Learn from the young

Vanxim Vanquished

Jelton Fernandes, all of just 17, is one of those few concerned citizens in an apathetic Goa I keep writing about in this column. He lives on Vanxim island tucked away north-west off Divar island and in the news these days because of the literally thousands of tons of sand that is being illegally extracted in the stretch from the old Captain of Ports jetty opposite the Jesus Christ Church of Vanxim up to the ferry jetty where the islanders cross over to Divar. The Captain of Ports jetty was where boats once ferried people from Vanxim directly to Panjim. No longer. Divar is where maximium apathy happens. Vanxim falls under the Sao Matias Village Panchayat and its sole panch Manuel Furtado couldn’t care less about the sand extraction and watches blithely as part of Vanxim’s shore gets eroded. Neither does the Sao Matias acting Sarpanch Tulsidas Kundaikar, who has been in office since June 2008. Kundaikar even had the audacity to tell a news channel that he had done all he could, which was shooting off letters to the Mines Department, the Goa Marine Police and Captain of Ports (CoP) and specifically picked on the extremely susceptible Captain A P Mascarenhas,(who retires next month) for his ‘inaction’ blaming the official squarely. But Kundaikar is an old hand at this, for years he blamed Mascarenhas for the government’s dismal record of building ferry boats. Though the illegal sand extraction has been going on for the past three months, Kundaikar didn’t think it was necessary to inform the Cumbarjua MLA Pundurang Madkaikar, till (unconfirmed yet) Sunday April 25 when another concerned villager Edgar D’Mello and Jelton met him protesting his own inaction. Earlier a group of about 15 Vanxim villagers also met him. The marine police did make on a joyride to the site. How else can you describe a boat trip when your cops come in a swift boat and don’t pursue the slow and cumbersome sand boats that promptly scooted off and no arrests made. In the backdrop of the calm river and two beautiful islands, joyride it was.

Inside Job

While it is mostly non-islanders who are robbing the island of its precious eco-protection (some of them are from the neighbouring island of Akhada) what has hurt Vanxim villagers most is that people from the island itself like Tulsidas Parab, Padmanath Bhosle, Ramesh Bhosle, Bhalchandra Bhosle, Amrut Volvoikar, Shivanand Bhosle and Kishore Tari are as high as their knees in the sand extraction racket. Bhalchandra Bhosle and Amrut Volvoikar own two boats each which shows there is money to be banked, and there are an estimated 60-70 boats that work the sand bank there. The manner in which a single boat is loaded easily fills up a large sized truck. Many of these Sand Extractors have provided the migrant workers hired to load the boats with crude shacks to live and no toilets.

Admission of Guilt

This doesn’t happen too often, the government admitting to ailments caused by mining dust, but when it does, you can be sure nothing good ever comes out of it. The Health Minister Vishwajeet Rane admitted that inhalation of inorganic and organic dust leads to various respiratory diseases like anthracosis, silicosis, asbestosis, sclerosis etc., all from ‘heavy mining pollution’ he confessed. Now, we all know how mediocre government medical care is and this does not include some of the talented doctors at the Goa Medical College Hospital for example. But did you know that the mining belt that has made billionaires of a few and thousands of villagers sick by contrast. The list of mine owners under the jurisdiction of the five health centres reads like a Who’s Who of Billionaire Mine Owners (see below) and overwhelms you with a sense of frustration. Because, compare their billions with the miserly facilities available in some of them which are mere sub-centres.

The List

Sub-Centre Kevona under PHC Quepem:

1. Salgaocar mine Chunimol iron ore mine - Sirsorem mine.
2. VM Kadnekar (Magnum), Sirsorem, Rivona.
3. Sesa Goa, Sirsorem, Rivona.
4. BH Mavani-Timblo mines at Columba.
5. FR Mines (Hiralal Kalidas Mines)-Fomento Mines at Columba.

Sub-Centre Caurem area:

1. GN Agrwal, Borchi Morchi Mine, Maina Caurem.
2. Salgaocar Mining Industries, Jalarwaddo Dongar mine at Maina.
3. Shaikh Salim mine, Devopan Dovongor mine at Kavrem.
4. Jairam B. Neugai, Tembechem Dongor mine at Maina.
5. Vaikhant M. Kadnekar, Bateagal iron ore mine at Maina.
6. Hyder Kassim Khan, Vangi Bhindi – Advana mine, Sulcorna.

Primary Health Centre, Bicholim:

1. Sesa Goa at Pilgao, Mayem and Shirgao.
2. Bandekar mines, Shirgao.
3. Salgaocar mines, Shirgao.
4. Bandodkar mines, Advalpal.
5. Chowgule mines, Poira, Mayem.

Primary Health Centre, Sanquelim:

1. Sesa mines, Virdi.
2. Damodar Mangalji mines, Navelim.
3. ILPL mines, Tishe Maina Karmona.
4. Timblo mines, Maina, Dingne.
5. VM Salgaocar mines, Velge, Kothambi.
6. Sesa Goa, Surla, Dingne.
7. VM Salgaocar mines, Velge, Surla, Kudne.
8. Bandekar mines, Ambeshi, Pali.
9. Bandekar mines, Velguem, Surla, Kudne.
10. Bandodkar mines, Velgue, Kothambi.
11. Nathurmal mines, Upper Harvalem.

CHC, Curchorem:

1. Anil Salgaocar mine, Santan Codli.
2. Pandurang Timblo mine, Codli.
3. Ahiliabai Sardesai mine, Karmona.
4. Sesa Goa mine, Codli.
5. Fomento mine, Cudegal.

This is not an informative list on mining information but to show the quantitative side of mining played out against these weak health centres because Rane admitted that precautionary measures consist mainly of chlorination of wells and public awareness against drinking water not filtered or boiled! On the other hand Sesa Goa announced a fourth quarter net profit in the last fiscal of Rs 1,215.11. The January-March period was up two-fold from the 2008-09 Q4 figure of Rs 548 crore. The company recommended a dividend of 325 per cent, or Rs 3.25 per share, for 2009-10. Unfortunately, none of the affected villagers (there are few in Goa for that matter) are shareholders, their only stake is the wretched government medical care.

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