PANAJI
The chorus opposing the controversial track doubling project of the South Central Railways just got louder with a group of 25 prominent architects and planners adding their voices.
The group has penned a letter to the Director of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) Dehradun, in which they express grave concerns about the damage the project will cause to Goan heritage homes, villages and human habitation besides the health and well-being of local communities.
They said several villages in close proximity to the railway track which is sought to be doubled comprise clusters of heritage homes, some up to 200 years old.
The walls and floors of several of these classic homes have already developed cracks due to operations along the existing track, they said, adding that another line and a corresponding increase in rail traffic will accentuate the damage further.
Lester Silveira, an architect from The Balcao, who has been photo-documenting the damage to these unique architectural and Goan homes, says the WII and the government must pay serious heed to the formal and expert recommendation against the railway track doubling proposal.
Silveira's photo-documentation of the damage to the heritage houses forms part of a series called 'Heritage at Risk'.
“We have got many architects and planners onboard and aware from all across India of the irreplaceable damages and unviability of the double tracking project," Silveira said.
Signatories to the letter point out that a group of 179 architects from Goa have already raised alarm about the danger to the State’s unique cultural heritage.
The proposed double-tracking project will also devastate the unique living and built heritage along the railway belt, they said.
They noted that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report prepared under the aegis of the WII cannot be considered comprehensive as it ignores the larger context of the State and the vision its citizens have for its future.
Prominent architect Dean D’Cruz, another signatory to the letter, argues that the WII should not disregard the report of the Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) and the findings of experts.
“In 2021, I was part of a submission to the CEC along with 178 other architects about these three destructive linear projects. It is obvious that WII should concur with the well-deliberated findings of the CEC. I reiterate what was said in our letter before and this present letter: citizens shape our development, that cannot be forgotten by any institute,” D’Cruz said.
The letter observes that the traditional houses are an "architectural expression" of the Goan culture, built using traditional climate and eco-friendly composite materials of mud and stone, which are a fine example of Goan art and craftsmanship.
"These heritage structures were never designed to withstand the stresses resulting from the increased frequency of trains," it adds.
The letter quotes the CEC report that doubling the track, while causing harm to Goa’s heritage architecture and unique ethos, will not yield the benefits its proponents expect.
“The doubling of the railway line will not improve the efficiency of train movement at all, and the doubled line, if allowed, would operate with the same severe limitations as the existing line,” the letter quotes the CEC report as saying.
The group urges the WII Director to discontinue consideration of the double-tracking proposal entirely in line with the CEC recommendation.
Orville Rodrigues of Goencho Ekvott, an early opponent of the project, has welcomed the letter of the professionals as a timely representation.
“This is yet another timely representation, and the Wildlife Institute of India and the Government must pay heed. There are numerous heritage homes in Pale, Velsao, Cansaulim, Arossim and other villages along the existing railway tracks," Dourado said.
