I was surprised to read the news of the proposal to build a huge statue of Jesus Christ on the lines of the one in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The statue of Jesus Christ The Redeemer in Rio was built by an organization and motivated by the belief there was too much Godlessness in Brazil at the time. That is the raison d'être of the project. And, that was almost a hundred years ago.
Is the proposed statue along the lines of Jesus Christ The Redeemer in Baga going to become a tourist attraction welcoming people from all over the world? Or what? During the century since the completion of the statue it has proved to be expensive to maintain because of its height and the strong winds and damage to the structure, and even a lighting attack. There was a proposal to build a statue on the lines as the one in Rio on the hill in Cansaulim where the Three Kings Festival is held annually but the idea did not take off. During the previous five decades the office of the president elect of the United Stated has been packaged and sold to the masses of United States voters by advertising companies and public relation gurus as it continues to this day. Is Jesus Christ next in line? Is this the vision of a large number of Roman Catholics in Goa or simply one MLA and his followers? Is this religion or political cynicism at its peak? Calungute, as is well known, is a festering wound of drugs and prostitution in the Goan body and an embarrassment for some of the people who live there, and who espouse an upright way of life. We know how through the decades the locals have unconscionably built an enormous number of illegal structures - all over the coastal area - including in CRZ causing massive environmental damage. Today, even the water from the wells is no longer drinkable. Is this what we want for the whole of Goa? The Calungute MLA is least concerned with the environment, only interested in regularizing illegal structures and promoting PDAs. Is this right or the way to go? Is this intelligent planning? And, of course, almost every politician wants to go down in history, and secure a place in the history books, as the person who built a unique monument, statue, road, building, bridge or whatever. A kind of political syndrome, albeit a very unhealthy one. A man or woman of conscience would want the people who allowed these thousands of illegal structures which are used more often than not for a commercial purpose to be held responsible for allowing and promoting illegal activities on this gigantic a scale. And, the illegal owners need to be fined heavily. But, then, this is Goa. There are also complaints from Roman Catholics in Baga regarding the famous Retreat House which was built in 1952 with the consent of the villagers; now, it has become a victim of noise pollution by tourists who visit the shacks. This is nothing less than an attack on a famous center of Roman Catholic meditation and prayer; and, let us not forget, the Retreat House has been in Baga since 1952 prior to the arrival of tourists and tourist shacks. It is, no doubt, a landmark in Baga and its environ. Does it matter? The shacks make a lot of money and bring in wealth for the shack owners and their supporters. Do the people who go to the Retreat House to meditate, pray, and seek solitude have no rights? Finally, is Jesus Christ no more than another ingredient in the tourist pie in Goa? Even for a born again non-Christian this is shocking news. Aren't the old and historical churches in Goa enough of history? Is there a need to create instant history using Jesus Christ as a selling point - a tourist attraction - for tourists from all over the world? Is this a bird-brain idea? Anything to make money? And, by the way, who is going to pay for this extravaganza?
