Documented by Goa Desc Documentation Service & circulated by Goa Civic & Consumer Action Network (GOA CAN)<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Ph:2252660 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------- Disasters Unlimited ---------------------------- It is only due to the grace and the benediction of Goemcho Saib and Shantadurga that Goa continues to survive all the man-made calamities visited on it. Naphtha pipe lines tend to leak on a regular basis. Vehicles carrying hazardous chemicals including chlorine and naphtha and God knows what, other inflammable, dangerous and life-threatening materials routinely overturn or meet with accidents in the State.
Explosions occur at the petroleum storage facilities of the public sector oil companies within the Port Trust complex. Aircraft of the Indian Navy fall out of the sky in civilian areas killing civilians and causing damage to property. Not because of acts of God but because of the greed and rapaciousness of industrialists, bureaucrats and politicians.
Routinely every monsoon the mountains of mining rejects are washed into river bodies choking them.In our urban areas just as routinely construction material is piled up high on the sides of roads of buildings under construction, which hugs the roads in violation of all setback rules choking the drains.
Streetlights, of course, never work when they are needed most during the monsoon when visibility is very poor. Talking of power we are assured by the junior staff of the electricity department who have to bear the brunt of all abuse from consumers that it is sub-standard insulators and conductors and not the much-maligned crow, which is responsible for the majority of the power breakdowns.
The Konkan Railway gets away with criminal disregard for minimal passenger and commuter safety at the single platform railway station where hapless passengers have no choice but to endanger their lives by crossing the tracks.
The environmental time bomb, the ugly toad masquerading as the River Princess continues to tick way at Candolim for four years now. The only thing that everyone is agreed on is that if it disintegrates, it will devastate all the lovely beaches of North Goa.
Tourists and locals drown routinely on Goan beaches because they ignore warnings and the lifeguards are never there.
The big joke, of course, is that more than a year ago, primarily due to the persistence and insistence of the then Collector of Margao P K Krishnamurthy, a disaster management plan was formulated. A consultant was employed to provide training to all the concerned agencies. A number of high-level meetings were chaired by the Chief Secretary and even the Chief Minister. The only problem is that the plan is gathering dust in some government morgue.
No machinery was even identified to implement or monitor the implementation of the disaster management plan. There is nothing like a quick response team which can attend to emergencies and contingencies. There is a timetable. But no Station Master or even linesmen.
In theory the Collector is the nodal authority. But there are frequent changes in the Collectorate and when the Collector is on leave the second in command probably cannot even access the elaborate protocol book where the steps are outlined. Not that going by the rulebook will be of much use. Because it is not rules but the presence of mind and the enterprise and the sense of urgency of the man in charge which is the crucial factor in any disaster.
Apparently, though there is a disaster management plan, no information exists on what hazardous chemicals are transported into and through Goa. What routes they take or are supposed to take. What are the vulnerable points along the route. Which agency the disaster managers can turn to for the special equipment they will need. The naphtha tanker disaster at Porvorim dramatically exposed how totally unprepared we are for disaster.
The tanker over turned close to the Sai Service Center which has a petrol station and a hundred cars and lubricating oils, all of which could have blown up if there had been a fire. Though the disaster occurred around 6 a.m. the crane arrived only four hours later. And it was not of the right size or capacity and so it took almost ten hours to get the tanker upright again. The job of transferring the naphtha from the disabled tanker did not begin even by late evening. Fortunately there was no loss to life and property.
But this is not thanks either to the Reliance Salgaocar Power Plant authorities or to the Disaster Management team. It was entirely due to the benefaction of Shantadurga and Goemcho Saib. If there is a major disaster all that we the ordinary humble citizens can do is to light a candle or break a coconut. But even divine protection has known to fail.
It will be recalled that the steps leading to the Hanuman Temple at Panjim were covered with debris because of a landslide. May be Lord Hanuman was sending a message. That the Gods of Goa were a little tired of shouldering the burden and putting up with the casual, negligent, callously criminal attitude of the business houses and the political establishment in Goa. The next time around they may not be willing to help. --------------------------------------- Editorial in HERALD 27/6/03 page 6 --------------------------------------
======================================= GOA DESC RESOURCE CENTRE Documentation + Education + Solidarity 11 Liberty Apts., Feira Alta, Mapusa, Goa 403 507 Tel: 2252660 mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] website: www.goadesc.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Working On Issues Of Development & Democracy =======================================
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