Politicians And Their Empty Promises “Roti, kapda aur makan”, no !!, I am not talking about the bollywood movie, but rather of the slogan that every political party, trumpets before the elections. Promises have been made in the election manifestos, from podiums and stages and during their election rallies. India has been hearing these very elusive and empty promises for the last sixty odd years. Our economics and statistics departments have been over worked planning a formidable India but there are millions who still hunger for a single “roti” a day, there are still millions who do not have “kapda” to cover their scorched and dehydrated naked bodies, yes, there are still millions in India who do not have a “makan”, a roof over their heads to shelter, from rain, wind and heat, so what went wrong with the “roti, kapda aur makan” express from Delhi ?
“Gharibi hatau” was another slogan that had been making the rounds during elections, a cosmetic surgery for the “roti, kapda aur makan”. Has any of the governments actually taken the desired initiatives to alleviate poverty and provide “roti, kapda aur makan” to the beleaguered millions ? In India the gulf between the rich and the poor is becoming wider by the day and our government has fallen flat on it’s face in fulfillment of it’s promises.
Our politicians are aiming for the stars in the sky but fail to realize and accept the abject reality of mired poverty around, people are thirsting for water, hungry for food, and aimlessly wandering in search of shelter. Children and women begging in the streets, others searching for morsels of food in bins, living on the pavements and footpaths, struggling to survive the day and only hoping for a better tomorrow, is this the shining India that our politicians promise ? Now a days, every politician aspires a halo around his head, in search of their hollow and shallow austerity but it is somehow obvious, that the gluttonous and dysfunctional politicians would not readily want their slices of cake to be reduced and they do that regularly with élan.
Six decades of independence, six decades of self rule, poverty has not declined, we have made immense progress in science and technology but failed miserably to alleviate poverty. The dream of the Father of the Nation, “food, shelter and clothing for every citizen of India”, is still a pipe dream.
Our politicians have forgotten their own pathetic past in the wake of their new tryst with destiny in politics. They would rather build statues of themselves, be garlanded with currency notes, weigh themselves with gold or silver, butcher and roast a few fellow humans and divide the nation in the name of religion but not lift a finger to help improve the quality of life of the poor and the downtrodden or the backward class.
Goan politicians too have fallen flat on their faces in fulfillment of their promises. Last month during the budget session our esteemed CM said that more stress would be given to agriculture, but unfortunately their actions are not entirely in consonance with their statements nor in the interests of Goa and Goans. Agriculture in Goa is on the ebb, and it the duty of the government to encourage farming especially organic farming with subsidies and land, but unfortunately our Government is hell bent on destroying agriculture, allowing land conversion of fertile fields to facilitate mega projects, farmers from the mining areas are forces to change their age old profession of farming because the mining dust and it’s rejects have scorched and made their fertile fields barren and the immense dust pollution causing health hazards to the residents of those areas.
Today the farmers from Thivim are crying “forget cricket, give us water to irrigate our fields” is a perfect example that our government is working against the will of the people. People are crying for food, water and shelter but politicians are forcing cake on the people in form of cricket stadium. The huge amount of money for the stadium and the sea link should be used to alleviate the water and electricity problems of Goa. Do we really need a cricket stadium or the sea link, or is it just to inflate their own fortunes through a few scams ?
We the Goan people want uninterrupted water running through their taps, uninterrupted electricity lighting our homes and our roads, a good, feasible and affordable health policy, education policy which is more practical and for all, better roads and safety measures and above all, a better quality of life with good governance, and for this, a long term strategy has to be built within the precincts of development, economic improvement and political involvement of the grassroots of rural Goa. Is this impossible to achieve ?
Freddy Agnelo Fernandes,
Dubai - UAE
April 14, 2010
April 12, 2010
GOA THEN AND LATER. By Eng. Vitorino Pinto.
Eng. VITORINO PINTO, head of the Goa PWD around the time of liberation, and
later Consultant in Environmental Sciences with the Geneva-based World Health
Organization (WHO), reminisces on the process of planning and execution of
development works in Goa, then and later.
=======================
Reading about renovation work of the Panjim Municipal Garden, the good old "Garcia
de Horta" of my times, I could not help but reminisce about how works were planned
and executed in Goa in an earlier era... the '50s and early '60s. I was then with the
Panjim Municipality and later with the PWD. That aspect has not been narrated by
any post-liberation Goan writer. As I happen to be the last surviving participant in that
process, I decided to pen down some words before they are totally obliterated.
Goa was then a colony of Portugal, itself under a highly centralized and totalitarian
regime. Most Goans were oblivious of the sorry political situation. But a quiet and
unruffled existence of four centuries was giving way to a new entrepreneurial spirit.
Goa was moving into a "take-off stage" of growth. This momentum came mainly from
the nascent mining industry. Revenues accrued to the State coffers. Stores were full
of imported merchandise. Health and socio-economic standards of a population (with
no migrants flooding in!) below the half-million mark were improving quickly. Above
all, Goans were able to assert their unique personality, honesty and traditional
courtesy. It was in this climate that I started my professional career as a civil
engineer.
I joined the PWD in 1950. My first task was construction of the Customs House
("Gare Maritima"). I was next in charge of renovating heritage structures in Old Goa.
It was at that time that the exterior plaster of Bom Jesus Basilica was removed.
There was a local furore, and I became an unwitting scapegoat.
Fact was the external walls of the Basilica, due to excessive salinity and humidity
soaking into the plaster, had alarmingly reached the interior layers and was corroding
the laterite stone. A solution had to be found. The ministry in Lisbon deputed Arch.
Baltazar de Castro, a restoration expert. He advised removal of the plaster, to allow
the stone to "breathe" and then to chemically treat the exposed surface. The
controversy took long to die down. But the Basilica still stands. Perhaps, with a better
look.
Early in 1952, I was appointed the Panjim Municipal Engineer. The Mayor was an
influential Navy Commander, who gave this young engineer full liberty of action. The
job was demanding, having to maintain the city clean, garbage removed and
disposed, roads and pavements swept daily, municipal buildings well maintained, the
city's ancient storm drains cleaned before monsoons to prevent flooding etc.
A major responsibility was approval of construction plans, where I often had to use
discretion since there were no Town Plans or related laws. (Today we have laws,
ODPs, the RP, and look at the mess we are in!) Unlike the present, the Municipality
was a strong institution. Working with dedicated staff like Mr. F. Rodrigues, in-charge
of the labour force, I started a program to give the city a fresh and green look, with
parks and gardens laid out wherever possible.
I recall beginning with the small triangular space opposite the Post Office, dedicated
to Gen. (Dr.) Miguel C. Dias; then the one opposite the Panjim courts, with a fountain
that spouted water out of a topless mermaid (which again shocked many locals...);
then the Municipal Garden with a bandstand having a balustrade with a lyre as the
motif; then the park opposite Menezes Braganza Institute; then a small park near
Dempo House, and finally the garden at Campal with a central bandstand built in a
pseudo Greco-Roman style. The music at these bandstands, played usually by a
military band, delighted Panjimites on weekends.
Panjim was being spruced up for the visit of the Portuguese Overseas Minister,
Sarmento Rodrigues. Municipal workers worked like bees. A major job was to open
and resurface the road from the Jetty to Campal, passing in front of the Secretariat,
to be completed within a short time. The Municipal Garden was also completed for
the occasion and so was the imposing "Camara Municipal, Primeiro Senado de
Goa", the Town Hall, a structure in line with the best in Europe. It had a central clock
tower with two large side wings. My office at the Technical Services was in the right
wing. Most unfortunate that this attractive building was demolished around 1955,
because a side balcony poorly constructed a few years before collapsed, killing two
very devoted civic officials.
In October 1953, the municipality was told that a team of government architects from
Lisbon would soon arrive to study the Town and Regional Planning needs of Goa’s
four major urban centres namely Panjim, Margao, Mapusa and Vasco. The Panjim
Municipality and the PWD were tasked to provide all support during their three week
stay. The onus fell on me at the Municipality and on Arch. N. Pissurlencar of the
PWD, who meanwhile kept ready all information, maps, plans etc.
Architects Joao A. Aguiar and Lucinio da Cruz from the "Gabinete de Urbanizacao do
Ministerio do Ultramar" (Urban Planning division of the Overseas Ministry) arrived on
schedule. From the moment they landed till the day they left they worked tirelessly,
often late at night in a large hall-turned-office at the Institute Menezes Braganza.
After visits to the four towns and constant feedback from Pissurlencar and me, the
Draft Town Plans or Outlines were completed, and the duo left.
Some weeks later, to our great surprise, a message came from Lisbon that the
Ministry required the services of both Pissurlencar and myself - to assist the
architects in finalizing the draft Town Plans prepared during their Goa visit. The two
of us soon left for Lisbon to work in the "Gabinete de Urbanizacao", a large office
with a number of engineers, architects, draftsmen etc., and where Pissurlencar
worked for just over a year and I for over three years.
The Town Plans and draft legislation and rules were finalised and carried by
Pissurlencar to Goa. I had to remain behind to work on some other plans and
structural designs, namely: (i) the five-storied Teaching Hospital for Goa; (ii) the Post
and Telegraph Office; (iii) the State Archives office; and (iv) the Goa Academy of
Music. Unfortunate that none of these carefully designed plans ever materialised.
A Town Planning Commission headed by the PWD Director, with Pissurlencar and
me as members was established. Every construction in the four major towns had to
comply with the new Town Plans and cleared by the Commission. These Town Plans
were carefully implemented not only during the Portuguese regime but even after
while I was Director-PWD. Regrettable that after I left Goa in 1963 the Plans were
shelved and new ones prepared with least concern for blending the old and the new,
zoning and open spaces, etc. This badly affected growth of the towns.
As an example, Panjim's earlier Plan had envisaged widening the two arterial roads,
MG Road and 18 June Road. A riverside marina from the Secretariat to Gaspar Dias
and beyond, skirting Miramar, was planned, as was a totally fresh layout for Altinho.
These and many other features of the original Plans were shelved to satisfy the
whims of land grabbers. Panjim and the major towns were licenced to have the
chaotic look they bear today. Painful that much effort put in planning for Goa's towns
in the 1950s was cast aside.
On returning from Lisbon early-1957, I was tasked with construction of the new
Railway Shed at Vasco. A metal portal frame structure designed in Lisbon was
shipped to Goa. This work was under the Railways, Ports & Harbour Inspectorate,
which was also engaged in major expansion work of the docks at Mormugao. As
work in Vasco was getting complete, I left for the US on a WHO Fellowship for
postgraduate studies in Environmental Sciences.
While there, I was appointed Dy Director, Goa PWD. I assumed the post on returning
at the end of 1959. Visiting a few countries, I was tempted to resettle, but confess
that I felt Goa was the ideal place to work. Goa then had Governor (Gen.) Vassalo da
Silva, himself an engineer and a lover of Goa.
The Governor had established under his personal care an office entirely devoted to
Planning and Development, the "Gabinete de Estudos e Obras". It had engineers,
architects, draftsmen, etc. operating under a Special Fund and located in Tonca. A
number of schemes planned by this office were executed, like Primary Schools
designed by Arch. Bruno Sousa, still standing in many Goan villages. I was also
enlisted to the "Gabinete", apart from my PWD duties, to plan and design a sewerage
scheme for downtown Margao.
I recall the Governor, who personally entrusted me with this scheme due to my
training in the US, was keen on its progress and particularly on the innovative
method of treatment by sewage stabilization ponds that I had introduced. He wanted
me to report to him regularly, often after dinner. Unfortunately, this project (I still have
a copy), which was cost-effective and easy to maintain, was also never implemented.
My meetings with the Governor revealed his other plans, namely: (i) electrification of
Goa, with German assistance, harnessing hydroelectric power from our waterfalls; (ii)
further development of Mormugao port with Japanese assistance, on which work was
ongoing; (iii) construction of a bridge over the Mandovi. He had invited the well
known Portuguese expert, Eng. Edgar Cardoso, who designed the bridge over the
Tejo River in Lisbon, to carry out a preliminary assessment. I recall walking with Eng.
Cardoso on the Porvorim side of the Mandovi, looking out for an ideal location for the
approaches.
Amidst such great expectations for Goa's development, the PWD Office with Eng.
Vilela as Director, Eng. Eufemiano Dias and myself as Dy Directors and chiefs of
units, Eng. Vinayak Bhobe (roads & bridges); Eng. Sebastiao Pinto (building
construction); Arch. N. Pissurlencar (Planning & Design), Eng. F. Santa Rita Vaz
(Workshop & Maintenance) and Mr. Rama P. Tamba (Chief of Admin. Services), was
a closely-knit group of dedicated colleagues working in the old office of "Obras
Publicas", to whom I wish to pay tribute. All are since demised, leaving me to recount
this story. There were of course other engineers in other Directorates and
Departments like Water Supply; Lands & Survey & Mines; Inspectorate of Railways,
Ports & Harbour; Agriculture & Forestry; Ship Building, and a few attached to private
firms, all providing their savoir faire to the development of Goa.
Engrossed in work, we sailed along naively, oblivious of any imminent political
changes. However, I once felt a pinch when I had to visit friends and relatives in
Poona and Bombay. After travelling all the way to the border at Polem, where I spent
two days waiting for clearance, I was denied entry... It was obvious that the days of
Portuguese rule in Goa were numbered. I recall when in Lisbon in the mid-'50s, my
colleagues at the Overseas Ministry openly joked that the projects we were planning
would be left to India’s government to implement.
When December 19, 1961 dawned with the first bomb blasts, I knew the moment had
arrived. My first reaction was to take the family to the safe confines of my native
Badem, away from possible tensions in Panjim. Spent rest of the day following the
unfolding events on BBC radio. I was anxious about my own future and doubted the
new administration would retain me after the border incident.
As 22 Dec dawned, I was in for a surprise. Two PWD staffers came over to inform
that the new administration was waiting for me to resume work and have public
utilities back in operation. Mixed reactions, but it did not take me long to decide to go
to the PWD. I then went to the Secretariat to meet a number of IAS officers from
Delhi who greeted me warmly and appeared to be fully aware of my credentials. We
discussed the major problems ahead, particularly on communications, roads, culverts
and bridges destroyed or damaged, buildings and offices to accommodate the new
staff, and matters under PWD responsibility. I assured the officials we would do our
best to normalize conditions. On their side they assured me of full support.
Thanks to our devoted engineers and workers, we began work round the clock.
Roads and culverts were restored departmentally or through local contractors. Major
works like bridges at Banastarim, Candeapar and Quepem were tendered to
outstation contractors, notably Bombay-based Richardson & Cruddas. The work was
done in record time. Candeapar Bridge was thrown open on 24.04.62 by Military
Governor Maj. Gen. Candeth, Quepem on 10.12.62 by Lt. Governor T. Shivshanker.
My appointment as the first PWD Director after liberation was gazetted in early Jan-
1962.
Work at PWD was proceeding normally. I enjoyed meeting the IAS officers,
particularly Mr. Sanyal, the Chief Secretary, whom I met again much later during his
posting in Geneva. My old lifestyle remained unchanged and this raised “colonial”
howls in the local press...
I visited Delhi a couple of times for discussions on Goa's development, including the
Mandovi bridge. I enjoyed my work, but had begun getting weary about the local
politics emerging, undue interference in work, a gradual change in attitudes and
values that I knew would not be easy to adjust... Against this backdrop, I received a
tempting offer from WHO, Geneva. It was not without a good deal of reflection that I
decided to leave the PWD and Goa in 1963.
Working in my new position gave me not only a local and regional but also a global
approach to meet the needs of countries the world over in planning and developing
their Environmental Health Programmes. Deep within, I always thought of
possibilities to help Goa. The opportunity arose in the early 1980s, a period when
WHO assumed global leadership in the fields of water supply, waste water disposal
and environmental pollution.
We were at the initial stages of the First International Water Decade. I felt Goa would
be an ideal location for a WHO-assisted Regional Centre for Environment. Such
centres were already established in other WHO regions. The South East Asia Region
(SEARO) based in New Delhi, to which Goa belonged, was the only region where a
center did not exist. I discussed the idea and obtained support from WHO-Geneva,
from its Regional Office in Delhi, and from the Centre of Public Health of India's
Union Health Ministry. On my next visit to Goa, I discussed the proposal with the high
and mighty in the Goa Government, who whole-heartedly supported the idea.
All the local government had to do at this stage was to send a request (I recall
leaving a draft) to the WHO Regional Office through the Union Ministry of Health.
Unfortunately, the request never came... and Goa lost a unique opportunity to be
home to a WHO/UN assisted Regional Centre that would have not only catered to
the environmental needs of the countries in the Region including India, but
particularly of Goa.
Before concluding, may I note a factor that could be of interest to Goa’s future. Local
environmental/ecological conditions are rapidly degrading due to total lack of political
intervention. It is essential that Goans initiate a coordinated action to brake this
plunge. Goa is endowed with competent and devoted environmentalists, dedicated to
the cause. They either work as members of diverse groups or independently on their
own, making their views and voices heard through public meetings, demonstrations
etc. or through well structured articles in newspapers.
This brings to my mind that good old adage "in unity there is strength": cooperation
instead of working independently for the same cause. Staying under one roof in order
to provide a strong common front to stop this callous and irresponsible environmental
degradation and help Goa meet it more effectively. Only such unity between
scattered individuals can provide Goa with a much-needed and strong third force to
arrest our gradual descent created by individuals who act with total impunity.
The author can be contacted at vitorino.pinto@bluewin.ch
================================================================
The above article appeared in the HERALD(Goa) of April 11, 2010
later Consultant in Environmental Sciences with the Geneva-based World Health
Organization (WHO), reminisces on the process of planning and execution of
development works in Goa, then and later.
=======================
Reading about renovation work of the Panjim Municipal Garden, the good old "Garcia
de Horta" of my times, I could not help but reminisce about how works were planned
and executed in Goa in an earlier era... the '50s and early '60s. I was then with the
Panjim Municipality and later with the PWD. That aspect has not been narrated by
any post-liberation Goan writer. As I happen to be the last surviving participant in that
process, I decided to pen down some words before they are totally obliterated.
Goa was then a colony of Portugal, itself under a highly centralized and totalitarian
regime. Most Goans were oblivious of the sorry political situation. But a quiet and
unruffled existence of four centuries was giving way to a new entrepreneurial spirit.
Goa was moving into a "take-off stage" of growth. This momentum came mainly from
the nascent mining industry. Revenues accrued to the State coffers. Stores were full
of imported merchandise. Health and socio-economic standards of a population (with
no migrants flooding in!) below the half-million mark were improving quickly. Above
all, Goans were able to assert their unique personality, honesty and traditional
courtesy. It was in this climate that I started my professional career as a civil
engineer.
I joined the PWD in 1950. My first task was construction of the Customs House
("Gare Maritima"). I was next in charge of renovating heritage structures in Old Goa.
It was at that time that the exterior plaster of Bom Jesus Basilica was removed.
There was a local furore, and I became an unwitting scapegoat.
Fact was the external walls of the Basilica, due to excessive salinity and humidity
soaking into the plaster, had alarmingly reached the interior layers and was corroding
the laterite stone. A solution had to be found. The ministry in Lisbon deputed Arch.
Baltazar de Castro, a restoration expert. He advised removal of the plaster, to allow
the stone to "breathe" and then to chemically treat the exposed surface. The
controversy took long to die down. But the Basilica still stands. Perhaps, with a better
look.
Early in 1952, I was appointed the Panjim Municipal Engineer. The Mayor was an
influential Navy Commander, who gave this young engineer full liberty of action. The
job was demanding, having to maintain the city clean, garbage removed and
disposed, roads and pavements swept daily, municipal buildings well maintained, the
city's ancient storm drains cleaned before monsoons to prevent flooding etc.
A major responsibility was approval of construction plans, where I often had to use
discretion since there were no Town Plans or related laws. (Today we have laws,
ODPs, the RP, and look at the mess we are in!) Unlike the present, the Municipality
was a strong institution. Working with dedicated staff like Mr. F. Rodrigues, in-charge
of the labour force, I started a program to give the city a fresh and green look, with
parks and gardens laid out wherever possible.
I recall beginning with the small triangular space opposite the Post Office, dedicated
to Gen. (Dr.) Miguel C. Dias; then the one opposite the Panjim courts, with a fountain
that spouted water out of a topless mermaid (which again shocked many locals...);
then the Municipal Garden with a bandstand having a balustrade with a lyre as the
motif; then the park opposite Menezes Braganza Institute; then a small park near
Dempo House, and finally the garden at Campal with a central bandstand built in a
pseudo Greco-Roman style. The music at these bandstands, played usually by a
military band, delighted Panjimites on weekends.
Panjim was being spruced up for the visit of the Portuguese Overseas Minister,
Sarmento Rodrigues. Municipal workers worked like bees. A major job was to open
and resurface the road from the Jetty to Campal, passing in front of the Secretariat,
to be completed within a short time. The Municipal Garden was also completed for
the occasion and so was the imposing "Camara Municipal, Primeiro Senado de
Goa", the Town Hall, a structure in line with the best in Europe. It had a central clock
tower with two large side wings. My office at the Technical Services was in the right
wing. Most unfortunate that this attractive building was demolished around 1955,
because a side balcony poorly constructed a few years before collapsed, killing two
very devoted civic officials.
In October 1953, the municipality was told that a team of government architects from
Lisbon would soon arrive to study the Town and Regional Planning needs of Goa’s
four major urban centres namely Panjim, Margao, Mapusa and Vasco. The Panjim
Municipality and the PWD were tasked to provide all support during their three week
stay. The onus fell on me at the Municipality and on Arch. N. Pissurlencar of the
PWD, who meanwhile kept ready all information, maps, plans etc.
Architects Joao A. Aguiar and Lucinio da Cruz from the "Gabinete de Urbanizacao do
Ministerio do Ultramar" (Urban Planning division of the Overseas Ministry) arrived on
schedule. From the moment they landed till the day they left they worked tirelessly,
often late at night in a large hall-turned-office at the Institute Menezes Braganza.
After visits to the four towns and constant feedback from Pissurlencar and me, the
Draft Town Plans or Outlines were completed, and the duo left.
Some weeks later, to our great surprise, a message came from Lisbon that the
Ministry required the services of both Pissurlencar and myself - to assist the
architects in finalizing the draft Town Plans prepared during their Goa visit. The two
of us soon left for Lisbon to work in the "Gabinete de Urbanizacao", a large office
with a number of engineers, architects, draftsmen etc., and where Pissurlencar
worked for just over a year and I for over three years.
The Town Plans and draft legislation and rules were finalised and carried by
Pissurlencar to Goa. I had to remain behind to work on some other plans and
structural designs, namely: (i) the five-storied Teaching Hospital for Goa; (ii) the Post
and Telegraph Office; (iii) the State Archives office; and (iv) the Goa Academy of
Music. Unfortunate that none of these carefully designed plans ever materialised.
A Town Planning Commission headed by the PWD Director, with Pissurlencar and
me as members was established. Every construction in the four major towns had to
comply with the new Town Plans and cleared by the Commission. These Town Plans
were carefully implemented not only during the Portuguese regime but even after
while I was Director-PWD. Regrettable that after I left Goa in 1963 the Plans were
shelved and new ones prepared with least concern for blending the old and the new,
zoning and open spaces, etc. This badly affected growth of the towns.
As an example, Panjim's earlier Plan had envisaged widening the two arterial roads,
MG Road and 18 June Road. A riverside marina from the Secretariat to Gaspar Dias
and beyond, skirting Miramar, was planned, as was a totally fresh layout for Altinho.
These and many other features of the original Plans were shelved to satisfy the
whims of land grabbers. Panjim and the major towns were licenced to have the
chaotic look they bear today. Painful that much effort put in planning for Goa's towns
in the 1950s was cast aside.
On returning from Lisbon early-1957, I was tasked with construction of the new
Railway Shed at Vasco. A metal portal frame structure designed in Lisbon was
shipped to Goa. This work was under the Railways, Ports & Harbour Inspectorate,
which was also engaged in major expansion work of the docks at Mormugao. As
work in Vasco was getting complete, I left for the US on a WHO Fellowship for
postgraduate studies in Environmental Sciences.
While there, I was appointed Dy Director, Goa PWD. I assumed the post on returning
at the end of 1959. Visiting a few countries, I was tempted to resettle, but confess
that I felt Goa was the ideal place to work. Goa then had Governor (Gen.) Vassalo da
Silva, himself an engineer and a lover of Goa.
The Governor had established under his personal care an office entirely devoted to
Planning and Development, the "Gabinete de Estudos e Obras". It had engineers,
architects, draftsmen, etc. operating under a Special Fund and located in Tonca. A
number of schemes planned by this office were executed, like Primary Schools
designed by Arch. Bruno Sousa, still standing in many Goan villages. I was also
enlisted to the "Gabinete", apart from my PWD duties, to plan and design a sewerage
scheme for downtown Margao.
I recall the Governor, who personally entrusted me with this scheme due to my
training in the US, was keen on its progress and particularly on the innovative
method of treatment by sewage stabilization ponds that I had introduced. He wanted
me to report to him regularly, often after dinner. Unfortunately, this project (I still have
a copy), which was cost-effective and easy to maintain, was also never implemented.
My meetings with the Governor revealed his other plans, namely: (i) electrification of
Goa, with German assistance, harnessing hydroelectric power from our waterfalls; (ii)
further development of Mormugao port with Japanese assistance, on which work was
ongoing; (iii) construction of a bridge over the Mandovi. He had invited the well
known Portuguese expert, Eng. Edgar Cardoso, who designed the bridge over the
Tejo River in Lisbon, to carry out a preliminary assessment. I recall walking with Eng.
Cardoso on the Porvorim side of the Mandovi, looking out for an ideal location for the
approaches.
Amidst such great expectations for Goa's development, the PWD Office with Eng.
Vilela as Director, Eng. Eufemiano Dias and myself as Dy Directors and chiefs of
units, Eng. Vinayak Bhobe (roads & bridges); Eng. Sebastiao Pinto (building
construction); Arch. N. Pissurlencar (Planning & Design), Eng. F. Santa Rita Vaz
(Workshop & Maintenance) and Mr. Rama P. Tamba (Chief of Admin. Services), was
a closely-knit group of dedicated colleagues working in the old office of "Obras
Publicas", to whom I wish to pay tribute. All are since demised, leaving me to recount
this story. There were of course other engineers in other Directorates and
Departments like Water Supply; Lands & Survey & Mines; Inspectorate of Railways,
Ports & Harbour; Agriculture & Forestry; Ship Building, and a few attached to private
firms, all providing their savoir faire to the development of Goa.
Engrossed in work, we sailed along naively, oblivious of any imminent political
changes. However, I once felt a pinch when I had to visit friends and relatives in
Poona and Bombay. After travelling all the way to the border at Polem, where I spent
two days waiting for clearance, I was denied entry... It was obvious that the days of
Portuguese rule in Goa were numbered. I recall when in Lisbon in the mid-'50s, my
colleagues at the Overseas Ministry openly joked that the projects we were planning
would be left to India’s government to implement.
When December 19, 1961 dawned with the first bomb blasts, I knew the moment had
arrived. My first reaction was to take the family to the safe confines of my native
Badem, away from possible tensions in Panjim. Spent rest of the day following the
unfolding events on BBC radio. I was anxious about my own future and doubted the
new administration would retain me after the border incident.
As 22 Dec dawned, I was in for a surprise. Two PWD staffers came over to inform
that the new administration was waiting for me to resume work and have public
utilities back in operation. Mixed reactions, but it did not take me long to decide to go
to the PWD. I then went to the Secretariat to meet a number of IAS officers from
Delhi who greeted me warmly and appeared to be fully aware of my credentials. We
discussed the major problems ahead, particularly on communications, roads, culverts
and bridges destroyed or damaged, buildings and offices to accommodate the new
staff, and matters under PWD responsibility. I assured the officials we would do our
best to normalize conditions. On their side they assured me of full support.
Thanks to our devoted engineers and workers, we began work round the clock.
Roads and culverts were restored departmentally or through local contractors. Major
works like bridges at Banastarim, Candeapar and Quepem were tendered to
outstation contractors, notably Bombay-based Richardson & Cruddas. The work was
done in record time. Candeapar Bridge was thrown open on 24.04.62 by Military
Governor Maj. Gen. Candeth, Quepem on 10.12.62 by Lt. Governor T. Shivshanker.
My appointment as the first PWD Director after liberation was gazetted in early Jan-
1962.
Work at PWD was proceeding normally. I enjoyed meeting the IAS officers,
particularly Mr. Sanyal, the Chief Secretary, whom I met again much later during his
posting in Geneva. My old lifestyle remained unchanged and this raised “colonial”
howls in the local press...
I visited Delhi a couple of times for discussions on Goa's development, including the
Mandovi bridge. I enjoyed my work, but had begun getting weary about the local
politics emerging, undue interference in work, a gradual change in attitudes and
values that I knew would not be easy to adjust... Against this backdrop, I received a
tempting offer from WHO, Geneva. It was not without a good deal of reflection that I
decided to leave the PWD and Goa in 1963.
Working in my new position gave me not only a local and regional but also a global
approach to meet the needs of countries the world over in planning and developing
their Environmental Health Programmes. Deep within, I always thought of
possibilities to help Goa. The opportunity arose in the early 1980s, a period when
WHO assumed global leadership in the fields of water supply, waste water disposal
and environmental pollution.
We were at the initial stages of the First International Water Decade. I felt Goa would
be an ideal location for a WHO-assisted Regional Centre for Environment. Such
centres were already established in other WHO regions. The South East Asia Region
(SEARO) based in New Delhi, to which Goa belonged, was the only region where a
center did not exist. I discussed the idea and obtained support from WHO-Geneva,
from its Regional Office in Delhi, and from the Centre of Public Health of India's
Union Health Ministry. On my next visit to Goa, I discussed the proposal with the high
and mighty in the Goa Government, who whole-heartedly supported the idea.
All the local government had to do at this stage was to send a request (I recall
leaving a draft) to the WHO Regional Office through the Union Ministry of Health.
Unfortunately, the request never came... and Goa lost a unique opportunity to be
home to a WHO/UN assisted Regional Centre that would have not only catered to
the environmental needs of the countries in the Region including India, but
particularly of Goa.
Before concluding, may I note a factor that could be of interest to Goa’s future. Local
environmental/ecological conditions are rapidly degrading due to total lack of political
intervention. It is essential that Goans initiate a coordinated action to brake this
plunge. Goa is endowed with competent and devoted environmentalists, dedicated to
the cause. They either work as members of diverse groups or independently on their
own, making their views and voices heard through public meetings, demonstrations
etc. or through well structured articles in newspapers.
This brings to my mind that good old adage "in unity there is strength": cooperation
instead of working independently for the same cause. Staying under one roof in order
to provide a strong common front to stop this callous and irresponsible environmental
degradation and help Goa meet it more effectively. Only such unity between
scattered individuals can provide Goa with a much-needed and strong third force to
arrest our gradual descent created by individuals who act with total impunity.
The author can be contacted at vitorino.pinto@bluewin.ch
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The above article appeared in the HERALD(Goa) of April 11, 2010
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