With the ODP 2028 approved for Margao, Ponda and Fatorda, what exactly is going on?
The ODP plan we are told is to help centers of Goan identity to retain their charm as well as to adapt to the pressures of modern life. The ODP plan needs to showcase Goemkarponn. Does it? No mention has been made of the height of houses. And, old houses are the heart of Goemkarponn, according to the Town and Country Minister. If what he says is true then new buildings should not exceed the height of a coconut tree so as to strengthen Goemkarponn. The minister appears to be contradicting himself. Big and tall buildings are okay in brand new planned towns but never in old towns and villages with centuries old traditional architecture. That would be a good definition of the destruction of Goemkarponn. The unplanned and hazardous buildings in the past few decades have been destroying the traditional architectural beauty of Goa, and changing the identity of the towns. Do we want to continue this trend? I hope the phrase 'to adapt to the pressures of modern life' as reported in a popular daily newspaper in south Goa does not refer to the builders lobby. The damage to our villages can be stopped more easily than our towns and cities. Our villages are where the majority of Goans live and where our hearts are; we need to declare the height of a house should be no higher than a coconut tree. Some countries have done so, and the question is, can we also be as enlightened? Neo-Goemkarponn cannot fly in the face of Goemkarponn. That would be insanely slippery, foxy, and an insult to the intelligence of the Goemkar. Goemkarponn has to be more than a mantra which puts us into a state of sleepiness. It should wake us up and not the contrary. Our leaders, and especially the Goa Forward Party who swears by Goemkarponn will have to walk the talk. Or face the rage of the people.
