Homes washed away and blood spilled
Why was 68 year old Arnaldo Soares murdered? How much did the government spend to counter the Goa Foundation's litigation? This and more in this week's edition of Gerard's Gazette
It’s been yet another rainy week in Goa -- the third week in a row that the IMD has had to issue red alert warnings -- that have ensured that the state has now received 100 inches of rainfall just 30 inches short of the yearly average of 130 inches between June and September. And it’s only July.
Such has been the rain that we’ve forgotten what the sun looks like -- something otherwise only experienced by those living above certain latitudes. Although the people of Guirim and Bastora who seem to have made light of their situation with reels, satire and skits replete with kayaks and off road vehicles.
Broken homes, broken dreams,
broken lives
But jokes aside, spare a thought for those for whom the rains are no fun and games. Such has been the ferocity, consistency and persistence of the monsoon this season that there has been at least ten documented cases of houses collapsing -- not including those damaged or broken by falling trees -- that has come at the cost of six lives so far.
You may have heard of the reported ones -- the home of ex-home guard Vimal Shirodkar that came crashing down earlier this week or that of cases where the occupants died on account of the house collapse. but not every case is reported or gets attention -- and worse there are an even greater number of houses that are on the verge of collapse but are being held together by the sheer will of the occupants who have emptied their pockets to keep them standing from one monsoon to the next. They will receive neither attention, sympathy nor compensation -- that is reserved only for whom tragedy has already befallen.
More than just a Murder?
It’s been a whole seven days since the village of Candolim was given the rude news that an elderly citizen -- Arnaldo Soares, who was living alone in the divided ancestral house at Orda Candolim, was murdered in the dead of the night.
The case is intriguing for several reasons, and even seven days later there remain many unanswered questions.
Soares, 68, a Canadian citizen of Goan origin who has been living in Goa over the past ten years was found lying in a pool of blood late on Sunday (July 14) morning.
What sparked intrigue is the circumstances surrounding his killing. Neighbours (relatives living in the other half of the divided house) claimed to have been woken up by a noise and when they called out, they heard a response in Konkani replying that everything was alright.
What only served to fuel speculation further is that the police claimed that the motive was robbery, but also that nothing was robbed from the house, that the accused hailed from Karnataka but replied in Konkani, that there were clues at the scene that pointed to a pre planned murder, but with the motive to rob.
And while there are still many unanswered questions, the police have since said that Soares was killed because we woke up that fateful night when the robber jumped into his house after removing the tiles thereby catching him red handed in the act.
The accused has been caught after the car’s dash cam gave his identity away and as such police are certain they have the right man. But was he acting alone or on someone else’s behalf? Answers elude us. The murder comes at a time when the state has a new Director General of Police, who has taken over from Jaspal Singh, accused of aiding the infamous Pooja Sharma, who secured anticipatory bail from the High Court on Saturday.
Rotten fish and cow dung
Here’s an interesting story I found in the Hindustan Times published on Saturday that talks of how in 1987 members of the Jagrut Goenkaranchi Fouz (Army of Alert Goans) held a protest against tourism by greeting charter tourists from Germany with cow dung and rotten prawns to send home the message that tourism was destroying Goa.
Talk about shifting baseline syndrome. It would be really interesting to find out what the people who held the protest back then think of what they think of the state of tourism in Goa today.
Disruption by design?
This was also a week when the monsoon session of the Goa Legislative Assembly began. The year’s longest session began on a stormy note, not with the opposition raising their voice, but conversely the ruling side blindsided the opposition by disrupting the question hour -- a time set aside for members to ask the government questions -- denying the opposition of the precious minutes they get to have the upper hand.
The BJP’s grouse? That Congress Quepem MLA Altone D’Costa ‘insulted’ the Speaker via remarks that he made after a private members’ resolution was disallowed.
The issue was finally settled on the second day, but not before opposition MLAs including Carlos Alvares Ferreira and Vijai Sardesai lost the opportunity to raise the issue of ham handed roll out of the National Education Policy in the state. Was the disruption by design then?
The cost of defending the indefensible
I have a story for you from The Goan Everyday, which reported that the State Government has spent Rs 90-lakh on two Supreme Court hearings to challenge the High Court’s decision to declare Mhadei sanctuary as a Tiger Reserve. It must be noted that this is just the initial stage and the real hearing will be only after the responding parties file replies. We wonder how much the total case will cost?
But even this isn’t the whole story. The Tiger Reserve isn’t the only decision that the present government is aggressively contesting. The State has spent three times that -- more specifically Rs 3.70 crore defending recent amendments to the Town and Country Planning Act -- introduction of section 17(2), 39(A) and of course 16(B) of which Rs 3.40 crore alone was spent on fighting cases filed by the Goa Foundation.
Just listening to Claude Alvares would save the state a lot of money, it would seem. Or maybe don’t amend the law to your own advantage?
And finally, if you’re thinking of coming from Mumbai to Goa via road: DON’T.
In any case, that’s all I have for you this week. Do spread the word and comments, suggestions and story tips most welcome.
This Criminal of Morality is out to sell Goa as was well predicted. He has failed to realise that he is only on a short journey on this Mother Earth and takes with him nothing upon receiving God’s Call. How much would he therefore need?😈The people who have elected him for the greed of money and perks from him ,will suffer God’s wrath, sooner or later but definitely, upto 4 generations of theirs. It would be only a matter of time. 🥲