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  Good? Bad? Ugly?


Good? Bad? Ugly?

GOA:Sweet Land of Mine

by Miguel Braganza
A brief note on the book "GOA: Sweet land of MINE." by Dr.Claude Alvares and Reboni Saha with contributions from many. The vividly illustrated and captioned book is available at the Other India Bookshop at Mapusa for just Rs.250/-

The book entitled simply "GOA:Sweet Land of Mine" compiled by Dr.Claude Alvares and Reboni Saha with inputs from Rajendra Kerkar [Swami Vivekananda Green Brigade],Nirmal Kulkarni[ Green Cross, Wildernest], Sandeep Azrencar [Nisarga Nature Club], Amrut Singh [Animal Resque Squad], Abhijit Prabhudesai [Goa Wildlife Group], Rahul Alvares, Ramesh Gauns [CICH, anti-mining activist] is creating waves in Goa.

The opening page has a telling comment by Joseph Wood Krutch:
WHEN WE DESTROY SOMETHING MAN-MADE AND REPLACEABLE, WE ARE CALLED VANDALS. WHEN WE DESTROY SOMETHING IRREPLACEABLE AND MADE BY GOD, WE ARE CALLED DEVELOPERS."

If Shelley said "A THING OF BEAUTY IS A JOY FOREVER", his views are not shared by those who have mining concessions in Goa. What the Mine-owners and operators think is written on page 27 "mine, Mine, MINE! Goa's latest story of greed"

The book is fully illustrated ... graphic photographs, facsmile of documents and newsclippings, maps, etc and a telling comparison between the contribution to the State Domestic Product [revenues] and the Geographical Footprint [area used in Goa], by agriculture, tourism, manufacturing industry and mining can be seen on page 85, alongside the now revoked[ but sub-judice in the Supreme Court] Regional Plan 2011 [on page 84], showing the mining proposed even in the Wild life Sanctuary area.

There is a Pull-out map of all the Portuguese [Estado de India Portugesa] colonial period Mining Concessions with their listing on the obverse. These include the mining leases/concessions now activated even in the Advalpal-Pirna area by the Salgaocar Mining Industry Ltd [www.smilindia.com] which makes one think one is in Bicholim or Snaguem mining belt already. It is obviously not an exhaustive list as it stops with applications received by the Ministry of Environment & Forests up to 25 October, 2006. There is lots more to come. Read the book. It does not cost a bomb. Available at Other India Bookshop, Mapusa or visit Goa Foundation for details. The proceeds of this book go to a special fund to deal with this problem of MINEs. It is closer home now than you expect. Soon the tourists will be able to see the mines while travelling by the Konkan Railway between Malpem-Pernem and Tivim-Bardez railway stations .....if everything goes as per plan. The dust is already visible in the morning sky!

Dust thou art and unto dust thou shalt return. Amen.