THE GOAN SPECIAL
----------------------------
GROUND ZERO - II
-----------------------------
RAGING AND RANTING
A large chunk of the villagers from Loliem are convinced that they are going to gain nothing from the proposed IIT project. Here's what they mainly say ...
* There is no proper hospital. Ignoring basic needs, what does the government want to showcase in Loliem?
* Yet to get sufficient water supply in the first place, leave alone other issues
* There will be curses for seven generations if the voices within the village are ignored
* Members of the pro-lobby have been living away from the village and want to decide what is good
-------------------------
PRO-LOBBY BUGLE
* We may be not living here, but our hearts will always beat for Loliem
* We were born here and spent a major part of our lives here
* We have been away for reasons beyond our control. It doesn’t make us outsiders
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In faraway Loliem the heat is palpable. It’s not the temperature. It’s anger over the government’s decision to foist an IIT on them without doing the courtesy of even consulting them.
Everyone who arrives in the village or the plateau where the IIT is reported, not proposed, to be set up is treated with suspicion, even sons of Loliem who are in favour of setting up the institution.
When a team of journalists drove down to get first-hand knowledge of the issue a group of around 30 villagers blocked their convoy on the way back.
The cars came to a grinding halt. Amid the ensuing cross-fire between the pro-group and the gathered villagers, a lady cried hoarse. “I was to deliver my baby recently, but at the crucial time, I needed urgent medical attention. I had to be taken to the nearest hospital at faraway Quepem. I lost my baby by then. Government needs to take care of our basic health issues first. There is no proper hospital in the vicinity. Ignoring our basic needs, what does the government want to showcase in Loliem?”
Another elderly lady pleaded that there are times when the village goes without water for four days at a stretch. To source water from elsewhere is a Herculean task. Life is not rosy in the village as it is made out to be. “We are yet to get sufficient water supply in the first place, leave alone other issues. Has anyone stopped by to ponder how life would be without water?”
While there was a vociferous debate going on with the men throwing a volley of charges at the other end, another lady with folded hands pleaded not to get the IIT in Loliem. “This is to all those who are forcefully getting this project in Loliem. There will be curses for seven generations if the voices within the village are ignored.”
Loliem, which falls in Canacona, has a population of around 3,000 residents, most of whom are worried. They want the matter to be discussed at a gram sabha. The panchayat scheduled a meeting for the purpose, but was cancelled at the last minute. This only heightened suspicions.
There is very little information on the government plans for the IIT. The panchayat is in the dark and a letter from the South Goa Collector in response to a query from the Sarpanch stated that nothing had been finalized.
As the blockade continued a resident of the village, shouting at the top of his voice, said the pro-lobby is not from Loliem. “Members of the pro-lobby have been living away from the village and want to decide what is good for us. They have no moral right to take crucial decision like these.”
A voice from the other side was quick to respond: "We may be not living here, but our hearts will always beat for Loliem. We were born here and spent a major part of our lives here. We have been away for reasons beyond our control. It doesn’t make us outsiders.”
None in the village is convinced that the IIT will be beneficial to them. And no one has bothered to explain.
Said Siddarth Aiya, a lab assistant in a Canacona school: “We have to study if an IIT is required since slots in other IITs are vacant.”
When asked if the IIT would benefit the village, a teacher from the village said, “We have to conduct a study to ascertain if the IIT would benefit the village.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOMORROW: Panchayat kept in the dark
