Captain Goa – Viriato Fernandes on his mission to Save Goem

n an age where a statement made in any part of the world can reach you instantly and opinions are formed almost immediately, it has become clear that well articulated and strong opinions can make a difference.

The power of the speaker to shape public opinion with arguments that their intentions are for the interest of the public and their ability to convince the masses about the same are critical to the success of any such campaign.

Over the last year or so, one man has managed to do this with aplomb. With his unassuming nature, his speeches have struck a chord with the public in Goa. Videos of his speeches, made at numerous venues as part of a state-wide campaign, have gone viral and his views have managed to get people to take a step back and listen to what he has to say.

Meet Captain Viriato Fernandes, a man who has dedicated his life to fighting for the country; his list of achievements deserves salutation and respect.

He was awarded commendation by the Commander-in-Chief, Western Naval Command in 2001 and again in 2008, as well as being commended by the Commander-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command in 2002. He was also awarded the Vijay Star medal for deployment during the Kargil War in 1999.

Now, he is fighting for his home state and as the Convenor of Goencho Avaaz, this is one battle he is dedicating the rest of his life for.

“For the survival of our future generations, stopping land use change is the first priority. Xet asa tem Xet, Bhatt asa tem Bhatt ani Rann asa tem Rann. Only individual/family dwellings and village schools and hospitals may be allowed in the entire state, until the people are empowered to make the plans for their villages/towns, and such plans are implemented. All ongoing construction projects for greed and not for need must be stopped immediately, else our future generations will become aliens ‘Porkhi’ in their own land,” says Captain Viriato, while speaking about this latest battle.

“I survived the Tsunami disaster that struck Andaman and Nicobar in December 2004. God probably wanted me to join the dedicated people and a whole lot of dedicated Goan fighters who have devoted their lives to fighting for the survival of Goa and its Goenkarponn,” adds the Captain, while speaking about what led him to take this plunge.

He also points out that all this stems from the attachment one has to the state, a state where they grew up in and a state that could see its identity change over a course of time and thus they have a chance of saving the Goa they know of before it’s lost forever.

Currently based in Chicalim, Viriato studied at St Clara High School and thereafter at Don Bosco High School Panjim. After graduating from Goa Engineering College in Mechanical Engineering, he joined the Indian Navy, where he did his Marine Engineering specialisation from INS Shivaji, Lonavla in 1993 and after opting for the aviation branch, he completed aeronautics specialisation in 1995. Thereafter, he qualified on the Dornier aircraft and was in aviation till his premature retirement a few months back after a satisfying career of 26 years.

What many don’t know about the man, who is referred to as Captain and has become a leader in his own right in Goa, is that he had a second career as well. He notched up a double in post graduate diplomas, first in Operations in 2012-14 and thereafter he did one more PGDBA in Supply Chain Management in 2015-16. In between, the Navy sponsored him in obtaining a Black Belt in Six Sigma Management. He also has done a certified course in Contract Management from the University of Southampton.

That’s not all, not only is he a national badminton player, he is a sportsmen who has played a lot of cricket and football. 

But it was his love for gardening that helped him be appreciative of what he endearing calls ‘the beautiful paradise that God has gifted to Goans’, fuelling his desire to fight for Goa.

“RP 2021 and other issues like Coal Pollution, Nationalisation of Rivers, etc swept me off my plans and here I am, lending my bit to the cause,” adds Viriato. 

And Goencho Avaaz has shown that they are willing to go and get their hands dirty. They have even taken to the fields, taking up agriculture to show the people that there are alternate ways to help a state show that there are ways to try and be self sufficient.

“Goa has to stop the greed based loot of our resources, and shift to need based economies. We have to empower our villages and make them self-governing units. There are enough job opportunities in community based, labour intensive, co-operative economic ventures. For example, if we stop concreting our nallahs and water bodies and instead build traditional bunds using local skill and manpower, it is a win-win-win situation with benefits such as environmental protection, more fish and food production, gainful employment for thousands of persons year around (instead of a few cement companies making hundreds of crores) and saving of huge expenses (even after making handsome payments for labour as most of the money being spent presently on expensive concrete will be saved). Of course, respect and proper remuneration for agriculture is also the way forward. I wonder why the government doesn’t help our fishing community to make economic progress by setting up cold storage facilities, instead of depending on “Fishing Agents” who make a cartel and are primarily responsible for the issues like formalin in fish,“ says Viriato.

Another big issue he has taken on is the Regional Plan (RP) and the recent actions taken by the Town and Country Planning Department (TCP). “ it is necessary to point out that rather than collecting necessary data, making legislative changes to give statutory recognition to the people's demands and the constitutional mandate for spatial planning to be done by the villagers themselves, implementing the way forward for RP as stated in the reply to the first query, the Government has implemented RP 2021 and is trying to increase constructions at any cost, even by audacious and illegal schemes such as gazetted changes on case-to-case basis, TDR on eco-sensitive lands and 'accommodation reservation'. Today, the people are convinced that ‘case-to-case’ basis simply implies ‘suitcase to suitcase’ – a means of greasing the palms for clearing change of land use case,” adds Viriato.

On a concluding note, with the Lok Sabha elections around the corner, the actions by such public-led movements can be an irritant to the present government and they are already being viewed as a thorn in the government’s side. It is another thing that the last state assembly elections saw a volte face with the manner in which the BJP managed to come back to power despite the election results,” says Captain, while speaking about what needs to be done.

“Ours is a non political umbrella organisation comprising over 30 NGOs, social organisations, voluntary groups, etc that came together to stop this rot that is killing Goem, Goenkar and Goenkarponn. The person who gave this call did yeomen service to Goa and Goans by invoking their love for Goa with his catchy slogan, though he himself practised the virtues of Fot, Fotting and Fottingponn. I feel the people of Goa and India at large are wise and have judged the false promises that the government at the centre and in the state have made and failed to fulfil these promises. The BJP-led government in the state has turned out to be a friend of the industrialists and do not care for the Niz Goenkars. But we as Goencho Avaaz will do all that is necessary and resist all anti people and pro real estate policies of the present government and ensure that Goa remains safe for the future generations,” says the Captain on the last state assembly election results and the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.