the goan I network
PANAJI
Labour and Employment Minister Rohan Khaunte on Saturday expressed that though the people of Goa wished for mining to resume at the earliest, mining in Goa could never come back to where it used to be.
Khaunte was speaking at the launch of ‘Goa on Air’, the community internet radio that will aim to bring social change and improve livelihoods in the state by voicing ideas.
Speaking about mining, and the current situation in Goa where mining dependents have been waiting for mining to resume for months on end now, Khaunte said that it was natural in life that when anything went up (was doing well), it would someday come down. The people and government should now work together to improve livelihoods in the state.
“In the early 2000s, there was a boom in the mining sector in Goa, but we never gave a thought to the day when it would come down. Everything has to change, and it has,” said the Minister, while encouraging people to take a positive approach, and find alternatives to earning livelihoods.
“The Goa Livelihoods Forum (GLF) can go ahead if every citizen of Goa takes a positive approach. This positive approach can take Goa forward as a ‘suvarna Gõy.’ (Golden Goa) When I saw the documentary, I felt a spark in me. It is time for everyone “ activists, opposition, ruling “ to work together. Then mining, fisheries, IT...getting a job in any field is never a challenge. We can give the youth of today a new model,” he said.
Khaunte was referring to the documentary he had released earlier in the function, made by filmmaker Dharmanand Vernekar.
Meanwhile, a panel discussion at the event by people from the horticulture industry, business, and education, explored the different ways that youth could improve their livelihoods.
Expert on Horticulture Miguel Braganza praised the community of St Estevam for their experiment in community farming this year which had yielded excellent results.
“The community invested Rs 15 lakhs, and got 18 lakhs. We want this model to be an example to other villages,” said Braganza.
He also expressed positivity that those in the mining sector could find ways to have good livelihoods irrespective of whether mining resumed or not. “We have 40 students in Don Bosco Agriculture College in Sulcorna from mining families studying agriculture,” he said. “We just need to change our mindsets.”
