[Goanet] A vision for Goan villages - By Wendell Rodricks
--- http://www.GOANET.org --- 5th Annual Konkan Fruit Fest Promenade, D B Bandodkar Road, Panaji, Goa 16-18, May 2008 http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2008-May/073789.html --- --- Mario Goveia mgoveia at sbcglobal.net wrote: I must commend Wendell Rodricks for this heartfelt and constructive appeal for action at the village and Panchayat level. This is in stark contrast with some armchair critics on Goanet who have demonized the Panchayats and their leaders as corrupt Carvalho elisabeth_car at yahoo.com Sat May 17 04:01:21 PDT 2008 This post of yours is comical, considering that Gadgil in his post today tells us of corrupt panchayats. Here is his exact quote: by what right is the Panchayat giving NOCs unilaterally? Why are Panchayats in such a tearing hurry to give NOCs without proper procedures? Mario responds: You have obviously not read or understood Wendell Rodrick's article, where he puts Panchayats squarely in the middle of controlling the village environment, and describes his personal experience in their accessibility and responsiveness. When a villager can stroll over and have a cup of chai with his fellow-villager, the Sarpanch, or kick his backside if necessary, that is a lot more effective than trying to influence Digambar Kamath or his cronies who are far less accessible. What I find really comical is that a) Gadgil has your number when he says, Selma, you have introduced red herrings like whether Gram Sabha permission is required before a pipeline is laid. Nobody has raised issues about such things., and b) your support for the status quo that has created the mess in Goa in the first place. Selma writes: This is a bit embarrassing for you eh? Guess it was bound to happen when you rely entirely on second-hand hearsay. As we say in shasti konkani, noz besti. Mario responds: Not at all. Wendell Rodrick's account was a personal, first-hand account, not second hand hearsay. Hearsay is what you have engaged in with your unrecognizable red herrings, as Gadgil rightly pointed out.
Re: [Goanet] A vision for Goan villages - By Wendell Rodricks
--- http://www.GOANET.org --- 5th Annual Konkan Fruit Fest Promenade, D B Bandodkar Road, Panaji, Goa 16-18, May 2008 http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2008-May/073789.html --- --- Mario Goveia [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I must commend Wendell Rodricks for this heartfelt and constructive appeal for action at the village and Panchayat level. This is in stark contrast with some armchair critics on Goanet who have demonized the Panchayats and their leaders as corrupt - This post of yours is comical, considering that Gadgil in his post today tells us of corrupt panchayats. Here is his exact quote: by what right is the Panchayat giving NOCs unilaterally? Why are Panchayats in such a tearing hurry to give NOCs without proper procedures? This is a bit embarrassing for you eh? Guess it was bound to happen when you rely entirely on second-hand hearsay. As we say in shasti konkani, noz besti. warm regards, selma
[Goanet] A vision for Goan villages - By Wendell Rodricks
--- http://www.GOANET.org --- 5th Annual Konkan Fruit Fest Promenade, D B Bandodkar Road, Panaji, Goa 16-18, May 2008 http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2008-May/073789.html --- From Cecil Pinto cecilpinto at gmail.com Wed May 14 22:16:43 PDT 2008 A VISION FOR GOAN VILLAGES By Wendell Rodricks Excerpts: 1. PANCHAYAT CONTROL Goans mistakenly imagine that their job is done once the ballot has been cast. No!! On many instances I have pushed the Sarpanch and the Panchayat to act. Over early morning tea, I have ensured that no hoardings come up on the Colavle plateau nor on the village NH17 route. All it took was a serious talk with the Panchayat. The same goes for garbage clearance. When it gets too bad take the matter to the Panchayat office and demand that something is done. After all there is a budget for the same. I know of many responsible citizens who have worked to ensure that services like health and pharmacies are installed in their village. I hope many proactive Goans follow suit. I hope every village takes in on itself to plan for the future. With the land sharks eating away at our land and Goans selling out their ancestral properties, it is imperative that we plan for our village spaces. Let future generations say that it was our generation that planned well and wisely. Let us leave behind villages that we are proud of. Not just for ourselves and our children but also for our ancestors who created our villages and cities with love and planned them in a manner so wisely that till today we enjoy our villages in Goa. Mario observes: I must commend Wendell Rodricks for this heartfelt and constructive appeal for action at the village and Panchayat level. This is in stark contrast with some armchair critics on Goanet who have demonized the Panchayats and their leaders as corrupt and have advocated for the continuation of the status quo that has caused the mess in the first place. Obviously, Wendell does not think Panchayats are corrupt. I see no whining from Wendell, no hand wringing, no gnashing of teeth, no shoulda, coulda, woulda. Just straight talk delivered with a positive constructive attitude. If every village in Goa, working through its Panchayat or Gram Sabha, follows Wendell's call to action, Goa will be a better place. The only action I would add to his list is for the Panchayats to develop and publish local zoning laws for economic development and use of village land, developed with citizen input, which will be the rules that everyone who wants a development in that village will need to follow, and if they do, the Panchayat will approve and support the project. Anyone who knows Wendell can tell him to contact me and I will send him information on zoning laws used in small American communities that can be used as a template by local Panchayats in Goa and adapted to the specific needs of a Goan village.
[Goanet] A vision for Goan villages - By Wendell Rodricks
--- http://www.GOANET.org --- 5th Annual Konkan Fruit Fest Promenade, D B Bandodkar Road, Panaji, Goa 16-18, May 2008 http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2008-May/073789.html --- A VISION FOR GOAN VILLAGES By Wendell Rodricks Each morning when I walk to my studio in Colvale I see how our village has grown at an alarmingly unplanned rate. With a rapidity that is astonishing. One day there is a walled home. The next day it becomes a dumping ground for the neighbour's garbage. In a week the same home of some poor soul in faraway Kenya, UK or Canada becomes a dumpsite for the entire vaddo. I am not ashamed once a week, or sometimes more, often to become a ragpicker. I just cannot believe that there is an indignity in cleaning up the path I tread daily. One would imagine that some people would be shamefaced to see a celebrity picking up garbage and follow example. Instead I get curious looks and remarks that are not worthy of recounting. At home in the early dawn or late at night, I think about my village Colvale. How it went from sleepy hamlet to a village fast turning into a highway town ringed with polluting industries. It is a crying shame and a lesson in what should not happen to any village in Goa. This then is my vision for every village in Goa, which I hope the Government and the people of Goa will encourage. As in all cases there have been many rainbows in the storm. These need to be highlighted so that people who care and love their villages can follow as examples of civic and social responsibility. 1. PANCHAYAT CONTROL Goans mistakenly imagine that their job is done once the ballot has been cast. No!! On many instances I have pushed the Sarpanch and the Panchayat to act. Over early morning tea, I have ensured that no hoardings come up on the Colavle plateau nor on the village NH17 route. All it took was a serious talk with the Panchayat. The same goes for garbage clearance. When it gets too bad take the matter to the Panchayat office and demand that something is done. After all there is a budget for the same. I know of many responsible citizens who have worked to ensure that services like health and pharmacies are installed in their village. I hope many proactive Goans follow suit. 2. GARBAGE MANAGEMENT Every village and city should have its garbage plan in place. It's a lot of rubbish to talk about a dumping site. That is the easy way out. If a city like Paris can have its garbage plant bang in the middle of banks and residential areas, with no emissions except power for electricity, why can't we have the same?? Our lazy, fat, corrupt ministers need to be voted out for not addressing the garbage needs of a paltry 1.3 million persons. But forget about the government. If they are so insensitive and stupid, it's time that concerned citizens took the garbage issue in their hands and did it themselves. If we can raise funds to build temples and churches and spend lakhs on weddings why can't we collect the 2 lakhs or less to buy a garbage compactor and get the job done?? All the wealthy people in Goa should hang their heads in shame and write out a cheque to make their village garbage free. 3. CULTURAL MONUMENTS It's all very well to say that our churches, chapels and temples are rich enough to sustain themselves. But is that correct?? I have heard many persons who say they don't go to places of worship. Fine. But when your village looses its temples, churches or mosques to ruins, please be aware that we are all silent witnesses and participants in the decline of our cultural monuments. Please be more involved to save what we have and to conserve the village legacy that we have been blessed with. Towards this cause one must be aware of the village history and preserve the objects of culture. In Colvale we were known for our black shells (kayem khubem). With the sand dredging we failed to preserve the young shells. Today not a single shell exists in a place where, as children, we would put our hands in the sand and get 3 or 4 shells in a handful of sand. A pity. But also a lesson that we can still reintroduce the shells and stop the sand dredgers from removing sand in these marked areas. 4. STREETS AND PERSONAGES A couple of months ago I met a French lady who came from Paris to see where Abbe Faria's family came from in Colvale. With shame I informed her that the home was a ruin and there was not even a marking to identify the spot. Even though the home is no more I still feel we can erect a statue and name our main street leading from temple to the church as Abbe Faria street. We owe it to our glorious ancestors to commemorate their contribution to Goan history. It is
