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Of sports, politics and power plays
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Of sports, politics and power plays

Stray Thoughts September 20, 2025 , by

By Rajan Narayan

AND a few stray thoughts and a few observations for yet another Saturday. For a Saturday following the week when the Pramod Sawant government suffered a major setback in the elections for office bearers of the Goa Cricket Association. This a high stake election because cricket bodies in the country are the richest. Indeed, the Board of Control for cricket which is the apex organization, dominates the world of cricket. India has the largest fan base for cricket in the world which means big money by way of advertising.
The BJP in the state fielded a panel led by Mahesh Candolkar, who was supported by BJP heavyweights including PWD Minister Digambar Kamat. The BJP panel was also backed by MLA Rajesh Patnekar and Irrigation Minister Subhash Shirodkar. Despite all the heavyweights campaigning for the BJP panel it was trounced by a panel headed by Chetan Desai, former GCI president.
Chetan Desai is seen as a Congress sympathizer although his claim to fame is that of being an excellent sports administrator. It was Chetan who liberated the GCA from the clutches of the corrupt Dayanand Narvekar. It may be recalled that there was a major scam in the printing of fake tickets during a 1-day match between England and India when Narvekar was the GCA president. The entire BJP panel which called itself the “parivartan” panel was wiped out by the Chetan Desai group.
Mahesh Desai, the younger brother of Chetan Desai who used to play cricket for the state, has been elected as the president of the GCA. The entire BJP panel was wiped out in the election. None on the BJP panel could even put up a fight despite the support of the BCCI which is controlled by Jay Shah, the son of Home Minister Amit Shah. The cricket clubs in Goa backed the Chetan Desai panel.
Incidentally, the Indian cricket team was forced to play the Asia Cup match against Pakistan in Dubai by Jay Shah. There was strong opposition to India playing against Pakistan in view of the Pahalgam massacre. The widows of the Pahalgam victims and survivors and leading former cricketers called for a boycott of the Asia Cup. The government of India forced the Indian team to play the game, but faced with stiff resistance, the team was instructed not to shake hands with the Pakistan players during the toss and after winning the championship. The captain was directed to dedicate the victory over Pakistan to the victims of Pak terror. The BJP politicized the cricketing event and worldwide the lack of sportsmanship on the cricket field has been condemned.
WILL HE, WON’T HE RETIRE?
AND a few stray thoughts on the 75th birthday of Narendra Modi being turned into an orgy of sycophancy. The mainstream media including the “Times of India” carried adulatory articles on Narendra Modi. In the Goa edition of the “Times of India” there was an article purportedly written by Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant titled “The Pragmatic Force Behind India’s Progress.” Other print media too were flooded with advertisements courtesy corporates ranging from Bluestar to the Birla groups. A south-based educational institution called SRM carried an ad titled “From Vision to Victory, Let us Celebrate the Promising Man of India.” It did not add that very few of the promises have been fulfilled.
Significantly, no one mentioned the fact that Modi himself had suggested all politicians should retire at the age of 75 years. Modi, in fact, forced LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Sushma Swaraj to retire from active politics, claiming they had crossed 75 years. Even RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had echoed Modi’s pleas that politicians should retire at 75.
But apparently Narendra Modi himself is an exception to this rule. He is in good company because many world leaders ranging from US President Donald Trump to Russia’s Vladimir Putin, who are also in their mid-70s or late-70s, are showing no signs of retirement.
REVIVAL OF MINING
AND a few stray thoughts on the revival of mining in Goa. Mining was suspended in Goa by the State government on the basis of the NB Shah Commission Report which was tabled in Parliament on Sept 10, 2012. The Supreme Court reinforced the ban on mining including the transportation of ore on Oct 5, 2012. A fatal blow to mining in Goa was the decision of the Supreme Court to cancel the second renewal of the active 88 mining leases in the State. Mining in Goa was suspended on the allegation by the Goa Foundation that the industry had made a bumper Rs40,000 crore to illegal mining. All rules were ignored when the demand for ore from China in the context of the Olympics in 2006 seeing a boom in prices from $20 to $200 dollars a ton.
Mining was revived in 2024 by the Narendra Modi government. This was on the condition that the mining leases in Goa and elsewhere in the country should be auctioned to the highest bidder. So much so all the traditional mine owners of Goa could not retain their old leases and had to compete with the rest of the country to renew mining. Goan mine owners are not able to match the bids of the multinational Mittal-owned Vedanta and the Jindals who have a steel plant in neighboring Karnataka.
As a concession to the local mining lobby the government of Goa decided to permit the e-auction of 7.5 tons of ore lying at the jetties and mining dumps when the suspension came into force. The government of Goa expects to make over Rs100 crore in revenue from the proposed auction to be held on Oct 13 and 14, 2025. The government is also going to auction the mining dumps of rejects as they still contain iron ore. Though mining has resumed over the last one year no ore has been exported from Goa.
There is stiff opposition from many of the villages who have blocked the transport of ore, the biggest source of pollution historically has been the transportation of ore in open trucks. In theory, the mine owners are supposed to sprinkle the ore and cover it with thick tarpaulin sheets. It is also alleged that the rivers of Goa the Mandovi and Zuari were polluted as ore was transported by barges from mining points to Mormugoa port for export.
READ BOOK ON MHADEI
AND a few stray thoughts on the observations by Justice Ferdinand Rebello at the launch of the book on Mhadei conceptualized by the New York based Dr Ronald de Souza. Ferdin Rebello, former chief justice of the Allahabad high court, pointed out that Goa had not made any attempt to utilize the additional 24 TMC of water allotted to Goa for 59 projects including hydro electric power generation by the 2018 order of the Mhadei Water Disputes Tribunal.
Justice Ferdin revealed that the tribunal’s award in 2018 is expected to come up for review after a 30 year period in 2048. To quote Ferdin Rebello, “as of today seven years have passed and no one is aware of the steps taken by the Goa government and the Mhadei Water Management Authority.” Ferdin also questioned if Goa is in a position to provide storage for the 59 projects on the river approved by the tribunal. Justice Ferdin himself provided the answers by admitting that most of these projects are in the notified areas of the wildlife sanctuaries and would have severe ecological consequences. The conservator of forests has rightly refused to grant permission to these projects, including the Tamar project proposed by the Electricity department for a mega transformer within the sanctuary.
Dr Peter Ronnie de Souza has pointed out that the Mhadei study presented by him and other experts had lessons globally. It had implications for the management of rivers. In a personal interaction he observed that rivers should not be tamed but nurtured. He revealed that the river Nile which is the lifeline of Egypt had been destroyed by the Aswan dam. In India, Medha Patkar has fought many battles against the mega dam project on the Narmada river.
Most big cities in the world are situated on the banks of rivers. There was a major clean-up of the river Sienne in Paris on the eve of the Olympic Games held last year. The river Thames in London is in the process of a massive clean-up and as part of the process, there’s census of swans living on the river. The Danube is the lifeline of Europe. The American capital is located on river Potmac. So much so the management of rivers is crucial to the survival of our cities and civilizations.
It may be recorded that the oldest civilizations came up on the banks of the Indus and the Nile rivers. Dr de Souza points out that floods are part of the life of every river and indeed, the soil that they deposit rejuvenates agriculture. Floods should not be seen as a calamity and they are often caused by the senseless damming of rivers.
ASIAN CUP FOOTBALL KICKS OFF
AND a last stray thought on the Asian Federation Cup League matches which kicked off in Goa on Wednesday, September 17, 2025. This is a tournament featuring the top football clubs in Asia. The first of these matches between FC Goa and Iraq’s Al Zawraa has kicked off and several other league matches will be held in Goa. Including the much awaited match against Al-Nassr, that is the Saudi Arabia team which boasts of the world renowned Portuguese football player Ronaldo. The Goa FC which is hosting the league matches has already started marketing the tickets for the big game of Cristiano Romaldo-led Al Nassr football club scheduled for Oct22. The tickets are stiffly priced ranging from Rs2,500 to Rs8,500. All the matches are being held under floodlights at the Fatorda Stadium starting 8pm at night.
The Asian League matches in Goa should give a major boost to football. Goan clubs like Salgaocar FC, the Dempos and Churchill Brothers, have been lamenting that audience for football have sharply declined in Goa. Incidentally, FC Goa is the lowest ranked football team in the Asian Cup Championship.

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