NT NETWORK
Old Goa
Residents of Old Goa under the banner of Goa Heritage Action Group staged a silent candlelight vigil at the Gandhi Circle and sought a written assurance form the government over exclusion of Se Old Goa village from the Greater Panaji Planning and Development Authority (GPPDA).
Addressing media persons, social activist Prajal Sakhardande along with social worker Glen Cabral, Heta Pandit, panch member, Vishal Volvoikar, Samil Volvoikar, architect Fernando Velho, former Old Goa village panchayat sarpanch and present panch member Nilkhant Bhomkar and others rejected the verbal assurances of the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and demanded written assurances from the government “as they do not have faith in verbal assurances”. They also demanded a notification in government gazette and a master plan for the Old Goa to save it unique identity. They also urged the government to shift the garbage treatment plant from Bainguinnim.
“All the seven world UNESCO heritage churches like Basilica of Bom Jesus, Se Cathedral, Rosary church, St Cajetan Church, St Francis of Asisi church etc would lose their importance if constructions are allowed,”
they added.
They also alleged that now massive private constructions are underway and presently only 9m height is permitted but once the area is included in GPPDA it will have 30m high skyscrapers, adding, “now residents are suffering from water scarcity and one can imagine what would be the plight of the residents
in future.”
“Walls of Basilica of Bom Jesus are completely wet since the water from the Kadamba plateau percolates down to Old Goa and finds its way at the heritage site and this was noticed till December,” they observed.
“We do not want road running through the priceless heritage monuments and Old Goa is on global heritage map and we need to protect it for posterity at all costs,’’ they
pointed out.
“There is also need of 2-3 km of buffer zones around the monuments of global heritage and no skyscrapers should be allowed in its vicinity,’’
they stated.
