STOP ALL MEGA HOUSING PROJECTS INCLUDING CANSAULIM (By Nitin Kamat)

On Wed, 21 Jul 2010 12:47:02 +0530 wrote
STOP ALL MEGA HOUSING PROJECTS INCLUDING CANSAULIM All housing projects including the one in Cansaulim-Arossim village need to be stopped and construction licences immediately revoked. These projects are against Goan interests and do not benefit Goenkars in any way. Wherever construction licences are obtained by deceit or illegally means by circumventing legal processes or by producing false master plans, these need to be investigated and the credentials of such people involved needs to be scrutinised strictly by the law enforcing agencies and courts via suo moto hearings and fast track courts to ensure that not only the common man avoids unnecessary hardships but also to allow the justice system to prevail and inspire. This will restore the confidence of people in the power of courts in these difficult times which are ruled and manipulated by corrupt and tainted representatives and bureaucracy. The fact that there are manipulations and widespread intimidation to people fighting for justice demonstrates their hidden agenda behind these mega housing projects and hence it is left to us We the people to scrap such projects permanently which are nothing but detrimental the peace and prosperity of Goans. Now a days a lot of such infamous projects have come to light which have been approved by gross violations and illegal plans in collusion of our elected representatives. Their determination to go against the wishes of the people implicates them of widespread corruption and wrong doing. Today a great tragedy has come to us in the form of these projects which are raising their ugly heads, and we need to meet them with the best that is in our state, with courage and concern for others because this is Goa . This is who we are true Goenkars. Goans must not ignore the threat gathering against us namely the grabbing of our ancestral land by the outsiders and imminent danger of leaving us without an identity in our own land. Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof, of being left out on the streets and outsiders occupying our homes and villages. The mega housing projects will house mostly non-Goans of the rich and famous from their vast accumulated and unaccounted wealth thereby changing the demography of the state whereas such housing cannot be afforded by most Goans, thanks to the bad governance and lack of vision of elected representatives to tackle problems of unemployment, poverty and education which has resulted in poor people getting more poorer and the rich getting more richer. This has also compounded their divide and rule policies and won them the loyalities of many Goans who are helpless due to poverty and lack of employment avenues. Goans also need to be careful of the type of people coming and settling in our neighbourhoods especially when hard core terrorists like Headley and Rana have hoodwinked our intelligence agencies and sneaked in our country for organising terrorist missions. They have been successful in masquerading and changing names and passports which caught the attention of the sleeping agencies too late after so many tragic incidents. Since most Goans will not be able to afford to stay in these housings it will be difficult to keep an eye on such anti social elements and with the instances of builders like Abobakr Sheik, the one constructing the housing project in Cansaulim, being hell bent on driving the Goans out of their land, the consequences of ignoring antisocial elements in our vicinity will be catastrophic. Goa will not be able to bear another form of 26/11 claiming innocent lives. We are accountable to our children and our grandchildren. We should not be like our elected MLAs and bureaucrats without any accountability. We have a duty, a duty to protect our identity, our land and hand it over to our future generations. Today even the most advanced countries are reinventing their immigration laws worldwide to safeguard the interest of their land. There is a lot of slander being propagated that only Catholics are making a noise and are against these developments. Being a non-Catholic, I am also opposing the unfavourable housing mega developments along with other affected people who also belong to my religion of Hinduism. Therefore can anyone say that I'm a Catholic just because majority of the people in my group fighting this injustice have their roots linked to Christianity? Not at all. However everyone will do agree that we are ethnic Goans opposing the wrong actions and demonstrating with democratic and peaceful means. And when we say Goans we remain as true Goans fighting the divisive and corrupt regimes irrespective of our religion or status in society. And so politicians indulge in slander and malicious campaigns to divide and rule Goans. They use such tools for their survival and to accumulate vast wealth in seeking commissions from controversial projects. Can each of the elected MLAs and panchayat members make their stand clear in public about their support for the various housing projects? Can they prove their clean image and do they have the integrity and values to distinguish themselves publicly whether they are with the Goan people or are against them? Now that I am also opposing the unfavourable housing mega developments, I am not counting myself as a Hindu but as a patriotic Goan seeking a better future for Goa and its ethnic Goans. And when we say Goans we remain as true Goans fighting the divisive and corrupt regimes irrespective of our religion or status in society. Any government that supports, protects or harbours these monsorities is complicit in the destruction of Goans and their identity. We need to send a clear signal this time to the 40 cheats and thieves that we will not blink in the face of danger, and will not tire when it comes to upholding the interests of Goans. They ought to be shown the door in the coming elections and new faces with integrity, professionalism and accountability should need to be given a chance to Save Goa. We cannot accept ourselves being stooges for the rest of our life nor should we remain second class citizens since we are educated and know what is in best interest of us and Goa. We need to choose our destiny and it is our choice to choose a better welfare and a better future than allowing corrupt elected representatives to dictate our destiny and jeopardise our well being by enforcing unfavourable mega housing projects. And in these trying times, the most solemn duty of any true Goan is to protect Goa and its identity. The action we take and the decisions we make in this decade will have consequences far into this century. If Goans shows weakness and uncertainty or division now, Goa will drift toward tragedy. The fight has started and hence we Goans need to move forward. Just as a army of soldiers marches in the forward direction for a victory never to turn back and we having taken the first initial steps to weed out high level corruption, our fight also should be in the forward direction without being demoralised at any point of time. No one goes to a battle field if victory is not certain and no one will come forward to fight where they cannot win. The fact that we see so many people coming forward from different parts of Goa and united in fighting the unfavorable housing projects shows that victory is certain against the corrupt and tainted and as usual in the end truth will always prevail. All that is needed unity and our true leadership lies in bringing people together and using all the democratic means to see justice triumph. Our motivation and inspiration should be our legal justice system and just to name a few are the best examples of bail being denied to high profile mice who were evading the law enforcing agencies and that some determined activists have got some victory in the courts, in their fight against the destructive Monstrocities and high court directions to stop issuing construction licenses to multi-dwelling units in the beautiful Colva Village. The time has come to put an end to all wrong doings and say to our selves Enough is Enough. Viva Goa.
Yours Truly Nitin KamatVia Email.--

Goa – Answer Within

We blame politicians who are looting/destroying Goa, its land, environment & Identity. But with all due respect, let’s first look within to see the major causes of the same. (1) Who has voted for corrupt MLA's (2) Don't we ourselves support corruption & unethical democratic methods; I appreciate that sometimes we are forced to, but surely this can be avoided in many cases (3) How many ask illegal favors from Corrupt MLA's and then become their slaves for life; what we do for selfish reasons will ultimately destroy ALL of us. Also, what we do illegally will come back to haunts us, in some form or the other (4) How many of us Glorify various Corrupt Politicians at various events in Goa/Overseas for obvious reasons; knowing that they are the biggest destructors of Goa & our Identity; even if do invite them, how many do let these politicians know, of the our concerns on Goa (5) Taking the Catholic perspective (it is the same for other religions), we pray, fast, try to portray ourselves as good Catholics, try to teach our children right from wrong etc and then in hypocrisy, our actual thinking/actions does the opposite and we set bad examples; aren’t we supposed to show by example? Granted many Goans are handicapped by illegalities in the past and Corrupt Politicians use these, as points to intimidate/checkmate genuine concerns for Goa; point is that tomorrow can be a New Beginning and we can change; first ourselves and then everything else will follow. We could have made mistakes in the past but we can always stop/avoid this going forward and help Goa/Goans go for the better!! The Answer is obvious and the choice/decision is finally with each one of us!!

Arwin Mesquita (Abu Dhabi, UAE)