VASCO: Goencho Avaaz celebrated its third year anniversary on Tuesday, with its founders tracing its journey from an NGO to a political party.
Reminiscing on its genesis, President Swapnesh Sherlekar recalled that the Goencho Avaaz’s story is one of hope and inspiration. It all commenced in 2018, when like-minded people decided to come together as a citizens’ group to take up issues of public concern.
“A total of 38 NGOs, social groups, environmental organisations, etc. came together on one single platform to launch Goencho Avaaz. Since at that time the opposition had practically ceased to voice the sentiments and interests of the people, it was decided that the group take on the role of giving voice to the people’s problems, which resulted in the name Goencho Avaaz,’’ said Swapnesh.
“The first test soon sprung up in the shape of the Regional Plan (RP) – 2021. This plan hitherto held in abeyance, was made operational by the then Town and Country Planning Minister Vijay Sardesai. Awareness meetings tirelessly conducted by Goencho Avaaz all through South Goa villages bore the fruit by culminating in a massive public meeting at Lohia Maidan in Margao. After this successful endeavour, beleaguered citizens of Goa saw a beacon of hope in Goencho Avaaz,” he added.
“Goencho Avaaz has also taken up cases against the exploitation of a flawed law that allows migrants aided and abetted by vested politicians to change their names in order to avail of facilities meant for Goa’s Bhandari Samaj. A PIL has already been filed in the Bombay High Court.”
“Tourism dependent organisations such as Centre for Responsible Tourism, social organisations like Council for Social Justice and Peace (CSJP) and other fishermen communities were galvanised by Goencho Avaaz to campaign against the flawed Master Tourism Policy that the government tried to introduce.
“In 2020, the pandemic hit Goan seafarers, who found themselves stranded on the high seas across the world. Alarmed, Goencho Avaaz started researching the situation and was shocked to find that the Ministry of Shipping didn’t have any data on this issue. After painstaking and laborious research, Goencho Avaaz identified 22,449 Indian seafarers including Goans, who were left high and dry overseas,” he added.
“Going a step further, Goencho Avaaz tracked down the position of various ships holding these seamen. A letter was written to the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, under intimation to the Prime Minister Office. The Home Ministry in New Delhi was prompt in requesting for Goencho Avaaz’s assistance in the issue. Gratifyingly, the efforts bore fruits as all the missing seafarers were ultimately reunited with their families back home,” Swapnesh recalled further.
Captain Viriato Fernandes revealed that the constant fire-fighting and practically insurmountable difficulties in dealing with an unresponsive and apparently uncaring government, made the members of Goencho Avaaz realise that they were in effect witnessing the total collapse of political ethics and the consistent undermining of our democratic ethos.
“Although none of us ever nurtured any political ambitions, we realised that we just could not stand by and watch Goa and Goans being systematically destroyed by a group of seasoned manipulators working the system to their advantage at the cost of our motherland. In an endeavour to be the voice of positive change and fulfil the vision of a Goa where the wishes of its people would be heard and respected, Goencho Avaaz ventured into the formation of a political party..’’
As such, some months ago, Goencho Avaaz applied for recognition as a political party to the Election Commission of India in Delhi. The registration is currently still under process.