Dear Goans,
Here is a letter that gives you an idea of the kind of things going
on in Goa.
All of you are urged to spare some time and build a people's movement
to prevent the destruction before it is too late....
Sanjeev
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Dear Sirs,
I live in Mumbai, that polluted and congested city and was in Goa
last month where we stayed at Bambolim Beach Resort. While we had a
wonderful time and enjoyed the clean air, good roads and smiling
hospitality of the Goan people, one incident left us with a very bad
taste in the mouth.
I was holidaying with a lady who is a property broker in Mumbai and
we passed large bill boards stating that certain areas were being
developed by a group called Aldei de Goa (Dynamix Group). We visited
the site office out of curiousity and met up with the Brigadier in
charge of the construction there. He kindly offered to take us
around the site. We drove all around the hill - Phase I or II or
something and saw constructed villas etc. These villas are being
sold for Rs.2.5 crores each - the area being around 3000 sq ft. Then
they drove us towards Bambolim Beach - Phase VI or VII, where
construction is under way.
The thing that outraged us most about this construction was not the
fact of the astronomical prices being charged but the fact that they
had completely destroyed all the vegetation - and I mean ALL -
grass, shrubs and trees over the entire hillside. There is bare red
mud all over and to add insult to injury they have covered the
slashed and denuded hill with green camouflage cloth. When we asked
what that was for, the answer given was that it was put there to hide
the destruction from the road. They have absolutely no respect for
the ecology of the region and to my mind have damaged the area beyond
repair. The rest of the area - acres wide, has been bought up for a
five star hotel by this same group and we shudder to think of the
damage they will inflict on the natural beauty there too. The
slashed hillside at the main site is clearly visible from the
Bambolim Beach Resort at the other side of the bay and the second
site is a nightmare of eroded mud on the way to the resort. These
villas are surely out of reach of the local people and are being
bought up by ultra rich people from Mumbai and Delhi or NRIs who have
absolutely no intention of living there all year round or being
concerned about the land they occupy.
Does not the Government of Goa conduct any kind of check on this
aggressive and destructive construcion? In a tourist haven like Goa,
if this becomes the norm, not only will the ecology be damaged beyond
repair, the tourism industry will suffer too, because people looking
for greenery and peace will find themselves in another dirty over
crowded Indian state; which is exactly what they are trying to get
away from in the first place. Or is this done with the blessings of
the government? In that case, maybe the people of Goa will have to
wake up and shake up the government before it is too late.
Yours truly,
Ketayun Sethna
Mumbai
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