The aam aadmi Government of Digambar Kamat is getting unhinged about policing activists and protesters against mining, even on World Environment Day.

On 4th June, 2008, a busload of some 40 women and children (and some ten males) on its way from Advalpal near Assonora to Panaji was trailed by police vans up to Porvorim. The bus was carrying villagers who do not want the mines of Sesa Goa, Lithoferro (Timblos) and Anil Salgaoncar to operate any further in their village. Normally, the villagers would have gone by public bus. Considering that there were some old women and children in the group, the villagers decided to pool in money and recruit a private bus.

When they reached Porvorim they were completely unnerved by the reception. The Goa Armed Constabulary, petite girl police comically weighed down in Ninja turtle costumes and police inspectors were to be found everywhere. The villagers did not know that there was even an inspection of vehicles going on at the entry to the Mandovi bridge and that further down, there were further police reinforcements. At Sesa Ghor, which was going to be the focus of the Advalpal villagers’ visit, one found more heavy security – private and police.

The Advalpal bus was stopped at the Porvorim circle before the Secretariat and turned off into a side road. The driver was asked to dismount and taken to the Porvorim PS. Someone contacted me on my cell, so I rushed to the spot and attempted to reason with the police officials at this unwarranted deprival of civil liberties. I called up the Home Secretary, Mr J.P. Singh, to complain. He said he would speak to the police. The bus was, however, emptied of its passengers and taken to Panjim PS. We then met Bosco George, SP, who repeated what other police officers had told us a few minutes earlier: their intelligence had indicated, they said, that people opposed to mining from south and north Goa would be descending that morning to block the Mandovi bridge!

And right enough, we were soon informed on our mobiles that police had descended on Colomba village in Rivona to ensure that villagers from there – opposing a mine run by the Timblos – would not leave the village. The villagers were amused because except for deputing one or two people, they had simply no plans to join the Advalpal demo in front of Sesa Ghor.

After the activists submitted a written note to Bosco George – that this was a routine protest dharna before Sesa Ghor; that most of the group comprised women and children; that there were never any plans to block traffic – the bus was restored to the protesters and it was allowed to proceed further. The police, however, followed the bus there, and the women Ninja turtles lined up along the high fence guarding Sesa Ghor.

Sesa Goa is now owned by Anil Aggarwal of Vedanta fame, one of the richest metal merchants of the world. But here was the aam aadmi government of Diggu Kaka providing this amir aadmi with police and guns as if he were going to be physically assaulted. The gates to Sesa Ghor were pad-locked and the public was not allowed by the police to even send some of their representatives into the building to present a memorandum to Sesa that their mine was not wanted at Advalpal. The private security was actually redundant as the police did the job of gate-keepers. What a wonderful democracy.

Faithful to modern forms of Corporate Social Responsibility, Vedanta’s Sesa Goa hid behind the skirts of the women ninja constables. They did not think it appropriate to walk down and meet the agitators and understand their concerns. Mind you, this was no huge union march organized by Christopher Fonseca, but a small group of poorly nourished women and children and they had come to make a point. They were really incapable of throwing stones. They had no stones. But they had serious concerns: of survival, livelihood, health, their future. Sesa Goa, the Timblos and Anil Salgaonkar were guests in their village and guests should never trouble their hosts. In any case, guests should leave if they have overstayed their welcome.

But the police department of the aam aadmi administration was responding as if these protesters were a bunch of terrorists out of Al Quaeda.

Later, the police insisted on sitting by while Advalpal residents explained their problems to Dr L.U. Joshi, Chairman of the Goa Pollution Control Board.

This tradition of acting as keepers of the bold and the booty-ful was repeated the following day (June 5th) when the villagers of Colomba organized a simple two-hour World Environment Day function at Sulcorna in Sanguem. The armed constabulary was there, several police Sumos, and police force in buses plus assorted CID. The 80-odd people who attended the meeting from various parts of Goa were in splits! They had not even a demo planned and the Government had practically called in the army! So this is how the government of Digambar Kamat celebrates World Environment Day!

Ironically, the newspapers on June 6th reported the Mineral Foundation of Goa planting a single sapling at Bicholim. One mining company, that of Dr Prafulla Hede alone, was issued a notice by the forest department this March for destruction of 1000 metres of forest adjoining his lease. Other companies destroy dozens of hectares of forest every year, legally and illegally. And Sesa Goa purchased advertising space in the TOI on June 5th to announce “green mining”. Whitewash has been replaced no doubt with “greenwash”. But how come an aam aadmi administration is relying upon the police to convey its message on World Environment Day?