While jobs are hard to come by, the proclivity shown by job aspirants for a government service is further complicating matters
PACHU MENON
Goa is passing through a terrible phase these days and it has nothing to do with the vagaries of weather which have thrown life out of gear in the State. Suffice to say that the overall situation is as depressing as the overcast skies that portend the moroseness that has pervaded the land of sun and sand in recent times.
It is as if a pall of gloom has settled over the whole state.
While the fitting of High-Security Registration Number Plates (HSRP) on vehicles which has snowballed into a scam of sorts has invited huge public resentment, grounded vessel MV Nu Shi Nalini and the ‘naphtha’ matter, embroiled in one controversy after another, continues to raise a terrible stink.
As much as the potholed roads and the intermittent breakdown in utility services, Goans of late have also had to put up with the idiosyncrasies of the political class which have as usual compounded their woes.
Lending their weight to activism and protests, leaders who don’t find favour with the present ruling have made lives all the more complicated for the locals.
The demonstration against the Central government’s action of granting Environment Clearance to Karnataka for the Kalasa-Bhandura project on Mhadei River on the 1st of this month which resulted in a massive traffic jam on both sides of the Atal Setu, for instance!
If the fracas at Porvorim is any indication of the manner in which our ‘over-zealous’ leaders would be raising contentious issues in future, the state’s busy thoroughfares and the National Highway would automatically feature as apt venues for protests considering the hardships the citizens would be put to.
Presumably, public inconvenience comes in handy as the most convenient ‘bargaining chip’ for the current corps of protestors.
It is sadly a story of one river, two names and a 17-year-long dispute which has strained relation between the two states. A bone of contention between Goa and Karnataka, the Mhadei River which is one of the country’s smallest rivers has time and again come to haunt the governments in the two states as an issue that defies resolution.
However, as a state, there will be a number of issues which are very close to the hearts of the locals. But many of these very evidently call for a comprehensive political will and judicial intervention to be amicably resolved. Even then, unsustained campaigns by political leaders cause such matters to be pushed to the back burner.
Not that there has been a dearth of activists taking up the cause, but amazingly it is only when the protests receive a political ‘catalysis’ that there are favourable reactions.
In any case, an all-party delegation led by Goa Chief Minister met Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar and put forth concerns pertaining to Mhadei issue who in turn has assured to protect the interest of the state and people of Goa.
While there is an immediate need to fix their sights on other equally compelling matters, spearheading agitations which further their cause appears to be new stratagem adopted by hibernating political leaders to remain in news.
Shouting from the rooftops, the matter of Goan ethos and culture has been consistently hyped about by the political class to reaffirm their parochial interests on any subject concerning the state.
One, however, fails to understand how the Goem, Goemkar and Goemkarponn concept has served the quintessential Goan. Other than being a political tagline how has it helped in the inclusive development of Goa.
As it is, all the state’s political endeavours are directed towards achieving matters of national interest while regional concerns hardly feature in the government’s list of priorities. Where does that leave the typical Goemkar I wonder?
Prices of essential commodities are skyrocketing. After the ‘fish-scare’, it is now the turn of vegetables. With a government that has stopped well short of asking the locals to eat cakes if there is no bread, Goans shouldn’t be expecting any respite from the drudgery of the prevailing situation – at least not for some more time.
Meanwhile, the nation’s much-debated economy does not come as an encouragement either. Irrefutably it is slumping.
Although the high unemployment rate in the state is alarming, it must be said that there have not been much efforts to stem the rot, so to speak. While jobs are hard to come by, the proclivity shown by job aspirants for a government service has further complicated matters.
‘On contract’ employment has suddenly found favour with various managements and is no more restricted to the unorganized sector. But when an honourable a profession as teaching is in the throes of this ‘morphosis’, one can well realize the extent to which unethical practices are eroding perfectly healthy foundations.
In the meanwhile, the locals are blaming the unchecked influx of migrants for the plight of their unemployed youth. But faced with a queer situation where the jobless youngsters continue to shun employment in the private sector, various companies which have set shop in the state continue to depend on migrant workers for their operations.
Not that everything in the garden is rosy for Goa. The industrial scenario in the state in this regard ‘merits’ a special mention.
The closure of all its plants by ZACL is a precursor of the worsening unemployment scenario in the state. The plant situated at Zuarinagar stares at a bleak future with a delay in the release of subsidy by the Centre and a sluggish farm sector compelling it to shut down the manufacturing operations.
But as with all other big industries, ZACL too has a number of satellite industries around it which depend on the fertilizer company for business.
The sprawling Zuarinagar township further lends credence to the belief that any problems at the company will affect the livelihood of lakhs of people.
God forbid, but if major industries like ZACL are to bid goodbye to Goa, it will take some serious efforts by the government to pull the state out of the woods.
With changing times, Goa too has changed. But to what extent?
