He who must not be named, was named
The fallout of media reports on Goa's land conversions, the Cholera outbreak and more in this week's edition.
It’s been a week of Ganesh Visarjan or Immersion and unlike most years, when this week tends to be a slow news week, this week had much to offer.
But before we get to that, I recommend you watch this video from architect and PhD student Tahir Noronha, who breaks down the Chief Secretary bungalow scandal that we discussed last week, in as simple language as possible. Watch it and give him a follow for more updates on what Goa’s fast moving land changes will mean for the state.
He who must not be named, was named
The big story this week undoubtedly came from the Indian Express which published the story on how Goa’s top politicians and other big names were the major beneficiaries of the recent Section 17(2) amendments to the state’s Town and Country Planning Act. Top of the list is of course Rane himself whose company Karapur Estates Pvt Ltd is among the major beneficiaries of the land conversions being done under the guise of them being ‘mistakes’ in the Regional Plan 2021. Then there’s Environment and Law Minister Aleixo Sequeira who also corrected a ‘mistake’ to his own benefit. There’s others too that you can find in the stories here and here.
It really should come as no surprise that the law, that TCP Minister Vishwajit Rane, claims was brought about to help the “common man build a small house” is actually being used for its intended purpose (as opposed to being used for its stated purpose), because well, who’s going to stop them?
But what I really want to talk about is the reaction that the stories elicited from those in government. For one, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who incidentally wasn’t among those named as beneficiaries, neither was he or any of his departments responsible for the offending changes that the story mentioned, issued a statement reiterating the state’s commitment to “preserving the state's natural resources, particularly its land resources and biodiversity.”
He then went to list out measures like the restriction on transfer of agricultural land, increase in base rates for conversion and transfer as well as the initiatives of the Goa State Biodiversity Board in preserving wetlands and blah.
But made no mention of tackling the very conversions that the article highlighted. As the Konkani saying goes: “khorzota eke kodden punn khorpita dusre kodden” or something to that effect that loosely translates to scratching the wrong itch. Is this a case of ‘he-who-must-not-be-named’ that the Chief Minister is suffering from?
There was no reaction (at least publicly) since the story’s publication from the two ministers named in the story Vishwajit Rane and Aleixo, as well as several MLAs, although, to be fair, they did claim to have done nothing ‘illegal’ in their responses to queries by the Indian Express.
But the response that really takes the cake is that of Union Minister for state and six time north Goa MP Shripad Naik, who in a detailed response, said that he had applied for conversion of the land that was in his late wife’s name as per the extant provisions of law and that he is willing to withdraw his application and undo his conversion, if any kind of illegalities are found and brought to his notice.
But what really stands out is the final line in his reply: “It is up to the state government to verify whether the provisions of section 17(2) is in the state’s interest or not.”
With the single stroke of a pen he’s throwing down the gauntlet to the state government. He’s admitting that while his family may be a beneficiary, he also seems to suggest that he recognizes that the law isn’t really in the interest of the state -- and without really saying so, has raised a banner of revolt on behalf of the ‘real BJP’ against the ‘pseudo-BJP’ that is currently giving the ‘real’ BJP much angst.
Perhaps I am reading too much into it, but then, if straws are all one has to clutch onto, that’s what one will do.
Goa unconquered?
This was also a week when the Goa government finally acted against the “highly objectionable and obnoxious” advertisement put out by the House of Abhinandan Lodha, shooting off a letter to them warning of “appropriate action” against the company and its agencies if the advertisement is not withdrawn.
The company promptly responded with an apology and said that the advertisement had already been withdrawn, etc. etc.
But rather than outrage over the advertisement, we should actually be thanking the real estate company for saying the quiet part out loud. I mean, no one could have worded what is currently happening in Goa better. And that the said project is coming up on the land converted (and sold) by Goa’s TCP Minister in Bicholim, makes the slogan all the more relevant.
Besides, the advertisement having been withdrawn, hasn’t changed the reality, now has it?
Cholera and Goa’s ‘dirty’ secret
A disease that was considered relegated to third world banana republics reared its ugly head in Goa, a state with the highest per capita income and GDP in the whole country, a state that regularly boasts about its chart-topping health parameters and which health minister Vishwajit Rane tried to (quite unsuccessfully) tout as the Goa model (Click on the link. I’m not making this up) perhaps in an attempt to rebuff the AAP’s ‘Delhi healthcare model.”
Early in the week, State epidemiologist Dr Utkarsh Betodkar dropped a bomb when he said that five labourers had died and 163 (the number has since gone up) cases with symptoms of diarrhoea and dehydration were reported almost entirely among those labourers from Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, etc who work onboard the fishing trawlers. A few of them were tested and found to be positive with Cholera, meaning the others were also likely to be suffering the same.
The revelation sparked a visit by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to the site, who ordered the boat owners to pay a compensation of Rs 5-lakh to the family of the deceased, a figure that the state government would match and that if, going forward, there were to be any deaths, they would have to pay a compensation of Rs 25-lakh.
But it shouldn't’ have come to this. But it did. Because trawler labourers are the most exploited community in the state, I dare say, even worse than construction labourers, who at least, now are subjected to periodic health checks, by the local health centre and if not the local panchayat and neighbours worried about their own health as well have better laws to protect them and provide for their welfare.
Not so for the fishing labourers. They are made to live in squally conditions with no proper sanitation and hygiene, they are made to spend days together on the high seas on board trawlers with access to only stale, limited freshwater and the no toilet facilities onboard. Most of all they are underpaid and often cheated by the employers, who corner all the government subsidies for themselves. That a Cutbona boat owner was instrumental in getting the minister, director and others a trip to Norway at state expense is all you need to know about those who call the shots at the jetty.
It is no surprise that among the five who died, at least two were “brought dead” to the hospitals with severe dehydration, something they began experiencing on the high seas, despite which the boats didn’t cut short their trip and rush back to shore. There is no hesitation in saying that the delay in treatment greatly contributed to their deaths.
It is only after the announcement of the deaths and the Chief Minister’s visit that the wheels of government began rolling with Fisheries Director Shamila Monteiro shunted out and an IAS officer given additional charge of the department.
Environment Minister Aleixo Sequeira and Health Minister Vishwajit Rane woke up and held meetings and issued statements that they were tackling the issue. Too little too late.
There’s another reason why the growing epidemic and dying fishermen were going unnoticed: to the local population, they’re invisible. They do not exist and matter little. Here’s a simple experiment. If I were to ask you which has been Goa’s gravest calamity, in terms of loss of life, chances are you might struggle to think of one in which a significant number of lives have been lost in recent times.
But the answer to the question unequivocally is the 2009 Cyclone Phyan tragedy. In 2009 when five trawlers that sailed from Goa and a total of 67 lives were lost to the sea during Cyclone Phyan and were never found. Half a trawler hull drifted back to shore and landed up at a beach in north Goa but no trace was found of the rest. It wasn’t only trawlers from Goa that were affected, boats from Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra were also lost.
Surprised you’re hearing about this for the first time? That’s how invisible trawler workers are to Goa’s public consciousness. Imagine if 60-odd local Goans were to be killed in a single cyclone, how big an incident it would be. That the cyclone didn’t make landfall along the Konkan coast also contributed to lack of alarm among local residents.
Hopefully this time the fishermen’s deaths will not have been in vain.
Pillai’s population miskut (misquote)
Goa Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai, in statements made back in his hometown Kerala, wondered aloud about Goa’s falling Christian population and the subsequent rise of Muslim population. While he may not have been factually incorrect, there are two aspects to the issue. One is that Goa’s Christian population has indeed been falling, as a percentage of the population even as the absolute numbers continued to grow, but now even the absolute numbers have begun to fall as a result of emigration and low birth rates.
But then, Goa’s population is not falling because the Muslim population is growing, but because of immigration -- of both Hindus and Muslims. So why did the Governor highlight Muslims alone?
Goans keep alive culture, traditions in Zanzibar
And finally I leave you with this heartwarming story of the dwindling Goan community in Zanzibar, that took time off to celebrate World Goa Day in a bid to relive their heritage. If you are one who has some connection with the Goan communities in East Africa, this is one story that should interest you.
As always, do write in if you have something to contribute, share, respond to or just simply say hi. And if you haven’t already, do subscribe to this weekly newsletter and spread the word among friends, family and those who you think will be interested in reading. Until next week then, tchau.
Well said Gerald. You have really spilled the beans well. But shameless people, have developed a thick skin with no regrets. They need a hard stick though.
Another great edition, Gerard. Thanks for the hard work :)