I read with interest the recent article "Shipwrecked at Candolim" (Herald Feb24).It mentioned that for four years the government of Goa has been standing eyeball to eyeball with its owner, who is just not backing off. And pray why should he, after coming this far with impunity? He has negociated the government, the courts, and has the contacts , the money and the power.
So no one is asking the right questions. How was the ship permitted to enter Marmagoa harbour in the first place. Subsequently doubts were raised about which flag she was flying , who was the actual owner, who scrutinised and passed the papers.. The Harbour Master, the MMD, port authorities, surveyors/insurance authorities all cleared. Then the ship remains in Harbour. There are rules regarding manning of ship in harbour. How come it went aground, and after it did who conducted the official enquiry. What were the findings. How come no one was indicted. And if they were what action was subsequently taken/ enforced. Why was the report not made public. As far as I know, no one has been booked so far. The matter has even gone to court. None of the authorities could move satisfactorily. Three years ago our proactive and dynamic Chief Minister promised to move it. The equally dynamic and also flamboyant Tourism Minister boasted of removing it in a few days after being appointed. He even had the courts go ahead to do so. But all efforts have been sabotaged. The owner wants to cut it at site, and there it must stay until the TINA (there is no alternative) factor comes in. The salvage firm of Madgavkars of Goa had long ago volunteered to remove it, Plates were surreptitiously cut at night contributing to ensure the ship stays there. No investigation progressed or any culprits caught/punished. Foreign firms had bid. Results were not known to the public. Helmut Meckelberg , area director Taj,Goa reportedly states" There is tacit approval of a lot of agencies and collusion". This is all very frightening to the citizens of Goa. I attended the seminar on Corruption held in The International Center Dona Paula which tried to tackle the problem of how to curb this in Goa.. Political leaders widely known to be corrupt are being elected time and time again. Good governance and zero tolerance for corruption promised by the party with a difference is a myth. Development has overtaken underlying massive corruption so that there is hardly any outrage/resentment against the corrupt people. There is now a citizens organisation called Nitol Jinn formed to fight corruption and the respected retired senior bureaucrat heading it states that Goa is one of the most corrupt States in India. The River Princess is a visible monument to the truth of this statement. -- The writer, sailed the seas for both the Navy and the Merchant Navy. He is retired at Porvorim, and is involved with a number of social causes, including consumer rights. He can be contacted via email ericgo at sancharnet.in ########################################################################## # 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 # ##########################################################################
