PANAJI
They may not have fancy designations before and after their names, but several youngsters made their presence felt and voices heard at the public hearings in Campal and Margao on Thursday, leaving many officials and experts impressed with their presentations.
Through their emphatic presentations and submissions at both public hearings, the young minds made it clear that they not only care about Goa's environment but are willing to raise their voices to protect the land to be left behind for their generation.
Among the many youths who either spoke, submitted their presentations or were involved in research for the presentations on wide-ranging issues at the public hearings included Caelan D'Costa, Sherwyn Correia, Ana Smriti Paes, Chelsea Fernandes, Valerie Afonso, Alisha Pereira, Sarita Fernandes, Sia Keserker, Saisha Harmalkar, Alilia Souza and Aboli Bhandhan.
“Being a Vascokar, I am interested in my town and surrounding villages. So, my concern was the total bypassing of the CZMP prepared by our municipal council with help of local citizens,” said Sherwyn Correia, who handed over his written submissions to the GCZMA at the public hearing in Margao.
“The MMC’s draft plan contained many critical measures including restoration of Vasco Bay (Kharewaddo) beach, ensuring the livelihood of the fishing community and protecting their houses and conservation of coral reefs at Grande Island. Nothing finds a place in the draft CZMP.”
“I also questioned the State government’s purported recommendations in the CZMP report that coal handling at MPT should not be permitted beyond the present capacity. I demanded a total stoppage of all coal handling at MPT. We neither want nor need coal handling and transportation in Goa,” added Correia.
Ana Smriti Paes, a student of GMC, said their youth team from Chicalim had prepared objections to the draft CZMP.
“I presented the alterations made to the bank of Zuari river by land reclamation from MPT to Loutolim. In the process of preparation, I learnt a lot about map reading.”
“It is very important for young people to know what is going on and to be involved in decision making. For this, we need to invest time and effort into reading as much as we can to be well informed. But through everything, good moral values and honesty is a must.”
Sarita Fernandes made an online presentation at Margao on Goa's turtle nesting beaches and presented critical discrepancies, particularly of the draft CZMP maps by NCSCM and Draft Turtle Management Plan by the Centre for Environment Education (CEE).
“The core points were the division of beaches, especially Morjim and Agonda, into commercial and conservation zones. I explained how this division doesn't help local tourism or conservation as tourists are becoming mindful of these issues regarding wildlife,” said Fernandes, who works as Research Faculty in Climate Change for the National Maritime Foundation in New Delhi and is also Director and Managing Trustee of the Sea Turtle Trust in Goa.
“Other issues included very small zones marked in the report shown as turtle nestings and the wrong scientific fact in the CEE report that turtles are known to nest only on one part of the beach and hence the beach could be divided. Data and maps that they showed clearly indicated they nest across the entire beach and other beaches surrounding them,” she added.
At Campal, Roshan Mathias made a presentation on hills/slopes and natural features within CRZ and the need for topographic maps to be incorporated into the CZMP.
“The presently prepared draft CZMP Maps by the NSCSM does not reflect contour or topography, which are required to know which are the hilly/sloppy areas within CRZ.”
“Such grave negligence by the NSCCM will lead to the complete destruction of these hills and slopes. Permissions have been given in the past by the GCZMA towards developmental and beautification projects in these sensitive areas and are contradictory to the very CRZ Notification 2011,” said Mathias.
