As many of you will probably know there has been an online petition against open cast mining in Goa, and the unnecessary harassment meted out to Seby Rodrigues, whose only crime has been to consistently oppose our corrupt, short-sighted, greedy mining industry in Goa.
While many tell me that an online petition collecting signatures is of no use given the greed of those at the helm in Goa, I feel more important than the quantum of signatures on this petition are the strong comments affixed to them.
As of now, the petition has garnered over a thousand signatures, averaging about ten a day and sometimes more. We will of course get far more, because, as you will note from the comments of some of the signatories below, Goans have realized just what mining will do to Goa and the word is spreading courtesy the net. The mining lobby in Goa can own, control and manipulate the media, they can attempt to buy the intellectuals and artistic elite in Goa with temporary sops, but they can't, not even with all their ill-begotten wealth, stop the flow of information from person to person and peoples to peoples.
Below are appended some of the comments. I can only hope that these will inspire those who read them and compel them to let this petition fly in cyberspace. The link to the petition and my mailer follow the comments:
Terence Jorge: The miners and, as it appears, a number of our own politicians don’t give a damn about scenic beauty, availability of potable water or human or animal life for that matter. BUT EVERY TRUE GOAN DOES! They will stop at nothing to make a BIG quick buck....and we Goans will stop at nothing to preserve OUR EXISTENCE and OUR IDENTITY...This is an IMMINENT, IMMEDIATE & REAL threat to our existence in our own homes....
Laura Fernandes: Please save our homeland environment for the future innocent generations who currently have no voice!!! Mark Quintal: "Nature had enough for everybody's need but not for everybody's greed." - Mahatma Gandhi
P. Raikar: Shame Mr. Digamber and Mr. Joaquim Alemao. You are sucking the blood of humble people of Goa to make your living. You forgot that you are the one who comes begging for votes at the election time at our doors and now elections are coming near. It is for us the people of Goa to understand that our mother Goa is being raped openly and we are watching the show. Shame on us. Throw dung on this people. Please choose President's Rule.
Cindy Figueira: I feel extremely sad about this! Destroying the environment for financial gain is criminal. Any environmental and social impact assessments carried out prior to mining activities would have clearly indicated that this mining operation would be detrimental to the environment and would more than likely cause severe nuisance and loss in earnings to its' neighbours (which it seems to have done!), unless managed properly (which clearly it hasn't been!). It should be clear to anyone with a minuscule amount of environmental morality and common sense that this mining operation should be legally shut down immediately before it permanently destroys the environment. Additionally the owners of the mine should legally be forced to make good the environmental damage caused. This type of activity really gives Goans a bad name!
Camilla D'Souza: I have seen the devastation caused by the mining groups, an entire hill in the Quepem area has disappeared in less than a year, wake up!
Shifali Goyal: Act before you realize that Goa has become a chapter in your kid's history book rather a heavenly place to go and enjoy.
F.Almeida: Mr. CM - Digamber Kamat, you seem to be wanting to hold on the CM's chair and agree to all the mine owners tell you without any concern to the environment and nature. You along with your cabinet ministers have destroyed Goa just to hold on to your "KODEL". How can you love and pray to God, when you are destroying the nature created by God. You are a hypocrite.
Jason Keith Fernandes: Your Government's regional plan has been marked by absolutely no debate on crucial issues such as mining and agriculture. Clearly your regional plan is merely an attempt at private appropriation of profits from public resources! From mega housing projects, to sports cities, to supporting destructive mining. What is your Government's stand on all of this? Sheer silence!
Alex Menezes: We live for a short time on this earth but generations to come have also to live. So save the earth.
Arjun Rebelo: It is time mining companies take up environmental rehabilitation. With all the profits they are making they are not even spending 5% on repairing the damage.
Adrian Fernandes: I am Aged 9. The Goa environment is being destroyed everyday, What will I share with my fellow Goan community in future?
Kumar Kalanand Mani: Dear Digambarbab, Respecting mother is prime duty of every child. You being son of mother earth, ban mining forever immediately. Your post is not permanent, but mother earth is permanent source for survival of your children and of the entire Goan community.
A.Mascarenhas: Enough is enough. The entire world is finally coming together to solve the problems of environmental exploitation. The time has come for the Indian and Goan government to do the same.
Stepheny Dias: The State of Goa is God’s gift to us, so its our duty to preserve this paradise for our future generations. Save Goa today, please. Mr. Chief Minister use your office discreetly.
Dr. Cornel DaCosta: Open mining can be catastrophic to the natural environment and Goa is too small and beautiful to be destroyed by open mining. Additionally, I am not persuaded that revenues from mining go to local people but to the mine owners who largely pocket the revenues unaccountably.
Philip Neri de Souza: Mr. C M, The Portugese, British and French came for trade and ended up being the owners of the land. Local rulers at the time supported the foreign powers in their mission to “grab our land”, receiving personal gifts, positions and favours in return. STRANGE, but TRUE, in the year 1662 part of it (Bombay) was given as dowry to Charles II, king of England, when he married the Princess of Portugal. (Whose land? To whom?) Isn’t it coincidental that present day rulers in Goa together with pliable officers, (some own heavy machinery that are used at mine sites) too are colluding with private entities (some were Portuguese agents and received mining concessions as rewards) to sell and rape Goa, in the name of Mining, SEZ, Real estate, etc. It isn’t strange Seby has been sued in a Court in West Bengal. The foreigners too harassed Indians with cases in London and Lisbon. Although your son-in-law too has stakes in the mining business, we demand that you put “PEOPLE FIRST”, and ACT NOW. Stop this harassment. Will you?
Wendell Rodricks: Mining would not have become the issue it has become if it were not for greed of few individuals, a Government hand in glove with illegal mining and a total apathy for Goans living near mining areas whose voice has constantly been unheard in the face of money and power.
Gwen de Souza: A special plea to the Timblo Family to protect, nurture and respect this God given beautiful land. We all have a responsibility to our future generations. Once it is destroyed it can never be restored, please put economic greed aside for the good of all people. The Govt. of Goa has a moral responsibility to protect exploitation and need to legislate so that mining does not go ahead.
Aakash Bagchi: It is high time we pay heed to what Mother Nature is saying to us for long. Such activities should be controlled by the government instead of it backing such activities. Time for us, the common men, to rise and do our duty towards mankind and our Earth, our only home. I back Seby wholeheartedly and am not afraid of any power brokers as I still have faith in the judicial system of the country Juanita Poletto: It is disappointing to see the government of the people not only letting your mother land down, but the people who are trying to protect it. Goa, its environment and its people are important. The world is watching to see how you treat those who are truly trying to do the best for their community.
Cleto Fernandes: Why this Timblo idiot, or should i say over-smart, don’t live in the area where he is doing mining? Because he wants to drink bottled water while the locals have to drink contaminated water and breath dusty mining air. Shame on you Timblos, Sirdoncar chase this .... out of your village.
Deepika Sarma: Residents and citizens ought to have a say in decisions directly relating to problems concerning them, irrespective of the power and size of private companies on the prowl for profit. The damage to people and the environment in this case is irreparable and outrageous. In the interests of the environment and sustainable development, this has to stop immediately. The government ought to look into and regulate the actions of large companies when it comes to matters of such local as well as national importance.
Mathewes Fernandes: Our Government is managed by mining Companies, we need to come out on Road with our family to fight this.
Larson Souza: I guess our approach (of tolerance and non-violence) is killing us, and making us puppets on our own soil. I think its high time we change our views and resort to other means (NOT TO EXCLUDE ANY) to overcome this menace. I think many of you should or rather may agree with me…
Prerna Bindra: I have personally been at the receiving end of Timblo strong-arm tactics. And been a witness to the horrifying destruction and devastation the mines are causing to Goa. It is shameful that the beautiful--and ecologically fragile state of Goa, is being sold for a song--to be raped mindlessly by mines, without any cause for ecological or social concerns.
Dr Anesimo Fernandes: Only those who have lived around the mining areas will know about disastrous effect on Environment and health due to the mining activities. These mining barons have made a fortune from these natural resources which belong to the People of Goa. Now, some of them have the audacity to harass those who are fighting these atrocities. It is time these mining barons are held accountable and made to pay.
Bosco de Sousa Eremita: All the greedy mine owners ought to go to Mars. There's lot of excess ore unattended. Will they take up the challenge rather than devastate our means of livelihood and seek to silence even those who voice the opinion of the silent majority?
Vinay Natekar: Mine owners with connivance with the ruling dispensation are hell bent to destroy the environment of Goa. The Government should not renew their licences for further mining activities unless they adhere to the rules of environment protection. The villagers living in the mining vicinity are prone to inhale and consume the toxic mineral residual dust everyday. We have right to live in a clean healthy environment.
Freddy Agnelo Fernandes: I would like to inform you, that, you should realize the genuine concerns of Goans & ACT immediately & decisively to stop the RAPE of GOA through mining and stop the harassment meted to Seby Rodrigues and rest of the activists by your “Miner Friends and well wishers” before the unstable volatility of the situation erupts in to mega volcanic eruption, in our beloved Goa, which may consume you, me and every one. Never ever forget that you and your comrades in arms are the chosen representative of the people of Goa, elected to do the will of the People of Goa, by the People of Goa. You are strongly advised not to take advantage of your position and power given to you by the People of Goa and use it against the very own people that elected you. I plead, please do not ever underestimate the power and will of the people of Goa. I once again request you to intervene and force Timblo to withdraw the case against Seby, here is a chance for you and your comrades to redeem yourselves, I sincerely hope you’ll take it.
Gizelle Noronha: Under the pretext of development and progress, all a certain few in the state have been doing, is satisfying their own greed. The very same people have been indiscriminately testing the patience of the common man in Goa, but, not for long. I hope the concerned parties realise that their days are numbered.
Desmond Macedo: Goa's greenery and waterways are tourism mines in themselves. What madness to destroy them.
Umesh Shrikhande: Sir. Please realise that by setting an example of protecting the environment in Goa, you will have taught an important lesson to our country as well. Please, please do everything in your might to protect, conserve and in fact grow the green cover of Goa.
Shilpa Uttam: Goa is beautiful and India benefits from it tremendously due to the Tourism it attracts. We should become conscious and refrain from doing harm to our own country.
Avani Shah: Please make the environmental laws stricter otherwise Global Warming effects are not too far.
Jaki Bostiao: The mining and builders mafia has destroyed the very fabric of Goan environment
Zenade Peu: We should fight tooth and nail to protect the environment from greedy politicians who are the real murderers occupying chairs to fill their pockets at the cost of human lives.
Dr. Meenal Mamdani: Open cast mining has destroyed the environment in other areas where it has been used. Please don't make the same mistake in Goa.
Lynette Viegas: If we allow the destruction of the environment to continue, we will destroy Goa forever.
Lynette Gomes: Please stop this destruction of the environment. Please let Goa remain green for our children & their children.
Praxedes Gomes: I remember the green Goa of my childhood. Please do something the save the environment from total destruction at the hands of GREEDY MEN.
Michael Gonsalves: Dear Chief Minister, If you care for Goa initiate action on war footing to stop wanton open-cast mining in golden Goa that is destroying countryside, the forest cover, and polluting valuable fresh water resources. It is time to restore Goa to its pristine glory. Show you care and win the Goan hearts.
Vidya Kane: Move from 'Mine' to ours & Fight for Forest Covers. Its good for us and development can certainly happen without irresponsible mining.
Indira Vijaysimha: surely a green forest cover is worth more than the minerals buried under it…
Ramnath Prabhudessai: If i was having the power i could have stopped mining and all facilities would have given to Agriculture sector.
Mini: Stop colluding with the Timblo mine lobby. Victimisation and muzzling through the defamation suit in Calcutta is unacceptable.
Avelino D'Souza: The rich and the powerful are making a mockery of the judicial system.
Sonia Filinto: One of the main problems that plagues our country is unashamed greed. Not satisfied with what we can achieve/obtain through fair means, blatant abuse of power for personal gains overrides all. And that's exactly what's happening here.
Joe Lobo: if we make Goa unliveable for common people in villages with the pollution to enrich a small elite we shall destroy the beauty of Goa and hurt the "aam admi".
Charmaine de Souza: Many people in Bicholim are suffering from Terminal illnesses due to the mining in that area.
Sreesha Shetty: Save Goa, don't barbarize it!
George Pinto: Goa is being destroyed by the mining and building lobbies with the help of Goan politicians.
Godfrey Pereira: Stop the mining. Think about Goa, for once in your life and what this will do to the place. Get your money from another source. That is the bottom line "MONEY". Once again STOP what you people are doing to Goa. STOP.
Marisa D'Souza: Goa's pristine environments should be preserved for generations to come and generate tourist income instead of being destroyed by mining operations.
Badri Raina: Why not mine in gujarat? No opposition, no hassles, perfect silence of the graveyard; emulate the Tatas, Ambanis etc., and be counted among the greats.
David: Give the future generation a chance to live in natural surrounding than in a garbage dump!!!
Melinda Powell: Wealth accumulated from irresponsible mining is tainted --shame on Fomentos!
Venita Coelho: For shame Timblos! For shame Sujay Gupta - you keep writing about how much you love Goa - we've now seen for ourselves what this purported love is about. For Shame!
Sheela Gowda: I strongly oppose the vandalization of nature and the use of the Judiciary to validate it, to silence people who seek a better world for everyone.
Salil Chaturvedi: I live far from the Western Ghats but I feel they belong to me as well. Tampering with them affects weather patterns and hence my life too. Dear Chief Minister, who will sue the powerful miners for the destruction of my natural heritage?
Renwick Alphonso: What is happening to Goa? Why so much greed amongst the Timblos? Why should the rich get richer at the common man's expense? Lets Keep Goa green and beautiful...
J Mario Fernandes: Natural resources should be used judiciously for the betterment of the people, NOT to manipulate them in ways reminiscent of feudalism
Isabella Fernandes: Please leave Goa and its beauty alone. We don't want changes in Goa which destroys the natural beauty of Goa and puts people's life and health at risk.
James Pochury: I stand by Seby and hail his courage of conviction, and dare suing me as well. I am anguished at the sheer lack of humane sense of living. Why is it that a few have to keep standing up for the good of everyone and while even fewer others continue to destroy everything on their way?!
Jerry Fernandes: Goa is what Goa is with its environment. Its destruction can make Goa what it should not be.
Gurunath Diwadkar: "we abuse earth because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see the earth as community to which we belong, we begin to use it with love and respect" Aldo Leopold.
Colleen Bowen: I love Goa and a large company like Formento bullying the little man and destroying the lives of many small villagers and Mr. Seby for the mighty RUPEE especially now when the world should be saving the environment is a DISGRACE and the world should know about this. Come on Chief Minister get off your backside and do something for the little men you represent, if you are the CHIEF show your true colours and stop the nonsense.
Venantius J Pinto: Goans have to have the courage to recognize betrayal, absolute and abject rejection of themselves by those who seek to ceaselessly dismember the collective Goan mind in its anguish, while yet stripping it of its basic depth of being and communion.
Poonam Mascarenhas: If we continue to alienate ourselves from the Planet, we (humans) will perish! It is high time we as species evolved from ravagers to caretakers! Money power games are so very out dated! Miners, lawyers, law-makers- wake up and catch-up!!!!
Sucheta Potnis: A suit filed in Calcutta is a clear indication of harassment on top of the ludicrous amount of 500 crore. First of all, has Fomento really `lost' 500 crore due to the blog? Secondly, if they feel the need to sue Seby, is there something wrong with Goa's courts?? Shame on Sujay who was such a champion of Goa not so long ago! How come this U turn?
William Luis: A counter case for double the amount will teach these rich to bring the poor victimised to their level and capable of sustaining at their own level. God bless those who work for the poor and persecuted. The fight for denouncing all forms of evil must never end. It is just a matter of time for truth to surface.
Olinda Fernandes: Why do you choose to destroy our haven? Goa, according to the Puranas, is one of the most sacred spaces on this Planet. Please, please try and understand the power you have - you have the POWER to ensure that GOA retains its biodiversity. YOU have the power to be become a CUSTODIAN/GUARDIAN. Please take the time to contemplate what you (the government, and individuals concerned) can do to conserve this very, very precious piece of earth. You are blessed too. Become custodians, not destroyers.
John Roso Monteiro: This man needs to be heard, read & helped. Prosecuting him is a diversion to take up his time & money to stop him from speaking out against the open-cast mining, legal or illegal this has to be investigated. Money is power to those who will diminish Goa & its people.
Lisa Pires: Goa is being destroyed by corrupt politicians who are concerned only about filling their own pockets.
Vikrant Dessai: I have seen the deterioration first hand while working in mining area at Codlim.
Jamshed Madon: How dare a handful of men hold an entire state to ransom by systematically chipping away at what is largely its natural resources. How will they justify their stand to their own children and descendants once we have no more water to drink and clean air to breathe? Stop the digging today.
Aileen Klarmann: The destruction of nature must stop immediately! How can such a fruitful country like India allow this kind of behaviour? Money can never replace the splendour and grace of nature. This entire act is part of mankind's arrogance and if it doesn't stop, the consequences will be grave. Money will NEVER replace a beautiful tree or flower! It wasn't intentional, but in retrospect, it seems nice to end that small selection of comments with the line that money, will NEVER ever never replace a beautiful tree or flower...
Will the Timblos and Dempos and Salgaoncars of this world ever understand that? I don't think so. Financial greed lurking in the guise of 'development' has its own compulsions. Below is the mailer, I have been sending out. The Timblos, wrongly advised by Sujay Gupta, put the case against Seby to suppress the flow of information from his blog. The mailer provides links to Seby's anti-mining blog, the GBA website, Rajan Parrikar's photodocumentary and Kurush Canteenwalla's recent documentary.
What are the Timblos going to do now? Sue all of them too? Below the mailer.
Please help to pass it around. I have sent out 2,254 personal mails and have exhausted my list. ________ If you have already signed this petition against open-cast mining and the high-handed and destructive ways of the mining companies in Goa, thank you; if you haven't please help us pass it around and urge people to sign up!
The western ghats are one of the ten biological hotspots that can do their bit against global warming, but the mining companies in Goa don't seem to know that, We have just managed to get some 1,050 signatures, when, in actual fact, to make this campaign truly successful WE NEED 500,000!
Below is the mailer that has been sent out. Some of the links will undoubtedly shock you. Please extend support by putting this out to whatever networks you have...especially young people for whose future environment we are fighting for. Later we intend making this petition public by sending the link and its password to persons in the media sympathetic to our cause. PLEASE HELP US. http://www.PetitionOnline.com/sue4000/petition.html
Please open the above and sign petition against mining in Goa WHILE ALSO ADDING A STRONG COMMENT.
Please also pass this around to your friends in Goa and elsewhere. If we get the signatures we want, we are sure the Chief Minister and the goons in the mining industry will sit up and take note! To know more about just what mining is doing in Goa please also visit http://mandgoa.blogspot.com/
You could also visit http://www.savegoa.com/
One more link that will shock you is:
http://www.parrikar.com/blog/therapeofgoa/therapeofgoa.html
You may also like watching the film on mining in Goa made late last year by Kurush Canteenwalla at
http://infochangeindia.org/Infochange-documentary.html
Thanks and kind regards,
Hartman de Souza
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