Crumbling house shows the true face of Goa Police & much more
How a high handed demolition of a disputed house in Goa, overseen by the state's top cop has bared naked power dynamics of the state plus a round up of all the interesting stories from Goa this week.
Hi folks,
It’s raining and pouring here in Goa as I sit to write this, as it has been for most of this week -- a week began on a sprightly note with the celebration of the Festa do São João (the Feast of St John the Baptist) -- which, this year, owing to the bountiful rains, was celebrated with much fanfare across the weekend and lasted late into the night and ended with the celebration of Sangodd -- the feast of Sts Peter and Paul or Pedro ani Paulo that is celebrated in its own unique way especially among the fisher communities of the state.
But festivals aside, let’s dive into the most important developments that have rocked the state over the last week, and this week we have lots to sink our teeth into.
The true face of Goa’s cops
Let’s begin with the most discussed story from Goa this week and that has taken so many twists and turns that it can officially be classified as a saga. I’m sure you have many questions like: What exactly happened? How was the Agarwadekar family in possession of the house in the first place? What role did the DGP and the Goa Police play on behalf of the said Pooja Sharma. So bear with me while I try and unpack every angle of the case and the forces at play
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But before I begin -- a disclaimer. Till date not all versions of the story have come to the fore. The original owner of the house that was being demolished, Chrys Pinto and the new owner Pooja Sharma are yet to speak up despite nearly a week having passed since the incident came to light. I get that, as journalists, we need to get to all sides of the story, but attempts to reach out to them have so far proven futile. That said, one could argue that they have had ample opportunity to speak up, if they so wished to and that they haven’t can only mean that it’s their conscious choice to remain mum so far.
Make sure you read the whole story that is laid out in every possible detail: here. For those who already have a low down on the story, here’s something to ponder over.
What does this mean for Goa?
First, that several lobbies are at work and none if any have any interest whatsoever in getting to the truth of the matter. Every move that has taken place so far is solely part of a larger (power) struggle to either ‘fix’ someone or protect someone. Truth, propriety, everything be damned. It’s a naked display of personal pecuniary interests jostling to get their hands on whatever’s left of Goa.
It is clear by now that those tasked with positions of power are only misusing that position to make and break deals in the state even as the government of the day struggles to get a grip on proceedings in the state.
Such is the level that the top officers of the state are willing to stoop for their personal interests, throwing all notions of propriety to the wind and making the system dance to their tunes in favour of moneyed interests.
Truly, Goa is nothing but a playground to be operated at their whims and fancies.
While many may question the sincerity of the Agarwadekar family in first occupying and later attempting to cling onto the house that isn’t theirs -- I just have one thing to say. If at all Goa has survived as Goa for so long it is only because of the kul mundkar (farmers and land tillers) of Goa who have stood in the way. Left to the bhatcars, Goa would have been sold out long ago.
The story isn’t over yet. For now, expect that the DGP will be transferred out of Goa. The No. 2 in command, Inspector General of Police, has already been asked to cut short his holiday in the US and questions will continue about who lost and who gained from the entire saga. That’s for you to ponder.
Forests can be moved?
Even as the state remained engrossed as the saga unfolded at Assagao, much else has been happening elsewhere in the state.
The Chief Minister, who had been on a trip to Delhi went on a spree hopping between offices of various ministers in Delhi. Among them was Union Minister of Environment Bhupendra Yadav, before whom he placed three demands.
That the MoEF relax its restriction on shipping iron ore through the villages, that sand mining be allowed in CRZ areas including those in Goa and most concerningly, that the MoEF reduce the number of Western Ghats Ecologically Sensitive Areas in Goa.
Incredulously, they have justified such a demand saying that while minerals cannot be moved, forests certainly can. I wonder which seriously uneducated officer in the Goa administration could have thought of such a hare-brained idea. Clearly the person in question has very little clue what a forest actually is and is under the wildly mistaken notion that forests are simply a bunch of trees that can be cut in one place and planted in another -- not unlike moving furniture from one house to another. Thankfully, there is no indication yet that the MoEF&CC is seriously considering any of Goa’s demands.
Stay on Section 17(2)
There is some good news from the environmental front. The Bombay High Court at Goa on Tuesday stayed a the ‘rectification’ of a 6,000 square metre plot of paddy field at Cujira in Merces that was being made into settlement by the stroke of a pen, under powers that have been granted to the Town and Country Planning Department by a recent amendment.
This is significant because it represents the first time an arbitrary conversion of eco-sensitive land and opening it up for construction has been stayed by the High Court. You can read the entire case in detail here.
Very helpfully, the petitioner Gaurav Bakshi has put out a ready reckoner for anyone keely following the case. Do check it out here.
One day I’ll write about the recent amendments breaking down what 16B, 17(2) and 39A actually mean for the state and their implications. Until then, you’ll have to wait.
Similarly, a farmhouse in Old Goa mysteriously popped up right in the vicinity of the Chapel of Our Lady of Mount at Old Goa unnerving heritage activists. Check out their video here.
Porvorim historic chapel reduced to dust as highway work begins
There was an interesting story that detailed how an ubiquitous chapel located by the side of the road at Baixo de Porvorim was razed overnight as the machinery moved in to widen the existing road as work on the nearly four kilometre long elevated corridor begins.
The Chapel in question may have been rebuilt recently, however, it commemorated an event that took place four centuries earlier with the Fransican missionary work resulting in the first conversions in the village of Socorro in the 1500s. Regrettably, no replacement chapel has yet been constructed before the old one was demolished.
Work on the elevated road has begun and is expected to take at least two years to complete while significant delays and inconveniences are expected until then.
Antonio Costa is up and about once again
I thought it best to end this weekly round up newsletter on a positive note. The former Portuguese Prime Minister, who’s father hails from Margao won the confidence of the 27 EU member states and will now take charge as the next president of the European Council.
Costa, who had visited Goa about seven years ago in 2017 was earlier forced to step down from his role as Portuguese premier threatening to be curtains for his generally well appreciated rule as premier.
As he begins his new stint, we wish him all the best.
I hope you enjoyed reading this weekly roundup of stories from Goa. If there are stories you feel compelled to speak up about and that you want highlighted do reach out to me. As always if you like what you read, do leave a comment and tell your friends about it. As a nascent newsletter, I’m constantly trying to make it better and feedback is most welcome.
Until next week, tchau!
Gerard, thank you very much.