God has blessed Goans with a beautiful land admired the world over but strangely Goans appear to have to have taken this for granted and specific few are hell bent on destroying the beauty for vested interests. Take for instance my beautiful village of Colva which is facing the onslaught of the real estate lobby in tacit alliance with specific corrupt panchas and politicians now and over the last so many years. There are hardly any scenic open spaces left in Colva and one such space is the open space just near the Church. There are calls from some to concretize the ground, with the excuse that Colva needs a multi-purpose ground. I strongly oppose any such move based on the following points: (1) There is a Ground already near the beach which was meant for humans but now I see more Cows and Buffalo's playing on it. I understand that its with SAG but why can't we take it back and put it to the good use of the community. I find something very strange here in the reluctance of the Governing Authorities to get this ground back. (2) Does environment assessment and disaster management safeguards allow for this open space to be concretized; it appears that vested interests are more interested in real estate assessment vs. environment assessment. (3) The argument I hear being put forward by so called "technical experts" is drainage is to be provided in the concretization of this ground. I do not buy this argument because if Colva has proved anything, is that we have very high levels of in-competence; just take a tour of the village, beach, creek, polluted water bodies, abused/contaminated drainage etc and see for yourself. If we can't manage the basic things, then with what confidence can we ensure that the right drainage will be provided(if at all this is legitimate). One thing I have seen however is that Colva ranks very high in Corruption and Real Estate Deals; I see specific panchas acquiring wealth in such a short time. So can anyone convince me why there are no vested interests here? If the said individuals are so concerned about the village and its inhabitants, why are they not addressing other basic problems in the village.
I hope that the local MLA Mr. Caitu D'Silva is not working with vested interests to concretize this ground and if he is, I strongly request him to refrain from doing so in the long term interest of the village and its inhabitants. I have given my views and I hope there are Colvenkars who agree with me and If they do, I encourage them to speak up for the sake of our land. I end with a quote ""All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." And this quote does not only apply to this issue but also other issues in Colva and other parts of Goa. Arwin Mesquita, Colva -- Please post your comments on my Blog: http://goanidentity.blogspot.com/ Please also see below: 1. Benaulim Village Action Committee: http://www.bvacbenaulim.blogspot.com/ 2. "Rape of Goa" : http://www.parrikar.com/blog/the-rape-of-goa/ 3. MAND - an adivasi-rights resource centre : http://mandgoa.blogspot.com/ 4. EVERY GOAN SHOULD SEE THIS VIDEO: http://infochangeindia.org/Infochange-documentary.html 5. Goa's Identity Movement group on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com//#/group.php?gid=193497031686 6. Official Government Site NRI Office (GOA): http://www.globalgoans.org.in/