At a young age of 21, Loutolim resident George Lobo setaside his hotel management dream and is busy taking up the cause of localstrying to make people understand as to why they need to save the planet.
“It all began when I was inspired by Fr Bismarque’steachings to be environment conscious. Along with a few others, I stood upagainst an illegal construction and prevented a builder from building a fourstorey construction on a water pipeline in Loutolim, with very little FAR, wayback in March 2011. Since then I am always ready to stand up for anything wrongin Goa or in my village,” stated a passionate George.
George recalls the days in 2007 when Oscar Rebello was thehero and he was a young kid on the block organising street plays, trying tomake people understand how bad the 2011 Regional Plan was to them. But despitethe efforts of coming together and making a beautiful draft plan for Loutolim,crooks still got it tampered and huge land conversions were carried out in Loutolimin the 2021 Regional Plan. “It’s then when I engaged youth through the Parishand organised a mime against the Regional Plan and fought with the VillageGroups of Goa at Azad Maidan to see that the plan was scrapped. We managed tobring huge crowds for our gram sabha meetings and public meetings across Goa torevolt against this doctored plan,” said George.
The young Lobo believes that sitting on the fence doesn’treally work and he firmly believes that the only way to clean the system is tobe a part of it. A reason why the young crusader campaigned for Fr BismarqueDias in Cumbharjua, since his own constituency did not really have any newfaces. “Like many, I was disheartened with his loss, I decided to contest thepanchayat elections. I was the youngest candidate and was pitted against eightothers. But I lost out to money and muscle power,” claims George.
George shot to fame as a crusader in his village, when hestood against the might of the shipbuilding industry in the area and began tofight for the rights of the farmers and fishermen who earned their livelihoodfrom the khazan land in the region. “Its amazing how the fishermen in thisregion would allow the salt water to come in through the sluice gates,cultivate fish and then let the water out while they would trap the fresh waterand cultivate their fields. But from small unit, this company expanded into ahuge unit and unsuped the land of these villagers,” exclaimed George.
George has been fighting for clearing of the khazan landfrom the hazardous metal garbage the ship building unit dumps on this khazanland at Sonfator-Loutolim and to stop the sand blasting activity at this sitethat settles toxic dust in this region. George has also been fighting forpreservation of Goa besides building support to fight against pollution, landencroachments, construction irregularities through social media, though hebelieves that words spoken on social media needs to transform into action bycoming on the field to preserve what mother nature has given us. The young ladplans to setup a small business of his own and quit his job to give his crusademore time and all this despite facing opposition from home and his near-one’swho fear threat to his life from the rich and powerful.
