AIRES RODRIGUES, RIBANDAR
THAT massive landslide at Curti in Ponda taluka has put a building on a precipice comes as no surprise. This colossal environmental degradation that Goa has been witnessing over the years by way of rampant destruction of hills, fragmentation of pristine vegetated verdant landscapes and ruthless chopping of trees by not even sparing from pouring concrete in the low-lying fields is finally showing the impact of criminal interference in Goa’s age-old natural ecosystems. The traditional drainage systems, waterways and outlets for natural flow of rainwater are choked all over with no functional drainage system in place. The Goan communities built over centuries with their time-tested strategies designed and their resilience to secure us from flooding that we ourselves had witnessed in our childhood have now all gone for a toss. The lack of proper planning while cluttering of environmentally incompatible new constructions all over without the much needed infrastructure has landed Goa in a state of chaos. With political blessings the real estate mafia has swiftly enriched itself multifold while leaving the common man to face the brunt of their misdeeds. The farmers of Goa had never suffered so much at any point in the past. Nature is kicking back, as they say. If those in power do not take urgent corrective, well planned and sustainable measures to save the natural ecosystems, the god gifted landscape, the ecosensitive beaches, sand dunes, khazans, wetlands, saltpans, the last remaining hills and farms, the orchards, rivers, estuaries, lakes, ponds, springs, fountains of Goa for protecting our ecology, we will have to face a bigger catastrophic disaster soon. Goa is endowed with abundant resources. But selfishness and foolishness by those in power has brought our state to a stage in history when one day mother nature may crack the whip and Goa already threatened by sea level rise would simply be wiped out from face of this planet. Before that happens let better sense prevail.
