MARGAO
Social activists on Wednesday lodged strong objection over the venue and date fixed for South Goa Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) hearing, making a plea to the South Goa district Collector to consider health and safety of the people on the back of existing Covid pandemic and the likely monsoon fury in early July.
Activists Zarinha Da Cunha, Gina Pereira and others called on South Goa district Collector Ruchika Katyal (IAS) on Wednesday morning and submitted a memorandum lodging their strong objection to the SGPDA parking ground as a venue and July 8 date for public hearing.
The activists maintained that they find it highly inappropriate to have a public hearing in SGPDA market parking area in times of the pandemic. “Our state has seen the worst of the pandemic recently and the cases are still a great cause of concern as there are around 4400 active cases at this moment and with around 10 deaths and around 350 new cases every day”, the petition stated.
Saying the government is anticipating the third Covid wave, the social activists have urged the district Collector to reconsider the venue as it is in a densely crowded place with shoppers converging from different parts of Goa. “High contamination is a threat to the members of public coming for the CZMP hearing as well as the shoppers as it’s already proven that these areas have served as hotspots for pandemic”, the petition stated.
Keeping in mind that the month of July and August is the peak monsoon season in Goa and has been experiencing erratic weather conditions due to climate change, Zarina feared that commuting would be difficult for the people from faraway places to the venue.
Making a plea to the Collector to postpone the hearing, the activists said they do understand that the NGT order has stated that the hearing should be done by August 31, but added “we trust that you will keep the health interest and safety of the people first and act accordingly”.
“It is surprising when the government is extending the lockdown every week it has gone ahead and fixed the CZMP hearing on July 8 when fears of third wave of Covid still persists. Our only plea to the government is please don’t put the people into trouble when the pandemic shows no sign of abating”, she said.
Zina Pereira pointed out that the SGDPA market is the most contaminated spot, posing a risk to the people who would be attending the public hearing. “When we are getting ready for the third wave, the CZMP hearing is fixed at the market, putting the lives and safety of the people at risk”, she said, adding that the government should think about the safety and health of the people.
