---------------------------------------------------------- Do GOACAN a favour, circulate this email to your family members, relatives, neighbours and friends. Help others be BETTER INFORMED. ---------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------- Documented by Goa Desc Resource Centre (GDRC) Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------- Port vs people ? -------------------------------------------------------- What started off as a minor jurisdictional dispute between the Goa government and the Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) over territorial waters seems to have blown up into a full -fledged fracas between the people of Vasco and the Port.
The very fact that all three MLAs representing the port town, cutting across party lines, have thrown their weight behind the Mormugao Bachao Abhiyan (MBA) — a united front of organisations of trawler owners, barge owners and traditional fishermen, as well as workers' unions and citizens' forums — points to there being widespread resentment against the port administration's expansion plans. The main issue at hand is the plan of the Mormugao Port to shift the existing fishing jetty and trawler anchorage at Vasco Bay, off Kharvewaddo, to a location called Gina Penta at Chicalim. The Port plans to do large-scale reclamation at Vasco Bay to construct berths for ships. Around 194 houses in the area are to be demolished, and the families relocated. The project is estimated to require an investment of Rs280 crore. But the MPT has other major plans too. The 'West of Breakwater' project will reclaim 1.60 lakh sq metres of land on the seaward side of the existing breakwater, to create new berths for ships as well as a rig repair facility, at an estimated cost of Rs200 crore. The biggest project of them all is the 'Baina Bay Project'. This will see one breakwater being built from Baina to Pequeno Island, to virtually create a new port. A total of 6 lakh sq metres will be reclaimed to create an international -size shipbuilding yard, a container transhipment terminal, a berth for cruise ships, a world-class marina and watersports facilities, at a total cost of Rs440 crore. There is more to this issue than just the fear of the fishing community about being displaced. The question is whether Goa's largest city, which already has an acute shortage of housing and infrastructure, can absorb the fallouts of such a colossal quantum of investment. The possible environmental impact of reclaiming close to 10 lakh sq metres of land from the sea is also an unknown factor. Reclamation that changes tidal and river flow patterns sometimes results in severe erosion of the seashore, even in areas far removed. Besides, how will the city react to losing the Baina Beach, which will be off-limits to the people of Vasco once the Baina Bay Project gets underway? There is no gainsaying that the expansion of the Mormugao Port will benefit Goa. As MPT Chairman Praveen Agarwal himself has pointed out, any port exists for the economic betterment of the people in its hinterland. But as we have seen ever so many times, development cuts both ways. Even as it creates great new opportunities, it can also shatter lives and livelihoods. Often, the former is grabbed by the influential and wealthy, while the latter falls to the lot of the common people. The Port administration should seriously consider the concerns of the residents of Vasco and find a way out. There is no need for this to become a battle between the Port and the people. -------------------------------------- HERALD 11/02/08 Editorial page 8 -------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------- GOA CIVIC AND CONSUMER ACTION NETWORK ---------------------------------------------------------- promoting civic and consumer rights in Goa ---------------------------------------------------------- GOACAN Post Box 187 Margao, Goa 403 601 GOACAN Post Box 78 Mapusa, Goa 403 507 mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----------------------------------------------------------
