By Rajan Narayan

AND a few stray thoughts for yet another Saturday. For a Saturday following the week when the first heavy showers paralyzed not only smart Panaji but long suffering Mapusa, and even Margao and Vasco. For a Saturday following the week when there was a complete protest or bandh last Friday, on May 16. For a Saturday following the week when the water supply system in Taleigao broken down completely. For a Saturday following the week when Celebi Airport Services India Pvt Ltd, was directed to shut down its operations at various airports in India including Goa’s Mopa airport. For a Saturday following the week when the Supreme Court slammed a BJP minister in Madhya Pradesh who made an insensitive remark about Carnal Sophia Qureshi. For a Saturday following the week when the attack on freedom of speech continued.

MONSOON HEAVY SHOWER
AND a few stray thoughts on the first heavy showers of the monsoon paralyzing not only smart city Panaji but long-suffering Mapusa, and even Margao and Vasco. The heavy spell of rain which extended till late in the evening and for another 24 hours exposed the shoddy work done on the Smart City Projects.
Among the worst-affected areas in Panaji were Odxel where hilly land has been cut and trees destroyed for a super luxury housing project. The humble homes of the local Gaudi residents right on the beach, the adjoining property all owned by the Don Bosco order, was heavily affected by flooding. The entire stretch of road from Bambolim to Dona Paula was submerged despite this being a newly developed area.
In Mapusa the iconic municipal market homes and roads got flooded as desilting of gutters and maintenance of drainage systems was delayed or forgotten. In Margao rain waters entered the slum areas of Moti Dongor and other parts of the city due to incomplete sewage works. In fact waste from the nallah sweeps into the Sal river. In Bicholim overflowing drains ensured the roads remained flooded. A large number of trees were approved for butchering in Benaulim and Fatorda.
The constituency of Vishwajit Rane, Valpoi, faced floods and a road near the Municipal garden collapsed. The Calangute and Saligao roads got flooded because the roads have been dug up to the laying of cables by telecom companies. Even large areas in Porvorim were submerged with heavy traffic jams on the Porvorim-Mapusa road due to flooding.
Undoubtedly the breakdowns are due to criminal negligence by the PWD and the delay in repairing roads, completing all digging work before the monsoon arrived. The worst part of it is the police is nowhere in sight. There was no co-ordination between the various government departments. The drains choked over with silt and garbage and the ongoing construction works turned into water bodies and flowing rivers, paralyzing traffic and damaging public and private property in all the taluka of Goa.
The situation is likely to get worse as heavy rainfall has been forecast across Goa till May 26, accompanied with thunderstorms and gusty winds. There were no casualties except for an electricity department linesman who got a severe shock when he was attending to a transformer. To add to the misery of residents of Goa the power kept coming and going off. Ironically, the chief executive officer of Panaji smart city was forced to move to Ladakh, just before the rains hit Goa. Though Sanjit Rodrigues was relieved more than a year ago, he managed to stay in Goa, since the deadline for completion of the Smart City Projects was extended to May 1, 2025. Sanjit was not around to see how much more vulnerable to the rains the Smart City Projects have exposed the capital city to.

BURN HOLY BOOKS NOW
AND a few stray thoughts on the complete protest or bandh last Friday, on May 16. The provocation was the alleged burning of a copy of the holy Quran by some Hindutva elements. This provoked very strong protests not only from the Muslim minority community but also from members of the ruling Congress and other secular parties.
Karnataka is a Congress-ruled state that has implemented a quota for Muslims in jobs in the government and admission to professional colleges. The MP representing Belgavi in the Lok Sabha is Jagadish Shetter. The whole of Belgaum observed a bandh following the incident. Goans visiting Belgavi over the weekend were taken by surprise and were stranded in their hotels as all transport came to a halt.
Belgavi has a large population of the Muslim community. Belgavi is also a disputed area with both Karnataka and Maharashtra staking a claim to it. Belgavi was part of Maharashtra before the linguistic re-organization of the states. There will be clashes between supporters of Karnataka and Maharashtra, leading to a boycott of bus services.
It is not widely known that the husband of Sophia Qureshi, who briefed the media on Operation Sindoor, is a daughter-in-law of Belgavi. Her husband is also a military officer from Belgavi. The Qureshis are traditionally meat traders. However, in recent times, many members in the community have changed their livelihoods, and even joined the central services, producing IAS officers.

WATER SUPPLY
AND a few stray thoughts on the water supply system in Taleigao which has broken down completely. For over a month now, there have been allegations that the drinking water is contaminated by sewage pipe water. The attempt of the Panchayat authorities to locate the source of contamination has not yielded any results. The panchayat and the PWD have been digging up roads in Taleigao to locate the leakages.
For over a month now residents of Taleigao have not been getting a safe source of drinking water. This is all the more surprising as Taleigao is the home place of Atanasio Babush and Jennifer Monserrate. Jennifer is the Taleigao constituency MLA while Babush Monserrate is the revenue minister. There have also been charges of land filling near Babush Monserrate’s newer residence which is a farm house, down the lane to the fields behind Taleigao church.
In the recent past, there have also been many fires in the fields of Taleigao. It is suspected that the fires are deliberately started for the benefit of builders. Taleigao, once projected as the Singapore in the making of Goa, is now in a sorry state. Those who thought they were buying luxury flats are resorting to distress sales.
AND a few stray thoughts on Celebi Airport Services India Pvt Ltd, being directed to shut down its operation at various airports in India including Mopa airport. The company is a Turkish firm and it is reported that the daughter of the Turkish president has a major stake in it. The company has been handling aircraft at the airports. Its services include ground handling at the major airports in the country.
In the light of Turkey supporting Pakistan during Operation Sindoor there is a call in India to boycott companies based in Turkey. The Central government has suspended the security clearance given to Celebi. The company is in Supreme Court challenging the order of the civil aviation ministry. Company lawyers point out that the company has been operating in India for the last 17 years and employs near 14,000 people. It argues that it is an Indian company with Indian employees.
But now there are strong hostile sentiments against Turkey it is reported supplied drones to Pakistan which were used to target Indian airbases. Incidentally, the rooftop restaurant run by Amit Monseratte, “Raki,” promotes Turkish delights on its Lebanese menu. The joke going around is that all Indians should abandon using Turkish towels in protest against Turkey’s support to Pakistan terrorists.

SOPHIA QURESHI
AND a few stray thoughts on the Supreme Court slamming a BJP minister in Madhya Pradesh, who made an insensitive remark about Colonel Sophia Qureshi. BJP minister Vijay Singh told the minister that he was a public figure and should be more sensitive. The apex court is also very upset with the State police, which has refused to arrest the minister. The SC rejected the conditional apology of the ministry. The judges commented, “if this is your apology, it is rejected outright. Operation Sindoor was a uniting issue, every citizen stood in support of the armed forces. You hurt the sentiments of millions of citizens.”
The court has directed the DIG to set up a special investigation team to take action against the minister. Ironically, the minister is being defended by the BJP High Command. He has not been directed to resign from the cabinet.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH
AND a last stray thought on the continuing attack on the freedom of speech. The latest victim is the Marathi actor and poet Veera Sathindar’s wife for organizing an event last week where Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmed iconic poem “Hum Dekege” was recited. Pushpa Sathindar had organized the event in memory of her late husband, who played a lead role in the Marathi film “Court” which was India’s official entry in the Oscars in 2016.
The couple were followers of Babasaheb Ambedkar and had strong left-leanings. Ironically, the case was filed against Pushpa for endangering the integrity of the country. Surely, the poetry of a great poet cannot be a threat to the country now.