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BY MELBA MERGULHAO0CARVALHO ANTAO The countdown to the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) has started. Goa is all decked up for film lovers and tourists who will pour into the state soon. But do we know what’s pushed under the carpet, under the roads and under the bridges? Will the Mandovi River engulf Panjim city and its surrounding areas during the next monsoon fury? How soon after the IFFI will the cracks start showing? These and many more worrying questions will face us sooner than later Dean D’Cruz, Architect Walking or trying to walk the riverfront streets of Panjim today does give one a feeling of elation - the footpaths look smarter, the GMC complex handsome and everybody seems busy, even late into the night. It is amazing, the government seems to be meeting its deadlines - but at what cost? We have probably spent three times more than what we should have (or ask the GSIDC) - and we will never be able to recover this money; we have brought in unsustainable multiplexes (we will probably need every tourist visiting Goa to see at least two movies everyday to pay back the investment in IFFI); we have compromised on quality by spending little time on planning resulting in uncoordinated execution. But most of us will not see or realise the price we have paid as the shining lights and stars of Bollywood will gloss over this as it does over the realities in the rest of India. If only the government had eyes… to have true vision and not myopia in its planning; If only the government had ears… to listen to reasoning and realise its wastefulness; If only the government had hands…to reach out and help areas beyond Panjim; If only the government dealt with reality first and not the celluloid make-believe world, If only… or IFFI… the government has made its choice! All governments, good and bad, have a single obsession that blanks out reality and eventually leads to its downfall. IFFI seems to be this government’s obsession. The race to complete it on time has made the government spend an unjustifiable amount of money, made it compromise on the quality of the infrastructure provided, made it subvert a proper planning process. No doubt IFFI may act as a catalyst to draw more tourists to Panjim, but tourists really come for our natural beauty that is fast depleting. There is no passion or obsession in addressing this. Our beaches are littered, none of the money collected from the shacks is used towards cleaning; our garbage dumps are stinking and overflowing, the government has gone on record saying it has no money to build treatment plants. Our forests are being raped by the mining lobby with full protection, even though mining is a completely unsustainable industry that injures more than benefits the common man. The government turns a blind eye to these problems claiming it has no money. IFFI may cost us the rest of Goa and in case it doesn’t we could also hold Formula 1 here. Any more suggestions? Annand MadgaNvkar, businessman, sportsman IFFI raises a lot of ifs. What price will Goans pay in the future? IFFI will come and go in ten eventful days - Goans will then face the mess created by the hastily built sub-standard roads. Will they be re-done at our cost or will we wait for the monsoons when they will deteriorate and Panaji gets flooded due to the blockages in the drains? If the quick-fix hot-mix poured along the entire stretch from Miramar to Dona Paula circle will be again destroyed to replace the road divider and curb stones as well as the hastily blocked drains (some at the centre of the road) so that fresh hot-mix will have to be applied? If the very costly electric poles will function or will darkness and repairs be a permanent feature along the 4-way highway? If the government will at last find time to repair the Dona Paula jetty where many tourists have fallen into the water and which is still a danger point? If many more casinos will be allowed to function without licences and new casino ships are allowed to loot Goans in the off-shore area of the Panaji jetty? If after IFFI more fun and games, fun and frolic will be allowed into Goa in the form of nightclubs, striptease joints, massage parlours, etc., to prompt them to shed their inhibitions? If the fillings along the banks of River Mandovi to drive in the piles on which the several structures are supposed to be supported will be dredged completely or forgotten and if this will cause beaches to disappear, like the Verem beach disappeared when the Mandovi bridges were built and whether other ecological disasters to our beautiful waterfront are in store for us? If at last the government will address the urgent problem of sewage management and treatment and the St. Inez nallah, which pollutes the River Mandovi with untreated sewage from Panaji and Mapusa for the river water pollution is much above the permissible level and fish are diseased. If all the poor labourers that the contractors have engaged will be allowed to continue to stay in the Panaji football ground in unhealthy shanties, creating open-air latrines and will they continue to stay in Goa and join our ever-increasing labour force and cause law and order problems? If road sense and order will be restored along the four-lane avenue and traffic lights will be installed at the many “BUMPS” so that pedestrians - who include the elderly, handicapped, pregnant mothers and school children - can cross the road without having to risk their lives everyday dodging vehicles? If Goans will have to pay cunningly thought out new taxes to raise money to pay the monumental bills accumulated by the exorbitant and unnecessary multiplexes and the KA complex created for IFFI for their upkeep, maintenance and salary packages for technicians specially if they are not self-supporting ventures? If all the local theatres will have to be shut down - after rendering years of service to Goans - due to the lack of encouragement to locals by our government and the unfair competition from these freely gifted multiplexes? If at last the government will have time to look beyond the four-lane road and IFFI complexes and complete projects taken up and put on hold and will the CCP at last be allowed to function for the benefit of the citizens of Panaji? If Goa will ever recover from this IFFI madness and get back to the basic needs of its poorer citizens? If the opposition MLAs have the courage to speak out for the common man or continue to make statements sometimes and shamelessly crawl back into their shells? A lot of good Goan money has already been spent on IFFI. Much more money has still to be spent for carnival-type parades, bridge parties, inaugurals, closing ceremonies and on hordes of delegates registered for a paltry Rs.200 each. What price will Goa ultimately pay? Goans will have to face the damage done to the environment, the River Mandovi’s bank, to the drainage system of Panaji city and the basic necessities like water, electricity and other essentials that have been totally ignored or put on the back-burner till IFFI is over. And what of the price our next generation will pay as a result of the social changes with the advent of a filmi culture on the soil of Goa. The future’s not rosy. The government could of course come out with a transparent document on the actual expenses and its plans to repay the debts accrued thereof to put at ease the doubts of many a worried Goan. But we know the government’s attitude to anybody seeking information even if it is under the Right to Information Act, don’t we? Alexyz, cartoonist IFFI is all about movies. The more movies you see, the less you remember. In short, movies are a forgettable experience. Besides you can watch the best of movies on cable or CDs from a video library in the comfort of you home. So did we need IFFI? Maybe it will attract few more tourists for those 10 days. But if those over Rs.100 crore were spent on making the whole of Goa garbage-free, stray animals-free, blackout-free, improving the network of roads, adequate water supply, maintaining and protecting heritage sites; keeping our coastal belt free of ugly high rise structures, maintaining law and order...Oh, Goa would be a haven and attract a thousand times more tourists than those during the ten IFFI days. The obsession with which Manohar Parrikar is changing the face of Panjim - no doubt Panjim does look good - by destroying heritage structures, rain trees and the banks of the Mandovi does not augur well for the future. He should remember he’s not the Chief Minister of Panjim - because it is his constituency – but the entire state of Goa.
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