MARGAO
The United Goans Democratic Party (UGDP) has said the decision of the State government to provide 16,000 liters of free water to households has been made with an eye on the Assembly elections and as well as to cover up the public reactions to the highly negative publicity that Pramod Sawant-led government has earned on the recent Bhumiputra Bill and cases of crimes against women.
Terming the free water scheme a pure election gimmick, UGDP president Dr Jorson Fernandes said the Chief Minister is fooling the electorate with tall promises even when the household water which is being supplied is laced with micro plastics as pointed out following a study undertaken by CSIR-NIO and Toxics Link, pointed out Dr Jorson.
Instead of taking appropriate measures to reduce and even contain the potentially hazardous micro plastics in the water being supplied by the PWD to Goan households, Dr Jorson said the government skirted the need to tackle the problem at its source which is to identify the major source of marine pollution due to their toxic potential threat.
“The government sidelined the main issue, and knowing well the electorate, resorted to freebies. However, in the process it only exposed the lack of scientific temper and negligible concern for human health and welfare. The fact is that that as more plastics are produced and discarded, contaminating our water, besides food and air, the exposure levels for the average person will continue to rise, since there is sufficient evidence that the chemicals found in various plastics can have serious adverse effects on human health even in low doses which would have a cumulative harmful effect”, he said.
He said the time has now come to send a clear message that Goans have never asked for freebies. “People are today paying a very high price on the ordinary items of daily consumption. The safety of women, especially, is at risk because of a skewed style of governance in Goa, which has to be eliminated at all costs as it lacks accountability, transparency, ethics”, he added.
