There is a relentless rush for development in Goa, as is starkly discernible in the hum of machinery for road-digging works which is the new soundtrack in several locations. In the last few years, the construction of wide roads and bridges has shown our drive for progress.
While the roads have become wider giving us wings to fly in our cars, we have not taken into account all that we have lost. It is, but natural, that when a road is widened, a resort or a housing complex is built, trees are lost and habitats are destroyed.
While the sounds of machinery are still audible, we have not felt it right to do an audit of what we have lost and are losing and what will be the long-term effect of this loss. Yet, we never fail to project Goa as a green oasis despite losing our greenery.
The picture we are painting is green, but what lies beneath is a dangerous truth that can be written in red, and one that has been conveniently ignored. At any and all costs, our comfort comes first, so what if a small hill is cut and some trees are felled?
The picture we are painting is green, but what lies beneath is a dangerous truth that can be written in red, and one that has been conveniently ignored.
The question that arises is: Are we doing enough to compensate for our loss? There is no simple answer to this question. It is true that we cannot replace an entire forest by planting some trees. Once a natural resource is gone, it is gone forever.
However, Goa and Goans still have hope and the hope will lie in their ingenuity to see their future through the right prism. They will have to innovate and invent ways to work around nature and not become its adversity.
We cannot justify progress before nature as it has its own laws and these laws are to be respected by humans. It can’t be the other way around. We are at nature’s mercy and it is not at ours. So, let us not in our foolishness try to control and conquer something bigger than us.
Urbanisation and progress per se are inevitable in this changing world, but the danger in Goa is evident in the large commercial projects proposed in rural areas where villagers are vehemently opposing them. But money often speaks louder than reason, and many of the projects get the go-ahead for satiating human greed.
Urbanisation and progress per se are inevitable in this changing world, but the danger in Goa is evident in the large commercial projects proposed in rural areas where villagers are vehemently opposing them.
If the justification for growth is progress and jobs, then let us remember that those who promise you these jobs are the ones for whom environment or nature is all about market value and nothing else.
For all you know, the models of development that we see around Goa are about unchecked urbanisation, without giving a thought to what we could be losing in the long run. The real consequences of our actions will be known sooner than expected.
When profits are involved, blind ambitions and pitfalls don't matter. In Goa, most want their cups to be full, not knowing how fast our resources are drying up. This will lead us to the brink and even the wealth accumulated will not be able to bail us out of despair.
All that we care about is our selfish welfare when everything around us is just falling apart. This is the truth and it is bitter and no one wants to swallow this pill. Truth hurts not because it is truth; it is because we are blind and are running away from it.
Truth hurts not because it is truth; it is because we are blind and are running away from it.
Goa's future lies in our hands, but right now our grip is not on our destiny because profits have overtaken sustainability.
The answer lies not in piece-meal policies that lie about environmental protection, it lies in the hands of Goans who are willing to take Goa's destiny into their hands and steer it wisely.