VASCO: As directed in a High Court order, the Goa government demolished the red-light area flourishing in Baina on June 14, 2004. The administration demolished not only the cubicles used for prostitution, but also a large number of residential rooms used by people with no connection to prostitution. Around 750 rooms were demolished and 3,000 people affected.
Sunday will be the eleventh anniversary of the demolition. Herald visited the area to check whether the situation had improved in any sphere and to understand how migrant labourers and a few people displaced by the 2004 demolitions continued to live in the half-demolished slum.
“One can certainly witness a change in Baina, but sadly, the change is only negative. From living conditions to lack of development, one can see total neglect. The poor residents never demand anything for fear of getting displaced,” said a Baina resident on condition of anonymity.
The locals informed that while they were trying hard to move forward, they lacked support from the administration. Many feel that Baina will one day revert to its old state. “People still visit the old red-light district with the hope that they will find someone. A few still carry out the sex trade there, but the clients are not as many as before,” said another local on condition of anonymity.
It’s not that the state administration did nothing to beautify Baina after the demolition. The last government conceptualized the Ravindra Bhavan, and the building was inaugurated by the current government. The four-lane highway project (from Verna to MPT) passing through Baina will also change the face of the village, as will the Baina beach beautification project.
However, the slum adjacent to the Ravindra Bhavan needs attention. There has been no clarity regarding the fate of the people who reside there. “Narrow lanes filled with sewage and garbage odour is what has become the identity of the old red-light area in the last eleven years,” said a local.
Baina has seen quite a few demolitions apart from the one in 2004. In 2008 and 2011, the government demolished 200 structures that hindered the NHAI four-lane project. Last year, 70 odd structures were razed, while this year NHAI officials demolished 84 structures. Another 205 are facing a similar fate, which will happen in phases.