http://www.navhindtimes.in/opinion/erosion-goa-s-coastline
Eroding Goan Coastline Science says that our universe was caused by an eruption of great magnitude in the solar system and this has been so far universally accepted, since then our planet has gone through the changes of evolution, from the first, one cell protozoa to the complex human being of today. As the evolution process went on, the face of this planet also changed, as evolution was the cause of life on earth, there were different factors that contributed to the changing face of this earth. The major factors being erosion by sea and wind, eruption of volcanoes and the changes in weather, heat, cold and storms. All these factors where natural occurrences. Till then all was going according to natures plan. Today man has become so obsessed with his ingenuity that he fails to see beyond the tip of his own nose, man's greed has so overwhelmed his senses that he is become the victim of his own gluttony. Man in his infinite wisdom has failed to perceive the doom that awaits him. We have been reading a lot about global worming and the rising water levels, but still fail to fathom the magnanimity of the issue. It is man the ultimate and the most superior creation of God and nature that is responsible for all the evil that has besieged planet earth. The green revolutionaries and the environmentalists have been upping the ante but to no avail, toxic emissions are the order of the day, increasing it's deadly density by the hour, disappearance of forests world wide have further contributed to the agony. Man is only looking for answers without trying to stop contributing to the destructive cause. Very soon man will be fighting for his very own survival, with his back to the wall. Goa a very small entity, though a mere speck on the world front, has been contributing unabashed to the degradation of our nature and our environment in a profound manner. Goa's once proud green forests are fast disappearing, hill cutting is rampant, excessive, illegal and open cast mining is thriving, mining rejects and dust silting our river beds, polluting the river and threatening it's natural flow of water. Although alarm bell have been sounded by various organizations our Government and our bureaucracy seem to have gone deaf, dumb and blind. All of a sudden today, the Goa Government has got up from it's "Kumbkaran sleep" and is worried about the erosion of Goa's coastline, although more erosion has been caused by the man-made factors rather than by the natural phenomena's. Today Goa is on the brink of an environmental disaster due to it's excessive and open cast mining, hill cutting and land filling which have been intensified inexorably and due to the silting of our river beds, but our Government has shown no desire to act against the destructive forces but rather encouraged the destruction by it's lackluster attitude towards the environment. The CRZ has been active for a very long time and has been the cause of sleepless nights for a lot of coastal Goans. The Government has done it's best to curb the freedom of coastal Goans in order to facilitate the billion dollar hotel industry. After a couple of decades after the CRZ notification the Government has now realized the fact about Goa's eroding coastline. All this while the Government was busy in finding ways and means to expand the Tourism industry without ever trying to preserve it's most valuable asset, the coastline. Coastlines have been eroding from time immemorial, this phenomena is not new, whereas most countries have been protecting their coastline, our government has not only failed to protect but helped to erode it further. Year after year we have been hearing of the same old stories about washed up and eroded beaches and waterfronts during the rainy seasons. Last year itself there were pictures of the heavy erosion of the Betalbatim and a couple of other beaches. These were just a few places but there have been many other places that have been hit even worse. What exactly has our Government done to prevent it's reoccurrence this rainy season ? Or will coastal Goans have to go through the same acrimony and risk to human life, this rainy season too ? Goa government has approached the centre with a begging bowl for funds to protect our coastline at the twelfth hour. Why did the Goa Government not show any interest to this major issue during the last ten months ? Our tax payers money should be judiciously used in the protection, preservation and development of our beautiful beaches and our coastline and not spent on our high flying Ministers and their vulgar, ostentatious lifestyles and their fancies. The dividends of a good tourism policy are invariably very high, and our Government has to tap the recourses that attract tourism in the first place. Preservation and protection of our beaches and our coastline should be a priority of the Goa Government. Goa being blessed with a waterfront on the entire length of it's west coast and a range of mountains called the Western Ghats, rich in bio-diversity on it's eastern front, our government should do everything possible to protect and preserve these divine provisions that God and nature has bestowed on Goa. It is not just our coastline that's eroding, and more than the coastline, the principles and the credibility of our Goan politicians has been eroding and it is high time we made efforts to restore our coastline and the sanity of Goan politics. Freddy Agnelo Fernandes -------------------------------------------------------- The content of this electronic communication is intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom it is addressed and any others who are specifically authorized to receive it. It may contain confidential or legally privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or otherwise placing reliance on the contents of this information is prohibited and may be unlawful in certain legal jurisdictions. If you have received this communication in error please notify the sender immediately by responding to this email and then delete it from your system. -------------------------------------------------------- ______________________________________________________________________ This email has been scanned by the MessageLabs Email Security System. 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