard scale for every other Konkani. That is why we are challenged to hear the inter-voices springing forth from Konkani. There may not be a final solution to the language issue in the days to come. The law that grated official language status to Konkani seems to have failed our society. The wounds have not yet been healed and slight provocation might put us into a conflict mode. This law has oedipalized in as much as it silenced and pushed the other speakers of Konkani into latency. The latent other speakers of Konkani have become anti-oedipus and are resisting their infantalization loudly. Therefore, we might understand that it is in recognition of the reducible plurality of speaking and writing of Konkani by everyone across the lines of divide that we might bring healing and closure to this complex discomforting issue that has returned to haunt us.

Sausage Empadao (Pie)

Requirements:-

100 Goan sausages

12 big mashed Potatoes.

Onions.

Garlic.

About 1 or 2 tbs of flour

(according to the amount of meat used)

Milk

Salt,

Pepper

Egg yolk

Preparation

Cut open the sausage cover and separate the meat. Slice onion and garlic. Cook it in a pan, add the flour stir very well, add milk and cook for a few minutes until you get a creamy meat mixture.

Add a dash of salt and pepper.

Put a layer of mashed potatoes, spread the meat over it and then cover it with a second layer of mashed potatoes over the meat. Ensure that the meat is covered.

Brush the top with the beaten yolk.

Bake in the pre-heated oven (180ºC) until the top is light golden

Can the Parents Decide? -- By Fr. Victor Ferrao

Fr. Victor Ferrao

Can the poor parents make free choices for their children?  It appears that when it comes to the medium of instructions, the poor may not have a choice because the choice is  sold for a price.  In fact no one seems to have a choice since it has become commodity that has a price tag written all over it. But this eventual denial of free choice for the poor is viewed as a social good by the leaders of BBSM and RSS combine.

By denying this vital freedom, these leaders think that they are civilising the parents and their children much like the colonizers who exhibited what has been called as the white men’s burden. Unfortunately, the fact that this civilizing mission is mimicking the colonizer is not disturbing them. The neo-mimic men of the colonizers seem to carry the baton of the colonizers long after end of political colonization. Like the colonisers, they too carry forward the burden of the parents and are out to save the children from the folly of their parents. Hence, one might find a cord of similarity with the way the British saw the abolition of ‘sati’ as a case of white men saving the brown women from the tyranny of the brown men.  This is why these masked men who seem to image the colonizers have become clearly identifiable in our society.

The mask of nobility on the face of the leaders of BBSM and RSS falls quickly when we look at the economic interest that is written all over them. 

Their discourse claims that there is nothing in the Constitution to stop the free trading private schools that are amassing wealth by promoting English. In their view, it is a right given to the free traders of English by the Constitution.  While they guard the free choice of the sales men of English, some of whom are in their ranks, they do not extend the same generosity to parents.  

The parents in their view seem to have to buy their choice or live with no choice.  They seem to go all out to civilize the poor parents but surprisingly they do not care about the de-civilizing influence of the private schools on the children studying there.   This manifests their selective and discriminating approach. Unfortunately, they seem to think that the poor/bahujans do not have the capacity to face the so called de-civilizing and de-nationalizing that is occurring in the  English medium . This capacity in their view seem to automatically emerge/erupt among the parents who can buy their choice from those who sell it in the private schools. Moreover, their economic intoxication becomes visible in their choice of silence over privatization of education and the choice of loud cry over the education driven by the grants of the government.   If the Government can make a law to outlaw English as a medium of instruction in schools where poor study, why can’t the same Government also outlaw private schools trading in English?  If liquor can be outlawed for the good of society why not this free trade on English?  Hence, it is clear which side is chosen by those who pose as civilizing agents in our society.

BBSM stalwarts

The issue concerning the capacity to exercise a free choice as parents within our democratic society in Goa is of great importance. It can open how poor parents have become objects of political domination, economic exploitation and cultural erasure. If we enter the orbit of the poor parents, we can discern how they are infantilized and reduced to a status of  children who are incapable of making any decision concerning the education of their children.  This entry into the orbit of the parents also portrays those who deem them as not fit enough to exercise this freedom over the life of their own children in poor light.  Denial of ability to decide for their children under the cover of promotion of good education has to be viewed as a grave violation and imposition of indignity to these parents. It is clearly a denial of democracy.  if this scenario takes roots, the  poor parents will have no voice and would not even have a say regarding the future of their children. Besides, under the imperialism of ‘devnagrized’ Konkani enforced by some mimic men of the colonizers, they certainly feel a cultural erasure. In fact, the question boils down to a position that asks, “can they speak Konkani? Does the Konkani that they live with qualifies as Konkani? The parents besides feeling the weight of economic exploitation also have the pain of feeling that their Konkani stands de-konkanized and silenced. Thus, the infantalization and voicelessness of the parents among the Bahujans in Goa has reaches its full circle. Hence, it is urgent that we find  ways to speak the truth to power.   

The disabling of the freedom of choice of the parents among the poor is clearly anti-democratic and is more unconstitutional than the denial of the freedom of the free traders of English. The facts that the leaders of BBSM grant freedom to trade and run private empires of English primary schools while fail to recognize the freedom of the poor parents to choose the same in government aided schools manifest which side they are on. If the rich  Parents who choose English and the sales men of private education do not harm our language and culture  then how the same choice made by the poor parents is going to harm the same language and culture? Why should the basic right for self determination, which is the soul of democracy, be denied to the parents who are poor? Why is BBSM and RSS that actively promotes this denial of self determination, swaraj to the parents is not anti-democratic and by that token anti-national?  For too long these tall leaders who are becoming dwarfs day by day have traded on anti-national slogans and silenced the parents among the bahujans. Now that their true colours are becoming visible, the poor parents have gained a voice and are seeking tenable explanation from these champions of denationalization. These parents  ask: “how one of our national language, namely English, the language through which we run our parliament, courts, legislature and administrative machinery and bring integration of our country and people speaking different languages becomes denationalizing?  That is why the denial of choice of English in indeed a denial of democracy to the poor. Therefore, the lines of intersections that we have drawn between the colonizers and their mimic men today cannot be dismissed.

(The author is a Professor of Rachol Seminary)

St. Teresa, the Icon of Compassion -- By Fr. Victor Ferrao

Popularly known as the Saint of Gutters, Mother Teresa has won the heart of every Indian by her sheer love and care for the poor.  We might have to agree that the West gave us a nun Teresa but India gave a saint Teresa to the world. Indeed, Indian contribution in the transformation of life of young Teresa that walked the path of holiness cannot be dismissed.  She was born in Eastern Europe of Albanian parents shortly before the First World War broke in Europe. When still a teenager, she came to India as a young nun of the catholic Loretto order. For nearly two decades, she lived rather secluded and comfortable life, teaching geography to middle and upper class Indian girls until she had a Buddha like experience when she came out of the comfort of her gated convent in Calcutta and faced life in its  strikingly  cruel form. Stunned by the desperate poverty and misery of the people, she like Gautama Buddha, left the comfort of convent and immersed herself in the quest of liberation. Buddha found the path of liberation and taught it to us; she too found the way, the way of Jesus Christ and shared it with all. Her Seha Karma Marga, the path of love in action bought healing touch to several of us Indians, particularly those among us who suffer unimaginable human indignities. 

It is said that while travelling to make a visit to the Loretto convent in Darjeeling in 1946, St. Teresa’s had a live turning experience.  It is while on this journey, she is said to have a divine experience/anubhava that challenged her to live and work among  the destitute men, women and children who inhabited the then teeming slums in Calcutta. Just like Buddha experienced profoundly life turning experience, she too experienced a deep personal call to spend the rest of her live serving the poor in Calcutta.  Like Buddha, this life tuning experience led her to abandon the comforts of the convent and she began her works of mercy on the streets of India’s most populated city in our country. It took two years for her authorities in church to grant her permission to venture into this courageous and caring endeavour of St. Teresa. By that time, she already had a band of young women, mostly her former students ready to immerse themselves in her life giving mission.  In 1950, St. Teresa got her required permission from the Pope and a new order called the Missionaries of Charity was born.  St. Teresa and her sari clad sisters spent the next forty seven years serving our  destitute brethren  in scores of schools, orphanages, medical dispensaries, and homes for the dying not just in our country but across the globe. 

Her work gains great importance not only becomes of its sheer magnitude and heart stirring mercy but also because it reflects the motherly care of God that several of our Indian brothers and sisters seek in the worship of many mother Goddesses in our country. Besides, like the women who proved themselves capable of realising the truth in the Buddhists bhikkhuni Sanghas, she too comes across as a courageous women standing tall in a largely patriarchal society of our country.  Therefore, her holiness truly emanated fully both the divinity and humanity that is embedded in our country much Like Lord Jesus Christ, who is both God and man whom she so ardently followed. This means in becoming a true disciple of Christ, she also became a true daughter of India communicating and sharing the deepest and sublime traditions of our country. Within, this train of thought, we might also discern how she integrated the threefold paths to holiness in our country with the way of Jesus. Indeed, she gave great importance to personal and communitarian prayer and hence, followed  the Bakti Marga with great devotion and love for God without losing sight of Janana Marga which became the light that illumined her steps. But what really becomes clearly visible is the Karma Marga, the way of action in her life. She beautifully blended the way of action, karma Marga  with the way of  love, Sneha Marga and the way of the cross, Sahana Marga of Christianity.

Her works of love and service profoundly touch us and many among us are inspired by her compassion to follow her Senha Marga ever willing to walk the way of the Cross Sahana Marga for the sake of our  less fortunate brothers and sisters. The manner in which she lived her dhama/dharma awakens us to our dhama/dharma in our own contexts.  This does not mean that she did not have her critiques. She indeed had her share of criticism but she was never deterred by it. Being argumentative by our very nature, several Indian Christians as well as others questioned her work. Some said that the poor did not need our charity, what they need most was justice and thus ridiculed her noble work, while others questioned her intentions. Hence, the question of Justice or Nitya Marga was thought to be missing in her great works. But if one stops and profoundly reflect on her work of giving dignified death to a dying Indian, we will realize that a cry of a human being pushed to the point of death is for a dignified death. Hence, when St. Teresa offered dignified death to a dying human. Her Sneha Marga also becomes Nitya Marga. Besides, in holding fast to the dying human person, she lived satyagraha leading the human person to experience Mokxa, the highest truth, satya of our life. Thus, we can clearly view how her Karma Marga is at once, Sneha marga, Sahana marga and Satya marga manifesting her as model Indian Christian, following Jesus, the way truth and life.

Her noble work never ceases to inspire us. That is why she has been given the greatest honour in the Catholic Church.  As we witness her beatification on 4th September 2016, we are even more determined to follow her path of holiness serving the poor and destitute in our society.  We Goans can draw lots of lessons from her. The year of mercy that we celebrate in the Church also brings us to the compassion/Karuna incarnated in her life and works. The Karuna that she inspires brings everyone, the Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Jains etc together. Such a karuna in deeply embedded in Goa. We have it inscribed in the Goddess Roynn that was worshiped in Goa since the ancient days. Though Goddess Roynn got sanskritized first as Santer and then as Shanta Durga, it continues to communicate divine tranquillity and peace to Goans. Even the furious Durga became peaceful as Shanta Durga in the ambience of Goa. Thus, we Goans can resonate with the Karuna marga of St. Teresa. We can already trace such a view in the book, Kaalighat te Karuna Ghat brilliantly written by Datta D Nayak  where he presents Mother Teresa as a symbol of compassion vis-à-vis the violent goddess Kali in Calcutta . In a world marked by violence and heartless terror, the relevance of an icon of compassion and hope like St. Teresa is indeed vital and relevant. In recent days, our country has witnessed how some innocent Dalits, women, students, Muslims have become victims of violence of cow vigilantism, rape and pernicious nationalism. Hence, the canonization of St. Teresa of Calcutta is indeed timely and might enable us to bring healing, compassion and love to the victims and  hope for change of heart to the inflictors of violence.      

 

BJP nails the last nail in the death of democracy in Goa -- By Nisser Dias

During the ongoing Assembly session we read and saw the Opposition which have cooked up a strange ‘matganbandhan’ to take on the government unitedly, walking out of the august House to mark their protest against the government for not providing them the answers to the questions they had asked.

It is indeed very obvious why the government had not provided the answers or the replies. It is simply because they either do not have the answers or are afraid of exposing themselves of their wrong or shady decisions. It can only be summed up as corrupt decision either for their personal benefit or for the benefit of the party, but for the betterment of Goa and Goans.

CM Laxmikant Parsekar

However we should not be surprised that BJP is adopting to such tactics as we had seen it even during 2002, 2004 terms.

How can we forget that in 2004 BJP with Manohar Parrikar as the chief minister tried to bodily lift then Velim MLA Philipneri Rodrigues from the House using police as ‘Marshals’ minutes before no confidence motion against him was put to vote to forcibly stay in power without having majority in the house. However his efforts had not fructified as the then Governor S C Jamir immediately dismissed his government.

The current term that is from the year 2012 has not been much different. For the first two years the same man Manohar Parrikar for the first two years used various methods to save face for his below average performance. Have we forgotten Fatorda MLA Vijay Sardessai making allegation that the Speaker was not allotting him time for asking supplementary questions to the ministers. The BJP had not even rejected the statement which implied that the Parrikar government admitted to bad decisions which did not benefit Goa and Goans.

At that time Vijay and Curtorim MLA Reginaldo Lourenco were the only opposition to the government and even then ruling benches could not handle them, but today through some divine intervention there is a stronger opposition in the House with Opposition Leader Pratapsing Rane being very vocal giving that much required boost to the Vijay and his nascent party ‘Goa Forward’ members Rohan Khaunte and Naresh Sawal.

All party protest against the BJP government.

From the very being of the current Assembly Session Fatorda MLA moved a privilege motion against the government for not only providing him answers to his queries but also providing some answers at the eleventh hour. These all are indications that the BJP government have accumulated plenty of skeletons in their wardrobes during this term which somehow they want to keep from spilling out in the public domain.

Nevertheless the BJP ministers should realize that truth never remains hidden for long as it has to surface one day or the other.

It is a foregone story that BJP is going to meet the same fate as that of the Congress where the latter was reduced to a single digit during the 2012 Assembly polls after being in power from 2006. Just as the Congress ministers had become too big for their boots with power going to their head, corruption all round, weak leadership etc, the BJP is not any better in fact one could safely say worse than the Congress.

Congress never used dirty tricks in the House but bravely faced embarrassment at the hands of the BJP, but the present government is stifling the voice of the people and they have to be ashamed of it.

Incidentally, they do not realize when another ruling dispensation comes to power and BJP have to sit in the opposition, tables will be turned and BJP will have the face the same situation which the present opposition is facing.

Goa Forward protest. Last nail in coffin
of Democracy by the BJP in Goa

Goa Forward rightly held a protest wearing black T.shirts and carrying a coffin which symbolized death of people’s voice right in the Temple of Democracy, but BJP never believed in democracy in any case and that is the reason they even dictate what people should and should not eat.

The only silver lining in the dark clouds is that the term of government is nearing its end and today we have an alternative either in Aam Admi Party and the Goa Forward and we should seriously think of keeping both Congress and BJP out of our lives, politics and our beloved state if we need to save the last remnants of much loved land – GOA.

Weekend Special Sausage Pulao

Requirements:-

1kg Rice

Maggie

Pure Ghee

100 Sausages (small)

Onions

Preparation:-

Prepare pulao as cooked normally.

Separate the sausage meat from the skin

Slice 4-5 large onions

Cook the meat with little water. After it is half done add onion to it.

Let be on the burner till it is done.

Serving:-

Put a layer of pulao in the serving bowl then add a fine layer of sausage meat.

Continue the process till the bowl is filled.

Commercial capital of Goa, but its bus stand lies in shambles -- By Nisser Dias

Canacona, Cuncolim, Shiroda, Valpoi boasts of very modern bus terminals not only catering to the systematic flow of the traffic in an out of the terminal but also the flow of commuters and the basic amenities and facilities that is a must for bus terminals.

But when it comes to the commercial capital of Goa – Margao, the KTC terminal lies in shambles with no amenities absolutely. It is more of a ramshackle, dilapidated bus shed with a leaking roof, floor messed with cowdung and plastic, lack of space for more than 60,000 commuters using this bustand on daily basis, insufficient sitting space, lack of security personnel, lack of sewage system, no drinking water facility or rest-rooms, the list can go on.

And our government boasts of Goa being a developed state. Margao bus-stand was initially situated in the heart of the city opposite South Goa police headquarters. In a bid to decongest the city it was shifted to the present site more than 40 years back as a temporary measure till the government could build a full-fledged bus-stand.  

In 1979 during the President’s Rule then Governor late Lt. Gen. J F R Jacob seeing the pathetic state of it had ordered the repairs of the roof.

It was in 1980 government led by Pratapsing Rane set-up Kadamba Transport Corporation and this bus stand came to be known as KTC bus-stand. Subsequently the land was acquired and handed over to the Corporation. The fleet of KTC buses grew several fold but the bus-stand continued as it was.

At the moment the terminal caters to more than 60,000 commuters everyday from all over the state. Besides this bus-stand is an arrival and departure terminal for interstate buses from Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerela and Chennai.

According Kadamba Transport Corporation (KTC) Assistant Engineer Civil G P Naik bus terminals should have toilets, drinking water, canteen, bookstall, general store, pharmacy beside other things. Presently all the stalls here sell food items like samosas, wadas, sweet mart items, chips, bottled water and soft drinks. Some sell mobile recharge cards. None of the stalls even sell newspapers or even stationary. Agarwal Samaj opened a counter to provide drinking water but it closed for couple of years now. Sulabh Sauchalaya maintains a toilet which is opposite the shed.

Safety aspect of commuters are also missing, there are no CCTV cameras (one which is there is installed in an ATM booth). There are no police not private security personnel.

Incidentally KTC officials and Transport Department are playing blame games. KTC Assistant Engineer Civil G P Naik said there was proposal to modernize bus-stand but since the corporation comes under the purview of Transport department they have not taken the proposal forward. However Transport department director Sunil Masurkar denies it saying it is KTC land, “they collect the revenue from all the stalls and how can it be ours”. He also said that since he became the director no proposal to modernize the bus-stand has come to him.

Former Chief minister Digambar Kamat says, “I have even laid a foundation for a modern bus-stand and Rajiv Khanna who was built Mathany Saldanha Administrative Complex was selected for his design and GSIDC was supposed to tender it”. “if the current government had not shelved it, KTC would have got huge revenue from it as it was designed to make corporation self sufficient, but today it lies in sorry state”.

 

Fellow Goans, do not quit; stay back; fight for your land. -- By Jose Maria Miranda

Jose Maria Miranda

It is indeed disheartening that we, Goans, fail to rise even when we are nearing the abysm. We often wake up when it is too late or have reached a point of no return. Our ever insensitive, adamant and deaf rulers will not pay any heed to us, as they have their own interests and motives in mind, and are aware that any protest in Goa will never last. We must candidly admit that we get easily fatigued and lack resilience and tenacity to fight any issue to its logical conclusion. Though violence must be eschewed, assertiveness and even aggressiveness to a certain point, is imperative. We have failed in this, not so much because we are not of one mind on some issues but because of our apathy and indifference. It is only when we are directly affected that we rise – when not, it is someone else’s problem, not ours. Not only do we not take initiatives but even moral and physical support to any worthy cause does not come in easily. Meetings in Margao on serious issues, in the last two years or so, despite massive efforts, when we could have jammed the city by sheer numbers, prove my point.

We must avoid defeatist attitudes and finding the easy way out: get a Portuguese passport and quit. Surely some may need to do it, but not all. Quitters can’t be winners. Our land is our treasure. As its proud custodians, it behooves us to save and protect it for our future generations. It is our land and only we have the right to decide what is good for us and what is not. Let us not allow vultures from here or Delhi to prey on it and barter it for their job. We need our scarce land for housing and projects beneficial to locals, unlike what is happening now when they are for the rich and mighty, having some of our politicians on their payroll.  Enough of destruction of our land, our environment and all that is dear to us! If this Government thinks that a few bridges and bypasses are going to entice us, let them know  that they are destroying our environment, fields and hills, as can be seen in Verna, Nuvem, Navelim, etc, and are actually meant to further marginalize Goans, change our demography, bring in more migrants and ultimately create social unrest. 

Despite heavy debts of over Rs.10,000 crores, this Government audaciously agreed for an IIT at Bhagwati plateau in Loliem. We, Goans, are surely desperate for jobs. We do need job-oriented projects or industries, but not those which will provide employment mainly to outsiders and add to our equally desperate migration problem. This Government is equally desperate and working overtime to create vote banks of migrants and make Goans irrelevant. The bogey of creating employment and of NGOs being anti-development is being aired without any basis, statistics or study even by responsible media.  Investment Promotion Board was created solely to serve as milking cow for the party in power. Will this Government tell us what studies have they done on projects proposed under IPB, job prospects and efforts done to ensure that existing hotels, industries and Konkan Rly employ Goans? Are there any attempts in this direction? Haven’t preconditions of employment to locals been flouted before with impunity and do we wish to rectify this, in future?

The IIT in Goa is unnecessary, as firstly there is no seat allocation for Goans, unlike NIT, which has 50% seats for locals. The students, around 10000 and the faculty, 2000, will almost entirely be non-Goan. One of the provisions is that faculty spouses should get jobs. Goa Government has committed to this – how, and where? Other staff, clerical, lab, canteen, menial, etc 3000 to 4000 – total 16000 approximately –nearly 4 times the population of Loliem. This cash starved Government will acquire the land at our cost to benefit thousands of non-Goans. Why? Will diehard supporters of BJP and other partners in crime explain to us? The NIT is already operational at GEC, Farmagudi since 2010 without any headway in the proposed premises at Cuncolim. IIT rules stipulate “IIT Goa can be operational only upon identification and handing over of land to MHRD for setting up permanent campus of said institution”. Yet it will be operational, within few days, again at GEC without even acquisition of land. Aren’t these half baked projects? The location of IIT is a Government identified private forest. It is a water recharge plateau being a source of drinking water for wells and irrigation for the population living down below. Hence, water and agriculture will be severely affected. Government supply of water is most irregular, only for a few hours and often not daily. The plateau is home to wild animals like leopards, bisons, deers, boar, porcupine, etc. They will need to find alternate location which will eventually adversely affect residents, their plantations, etc.

My question to this Government is: Are you on a mission to destroy not only Goa but Goans too? And to my fellow Goans: Are we going to be silent spectators to these evil designs of this Govt. Or is it time for a revolution, as rightly portrayed by Irineu Gonsalves in his tiatr “Revolution”? Can we sink our differences and unite for Goa and for our people and through the ballot prove our mettle and annihilate the monsters, who in the garb of development are out to destroy us?