It is indeed refreshing and a matter of consolation and hope that our Goan youth like Aaron Pereira and many others are standing up to speak out on behalf of our beloved Goa. With our Goan youth and our students standing up and raising their voices - just as many other concerned Goans are doing, we hopefully shall be able to preserve our beloved Goa and what's left of it from further ruin before it's too late.
Kudos to Aaron Pereira who in raising some thought provoking comments, sought Rahul’s intervention to save Goa and questioned the thoughtless and destructive policies, land acquisitions, playing with land, reckless mining, housing projects disguised as SEZs, five star resorts disguised as Food Parks and the IT Park first heavily advertised building was a super mall in the shape of a ship - all destroying the scarce resources of Goa. Surely Complacency amongst Goans is our greatest threat - All Goans need to raise their voices at all levels - at the Panchayat and Gram Sabha Levels, at the State Government Level as well as the National level and decide what kind of development we want and what we want to preserve and protect in Goa. It doesn't matter whether you are a RG or NRG, Cristao, Konknno or Mussolman or atheist- what matters is that you as a Goan who loves Goa and are concerned enough for Goa and Goans to speak out and confront those that are bent to destroy our Goa.We need to stop the rot, confront and expose the corruption that we see in Goa by certain politicians and other individuals with vested interests who are all out to destroy the Goa that we love for their personal benefit and gain. Kudos once again to our Goan youth and others who are standing up and speaking out for Goa and Goans! These green shoots of hope are our Goa's future. Attached below are two newspaper reports from the Herald where our Goan youth have posed some thought provoking questions and shared their concerns with Rahul Gandhi and our Goan politicians during Rahul Gandhi's visit to Goa. ****************************************************** HERALD REPORTER GBA member seeks Rahul’s intervention to save Goa PANJIM, JAN 19 The youngest member of Goa Bachao Abhiyan (GBA) Aaron Pereira today sought the intervention of MP Rahul Gandhi to save Goa from destruction which is going on through reckless mining, land acquisitions with hidden agendas, playing with land – the scarce resources of Goa. “I have faith in your vision, I beg you not to abandon Goa to thoughtless policies, surely encouraging discontent and naxalism. The people will be with you if you help stop illegal mining and disempowerment through Government gazetted land-grab in the name of public interest” Aaron said in his letter he handed over to Gandhi during the latter’s interaction with the students in the Goa University campus, Taleigao. He said as a young Goan he is desperately helpless and frustrated to see the accelerated lawlessness and plunder Goa’s land is going through, with rampant mining and mindless land acquisitions with little public interest at heart. “I have seen successive Governments arbitrarily acquiring land and promising employment, with little or no thought behind them, housing projects disguised as SEZs, five star resorts disguised as Food Parks …. And what of the IT park? How do we trust this when the first heavily advertised building was a super mall in the shape of a ship?” Aaron asked. Elaborating further, he said that just as our beaches prove to be our lifeline in terms of fishing and tourism, there’s another secret to our well being - the richly forested Western Ghats. Passing through the spine of Goa, he pointed out that they are part of the top twelve bio-diverse hotspots in the world, and are responsible for fresh water springs, crucial to the well being of people. New species and medicinal plants are being discovered regularly in these regions. “If Goan people are known for being peaceful, it’s because they have lived in harmony with everything that nature provides”, the letter says. However this world hotspot is being destroyed at an alarming rate, with it people and secrets locked in plants that we are yet to find uses for, Aaron said. Giving an example, he said like Switzerland has kept its beauty, leveraging chocolate, banking and natural beauty as its industry, why can’t Goa make an industry in export of medicinal plants unique to the Ghats, of Feni, of managed forestation in denuded areas that serve the Indian plywood industry and increase green cover at one stroke. Why can’t Goa be the jewel in India’s crown, a successful experiment in a small place, brought about by the will of a forward thinking Government? he asked. If you help swing policy for equitable distribution, making Goa a rich and sustainable state you will be forever etched in our memory as the politician who did the right thing. **************************************************************** Goa issues take Rahul by storm HERALD REPORTER Huge crowd greets Gandhi scion on 1st visit PANJIM, JAN 19 All India Congress Committee General Secretary Rahul Gandhi found himself facing the angst of Goan youth at an interaction on Tuesday when they tossed a barrage of questions at him on the Goan political scenario. Gandhi found himself at sea over some of the questions and had to direct those pertaining to the State to the Chief Minister Digambar Kamat who was present at the event held at the Goa University football ground. Questions were raised on issues like CRZ, illegal mining, SEZ, recurrence of old faces in State politics, alleged money-for-jobs by politicians, etc. On SEZ, the chief minister said that his Government scrapped the SEZ projects and even reversed the policy on SEZs. On the issue of mining, Kamat said the Government was seized of the issue and as such, a new mining policy was being formulated. The students, who came in large numbers, made a strong demand for retirement of senior politicians from State politics thus giving a chance to young and upcoming leaders. RETIREMENT: “Just as there is retirement age for Government employees, there should be some cut-off age for politicians as well so that they don’t continue in politics beyond a certain age”, was their view. They demanded that there should be more opportunities for the youth to participate in the electoral system if India is to make rapid progress at all levels. To a question on corruption, Gandhi wanted suggestions from the students to stop or curb corruption. But hardly any strong suggestions on the issue came up, sources said. The Chief Minister said if there are issues facing the youth they should come openly and get them redressed. The AICC General Secretary had to direct one particular and embarrassing question pertaining to Education Minister Babush Monserrate to Kamat when a query was raised on his “criminal record”. A student also opined that rulers – ministers – should be educated as Goa has a high literacy rate. Kamat who felt a bit cornered answered that his Government was made up of coalition partners and Babush, didn’t belong to his party. Gandhi, who is here to see the revival of the National Students Union of India and also as part of the nation-wide interaction programme with the youth, mentioned at least ‘we don’t give membership to anyone having criminal record.’ He heard the young voices with interest. GOOD RESPONSE: Some of the students and youth leaders, who appeared satisfied, said the interaction lasted for one hour, fifteen minutes in which they managed to bring to Gandhi’s notice several issues afflicting Goa. But Gandhi’s visit had very little for media persons, who were left disgruntled when Gandhi appeared before them for precisely 50 seconds and vanished before further questions could be asked. No press conference was scheduled on the occasion as Gandhi had to get back to Delhi. The organisers were pleased by the turnout of the students. Large number of students turned up. Some pro-saffron students were also spotted at the venue. Many of the students who were eager to see the youth leader had to return because of the space constraint at the venue. Goa Pradesh Youth Congress President Sankalp Amonkar said the seating capacity was for 1,500 only. Besides his interaction with the students, he had a separate meeting with members of Youth Congress before addressing Goa Pradesh Congress Committee members and MLAs. Gandhi was accompanied by Meenakshi Natarajan and general secretary in charge of Goa desk B K Hariprasad.
