To Goanet -
The bad news doesn't stop coming. The latest is that Mopa
has been agreed to in principle by the Delhi mandarins.
It is well to reflect on the following question:
Do Goans wish to preserve the last remaining sanctuaries of
the rural life and rural countryside?
This question can be rephrased: Do Goans wish to turn the
entire state into one contiguous lump of an urban swamp?
The answer to this question will determine your position on
the matter.
Prima facie, the consequences of having a new airport at
Mopa are:
(a) Villages such as Chandel, Torxem, Ibrampur, Alorna,
Nagzor will be shot. Villages farther out - Korgaon, Parcem,
Tuem etc will be ripe for conversion and massive construction
(think airport hotels, apartments etc etc). DLF and Co must
be licking their chops.
(b) Invitation for the ghati hordes from UP, Bihar, W Bengal,
Bangladesh, MP, Orissa, AP, Karnataka, Kerala etc to move in
into what are still relatively untouched areas of Goa and erect
colonies of shanties.
There are extremely powerful interests pushing the Mopa
project. Sharad Pawar and his henchmen have invested
heavily in property in the Pernem taluka and in the
adjoining Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra, and stand
to make billions if Mopa fructifies. Pawar already has his
boy Praful Patel in the right place to make the right call.
The villagers most likely will be conned into supporting
this project with visions of the modern life and promises
of a perennial supply of milk and honey. MLAs - regardless
of party affiliation - will be all for it since the kickbacks
and commissions pie is so large that even a small nibble
will set you up for life.
In my view, we need to be doing the exact opposite: that
is, discourage the numbers of incoming visitors through
deliberate policy changes. We cannot support these levels
of inflow. When politicians call for a freeze on Goa's
population the corollary should be, a freeze on visitors, too.
Regards,
r
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