Goanet meets in Goa: December 27, 12 noon and January 7, 4 pm (meeting point: Kala Academy canteen). See you there! ------------------------------
All the 16 species of mangrove trees[ including Soneratia alba,Avicennia spp,Rhizophora mucronata, Ilex acantifolia,etc] have been officially declared as "protected" trees by an Official Gazette notification in Goa since the mid 1980s. These tree species have re-vegetated the abandoned Khazan lands of Chorao[ now declared as Dr.Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary],Santa Cruz and Merces in Tiswadi taluka. These paddy fields have been 'abandoned' with their real estate value in mind. Panaji is fast expanding, the land area is not. Scarce commodities fetch higher prices. That is the basis of economics. The water bodies of Goa are the property of the property of the Captain of Ports/River Navigation Dept, if they are navigable. Other water bodies are the property of the Water Resources Dept. The nallah of St. Inez and now Rua de Ourem[ as yet not re-named] are ideal for 'encroachment' which can be 'regularized' through the PDA, TCB, Collector or or local body, whichever is cheapest. The Gomantak Times has front paged a report and photograph on both these issues on 23 December,2003 . These issues cannot be left to sort out by themselves in due course of time. The 'natural justice' of Mother Nature may not be half as kind as that which flows from our Executive Magistrates. Panjimites have known flooded roads. They may soon have floods in their houses. The issue cannot be solved by the lonely voices of Ms.Patricia Pinto[ PMCA activist,CCP Councillor/Corporator, Goa Sudharop awardee, Yashdamini? and resident of Campal-Panaji] and Rajesh Kenkre[ Architect and committed member of ECHO environmental group], crying in a desert. We need to add our voice to the chorus. Let the development of Panaji be 'SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT'. Let the development be planned, beneficial to the owner and to the city. Let the development not be by default: the regularization of a fait accompli, the tacit acceptance of an illegal and illogical act of a greedy person. If the 'protection ' of the mangroves is not sustainable, if we want to tempt Nature to erode our roads and flood our homes, let us first de-notify the mangroves from the protected list....and provide life jackets to the Panjimites during the monsoons! May be we can also reduce the manpower in the Forest Department. Less personnel are needed to protect less plant species. We can treat mangroves on par with green leafy vegetables that we 'harvest' at will everyday, or with 'ornamental plants' in our garden that we uproot without a Forest licence. Viva Goa. Miguel Braganza. --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.543 / Virus Database: 337 - Release Date: 11/21/2003 ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
