GOA AGAINST COAL C/O Custodio D’Souza, H No 116/3, Non Mon, Dempo Bhat, Vasco-da- Gama, Goa – 403802 Tel: 9637891412
Date: 25.07.2017 Press Note MPT TRYING TO FOOL PEOPLE OF VASCO & USURP VASCO BEACH FOR COAL Traditional fishing communities have lived and fished in Vasco Bay for thousands of years and possess customary rights over the entire Bay and its shores, including the parts usurped by MPT illegitimately to serve foreign interests. Unfortunately, both the State Government and the Central Government continue to work for profits of large corporations, both foreign and Indian, even today, and are determined to displace and destroy all Goan traditional communities to achieve the aims of their greedy masters. Goa Against Coal condemns MPT and Goa Government’s attempt to defraud the fisher folk of Vasco Bay by creating a fraudulent MOU which conceals the devious plan to displace all the fisher folk community eventually. The MPT is planning to future expands its coal handling and thus plans to capture the entire Vasco Bay as they plan to build 4(four) additional berths at Vasco bay by adding additional facilities of liquid bulk, cargo vessel, coal, for naval etc. Therefore MPT is building narrow vertical finger pier, with berths on both sides by dividing the beach. And in future additional finger pier berths will be build on the east side by reclaiming the land and thus the area used currently by fishermen will be displaced to further east that is towards chicalim bay thus completely displacing the fishing fleet at Vasco bay. In addition to this the additional capital dredging will be required to attain at least 14.5meters depth and by dredging more then 15 cubic million tonne of silt from Vasco Bay. Vasco bay has witness heavy erosion due to MPT’s continues illegal dredging and from 1.10km of bay now only 500meters with only 35meters of sand dunes left and the rest is completely eroded and if the finger pier berth is build by the MPT then not only the Vasco bay will disappear but also Baina bay and surrounding beaches around 10km radius will be effected . MPT’s Final Report entitled “Development of Business Plan for MPT” dated March 2007 clearly states that on page 6-51 that the social impact of development of Vasco Site would be “Fishing fleet to be relocated”. The plans for ‘developing’ Vasco Bay are on pages 6-53 to 6-57, which clearly shows that it is planned to systematically displace the fisher folk over 3 or 4 phases, the current MOU being the first phase. The proposal to usurp the lands of the fisher folk and to construct liquid cargo handling facilities on the finger pier to be constructed in the area presently used by fisher folk is an essential part of the coal expansion project, since berth 9 cannot be used for coal without relocating the liquid cargo handling facilities existing on it presently. MPT has foolhardily awarded a Contract to Vedanta for ‘Development of Berths 8, 9 & Barge Berth’, and is now desperately trying to take our lands for their profits. Goa Against Coal again demands that all coal projects in Vasco Port be scrapped and the fisher folk be given additional facilities within MPT without touching any of the remaining lands or facilities of the fisher folk. Goa Against Coal demands that Vasco Port be developed as India’s premier Cruise Terminal which will be a boast to Goa’s tourism, and that handling of coal and other dirty and hazardous cargoes be completely stopped in accordance with the recommendations of experts and by the Goa pollution board which clearly said to reduce the coal handling by 20%, so that employment, health and economic and social growth of Vasco City are given priority, rather than profits of three corporations. We also demand that the government of Goa should scrap this project in toto and Vasco Beach be nourished and restored to its original form by using expert knowledge available with our scientists to recreate the glorious beach of past years. So that it can be used for recreational activities by the people of Vasco and Mormugao Taluka as a whole. -sd- -sd- Custodio D’souza Olencio Simoes Convenor Member [MODERATOR'S NOTE: WHEN POSTING TO GOANET, please do not post attachments. Send your message as inline email text. In plaintext format. Attachments only double our workload.]