Congratulations and Viva Greta! Viva Goa!! Viva Vanxim!!

Greta Vaz

Bharat Mukti Morcha wholeheartedly congratulates Greta Vaz for her steadfast loyalty for people of Vanxim against Ozone co-operate onslaught facilitated by Mahendra Gaunekar and Goa Archbishop Felipe Neri Ferrao. Greta Vaz was elected to the Sao Mathias Panchayat in Tiswadi from Vanxim island with overwhelming majority of votes at the last panchayat elections in May 2012. She along with three other members of Panchayat formed ruling panel in the seven member Panchayat body. She was to be the deputy Sarpanch then but the corporate agents worked hard against her taking this post and some other person was pushed for this post with the informal arrangement that the posts of Sarpanch and deputy Sarpach will be rotated after the gap of one year three months.

During this time number of attempts were made by Mahendra Gaunekar and Ozone group to win her over to the corporate and ditch the villagers. The ruling panel headed by Sarpanch Gurudas Bhomkar was even taken to the Ozone office at Miramar and was asked to put up demands for a compromise. Greta did not agree to move even an inch for a compromise and made it ample clear to the corporate that she cannot be purchased over. This act of Greta frustrated Mahendra Gaunekar and Ozone corporate. Umpteen numbers of calls made and verbal messages were sent to her. She categorically rejected every offer from Ozone. It was becoming terribly frustrating for the Ozone corporate. The corporate had in the meanwhile had offered to pay over 40 lakh rupees for each family with legal stakes. This was in addition to earlier payments in lakhs of rupees accepted by some families of Vanxim.

Greta Vaz had included in her election manifesto the commitment to protect mangroves and water bodies of Vanxim including survey number 8 that has been demarcated as settlement zone in RP 2021.

In the meanwhile one year three months ended and the rotation time approached. Corporate pressures coupled with other factors such as greed for power and money led to refusal of Sarpanch Gurudas Bhomkar to step down and make way for remaining two ruling panel members Greta Vaz and Vaibhavi Sawant to taste power. This generated tensions within the ruling panel. Allegations of corruption began to be leveled against the Sarpanch and public restlessness spread across Malar, Divar and Vanxim. Corporate and bamon raj agents kept toying the idea of breaking the ruling panel and provoked political instability. It is visible from the flow of events that corporate and Mahendra Gaunekar purchased ruling as well as opposition in Malar panchayat leadership successfully.

Vaibhavi Sawant took a pretense that since Sarpanch of her ruling panel is nor resigning and making way to her she would defect and trigger vote of no-confidence against the Sarpanch and herself become Sarpanch with scant respect and adherence to ethics and fair play. Actually she is incapable of planning, and functioned mostly as puppet of behind the scene operators. There were few behind the scene operators who were involved in continues scheming and planning and controlling Vaibhavi Sawant. The defection was achieved successfully by keeping Greta Vaz in dark and Sarpanch Bhokar’s term ended with passing of vote of no-confidence motion some weeks ago. Greta Vaz publicly expressed her disagreements with the way her panel member Vaibhavi Sawant has involved in back stabbing the ruling panel.

At this stage Maggie Silveira intervened and called for the meeting of the ruling panel to sort out the confusion. Vaibhavi Sawant along with Sarpanch and deputy sarpanch agreed to attend meet and sort out the differences. Vaibhavi however changed her mind after consulting opposition panel member and former sarpanch Tulsidas Kundoikar, a man who is seasoned in practice of corruption of public funds and manipulation of Gram Sabha besides successfully carrying on activities that promote bamon raj and corporate interest.  He has over 15 years experience in corruption and public manipulation and thinks himself to be invincible. He was also involved in manipulating public and getting 300 people to Chief Town planner's office in Panjim by paying Rs.1000/- per person with his collaborator Mario Pinto from Divar. Vaibhavi based on input from Tulsidas backed off from attending meeting called by Maggie Silveira and declared her support to opposition panel headed by Kundoikar. She also declared that she will not support Greta Vaz as deputy Sarpanch.

During this time of political uncertainly construction work for retaining wall in Vanxim began. This happened despite the written objections against the same by 56 people of Vanxim on 23^rd October 2012. Investigations by Greta Vaz revealed that the permission to start the work was given by her own panel Sarpanch Gurudas Bhomkar. Greta confronted Bhomkar and heated exchanges sparked off. Bhomkar agreed to have given the permission to start retaining wall over ruling the objections from Vanxim people as well as his own panel member from Vanxim Greta Vaz. This behaviour of Bhomkar reduced his stature as office boy in Ozone office. What a shame! This supplies the evidence that Gurudas Bhomkar too has been the recipient of fiduciary considerations from Mahendra Gaunekar and/or Ozone corporate that specializes in setting up SEZs. 

Greta shot letters to the Executive Engineer, Water resource department and another one to Chief Minister Parrikar objecting to the construction of retaining wall in Vanxim. No other member of Panchayat of Sao Mathias has protested publicly. It can be safely concluded that directly and indirectly they have received favors from the corporate and that’s why the entire Panchayat of Sao Mathias at Malar is collectively engaged in mockery of democracy. Six out of Seven the members of Panchayat have internally sold themselves to the bamon raj and corporate agenda of Ozone. Only one who has not sold herself is Greta Vaz.

So it looks that barring Vanxim member of Panchayat Greta Vaz every member of Sao Mathias Panchayat is on the pay roll of the corporate Ozone.

Greta filed her papers to contest for the post of deputy Sarpanch. Elections were held on 21^st February 2014 and Greta Vaz was defeated. The entire corporate might stood against her. Yet she refused to compromise interest of Vanxim. In Greta’s defeat lies lessons for victory of Vanxim against corporate and Bamon raj bullying. This is the way attempts are made to take away land from mulnivasi people by Bamon Raj.

So far Chief Minister Parrikar has not ordered work to stop on retaining wall in Vanxim so it can be safely guessed that he is also in favor of land grab. In fact he is also active collaborator along with Archbishop Ferrao. Both of them are Eurasian Bamons.

The water resources department has also not stopped the work of retaining wall in Vanxim inspite of 56 people opposing it and elected member of Panchayat too opposing it. The struggle continues.

Jai Mulnivasi!

Maggie Silveira

President

Bharat Mukti Morcha

Goa State