TUESDAY, JULY 02, 2024
SURAJ NANDREKAR
Being so close to the world’s top tourist attractions, the Candolim, Calangute and Baga Beaches, which have seen haphazard development, the tiny village of Saligao has been successful in retaining its originality till date.
While any other village would have enchased on the advantages of being so close to tourist destinations, I Form of hotels, restaurants, markets, clubs etc, Saligao has shut its door to all such developments and wants it to be known as the Heritage Village of Goa.
The village has one of the most attractive churches in Goa the Mãe de Deus Parish Church built in 1873, Hindu temples including Sharvani, Dattatriya (at the Seminary Hill, Sonarbhat), Laxmi Narayan (near market area) and Vittal Temple (near the border with Sangolda). The village also has a spring called Salmona Spring, which is now in bad shape and the villagers blaming the government for its neglect.
Throughout of village jurisdiction, the Solid Waste Treatment Plant at Calangute has the only access through the Saligao village and has been one of the most contentious issues in the village in the last few years.
Concerns are raised by villagers over the dumping of garbage from the coastal belt on the hillock atop the village, partly on village lands and partly on land belonging to the Calangute Comunidade but very close (and overlooking) the village.
Ramesh Ghadi of Save Saligao Group, which is opposing the State government’s move of expansion treatment plant capacity to 250 tonnes a day (currently 100 tonnes) says the villagers will never agree to such a draconian plan of the State government.
“The former chief minister of Goa had come begging to the village gram sabha when plant was started saying it would be only for the coastal areas of Calangute, Candolim and Baga. However, it soon became entire northern coastal areas, panchayats and then entire garbage of Goa started coming here for treatment,” he said.
He said the locals stopped the trucks and found them coming from as far as Colva.
“The result of the plant has been the water in wells getting contaminated and the iconic Salmona Spring, which is within 500 metres of plant, is worst hit,” he said.
Tulio de Sousa, son-in-law of former Chief Minister Wilfred de Sousa, says Saligao is a quaint village which has several landmarks which need to be revived.
“Salmona Spring is one the landmarks of the village for sure and its water was used for medicinal purpose but due to the lychette flowing from garbage plant into the spring, the water has been polluted and rendered unusable. The precincts of the springs need to be preserved so that natural ambience is retained,” he says.
Tulio also feels the agriculture has to be restored in the village and the mismanagement has to stop.
“This will restore landscape of the entire area to its natural glory,” he says.
Depleting ground water issue is another concern raised by the villagers.
On the groundwater issue, in May 2002, a study titled “Saligao’s Water Crisis and Commercial Groundwater Extraction” was released. Its summary said: "Extraction of groundwater for commercial sale outside the village has risen sharply in the last five years, to a level of up to 4,35,000 litres per day. Groundwater levels are falling, and wells for household use and for irrigating farmland are running dry in some parts of Saligao, although other parts of the village are unaffected. The problem is very serious for household wells in Don Vaddo and parts of Sonarbhat, and for farmers in Mollembhat. Enough consumers are suffering serious problems to merit the SCCC (Saligao Civic and Consumers' Cell) taking up commercial groundwater extraction as a community issue."
It noted that more than half of 28 household wells surveyed in several parts of the village went dry despite normal monsoon year. Falling water levels in this area have coincided with a very rapid increase in commercial extraction from the local well. The Save Saligao Group has also been opposing the illegalities in the village.
Ghadi along with his team has been constantly agitating and stopping illegal constructions, mostly by the migrants.
“We have nothing against the migrants but they have to follow law of the land. With support of politicians they are involved in illegal constructions, which we will not allow,” he said.
Ghadi adds, “We do not want Saligao to go Calangute way. We want this place to be retained with status of heritage village.”
Sagun Pednekar, another villager says the village is facing the brunt for being close to the tourist destination.
“As the accommodation is costlier in Calangute, the migrants are moving to Saligao for stay and creating nuisance,” he says.
Krishnanath Kolvalkar complained that the agricultural land in the village is being illegally converted.
“There is illegal land filling and construction in the village, which has now been stopped by the villagers. There need to be strict punishment, who is involved in such illegalities,” he says.
Krishna Mhaloji another local says that the village should retain its serene beauty and should not allow to be commercialised.
“We do not want the beauty of village to be disturbed with hotels, restaurants, clubs and big constructions,” he says.
The Save Saligao Group has also been opposing the illegalities in the village. I along with my team have been constantly agitating and stopping illegal constructions, mostly by the migrants. We have nothing against the migrants but they have to follow law of the land. With support of politicians they are involved in illegal constructions, which we will not allow. We do not want Saligao to go Calangute way. We want this place to be retained with status of heritage village
