Sadly, all of us are forced victims of environmental pollution battering and festering in the urban as well as rural pockets of Goa in the garb of development
DR. JOE D’SOUZA
On May 22 each year, the world celebrates “World Biodiversity Day”. In Goa too, the Goa State Biodiversity Board organises a day of celebration which generally ends up with a series of lectures and discussions. The main purpose of constituting the biodiversity board is to systematically undertake the process of enumerating and cataloging the various forms of plant flora and identifying animals endemic to the region. We know Goa being a subtropical paradise of genetic biodiversity, and therefore we need to record, preserve, harness and sustainably benefit from the nature’s bounties bestowed upon us. Let us discuss this further on with examples.
Goa is uniquely blessed with mangoes, cashews, berries, water melons, bananas, pineapples and a wide variety of local vegetables, cereals and beans. Amongst the varieties of mangoes or cashew apples, Goa’s Mancurad mangoes can be considered among the best in the world. The fruit is very rich in a variety of vitamins, flavonoids, sugars, and all in all, it is a nutrient and mineral rich fruit, which not only boosts up our levels of energy, revitalizes our physiological system and rejuvenates our immune system. But sadly and surely many of us Goans are weeded off from harnessing the immense nutrient value of our Mancurad due to the devastating menace of type 2 diabetes growing in our society for which we Goans are only to be blamed, for our sins of omission and commission.
Look at our gene pool. Panjimites and those residing in our neighbouring Taleigao, Caranzalem, Merces and St Cruz that in the name of “development and modernity” we reclaimed orchards, fields and farms, but criminally allowed sewage outlets, garbage dumps to adversely contaminate our “biological biodiversity”.
Though I still savour and relish the farm produce from Taleigao farms, I have ignored the advice of my well-meaning friends that our vegetables, fruits from these neighbouring villages are biomagnified with pollutants. My appeal to those, who will assume power once the results are out tomorrow is to pledge their victory by promising and working for a secure, safe and sustainable biodiversity for our country. Healthy flora and fauna, free of heavy metal toxicity, pesticides, sewage releases into our farms, orchards. This would enable Panjimites, Goans or Indians at large to consume nutritionally-rich and healthy food.
Sadly, we are forced victims of environmental pollution battering and festering in the urban as well as rural pockets of Goa in the garb of development.
Nobody questions whose development and at whose costs? We must all realize that Goans in general and Panjimites in particular are growing in numbers as victims of cancers, respiratory ailments, enteric anomalies, kidney infections; with diabetes, heart attacks and mental retardation rising steeply.
Is it not extremely silly of us that “Mother Earth” has made Goa an earthly paradise but with our wayward life styles we are abusing nature. Aren’t we primarily an idiotic society?
The political class as a whole make money by poisoning our biodiversity and our ecosystem. During elections, peanuts are thrown to sway and distract the voters. Gala events for Sindhis, Gujaratis, Punjabis, Muslims etc. were carried out exclusively community-wise. Most of those, with whom the politicians and candidates interacted were not poor voters but powerful business community from Panjim, who would join hands with them in the further decay and degradation of Panjim.
Today, issues like garbage, potable drinking water, etcneeds to be addressed on priority. Sadly these issues don’t find priority for the business class who create these problems.
We have to live in hope and have faith too. We suffered for 25 years of Parrikar’s legacy of U turns. Can we aspire for a pleasant change for the remaining 3 years for Panjim specifically?
In the last one month, I have on a consistent basis highlighted the grave issue of the slow dying of the Mandovi River and the steep rise in morbidity and mortality of the marine biodiversity. As of today, there are atleast 50 migrant labourers urinating, defecating and discharging toxic chemicals into River Mandovi. The hydrogen sulfide gas as well as metal sulfides are not only accelerating corrosion of the jetty piers but entering the food chain at an alarming rate. Let alone that GSPCB, GCZMA, Health Service are in deep slumber, the people of Panjim too are turning a Nelson’s eye to the problem only to wake up when jaundice, hepatitis, enteric epidemic strikes.
We all scream and yell when we are supplied with formalin-laced fish, yet we sheepishly consume imported vegetables brightened with pigments. We are used to drinking PWD water rich in sewage since the vacuum generated during valve operations of our pipelines push sewage into our pipelines when water supply is shut down for over 22 hours each day. Especially during the monsoons, enteric diseases are rampant. Even the ground water is contaminated with sewage and algal blooms which are toxic. In the hinterlands, the water table has receded below the branded iron aquifers. The biodiversity in our Western Ghats is also receding. Our corals are long gone and casinos have destroyed our phytoplankton, zoo plankton, and estuarine food chain.
Now, we hope to see if four new MLAs for Goa and 543 new MPs for our country would offer relief for us Goans, and for our countrymen and above all be a blessing for our rich biodiversity which we need to preserve if we want for ourselves a healthy life and wholesome livelihoods.
