Tyranny of Mega-Housing Projects
Gated communities are foreign to our culture. They are creating a new class
system, says PETER FERNANDES
The elected representatives are making a mockery of our civilisation. These
leaders are nurturing a culture that dehumanises our citizenry, making them
nonentities and dashing helpless people against brick walls of stupidity. This
is clear, as the amendment to the Panchayati Raj Act 1994 is approved. What an
irony! ‘Mega-Housing Projects’ are determined to rule our villages and towns.
This monster is very powerful, as money is flowing from every quarter to
silence the voice and slaughter the will of the people. Still worse is the
demise of our beautiful and sublime environment. Nature at the moment is
silently absorbing the wrath of greed and muscle power. However, the natural
world ultimately will have the last laugh; only it will be too late for the
majority of people to laugh with nature.
At the very outset, we must grasp the nature of gated communities. They are
foreign to our culture, and appendices to our civilisation. They create a sense
of elitism, and those within keep apart from the rest of the society. They are
creating a new class system. Let history be our teacher at this crucial
juncture, to reinforce a valuable lesson. Never forget the great generations
who lived before us, who fought and gave their lives to emancipate the
oppressed and to abolish segregation, in order to establish an egalitarian
society. Why are we reversing the vision of our forefathers? Perhaps they were
‘fools’ to envision such a concept, of building a just and happy society for
all to live in as neighbours.
Gated communities dismiss whatever happens outside their walls. For them, it is
of no consequence. More often than not, they turn away from participating in
social activities, especially to help the less fortunate. The evil of gated
communities is that they suck in all the valuable resources of a place and,
without a twinge of guilt, they unleash their filth and waste outside their
walls, keeping their lives insulated and isolated, as they live a fantasy life
in a paradise usurped from the locals.
‘Mega-Housing Projects’ are a source of gleeful satisfaction for our
politicians. Come what may, they are not concerned about the repercussions from
such evil schemes, as long as their pockets are filled with unaccounted money
received from the builders. To protect builders and their interests, our
leaders are breeding gangs. The growing number of gangs in Goa is a very
frightening scenario. On top of that, our police forces conduct their duties at
the behest of the politicians. This is a double-edged sword hanging over the
ordinary citizens, who feel the pressure, then yield rather than fight what
seems to them to be a losing battle. Consequently, this ill-gotten gain, from
the builders to our politicians, comes to the surface as elections near. Votes
are bought for five hundred to a thousand rupees each. Without realising that
this booty came from evil devices, naive citizens also partake in the merriment
of our politicians.
In the not-too-distant past, the price of land in Goa was within reach of the
common man. Today, to purchase a parcel of land is a distant dream for the
citizens. Those Goans who remained in Goa and never left to find work are
denied the dream of owning a home in their own birthplace. Nonetheless, many of
our youngest have left Goa, and they toil in distant lands to fulfil their
dreams. Sadly, when they try to reach out and touch their dream, it is pushed
farther and farther away from them by our greedy politicians, who work
hand-in-glove with these builders. The thought of not being able to fulfill
their dream has brought despair and disappointment to the lives of so many
young Goans working overseas. This faulty vision of our corrupt politicians has
put a heavy weight on the people, and they see themselves almost crushed, yet
no politician will lift a finger to lighten their burden.
Goa’s infrastructure has been languishing for attention and upgradation for
decades now, yet the cry is not heard by those in positions of power. Every
year, it seems to have become a proud moment when we publicise that we have
again broken the record of people dying on our roads. Mother Goa cries
bitterly: “How long will you keep killing my children on the streets? My
children have shed enough blood; will someone take notice? Even weddings in Goa
turn tragic.” The cry of Mother Goa continues: “Why do you want to keep my
children thirsty when I have enough water to provide for them? Perhaps you have
invited more than I can sustain. And, if that is not enough, you are stripping
me of my beauty, and throwing your waste all over me. I smell the stench and it
upsets me terribly. Besides, the electricity continues to play hide and seek;
yet the Mega-Housing Projects mushroom everywhere with each passing day. How is
it possible to add more weight to our crumbling infrastructure
without questioning if it can be sustained? Will someone answer me?”
The menace of the housing projects has also intensified a serious health
hazard, endangering our well being. Malaria and mosquito related sicknesses
have been causing panic, since malaria cases have not only doubled, but tripled
in the last few years. A memory of my father saying to me not so long ago:
“Just notice, soon worms will ooze out from the ground,” continues daily to
dismay me. The unprotected sewer system, which runs through ground water, will
certainly show its ugly face sooner or later. To date, people have seen only
the garbage flaunted and exposed in heaps for all to suffer through, but heed
the warning, that more and worse afflictions from disorders festering
underground will have greater ramifications.
The unwarranted influx of immigrants has already caused imbalance in our
society, and if it goes unattended, our demise is at the threshold. The
Mega-Housing Projects have become the gateway whereby the rich and affluent
from other states enter Goa. Apprehension is being felt by many, except by our
politicians. It is however, not ironic, because this is how they play their
political games. From the rich immigrants our leaders fill their greedy pots,
and they illegally protect the poor migrant workers, not to alleviate their
misery, but to create vote banks. We need immigrants to fill the void left by
our overseas Goans. Therefore, no one should take for granted the services
provided by the migrant workers who built Goa for the last couple of decades.
The treatment of these workers should be conducted properly and ethically,
without taking advantage. Unfortunately, we know they live in appalling
conditions.
The escalating crimes in Goa should sound the alarm to warn us about this
downward spiral, which is the direction in which our society is going. Although
it took a while for the villagers to recognise that this evil monstrosity,
‘Mega-Housing Projects’, was invited by our trusted leaders and will devour our
culture, land, and society. Now, they are angry! With every ounce of their
energy, they want to halt this catastrophic and corrosive machinery, in order
to preserve Goa’s unique identity for years to come. Like the great generations
of yesteryear, we are now called upon to bind together, as sons and daughters
of Goa, to stamp out the avarice and arrogance of our elected officials. Every
‘Gram Sabha’ has vigorously opposed the derelict vision of our leaders who
brought in ‘Mega-Housing Projects’ like a plague, infesting every nook and
corner of Goa. Domineering and out of control is this ‘tyranny’; causing
distress and disquiet, as it continues to weaken our famili
es and our state. It has sown the seeds of ruination and, when the harvest is
ripe, it will feast on the very heart of Goa. Do not be an accomplice by your
indifference. Take action, speak out, support each other, and create a turning
point. There can be no emancipation from this tyranny without first conquering
our own apathy. Believe in your own wisdom, and elect leaders that are
pro-people and pro-Goa!
_________________________________________________________________
Windows Live: Friends get your Flickr, Yelp, and Digg updates when they e-mail
you.
http://www.microsoft.com/middleeast/windows/windowslive/see-it-in-action/social-network-basics.aspx?ocid=PID23461::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-xm:SI_SB_3:092010
