Govt will work out a solution for
solving Colva fishermen rehab
2 years on, govt yet to take a call
on rehabilitating Colva fishermen
Photo caption. Fishermen from Colva awaiting rehabilitation in their natural habitat at Colva. Photo by Santosh Mirajkar.
GUILHERME ALMEIDA
MARGAO: On May 18, 2013, then Chief Minister and now Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar had descended at the tourism department acquired property in the coastal village of Colva for a dialogue with beleaguered fishermen from the village over the long pending issue of rehabilitation of the displaced traditional fishermen.
With Fisheries Minister, Avertano Furtado, MLA Benjamin D’Silva, and local MLA Caitu Silva in tow, a non-committal Parrikar only gave a patient hearing to the fishermen, but promised to return back on June 5 the same year to work out a permanent solution to their rehabilitation demand.
It’s now two years since Parrikar had made the promise to the beleaguered fishermen, but neither he nor his successor Laxmikant Parsekar has till date made their presence felt at Colva to address the fishermen grievances.
The government’s dilly dallying tactics assumes significance and comes against the backdrop of covert and overt moves by the Tourism Department and the Goa Tourism Development Corporation to explore the acquired properties for tourism development.
Thoman Rodrigues, who had taken up cudgels for the beleaguered fishermen along with other local fishermen, said that Parrikar had never returned with a rehabilitation package for the traditional fishermen. “Where are the traditional fishermen supposed to go if they are driven out of their habitat under the guise of tourism. We want the government to rehabilitate the fishermen and their huts storing canoes and dry fish in the tourism acquired property. Our movement to save our traditional land will continue”, he said.
Benaulim MLA Caitu Silva said the government is seized of the matter. “Yes, Parrikar could not keep his date with the fishermen on June 5, but the government will work out a solution to the tangle. I am personally not in favour of anyone being displaced from their homeland," Caitu said.
The government had around a decade and half ago acquired 50,000-odd sq mts of land overlooking the Arabian sea for public utility. The land in question was being used by the fishermen for drying fish as well as to anchor the fishing boats and to store nets, salt and dry fish.
The government’s offer to rehabilitate the fishermen away from the coast in a government acquired property has not found favour with the traditional fishermen, who has vowed to protect their interests from being displaced from their habitat.
