Welcome To Goa
A popular paradise for the mining mafia
Benwen Lopez


As a child I use to always see Goa as a paradise for tourists and holiday makers but slowly after my exposure to various NGOs I have slowly learnt that Goa is also a paradise for the mining mafia. At first I thought it was part of all development but then after a detail study I began to realize that it’s only the development for the rich and the famous. And Goa is sitting on a time bomb of food scarcity and the degradation of the environment.

During my last two trips to Goa I had interacted with a lot of groups involved in combating this mafia. Each had different stories to tell about the hell that the villagers living the remote areas where the mining occurs are going through.

They came in with the objective of development and providing employment but slowly and steadily this big mafia started to rape the environment. The lush green fields began turning into barren lands, natural water springs, wells and places of heritage began filling with mining junk Agriculture was earlier the main source of employment in Lamgaon a village in North Goa. But now due to this mining mafia only 20 percent of the land is fit for cultivation. Thousands of liters of ground water are being sucked out by this mafia in order to extract the ore causing the sources of water in these villages to become history. In Mayem nearly 300 wells have gone dry from January to May.

Now Lamgaon is one of the many villagers which have been affected in the name of development. Many villages like Pissurlem, Bicholim and Sulcorna etc have been affected heavily. Villagers now have to cut live trees for firewood instead of the normal dead trees. And not forgetting the displacement of the homes of many villagers due to this mining process. The villagers in these mining affected areas feel that monetary compensation is no justice as the entire agriculture and horticulture occupation is being destroyed. Just like other MNCs the mining mafia uses employment as an argument to counter the demand of its closure. But always the issue of contract labour and daily waged labour is never discussed and always concealed. In Colamb, Sanguem (South Goa) lush green forests have been slashed down to clear the way for mining. Forests were cleared out by the police force a couple of years ago by the police force and now the Kushavati River is facing the dangerous situation due to mining which includes killing of the aquatic life. In Muscavrem 325 people were rendered agricultural losses due to the depletion of water in reaction with the mining activity. In Pissurlem 80 acres of the agricultural land is silted with mining dumps. But due to the famous floods which appeared in 1999 deposited nearly 1 meter deep of mining silt into the Agricultural fields.

Mining mafia like Chowgules, Dempos, Salgaocars, Damodar Mangaljis, Sesa Goa (A Japanese Multinational) have been responsible for this current situation in Goa. These companies have received open support from the State Government, Political parties including the Congress, MGP, BJP due to the crores of rupees pumped in by the mafia. In one of its tricks and eyewash the people the government of Goa brings a stay order to stop all mining process during the monsoons but it’s a known fact that mining cannot be conducted during the monsoons so therefore this act is only to hoodwink the people.


Due to the open promotion of the State Government of Goa for the mining mafia, various movements were formed in different parts of Goa under the leadership of various people and forums such as Nature, Environment, Society and Transformation (NEST), Bro. Philip Neri (A religious member of the Salesian Society) etc. These people and groups are responsible for organizing the villagers and creating an awareness about the whole issue and its hazardous affects. They have networked with other organizations conducted conferences in order to throw more light on the struggle of the villagers in these affected areas. They have raised the issues of food security, processes, control of land, water, forests and agriculture by the mafia. They have exposed the various criminal activities of the mafia such as the attack on one of the activist of the movement named Pandurang Porob.

On 4th September 2004, at around 9 am a mob of 12 people attacked Pandurang Porob because two hours earlier he stopped a water tanker of a mining company and demanded 2 buckets of water which was refused. Pandurang was attacked with choppers and sticks. He was rescued by co comrades and rushed to the hospital for treatment. Pandurang is also a BJP activist and the Attorney of the Pissurlem Communidade. The mining company responsible for the attack quickly blamed the driver and the contractor but till date the contractor and driver are still in service.

Such attacks are plenty and go unreported in the press because these mining mafias own most of the press and even fund NGOs who are involved with environment. These mining mafias also sponsor various events in order to gain public confidence and even own colleges in order to kill the movement. But it is mainly the rich and elite class who benefit from these facilities.

There is an urgent need for a wake up call to all people to support the struggle combating the mining mafia in order to protect the environment and agriculture situation of Goa.

The writer is the editor of CRASH (Community Resources Against State Hoodlums) and a member of the International Press Association (USA)