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FUTURE TENSEThe story behind the Church’s advisory

AJAY THAKUR / THE GOAN

VASCO DA GAMA:

A hush descends on one of the manyLenten services at St. Andre’s Churchin Vasco, as one of Catholic Goa’smost celebrated yet controversial par-ish priests begins to speak in Konk-ani. “I have two announcements tomake”, says the bespectacled man ina white cassock with a red sash. “Asyou would be aware, a Jesuit Priest (Fr.Cedric Prakash) is visiting this statefrom Gujarat. He tells us how di� cultit is to register inter-faith marriagesover there. How the people over thereare su�ering. My � rst announcementis actually to plead to you, this time

please vote for a secular party can-didate,” said Fr Jose Anton da Costa,Parish Priest, St. Andre’s Church, atthe jam packed 9.30 am mass last Sun-day. His second announcement wasthat he was leaving the parish for an-other assignment. The in� uential andpolitically inclined Fr Costa had, injust two years, helped whip a politicalwave against Congress and its alliedparties by imploring people to voteagainst corruption that had helpedBJP win three of Mormugao Taluka’sfour Assembly seats. This congrega-tion had, amongst others, Vasco’sformer NCP MLA Jose Philip, who fellout of favour with Fr. Costa and lost

the election to BJP’s Carlos Almeida.Times have changed ever since and FrCosta no more looks at the local city,taluka or state level politics. It is aboutIndia this time and the Church is in nomood to let go o� its pro-secular turf.

The triggerLast week’s advisory of Council for

Social Justice and Peace, the Church’spopular voice, may have looked asyet another of the routine letters thatis sent out to the media to ensure thatpeople vote, free, fair and conscien-tiously in the upcoming Parliamenta-ry polls. Yet, scratch the surface, andit is a de�ant Church that is taking aworried, yet �rm stand against theBharatiya Janata Party’s media hypethat revolves around one man, itsprime ministerial candidate Naren-dra Modi. “Listen to the radio jinglesand read the print advertisements, itis not about NDA or UPA, but ModiSarkaar (government) which is com-plicated. We live in a Parliamentarydemocracy and the approach to thepolls here is like a presidential formof government”, says Fr. MaverickFernandes, Director, Caritas – Goa.The Church had in its letter to thepeople said “It is convincingly ap-parent that the ‘Election Campaign’even in these �rst stages, supportedby the Media, is geared towards thepromotion of one individual as if thisis a Presidential election”. Church of-�cials point out that unlike other par-

ties who were promoting individualparliamentary representatives acrossthe country, BJP was pushing justone individual forward.

Last year, the state’s BJP govern-ment which had been famouslybacked by the Church in the last as-sembly polls of 2012, went in an over-drive to host the party’s National Ex-ecutive in Goa where Narendra Modiwas appointed the party’s nationalcampaign chief, his �rst and crucialstep towards prime minister-shipfrom the BJP.

While the party’s local unit wentoverboard, the Church had made asilent note of it. “While nationwidethey may be attacking the UPA at theCentre over the price rise, but what ishappening out here? There has beena huge increase in taxes ranging fromRs 150 to Rs 3000 and the brunt borneby poor taxi drivers and shack own-ers. The common man’s life is di� -cult”, says Fr. Savio Fernandes, Sec-retary, CSJP. Fr Savio, who had visitedGujarat weeks before the letter wassent out, pooh-poohs BJP’s claimsof a vibrant and developed Gujarat,Modi’s home state. “A developed Gu-jarat is a media hype and is about thedevelopment of a chosen few. Thecondition in many of its villages, itstowns remain as it is. There is nothingextraordinary out there”, observes Fr.Savio.

The battle for South Goa�Alexio Reginaldo Lourenco andNarendra Sawaikar debate key issues related to Goa, the de�nition of the word‘secular’ government and trade potshots over their respective party’s decisions inthe past

P 8-9GOENCHO MP >>

ellst

is a Presidential election . Chu� cials point out that unlike oth

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

� continued on page 4

THE BACK STORY>>

CREATIVE: MAHENDRA BELEKAR

A NEW DIMENSION?

>>GOAN GRILL P6

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A citizen journalist campaign

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STEPHEN DIAS/IATG 005

There exists a “gross violation”on the waterfront near AivaoVillage- Caranzalem (Dona Pau-la), where a project is comingup and is approved by the Gov-ernment of Goa. Water sports,

which comes under CentralGovernment National Instituteof Water Sports Authority, is aproject already been signed withthe Goa State Infrastructure De-velopment Corporation on Janu-ary 26, 2014.

Engineers from National In-

stitute of Water Sports Authoritystate that there will be a swim-ming pool and a huge buildingfor the water sports complexwhich is likely to be completedwithin two years. Huge excava-tion of sand with a quantity ofmore than 1,000 trucks is seenat the venue. The work comesunder Coastal Regulation Zone.The Coastal Zone ManagementAuthority (GCZMA) should takeimmediate action by deputingtheir team for inspection. A nec-essary complaint has alreadybeen lodged by Dr Joe D’Sousa,a member from Goa State Diver-sity Board, on March 18, 2014.

Water sports instituteto be new attraction

KIMBERLY COLAÇO/THE GOAN

It wasn’t a pleasing sight whena group of boys dressed in theirfootball jerseys walked throughthe uneven, bumpy roads inAivao. It is a small village whichis situated in Caranzalem. Theyfeel their rights to play in theopen are shattered. “We usedto play on the grounds, wherethere is a water sport institutecoming up. We also have ourgoalpost still there. Now weplay on the beach,” informed ayoung boy who seemed to have�nished his match and was re-turning home.

The land is acquired to buildthe National Institute of Water

Sports (NIWS) and some of thelocals are surely having issueswith it. But there are few whohave absolutely no clue as towhat is coming up there. “I don’tknow what is coming up here.What can we do? Please askpeople who would know I don’tknow anything” said a villager.A government o� cial who lives

in the village said, “Over a fewyears Goa will not remain openand free like it used to be. Whenwe have our houses around theCRZ zone they want to come anddestroy them but the govern-ment o�cials can build theirinstitutes? The law should be

same for all,” he added.The locals feel that the land

acquired by the government tobuild the water sports institutewill a�ect them in the long run,especially when their wells getdried.

The project has a series ofplans lined up for the locals andones who might be interested inlearning the techniques of wateractivity. It plans to have teach-ing activities like pool manage-ment, cannoning, managingtourism bustle, boat supervis-ing/ repairs, ra�ing, life guards,rescue training/operations, etc.It claims that all the courses willbe certi�ed by the authority.

The project was started on theFebruary 1, 2014 and is assumed

to be completed by January 31,2016. Tendered by the Goa StateInfrastructure DevelopmentCorporation (GSIDC) and recog-nised by the Union Ministry oftourism, the approximate costof the building would be worthcrores and the area of construc-tion is 65,509 sq meters. Ac-cording to information from theauthorities, the building will bebuilt in such a way where therewill be no destruction of anykind of �ora and fauna. Therewill be less damage to the placeas the material used will be eco-friendly. But, for those boys whoused to run around with a ballin the area where the building isnow coming up, their little play-ground is long gone.

Coasting through

regulationsRegulation of Permissible Activities:≥1. Clearance shall be given for any activity within the Coastal Regulation Zone only if it requires water front and foreshore facilities.

≥2. The following activities will require environmentalclearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, namely:

≥(i)Construction activities related to projects of Depart-ment of Atomic Energy or Defence requirements for which foreshore facilities are essential such as- slipways, jetties, wharves, quays; except for classi�ed operational compo-nent of defence projects for which a separate procedure shall be followed. (Residential buildings, o� ce buildings, hospital complexes, workshops shall not come within the de�nition of operational requirements except in very spe-cial cases and shall not normally be permitted in the CRZ)

≥(ii)Operational constructions for ports and harboursand light houses and constructions for activities such as jetties, wharves, quays and slipways, pipelines, conveying systems including transmission lines;

≥(ii a) Exploration and extraction of oil and natural gas and all associated activities and facilities thereto;

≥(iv) All other activities with investment exceeding rupees �ve crores except those activities which are to be regulated by the concerned authorities at the State/Union Territory level in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 6, sub-paragraph (2) of Annexure 1 of the noti�cation.

≥3. (i) The Coastal States and Union Territory Administra-tions shall prepare, within a period of one year from the date of this Noti�cation, Coastal Zone Management Plans identifying and classifying the CRZ areas within theirrespective territories in accordance with the guidelines given in Annexures I and II of the Noti�cation and obtain approval of the Central Government in the Ministry of Envi-ronment & Forests;

≥(ii) Within the framework of such approved plans, all de-velopment and activities within the CRZ shall be regulated by the State Govt, Union Territory Administration or the local authority as the case may be in accordance with the guidelines given in Annexure-I and II of the Noti�cation;

≥(iii) In the interim period till the Coastal Zone Manage-ment Plans mentioned are prepared and approved, all de-velopments and activities within the CRZ shall not violatethe provisions of this Noti� cation. State Governments and Union Territory Administrations shall ensure adherence tothese regulations and violations, if any, shall be subject tothe provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

≥Source: http://moef.nic.in/divisions/iass/notif/crz.htm

This used to be their playground

What were the documents inplace to allow for the conver-sion of agricultural land intocommercial land?The property has been undersettlement zone as per theregional plan of Goa, 2001. Toremove any doubt, Shree BalajiConcepts had sought a speci� c con�rmation from the Town &Country Planning Department which they con� rmed on Sep-tember 7, 2007. The Sanad wasissued by the O�ce of the Col-lector on October 3, 2010.How were the water bodies covered with boulders and mud when there was a lettersent by the water resourcedepartment to stop theseactivities in the water bodies and restore them?During the process of approval of the project, the Deputy Col-lector vide letter of 2009 had asked us to obtain a NOC fromthe Water Resource Depart-ment. The Department had replied in July 2009 and had not stated any objection. The

Water Resource Depart-ment had also con-�rmed that the ground levels at the site arehigher than the hightide level.The entire land underreference has been acoconut plantation.The irrigation drains have separate survey numbers indicated onthe cadastral plan and they have been underpossession and owner-ship of Shree BalajiConcepts. The Sanad has been granted forthe entire property in-cluding the irrigational drains with their survey numbers. There wereopen shallow wells for collection of waterthat were used for thecoconut plantation and it has been made out in the media report asif these are ponds not owned by Shree Balaji

Concepts. The construction at the site is being carried out inaccordance with the plan ap-proved by the Town & Country Planning Department.It is noteworthy that all the old irrigational drains and openwells have been planned forretention and usage as a partof the landscaping plan of theproject. There are very minor

deviations and we havesought approval of theWater Resource Depart-ment in this regard aswe have now been in-formed. Therefore, con-trary to what has beenreported, the irrigationdrains have not beencovered with boulders and mud.The nullahs which areconnecting to di� er-ent �elds are covered by sand, there is nopassage for the waterto flow by, how arethe �elds to get wa-tered?As explained above,they are not public nullahs but irrigationdrains have been re-tained and they are inaccordance with theplan approved by theTown & Country Plan-ning Department and thus, there is a passagefor the water to flowhas been maintained.

Are there any provisions made for the rainwater to en-ter the river?The irrigational drains havebeen retained and the excess water during the monsoons willnaturally flow through these tothe river.What  measures have youtaken to save the bio- diver-sity of the village?The main theme of the project revolves around nature and sustainability is the prime fo-cus. We have deployed leadinginternational consultants likeCPG and Belt Collins speci� cally to create an environment whichmaintains the natural bio-diversity of the project. Someof these features are explained below:(i) The project site was a co-conut plantation where therewere irrigation drains and open wells. All such drains and wells are being retained and enhanced as a part of thelandscaping plan. Constructionis happening only on 31% of the area and the rest will all berichly landscaped in addition tothe existing coconut plantation.(ii) With the intent of minimis-ing the wastage of potablewater, the distribution of wateris through a hydro-pneumatic system with pressure reducers such that there is minimal flowand wastage at usage points.The flushing system has beenselected for minimal flow of

water and consequently mini-mal wastage of this precious resource.(iii) The entire sewage generat-ed in the project will be treated through a high technology EDOX type sewage treatment plant. The quality of the watercan be precisely controlled and the entire treated water will bereused for the purpose of land-scaping of the vast area.(iv) The solid waste will be seg-regated as per modern prac-tises and an organic waste con-verter shall be installed at theproject site. The output fromthe organic waste converter isessentially manure.Due to stagnation of water inthe �elds the locals are fac-ing health issues, what haveyou planned to do?The existing irrigational drains allow any excess water to flowout from the �elds. We seestagnation in the adjoiningproperty which ultimately tries to flow though our property and as one can understand there cannot be stagnation insummer seasons when there isno rain. The stagnation is on ac-count of over-flow of untreated sewage. This is a matter of con-cern for Shree Balaji Concepts too and formal complaint hasbeen lodged with the PollutionControl Board in this regard.

SPOKESPERSON,BALAJI CONCEPTS

YOU REPORT >>

WE COVER >>

On March 22, the people of Cavellossim wrote toI Am The Goan regarding an alleged illegality in their village.The Goan contacted the company Balaji Concepts to reply tothese allegations. To read the full transcript as well as ourprevious report, visit our online edition at thegoan.net

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DENNIS DIAS/IATG 0038

There is a problem looming inCavelossim, my village, a villageI grew up in. A huge tract of agri-cultural land has been convertedinto settlements to build around30 odd villas. Two large waterbodies approximately around400 sq mts have been � lled upwith boulders and mud. Theseponds were once home to many�oras and fauna of the localityand with the �lling of the pondswill lead to many ecological dis-turbances. Five villas built inone of the ponds. The companyBalaji Concepts has been � out-ing all norms to get this workdone and I fear that this maylead to serious consequences,both social and ecological.

The village was constructedin such a manner that the en-tire water �ow was managedproperly. The nullahs were con-nected to the ponds and theneighbouring �elds and theexcess water supply was let outin the river. Due to the blockageof these nullahs, the stagnantrain water settles in the paddy�elds, which not only destroys

the crops but is a perfect breed-ing ground for the mosquitoes.With the construction of the vil-las, the traditional access to thelocals has also been disrupted.The village panchayat is turninga blind eye towards the illegali-ties which are taking place.

It’s almost been � ve yearssince the Balaji Concept projectwas initiated in our village inCavelossim. It is a major projectwhich was started by a Banga-lore based building �rm and hassco�ed almost 37,500 sq mts ofland under the survey numberof 90/91. I also feel that theyhave encroached into the surveyno 92. The ex- sarpanch, EdwinBarreto informed us that theBalaji Concept project was to bevillas for a resort, but later wefound out that these villas wereactually for sale as it was men-tioned on the internet. We wereshocked to �nd out about it.

This project has four inspec-tions done by the panchayat,the water resource departmentand the Cavelossim VillagersForum. As a citizen it becomesmy responsibility to take careof my village, especially when it

comes to the health and wellbe-ing of the society. There was adesperate need to settle issues,which were a�ecting the livesof the people of Khandi Bandoiwhere the villas are being built.We also found that there aremany �aws in the architecturaldesigns of the constructions.

It was until we realised thatthere were issues that the localswere facing and the panchayatwas not helping us in any way,some of the locals decided togang up together and form aforum and we named it the‘Cavelossim Villagers Forum’.Our ultimate motto is to helpthe people of my village fromall the atrocities that they face.The forum currently consists of35 members and there are stillmany who want to come in tojoin us. We need to solve theseissues as soon as possible, be-fore our village su�ers from ir-reversible e� ects.

The Goan tried to contact

Mr Prasad B.H.M. the Deputy

General Manager of Balagi

Concepts but our calls were

not attended to.

Deep down south in Cavelossim, a stormis brewing, a group of residents cametogether to � ght against what they perceiveas the degradation of the ecosystem inthe village. Dennis Dias, a member of theCavelossim Villager’s Forum givesI Am The Goan the grave details

AN ENVIRONMENTALHAZARD IN CAVELOSSIM?

TIMELINE >>

≥May/ June 2010, the plans were approved to construct 35 villas

≥November/December 2010, the construction workbegan

≥December 2013: First inspection held by theCavelossim Villagers Forumalong with the Panchayat

≥January 2014: Secondinspection held by the Water Resource Department alongwith the Cavelossim Villagers Forum

≥February 2014: Thirdinspection held by thePanchayat along with theTown and Country Planningo� cials

≥March 2014: Fourthinspection held by the Pan-chayat, the Town and CountryPlanning o� cials and theCavelossim Villagers Forum

≥ I do not know any details about this issue. I do not know whether there were ponds there. The project was passed when the previous sarpanch was in power. I have no idea of the Balaji Concept project, I was elected this year. The locals have no problem at all butthe Cavelossim Villagers Forum have been raising this issue for no reason. The Balaji Concepts builders have all the permissions and the panchayat cannottell them to stop their work. We are wait-ing for Water Resource Department and Town and Country Planning o� cials to give their take on the recent inspections. Only after receiving the responses, the Panchayat members will sit together and �gure out what we can do— Viola D’Costa, Sarpanch

≥ The Water Resource Department sent a letter toBalaji Concepts, to the collector, and a copy to the Cavelossim Villagers Forum, directing the builders to stop the activities in the water bodies and torestore them. The builders have neither stopped the work nor have they restored it, instead they have gone ahead with it. There was no action taken either. Being a low-lying area there are chances that during the rains there could be floods, this willcreate problems for the locals especially during the monsoons. In survey no 92 there are huge �sh-ing bodies which were connected to the survey no 90/91. Water bodies in survey no. 90/91 which are now covered with mud and boulders will a� ect the other water bodies and the paddy �elds in the area. Where the water will flow once it starts pouring heavily? The entire ecosystem is being disturbed— Iris Passanha,President of Cavelossim Villagers Forum

≥ As a child, my friends and I usedto play in the area where we see the villas coming up. There used to be ponds where we would go �shing, but now to see what has happened to the place is really frustrating. I work on the cruise liners and when I came down I saw the entire place being coveredwith corrugated sheets. Nobody knew what was happening. Though I’m not a member of the forum I strongly support them. The village plans show that there are water bodies existing. If things don’t stop now, we will organise dharnas— Rosevelt Rodrigues, resident

≥ I don’t know how the builders managed to get the agricultural land converted into settlement land. They have �lled up the wa-ter bodies which are in the low-lying areas which is o�cially not correct. I personally asked the environmental department, they told me they cannot �ll up any waterbodies. I have done many inspections and have found a lot of illegalities. Though I’m a panch member I will support the truth. I’m going to be with the people. There are a lot of people who own �elds around the construction site and are now su� ering due to the blockage of the nullahs. My �elds too su�ered as there is no flow of water. There was no Gram Sabha meeting held since and the dates have been postponed every-time. — James Barreto, Panch Member

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CAMPAIGN

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THE GOAN

SOMETHING FISHY?: The construction project in Cavelossim apparently opposed by locals. (Below) An inspection being carried out at the site

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SCRUTINY>>P15 The recent judgement against the Grand Hyatt delights petitioners

GOA DEEP WITHIN>>P13 Garbage woes in Merces and along the NH17

INSIDE:

4Saturday, March 29, 2014

COVER STORYWe need to speak when itmatters

– Fr Maverick, Caritas Goa

Our thoughts reflect aspirations, concernsand viewpoints of people at the grassroots

– Fr Savio Fernandes, CSJP

For views, opinions and more, mail us: letters@thegoan.net

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FUTURE TENSE The story behind the Church’s advisory� continued from pg 1

The truthsCSJP’s observance assumes

special signi�cance as the letterhas none other than Archbishopof Goa and Daman Filipe NeriFerrão’s blessings and re� ectsthe Church’s point of view. TheArchdiocese traditionally in� u-enced the views of the easternhemisphere ranging from theCape of Good Hope in SouthAfrica, to China and Japan inEast Asia, as these were the�rst boundaries of the Archdio-cese. Over a period of time moreadministratively manageableArchdioceses may have beencarved out, but the Archbishopof Goa still is called the Patriarchof East Indies. And his word hasconsiderable in� uence aroundthe Christian world in Asia. Thistime around too the CSJP’s letteradvisory has gone beyond theborders of the state across thecountry. And political parties es-pecially BJP shall have a toughtime convincing the Church whypeople should vote for a singleprime ministerial candidatewhen there are 543 odd parlia-mentarians to be voted in. Moreso when the prime ministerialcandidate feels ‘saddened’ andis not repentant of the 2002 Gu-jarat riots.

“We found that media was notbeing responsible enough andstarted weighing more on oneside and the other side of same

story, especially this myth abouta model of good governance, thestress on one individual was notcoming out”, explains Fr. Savio,the man who prepared the � rstdra� of this crucial advisorywhich sent all political partiesin a tizzy. The letter had said,“some ‘Models of Good Gov-ernance’ presented to Societyare a myth as they are riddenwith lack of transparency, ac-countability and participatoryequality as exposed in variousreports”. The Church isn’t veryconvinced with the numbers,the hype that shrouds the realtruth about marginal or medio-cre development from Gujarat toGoa.

The heartbreakLittle known to Goa, the

Church does not believe thatit backed BJP in last Assemblyelections. “We had only advisedpeople not to vote for greedyand corrupt. Our guidelines donot go to pointing out the partyto be voted or the people to beelected. The ruling party nowmay have been an indirect ben-e� ciary of that advice”, clari� esFr. Savio, shedding light on thefact that BJP’s much tom tom-edGoa model for polls that involvesopinion makers from di� erentreligious faiths may not have ac-tually worked in Goa itself. Andthe ghosts of the past is what

will make the going di� cultfor BJP in the state.

On March 5, 2006 in an un-

precedented letter a�er the Cur-chorem riots, Archbishop Ferraohad said, “The only explanationone �nds for the � rst provoca-tion and the ensuing riots inthat town is that they appear tobe engineered by vested politi-cal interests whose main agendaseemed to be to divide – at anycost – in order to rule”. All the40 accused in the rioting includ-ing BJP’s Organising GeneralSecretary Satish Dhond and its’former Margao Assembly can-didate Sharmad Raiturcar wereacquitted a month a� er the BJPcame to power in March 2012.The Church hasn’t forgottenthat. “The way Sanvordem riotswere handled, the way the GoaAbattoir issue was handled wereamongst the major issues thatshall a�ect our viewpoint,” con-�rms Fr. Savio.

But then there is more. Cor-ruption. “Look at these newschemes, Laadli Laxmi or otherswhere the MLA or the minister’sendorsement is required. Oncea candidate gets elected, he be-longs to the entire constituencynot his vote bank. Wasn’t thisanother form of corruption? Infact, corruption still exists andhas not been eradicated,” saysCSJP’s Fr. Savio. “The tendencytowards corruption is mani-fest in the failure of successivegovernments to establish peo-ple-serving Institutions/Com-missions like the Lokayukta,Information and Minority Com-missions,” CSJP’s letter had

observed. A stung BJP throughits’ Catholic Vice President /Spokesman Wilfred Mesquitatried to defend themselves.“They have every right to com-ment and speak their mind. Whohas stopped the Church?”  asksDr. Mesquita. This is too feeble,too late an argument against aresurgent and restive Church re-fusing to restrain stepping intothe political thought processesin the country.

Interestingly, the Churchis also livid with the culturalbranding of other migrant reli-gious minorities. “Demonisingof Muslim migrants within thecountry vis-à-vis other migrantsfrom majority communities issomething that is being exploit-ed again and again. In these

elections, it has again takencentre stage thanks to the Gu-jarat riots and a Gujarati PrimeMinisterial candidate”, explainsa Salcette based Parish Priest.These elections, the Churchmay well end up being a rally-ing force for minority religiousgroups against exploitation byany political party – BJP or Con-gress or anybody else.

“We need to speak when itmatters”, asserts Caritas Goa’sFr. Maverick explaining whythe Church has to step into poli-tics despite being a religiousbody. “Politics is about how wetransform the society whichis intrinsic to our faith. If wehaven’t brought that transfor-mation, we have failed in ourfaith. Even Christ came here

for our transformation. Thatis why we speak”, explains Fr.Maverick. And he isn’t alone.In the annual Lenten season ofprayer, penance, repentance ofsins, alms-giving, atonementand self-denial, the Church andmany a believer shall be prayinghard and repenting for their po-litical decisions of the past. Thistime around they will be work-ing hard to build as the Churchmost famously remarked “a tru-ly vibrant, secular, democraticrepublic of the People of India”.A tongue in cheek, cock-a-snookat political parties claiming vi-brant economies, forced secularsocieties and promoting mono-lithic leadership instead of dem-ocratic ones.

AJAY THAKUR / THE GOAN

PANJIM:

Council of Social Justice andPeace’s (CSJP) Secretary Fr. Sav-io Fernandes explains the im-portance of its advisory, the onethat was sent out on March 18,2014 asking people “to exercisehis/her Constitutional Rightsand Duties to vote and to revi-talize a truly Secular Republic”.“CSJP’s say is the o� cial view ofArchbishop of Goa and Daman,”he says.

The advisory, cutting acrossany communal lines, took painsto explain, albeit subtly, how abiased media and conniving pol-iticians were misleading the vot-ers and that people should notget swept up by this misinforma-tion when they step out to vote.Yet, despite the Archbishop’s

own stamp of approval, CSJP’sadvisory is neither a religiousdecree nor a fatwa. It is one ofthe most intricate and � nely wo-ven experiments of democraticthought, borne out of months ofpainstaking research, consulta-tion and democratic participa-tion that traverses across all par-ishes in Goa.

“Our thoughts re� ect aspira-tions, concerns and viewpointsof people at the grassroots” ex-plains CSJP’s Fr. Savio. Spreadover three to four months, asit happened in the case of thecurrent advisory, word was sentacross to all the three zones,twenty deaneries and 159 par-ishes in Goa about what weretheir viewpoints with regardsthe present socio-eco-politicalconditions prevailing across thestate in particular and the coun-

try in general. “There were un-dercurrents of unease that wasnot clearly out in the open butperceivable”, explains CSJP’sChief, about the di� culty ofmaking people crystallise their

thoughts and putting a � nger aon the problems that need to behighlighted in the advisory. TheChurch stuck to the Constitutionof India to help crystallise thosethoughts.

The advisory starts three-fourmonths before the � nal dra� ofthe letter, where opinion leadersfrom di�erent parishes acrossGoa discuss and collate theirfeedbacks and send it throughtheir parish priests to CSJP. “Thevoices of the lay is most crucialpart of these letters”, explainsFr. Savio dwelling on the grass-roots approach to opinion build-ing. The process is democraticand transparent as all view-points, negative as well as posi-tive are put together and sent toCSJP.

At the Council, a Church ap-pointed consultative group goes

through the list of recommen-dations and viewpoints over amonth. The � rst dra� is thenprepared incorporating the sa-lient points of these months andweeks of deliberations and sentto the Archbishop’s O� ce.

“The Archbishop has his ownteam of analysts who then gothrough each and every word ofthe letter and suggest changes ifany and then resend it back tous,” says Fr. Savio. The advisoryis then ready for public in gener-al as well as that of the di� erentparishes. The people who makethese letters are themselves a re-cipient of their own thoughts, al-beit with a religious Patriarch’sendorsement.

“It is very important to un-derstand that our guidelinesare principles in nature andnot speci�c prescriptions for

whom to vote for or who not to”,explains Fr. Savio. The parishpriests then go about explainingthese letters in bits and piecesas much as time permits in eachof the services to the di� erentparishes. While the educated, asin the case of the present advi-sory, do not take much time tounderstand and “were very ap-preciative of the letter” as perCSJP, the non-comprehendingmembers of the parish are givenan explanation as to what theletter means in a language thatis more acceptable and compre-hensible to them.

The Church does not disagreethat sporadic incidents of namedropping might happen just asan example when parish priestsexplain these letters. The aber-ration more incidental than ageneral thumb rule.

Vox Populi, Vox Dei:How the people write the Church’s letterChurch advisory is a reflections of the people’s aspirations, not a religious diktat

Painstaking research, consultation and democratic participation go into making of an advisory

≥It is very importantto understand that ourguidelines are principles in nature and not speci� c prescriptions for whom to vote for or who not to

5Saturday, March 29, 2014

COVER STORYlog on to thegoan.net

Point 1: However, sadly, in the past few years the ‘Secular Spirit’ has been in�ltrated by corporate communal forces visibleeven in Goa. The Goan view: Is ‘corporate communal force’ an allusion to BJP’s proximity to influential corporations and business houses, includ-ing the influential Casino lobby? This is further explained in theadvisory in the next line “unfortunately also, a very large number of citizens are lured by materialism, consumerism and greed for power and wealth”. The Church has always had very strong views against Casinos. Was it this what it was referring to?

Point 2: It is convincingly apparent that the ‘ElectionCampaign’ even in these �rst stages, supported by the Media,is geared towards the promotion of one individual as if this is aPresidential Election.The Goan view: Probably the most convincing anti-Modi referenceas the Church attacked the whole media frenzy about one candi-date, which interestingly �nds a mention in BJP’s election messagetoo “Ab ki baar, Modi sarkaar”. The mention of Presidential Electionis too an indirect hint at BJP. Congress despite projecting Rahul Gandhi has steered clear of naming him.

Point 3: The Secular Democratic System is subtly corruptedwhen Senior Intelligence and Defence Personnel, on retirement,join selected Political Parties professing them to be the only Na-tionalist Parties. The Goan view: Again an indirect reference to former Research &Analysis Wing RAW Chief Sanjeev Tripathi and former Army Chief General V. K. Singh joining the BJP. The duo had been unequivocal in their support for their party calling it the only nationalist one.

Point 4: The winnability factor underlines the choice of candidates in every Political Party, despite lofty claims that there isurgent need for a transformation of the Political System. The Goan view: A fair Church as Congress has �elded both its can-didates based on winnability rather than the work they have done.

Point 5: The tendency towards corruption is manifest inthe failure of successive Governments to establish People-servingInstitutions/Commissions like the LOKAYUKTA, INFORMATION andMINORITY COMMISSIONS. The Goan view: Again the feet dragging by the present BJP led GoaGovernment on setting up Lokayukta’s o�ce and replacing the out-going one, the controversial appointments of Information Commis-sioners and setting up of the Minority Commissioner, have servedthe create a shadow of doubt as to their intentions in eradicatingcorruption.

Point 6: The Minorities of India whether ethnic, linguistic,religious or cultural have an equal Right in the development of theNation. However, they need to be protected and assisted to workin the mainstream, with freedom, and without discrimination andfear.The Goan view: One of the most pragmatic stands by the Churchis on protection of rights of the migrant as well as other minori-ties across di�erent states. From attack on Biharis in Mumbai tobranding of Muslim migrant neighbourhoods across the country as violent and anti-social, the Church has raised the bar for minorityrights.

Point 7: In various parts of the Country, the IndigenousPeople who are the undisputed owners of the land, water and for-ests are being blatantly denied their Rights and are, in fact, mar-ginalised and deprived, in favour of Communal-Corporate Interests.The Goan view: Though rendering of adivasis and poor farmerslandless spreads from Orissa to Chattisgarh to Goa to other statestoo, this is another one of Church’s observation that has a universal appeal cutting across party lines.

Point 8: In the above context, some ‘Models of Good Gov-ernance’ presented to Society are a myth as they are ridden withlack of transparency, accountability and participatory equality asexposed in various Reports.The Goan view: Another damning indictment of BJP’s pet obses-sion “Model of Good Governance” especially with respect to Gu-jarat and Goa. This is yet another place where the Church’s line of thinking is very clear.

In Goa the 16th Lok Sabha Election is scheduled for Saturday 12th April 2014.

This is a CALL for every citizen to exercise his/her Constitutional Rights and Duties to VOTE and to revitalize a

truly Secular REPUBLIC.

However, sadly, in the past few years the ‘Secular Spirit’ has been in�ltrated by corporate communal forces visibleeven in Goa. Unfortunately also, a very large number of citizens are lured by materialism, consumerism and greed forpower and wealth resulting in a decline in upholding moral and ethical values which are the intrinsic root of humanlife. It is convincingly apparent that the ‘Election Campaign’ even in these �rst stages, supported by the Media, isgeared towards the promotion of one individual as if this is a Presidential Election.

The Secular Democratic System is subtly corrupted when Senior Intelligence and Defence Personnel, on retirement,join selected Political Parties professing them to be the only Nationalist Parties.

The winnability factor underlines the choice of candidates in every Political Party, despite lo�y claims that there isurgent need for a transformation of the Political System. The tendency towards corruption is manifest in the failure ofsuccessive Governments to establish People-serving Institutions/Commissions like the LOKAYUKTA, INFORMATIONand MINORITY COMMISSIONS.

The Minorities of India whether ethnic, linguistic, religious or cultural have an equal Right in the development ofthe Nation. However, they need to be protected and assisted to work in the mainstream, with freedom, and withoutdiscrimination and fear.

In various parts of the Country, the Indigenous People who are the undisputed owners of the land, water and forestsare being blatantly denied their Rights and are, in fact, marginalised and deprived, in favour of Communal-CorporateInterests.

In the above context, some ‘Models of Good Governance’ presented to Society are a myth as they are ridden withlack of transparency, accountability and participatory equality as exposed in various Reports.

From the Peaks of the Himalayas to the waters of the Arabian Sea the degradation of environment and ecology is sin-ful, more so because those in power and those able to manipulate power like the industrialists are the cause of varioustypes of destructions like indiscriminate mining, unregulated constructions and polluting industries.

Now is the time, for us the Citizens of India to focus on the socio-political reality of our Nation and rising above ourpersonal and local interests, install a Government that serves specially the common people, ensuring that each andevery citizen, irrespective of social status or caste or religion, can freely avail of food, health, land, housing and sani-tation, education, opportunities for livelihood, freedom of expression as Rights and a transparent, accountable andparticipatory Governance at all levels.

We Indians, who own India, are bound by the Sanctity of the Constitution to Protect, Preserve and Promote it in allits aspects. Committed to VOTE in this Election, we MUST REFLECT, on the prevailing socio-political situation in ourCountry and ACT to BUILD a TRULY VIBRANT, SECULAR, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC of the People of India.

Issued by:Council For Social Justice And Peace

PREAMBLE TO THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA

We, the People of INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into aSOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:

JUSTICE, social, economic and political;LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;

EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;And to promote among them all

FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the nation;IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY

ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.

The anatomy of a letter�The Church calls it a letter based on principles encompassed in the Constitution of India, yet the letter / advisory issued to all Citizens in Goa“to exercise his/her Constitutional Rights andDuties to VOTE and to revitalize a truly Secular REPUBLIC” is not as innocuous and simple as it may be deemed. It has in fact deep seatedpolitical understanding rooted in its’ content.The Goan attempts to decipher the hiddenmessage in the letter which Council of SocialJustice and Peace’s Fr. Savio Fernandes says is media reading too minutely into a very generaland principled point of view.

onn tthahat t hahass aa ununiviverersasal l

Moodedelsls oof f GoGoodod GGovov-theyey are riddded n wiwiththtiicicipapatotoryry eeququalalitity y asas

JP’s pet obses-respect to Gu-Church’s line of

expop sed in various Reports.ThThe GoGoooan vieiew:w: Another ddammniingng iindndictmtmentssion “““MoM del of GGoooodd GoGovevernrnanancece”” esesppecialallylyjjaarararat t ana d Goa. This is yet aanonoththeree place wheretthininking is very clear.

t ofof Bwwiti h

e the

6Saturday, March 29, 2014

GOAThere will be mechanism in place to audit the implementation ofthe central schemes

GDF will also form a redressal mechanism wherein the MP will be available through technology and personally to the voters

We will raise issues in the parliament about Goa

log on to thegoan.net

Luizinho’s competition in North-East

Diehard Congressman Luizinho Faleiro may have caused some heartburn to his supporters in Goa by refusing tocontest from South Goa. But the former chief minister hasbecome the poster boy of the grand old part in the North

East. But hang-on. Luizinho is now not alone in the far East. An-other Goan from the opposition camp is also on a mission there.Deputy Chief Minister, Francisco D’Souza has been rushed to the

North East by the Bharatiya Janata Party to woo the North East Catholics in favour of the sa�ron party and Narendra Modi. Somecompetition there.

The rising star in South Goa

You can also bank on Vijai Sardessai to add some spicein the South Goa elections. In 2007, When the Alemaobrothers tore Parrikar’s government apart they had Vijaias their man-Friday. They promptly rewarded him with the

post of GSUDA Vice Chairman. In 2009, Vijai was again FranciscoSardinha’s best man that led to Narendra Sawaikar’s massacre at the hustings. In 2011, Vijai’s hand was very much evident in deny-ing Valanka the Youth Congress Presidentship. So when in 2012,the Sardinha-Alemao combined to deny Vijai a Congress ticket inFatorda, Vijai was waiting for an opportunity to hit back. So the2014 parliamentary election was Vijai’s moment to take revenge.And, oh boy! How did he do it! Vijai ensured that Sardinha wasdenied a ticket and Valnaka was not even considered. Today, as an independent MLA Vijai is Reginaldo’s star campaigner. Vijai has

come out from the shadows of the Alemaos. Political Patrao hasoverheard that Vijai wants to push Reginaldo to the Centre and hog the whole limelight in the Assembly. He has all the ingredients to make an astute politician. Way to go.

En�eld battles and Curtorim

Reginaldo won two battles over the Sardinha family one in2007 by defeating Francisco Sardinha in the assembly elec-tion from Curtorim and now by stealing the Congress ticket right from under his nose. But the junior Sardinha is not

someone who is going to take the insult lying down. No soonerShalom announced his candidature for the Lok Sabha polls he had pictures of his En�eld bullet up on the Facebook probably indicat-ing his ride for the elections. But Vijai-Reginaldo combine were not far behind. Vijai took Reginaldo on a roadtrip through Navelim onan En�eld Bullet and promptly uploaded the photos on the Face-book. Some En�eld battle this was.

PoliticalPatrao

The Goan: Two years ago

you lost the assembly elec-

tion. How do you think you

will get people to elect you as

a Parliamentarian consider-

ing you were away from pub-

lic life too?

Dayanand Narvekar: It’s notthat I was away from the publiclife but I was away from the Con-gress party. Last two years I havenot visited the party (Congress)o�ce, I wanted total change inthe party. Now, I am adding anew dimension to the politics in

Goa. We are demanding specialstatus for the Goa and dual citi-zenship for Goans.

 TG: Smaller parties like Goa

Democratic Front, Goa Vikas

Party and Goa Su-Raj Party

are considered more as nui-

sance values that split con-

solidated vote banks and are

used by in� uential national

parties to win polls. What do

you have to say to that?

DN: We have not contestedany elections. This was an NGOformed �ve years back. It foughtfor the privatisation of the Bagabeach, the district hospital ofMapusa, battle with Sesa Goafor noise and other pollution.The NGO was very active andwas gaining popularity in Goa.

TG: Who is your opponent

no. 1 in these polls?

DN: I have got an establish-ment called the BJP that may bemy opponent. He (Shripad Naik)is going through a very high in-cumbency factor but there is agovernment who is supportinghim, he might be my opponentnumber one. And Ravi (Naik) is

too involved with the drug scan-dal and other things, I don’t con-sider him an opponent at all.

TG: Does that mean that you

don’t have a deal with any po-

litical party to ensure the op-

position’s election?

DN: I am �ghting an open elec-tion, how you can call it a deal?I say that the Congress standsfor corruption. I devote half mytime to � ghting Mr. Modi, the Mfactor in Indian politics. He isknown for communalism, as aperson who wants to change the

history of India and Goa.TG: We have reasons to be-

lieve that you have Justice M.

B. Shah’s third report on il-

legal mining that promises

to change our understanding

of illegal mining that shall

change our understanding of

the case…

DN: I have, because I am theone person who went to JusticeShah with all the documenta-tion. I obtained the report as aright; it is now with the centralgovernment.

TG: Which political party

would bene�t and who will

lose due to this expose? Can

you name speci� c people?

DN: Manohar Parrikar can getthe report if he wants, by nowhe would have arrested manypeople.

TG: Ticketgate and IT Habi-

tat Scam has le� permanent

taint on your political career.

Do you think people shall ig-

nore that taint to elect you?

DN: There is no taint; no FIRhas been lodged in the IT scam.Scams should be investigatedby the vigilance department;there is no inquiry, so there is noscam. Ticket is one issue whichI am really � ghting with thegovernment. There is not evena needle of suspicion on me inticket scam. The court will givejudgment in the next six monthsand everybody will know. It isone man, Manohar Parrikar,who has targeted me. He likesme more going to the court andargue my own cases as a lawyer.Of course, I am practicing law-yer (smiles).   

�GDF will raise state issues in the Parliament

�The party will raise demand for special status for the state

“I am adding a newdimension to Goan politics”

BASURI DESAI/ THE GOAN

�Former Congressman,currently heading newly-formed Goa Democratic Front (GDF) and Lok Sabhacandidate from NorthGoa Dayanand Narvekarin an exclusive chat withThe Goan says his party will bene�t more as it willtake up local issues thanany other party in theforthcoming election.

TG: Your party hardly has known facesthat the Goa can connect with, which iscrucial to get votes. How do you intend towin elections at all?

DN: I have got all known people in my GDF;there are no political people inside. Out of20 o�cer bearers, two of them are reputedlawyers, three are teachers and two are MBA.The members of party are grassroots workersand few NGO’s have also joined in.

He (Shripad Naik) isgoing through a veryhigh incumbencyfactor but there is a government who issupporting him, he might be my opponentnumber one. And Ravi (Naik) is too involvedwith the drug scandaland other things, I don’t consider him an opponent at all

SAGUN GAWADE

The

GoanGRILL

INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK >>

DAYANAND NARVEKAR,>GDF President

A PROFILE: Dayanand Narvekar

≥Born February 11, 1950.

≥ 1971: Graduated with Bachelors of Arts (BA) from St. Xavier’s College, Mapusa.

≥ 1974: Graduated with L.L.B. degree from New Law College, Mumbai. Got 5th rank in Mumbai University.

≥ 1974: Started practicing law in Mumbai

≥ 1975: Started practicing law in Goa

≥ 1976: Joined Maharash-trawadi Gomantak Party(MGP)’s youth wing

≥ 1977: Elected to the Goa Legislative Assembly repre-senting Aldona.

≥ 1979: Resigned from MGP

≥ 1980: Joined INC (U) which merged with Indian National Congress

≥ 1980: Elected to the Goa Legislative Assembly repre-senting Aldona.

≥ 1980: Became Law andLabour minister of Goa

≥ 1984: Elected to the Goa Legislative Assembly repre-senting Aldona.

≥ 1984-1989: Became Speaker of Goa Vidhan Sabha on the recommenda-tion of Indira Gandhi.

≥ 1994: Elected to the Goa Legislative Assembly repre-senting Tivim.

≥ 1994: Became Law, Ir-rigation and Agriculture Minister.

≥ 1999: Elected to the Goa Legislative Assembly for the ��h time representing Tivim constituency. BecomesDeputy Chief Minister ofGoa.

≥ 2002: Elected to the Goa Legislative Assembly repre-senting.

≥ 2005: Became Health Minister.

≥ 2007: Elected to the Goa Legislative Assembly repre-senting Aldona. Became Fi-nance Minister & IT minister.

≥ 2009: Goa DemocraticFront (GDF), a non-pro�tNGO established under hisleadership to give a voice to social issues

≥ 2010: GDF stops pri-vatization of District HospitalMapusa and Baga beach.

≥ 2014:  Resigns from Indian National Congress due to disillusionment with the party.

≥ Feb 2014: Registers Goa Democratic Front as a politi-cal party and becomes itsPresident.

7Saturday, March 29, 2014

GOAlog on to thegoan.net

THE HANDS THAT WILL RULE GOA? (Clockwise from bottom le� ) Sunil Kawthankar, Valanka Alemao, her cousin Yuri Alemao, Hasiba Amin and Shalom Sardinha, are the faces of Goa’s young political scene. But, aresome of them serious politicians or opp0rtunists is the question that needs to be answered

BASURI DESAI / THE GOAN

CURTORIM:

On March 21, Shalom Sardinha’s

Facebook post read “I have de-

cided to contest the Lok Sabha

Polls as an independent candi-

date in lieu of the grave injustice

in�icted on my father and cur-

rent South Goa Lok Sabha MP

Francisco Sardinha by the con-

gress party. It’s surprising that a

sitting MP has been denied the

ticket on the recommendation

of an opposition MLA who is not

part of the Congress”. The ju-

nior Sardinha was livid that his

father, a three time Member of

Parliament was denied the Lok

Sabha ticket despite working so

hard. Elsewhere, former South

Goa MP and former Chief Min-

ister Churchill Alemao’s ambi-

tious daughter and State Youth

Congress President recused

herself from campaigning in the

State for sentimental and emo-

tional reasons.

Welcome to the never dying

Family Raj that continues to

cripple Congress party in Goa

despite the fact that stalwarts

have been ground to dust.

While Shalom Sardinha wants

to avenge an insult to his fa-

ther, Valanka does not want to

campaign against her father,

the party that gave them faces

be damned. “Sack both Va-

lanka and Sardinha senior as

Churchill and Shalom are con-

testing against o� cial Congress

candidates,” demands St. Cruz

MLA Babush Monserrate, who

during last elections managed

an assembly ticket for his wife

Jennifer on a Congress ticket.

Dynastic politics runs as much

as convenient in Goa’s political

parties.

“Today’s youth are opportun-

ists. There is no spirit or sac-

ri�ce in them. They only want

positions,” says Dabolim MLA

and former Goa Pradesh Youth

Congress President Mauvin Go-

dinho. Godinho, who was of-

fered Congress ticket in 1984

to contest from Dabolim con-

stituency chose to remain Goa’s

Youth Congress president on the

ground that he wanted to build

the organization. He blames this

surge in unwarranted ambitions

of children of politicians to the

failure of state party leadership

and Congress Legislature Party.

“Despite of several representa-

tions from people in Goa, the

High Command has not taken

controlling the a�airs in Goa se-

riously,” alleges Godinho.

But despite their sugar

daddies being Congress stal-

warts, a new crop of young Con-

gress leaders have emerged who

understand politics is serious

business and commitment not

a child demanding toys from

his parents. These leaders are

from grassroots and have stood

on their own. Amongst them is

Girish Chodankar, Secretary, All

India Congress Committee in

charge of Congress student wing

NSUI for the whole of country.

Chodankar, a former State Youth

Congress Chief holds a very

pragmatic view of the situation.

“It depends from one individual

to another. Everybody should

understand why I am in politics

and also why am I in Congress?

They should know the mean-

ing of leadership and that it is

not only if you become a MP or

a MLA that you are considered a

leader”.

Rahul Gandhi’s poster girl

from the state, NSUI State Chief

Hasiba Amin is more blunt

though. “Some people are get-

ting into politics for sel� sh rea-

sons but we can’t generalize

this. I understand that some of

our youths demoralized they

must be aware of what is needed

and what is the reality in politics

too”, says Amin.

However as battle lines are

drawn one thing is emerging

clearly, Congress is in no mood

to tolerate the Family Raj any-

more and the days of father-son,

wife-husband and blood broth-

ers ticketing will soon be history

as a new crop of young leaders

more clued to the ground than

their dining tables and balco-

nies take centrestage.

As former NSUI Goa Chief

and GPCC Spokesperson Sunil

Kawthankar sum it up, “It is the

other youth who would now de-

cide whether this young bridage

of leaders is for social work or

for their own sel� sh interests”.

Papa’s Girl, Papa’s Boy≥ I don’t want to comment on this, I will not campaign in Goa for Con-gress is right. Party has denied ticket for my father; it’s a question of sentiments and emotions for me — Valanca Alemao, President, Goa Pradesh Youth Congress

≥ I am contesting Lok Sabha polls not only because my father has been denied ticket by Congress party but Congress party has lost the principles and ideologies. Last one year I am actively involved with my father in politics and social work in South Goa. I am all awarewhich are the projects are in process, which are the projects we need for the development of Goa. I have capabilities to deliver forthe people of Goa. It was very humiliating that my father who was a sitting MP has been denied ticket by party — Shalom Sardhina, Former Congressman, Independent Candi-

date (South Goa)

The Next Gen Young Turks≥  Some people are getting into politics for sel�sh reasons but we can’t generalize this. We have great number of youth in India and they should enter politics. I understand we are demoralized butyouth are aware about what is happening in politics — Hasiba Amin, President, NSUI, Goa

≥ I believe that everybody has their own ideologies and ideas tocome into politics but that should not be a reason to divide secu-lar votes and allow communal party to rule. Youth will decide now whether these youths were for social work or for their sel�sh interest— Sunil Kawthankar, Secretary / Spokesperson, GPCC and

former President, NSUI Goa

≥ It depends from individual to individual; everybody should under-stand why I am in politics and why I am in Congress. They should know the meaning of leadership. It is not only if you become MP orMLA you are a leader. Youth should �rst understand the meaning of politics and leadership — Girish Chodankar, Secretary, AICC and former GPYC President

The Forever Young≥ It is a total failure of the Congress party and its Legislature Party.Despite several representations from the people in Goa, they have not taken the matter seriously or tried to control the Congress in Goa. Today’s youth are opportunists. There is no spirit or sacri�ce in them, they only want positions. I was o�ered Congress ticket in 1984to contest from Dabolim constituency when I was the youth congresspresident in Goa, but I did not accept it on the grounds that I wantedto build the organization and which I did— Mauvin Godinho , MLA Congress and former GPYC President

≥ Youth are expected to go more for conviction than convenience when deciding their choices in life including that in politics. The youth are expected to rebel. If any politician whatever be his/her age decided to challenge public sentiments and rebel, and the reason for the same are not politically plausible then it can lead to a prema-ture end to a career that is about to begin — Vijay Sardesai, Independent MLA & former GPYC President

�Unhappy children of has-been Congress politicos jump in or out of election humdrum

�As new order of grassroots youth leaders evolve, politico children feel lost and le� out

The young and the restless,and the scared too

THE GOAN PICS

10EDIT

The problemsof playingParrikar

He is most famously known as the right man in thewrong party. Manohar Gopalkrishna Prabhu Par-rikar, Goa’s Chief Minister is everything what onedoesn’t get to see when they think of a BharatiyaJanata Party member. By vetoing down the decision

to allow Sri Ram Sene’s Pramod Muthalik to join the party, es-pecially during election season, Parrikar has won many heartsand raised quite a few questions in people’s minds too. Theforemost being, why did we let Muthalik be when he was inGoa in 2012 advocating how he would clean up Goa’s uniquecosmopolitan culture? An IIT-ian with a world view, Parrikaris probably an aberration to his own party. Born and broughtup in a state that prides itself on its secularity, Goa’s CM walksthe line between his party’s right tilt across the nation and hisown belief in Goanness or Goenkarponn. But the state thatso fondly chose him as an icon for Goa’s uprightedness anddevelopment doesn’t quite feel the same for Narendra Modi.The reason, the rustic simplicity of Parrikar outweighs thecarefully, cra�ed, made-to-order persona of Narendra Modi.The former is too much like us and the latter too outlandish toconnect with.

Political rules of the nation change in Goa. Last assemblyelections, when Parrikar himself was ba�ed by the over-whelming support that his party got, he failed to understandthe fact that it was him and not the party that was voted intopower. Barring him, there were no other faces that Goa couldconnect with. A little over two years later, while the love forParrikar shows no sign of waning, not the same can be saidabout his Cabinet colleagues and partymen. As political pun-dits would agree, people were expecting Parrikar clones to re-place the erstwhile Congress’s notorious webs of corruption.What they found over two years that there exist two govern-ments. One which outdid previous governments in its vision,its approach and another that undid the �rst one’s hard work.Parrikar, the attacker of corruption, had to become the de-fender of his own men steeped in corruption.

Parliament polls, as we know over the years, do not exciteGoans as much as the assembly elections do. But then theglobally-tuned much-travelled Goan isn’t oblivious to thetruth too. While the State’s BJP cadre screamed its lungs outextolling Modi’s ‘virtues’, what most of them failed to see, wasthat parading Parrikar around Goa in Jan Sampark Andolanwas not the same as parading Modi in Sadbhavana Yatra. JanSampark was about connecting with people, Sabhavana wasabout understanding them. Goa connected with Parrikar, butis at the moment failing to understand Modi.

One of the greatest failures of modern technology is that itcreates impersonal characters. A�er the creation of numerousFacebook, Twitter accounts and groups, Goans, as warring po-litical parties will realize, love the Balcao banter type of chats– shooting down viewpoints, mauling the loudmouth andmocking the obvious. But when it comes to casting votes, theaverage Goan does not check their Facebook posting or Tweets.They use discretion and press the red button. So the tall claimsand counter claims of development, of better tomorrows, ofbringing back black money, of removing corruption, of be-coming a superpower, falls �at in Goa. Why? Because char-ity begins here at home. Maneuvering the precariously poisedElectionscape for the Congress may be impossible given thefact that both their candidates have banked purely on what theChurch has lambasted as ‘winnability’, but for BJP the prob-lems are of di� erent kind. The state shall be voting for a BJPcandidate on the basis of the kind of governance that has beenwitnessed in the past two years, whether promises of weed-ing out corruption, prosecuting out the guilty, correcting theRegional Plan, reviving dead industries, reducing unemploy-ment and a whole list of long term issues have been addressedto in the past two years. Goans would look at issues nearerto home than that of 1900 kms away in Delhi. But then whatthey would also be looking at the character and persona of theprime ministerial candidate, someone suave, so� spoken, notso loud as Parrikar himself. Someone tough but not so brutalas Parrikar himself. The problem is when Goa decides to sendits Parliamentary candidate on April 12, two Saturdays fromnow, it would be searching for another Parrikar in BJP’s PrimeMinisterial and Parliamentary candidates.

In Theodore Roosevelt’s words, the most successful politi-cian is he who says what the people are thinking, most o� enin the loudest voice. The problem is Parrikar knows what thepeople want but has to do what the party does. The greatesttragedy for a man of commitment is choosing between whathe stands for and what he believes in. For Parrikar, convincingthe people to believe what he stands for shall probably be thetoughest battle, rather than making them believe in him.

Old wine in the same bottle, old o r new

Nobody could have saidit better than Pablo Pi-casso: “Well,  youth isthe period of assumedpersonalities and dis-

guises. It is the time of the sin-cerely insincere”.

So when a young man wantsto avenge the humiliation metedout to his father for being de-nied a Parliamentary ticket, hewants to jump into an electoralfray without understanding thatelections are not about the argu-ment over a common boundarywall between neighbours.

Or even when a young daugh-ter who runs away from elec-tions in her state a�er Papa failsto get her the ticket, primarilybecause she can’t campaign forher own party against Papa,

then what do you call State Poli-tics? A dando discussion or bal-cao banter maybe?

Two years ago, when elec-tions systematically wiped outthe Alemao family’s in� uencein the South, one was to believethat the political immaturityand greed for power that runsin their blood shall be history inthe State.

Nothing of that sort hap-pened. Societal faith was takenfor granted by politicians whowould still look at elections asmuch a spin of the roulette asmuch as their children wouldtake blowing their parents mon-ey on one of those shining casi-nos on the Mandovi.

Daddy Dearest’s powerful leg-acy was still taken as a granted

ticket to leadership. None ofthese youth woke up to smellthe co� ee.

The greatest fallibility of de-mocracy is that nobody can takeit for granted. A leader is notforever. S/he is only as long asthe voters want her / him. If theydon’t, s/he is history. But Goa’syoung breed of ‘born’ leadersdoesn’t accept this.

Caught in the traditionalfeudalistic mindset, where thesharing of a public platformwith their parents and being re-spected for being their parents’child gives them a false illusionof power of people, leaves a la-cunae in young leadership.Butthen as Goa is changing, so isCongress Party, its longest run-ning ruler.

For every Valanka Alemao,there is a Sunil Kawthankar, forevery Shalom Sardinha, a GirishChodankar and for every YuriAlemao, a Hasiba Amin.

There is a brash young grass-roots leadership emerging fromamongst people like us whobelieve that to bring in change,we have to be the change andnot wait for a chosen one to leadus. These elections hopefullyshould be an end to such politi-cal ambitions that emerge moreout of emotional and misplacedambitions than grassroots con-nect. For them the simplest les-son is, emulate your parent’shard work and realpolitik. Youare young and have a long wayto go. Your time shall come.Don’t just overwind the clock.

Better tra� cmovement at Dabolim airportThe airport junction happens tobe one of the busiest junctions in Vasco and surrounding ar-eas. This is so because several roads converge at one point.Tra�c leaving and enteringthe Port Town via the four-lanehighway have to pass throughthis junction. While in the past a lone tra�c police used toman the junction, mercifully now the tra�c signals are nowfunctioning. Even then thereare bottlenecks that occur on aregular basis. With the openingof the new passenger terminal there have been massive traf-�c jams near the new terminal building and subsequently theflow of the vehicles onto thefour-lane highway as a result of the tra� c diversion via Shan-tinagar junction on NH-17B. Agrade separator on this road near the exit gate of the new in-tegrated terminal building and near Shantinagar with propersignboards and speed-breakers is the need of the hour. Several changes like construction of dedicated lanes need to bemade for the smooth flow

of tra�c along the four lanehighway at the Shantinagarjunction.Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco

Clean up GoaSuddenly old parties started projecting their candidates as clean and achievements in terms of free doles givento public through various schemes. But what about jus-tice denied to many in term of corruption?If one goes back during Con-gress rule the so called cleancandidate was a mere specta-

tor as if deaf and dumb withregards to garbage, litigations going for years. The murderof Cipriano, drug nexus, faulty administration, posting of of-�cers caught red-handed whileaccepting bribes, shabby heathsection, mega housing projects,ha�a collection by Goa Police,parking and tra� c in majortowns, Mopa airport, and re-gional plan and illegal mining.The Goa CM would remind us about his achievements duringlast two years. Reduction in pet-rol prices and free doles to soci-ety are his major achievements but with regards to corruption

and major issues plunging Goahe did nothing but it seems likehe is using the masters of vari-ous scams as bargaining chips to rule and complete � ve years in Goa.Goans should vote for achange. They should say enough of the old parties. Hopethey would regard the Indianconstituency in high esteemby voting against a person of doubtful character projected asthe PM of India. Look beyond the Congress, BJP, UGDP, MGPand their other a� liated parties for a change.Julius Carvalho, Dubai

Wake up, CavelossimThis is with reference to the

article “An Environmental Haz-ard in Cavelossim” that featuredin The Goan, edition March22- March 28, 2014. It was re-ally painful to read about the de-struction caused to my village,where I lived for over 20 years.I read the views of the sarpanchand was bewildered. A sarpanchmust know the village, the vil-lagers and more importantlystand up to safe-guard the inter-est of both.

The sarpanch of Cavelossimhas washed her hands o� bysaying, “I do not know any de-tails about the issue.” Mrs Sar-panch, permit me to tell you thatit is your primary duty to � ndout about the said issue sinceyou are accountable to the vot-ers of the village.

She further adds, “I do notknow whether there were pondsthere.” I am sure that the vil-

lage still has the older and wisergeneration. Ask them about thetopography of the entire villageand they will most gladly pointout to you not only the pondsbut everything that has gonemissing from the village.

The sarpanch has also furthergone on to say that, “The projectwas passed when the previoussarpanch was in power.”Has theprevious sarpanch migrated? Ishe not available for questioning?She added, “I have no idea of theproject, I was elected this year.“(meaning 2014). If my memoryserves me right, elections to thePanchayats in Goa were held inMay 2012. Then how was the sar-

panch of Cavelossim elected thisyear? Was it a by- election?

Mrs. D’ Costa has the audacityto say , “The locals have no prob-lem at all but the Cavelossim Vil-lagers Forum have been raisingthis issue for no reason.” Has aGram Sabha meeting been heldto give people a chance to venttheir grievances? According topanch James Barreto, the datesof the Gram Sabha have beenpostponed every time. Why mayI ask is this done? Are the Pan-chayat members not ready toface the wrath of the people whovoted them in?

The explanation given by thesarpanch has created in me agreat desire to meet this inter-esting lady who seems to knownothing but has accepted such agreat responsibility. It is rightlysaid that when an institution orvillage crumbles , it is not out-siders who are responsible but

insiders who play a dirty role.This has proved true in the

case of Cavelossim for the fol-lowing reasons: Plot under Sur-vey No. 90/91 surely belongedto an insider---a villager. Agri-cultural land is converted intosettlement land under the ableguidance and blessings of aninsider.

Necessary permissions havebeen granted by concernedauthorities including the Pan-chayat. Cavelossim villagers tilldate face grave hardships due toerratic power and water supply .It was the duty of the Panchayatmembers who are all insiders topoint this out to all other con-cerned authorities.

Villagers of Cavelossim whoare sadly all insiders turned ablind eye to the ponds being�lled with mud and boulders.Why were the authorities notquestioned by the villagers?

Letters to the Editor

The people from my locality in Mapusa havebeen facing dust problems for the past twomonths. The roads were dug up to lay hightension power lines to support power require-ments of the new infrastructure set up for theLusofonia Games. No doubt the games werea good show but we are su�ering on a daily basis.As half the roads in the area are dug up, thereis a tra�c chaos every day. The stretch fromthe North Goa district hospital to the NH 17at Peddem has witnessed lot of accidents because of loose gravel. School children � nd

it di�cult to walk along this stretch. The NorthGoa district hospital is just 10 metres away from the a�ected area increasing the risk of the dust inconveniencing the patients. Am-bulances too are delayed by the incompleteroads. Our damand is that  that the authorities asphalt the road as early as possible and savethem from daily hardships.I have also heard that the local government will be laying sewage pipes and they are goingto dig up the roads again.

Jason Rodrigues, Mapusa

The games the government plays

BELINDA JACQUES,FATORDA

People’s court

Saturday, March 29, 2014 log on to thegoan.net

Printed and Published by Rajeev Narayan Sharma on behalf of Fomento Publications, Printed at HT MEDIA LTD, Plot No 6, TTC MIDC Industrial area, Dighe, Thane – Belapur Road, Navi Mumbai. Published at: Villa Flores da Silva,Erasmo Carvalho Street PO Box 31 Margao 403601. Goa. Editor: Ajay Thakur (Responsible for selection of News Under PRB Act). All Rights Reserved Editoral O� ce: Third floor, Fourth Estate (Kamat Metropolis), St Inez, Panjim, 403 002Disclaimer: Except for the editorials above , columns, letters and people’s edit, represent the views of the concerned authors and do not necessary reflect the view of The Goan On Saturday, editor, publisher and owners

The problem is Parrikar knowswhat the people want but has to do what the party does

Daddy Dearest’s powerful legacy was taken as a granted ticket to leadership. None ofthese youth woke up to smell the co� ee

Find The Goan on facebook at facebook.com/TheGoan

We have six CatholicMLAs within the BJP, besides thatthere are CatholicMLAs supporting our government. They havenever said that because of the advisory they are going with the church

The advisory that has been issued, in myopinion, has talked about voting for a secular fabric. Being the lawyer, I feel thatthis should be the concern of every citizen

We have invested more than 500 crore rupeesin Dabolim. Now there is also the 70 croresinvested in a grade separator. In spite ofthis why do we talkabout Mopa?

If they are so con� dentwith the RSS factor or Modi factor, then why waste time with Churchill, Mickky,Benjimin etc, are theyscared that they are notgoing to get votes from their areas?

I will try and resolve issues facing the Gavli community. I aim todevelop the River Saland bring infrastructure facilities to South Goa

The Congress party has, for the �rst time tappedthe pulse of the common man, therefore publicsentiments are going tobe an asset

An association with the RSS does not make one communal so I don’tattach much importance to this issue

I am waiting for myopponent to take the �rst step. I am ready tocounter every allegation with proof

8-9

To comment on our stories, mail us atletters@thegoan.netor visit thegoan.net and leave you viewsthere

Everyone is happy and I am sure ofthis because I have been working in South Goa since 1997. There are absolutely no rebels in the BJP

– Narendra Sawaikar

I am standing as a candidate of the realcommon man of Goa who thinks beyond religions. I have not been suggested by the Church at all – Reginaldo Lourenco

Saturday, March 29, 2014 log on to thegoan.net

Goench MPGoa has an

important stake inthese Parliamentary

Polls. BJP’sPrime Ministerial

CandidateNarendra Modiwas chosen in

Goa and the manwho � rmly backedthe decision lock,stock and barrel is

Goa’s Chief MinisterManohar Parrikar.

The Lok SabhaPolls come midway

into Parrikar’sown rule and is

looked upon as amandate on his

governance too. Yetthe Parliamentarycandidates have

to look beyond thesmall state and

upping their ante.This week,The Goan

pitches the maincontenders in

South Goa againstanother on issues,accusations and

the understandingof Goa, in our

Parliamentary Pollsspecial covera ge

� Date of Birth: December 29, 1960� Educational Quali� cation: BA-LLB� Educated at Bombay University, andGoa University� SSC from M.I.B.K. HighSchool,Khandepar,Ponda-Goa(GoaBoard),Year-1982,� H.S.S.C. from Dhempe Higher Sec-ondary School,Panaji Goa, 1984,� B.A. from Bombay University, 1987,� LLB from Goa University, Year-1994� University: Bombay, Goa� Position held:� Chairman of Goa university students council- year 1989-90-91� Joined legal profession in 1995-96 asjunior under Ferdino Inacio Rebello, theex Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court

� Associated with Goa Bagyaddar ba-zaar since 2006� Serving as chairman of Goa Bagyad-dar Bazaar since last 2006.� Active Member of Rotary club Ponda/Samarat club ponda� Patron member of an NGO in Ponda� Joined BJP In 1997, served as general secretary for 9 years� Shouldered responsibility of southGoa BJP unit till 2006� IN 2007 appointed as state secretaryOf BJP Goa unit� In 2009 appointed as state general secretary� 2009 contested as Lok Sabha can-didate for south Goa constituency andlost by 12000 odd votes.

� Date of birth: October 5, 1969;� Educational Quali� cations:� Appeared for Diploma in ConstructionEngineering.� June 7, 2007 : Member, Fifth Legisla-tive Assembly of the State of Goa.� March 7, 2012 till date : Member,Sixth Legislative Assembly of the Stateof Goa.� MEMBERSHIP OF COMMITTEES� September 2007 Member, Committeeof Petitions.� Member, Committee on DelegatedLegislation.� Member, Committee of Privileges.� Member, Committee on Public Under-takings.� December 18, 2007 Resigned as the

Member of the Privileges Committee.� April – August 2008 Chairman,Demands related Ad hoc CommitteeEducation, Sports and InformationTechnology.� February 5, 2009 Member, Select Committee on the Goa Panchayat Raj(Amendment) Bill, 2009.� April 7, 2009 Member, Demands re-lated Ad hoc Committee on  Industries,Labour and Tourism.� May 11, 2009 Member of the Re-con-stituted Select Committee  on the GoaPanchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2009.� September 9, 2009 Chairman, Com-mittee on Government Assurances.Member, Estimates Committee.� Member, Committee on Delegated

Legislation.� 22 October 2010 -2011 Chairman,Estimates Committee.� 11 October 2011-2012 Member, Esti-mates Committee. Member, Committeeon Delegated Legislation.� OTHER INFORMATION� 2000 Member, South Goa Zilla Pan-chayat.� 2005 Chairman, South Goa ZillaPanchayat.� 2006 Chairman, Curtorim Co-opera-tive Service Society.� 28 December 2007 -2009 Chairman,Kadamba Transport Corporation Ltd.� 2009-2012 Chairman, North GoaPlanning and Development  Authority.� Social and Cultural activities Helping

and assisting special children.� -Special Interests Helping thedowntrodden, understanding people’s needs and �nding solutions for their problems.� Hobbies Social work, meeting peopleand socializing.� -Favourite pastime and recreationReading, listening to music and sports.�- Sports activities and membership of Clubs Life Member, Curtorim Gymkhanaand YMCA(Young Men Christian Associa-tion)� Countries visited Qatar and Kuwait.

NAVIN JHA/THE GOAN

The Goan: With the Centre for

Social Justice and Peace’s letter

which obliquely hits out at your

party, the Church seems to be in a

mood to back the Congress. How

do you then rate your chances?

Narendra Sawaikar: Elections are

not fought on lines of religion, but

on issues. These are parliament elec-

tions and I appeal to the voters they

should vote in the interest of the con-

stitution. The advisory that has been

issued, in my opinion, has talked

about voting for a secular fabric. Be-

ing the lawyer, I feel that this should

be the concern of every citizen.

TG: Many of the Catholic MLAs,

both from BJP as well as Indepen-

dent and GVP members support-

ing BJP, have said that they will

go with the Church’s point of view

and support Congress candidates?

NS: We have six Catholic MLAs

within the BJP, besides that there are

Catholic MLAs supporting our gov-

ernment. They have never said that

because of the advisory they are go-

ing with the church.

TG: There are rumors that from

Churchill to Mauvin Godinho, your

party has managed an intra-party

coup within Congress to ensure

your victory.

NS: Mauvin said that this govern-

ment, for last two years, has done

something substantial for Goa,

including in the �eld of develop-

ment. I don’t see any reason why

the BJP should manipulate things.

TG: You were chosen over the

popular Damu Naik in the South.

Don’t you feel that disgruntled BJP

members will lead to your loss?

NS: Everyone is happy and I am

sure of this because I have been work-

ing in South Goa since 1997. There are

absolutely no rebels in the BJP.

TG: We have never heard much

about your achievements as law

commission chairman. How do

you plan to convince the intellec-

tual voters then?

NS: Our role basically is to give sug-

gestions and submit our reports. We

submitted our suggestions regarding

�at ownership. The issue that we pur-

sued with the govt was the transfer

of the rent matters from the deputy

collectors to the civil courts and that

I am happy that in my tenure that

govt. has accepted that proposal and

the matters had been transferred to

the civil court. I came across certain

issues regarding building construc-

tions while we were preparing for the

�at ownership act. We came to know

about problems in various � ats re-

garding the li�s facilities. So we pre-

pared a proposal. We have also made

report to the govt regarding tenancy

laws. Then we were working on land

revenue code and we were about to

make some suggestions with regards

to some amendments. Besides that

there were certain issues regarding

the amendments to be made in the

Portuguese laws which is applicable

to Goa. As the law commission post

is not high pro�le we don’t hold

press conferences and talk about our

achievements.

TG: What is your stand on

Mopa?

NS: We have invested more

than 500 crore rupees in

Dabolim. Now there is

also the 70 crores in-

vested in a grade separator. In spite

of this why do we talk about Mopa?

These issues are like poll gimicks. As

far as the BJP is concerned I will be

with the people of South Goa.

TG: Do you feel that being an RSS

member is a turn o� for Catholic

voters?

NS: Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L

K Advani was referred to as an RSS

members. Manohar Parrikar was also

refered to as an RSS member. Now

everybody says they were one of the

best administrators in India. An as-

sociation with the RSS does not make

one communal so I don’t attach much

importance to this issue.

TG: What is the stand on regu-

larisation of illegal structures on

communidade land?

NS: Being a lawyer I have handled

so many matters regarding this. If you

want to remove these people, as they

are encroachers, then there would be

some tension within society. So now

you have to take a stand, either regu-

larise them or rehabilitate them. The

regularisation process includes the

amendment to the various provisions

of law, which includes land and rev-

enue act, municipality act, Goa Pan-

chayat raj act etc.

TG: Where do you think is the

cause for electors to vote for the

BJP?

NS: Let the Congress answer as to

why their candidate is is playing safe.

If Reginaldo wants to contest the MP

election why does he not � rst resign

as MLA? We have come across cer-

tain issues wherein the central govt

should have supported the state govt.

One such issue was mining. People

say that the BJP was responsible. The

Shah Commission was appointed by

the Congress govt and subsequently

the report was submitted by the same

Shah Commission to the central govt.

NAVIN JHA/THE GOAN

The Goan: You want special sta-

tus for Goa, you support Dabolim

only… You seem more like a can-

didate of the Church than the Con-

gress Party?

Aleixo Lourenco: I am standing as

a candidate of the real common man

of Goa who thinks beyond religions.

I have not been suggested by the

Church at all. Parrikar has tried to get

agents to see that such kind of pro-

paganda is created but I am sure that

people of Goa are aware of this fact.

TG: From Francisco Sardinha

to the formidable Alemao family

to your former mentor Churchill

and even your once upon a time

friend Mauvin Godinho, the most

renowned of the Congress names

in the South are opposing your

candidature. How do you intend

to win?

AL: My �ght basically is neither

with Sardinha, nor with the Alemao

family or with Mauvin Godinho, my

�ght is with these communal, divi-

sive, dictatorial leaders of the BJP. .

TG: Even the mining areas,

which in the past used to vote for

Congress, have rallied behind

BJP’s Narendra Sawaikar due to

your anti-mining stand. Where

will your votes come from?

AL: My stand has not been anti-

mining but anti-illegal mining. We

have a CD where during a television

award function, the same very chief

Minister of Goa Manohar Parrikar

has acknowledged that he has closed

mining in Goa. At the appropriate

time I will show this CD to people,

where Parrikar charges me as an anti-

mining activists. I am going to reach

out to the mining a�ected areas and

will expose the truth as to who is re-

sponsible for the closure of mining.

TG: Your record as a MLA is not

much to talk about. How do you

plan to convince voters?

AL: The Congress party has, for

the �rst time tapped the pulse of

the common man, therefore public

sentiments are going to be an asset.

I have repeatedly won the debate

a�er reminding the same dictatorial

chief minister Manohar Parrikar as to

what his stand when he was in oppo-

sition and how his stands have now

changed in form of U-turns, a� er he

became chief minister, so intellectu-

als very well understand who is per-

forming. This will be exposed when

the people’s anger will be shown as

they will vote against BJP this time.

TG: The Church supports land

rights for indigenous people and

even supports the Communidade.

How do you intend to convince the

illegal encroachers on Communi-

dade land to vote for you?

AL: My associations with the Com-

munidade and the church has been

around for many years, so this asso-

ciation will de�nitely help me more

this time, because of that one bill

that is a directive to help the people

of Mayem.

TG: Do you feel that your oppo-

nent Narendra Sawaiker, being an

RSS member, shall help polarise

votes in your favour?

AL: This issue has taken centre-

stage for simple reason that people

fear what will happen to the country,

like what is happening in Gujarat. I

have evidence that when someone

from the press writes against Parri-

kar, he gets a phone call in the morn-

ing and Parrikar questions him as

to what he has written in the news-

paper. So people are now realizing

their mistakes and they wonder,

if Narendra Sawaikar comes

to power, what will be their

faith tomorrow. The RSS factor is ac-

tually making him a demon of Goa

who knows to rule like Hitler in the

state.

TG: Last time, your opponent

Sawaikar lost against Sardinha by

mere 12000 odd votes when the

state had a Congress government.

This time Sawaiker has a BJP Govt,

Independent MLAs, and your own

predecessor Sardinha’s bad blood

with you as your opponent. What

then shall be your prospects?

AL: I have been given a ticket by

the party going by public sentiments

and the voters of South Goa, includ-

ing the traditional voters, who have

really been touched by this gesture

from the high command. Why, when

cases were �led against Churchill

Alemao, within six months of the

PWD scam expose has Parrikar said

that he will see Churchill contest the

election? If they are so con� dent with

the RSS factor or Modi factor, then

why waste time with Churchill, Mick-

ky, Benjimin etc, are they scared that

they are not going to get votes from

their areas?

TG: How do you plan to contest

against your opponent? Where do

you think is a cause for electors to

vote for Congress?

AR: I am waiting for my op-

ponent to take the �rst step. I

am ready to counter every

allegation with proof.

The other cause of

concern for the peo-

ple of state is that

they are now threat-

ened with the u-

turns of the BJP

a�er 2012 elec-

tions – casinos,

mining and even

the MOI issue.

South of the Zuari, no logic works. Ask a political pundit and they will tell you how strong emotions and not a grimpolitical reality decides the fate of who is sent to the Lok Sabha as the South Goa parliamentary candidate.While the BJP’s RSS man Narendra Sawaikar �nds solace in the fact that his party’s government rules the state andaura of Narendra Modi sweeps the nation, Congress’s Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco has the �rm backing of the Churchthat shall make this a battle to decide the true persona of South Goan voter

This is quite an antithesis of Rudyard Kipling’s famous lines, “Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.”

If Reginaldo wants to contest, whydoes he not �rst resign as MLA?

My �ght is with these communal,divisive, dictatorial leaders of the BJP

Advocate NarendraKeshav Sawaikar

Aleixo ReginaldoLourenco

PIC

S: S

AG

UN

GA

WA

DE

Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco≥First contested from Curtorim constituency in 2007 as Save Goa Front (SGF) party

≥Defeated Congress candidate and Former Chief Minister Francisco

Sardinha by 1827 votes

≥SGF merged with the Congress after2009 Lok Sabha Polls

≥Contested as a Congress Candidate in the 2012 assembly elections and won by 4069 votes, defeating BJP’s Dominic Gaonkar.

≥Agenda For south Goa:

≥To support the people of south Goa on the Dabolim Airport issue

≥Tourism development

≥Overall development of South Goa.

Advocate NarendraKeshav Sawaikar ≥ Runner up in 2009, lostby 12516 votes to Con-gress candidate Francisco Sardinha.

≥ Agenda for South Goa:

≥To support the people of south Goa on the Dabolim Airport issue

≥Development of river Sal

≥Special status for Goa

≥Development of tourism in south

≥Overall development of South Goa

Indians are coming a�er a 14year hiatus and they will onceagain play a sort of ‘interna-tional’ cricket tournamentin the UAE. This hosting of a

segment of the IPL should beseen as a �rst step towards re-establishing test and one-dayties and ensuring an ongoingrelationship. Much of the mis-understandings of the late nine-ties were predicated to the per-ception that there was a fair dealof match � xing being engaged inand Indians de� ected attentionfrom the Mumbai ma� a’s con-trol of things by pointing a � inty�nger in this direction. Thingsjust got murky and out of hand.

Much of the good that one-daycricket received by way of bene-�t was overlooked in the contro-versy. It went beyond the o� enforgotten but tangible $5 milliongiven in purses to internationalcricketers by the highly success-ful CBFS experiment and placedSharjah on the world map. Also,it should be remembered thatnowhere else were cricketers

feted, given hospitality and lion-ised as they were on their visits.Sharjah was the trigger for thestart of the cricket icon era. Themulti-partisan expats, especial-ly Indians and Pakistanis, culledout holidays to watch them playand entertain them lavishly sothere was a great deal of warmthand a�ection in those days andsometimes a surfeit of emotioncan turn sour. But it is time nowto move on from those memoriesand work towards bringing backthat erstwhile cricketing glory toa nation which now has threeworld class stadiums.

There are also two very goodo�cial reasons for doing so,even if you carelessly discountthe fact that the ICC headquar-ters is based in the Emirates.The �rst is that the UAE hasquali�ed for the T20 World Cupmaking it a cricket playing na-tion. The second that Pakistanhas chosen the UAE as its sur-rogate home and it has playedo�cial matches against othernations on a regular basis. Since

this option has been recognisedit becomes incumbent upon theICC and the BCCI to take theseimperatives on board and factorthem into the annual � xtures.

The Indian cricket authoritieshave opted for the UAE becausethey really could not come upwith any reason why the obviousvenue should be overlooked.Besides, India enjoys excellentrelations with the UAE, which isits second biggest trade partner,

with bilateral agreements cur-rently pegged at $ 75 billion. Addto that political equation a newgeneration of cricketers whovociferously supported comingto the UAE and cannot fathomthe foot dragging. The sponsorsand the owners of the IPL teamspractically ‘reside’ in the UAE or

are there on work and business,not to mention shooting � lmsfor Bollywood.They are savinga fortune in just going across toDubai than �ogging their wayto South Africa. And then therewas another � nancial realitycheck. Similar time zones, bet-ter viewing hours for the Indianpublic, home-like conditions,no food problems and, aboveall, a high recognition factor ofthe teams made the di� erenceand advertisers wanted themaximum bang for their adver-tisement spend. How many In-dians would watch Jo’burg playDurban? Ergo, how many SouthAfricans would watch Deccanplay Chennai.

But the paint is still wet and afair amount of earnestness, sin-cerity of purpose and transpar-ency are needed to forge thosebuilding bricks for the future.Time for the ECB to show itsmettle and put its best foot for-ward, which it will.  Let theseplayers and organisers go backabsolutely convinced that what-ever the UAE does, it does betterthan anyone else.

≥Bikram Vohra is director-editori-al and corporate communication, New Asian Media Ltd

Indians are coming to UAE forcricket, and that’s good

11OP-ED

Bikram Vohra

Byline

Immigrant,Again

Night had fallen on Melbourne by the time I had got-ten through immigration and customs. I made myway through the crowd of smiling people, someholding up “Welcome Home!” signs. In the arriv-als area, I found a quiet spot and, fortunately, free

wi� – always such a boon to itinerants. There was just enoughpower on my phone to send a quick message to let my folksknow I had arrived safely.

For a long while, I stood by my luggage cart and eyed theexit. I was not ready, just yet, to leave the neutral space of theairport, and step into terra incognita.

Sure, I had found myself in this same situation many timesbefore. But it never ceases to feel daunting, that alienness ofbeing on the precipice of starting life anew. En route to Aus-tralia, I broke my journey in Beirut. At immigration in Leba-non, I surmised that the o�cer was asking me if I spoke Ara-

bic, but being unable to respond in thattongue, I apologized in English. “Howcome?” He queried. “You were born inKuwait,” he said, jabbing his � nger atthe tell-tale information in my Ameri-can passport.

Just a few weeks prior, the mous-tachioed o� cial collecting departurecards at Bombay’s Chhatrapati ShivajiInternational Airport – which will al-ways be Sahara Airport to me fromhaving transited there as a child travel-ing between Kuwait and Goa to see mygrandmother – insisted on speaking tome in Hindi. As if to go with the nation-

alistically inclined name change of the airport, he questionedmy inability to articulate myself �uently in “the mothertongue” that is completely unknown to my mother who wasborn and raised in East Africa.

Waving my Overseas Citizenship of India card in my face, hechastised me, in Hindi, for not speak-ing the language of “your country.” Ithought of the title of that James Bald-win novel. I thought of 1961. I signed myPortuguese name on the exit form, anddeparted the country that neither of myparents, nor me, had been born in.

“It’s not just another country foryou,” a friend remarked. “It’s a wholeother continent.” Nonetheless, somethings were immediately familiar, Ithought to myself as I prepared thecash to pay the taxi driver near the end

of the ride from Tullamarine Airport. For instance, there wasthe crowned head on the heavy currency – the paradoxicallycommon royal visage on the coinage of the Commonwealth.I remember her well from those days of scrounging togethermy all too uncommon wealth as a student in London. AndEnglish is spoken here – that other imperial legacy.

I thought of 1968. I thought of Enoch Powell’s “Rivers of

Blood,” and how the lie was given to the concept of the Com-monwealth when South Asians from once British East Africawere denied entry into the United Kingdom, even though

they shared the same history and spoke“the same language.” There was anawkward silence when the cab driver�nally ended the call he had been onfrom the time he had picked me up. Ihad gathered from the phone conver-sation that he was Punjabi. “How longhave you lived here?” I enquired. “Tenyears. You’re here for work?” I nodded.“Yes. New job.” He said, “Good, good.”Leaning forward in my seat, I asked,“So, some years ago, there were thoseattacks, no? On Indian students…” Hishead bobbed in assent. “But it is safe.

You know… just mind your own business. You do your workand you go home a�er and everything will be �ne.” I thoughtof Doris Pilkington’s Follow the Rabbit Proof Fence, of 1869and the Stolen Generations. I thought about whose home thiscountry really is and of homelessness. “This is your stop,” thedriver announced as he slowed down. “All the best!”

≥R. Benedito Ferrão writes about the Goan diaspora and culture. To see more of his work, visit thenightchild.blogspot.com, or The Nightchild Nexus at Facebook. If you see him at a bar, order him a single malt. Neat.

Will the real BJP please stand up?

There is on occasion apivotal, symbolic mo-ment in the life of a po-litical party on whichall that has come be-

fore turns. For the Congress,it came arguably not with theEmergency from which it recov-ered but with the overturningof the Shah Bano judgment.For the BJP, it may have comeon Sunday, March 23, when asemi-educated, mofussil bullycalled Pramod Muthalik, whois accused in 45 cases of riotingand inciting hatred/violencetowards 49 per cent of the coun-try’s citizens, joined the partywith the BJP’s Karnataka brasscheering him in before havingto cancel his membership thesame evening.

Manohar Parrikar, to his eter-nal credit, was among the � rstprominent BJP leaders to raisea stink over this overt displayof mendacious misogyny byhis party and insisted that thedecision to welcome Muthalikinto the fold be reversed. Whilstcynics will point out that Parri-kar may not have had much of achoice given electoral-politicalconsiderations in Goa with amajority liberal Hindu/Catho-lic population which is genu-inely disgusted by the antics ofMuthalik’s ultra-conservativevigilante group, let it be placedon record that we extend thesame courtesy to the Goan ChiefMinister in accepting that he too

genuinely shares our disgust.The potential for damage to

the BJP from this aborted at-tempt that exposed the politicalre�exes of its tier II leadershipwhich reached out to a per-sonality of Muthalik’s pro� lealbeit in the cause of “winnabil-ity”, however, even if containedsomewhat for the 2014 LokSabha election, is immense andhas discourse-shaping implica-tions. The issue, to put it blunt-ly, is much bigger than whetherMuthalik is in or not. For, it hasprovided an insight into thefault lines that are opening up inthe BJP and will be clear to thenaked eye in ever sharper reliefif it comes to power at the Centreas seems likely but by no meanscertain.

What the Muthalik episodehas done, coming as it did onthe heels of the ascendant Na-rendra Modi-Rajnath Singh-Arun Jaitley troika ensuring the

sidelining or semi-retirement ofthe old guard so that their “ex-pertise” may be used if the BJPmakes it to the Centre but theyhave no political he� le� in theparty, is expose the fact thatthe neo-leadership is sharp asknives when it comes to tacticsbut rather i� y when it comes tostrategy. The prognosis, to resortto corporate-speak, is they mayget some spectacular quarterlyresults but nobody is quite surewhat the core competencies,value-system or bottom line willlook like on a � ve-year horizon.

Now it is nobody’s argumentthat a generational shi� is notessential in the BJP and it isapparent that the Congress ismerely scoring debating pointswhen it points to the “shabbytreatment” meted out to BJP se-niors; recent history shows usexactly how respectful Congresswas towards its non-Familyleaders, Lal Bahadur Shastri, PVNarasimha Rao, Sitaram Kesariet.al. But when Jaswant Singhsaid on being denied the BJPnomination for the Barmer seatthat he is not an “adjustablecommodity” it was only partlythe patrician sneer of an old fo-gey at the language used by theparvenu arrivistes in the leader-ship huddle to purportedly as-suage his feelings. It is the sec-ond part of his statement, thatthere appear to be two BJPs incirculation, the “fake” and the“real”, that needs to be exam-ined closely.

The fact is that a signi� cantsection of the activists of allmajor political parties in Indiatoday are youngish and lout-ish. The BJP has to grapple withthis issue in a more acute form

because its origins as a cadre-based party that has grown ex-ponentially means that seniorleaders can justi�ably, if some-times self-servingly, point to thevarious divergences from princi-ples sanctioned by the neo-lead-ership that the latter claim arepart of the bag of tricks of anyparty looking to win elections.

Jaswant Singh’s charge, how-ever, does evoke some reso-nance because inherent in a gen-erational change is the questionof legitimacy, i.e. who speaks forthe party and, equally, what itstands for. In terms of the � rstquestion, it is now abundantlyclear that the old guard nolonger speaks for the BJP. An-swering the second question,though, is more problematic be-cause this is where the Muthalikleitmotif, as it were, will need tobe addressed each time it arisesin various avatars. In that sense,the Muthalik episode con� rmedthat the “real” BJP is still a workin progress even if the leader-ship issue is settled.

The truth is that the instinctsof those who wanted Muthalikin will have to be battled by theBJP leadership every time suchan issue or its approximationcomes up and the battle willhave to be joined not just bydisgruntled seniors taking pot-shots from the sidelines but bythe likes of Arun Jaitley, SushmaSwaraj, Shivraj Singh Chauhan,Raman Singh and Parrikar, re-gardless of whether they arefervent or merely lukewarmsupporters of Modi, if they wantto shape what the real BJP willstand for.

≥Ishan Joshi is a senior journalist

Ishan Joshi

What lies beneath

R. Benedito Ferrã o

I’m not here�But when Jaswant Singhsaid on being deniedthe BJP nomination forthe Barmer seat that heis not an “adjustablecommodity” it was onlypartly the patrician sneerof an old fogey at thelanguage used by theparvenu arrivistes in theleadership huddle topurportedly assuage hisfeelings

�Much of themisunderstandingsof the late ninetieswere predicated to theperception that therewas a fair deal of match�xing being engaged inand Indians deflectedattention from theMumbai ma�a’s control ofthings by pointing a flinty�nger in this direction

�Atimmigrationin Lebanon, Isurmised thatthe o� cerwas askingme if I spokeArabic, butbeing unableto respond inthat tongue, Iapologized inEnglish

�I rememberher well fromthose days ofscroungingtogether my alltoo uncommonwealth as astudent inLondon

�“How longhave youlived here?”I enquired.“Ten years.You’re herefor work?” Inodded. “Yes.New job.” Hesaid, “Good,good.”

Saturday, March 29, 2014 log on to thegoan.net

India enjoys excellent relationswith the UAE, which is its secondbiggest trade partner

The Muthalik episode con�rmed that the “real” BJP is still a work in progress even ifthe leadership issue is settled

For views, opinions and more, mail us: letters@thegoan.net

12Saturday, March 29, 2014 log on to thegoan.net

GOA DEEP WITHINSome reports and stories cannot be planned. The best stories are journeys and not destinations. Reporters of The Goan will spend theirweekends travelling to the hinterland of Goa, to meet people and tour villages and come back with stories that are “too far away” from Panjim andMargao. These packages, Goa Deep Within, will emerge from traditional reportage and mass contact. Readers are requested to participate bytelling us which villages to go to, to hear and then write stories

NESHWIN ALMEIDA /THE GOAN

BENAULIM:

Ever wondered what would hap-pen if there is no sand on thebeaches? Will there be sea or justthe rocks? The questions mayseem scary or too far-fetchedbut the discreet activities on thebeach at the Benaulim-Colvapaint a similar picture. For peo-ple who came for a morning jogat the beach were in for a shockwhen they saw individuals stu� -ing sand in a goods carrier rick-shaw.

Since then, the locals of thearea have been up in armsagainst these thieves feedingthe local construction. “Every

morning, I come for a jog withmy parents to the beach all theway from Sarzora. That is whenwe �rst noticed some people � ll-ing bags with sand. They saidthe sand was for gardening pur-pose but we later found it to be adaily act and that the sand wasbeing commercially sold by alandscaping architect,” said Ze-nden Mascarenhas.

Levinson Martins from GoaPollution Control Board in-formed that stealing sand fromthe beach is a criminal act andaction needs to be initiated bythe local police and arrest theones indulging in this activ-ity only the GCZMA under CRZrules can take action.

Bags of sand are stolen daily

from Benaulim beach for smallconstruction and landscapingof gardens in the nearby hotels.Local �shermen say, the dailystealing leaves wide holes onthe beach making it di� cult forthem to push their boats into thesea.“We have taken cognizanceof such complaints in the past.Although we have not receivedone of late but will de� nitelysend our �ying squads and takeaction if such problems occuragain, asserted Colva PI UttamRaut Dessai. But there is a la-ment that neither the local po-lice nor CRZ authorities can takeany action in a matter like this.Jose Rodrigues, who is leadingthe �ght against these illegali-ties in the area states, “Even

in the Beach Hotel case wherethe matter is in court againstTriumph Reality, truckloads ofsand was sold by a builder forlocal construction and the localauthorities could do nothing.”

Social activist Judith Almeidaagrees and says, “Several com-plaints of individuals stealingsand, boulders and scrappingthe sand dunes have been madeby me and others around Bena-ulim and Colva, the Colva policepromises to investigate but theydon’t even come to inspect thesite.”

Locals who live or work inthe area point out that few ve-hicles and even bikes � ttedwith a light go on the beachlate in the evening and steal

sand for construction sites. “Wehave made so many complaintsagainst such activities. The copssay it comes under the jurisdic-tion of the mines departmentsince its illegal sand extraction,the mines authorities say thetourism police should take ac-tion but they pass the buckto the CRZ o� cials,” statedRudolf Fernandes, a local taxidriver.

A�er every complaint made,the usual process of the policeauthorities or an o� cial from theSouth Goa Collectorate inspectsthe site but yet there haven’tbeen any bookings, leaving lo-cals wondering if the beach thatthey always knew would remaina beach much longer.

The sandmen arestealing the beachin Benaulim�Concerned authorities play thegame of passing thebuck

�No action takendespite several complaints fromlocals

CRIMINAL ACT: In the garbof taking sand for garden-ing, people steal sand fromthe beach for constructionpurposes

≥The problem is with the sand extraction ban and with sand prices soaring, the stealing sand from beaches have started again. We have in the past made complaints against even shack owners who would bring shovels and cranes and extract sand from the beach to either create a crater for construction or tosell the sand— Rudolf Baretto, resident

OFFICIAL SPEAK:

≥The powers to nab someone carrying out this illegal-ity are vested with the coastal police. The minute theynab someone or book some we immediately step in andtake action but the complaint has to be taken up by the Coastal Tourism Police alone— Srinet Kotwale, GCZMA Chairman

≥This is a very serious issue since stealing sand is an criminal o�ence and de�nitely disturbs the ecology. I hope the CRZ would look into this issue more seriously— Dr Arvind Gajanan Untawale, Member, Environmental

Impact Assessment Process and Coastal Management

KIMBERLY COLACO/THE GOAN

VADDEM:

This river didn’t run red (it has,in fact, has turned green), butif it were a living being it surelywould have been dead. E� ortspoured in or not, this in Vaddemwater course had turned into anexisting example to what apathyand lackadaisical e� orts fromthe administration’s part has re-sulted to an ecological disaster.It’s sad. And it’s evident to everyeye that is set on this, once na-ture’s adorable creek, that thedamage to this water course hasgone beyond repair.

The creek which was oncea beautiful attraction for theVascoites has gradually turnedinto a stench �lled swamp, asit stretches from River Zuari to-wards Pai Hospital and furtherconnected to the Chapel of OurLady of Merces in Vaddem.

A local narrates a patch fromhis memories during the serenedays when river water was cleanand sparkling. “As children we

never had television or even aradio at home. The only pasttime we had was the neighbour’smango trees, a group of friendsand the always fresh and cleanswimming pool gi�ed by mothernature herself. Fishing was an-other pastime we had. The water�ows right behind my house andwe would � nd �sh like the RedSnapper, Crabs and so many dif-ferent kinds of aquatic species.

But now the place is so dirty thateven entering into these watersis perilous,” informed UmeshHalankar, a resident of Ward 20.

There is a new divide thatcan be sensed among the resi-dents living in the surroundingneighbourhood. There are thosewho have seen the sereness ofthe creek during its prime andthen there are those, who with-out remorse would just dump

their sewage and garbage intothis water body and worsen itspitiable condition. The ‘creek’which was once an entertain-ment zone is now clogged withdomestic waste, plastic bagsand bottles, it won’t be surpris-ing to someone to � nd children’stoys, electrical wires and switch-es in one corner of this waterbody. There are many buildingswhich are coming up in the sur-roundings; which means that alot of industrial waste and sew-age is also let out in the creek.

It’s an eyesore to see waste�ung into the creek. “I havegiven my papers to the munici-pality so that I can build a wallsurrounding my house. And the�rst thing I will do is to get myside of the creek cleaned. I can-not bear the sight,” informedHalankar. “The people who stayin the �ats are not here for a longtime. They don’t know how thecreek was. For them it is just adirty nullah where there are lotsof mosquitoes breeding and agarbage dump yard. They willnever get attached to the place

the way the locals from the areaare,” he added.

Another intriguing story of thecreek surfaces a�er yet anotherlocal, annoyed and gatheringall his sense of displeasure said“During our younger days, weused to have sports and swim-ming in the creek. We neverwent to the swimming pools andfrankly my parents never hadthe money to send us there. Thewater used to be so clear thatswimming in it used to be a de-light,” informed Venu Naik, whohas seen the place since yearsforever. He lives on the otherend of the creek and he wasquiet upset that the place is de-stroyed and the next generationis not lucky to see what they sawin their younger days.

The lush green � elds havebeen destroyed and there arewild plants which are growing.There is also a lack of initiationhere; the residents would notallow themselves to even con-tribute to cleaning of this creek,when someone or somebody isready to do so.

≥ I have done all that I could toget the nullah cleaned up. The nullah is cleaned every year butthe problem is the locals hesitate to even pay Rs 40 a month for doorto door garbage collection. They �nd it expensive. The easy way outis to throw the plastic bag �lledwith garbage right into their new ‘dumping yard.’ To clean the mess one has to getinside the nullah and clean it. But due to hazardous and toxicchemicals present in the waterbody there is a fear of contacting some disease. I have sent notices to the people who have let theirsewerage pipeline into the creekbut there was no follow up to that. Frankly speaking almost 90 percent of the people residing in Vad-dem have let out their sewerage pipelines into this creek. Within six months all the pipelines con-nected to the creek will stop.

— Sudesh Kolgaonkar,Councillor (ward no 20)

≥ I have removed all the trees which were into the creek and the flow of water was disrupted. The water passage was also blocked and I got it cleared. The desilting was done at least three times of the entire nullah but that was a temporary measure. I have decided to have a wall built on the either side. There are many who have encroached on the land and have extended their property. We have also sent them a notice to get the place cleared and they too have agreed. Their sewerage pipeline will also be dealt with.

— Mauvin Godinho, MLA

When a vein of nature is slit in Vasco�The locals complain that the councilor has not done anything to rectify the nullah

�Scenic beauty of the village has been lost and very little chances are made to rectify them

GLORY LOST: The Vaddem creek has been made the dumpingground for almost all the locals

SAGUN GAWADE

SAGUN GAWADE

13Saturday, March 29, 2014 log on to thegoan.net

GOA DEEP WITHINSome reports and stories cannot be planned. The best stories are journeys and not destinations. Reporters of The Goan will spend theirweekends travelling to the hinterland of Goa, to meet people and tour villages and come back with stories that are “too far away” from Panjim andMargao. These packages, Goa Deep Within, will emerge from traditional reportage and mass contact. Readers are requested to participate bytelling us which villages to go to, to hear and then write stories

NAVIN JHA / THE GOAN

CORTALIM:

While travelling along any road,

the sight of garbage strewn all

over the place, on the streets,

outside bins and enclosures is

always perturbing. The scenes

along the National Highway 17

and 17B are no di� erent. The

e�ort to provide citizens with

enough venues to get rid of gar-

bage seems to have back� red.

The new venues located all

along the national highways

which were earlier used as des-

ignated enclosures for tempo-

rary dumping of collected gar-

bage waste are now used by the

people as regular dumping sites.

The worst part is that these

enclosures are turning into an

eyesore as people living in the

vicinity have started dispos-

ing o� their garbage all around

them putting double burden on

labourers to also manage this

non segregated waste.

Chief Minister Manohar Par-

rikar  had six months back said

that much was still needed to

be done to free highways from

the menace of garbage. He was

undoubtedly right in his remark

as the scenario is much worse

today. As far as clearing nation-

al and district highways from

waste strewn by the roadside is

concerned, it is e� ciently done

by the contractor appointed by

the state government but anoth-

er serious problem seems to be

cropping up at the collection en-

closures set up by the concerned

authorities.

“Every morning we notice at

least 50 to 60 new garbage bags

being dumped by unknown

people. We have no clue as to

how to deal with this waste and

thus we have to burn it,” said

a labourer employed for pick-

ing up garbage alongside the

national highway road. Also

the collection enclosures raise

a stench to attract stray cattle,

thereby, posing a further nui-

sance for vehicular movement.

According to Managing Direc-

tor GSIDC Sanjit Rodrigues, the

enclosures were placed to stack

the garbage waste collected by

designated contractors along

the roadsides once a week or

fortnightly, but now people have

started to scatter waste around

the place.

“I understand the new prob-

lem but the street waste col-

lectors are le� with no options

but to segregate waste dumped

outside the enclosures and stack

them inside until the weekly col-

lection takes place. In any case,

I am happy that garbage waste

which was earlier in all corners

is now coming at one particu-

lar place from where we li� it

regularly,” Rodrigues further ex-

plains. Currently the GSIDC has

placed two large size enclosures

at Nuvem, at Verna as well as

Bambolim but commuters use

them like a dumping ground

provided by the state govern-

ment. The bins near Bits Pilani,

MES College junction, and at

Upasnagar which falls in NH

17 B route are a source of relief

for the residents. The local San-

coale Panchayat had no garbage

management in place and thus

these bins become an alterna-

tive dumping sites used my large

number of people.

The same routine continues

everyday raising eyebrows on

whether the whole exercise of

roadside waste collection and

keeping highway neat and clean

was actually achieved. And the

answer would be a ‘no’ as the

process which kick started with

lots of enthusiasm and energy

demands an urgent scrutiny.

Caged trash stinks along the NH17�Garbageenclosures turninto an eyesore aspeople scatter wasteall around them

�Enclosures raise a stench toattract stray cattleposing nuisance forvehicular movement

�The wastecollection systemalong highwaysneeds a relook

Every morning we notice atleast 50 to 60 new garbage bags being dumped by unknown people. We have no clue as to how to dealwith this waste and thus we have to burn it— a labourer at the site

BASURI DESAI / THE GOANMERCES:

The trick is simple; just dump

the garbage where the open

space is. The end result is waste

lying in every nook and corner

and heaped everywhere. Simi-

lar is the case of Merces village

where Mercekars have made

their waste dumping sites every-

where in the absence of garbage

collection facility or a dumping

site.

Located at just 500 meters

away from the Goa’s capital city

of Panjim, the rotting smell of

the decomposition of trash hits

like a dead mouse as one enters

the village.

All open spaces in the village

panchayat area are converted

into dumping sites for garbage.

Some of the residents have

made their way by throwing

the garbage in open spaces and

on the roads as nobody knows

where to dump the garbage.

The village panchayat also

has to be equally blamed for not

being able to �nd a solution to

the garbage menace for so long.

Entire Merces village is af-

fected with the problem which

is becoming bigger and bigger

with every passing day but the

panchayat is making no e� ort to

tackle the situation.

“On entering the village, you

are welcomed by the colourful

garbage bags everywhere. The

road sides are full of waste and

debris of construction,” said An-

arita Lopes, a local resident.

The heaps of garbage are also

a�ecting mangroves in the kha-

jan land besides the road and

are a threat to the overall � ora

and fauna of the region.

“Merces is a densely popu-

lated area having a sizable mi-

grant population waiting for the

attention of the authorities. If

the administration does not take

immediate action the possibility

of the village attracting harm-

ful diseases is very high”, says

Krishna Naik, a local.

Village panchayat sarpanch

Asousa D’Souza said that

door-to-door waste collection

stopped in Merces due to non-

cooperation from the people.

“I have changed the labourers

thrice, but they were afraid to do

their job as people were threat-

ening them,” he said.

The sarpanch claims he has

done his best to sort out the

garbage issue but failed to get

people’s support. “We are in a

process to identify the land for

garbage disposal,” D’Souza in-

formed.

The high court in 2010 had di-

rected all the village panchayats

in the state to create compost-

ing facilities for bio-degradable

waste within their limits and

make arrangement for weekly

collection of non-bio-degrad-

able waste including plastic. As

per the court order panchayats

should have their own disposal

sites to treat their own garbage.

Also, garbage disposal sites

need consent from the GSPCB,

Town and Country Planning

and the forest department, if the

area falls under the forest. Files

are objected only if the panchay-

at has not obtained permissions

from all these departments and

some sites are rejected by the

GSPCB.

While most of the village

panchayats in the state have

failed to comply with the court

order, they have not even made

an honest attempt to clean this

mess.

≥Thrice the site for garbage dumping has been rejected by GSPC. We are trying to locate new sites for the dumping of garbage in the village. We are lacking people’s support tosort out the garbage menace— Asousa D’Souza, Merces sarpanch

≥The migrants population has increased in the village as lot of people have made their perma-nent residence here. It is nextto the capital city of Goa. The people who are staying on renthere come with garbage daily and throw it in open spaces and besides the roads— Prakashi Naik, panch member

≥Panchayat is an elected body and elected by the people of Merces for the developmentof the village. It is their duty tomeet the demands of the locals—Jose Lopes,

a local from Merces

≥I am looking to shift my resi-dence from Merces to some-where else, as the garbage issue is becoming very serious in the village. There is no place to dispose daily household garbage— Maruti Hanagal, a native of Karnatak and resi-

dent of Merces

‘Waste’d management of Merces� The village lacks garbage dumping sites � Area at risk of getting exposed to diseases

� Panchayat chooses to look the other way

SAGUN GAWADE

UNHEALTHY PRACTICE: The national highways have turned out to be a convenient dumping sites for people

PATHETIC STATE OF AFFAIRS: Garbage is being dumped along the roadsides in Merces

SAGUN GAWADE

14Saturday, March 29, 2014 log on to thegoan.net

PANCHAYAT PROBE

Goa with its 190 village panchayats is where the bulk of its democratic strength lies and it is here that protests, agitations and the seeds of socialactivism are sown. Starting this week, The Goan shall be travelling each of the Goa’s villages big or small, undeveloped or rurban and discovertheir unique problems and their aspirations.This week we take a look at Curtorim, a village more known as South Goa’s rice bowl but lacks heavily in infrastructure development

In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “True democracy cannot be worked by twenty men sitting at the center. It has to be worked from below, by the people of every village”.

TEAM GOAN / THE GOAN

CURTORIM:

This quaint little village in the

South has produced leaders,

who represented the State as-

sembly and even the Parlia-

ment. The outgoing South Goa

MP, Franchis Sardinha, former

MP Eduardo Faleiro, who went

on to be a minister at the Centre

and the current MLA Reginaldo

Lourenco are all from Curtorim

and have brought laurels to the

village. But despite having such

tall leaders, all is not well in the

Curtorim Village Panchayat.

The village lacks basic infra-

structure and civic service has

plummeted. Locals live in dis-

gust as problems and recurring

issues gnaw their peace.

The village does not have

a garbage dumping site. And

although Sonsoddo garbage

dumping site is located in the

Curorim constituency garbage

of only Margao is allowed to be

dumped at the site. As a result,

Curtorim waste is seen dumped

all over the place.

“We wrote many letters to the

MMC requesting it to allow at

least two truckloads of our gar-

bage to be dumped at Sonsoddo

but all our attempts failed,”

said Denisio Sardinha, a panch

member of Curtorim.

People resort to using the

roadside or the nullah to dump

their garbage, which eventually

turns into something horri� c

when the rains show up.

All the waste chokes the nul-

lahs and the drains in low lying

areas which results in � oods

during the monsoon. It has been

more than six years the Pan-

chayat is trying to notify land for

community garbage dustbins, a

source disclosed.

The panchayat fails to provide

basic civic amenities to the lo-

cals, but do not mind in issuing

licenses or permissions to some

controversial projects.

“A sub-contractor of JICA

has begun a large project on a

cultivable land at Ramnagari

in Curtorim. He was given the

permission for only dumping

cement pipes. However, the sub-

contractor is allegedly operating

a large pipe manufacturing unit

with an ulterior motive of stor-

ing them there. He has also built

permanent cabins and soak

pits for labourers at the site,”

charged Alexander Gomes, a

gram sabha member. Accord-

ing to a panchayat o� cial, a

complaint with regards to illegal

operation of the contractor was

sent to the local panchayat in

July last year. But the panchayat

went ahead to issue a temporary

permission to the project. How-

ever, there is no provision in the

Panchayati Raj Act to issue tem-

porary permission.

Further the TCP has turned

down the project, the talathi

has written it o� a� er inspection

and recently the health depart-

ment has revoked its licence to

the project. This issue raised a

storm in last three Gram Sab-

has. Angry villagers launched a

signature campaign against the

project and �nally the local MLA

Alexio Reginaldo Lourenco had

to step in asking the Curtorim

Panchayat body, backed by him,

to take sustainable action.

A little ounce of relief has

come to be people wherin dur-

ing the last gram sabha, Deputy

Sarpanch Santana Rodrigues

has assured that the panchayat

body would not renew NOC to

the project.

He also assured the gram sab-

ha that the panchayat will also

ask the concerned violator to

give an assurance in writing

that next time if he needs NOC

he will have to strictly follow all

norms and rules laid down by

the panchayat.

This clearly means that the

panchayat may again issue NOC

to the project.

It is also learnt that the villag-

ers are given short shri� over

kerosene quote under the PDS

scheme. Even horticulturists

are shunned from selling veg-

etables. “Every time we visit the

fair price shop, he just refuses to

give even one litre of kerosene to

card holders. His standard ver-

sion most of the time is that this

month quota is not yet received.

But we �nd that other shops sell

kerosene at a premium of Rs 60

per litre,” said Shanti Naik, a lo-

cal resident of Curtorim.

The sand extraction issue in

≥My ward has all major facilities, but the biggest hurdle is lack of maintenance. Funds for development in my wards are awaiting government sanction— Santana Rodrigues, Panch, Ward No 1

≥ Tarring of roads, proposed sports com-plex and volleyball ground is on the top priority in my ward. However, the works are stalled now, due to the code of conduct— Rupesh Naik, Panch, Ward No 2

≥ My ward has a peculiar problem. It lies in the low lying area and when there is heavy rain the area gets flooded. There are many kazhan lands in my ward but the bandaras protecting these khazans are not maintained which pose a serious threat to the villages and their paddy. Another major issue is of old dilapidated nullahs which need to be rebuilt— Denisio Sardinha, Panch, Ward No 3

≥ Pending drainage works and road widening is top priority in my ward— Lucy Rebello, Panch, Ward No 5

≥ Two years back I had applied for funds under the MPLAD funds for a garden pro-ject and for installation of a high mast in my ward. But the �le was kept pending by the former MP— Simon Barretto, Panch, Ward No 6

≥ There is hardly any development in our constitu-ency since we belong to the opposition (Congress). We have managed to carry out some works with our own money. We do get cooperation from our MLA. How-ever, roads need to be tarred and lots of small and big works are pending— Valentina Braganza, Sarpanch, Ward No 7

≥ I have a big task of beauti�cation of ‘mai toley’ (lake) in my ward. I am trying for a year now, and it’s just not getting done due to short of funds. I am trying to beautify a park in my ward for three years but thattoo is blocked amidst �les. Old broken drainage with no slabs is another problem

besides garbage — Rui Menezes, Panch, Ward No 9

≥ My ward is well maintained and has not many is-sues but whatever is pending I am trying to complete as soon as possible— Peter Cardozo, Ward No 10

≥ We need to repair most of the internalroads in our ward. Garbage collection isnot happening in my ward which is anothermajor issue— Sucorina Castanha, Panch, Ward No 11

Panchspeak

≥Our MLA is �ghting for issues of the state but not available for his own constituency. Curtorim lives in retrospect now— A villager (Did not reveal name

for fear of retribution)

≥ The issue of the illegal project atRamnagari has been rocking the Gram Sabhas for the last one and a half year, but there has been no stopping the contractor. Now the MLA has intervened in the matterand ordered action. It’s surprising why the panchayat refuses to take

action on such a project— Vivek Naik, the complainant

≥ Curtorim may boast of a big area, lush �elds and a tranquil society, but it is equally sad that there is a major lack of basic infrastructure like schools, colleges, grounds forsports, halls for indoor sports, and halls for cultural programmes too. Ithas been a long time since we have seen these developments here— Rohan Shirodkar, a youth of

Curtorim

≥ For a lay man to build his dream

home takes years together to takepermissions and start work. But forpeople living in Panchabhat, now Cargil, it is a cake walk. It’s surpris-ing how they fear nothing and keep expanding their illegal abode— Felix D’Sousa, a resident

≥ The sand extraction issue in ourvillage is too complex to come toconclusion and stoppage of which has both good and bad e� ects, again which will a� ect the villageand its �elds— A local villager

eo

ple

Sp

ea

k

PARLIAMENT OF THE PEOPLE≥ MAJOR ISSUES IN THE LAST GRAM SABHA

≥ Illegal project: Revocation of NOC given to contractor of JICA who began a large project on a cultivable land at Ramnagari.

≥ Status: Gram sabha members resolved not to renew NOC

≥ Garbage: Gram Sabha was unhappy that Margao MunicipalCorporation have not agreed to even collect two trucks of waste

≥ Status: It was resolved to seek State Govt’s intervention.

≥ House tax: Panchayat should not increase the house tax fees.

≥ Status: It was resolved to increase the house tax from Rs 30 to Rs 80 per square meter. Above Rs 100/Sq Meter their new taxwould be 5 percent more.

Curtorim: Living on the edge

≥ Agriculture under threat: An individual from JICA has started a venture in the open areas of Curtorim, where cementpipes are manufactured threatening agriculture in the area. There is a sense that the panchayat and the individual are hand in gloves in starting this unlawful venture.

≥ Overflowing garbage: The village does not have a propersite to dump its garbage, so waste is found strewn everywhere in Curtorim. Although the Margao Municipal Council dumps its garbage at Sonsoddo which is in Curtorim, the council turns a blind eye to the waste from the village. During the monsoon itturns out to be a nightmare.

≥ Poor education infra: The village is far behind when itcomes to infrastructure in educational sector. Educationalinstitutions in Curtorim don’t have the required edge to edu-cate children. There’s only one good school in the area where large number of children go to and who struggle to get propereducation

The BIG 3

Maina-Curtorim has also put

the village panchayat in a spot.

Another striking fact in the vil-

lage is the surfacing of illegal

ghettos. ‘Panchbhat’  has now

been renamed as Cargil, which

came into being 15 years back

allegedly under the patronage of

MP Fransisco Sardinha who was

then the MLA of Curtorim.

Electricity and water connec-

tion were issued to the occu-

pants in the area without any

legal documents.

The village right has three

schools – namely, St. Rita, St.

Alex and St. Xavier which are

average and small schools. The

village has just one higher sec-

ondary which too is over� owing

with local students.

Health centres are situated at

the furthest points of the village

and lack of basic infrastructure.

Curtorim has an MLA, who

is from the village. The MP is

also from the same village. But

ironically, the village has not

receive d the required attention

from its leaders.

POOR INFRASTRUCTURE: One of the many narrow internal roads pockmarked with potholes in Navelim

SAGUN GAWADE

15Saturday, March 29, 2014 log on to thegoan.net

Because there is no journalism without scrutiny

Scrutiny is a page that does what it says. Every week The Goan will pick acurrent story or an ongoing issue and  bring it to the front burner so that it doesn’t fall o� the public memory map.Scrutiny will also be a place for in-depth investigations, both fresh ones as well as old forgotten ones.Scrutiny will also be a place for campaigns, crusades and causes.Because we believe that there is no journalism without scrutiny.

NESHWIN ALMEIDA /THE GOAN

BAMBOLIM:

From 1993 to 2014 is a period

of 21 years, and it takes this

amount of time for a structural

grandeur to �nally come under

the hammer of the law and titled

‘illegal’, that is what the court

documents quote. A�er a pro-

longed struggle in the court of

law, concerning the distance the

structure stands from the High

Tide Line, a split judgement has

brought a dark cloud over Grand

Hyatt Goa hotel, which may now

begin to lose its shine.

In 1993, Aldeia de Goa kicked

o� a construction of 18 bunga-

lows, 69 cottages with a service

restaurant for the bungalows

and a swimming pool above the

100m High Tide Line along the

Goa Coastal Regulatory Zone

setback.

A decade later, the residential

project turned into the Grand

Hyatt Goa hotel project and

construction of banquet halls,

17 other small blocks includ-

ing guest rooms, public places,

meeting halls, service buildings,

spa and  houses in the entire

construction from the 50m set-

back line until the Northern end

of the plan began.

Two decades later in 2014, the

High Court has declared all that

stands in the 50m HTL is illegal.

The battle in court prolonged

as the hotel submitted revised

plans in 1995 named as plan 117

has only 18 bungalows show-

ing above the 100m HTL but

the hoteliers kept arguing over

a revised plan of 1995 showing

the additional constructions in

the 50m HTL, namely a 122 plan.

Incidentally the plan 122 had the

same entry dates as of the plan

117 but had no attaching docu-

ments of the Town Planner’s ap-

proval. It was only in 2012 a� er

many attempts that this plan

was declared as fake and not

considered in this case since the

court pointed out that two plans

could have been submitted on

the same day. The hoteliers then

backtracked and � led a counter

complaint that plan 117 � led by

the petitioners are not genuine.

It’s only a�er the court pointed

out that plan 117 was submitted

by the hoteliers itself.

A lot of unanswered ques-

tions still prevail in this case,

according to the petitioners and

other experts, as people wait for

the � nal verdict. Will the Town

and Country Planning Authori-

ties be penalized or face action

for the mysterious missing � les

a�er it’s evident that the TCP

connived with the builder to

save this illegal construction in

the HTL? Also the petitioners

are keeping their � ngers crossed

that Aldeia de Goa, Goan Hotels

Pvt Limited and its associates

are penalized for spending al-

most seven years �ghting to save

its construction on a forged du-

plicate plan. As Judge Dalvi and

Reis have one thing in common

– declaring the construction ille-

gal, the question is whether this

construction will be demolished

or will the court regularize it.

This battle is far from over

as questions can also be raised

on the earnings and pro� ts of

Grand Hyatt, revenue from these

illegal banquet halls on the 50m

HTL.  All eyes now, are on the

courts.

≥ I am glad that the court has de-clared this construction illegal. Butthe actions of Chief Town Plannerwho seemed to have connived with the VP and defended the construc-tion throughout despite admitting that the �les of this project are missing raises serious doubts on the TCP’s involvement in this illegal-ity. Also we hope the case goes fordemolition and not regularized. Millions worth illegal project cannotget away with a Rs 25 lakh �ne. Also this case of 2007 is just anotherexample of delayed justice which needs to change. We went through hell all these months with the twist-ing and turning facts on their illegal

construction— Patricia Pinto, petitioner

≥The split judgment means thatwe have to wait and watch whataction should be taken. In regards to the missing �le, there is a police complaint in that matter and inves-tigations are on. But we cannot do anything in this matter until we get a single verdict— S T Putturaju,Chief Town Planner

≥It’s wrong to say that Aldeia de Goa is in the bad. Aldeia de Goa sold this project in 2006 to Goan Hotels and Clubs Pvt LTD, a Gurgaon based party but I can be quoted for

both. Also the SLP of 329 of 2008 in the SC grants permissions for thisproject to complete, this order has no relevance. We’ll wait for a �nalverdict and challenge all this in the Supreme Court, I disagree we are wrong— Brigadier Puri, o� cial for Goan Real estate and Construction- Aldeia de Goa.

≥There’s a lot of discrepancies in terms of CRZ rules and the rules are di�erent for each state, each area. We have urged the government of Goa to make de�nite rules on High Tide Line, construction along riverbanks and these rules should apply

for all constructions and not case to case basis. Also rules for anotherstate cannot be applicable for Goa, we need a Coastal Regulatory Zone guidelines which are Goa speci�c— Desh Prabhudessai, Presidentof the Goa - The Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associationsof India (CREDAI).

≥Now the GCZMA cannot look backat the problems we faced in terms of administration or the mistakes made in the past. Let’s wait for the Court directives and go by its guide-lines and accordingly take action— Srinet Kotwale, GCZMA Chairman

What does a split judgment mean?A two member split verdict means that the Chief justiceof the High Court of Bombay will have to appoint a third judge who will give a � nal verdict on the case based on the split verdict. The third judge will be appointed bythe Chief Justice who willonce again review the puni-tive action set in the verdicts of the two judges until whichthose involved the suit haveto wait and watch.

The Verdict:≥By Judge F M Reis while quoting Judge Lawton:

≥“A Judge acts as a referee who can blow his judicial whistle when the ball goes out of play, but when the game restarts he must neither take part in it nor tell the players how to play”.

≥“I agree with my learned sister Judge R S Dalvi, that the plan which is at page 117 is the plan which was duly approved on May 31, 1995 and not the plan at page 122 as claimed by the respondent nos. 6 and 7, for the reasons stated in the judgment, I deeply regret my inability to agree with the �ndings in the judgment with regard to the e�ect of the judgment passed by the Supreme Court.

≥I �nd it appropriate to award exemplary and punitive costs on Aldeia de Goa and Goan Hotels and Clubs Pvt Ltd. Such costs are �xed at Rs 25 lakh, out of which a sum of Rs 5 lakh shall be paid tothe petitioners herein and the remaining sum of Rs 20 lakh shall be deposited with the State Government so that such amount can be used by the State Government to avoid environmental and ecologicaldegradation of the coastal belt of the State of Goa.

≥Judge Reis has set the punitive costs against the conduct of Aldeia de Goa and Grand Hyatt in not explaining how such plans as thatof Plan 122 being fake and forged had surfaced which resulted in a prolonged litigation between the parties between 2008 till date.

≥Judge Reis stated that the structure in the 50m HTL should re-examined by the GCZMA after the Town and Country Planning and the Village Panchayat authorities consider the legality of the construction put up by the private parties in the light of the observa-tions made in accordance with law.”

Judgment days ≥1993, October 29: Town and Country Planning and Village Panchayat approved a plan for 18 bungalows and 69 cottages along with a swimming pool above the 100m HTL of the CRZ to be built. A plinth was put up and the com-pany declared itself bankrupt.

≥1994: CRZ noti�cation was amended in 1994 relaxing 100 metres zone along rivers to 50metres as HTL.

≥1995: Aldeia de Goa �led a fresh proposal for additional construc-tion between 50 to 100 metres zone.  No objection certi�cate was granted by the Town and Country Planning Department dated May 1995.

≥1996: The relaxation to 50 metres for rivers from the HTL was struckdown by the Apex Court.

≥1997- 2006: Aldeia de Goa states there was a lull in its construction activity because of the economicsituation. Time and again company �les for renewal of construction license. Construction commencedin 2006.

≥2007: People’s Movement forCivic Action led by Patricia Pinto and Goa Foundation led by Claude Alvares moves high court to stop construction of guest rooms, pub-lic places, banquet hall, meeting halls, service buildings, spa and  houses in the entire construction from the 50m setback line.

≥2008: Aldeia de Goa now known as Goan Hotels and Clubs Private Limited moves Supreme Courtto allow construction at own risk, states that original plan of 1995 shows additional construc-tion in the 50M HTL, produces a plan namely 122 plan. SC grants construction at own risk, provided construction existed. Petition-ers challenge in HC that Plan 122forged, fake original plan 117 nevershows any construction in 50M HTL.

≥2009: Letter to Village Pan-chayat stating that construction completed in 2008 is challenged in same petition. This proves thatconstruction was completed only in 2010.

≥2010: Petitioners prove to courtthat construction completedonly in 2010 and not in 2008. Respondents claim quashed thatconstruction commenced in 2006 and was completed in 2008.

≥2014: Split verdict by two-judge bench of Roshan Dalvi and F M Reis delivered on further action to be taken against the project, with Dalvi ordering demolitions and Reis saying that a �ne of Rs25-lakh be imposed on the hotel. Both Judge Dalvi and Reis declaredthe plan 122 as fake and do acceptthe constructions shown in the 50m HTL.

uo

te r

oo

m

≥Judge Roshan Dalvi while quoting a translated Telugu statement from a 1992 Judg-ment:

≥ “I will not stop cutting down trees,Though there is life in them.

≥I will not stop plucking outleavesThough they make nature beautiful

≥I will not stop hacking o� branches,Though they are the arms of a tree

≥Because –I need a hut”.

≥ Goan Real Estate and Construction Ltd., Goan Hotels & Clubs Pvt Ltd and HotelGrand Hyatt shall remove the entire construction put up within 100m of the HTL of the River Bank being the NDZ. Goa Coastal Zone ManagementAuthority, Panchayat of Curca, Bambolim and Talaulim, Chief Town Planner, Secretary, Min-istry of Environment & Forests shall demolish the construction put up.

TIDE TURNS AGAINSTGRAND HYATT

�From prime construction to illegal construction, Grand Hyatt could face demolition soon

�Will a Rs 25 lakh � ne su�ce for a multi-crore illegal construction?

FACING THE HEAT: The High Court hasdeclared part of the hotel that stands inthe 50m High Tide Line as illegal

PIC: SAGUN GAWADE

EDUCATION AT THEIR

FINGERTIPS: Students of NAB in St Cruz use di� er-ent learning aids includingBraille for their daily studies

LEARNING AIDS

16Saturday, March 29, 2014

GOENKAR

log on to thegoan.net

Computer training is imparted viaa special screen reader so� warecalled ‘Jaws’ – Rozendo Mendonsa

I want to complete my MA and become a teacher so that I can teach other blindchildren like me – Amita Gaonkar

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ANWESHA SINGBAL/THE GOAN

Amita Gaonkar from Cana-cona was enrolled into the Goabranch of NAB (National Asso-ciation for the Blind) when shewas just eight years old. Today,she is in her second year Bach-elor of Arts studies in DhempeCollege, Panjim and ready totake on the world. “I want tocomplete my MA and become ateacher. I also want to teach oth-er children like me,” says thisself-assured young girl, adding,“All because of NAB which hastaught me to have faith in myselfand my abilities.” Establishedon February 10, 1983, the GoaState Branch of the NationalAssociation for the Blind catersto about 200 visually-impairedindividuals, out of which 30 areresidents in its St Cruz campus.“When the organisation started31 years back, our biggest chal-lenge was convincing parents toenroll their children here. Also,there was no centre and hencethe teachers would visit thestudents at their homes,” saysRozendo Mendonsa, the presi-dent of the association, adding,“One teacher catered to aroundeight students which meantthat she visited one studentonly once a week. This gave theteacher very less time with thestudent and that was when theidea of a centre came about,”informs Gaurapriya Pai Kane,one of the vice-presidents of theorganisation. “We believe in in-tegrated education and all thesechildren go to regular schoolsand colleges and spend a fewhours each evening here at the

centre which enables them tobe a part of a student society,while also helping them cope,”informs Mendonsa, addingthat while the schools and col-leges have been very receptiveto these children, the childrentoo have been doing immenselywell and receive ample supportfrom their classmates. “Manya times, our friends even writenotes for us because we cannotcatch up with the normal paceof studies in the classroom,”says Sampada Naik, anothervisually-impaired student whileMendonsa informs happily,“We did not require to organ-ise any awareness programmesfor these children. The villageschool in St Cruz has been veryhelpful,” while Leena Prabhu,the head teacher who has beena part of the organisation since2001 informs, “Our studentshave secured high grades andare extremely good in sports as

well. Many have even securedjobs in the government and oth-er private organisations acrossthe state.”

Imparting computer trainingto its students is vital. “Com-puter training is imparted via aspecial screen reader so� warecalled ‘Jaws’, which helps thevisually-impaired with every-thing from the basics to themore advanced programming,”explains Mendonsa, while Kaneadds, “We have also introducedthe multi-handicapped projectin June 2004, which deals withvisually impaired children alongwith other disabilities.  Special-ized teachers visit their homesand help parents with the cop-ing process.” Mostly run throughfunding and donations fromwell-wishers, the governmentjust recently announced that itwill be granting NAB an amountof Rs 50 lakhs in recognition ofthe work carried out by the or-

ganisation. “Also, the presentpremise occupied by NAB is ona short term lease and the CMhas proposed to grant the saidpremises to NAB on a long termlease. This is a great relief,” saysMendonsa adding that the or-ganisation has already identi-�ed land in Bambolim to starta well-equipped centre for theorganisation.

Meanwhile, it will continueto do its good work sending outrays of hope to light up the livesof the visually-impaired.

A lighthouse for the blind

The NationalAssociation of theBlind in St Cruzo� ers supportand assistance tovisually-impairedstudents and youngadults, helpingthem integrate intosociety and live amore active life

PICS: SAMRAT BANDODKAR

ACTIVITIES

≥Education (Integrated Education Programme) Facilitates children to attend classes in regular schools andcolleges. These students are coached by special teachers, who help them with Braille lessons, tactile maps, and diagrams.  Low vision students are provided with enlarged prints and magnifying glasses.

≥Vocational trainingNAB conducts camps for the blind adults and trains them in di� erenttrades like chair caning, candle making, chalk making, paper bag making, etc. Arrangements are made to send the visually-impaired for professional training like telephone operating, steno, physiotherapy,farming and full-fledged computer training.

≥Music A tutor has been appointed to coach children in di� erent instrumentslike tabla, harmonium and keyboards

≥SportsStudents participate in cricket, chess and athletics. One is a goldmedalist at the National Abilympics for waste reuse, while another is a bronze medalist at the International Abilympics

≥I came in contact with the National Association of the Blind in 2003. Curious, I began researching about evolving technologies for the visually-handicapped and the more I read, the more I wanted to know. NAB is an organisation that has a tremendously posi-tive approach and welcomes new ideas. I began working there, teaching the studentsat NAB and sharing with them whatever I had learnt through my research. Assistive technology comprising of computer training and other audio methods was developing at the time and I began educating the visually-handicapped students of NAB in these skills. This was from 2006 till 2012. We created a lot of awareness throughout the state. In 2012-13, I went to Pune to study further methods of developing audio books in DAISYformats, etc. I came back to Goa and continued sharing my expertise with NAB. Thisyear I have joined the Department of Art and Culture as Cultural Organiser and I am also fortunate that NAB has absorbed in on their executive board. NAB is an organisation that has managed to instill hope in the hearts of many blind children who now aim to be lawyers, engineers, IT professionals, etc. And considering the new technologies that are coming about, these dreams are certainly achievable.–  Taha Haaziq, Mhapusa

≥ A tactile map of Goa designedfor use by individuals who are blind or have low vision

≥Each taluka is marked with an object (sequins, beads, glitter)thatis and feels di�erent in size and/or shape

�7SPORTSSaturday, March 29, 2014 log on to thegoan.net

Under Moyes, Unitedhave fewer home points(21) than Norwich Cityand Hull City, with their count of 18 goals the same as Fulham andCardi� City, who prop up the table

UNCERTAIN FUTURE: Publicly United continueto back their manager yet another dismal outing could prove disastrous for David Moyes

Despite advances in training anddiet, football remains a game for those in their twenties – Page 21

United’s poor form has brought Moyes to the point where his job expectancy isdiscussed in game-to-game terms

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NIRAJ PRABHU/THE GOAN

Goa can become the new epi-centre of table tennis in Indiaas the state infrastructure hascome in for praise by the TableTennis Federation of India.

The state table tennis as-sociation has shown its will-ingness to host next year’sCommonwealth table tennischampionship, a� er success-fully hosting the global juniorcircuit events this week at DrShyama Prasad Mukherjeestadium at Goa University

complex. Moreover, the GoaTable Tennis Association hasplans of setting up a table ten-nis academy for budding In-dian players.

Secretary-general of TableTennis Federation of India,Dhanraj Choudhary revealedthe reasons for allotting theglobal junior circuit events toGoa, saying: “Foreign teamslove to play in Goa for morethan one reason ranging fromscenic beauty to connectiv-ity and food. Plus, now thereis world class infrastructure

that has come up for the re-cently held Lusofonia Games.I was here during the Games,and I was surprised and quitehappy with the infrastructuredevelopment.”

President of GTTA, VeroNunes looks determined tobene�t from the momentumgained by the �urry of inter-national table tennis events inthe state.

“We can even hope to hostnext year’s CommonwealthChampionship,” says Vero,adding that such events will

boost state players as they canwatch top players play andlearn from them.

Moreover, the GTTA has alsoprepared a plan to set up anacademy on the lines of TTFI’sacademy in Ajmer.

According to Vero, the acad-emy will house 50 per centGoan players and remainingtalented non-Goan playersranked at the national levelfrom the age group of 12 to 16years. A Korean coach, hasalso been identi�ed to trainthe players.

JAMIE JACKSON/THE GUARD-IAN NEWS & MEDIA LTD

The vitriol aimed by someManchester United fansat Sir Alex Ferguson forappointing David Moyesmay signal the endgame

of his tenure as manager. Man-chester City’s 3-0 win at OldTra�ord followed the 3-0 trounc-ing by Liverpool in United’sprevious home league game tomove the conversation on to thepoint all managers dread.

A�er open revolt againstMoyes began at the stadium,the question now being widelyasked is: “How bad does it haveto get before Manchester Unitedsack David Moyes?” Or, “Will hereally survive until summer if

the hidings continue?” It was aquestion those at the top of theclub did not answer when it wasposed on Wednesday morning.Football is the ultimate resultsgame, and this season those ofMoyes have stunk. United have51 points compared with 74 atthe same time last year.

They have never previouslyhad fewer than 60 at this stage.Old Tra�ord has mutated fromthe fortress opponents hopedto escape from with only a mi-nor beating to a destinationmost desirable. Under Moyes,United have fewer home points(21) than Norwich City and HullCity, with their count of 18 goalsthe same as Fulham and Cardi� City, who prop up the table.

The unwanted statistics (and

broken records) keep coming.The capitulation to City meantsix home league defeats, whichhas not happened since the2001-2 season, and the � rsttime the club from across townhad recorded three consecutiveleague wins over United in morethan 40 years.

It also marked the � rst timethe champions have lost 10games in a season in the PremierLeague era. West Bromwich Al-bion had not won at Old Tra� ordsince 1978 before September’s2-1 victory, a sequence-breakerfollowed by Everton’s 1-0 tri-umph there in December (thishad not happened since 1992),which came before Newcastleended 41 years without a win onUnited’s patch the same month.

United are speeding back-wards at a rate of knots. Goingdown 2-0 at Olympiakos, theChampions League last-16’seasiest opponents, then 3-0 and3-0 to United’s closest rivals athome has brought Moyes to thepoint where his job expectancyis discussed in game-to-gameterms.

The United buzzwords of sta-bility and longevity symbolisedby the six-year contract handedto the 50-year-old were forgottenon Tuesday as the thus-far loyalfans snapped and Ferguson wasabused for anointing Moyes hissuccessor.

In the United programme forthe 167th derby Moyes moved toshore up his core constituency.Yet it read more like a plea for

them not to turn on him and tothe owners, the Glazers, to re-member the mantra about man-agerial longevity.

Moyes wrote: “Our thoughtsare well and truly on the futureand our planning is alreadywell under way, not just for nextseason, but for many seasons tocome. During Manchester Unit-ed’s long periods of dominancein the last two decades, whichbrought unparalleled success,many other clubs had to under-go periods of turnaround andthey knew tough times whenthings were not going well forthem. They looked to changelots of di�erent managers andplayers, all the while trying to�nd ways of keeping up andcompeting with United.”

The �rst public display of dis-quiet was the fans catching upwith the mood inside the clubwhere the hierarchy were � rsttaken aback by the abject show-ing in Athens.

Publicly United continue toback the manager. Yet anotherdismal outing when Aston Villavisit on Saturday lunchtimewould further cast Moyes as amoribund man walking towardswhat could prove the � nal reck-oning – the meeting with Bayernon April 1.

The Glazers and their man onthe ground, Ed Woodward, theexecutive vice-chairman, haveshown admirable patience.Once this goes expect Moyes’sremoval to happen quickly andruthlessly.

Dead man walking at United?Home defeat to Manchester City has snapped the patience of hardcore supporters and may have fatally wounded United’s manager

Goa on international TT radarTable tennis in the state gets a boost and could well host the Commonwealth Championship

Foreign teams loveto play in Goa for more than one reason ranging from scenicbeauty to connectivityand food. Plus, now there is world class infrastructure

EPL FIXTURES >>

≥Saturday

≥Manchester United v Aston Villa(6.15 pm)

≥(All matches 8:30 pm)

≥Crystal Palace v Chelsea

≥Southampton v Newcastle United

≥Stoke City v Hull City

≥Swansea City v Norwich City

≥West Bromwich v Cardi� City

≥Arsenal v Manchester City (11 pm)

≥Sunday

≥Fulham v Everton (6pm)

≥Liverpool v Tottenham (8.30 pm)

�8SPORTSSaturday, March 29, 2014 log on to thegoan.net

Yuvraj Singh. The name invokesmemories of the most beautifulmoments of Indian cricket; the Nat-West trophy, the World Cup win.

But how long can a player be carried onthe memory of his achievements?

As I write this column mid-week, KapilDev, Ravi Shastri are backing him a� er hestruggled in both the matches in Bangla-

desh. Yuvraj can bounce back any time, and he always has. But weneed to look beyond one good performance.  Yuvraj hasn’t been scor-ing for really long and yet he is selected by nodding heads without adebate. Granted, that selectors are expected to have vision. If mere per-formance becomes the criteria, statisticians can select a team. In thiscase, selectors have gone by Yuvraj’s past performance. But this couldbe said only of T20 because in ODIs, he is still batting like a novice.

I must say that it is here that the selectors have gone wrong. Thereo�en comes a phase in the career of stroke players when he strugglesso insu�erably that he starts to avoid playing the game itself. In 1978when India toured Pakistan a�er 17 years, Zaheer Abbas massacredthe bowling of 3 great spinners Bedi, Prasanna and Chandrashek-har. His shots would bisect the set of �elders on either side of thewicket. A�er a year when Pakistan visited India, the same ZaheerAbbas couldn’t tackle bowlers of much inferior quality. Imran Khansaid that Abbas didn’t want to play because he was mentally low.

Sandeep Patil faced similar trouble on the 1982 tour of England.Plagued by personal problems of separation with wife, he wasn’tkeen on playing in Tests. Gavaskar had to cajole and coax him everyday. Ashok Mankad sent him a hand written letter to motivate himand eventually Patil scored a brilliant century.

It was in 1999 that Yuvraj Singh made his international debut, � f-teen long years ago. By now, he ought to have been the automaticchoice in the Indian team but he isn’t. Kapil Dev has always objectedto his life style publicly. International cricket is serious business andbeing professional is a must. Yuvraj Singh gives the impression thatthe game is his slave. He needs to be told again and again that a� er all

his experience, if he is still struggling, it’spurely his fault.

How many �rst class matches and lim-ited overs matches did he play this season?Is he taking the game for granted? YuvrajSingh hardly looked like he was interestedin working hard this season but call it hisfortune or misfortune, one of the nationalselectors, Vikram Rathore who representsPunjab and north zone continued to sup-port him. Yuvraj has been harbouringgrudges against few team mates since thestart. This includes the captain as well. Noamount of logic could make him under-

stand why a captain would drop a match winner. But how long canone wait for someone to perform? A�er recovering from cancer, thewhole cricketing world was in awe of Yuvraj’s terri�c comeback fromthe jaws of death. The stage was set for him to perform and win us over.

Yuvraj is not the youngster he used to be. He is 34 year old and isslowing down. He needs to devote extra hours to �tness and spendsome more time in the middle by playing matches. The fact that heisn’t getting in a correct position because of slow re� exes clearlyindicates that he hasn’t worked hard. Isn’t he motivated a� er RCBsigned him for 14 Cr? RCB went all out to bag him a�er captain ViratKohli insisted that he wanted Yuvraj.

As a youngster, Yuvraj had put life into the Indian team when hearrived. Ironically, now as he plays on gingerly, youngsters like Ra-hane and Rayudu with proven performers in T20 are waiting in thewings. It’s unfair to drop them when Yuvraj Singh shows signs ofbeing laid back. A match against Bangladesh is lined up on Friday.I would like Yuvraj to prove me wrong. But if he doesn’t, then theselectors have to take a strict call. It will be absurd to let him play theentire tournament.

Dhoni has been backing Yuvraj Singh publicly. Even the team isbehind Yuvraj Singh in sincere support. When he whacked a WestIndian bowler past mid-on, even the quiet Fletcher put his handstogether to applaud. Everyone wants Yuvraj to play well. But doesYuvraj want it? It’s time Yuvraj Singh looks into the mirror and asksthe question; Hey, am I good enough to play at international level?

Viv Richards had a simple solution to come back into form “Youkeep remembering your recent impact knocks and the mind will getinto a positive mode. It is this that will help you to get your form andnot sulking”.

Yuvraj Singh has given India many memories and we will alwaysbe grateful to him. It is precisely because of this, because of whatYuvraj can do, that his present bleak form feels so disappointing.It’s time Yuvraj Singh rises and proves critics wrong. He needs to dojustice to what he used to be.

� Makarand Waingankar, one of India’s best loved and read cricketcolumnists, blends meticulous research with his own experience ofa life lived on the cricket �elds of India. He has watched greats andcreated newer greats. He wears a multitude of hats, each of which � t snuggly on his humble head – journalist, columnist, cricket histori-an, researcher, trainer, talent spotter, administrator and others. Buta consistent thread that weaves each of these hats, is his uncondi-tional love for cricket in the manner that this beautiful game is meantto be loved.

International cricket

is serious business

�Yuvraj is notthe youngster heused to be. He is34 year old and isslowing down. Heneeds to devoteextra hours to� tness and spendsome more timein the middle byplaying matches

MAC-RO VIEW >>

The U-17 football World Cup willcreate a lot of awareness in India – Joseph Eapen

It’s time Yuvraj Singh rises and provescritics wrong. He needs to do justice towhat he used to be

Yuvraj Singh gives the impression that the game is his slave

the Super-4 stage.Salgaocar Sports Club spent

more than half of their 10 lakhrupees auction quota on SagunKamat who was the most expen-sive player of GPL 5 at 5.30 lakhrupees. And he was great valuefor his four half-centuries, werethe most by a batsman in theentire tournament. The swash-buckling le�-hander also creat-ed a record of sorts by bringingup all his half-centuries with asixer. Although former two-timechampions, Salgaocar failed tomove beyond the Super-4 stage,Sagun provided fantastic en-tertainment by hitting 16 sixersaltogether. However, the high-est number of sixers in the tour-nament came from the bat ofGCA Youngistan’s PrathameshSalunke. He hit a whoping 19

sixers.Prathamesh was also the only

batsman to score a century inGPL5. He smashed 135 runsagainst Cricket Russia in a groupstage league match. ChowguleWarriors opener Asad Pathanwith 99 and Dempo’s SwapnilAsnodkar with 95, fell agoniz-

ingly short of the magical three-� gure mark.

Salgaocar’s young all-rounderDarshan Misal showed determi-nation and application when histeam was in need, especially inthe two woeful batting displaysby the Green-brigade. Darshan,who is now a regular memberof Goa’s Ranji Trophy squad,showed why exactly he is ratedhighly with the ball, pickingwickets at crucial junctures.

GPL5 was a great opportunityfor Goan players in particular asthe state selectors were watch-ing every match with their eyeson picking up the state squad forthe upcoming inter-state twenty20 championship. While mostbig names from Ranji Circuit didwell some talented local young-sters failed to impress.

BACK-TO-BACK: Defending champions Dempo cricket Club continued the winning streak and li�ed the GPL trophy

THE GOAN PIC

Dempo rewrite GPL historyIt is remarkable that despite the team changing every year owing to all players beingput into the annual auction pool, Dempo continue to stamp their authority

mid where you have top players at the top but at the same timeyou also have people playing at the bottom of the pyramid. Onething that can be done is toincrease the awareness by go-ing to schools or places wherechildren are there and dowhatever they can to motivatethem and give them an oppor-tunity to play and experiencethis sport. This may increasetheir interest and make themgo to their nearest club and get enrolled. Talking to parents and telling them the bene� ts of a child playing a sport versus a child not playing could workwonders. Due to video games and other forms of technology children tend to be at homerather than go outdoors. Prob-ably if they take an interest in agame like this, it will keep them�t and healthy as well.

TG: What can GFDC (GoaFootball Development Coun-cil) do to enhance football inthe state?JE: What GFDC is doing in Goais amazing and what they haveto do is only continue working

with the same momentum.TG: What is your take on theupcoming World Cup U-17?JE: The tournament will createa lot of awareness in India. Asport of that big magnitude and FIFA itself giving India a chanceto play host to other countries is a big opportunity and theinfrastructure will also becomebetter. We have 3 years to doso and we will probably have agood team and good infrastruc-ture as well by then.

TG: With India winning therights to host the U- 17 World Cup. What is required to bein place in terms of havinga good Indian team/ promo-tion of Football?

JE: I don’t really know how theidenti�cation will happen but you have to create a databaseof existing children playing fordi�erent clubs and leagues.Then make a shortlist and contact them and set a trainingprogram for them and see that children who qualify are madea part of the training program.

TG: Is India a sleeping giant

as far as football in con-cerned?JE: Yes very much. We have a150 year old history of footballand have played at very highlevels as well. All of a suddenthat passion stagnated and wecouldn’t see any results and yes suddenly cricket has also stolenthe limelight. The way things are now I think that the passionis still there but that has to bemade into an action plan tobring the sport back. So Indiais a sleeping giant, as it wasalways a giant.

TG: There is no club culturein India like Europe? What should be done to improvethis?JE: It’s happening now slowly but surely. With the initiative of the Indian Super League and with FIFA promoting the sport here in India, there is progress.So we will have a lot of aware-ness and brands that will soonstart supporting it and thenprobably there will be enoughmoney for clubs to survive. Ithink that should be the way how football will grow.

JOSEPH EAPEN >Senior Vice President – SouthAsia, EVP Repucom International

INDIA IS A SLEEPING GIANT: EAPENAt the Goa International Football Table (GIFT) Joseph Eapen Senior Vice President –South Asia at EVP Repucom International,  the leaders in sports marketing research,spoke at length to The Goan on what is needed to boost football in Goa and India

NIRAJ PRABHU/THE GOAN

Goa Cricket Association’s GoaProfessional League Twenty20championship was dominatedby Dempo Cricket Club, whowere the champions by a bigmargin. Not only did the Panaji-based club create a record byretaining the T20 title, but alsoasserted their supremacy in thestate T20 scenario by making itto the �nals for the fourth con-secutive year.

Delighted by his team’s tri-umph, President of DempoCricket Club, Shrinivas Dempodeclared that he will not hesitateto rename his team as ‘PanajiBulls’ next season as his teamrepresents the capital city. It isremarkable that despite the teamchanging every year owing to allplayers being put into the annualauction pool, Dempo have con-tinued to stamp their authority atGPL T20 year a� er year.

Dempo’s most expensive sign-ing this year, Swapnil Asnodkar,a Rs 3.10 lakh buy, led from thefront with an aggregate score of325 runs at an impressive aver-age of 65 runs per innings inseven matches. Le� -arm spin-ner Sher Bahadur Yadav wasthe top wicket-taker for Dempoand joint highest wicket-taker inthe tournament alongside pacerRam Dayal Punia with 12 wicketseach. The only �ve-wicket haul ofthe tournament was registeredby Punia who plays for Jammuand Kashmir in Ranji Trophy, ina Super-4 League match againstChowgule Warriors. Sher Ba-hadur had the best �gures for aspinner with 4/9 against Geno in

GPL-5 ALL STARS XI >>

≥Swapnil Asnodkar (Captain), Gaurish Gawas, Keenan Vaz(wicket-keeper) & Sher Bahadur Yadav (all Dempo CC); Sa-gun Kamat, Darshan Misal & Ramdayal Punia (all Salgaocar); Monank Patel (ICMC USA), Yogesh Nagar (Geno), Robin D’Souza (Sarvodaya), AmitYadav (Chowgule Warriors); 12th Man – Prathamesh Salunke (GCA Youngistan); Coach : VivekKolambkar (Dempo).

ANDREA FERNANDES/THE GOAN

The Goan: What should be done to promote and propagate football in India,considering that India’s performance is poor at theinternational level?Joseph Eapen: As one of thespeakers at the G.I.F.T 2014rightly said it has to be a pyra-

19LOCAL PLAYGROUNDSaturday, March 29, 2014 log on to thegoan.net

Our players played well but unfortunately luck did not favourus – Savio Fernandes

I started playing football for fun andnever thought I would ever play the game professionally – Maria

O�ciating an I-league match was a dream come true for me – Maria

ANDREA FERNANDES/THE GOAN

Maria Rebello didn’tset out to be a starfor women in asport dominatedby men, but as the

only FIFA-certi�ed woman ref-eree in India today, that’s ex-actly what she has become. Theformer Indian football CaptainMaria Piedade Rebello hailingfrom the picturesque village ofCurtorim is the only FIFA certi-�ed woman referee in India. AWomen referee o� ciating men’smatches is an unusual phenom-enon in India.

“Football has been my pas-sion since childhood. ThoughI was good in studies I used togive more time to football. Play-ing with the local boys in the�elds made me a rough andtough player” she states.

Rebello adds “this was a sportI started of playing for fun andnever thought I would ever playthis game professionally. Beinga girl and playing football mademe feel proud of myself. When Iwas 8 years old my daddy tookme for the women’s nationalmatch which was being held atFatorda stadium, Margao. I sawgreat footballers like Succorin,Yolanda, Rekha and they werelike idols for me at that time.Then I started playing footballat a more serious note. This inci-dent was a stepping stone in myfootball career”.

At the age of 15 Maria read inthe newspaper that the womenjunior national football selec-tions were about to happen butwas reluctant to attend. Herfriend forcefully took her along.

She was a part of the selec-tions and coach Alex was veryhappy with her performanceand asked her a�er the selec-tions at which position shewould like to play at and Mariadid not have an answer sinceshe did not know which arethe positions in a team. “Sir aposition from where I can scoregoals” Maria replied hurriedly.

He laughed at her reply and said“Maria you can be a very goodmid-�elder”. So she played atthe junior nationals as a mid –�elder and a�er that there wasno looking back for her.

In football she barely took anytraining besides the coachinggiven to players before the na-tional games. Then she playedfor her state and also for India.She explains “I played for Indiafor 8 years and am the only ladyfootballer from Goa who playedin the Asia Cup in 1998. From1993 – 2001 I played for the In-dian Football team and in 2001I captained the Indian team thatwas the most memorable mo-ment in my life”.

In 2001 a�er playing for hercountry she retired and just tostay in touch with the game orrather due to utmost love for thegame she took to refereeing. Re-bello joined the BRA (Bombay

Referees Association) where shetrained to become a referee andlater joined the GFA (Goa Foot-ball Association) and refereedmatches in the local leagues.Gradually she managed to ref-eree matches in the Goa Profes-sional League, the top footballleague in Goa, the SAFF Cham-pionship as well as the profes-sional and semi-professionalclub level in men’s football inIndia. She also has to her creditmatches in the Federation Cupand Santosh Trophy.

“Am really thankful to FIFAand the referees committee formaking women’s day even morespecial for me by giving me sucha great honour of appointing meto the list of I-league referees onMarch 8, 2014. It’s like a dreamcome true for me. That day willbe cherished by me as I o� ci-ated my �rst I-League match atPune between Pune and Shil-

long Lajong on that day”.Rebello looks up to Maradona

as her role model and Manches-ter United is her favorite teamamong the various other clubs.

India doesn’t have a women’sleague is something that hurtsher the most. She elaborates“The AIFF said that they are go-ing start a league for women,and I think that will be the great-est move done in favour of wom-en footballers. GFDC is promot-ing young talent through theirmany centers where young boysand girls are also being trainedat grassroots level. It looks likewomen football is now movingin the right path”.

Although her work is chal-lenging, she is optimistic aboutthe prospect of more womenjoining her ranks. It can be seenthat she loves football and thechallenges of refereeing on thepitch.

From a national player to areferee has been quite a journeyfor Maria Rebello, the only FIFA-certi� ed women ref, but rues thatenough is not being done topromote football among womenin India and the state

ANDREA FERNANDES/THE GOAN

Milagres Sports Club, aMapusa based clubwhose players are

mostly from the same locality,has been putting up a tough�ght against quite a few clubs in the same group. This clubstrives to improve the youthand make football a bettergame to play as well as watchin Goa. And with the passionand love for the sport that theclub exhibits, their team willbreak their own past records soon, o� ce bearers believe.In the 18 years of its existencethis club has organized and participated in several inter-village tournaments. It has

also made its presence felt at the GFA league and also per-formed comparably well. Theclub moved last year to theGFA Second Division Leaguebut was relegated this yearback to the Third Division.

Many famous players of theI-League teams are associated with Milagres S.C. This footballteam has been a starting point for many players who havegone on to play in professional teams like Dempo Sports Cluband Sporting Clube de Goa aswell as the national team. JolanFernandes is known for his sti� grounders and Vincent Martins for his brilliant play.Savio Fernades, Secretary,Milagres Sports Club states “Our football club was foundedin the year 1996. The president at the start was Jerry Braganzaand in the year 2010 it wastaken over by Ryan Braganza.Our club aspires to endorsefootball among the youth.We have organised many The

inspiration behind the nameof our team comes from theOur Lady of Miracles church at Mapusa which is dedicated S.TMilagres and Jerome”.He further goes on to say “Weused to practice at Peddemground in the recent past. Of late we have been conductingour practice sessions at Duler.Since our team is made up of 97% local boys from Mapusa,the Duler ground is madeavailable to us free of cost.Though we are � nancially weak and require some sought of sponsorship, the guidanceand initiative taken by thePresident, Ryan is remarkableand will de�nitely take this club to greater heights.”Savio opines that GFDC (Goa

Football Development Council)is doing its bit for the develop-ment of football in Goa whichhas also been declared thestate sport. The government has done a good job in puttingin place good infrastructural facilities for to the Lusofoniagames. Witnessing the U-17World Cup will be a great privilege for the football lovers and fans of soccer in India, headds.“Our players played well and put up a good game but unfor-tunately luck did not favour us”says Savio when asked why the club slipped back to thethird division. But the mood is upbeat and the club hopes tobreak into the higher divisionin time to come.

FOOTBALL FERVOUR KEEP MILAGRES SC GOING

≥President – Ryan Braganza

≥Secretary – Savio Fernandes

≥Coach – Jude Fernandes

≥Best player – Jolan Fernandes (forward)

Though relegatedto the thirddivision, MilagresSports Club iscon� dent ofmoving a notchhigher

AMCHEM CLUB >>

MARIA’S MILESTONES

≥Year Place Teams Tournament

≥2010 Bangladesh Nepal v/ Bangladesh SAFF Cup

≥2010 Bangladesh Sri Lanka v/s Bangladesh South Asian Cup

≥2013 China Jiangsu Province v/s Shanghai Chinese National Games

≥2014 Pune Pune FC v/s Shillong Lajong I-League

Whistle blowerin a man’s game

SAGUN GAWADE

20SPORTSSaturday, March 29, 2014 log on to thegoan.net

Central to Germany’s WorldCup team, Hummels was much admired by Sir Alex before he le�

A mesmerising goal from a young English talent in a World Cup year is never going tobe downplayed

Find us on facebook.com/TheGoan follow us on twitter@TheGoanOnSat

Another week, another homedefeat to one of their closestrivals. It is business as usu-al for Moyes and Manches-

ter United as they crashed to Man-chester City 0-3 at Old Tra� ord midweek and the same score the weekbefore to Liverpool. A few weeksago I gave 10 reasons why Moyeswas failing at United and I havebeen accused of negativity by oneor two dear readers. So allow meto take a positive spin on the storyand suggest 10 players that United

should be looking at in the summer to relieve their woes. Some orall these players may be of interest to your club as well.

1. Paul Pogba, Juventus, mid�elder, £65m. According to Ital-ian website TuttoMercato, Real Madrid have begun the process ofmaking a colossal bid for Pogba and are set to be matched by ParisSaint-Germain. Rumours persist that United boss David Moyescontinues to see Pogba as a feasible target for the summer market,but the club will be unwilling to �nancially compete with the likesof Madrid and PSG. What is galling about all this for Man United isthat Pogba used to play for the club and then le� in 2012 becauseSir Alex Ferguson wasn’t giving him enough �rst team football.Two years later he’s worth a fortune. Go � gure!

2. Mats Hummels, Borussia Dortmund, centre back, £20m. Im-posing and skilful defender who would �ll the gap going to be le� by Vidic next season and/or Ferdinand a�er that. Central to Ger-

many’s World Cup team, Hummelswas much admired by Sir Alex beforehe le� .

3. Eliaquim Mangala, Porto, £38m.Another centre back that United havebeen pursuing. This sought a� erFrench international is on Man City’sradar to place alongside VincentKompany and with City nailed on forChampions League football next sea-son the blue side of Manchester willprobably win out.

4. Luke Shaw, Southampton, le� back, £20m. When Everton’s Leigh-ton Baines refused to join his old boss

at United, Moyes then joined a long list of Shaw admirers, includ-ing Chelsea who wants the talented young player who has nowbroken into the England squad and is nicely placed to be pickedahead of Ashley Cole in the World Cup in Brazil.

5. Arturo Vidal, Juventus, mid�eld, £30m. Plays alongside Pog-ba and despite the Chilean signing a long-term contract last De-cember, Moyes was seen scouting him in January.

6. Marco Reus, Borussia Dortmund, attacking mid� elder, £30m.United’s lack of creative �air could be relieved by Reus and al-though Jurgen Klopp wants to hold on to his best talent, he maybe tempted by a deal that involves Kagawa returning to Dortmundfrom United.

7. Ilkay Gundogan, Borussia Dortmund, mid�eld, £20m. Thethird star from the German side on United’s radar. Would be a use-ful addition to United’s lightweight mid�eld and take the pressureo� Carrick in the engine room. Again, Real are said to be lurkingwith another over-in�ated Spanish cheque.

8. Toni Kroos, Bayern Munich, mid�eld, £30m. Another Bundes-liga star whose on-going contract dispute with Bayern has putother clubs on high alert. His goal against Arsenal probably putabout another £5m on his fee. Would greatly increase his wagesat United but would he pass on Champions League football withuber-club Bayern? The upcoming quarter-�nal with United shouldmake up Kroos’ mind where he wants to be next season.

9. Andros Townsend, Tottenham, winger, £20m. Was linkedwith United in January a�er emerging as a key player in England’squali�cation for the World Cup and would bring much neededpace. Tough Spurs negotiator chairman Daniel Levy who squeezedReal for as much possible for Gareth Bale, might do business if Ja-vier Hernandez and/or Nani was o�ered as part of the deal.

10. Edison Cavani, Paris St-Germain, striker, £50m. If Hernandezgoes and Van Persie remains unsettled or injury prone, then theUruguayan is exactly the world class striker United would need.Will be worth even more a�er Cavani scores a hat-trick againstEngland in their World Cup match. He is unsettled in France a� erhis £55m transfer from Napoli but Mourinho and Chelsea are verykeen and can also guarantee CL football.

� Neil Dougan was a youth player for Glasgow CelticBoys Club and is a British Series Producer and Direc-tor for all the major UK broadcasters: BBC, Sky, Chan-nel 4, and ITV. He recently scripted, produced anddirected `The Boss: 25 Years of Sir Alex Ferguson’ for Manchester United TV. He spends his time betweenGoa and the UK, with his wife and son.

� In ‘Eye on the ball’ Neil Dougan will put his foot-ball expertise to paper –history and punditry with agenerous pinch of personal experience

10 players that yourteam might need

EYE ON THEBALL >>

NEIL DOUGAN

�What is gallingabout all this for ManUnited is that Pogbaused to play for theclub and then le� in 2012 because SirAlex Ferguson wasn’tgiving him enough� rst team football.Two years later he’sworth a fortune. Go� gure!

ANDY HUNTER/THE GUARD-IAN NEWS & MEDIA LTD

Outside the away dressing roomat St James’ Park Roberto Mar-tínez, the Everton manager,was evoking comparisons withMichael Ballack and NewcastleUnited’s own Paul Gascoigne.Inside, there was far more re-straint over the stunning sologoal from Ross Barkley thatsteered Everton towards aneye-catching 3-0 win over AlanPardew-less Newcastle. “Wedon’t need to hype him up anymore,” said Leon Osman. “Ev-eryone else can do that.” Giventhe dearth of gi� ed, groundedindividual talents at Roy Hodg-son’s disposal, they have to.

A mesmerising goal from ayoung English talent in a WorldCup year is never going to bedownplayed and as Martínez’spost-match acclaim con� rmed,is not simply a media constructin the case of the 20-year-oldfrom Wavertree. But for a tripleleg fracture in October 2010 thehype about Barkley would havebeen announced long ago.

Barkley has blossomed thisseason into the creative, pow-erful force that David Moyesand others at Everton alwaysexpected he would. The devel-opment has been aided by thefreedom he has been given bythe current manager to roam,and make mistakes, somethingthe mid�elder did not alwaysreceive under Moyes (a pointworth remembering when theBarkley to Manchester Unitedstories resume).

But the campaign has notbeen without its setbacks. Thesigni�cance of the mid� elder’sgoal at Newcastle, when he col-lected the ball inside the Evertonhalf, ignored Romelu Lukaku’srun into space and slalomed

SOLO ATTEMPT: Everton’s mid�elder Ross Barkley (right) cel-ebrates scoring the opening goal during the English PremierLeague football match against Newcastle United

AFP

Barkley blossoms in timefor World Cup campaignEverton’s driving mid� elder Ross Barkley was held up in his development by a triple legbreak but is blooming into a creative force

through a porous defence beforedispatching an emphatic le� -foot shot into the roof of the net,lay in its timing. For Everton, forBarkley, and potentially for Eng-land, it was perfect.

“It was a stunning goal andhe is a very powerful, very quicklad,” said Osman, who cappeda �ne night for Everton withthe third goal. The mid� elderhas admitted the serious injurysustained while on England Un-der-19 duty, and the prospect ofhis career being taken away be-fore it had commenced, instilleda sense of perspective that oth-

ers of his age – and particularlytalent – may �nd beyond them.

This season has also broughtits injury interruptions. Bark-ley was instrumental in Ever-ton’s challenge for ChampionsLeague quali�cation until suf-fering a fractured toe in theFA Cup defeat of Queens ParkRangers on 4 January. Everton,with other injury problems tocontend with, dri�ed out ofthe reckoning. He was recalledahead of schedule for the hum-bling Merseyside derby defeatby Liverpool and struggled, notsurprisingly given he was still

troubled by the fractured digit.Martínez identi�ed a return to

form in the FA Cup quarter-� nalloss at Arsenal, only to put Bar-kley on the bench for Everton’snext game, against Cardi� City.There have been times when thehype and expectation looked tobe weighing heavily on a playerwho, lest we forget, is involvedin his �rst full season at thehighest level. But, as Tuesdaycon�rmed, the swaggering formand end-product has returnedat a crucial stage for Everton’srekindled hopes of fourth place.

“If he gets the call for theWorld Cup,” added Osman, “I’mabsolutely convinced he will dovery well. He is a level-headedyoung man and although he isstill learning he has shown overthe last few weeks what he is ca-pable of producing. If he has thebelief behind him, who knowswhat could happen on the big-ger stage?

“We are all delighted to see ayoung person coming throughwho is capable of that kind ofgoal but we also need to givehim a chance because he is stillonly very young. We all justneed to give him a chance, lethim keep developing and notput too much pressure on him.”Easier said than done.

Barkley has blossomed this season into the creative, powerfulforce that David Moyesand others at Everton always expected he would

SHAHID HASHMI/AFPKARACHI

Sixteen-year-old Mohammad Salmanthought he was destined to live his life onthe mean streets of Karachi, addicted todrugs, begging for survival and with noprospects for a better future.Now he is set to represent Pakistan in thesecond edition of the Street Child World Cup which underway in Brazil. “In my past life I was like a street urchin, using drugs,running away from school and studies. Iwas an addict,” said Salman, who le� homeat age 13 a� er �ghting with his parents.“We didn’t know what we were doing and what we should do. I was staying awayfrom home.” Salman’s salvation came af-ter he was spotted by the non-pro� t AzadFoundation that rehabilitates street chil-dren in the sprawling Pakistani metropolis of 18 million. “They helped develop my interest in football,” he said. “I’m excited tobe part of the Street Child World Cup.”The Amos Trust, a British non-pro� t or-

ganisation, convinced football’s governingbody FIFA to initiate the Street Child World Cup in 2010.The � rst edition was held in South Africaahead of the 2010 World Cup and featured

Brazil, South Africa, Nicaragua, Ukraine,India, the Philippines, Tanzania and a teamfrom England. India won the inaugural event,which proved so successful that it was de-cided to hold it ahead of every football WorldCup. The second edition will be hosted by Riode Janeiro and end on April 6.Owais Ali, another former street child, said football has earned him respect.“When I was living in the street, no onetreated me with respect; I did not knowanything as I was illiterate,” said Owais,who like Salman comes from Karachi’s troubled Orangi town, a shanty settlement.“I was confused once I le� home and thecity was full of problems for me. Than Ifound a way through Azad Foundation whosupported me and helped me in studies.The seven-a-side Street Child World Cup,to be held in football’s spiritual heartland,represents a far cry from roadside matches in Karachi with rocks used for goal posts.Away from the pitch, organisers plan tohost celebrity guests, a youth conferenceand exhibits featuring Brazilian artists.

BRAZIL BECKONS STREET KID FOOTBALLERSIndia won the inaugural event, which proved so successful that it was decided to hold itahead of every football World Cup

PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES

≥Girls Tournament

≥Group 1 Group 2 Group 3

≥Brazil El Salvador England

≥Indonesia Philippines Mozambique

≥Zimbabwe South Africa Nicaragua

≥Boys Tournament

≥Group 1 Group 2 Group 3

≥Brazil Argentina India

≥Egypt Burundi Kenya

≥Indonesia Philippines Mauritius

≥Liberia Nicaragua Pakistan

≥South Africa Tanzania USA

��SPORTS

Saturday, March 29, 2014 log on to thegoan.net

Suarez is a good man and has been incredible for Liverpool – Rodgers

The average age of a �rst-team defender in the big � ve European leagues in 2005-06 was 26.21 years; now it is 26.35 – an increase of 0.14 years

The GuardianTheGoanFOR

ANDY HUNTER/THE GUARD�IAN NEWS & MEDIA LTD

Biting a fellow professional didlittle for Luis Suárez’s player-of-the-year candidacy last year.Eleven months and one reha-bilitation later, however, Bren-dan Rodgers believes there is nodisputing the striker has been“a model of brilliance” for Liver-pool this season.

The Uruguay striker equalledRobbie Fowler’s club record of28 goals in a Premier Leagueseason with a hat-trick againstCardi� City on Saturday. He haseight games remaining to breakthe league record of 34 goalsheld by Andy Cole and AlanShearer – both over 42-gamecampaigns, with NewcastleUnited and Blackburn Roversrespectively – despite missingthe � rst �ve league matches ofthe season through suspension.

That punishment stemmedfrom a bite on the Chelsea de-fender Branislav Ivanovic lastApril, an act that resulted inSuárez’s second lengthy sus-pension in English football andended his chances of beatingGareth Bale to the player-of-the-year award.

The Uruguayan was not in con-tention for the honour in 2011-12,the season of his ban for using ra-cially abusive language towardsPatrice Evra, but having avoidedmajor controversy, improved hisalready outstanding form andworked on his public image thisseason, the 27-year-old Suárezhas few rivals outside An� eld,

POWERSHOT: Liverpool’s striker Luis Suarez shoots past Cardi� City’s goalkeeper David Marshall during the English PremierLeague football match at Cardi� City Stadium in Cardi� , south Wales

AFP

Scales tip towards ‘Gladiator’ SuarezRodgers believes Luis Suarez has been ‘a model of brilliance’ for Liverpool this season and should win the player-of-the-year award

according to his manager.Rodgers, whose team can

move to within a point of thePremier League leaders, Chel-sea, with victory over Sunder-land on Wednesday, said: “Iwouldn’t have thought there areany reasons against him thisyear. I think he was well on theway to winning it last seasonwhen he had that unfortunateincident towards the end, whichmay have curtailed that, but this

year he has been a model of bril-liance. On the pitch his qualityhas never been questioned andif anything he has improved onthat level this year.

“But I think it’s been nice forpeople to see the other side ofhim. People don’t see he’s reallyquite a humble guy o� the � eldwho becomes a gladiator whenhe crosses the white line. A fewpeople have seen the other sideof him this year. In this country I

think we like to see good peopledoing well so certainly for him itwould be a wonderful step for-ward in his life and his career, ifhe gets it.”

Aside from Eden Hazard atChelsea, the Liverpool managerbelieves Suárez’s only challeng-ers for the annual award comefrom the same dressing roomthanks to the club’s unexpectedpursuit of a �rst league title in 24years.

Rodgers is taking nothing forgranted. “Listen, nothing sur-prises me in this country. Thereare some outstanding players inthis league so you never knowbecause nothing surprises you.They tell me the young player ofthe year goes up to 23, which I�nd remarkable. You’re 23 yearsof age and getting the youngplayer award? I’m not sure howthe voting works but if it’s downto the majority of football peopleand supporters, I’m sure they’dvote for someone like Luis. Interms of ability he is right upthere.”

Suárez has scored 58 goalsin 73 appearances for Liverpoolsince Rodgers became managerin June 2012 and focused theteam’s attacking style aroundthe former Ajax captain.

The Liverpool manager said:“At �rst when I came in I thoughtwe needed to get more goals intothe team, not for any individualbut for the team. I looked at itfrom the season before, saw thetype of player he is and how hewould suit the way I wanted towork. So we structured the teamaround his qualities and builtaround that.

“Obviously, as time goes on,you focus on the team, of whichhe’s a very important member.He’s been brilliant for me on ando� the �eld. Of course, he makesme earn my money at times buthe is a good man and has beenincredible for Liverpool in mytime here.”

Suarez has scored58 goals in 73 appearances for Liverpool since Rodgersbecame manager andfocused the team’sattacking style aroundthe former Ajax captain

SEAN INGLE/THE GUARDIAN NEWS &MEDIA LTD

It was a week for football’s goldenoldies. Samuel Eto’o, at 33, de� ly opening the door against Galatasa-ray and Arsenal and Ryan Giggs, at

40, adding calm and class to Man-chester United’s engine room against Olympiakos. Arsène Wenger, at 64,chalked up his 1,000th Arsenal gamein a daytime “nightmare” at Stamford Bridge.Amid the eulogies for Wenger, JohnHartson spoke of his methods “put-ting another two or three years” on thecareers of Tony Adams, Lee Dixon and Ian Wright. Few would dispute that. Inthe past decade, those methods havebecome football’s methods. Players are �tter. They recover from trainingwith �nely tuned protein-carb shakes,ice baths and massage; not a swi� one-two at the pub.We have come a long way from the days when footballers regarded broc-coli as that guy who produced the Bond movies, and only did a down-ward dog when they slid o� a bar stool.Last year Sir Alex Ferguson said that “sport science is the biggest and most important change in my lifetime”.Manchester United monitor 29 vari-ables that may increase a player’s sus-ceptibility to injury; sometimes players will be pulled out just before trainingbecause something in their data isn’t right.

Given such widespread advances,you might expect the average age of players in Europe’s top leagues to beclimbing sharply. It is not. The FootballObservatory recently compared theaverage age by position of players inthe Premier League, Serie A, La Liga,Bundesliga and Ligue 1 from 2005-06to 2013-14 and found it was also static.The average age of a � rst-teamdefender in the big � ve Europeanleagues in 2005-06 was 26.21 years;now it is 26.35 – an increase of 0.14

years. The �gures for goalkeepers,mid�elders and attackers have barely changed either.Meanwhile in the Premier League, Pro-zone’s data for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons shows that full-backs 33 orover played just 2.0% of all minutes played by full-backs. For wide mid-�elders that � gure was 2.7%; strikers 3.6% and central mid�elders 4.9%. Forcentral defenders – whose positioningcan sometimes negate a lack of pace– it was higher at 10.1%.So what is happening? Two things.Sports science is helping older play-ers to stave o� the e�ects of ageing.But, at the same time, the physical demands on footballers is far greatertoo. So the status quo prevails. Oncefootballers hit their early thirties they are on borrowed time. Just like they always were.What is striking, though, is how muchfaster football has become in the past decade. TV commentators in the 1970s and 1980s were fond of talking about matches being played at 100-miles-an-hour. It was a Sunday morning pootlecompared to today’s game.In 2006-07 the average number of sprints per team in a Premier Leaguematch was 330.2. This season Pro-zone’s data show that it is 431.1, a30.6% increase. Meanwhile recovery time between high intensity sprints (speeds of greater than 5.5 metres per second) has dropped from 54.6seconds to 43.5 seconds, a decline of

20%. Perhaps it is not surprising thereare so few full-backs, wide mid� eld-ers and forwards over 33. They play in positions where a dip in pace ismore likely to a�ect performance. It isnot only in road safety adverts wherespeed kills.Another development is that clubs monitor GPS and heart-rate data intraining. They usually know when aplayer is ‘gone’ before we do. Thegrowth in post- and pre-season tours may also be a factor. Players have less down time to recover in the o� -season– so recovery time, which becomes more important with age, can bescarce. Of course the rate of declinewill vary.Genetics, lifestyle, injury his-tory and the number of games can all be a factor. But players are battlingagainst age earlier than is o� en as-sumed. Maximal aerobic capacity – or

V02 max – peaks around 18 to 20 and while it can plateau until 25 it tends to then decrease by approximately 8-10% per decade.Dr James Carter, the head of theGatorade Sport Science Institute at Loughborough University, says that vigorous training a�er the age of 25can limit that decline to around 5% perdecade but “signi�cant reductions inphysiological and performance-related capabilities will be more pronounced once a player enters their thirties”.With some players physiology is not everything. Even in his � nal season,Paul Scholes’s passing �gures were asgood as ever. Others make themselves relevant in fresh ways. When Giggs still possessed the acceleration of a Mase-rati and the hips of a ballroom dancer,the ball was lover to nuzzle on thosejinking, parabola-like runs; now it ismore of a passing acquaintance.But as a general rule, improvements in sport science and medicine havebene�tted younger players as much asolder ones.And so veterans are better retained at a similar rate than they were a decadeago. As Carter reminds us, “extendingthe shelf life of footballers beyond 35,in most cases, is still beyond the remit of science, technology and best prac-tice”. When Giggs and Eto’o started out, football was considered a youngman’s game. Despite their notableachievements in the past week it still generally is.

AFP

Football, still a young man’s gameDespite advances in training and diet, football remains a game for those in their twenties regardless of a Samuel Eto’o or Ryan Giggs

ON BORROWED TIME?: Thoughplayers like Ryan Giggs still play aggressive, once footballers hit their early thirties they are on bor-rowed time, stats reveal

We have come a long way from the days when footballers regarded broccoli as that guy who producedthe Bond movies, and onlydid a downward dog when they slid o� a bar stool

22BUSINESS ‘N’ BEYONDNagesh Eco Ventureso�ers adventure sportsand other entertainmentactivities at their unitsscattered across di� erentplaces in South Goa

My involvement in the Jaycees broadened my ideology, inspiring me to take up funeral services as a community service. It’s my way of giving back to the society because while I earn my bread – Wyn Coutinho

Saturday, March 29, 2014 log on to thegoan.net

BHARATI PAWASKAR /THE GOAN

It’s well past midnight and thetelephone rings. It’s an emer-gency call from a sobbing father– his only son has met with afatal accident and the body lieson a hospital bed a� er post-mor-tem and needs to be moved to amorgue ahead of the � nal rites.A scene right out from the mov-ies? No, not if you happen to beWyn Coutinho on the other endof the line.

“We rush out to the hospital tocomplete the formalities, do thepaper work and take possessionof the body. Our hearse van takesit to the home of the deceased.Another van carries a deep freez-

er. Our team embalm the bodyand preserve it for the next 36hours. Lots of tasks still remainto be accomplished – takingmeasurements for the co� n size,making � ower arrangements,dressing up of the body, � xingup the church services, arrangingcatering services, engraving thetomb stone and arranging for thetransportation to the church onthe day of the funeral, etc” statesthe Funeral Director, Wyn Coutin-ho of Con�dant Funeral Services,Margao.

Yes, it’s a tough task but com-mitment to his job makes Wyngo beyond his work parametersand use his heart in momentslike these. Ask Wyn why he

has chosen such an ‘odd pro-fession’ especially with socialtaboos and stigmas attached todeath or anything that has todo with death. Generally peopleshy away from even thinking ofdeath, leave sharing responsi-bilities of dealing with death.Today’s youth hunt for glamor-ous careers and are reluctantto take up such odd jobs likearranging for funeral services,but 33-year-Wyn is steady in thebusiness since 2006, runninghis one-stop-funeral-shop fromMargao and even planning toexpand his services to Pondaand Vasco.

“I did have di� culty initial-ly as no one actually wanted

to join hands with me and sobuilding a team was quite achallenge,” elucidates Wyn whowas determined to start a ‘one-stop-funeral-shop’. Not want-ing to continue with his father’sbusiness – library, bookstore,stationery shop, advertisementsand construction, Wyn wantedto have his own identity and cre-ate a niche for himself.

“My involvement in the Jay-cees broadened my ideology,inspiring me to take up funeralservices as a community service.It’s my way of giving back to thesociety because while I earn mybread, my work also gives mepeace and solace,” he shares,agreeing that not many choose

such a business given the oddworking hours and day-out,day-in encounters with deathsand funerals.

“It’s a day and night service.One has to be alert all the timeand pick up the calls any oddhours. It is inner compulsionand isn’t it something noble tobe there when someone needsyou desperately to take thecharge?” asks Wyn.

Asked if the funeral businessis pro�table, Wyn nods a� r-matively. “No business can runif there’s no pro�t margin, butwhatever you do, do with a heartthat beats for others. We don’tkeep big margins as it pinchesour conscious but yes, we do

make pro�ts,” admits Wyn whohas a team of six regular sala-ried employees.

“Our co�ns begin with Rs4,500 at the lower end. The pricegoes up till Rs 20,000 per cof-�n depending upon the type ofwood (eg teak) and decorations.All services inclusive can costRs 15,000 onwards, dependingupon how lavishly one wants tospend on their deceased lovedones,” he informs.

There are approximately 50co� n makers and around 15 fu-neral directors scattered in Goa.“One has to respect a fellow hu-man being. Showing disrespectto the human body once its life-less is a sin,” Wyn concludes.

BHARATI PAWASKAR /THE GOAN

Enter the dinosaur’s mouthand walk through its’stomach till you reach a

discotheque with live music and laser beams or enjoy a raindance though the sky is not cloudy or just try sliding downan anaconda’s tail and splashinto a cool pool. If that’s not enough go trekking or do somerappelling, travel from tree totree on a zip line or enjoy rockclimbing and cross a BurmaBridge to cook free on a bio-gasunit. Nagesh Eco Ventures of-fers just that and much more.“We o�er seven exclusive sites to enjoy outing, adventurous sports and party till you drop.I love to o�er educative enter-tainment at an a� ordable priceto our visitors, especially school children,” states Rajan NageshLotlikar, proprietor Nagesh Eco

Ventures that o� ers adventuresports and other entertainment activities in his units scattered across di�erent places in SouthGoa.It’s an amazing rags to riches story how Rajan rose from his lower middle class background

to what he is today.  Rajanrecalls his early days when lifewas hard. “Our family cameto Goa in 1969 from Hubli. My father Nagesh Vyankatesh Lot-likar worked in the railways but it was a hand to mouth situa-tion. My mother Vasanti Lotlikar

stitched clothes to help run thefamily. When dad expired in1978, we almost broke. I had nomoney to pay my fees. So I tookup a part-time at K K Shah’s Kohinoor Engineers and earned Rs 50 a month,” shares Rajanmodestly.But the days soon passed away. Rajan graduated inCommerce stream and beganworking at the port for Rs 100a month until late PandurangTimblo o�ered him a salary of Rs 200 to work on his mines.Rajan remembers that it wasin 1982 that he developed asmall plot of 1300 sq metres purchased by his late father. “Isold my �rst ownership flat at Davorlim for Rs 28,000. Land deals proved to be lucky and Ikept getting good plots for de-veloping. .It was his �rst big property deal with Judge Soares and BB Soares – who o�ered him a

plot around a lakh sq mts todevelop. Rajan developed this property and retained 25,000sq mt plot for himself in theheart of Margao. “It is the very same land where this NageshVillage stands today,” admits Rajan, thankful of his then wisedecision and his messiahs –the Soares family who extend-ed a helping hand to climb theladder of success.Extending his services to all strata of the society, Rajan hasthoughtfully opened a truckterminus at Ponda, where 500trucks can be parked at a time.“I have seen that hundreds of trucks entering Ponda on adaily basis but they don’t havea proper place to park. The driv-ers too need a place to rest and freshen up. That’s the reasonI have readied a 40,000 sq mt plot to park trucks with wash-room and bathroom facilities,”discloses this wise business-

man who intends to open awellness centre in Margao soonfor the general public.Thinking of those who are out of the job, especially a� er themining activities in the statewere halted, Rajan has already stepped out and opened amarket place that can accom-modate around 100 stalls tobe given free or on minimumrates to the families of thosea� ected.At the end of the day a busi-nessman wants to earn money,true but it matters, how oneearns it. Better half PratibhaLotlikar handles the family busi-ness e�ciently and the Lotlikarcouple have taught their chil-dren to be equally humble and down-to-earth. “Let’s do fairbusiness, share equally what we have and make our clients,partners in our happiness,”concludes this couple in onevoice.

Untimely event, timely succour

Wyn Coutinhois among therare breed ofentrepreneurs.For him Con� dantFuneral Services ismore of a humaneventure than abusiness option

All this and more≥Ambulance

≥Hearse

≥Embalming/preserving the body

≥Dressing the body

≥Deep freeze/morgue services

≥Fresh flower wreaths/baskets

≥Photographer/videogra-pher

≥Bus service to the church

≥Lowering machine

≥Brass band

≥Co� n stand

≥Candle stand

≥Advertisements

≥Catering

≥Engraving on tomb stones

≥Monthly/yearly flowerdecorations

THE COFFIN MAKER: WynCoutinho, Funeral Director,

Con�dant Funeral Services at his workshop in Margao

Fun and frolic and more to rollickNagesh Eco Ventures o�ers fun for all, from children to elders, right in the heart of Margao at Nagesh Village

SAMRAT BANDODKAR

SAMRAT BANDODKAR

23BUSINESSSaturday, March 29, 2014 log on to thegoan.net

It is important for MSMEs to get�nance to do well. The currentsituation is a far cry from that

For views, opinions and more, mail us: letters@thegoan.net

KARAN SEHGAL/THE GOAN

Post the ban on mining, the situ-ation became grave for banks inGoa. Mining related borrowersalmost vanished. The record ofbanks in terms of giving loansis not great in Goa even other-wise. Out of Rs 100 of deposits,banks in Goa were able to lendonly Rs 31 as per data availableon December 31, 2013, whichmeans credit deposit ratio stoodat 31%. The credit deposit ratiowas a percentage higher andstood at 32% at the end of March2009, which shows that no im-provement took place on thisfront over close to � ve years!Moreover, credit deposit ratio inGoa is way below national aver-age of 70-80%. This shows thatthe industrial sector in Goa isstill su�ering from the problemof lack of � nance.

Small scale enterprises par-ticularly �nd it very di� cult toget �nance from banks. Suchentities provide employment topeople, contribute to the state’sincome and more importantlythis is where seeds of a largecorporation are sown for what issmall today has the potential of

becoming big in the future.The central government does

realize this and therefore itpassed a Micro, Small and Me-dium Enterprises Development(MSMED) Act in 2006. Underthis act, the government clearlylaid out the de�nition of micro,small and medium enterprises.The micro and small enterprisesunder MSMED Act also comeunder priority sector. As per Re-serve Bank of India’s guidelines

all domestic commercial banksare advised to give 40% of ad-justed net bank credit to prior-ity sector, which are weaker andneedy sections of society.

The central governmentset up Credit Guarantee FundScheme for Micro and Small En-terprises (CGMSE) way back inthe year 2000. The idea behindthe scheme was to make collat-eral free credit available to smalland medium enterprises. Thegovernment and SIDBI (SmallIndustrial Development Bankof India) contribute towards thecorpus of the scheme. The creditfacilities are available upto Rs

1 crore per entity. Clearly, thebanks got the message bothfrom the apex body and also thecentral government that theyshould advance credit to microand small enterprises.

This does re�ect on groundas well. Many banks especiallyin the public sector have con-ducted SME loan camps in Goatime and again. Moreover, theseloans are available at reason-ably low rates of interest as well.

Canara Bank gives such loansat rates starting from 10.95%per annum, while State Bank ofIndia provides such loans at 12-14.5% interest rate per annum.It must be noted that these arethe rates at which some largecorporate houses borrow moneyfrom banks. Going by this, thepicture looks rosy. However,there’s many a slip between thecup and the lip.

An o�cial from a nationalizedbank in Panjim, who didn’t wishto be named said, “O� en suchborrowers do not have neces-sary permissions. For instance,they may not have electric-

ity permission or they may nothave SSI (small scale industries)registration”. SSI registrationis very important because anentity can not avail of bene� tsof priority sector lending if it isnot registered as a small scaleindustry in the � rst place!

However, industrial sec-tor has a di�erent take on it.Prashant Shinde, president ofVerna Industrial Associationsaid, “Small branches in Goa donot have sanction authority. Theapplication goes to the zonalo�ce. They ask for � nancialprojection to approve the loan.What they ought to have is sometechnical knowledge of the busi-ness, which should help them inassessing the risk”. This meanssuch loan applications are as-sessed based on � nancial pro-jections (which are a matter ofconjecture) because bank sta� does not have technical knowl-edge to understand prospects ofa business.

Blaise Costabir, managingdirector of GMI Zarhak Mould-ers Pvt Ltd, said the problem isnot merely limited to technicaland �nancial aspects. He saidthere is a problem even withthe culture of banking industry.He said, “If a bank manager ap-proves a loan and it becomesbad then the repercussions aresevere. However, if he doesn’tapprove a loan, there are no

repercussions. He can actuallyend up becoming chairman ofthe bank!”

Clearly, there is a gap betweenMSME enterprises and the bank-ing industry. Sudhir Zade, zonalmanager at Bank of India’s Goao� ce said, “Entrepreneursshould take sound professionalguidance in � nancial matters”.This is because businessmen areo�en technocrats while banksare �nancial institution andthere is a gap between � nancialand technical know-how. Zadealso said that the bankers aloneare not responsible for devel-opment. It is a collective e� ortof the government, the entre-preneur and the banker. It hasbeen observed that the bankso�en get loan applications fromenterprises which do not have

power and water connection. Insuch cases, it is not practical fora bank to lend money.

The crux of the matter is thegovernment has a number ofschemes under which micro andsmall industries can avail ben-e�ts. However, such companiesmust have su� cient documen-tation to avail bene� ts. In theabsence of which, they have noother resort but to go to othersources of �nance. The issuebecomes even more complex be-cause small and medium enter-prises do not get any � nancingfrom other sources of � nancelike venture capitalists. Clearly,a lot needs to be done on thesmall enterprises’ part, thebankers’ part as well as the gov-ernment’s part to improve thesituation from what it is today.

IN A NUTSHELL≥ Goa has one of the lowest credit deposit ratio in India, which means that banks are not able to disburse adequate amount in terms of loans in the state

≥ Small enterprises not having necessary documentation like lease agreement, electricity license or SSI registration will �nd it di� cult to get loans from banks

≥ If small enterprises have documents in place, PSU banks are giving loans to such entities at 11-15% per annum interest rates

≥ Small branches can’t sanction big ticket loans. The loan application reaches the zonal o�ce and it takes a long time for the borrower to getloan from there

≥ The bridge between technical expertise of the entrepreneur and �nan-cial knowledge of banks need to be bridged

IN-DEPTH >>

Dearth of funds for MSMEsOf late banks have increased focus on loans to small enterprises.But, o�en such enterprises � nd it di�cult to get � nancing due tosome issues on their part and some on the part of the bankers

KARAN SEHGAL/THE GOAN

The Goan: What is the main prob-lem SMEs face in terms of getting� nance?Shekhar Sardessai: The problem(Small and Medium Enterprises) SMEs are facing is not so much about gettingthe �nance. Even SIDBI (Small Indus-trial Development Bank of India) lends money at very high rates. The real issuehere is very high cost of money. NSIC(National Small Industries Corporation)also has a lending facility. But it asks for bank guarantee. Not only the cost of money from NSIC is high but it alsorequires guarantee which makes it anunattractive option for companies. Un-less SIDBI and NSIC reform themselves

to meet the requirements of new ageSMEs in an e�cient manner, they willlose relevance.The silver lining here is that EDC hasdone a wonderful job. It gives 2%rebate from commercial loan rate toGoan entrepreneurs. On the top of it,if you are in backward talukas, you get 5% rebate. And if you are a woman, youget 2% rebate. The interesting thing isif you are a Goan woman entrepreneurin a backward talkua, you can get asmuch as 9% rebate!TG: So you don’t think availability of �nance is an issue?SS: Availability of �nance is not suchan issue if the SME has a good bal-ance sheet. The issue is SMEs o� enneed funds to cover up losses when

the industry is down. But, the situa-tion in terms of availability of � nanceis certainly better today than few years ago. However, banks are willing to giveloans only for collateral. Under CGMSEscheme, banks provide collateral freeloans to SMEs. However, such loans areavailable only upto Rs 1 crore. This limit needs to be increasedTG: What about documentation?Banks o�en complain SMEs don’t have proper documentation.SS: I don’t think documentation is abig issue here. I don’t think sanctionlimits are a problem here. The problemis SMEs need more than bank � nance.Equity market does not provide money to SMEs, the cost of money in the debt market is very high. Interest burden kills

SMEs. O�en SMEs die in an early stagebecause they can not pay interest cost.Banks can’t do much about it. The gov-ernment should have some subvention.For instance, the government provides 4% subvention for export oriented SMEs. But even then the cost of money remains high.For instance, if a SME takes a loan at 15% per annum, its cost becomes 11%due to 4% grant from the government.However, even at 11%, we are payingmuch more than what small companies pay in other countries. We only havelabour cheaper in India, which we calllabour arbitrage. However, the cost of money is very high. The problem willbecome more complex when we loseour labour arbitrage.

SHEKHAR SARDESSAI >president of Goa State Industries Association

SMEs BANK ON BANK SUPPORT�Shekhar Sardessai, president of Goa State Industries Association, in a chat with The Goan elucidates on the issues faced by smallenterprises in terms of getting �nance from banks and other � nancial institutions

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

MAR’ 09 MAR’ 10 MAR’ 11 MAR’ 12 MAR’ 13 DEC’ 13

GOA

ALL INDIALOAN

LOAN

LOAN

Credit deposit ratio in Goa is not even half of national average.Besides, the vast gap betweenGoa and All India numbers has not shown any signs of narrowingdown in the last � ve years

Source: RBI for All India data. State LevelBankers’ Committee, Goa for Goa data

24Saturday, March 29, 2014 log on to thegoan.net

FootprintsIf we don’t save our crop from the bug, we will go into a loss– Laxman Sonu Gaonkar

A total of 147 farmers in the seven wards ofNetravali have adopted SRI. In Patwada, the entirevillage follows the SRI method of agriculture

For views, opinions and more, mail us at letters@thegoan.net

BHARATI PAWASKAR /THE GOAN

They welcome you graciouslyinto their homes and generouslyo� er you jaggery that’s so� andsweet and simply melts on yourtongue. “This is what we cano�er you. It’s fresh and home-made,” exclaims Sunita SuktoVelip, a hardworking farmerfrom the tiny village of Patwadalocated in Netravali in Sanguemtaluka. “Patwada got its namedue to the ‘paat’ (canal) that�ows through the village. De-cades ago, our forefathers dugthe hard rock to bring waterfrom the springs on the hill sothat farming activities couldbe carried out in this village,”explains 52-year-old DattaramBarkelo Velip who does com-munity farming at Patwada witha few other Velips. Made up ofjust 15 houses belonging to theVelip and Gaonkar communitiesof Goa, the villagers of Patwadahave been farming the land–the conventional way– forgenerations.

Then a year and a half ago,Dattaram and his fellow-villag-ers discovered SRI, a system ofrice cultivation that yields threegolden harvests a year as op-posed to the earlier two. “In thetraditional method, we planted

�ve-six rice plants (in a bunch)which gave us only � ve-six stalksof grain. With SRI, one plantgives us 40-50 stalks of grain,”says Chandravati Chandru Velip(60) pointing to their � elds ripewith the third harvest while An-jani Gopinath Velip (48) adds,“We have experimented withboth varieties – Jyoti and Karjat3and both have proved good forSRI.”“And those of us who got eightbags a year with the traditionalmethod of paddy cultivation,now get around 10 bags twicea year,” says 50 year old SuktoRaghuvir explaining the math,“With support price, Jyoti fetch-es Rs 1,500 per quintal whileKarjat3 gets Rs 1000. Also, thepaddy gown and harvested us-ing the earlier conventionalmethod had to be stored for fourmonths or so before it could beconverted into ‘ukdo’ or ‘surai’ rice, which meant that we need-ed extra room for storage whilesaving the paddy from rats andother rodents, then boiling it be-fore de-husking the grain.”Only a�er going through thesehardships could the farmers selltheir rice. With SRI, however,there is no need to store thepaddy. “The licenced rice millsfrom Netravali, Sanvordem andGaodongrim come and take the

paddy straight from our � elds.No storing, no rats, no wastageand instant cash �ow as we cancut and sell it immediately,”says Sukto with a happy smile.

“Seeing this, the departmentof agriculture is now workinghard to popularise the SRI tech-nique among farmers who arestill not sure of its bene� ts,”states 21-year-old Suraj Gaonkar,a resident of Verle in Netravaliwho was recruited as the ‘Kri-shi Mitra’ eight months ago toguide and advise local farmersabout the various schemes andsubsidies available. “Subsidiesare given to farmers for tractors,weeding machines, power til-lers, brush cutters, cono weed-ers, solar fencing, fertilisers, etc.Also high yielding seeds are dis-tributed free of cost,” he adds.

“A total of 147 farmers in theseven wards of Netravali haveadopted SRI. In Patwada, theentire village follows the SRImethod of agriculture with greatsuccess,” informs Suraj, add-ing that across the state, over500-600 conventional farmershave shi�ed over to the SRI tech-nique so far.

And with the farmers cash-ing in on their bumper crops,Netravali is all set to cultivatemore and more land in the com-ing years.

What is SRI?≥ Under the SRI system, eachseedling is sowed separately, rather than in a group

≥ A distance of 25 centimetres ismaintained vertically and horizon-tally between each of the seedlings which results in grains of improved quality

≥ Under the traditional method of paddy cultivation, it takes almost21 days for transplanting the crop, but in case of SRI, the transplant-ing process takes just 14 days

Why SRI?≥Reduced seed requirement

≥While in the conventional system of rice cultivation the recommend-ed quantity of seed is 16 kg peracre, farmers usually use about20 kg per acre. But in SRI, the requirement of seed is only two kgper acre. The individual transplant-ing of very young seedlings is in a square pattern.

≥Greater yield

≥In the conventional system, the yield varies between 3.5 tonnes per hectare in khareef to fourtonnes per hectare in rabbi. SRI gives a yield of minimum one-and-half to two times the above amounts, respectively. i.e. if the yield is four tonnes per hectare in rabbi in the conventional system, it will be six to eight tons perhectare via SRI

≥Pro�ts are higher, while the cost of cultivation remainsthe same

≥In SRI, a single seedling which isabout 10 days old is planted buthigh numbers of tillers (sprouts) spring forth from the single seed-ling. The ear heads are longer than normal and the number of grains per ear head is much higher. Also,the weight of the grain is more and its quality far superior

≥Requires less water

≥The principles of the SRI method include irrigating with a minimum quantity of water. Thus it is more popular in the rabbi season from October onwards

≥The SRI technique can be adopted for cultivating any variety of seed common in Goa like Jyoti, Jaya or Karjat3. (In fact, Karjat3 gives a very high yield via the SRI technique)

Fertilisers used≥Cow dung

≥Potash

≥Urea

≥Sampurna

≥Samrat

≥Sanyukta

TEAM GOAN

They took land that was ly-ing fallow for decades and transformed it into a crop-

rich � eld.“This is our ancestral land,”says 40 year old Laxman SonuGaonkar, who travels all theway from Badsare-Gaodongrimin Canacona along with sixother farmers– Laxman SonuGaonkar, Narayan Janu Ga-

onkar, Bhairo Ram Velip, TolyoLasko Gaonkar, Kuyro BomboGaonkar, Shiva Vaddo Gaonkar– to till and cultivate this land.“We got the land some years ago from our kind-hearted bhatkar who is ever willing tohelp us. This is our � rst trial with SRI and though we areexcited to see the results, thepaddy stink bug or ‘baam’ is amajor cause of concern at this crucial time when the crop is

almost ripe,” shares Laxmanwhile Pandurang Gaonkar, anSRI facilitator at Netravali whovisits the �elds on a regularbasis says, “I have helped them get insect traps from thedepartment but unfortunately, Iam unable to provide them withelectricity to work the traps.”With the ‘code of conduct’ inpractice, the electricity depart-ment is unable to lay the line“but if we don’t save our crop

from the bug, we will go into aloss. We have already invested Rs 2.5 lakh and not claimed forany subsidy or incentives fromthe government as yet,” saysa worried Laxman, adding that their bhatkar has come to theiraid again and promised to helpthem � ght the baam. The farmers are also full of praise for agricultural o� cersShivram Gaonkar from Cana-cona and Dattaprasad Desai

from Sanguem who educateand advise them.With 50 acres of land undercultivation, this plot of land in Volvale is the largest areafarmed under the Sri method and farmers from the neigh-bouring states of Karnatakaand Maharashtra are invited to visit and learn so that they may adopt the same method of paddy cultivation back in theirhome towns.

Sowing hope,reaping dreams

They may live in remote parts of Goa, butthe farmers of Patwada in Netravali havenot only been experimenting with thelatest techniques in agriculture – includingSRI, but also reaping three goldenharvests a year

�Six farmers fromBadsare-Gaodongriin Canacona travelto Volvale to till theirancestral land everyyear

�50 acres of landcultivated under SRI

�Farmers fromneighbouring states areinvited to look and learn

Ancestral land, newer methods

SAMRAT BANDODKAR