To Goanet - I spent 4 days last week in the deep south of Goa, in the coastal fishing villages of Betul, Canaguinim and Canacona, and in the interior of Quepem. This part of Goa is not unfamiliar to me but the extended stay was specially for purposes of photography. The coastal region here is where the 3 talukas of Canacona, Quepem and Salcette come together, and it is still wild and untamed territory. Here is found the Goa of my young days - innocent, bucolic, tranquil, and uncontaminated by ghatis. The villages here retain their old look and pace (in contrast to those of Bardez). By and by I shall have more to say, but for now, a quick flip through will suffice.
On Day 2, I stopped by Babu Kavalekar's house on the Betul plateau. Babu is the Congress MLA from Quepem, and a strong proponent of the Food Park and Auxiliary Park at Betul-Quitol. Other than the small matter about his Food Park scam, Babu is an affable bloke. His home - http://www.parrikar.org/images/samples/babukavalekar-house.jpg Babu gave me a sales pitch at the proposed site of the Food Park in Betul-Quitol (this is a 3-4 mins drive from his home). I told him, thanks but no thanks - http://www.parrikar.org/images/samples/babukavalekar.jpg The vast area on the Betul-Quitol plateau, all of it communidade land, earmarked for the Food Park scam - http://www.parrikar.org/images/samples/foodpark-betulquitol.jpg Bang opposite, on the other side of the road, is an illegal mining operation by Gosalia that, it turns out, stands in the way of Babu fathering his Food Park baby. Digest that for a second: two vultures, each trying to claw prime land belonging to the people of Goa to feather their own nest. The Gosalia mine - http://www.parrikar.org/images/samples/mine-betulquitol.jpg A couple of minutes walk behind Babu's house and you come upon a remarkable vista: a tongue of sand shared by Betul and Mobor - Wide angle view - http://www.parrikar.org/images/samples/betulbeach-wide.jpg Tele view - http://www.parrikar.org/images/samples/betulbeach-tele.jpg Not too far is the Canaguinim plateau, the site of the proposed Auxiliary Park. As Matanhy Sandanha has said publicly many times, this is prima facie a real estate fraud. Once you set your eyes on the offerings, it is easy to see why. This is the Canaguinim plateau, next to the ONGC institute (another of the Indian govt's schemes to usurp prime Goan land) - http://www.parrikar.org/images/samples/canaguinim-plateau.jpg Turn around and you have this panorama. In the foreground is the Zorint beach and behind the first headland is the Canaguinim beach - http://www.parrikar.org/images/samples/canaguinim-plateau-view.jpg Sunset from the Canaguinim plateau (site of the proposed Auxiliary Park scam) - http://www.parrikar.org/images/samples/canaguinim-plateau-sunset.jpg This stretch of coastline is among the most spectacular in the entire country. The Rahejas, the DLFs - the entire Indian real estate cabal - must be salivating at the prospect of sinking their teeth into these juicy pickings. These sharks have surely reconnoitered the area, and bought out large tracts of the adjoining land. I wonder who else is in on this Food and Auxiliary Park scams. There is only one thing to do now - declare coastal Canacona and Quepem (including the plateaux and valleys) as a State Park, out of bounds for all construction, development, and industry (exception to be made for individual houses to the existing gaunkaars). But there is no chance in hell that Digu's Kangress govt would do anything of the sort. Has the Task Force for RP2021 recommended anything like this? If not, why not? Open spaces anywhere seem to be anathema to our politicos and our industrialists. They want to finish off Goa all within the space of a single generation. Coming here is like going back in time. Much of the coastal plateau is reminiscent of the Dona Paula area of 25-30 years ago. Further up the road into Canacona, we turn towards the village of Khola (also spelt 'Cola') and a short drive brings into focus a breathtaking sight. The beach at Saleri is in the foreground, and in the background is seen the headland of Agonda (this shot with the 300 mm lens crops out the beach at Agonda) - http://www.parrikar.org/images/samples/khola.jpg >From this location, it is a dramatic descent into the village below. The settlement of Khola is mostly composed of Velips, and is the site of an old Vetal temple (by now I have notched about 45 of the 49 surviving Vetal temples of Goa catalogued by Pandurang Phaldesai). Although the village itself still remains in glorious isolation, the Khola villagers speak in angry tones about the increasing migrant presence in Agonda and Palolem. En route to Agonda lies the fishing village of Saleri - http://www.parrikar.org/images/samples/saleri-tamuso.jpg Babelacious yoga before sunrise, at Agonda beach - http://www.parrikar.org/images/samples/blondebabe-agonda-1.jpg http://www.parrikar.org/images/samples/blondebabe-agonda-2.jpg More photographs later. Warm regards, r ____________________________________________________________________________________ Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs