It was a week when Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte descended at Colva to unveil plans to launch the centrally-funded Swadesh Darshan 2.0 scheme at the world famous iconic beach. The phase-I project included redevelopment of the existing tourism-owned commercial complex with a modern complex housing tourism convenience including information, health, police outpost et al.
Before leaving Colva, the Tourism Minister asserted the department has not taken any decision how to go about development on the tourism-acquired beach facing property, even decrying attempts in certain quarters to misguide the local fishermen community of their displacement from their fishing village.
Anxiety and fears, however, is indeed writ large on the faces of the traditional fishermen from the coastal village. They fear that any development on the sprawling tourism-acquired property admeasuring 54, 452 sq mtrs will displace them from their traditional fishing activity, and cause loss to their very livelihood and survival.
Traditional fishermen from Colva have been pursuing their fishing activities, including fish drying, stacking salts and boats in the huts (kuds) on the beach-facing property decades before the Tourism Department acquired the property in the year 1988. Since then, the sword of Damocles has been hanging over the heads of the beleaguered fishermen with successive governments making abortive attempts to displace them from their fishing habitat.
President of the Traditional Fishermen Association of Colva, Thomas Rodrigues informed that the traditional fishermen have been waging a sustained battle for their survival as successive governments set their sights on the tourism-acquired property. “Where would the traditional fishermen go if they are displaced by the Tourism Department? Right now, the Tourism Department has not conveyed any message to the fishermen over plans to develop the acquired property. But, anxiety has gripped the fishermen with the Tourism Department unveiling plans to implement Swadesh Darshan 2.0 scheme at Colva,” he said.
He added: “The traditional fishermen eke a living on the fishing activity and have no other place to go. Moreover, they cannot be rehabilitated away from the coast as their very occupation is dependent on the fish catch and adding value to the catch.”
Fisherwomen Alice Fernandes made an impassioned plea to the government not to disturb the activities of the traditional fishermen. “We use the property in question to dry fish and to stack the dried fish. We store salt and dry fish in the huts (kuds). Our very livelihood is linked with the shore and sea. We spend the entire day on the shore and return home late evenings,” she said.
So far, the Tourism Department is maintaining a stoic silence on plans to develop the 54,452 sq mtrs beach-facing prime property at the world famous Colva beach. Aware that any development plans is expected to kick up a storm in the village successive governments have been going slow on the question of developing the prime property.
When govt razed structures on acquired land for free access
The last time the government tried to displace the traditional fishermen from the tourism-acquired property admeasuring 54,452 sq mtrs was a little over 19 years ago when bulldozers razed down the structures standing in the acquired land on May 5, 2005.
The government of the day had mobilised huge police force to clear the structures standing on the acquired property. Around 60 structures, including 13 pucca structures were brought down in the day-long operation.
The Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Margao Dipak Desai had ordered the arrest of then South Goa MP Churchill Alemao after he along with fishermen stood in front of a bulldozer in order to stall the operation.
Records show that the land in question was acquired by the Tourism Department in 1988 at a cost of Rs 33.31 lakh. The avowed objective behind the land acquisition, sources said, was to keep free access to the people visiting Colva beach.
Says fisherman Thomas Rodrigues: “The fishermen have been knocking the doors of successive governments for their rehabilitation but in vain. Our plea for proper rehabilitation has not been implemented till date. We only hope the traditional fishermen will not be left in the lurch when the government implements the tourism plan for Colva.”