CONTROVERSIES HOGGED MICKKY PACHECO FOR MOST OF THE YEAR by Nisser Dias

As the world welcomes the new year, I would like to reminisce about some important events involving our elected representatives and officials during 2010. Topping the list is bandanna sporting MLA who has been in news for all the wrong reasons.

Every end of the year while the world readies itself to bring in the new and wring out the old, Benaulim MLA Mickky Pacheco seems to have attracted only controversies. To make my point clear, last December (28th Dec 2009) it was alleged that the former Tourism minister was the mastermind behind the stoning and ransacking the house of a Colva panch for producing a CD based on the lifestyle of a politician and a priest. From then on for one complete year controversies have dogged the legislator. And this week we have heard that the Congress led government has closed doors on his reinstatement as a minister.

The year started with the South Goa administration or rather the district collector G P Naik who is a crony of the politicians issuing an order in January to ban the controversial CD without even hearing it. Worse still he issued a gag order on the media particularly the electronic media of playing the CD on their channels. Subsequently the court struck down the order of the Collector terming it irrational. Infact, the ban order of the Collector helped the sales of the CD to soar.

In the same month Home minister Ravi Naik made a startling statement that drugs were not available in Goa. So illogical was the statement, given the fact that drugs and the first tourists made their entry together into Goa in the 70’s. Worse still the statement was so ill-timed when there were allegation of his son Roy Naik being the kingpin in the drug trade along the coastal belt. Subsequently the can of worms opened to reveal the involvement of police officers in the drug trade which was followed by their arrest and dismissal from office.

In the third week of January, Babush Monserrate revived the ‘Gang of 7’ namely the NCP trio, MGP duo, Vishwajeet Rane. Churchill Alemao also had talks with the G7. Chief minister Digambar Kamat took the easy way out, inducted Babush as the Education minister by dropping equally controversial minister Dayanand Narvekar. The month of January 2010 ended with the scion of the Gandhi family Rahul Gandhi visiting the state. Besides the controversy he created with his political meeting at the Goa University, he left state with food for thought for the Goan youth. He said, “You either play the game or go home. Don’t be a commentator be a player”. With this words he was urging the youth to join main stream politics.

The month of February saw Coastal Regulation Zone authorities executed High Court orders and demolished structures built in violation of the CRZ rules and regulations. While temporary structures of traditional fishermen and small encroachments of small entrepreneurs faced the axe the big fish like owners of five star hotels got away. Ironically hotel industrialist are the ones who have changed the demography of the coastal line and done much damaged to our shores.

It was also the month when Fatorda MLA sought personal details of all the students in the state studying in first to fourth standard and from tenth to12th. And the director of Education who is more of rubber stamp of the politicians willingly made it available it to him. Nothing must have happened now but one can be sure that if the BJP comes to power they will use this information to target the minorities.

In the month of March the Tourist Taxi Operators indicated how unruly lot they are. It is open secret that these clan fleece tourists left, right and centre and want to monopolize this type extortion. They do not to share the spoils with the tour operators. When a tour operator tried to take his guests for sight seeing in a coach, the tourist taxi operators blocked the bus and grabbed the gun from the waistband of the driver and threatened to shoot him, thus bringing a bad name to Goa, Goans and tourism in Goa.

During the assembly session in the month of April the Opposition headed by Manohar Parrikar floored the government on all fronts. Infact the Opposition exposed how the state treasury was losing money due to the lopsided policies of the Digambar Kamat led government. Parrikar pointed out how the exchequer was being denied crores of rupees through illegal mining with minister themselves either indulging in it or having a share in the loot. The BJP also exposed scam in the excise department and they went a step ahead to allege that CM could be involved.

Urban Development ministry headed by Joaquim Alemao was totally exposed for criminal waste of exchequer’s money. Comptroller and Auditor General Of India (CAG) in its audit report nailed the minister’s hide to the wall for lapses purportedly committed to suit his pockets. The junior Alemao has wasted crores of rupees by purchasing defunct sweeping machines, introducing untested technology to treat garbage at Sonsoddo dump, illegally building sun bay to watch sunset at Baina beach which was ordered to be demolished. Now this minister is building an air conditioning toilet in the Municipal Garden at Margao.

Personnel of Goa State Pollution Control Board was roused from their hibernation by some activist from Colva who took to streets to protest over the worsening conditioning of the Colva creek. For years now illegal restaurants which have been allowed to function from the banks of the creek have been discharging their sewage into the creek thereby polluting it. What the board has done so far is that it has only issued some show cause notices to the restaurants. As of today the degradation of the creek continues.

It was also in the month of May that the chief minister Digambar Kamat exposed his pseudo self. While telling the Goans that he works for the aam admi, he told some activists who were peacefully protesting about the marauding of Goa’s limited land mass, “I don’t depend on your votes, go ahead and do whatever you want”. However as of today he will not even get votes from the migrants at Monti Dongor because of formation of two rival groups there.

The fall of former Tourism Minister Mickky Pacheco from power began with the suicidal death of his friend Nadia Torrado. Police investigation revealed a sad saga of alleged sex, assault and deceit. The flamboyant Benaulim MLA tried real hard to cover up the entire issue by trying to save her life. But the almighty had other plans and young girl lost her life. This cost the arrogant MLA his ministership and also suffered detention in jail.

But while Mickky was undergoing a bad phase, Babush Monseratte managed to worm his way back into the Congress in the month of June. This Taleigao legislator had ditched Congress at the eleventh hour by filing his nomination on a regional party. It was alleged that he was instrumental in brutally assaulting youth congress for protesting about stopping of setting up of IT Habitat at Dona Paula.

TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK