No industry, no infrastructure; Cumbarjua laments

There are two things that define the Cumbarjua constituency -- ferryboats and embankments (bunds). The two are quite literally the lifeline of a large part of the constituency. Rivers divide the constituency not just geographically but also culturally. The islands of Divar and St. Estêvão (Zua) are ever so slightly Catholic dominated with pockets of Hindu populations with separate hamlets for each community. Cumbarjua, which is the smallest island by area is Hindu dominated and quite unlike the other two. On the other hand the villages which do not require a ferry to get to the state capital are a world apart having felt the effects of urbanisation.

It’s no surprise then that the MLA has to balance the needs of the two -- the increasingly urban villages of Corlim, Bainguinim and Old Goa as well as the more parochial villages of Divar, St. Estêvão and Carambolim. Connected only through ferries on four sides, Divar and St. Estêvão, which has a bridge on the Marcel side, are in a world of their own. Time slows down no sooner does one cross the ferry to enter these villages, which unlike the rest of Goa, do not have hot-mixed roads simply because the machines cannot be transported by ferry boats.

But for Divarkars, this is a way of life and they know no other. A lone bus services one ferry point to another through the heart of the village, which as the number of bikes parked near the ferry ramp is any testament, is thinly used. Bumpy roads through fields lead up to the village centre, which though ‘cut off’ doesn’t offer a dearth of amenities like that of schools, pharmacies or banks. St. Estêvão, by comparison is a ‘deader’ village with most of the village folk either working abroad or travel to work to Panaji leaving only the senior citizens or those who run shops and other establishments in the village itself during the day time. By contrast Cumbarjua, which is the third island in the constituency, is far more ‘alive’ on account of its proximity to the hub of Marcel or as member of the village Nilam Parab suggests, is because “being Hindu dominated, the villagers are less likely to go abroad to work.”

A striking feature of the villages is the lack of employment opportunities the once agrarian villages offer forcing the inhabitants to either seek government or service sector jobs and consequently shift base to houses or flats closer to their place of work. New avenues include sand mining, which is controlled by a few, and other odd jobs like fishing at the sluice gates and the like. “Earlier the village was self-sufficient when it comes to vegetables and other produce of the land. Today agriculture is no longer profitable and has only become worse once the ponds and lakes are not being maintained,” Artemisia Rangel who continues to live in the village said. The generation prior to hers was agriculture dependent. She is a teacher. Both in Divar and St. Estêvão, villagers a sizeable chunk of villagers are making a beeline for Portuguese passports leaving the previous generation behind. All that’s left are those who live off the land, have their own businesses and those who have service sector jobs.

Both Divar and St. Estêvão have their fair share of locked and crumbling ‘Indo Portuguese’ houses standing side by side with modern bungalows funded by foreign remittances. Cumbarjua on the other hand is relatively more ‘rural’, dependent on the land with service sector jobs and business opportunities in nearby Marcel abounding. The villages of Gandaulim and Carambolim share some traits with Divar and St. Estêvão, but it is less apparent as they are not separated by ferry boats with the rest of the world. Corlim and Old Goa on the other hand are seeing a boom of construction, have had an influx of residents on account of its proximity to Panaji besides playing host to an industrial estate that brings with it problems of its own.

Infrastructure has been sorely lacking in these villages with the Gandaulim - Cumbarjua bridge being inaugurated only recently and few other investments in the area in terms of business opportunities. A sports complex in Divar has taken more than ten years to complete and isn’t complete yet. Divar does have a Devaaya resort which offers some employment opportunity within the village and an upcoming hotel project at Vanxim being staunchly opposed by the local residents.

The constituency has been a stronghold of the Maharahstrawadi Gomantak Party having being winning MGP candidates for much of its history with the last MGP winning candidate being Pandurang Madkaikar who today is a Congress MLA and who believes he has a stranglehold of the constituency given his appeal to both communities being a Congress candidate and being a member of the Scheduled Tribes community. He has however earned the ire of a section of the voters for his business interests, failing to bring through the Old Goa Master Plan and in fact according to the Save Old Goa Action Committee actively working against it and against the heritage zone.

Madkaikar however, could have earned himself a lifeline through throwing his weight behind the Syngenta sale issue. The BJP however, is a rejuvenated with finally the party seeming to have its own candidate after more than fifteen years in the form of Siddhesh Naik, the son of North Goa MP Shripad Naik. A new face after 15 years of Madkaikar versus Nirmala Sawant could change the equation.