I spoke with regards to the unmarked, age-old network of creeks with tidal influence in our villages. We prepared a presentation of individual maps that traced the full network of these creeks and the water bodies that they feed, the maps were created by superimposing the draft CZMP map 2021 on google satellite images to mark out the disparities.
Failing to mark such creeks and water bodies would put them at risk of landfilling and subsequent development, which would lead to several consequences: flooding, destruction of ecosystems, and ending the fish breeding activities which have been carried out for millennia, to name a few.
Being the heirs to our heavily threatened, yet magnificent state, it is of utmost importance that the Goan youth actively participate in public movements involving policy decisions that alter the entire course of the state’s ecology. I was horrified at the undemocratic and atrociously disorganised hearing, which robbed numerous registered speakers of their opportunity to be heard.
- Caelan D’Costa, Student of Architecture MSAP, MAHE Manipal
