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O HERALD O
Vol No CX No: 170 Divine Cult or Divine Solution?
Goa, Saturday 3 July, 2010

in 1940, the church regained its rights to administer its associations and funds, states tEotÓnio r. DE soUZA
KTC’s perennial
penury T he Governor José Ferreira Pestana authorized
the Goan administrator-historian Felippe
Nery Xavier in 1847 to consult any non-
It is generally forgotten that in 1738 the
Marathas mounted a major military offensive
against Goa and several churches were raided

T here are no easy ways out for the Kadamba Transport
Corporation (KTC), Goa’s state-owned transport service,
which is mired deeply in the red. The KTC’s new chair-
person, Priol MGP MLA Deepak Dhavalikar, has come up
with a slew of proposals that he says will pull up the belea-
guered corporation by the bootstraps. The new boss seems
to have done his homework. His analysis of the corporation’s
finances reveals that on average, the KTC earns Rs18 per
kilometre, but spends Rs30 per kilometre every day, giving
a stupendous loss of Rs12 per kilometre per day. This means
that the corporation recovers only 60 per cent of its costs
through its revenues.
This is bad, but not awful. A study done in 2004 by two
researchers from Rutgers University of New Jersey in the
USA jointly with an officer of the Indian Railways reveals that
bus transport systems in most large cities in India cover
about 70 to 90 per cent of their operating costs. The KTC
does better than Kolkata’s bus transport system, for example,
which covers only 42 per cent of its costs through passenger
fares. However Delhi (72 per cent), Mumbai (80 per cent)
and Hyderabad (92 per cent) do much better. Bangalore is
India’s only metropolitan bus transport system that is actually
profitable (105 per cent).
It is clear, therefore, that passenger bus transport operations,
for the most part, do not break even. This is something that
the Goa government needs to recognise. Like it or not, it is
going to have to subsidise the KTC to some extent.
Meanwhile, however, let us see the secrets of those bus
services that do well. Mumbai’s BEST not only runs a transport
service but also provides electricity to most of South Mumbai.
The profits from the electricity distribution operations not
only subsidise the bus service, but leave a small surplus. As
far as both Hyderabad and Bangalore are concerned, their
corporations contract bus services to private companies
(mostly IT outfits) at attractive commercial hire rates, ac-
counting for their better overall performance.
Mr Dhavalikar would do well to study the more successful
transport systems in other parts of the country before he
comes up with ‘solutions’ for Kadamba’s plight. Some of the
measures he has suggested make eminent sense, especially
centralising the spares operations, but others do not. Neither
buying ticket vending machines for the buses nor introducing
an extra stop for the non-stop shuttles is going to yield any-
thing significant. The former, in fact, will only make a bigger
hole in the corporation’s coffers.
Kadamba’s basic problem is inefficiency and corruption.
Its bus depots are prime real estate, but the income from
renting shops is pathetically small. There have been innu-
merable allegations of KTC officers operating spare parts
rackets. Some have even been caught, but have escaped
punishment. Conductors are known to give passengers a
confidential official documentation he might re-
quire to write the history of the Goan village
communities. Those interested in the subject
are grateful to him for the sources and information
he made available through his various publications.
Admittedly, as State functionary he could not be
critical of many situations he observed and stud-
ied, but left for posterity, valuable documentation
that is difficult to find today. He may be consid-
ered a true precursor of the modern historiogra-
phy of rural Goa, anteceding the praiseworthy
contribution of the Portuguese administrator-
historian J.H. da Cunha Rivara, whose position as
General Secretary of the Portuguese State of India
gave him a privileged status and power that per-
mitted him to leave his mark on the political and
cultural history of Goa.
In his Bosquejo Histórico das Communidades (Nova
Goa, Imprensa Nacional, 1852) , F. N. Xavier provides
quantified data in a way that only in more recent
times historians have learned to appreciate and
practise. Part II of that study contains many details
village-wise about their churches, including when
and how they were built, repaired, enlarged and
maintained. It is curious to note that when Arch-
bishop Fr. A. Brandão sought to take over the ju-
risdiction of the Salcete churches from the Jesuits
in the latter half of the 17th century, they appealed
to the king to intervene in his capacity of Grand-
Master of the Order of Christ with privileges
conceded by the Popes to look after the Church
at home and overseas in the Portuguese-controlled
domains.
The kings seized this occasion, and ever since
there were recurrent cases of royal intervention,
leading to almost a total take-over of the economic
administration and supervision of the confrarias
and fábricas in the course of the 18th century.
The conflict between the Archbishop Fr. Inacio
de S. Teresa and the Jesuits was a repeat of the
Brandão scene in the 1720s. This time the arch-
bishop went about inquiring into the personal
scandals of the Jesuit parish priests in Salcete.
He got women to confess their clandestine rela-
tions with some of those priests. However, the
Archbishop did not get on famously with the
State authorities as well. Under Pombaline regime,
the Jesuits were sacked, but the Archbishops too
had their wings clipped. The situation of liberal
politics was no better for the Church, particularly
since 1834. The policy continued under the re-
Tongue in Cheek
HistoricAl ExplorAtions
publican regime since 1910. It was only in 1940,
by the Acordo Missionário of the Salazar regime,
that the Church regained the rights to administer
the pious associations and their funds.
Leopoldo da Rocha, a former priest and pro-
fessor at the Rachol seminary, presently in Por-
tugal, is the author of one of the best studies
that we know of the Church confraternities in
Goa. His doctoral thesis in canon law titled As
Confrarias de Goa, was published in Lisbon in
1973. It would be worthwhile to publish an English
edition of this study based on a thorough archival
research. Only those who are ignorant of the
history of the confraternities and fábricas of the
Churches in Goa, can today resent the suggestions
of Government intervention in regulating their
functioning.
Leopoldo da Rocha’s research reveals how the
State intervention and legislation was greatly
beneficial to checking the gross mismanagement
of Church funds, despite the dedicated efforts of
some archbishops, like D. António de Neiva Brum
e Silveira, and especially Fr. Manoel de Santa Cata-
is Goa A safe place?
rina, to reduce the frauds and misappropriations.
It was not uncommon to find debtors to the
Churches as treasurers of their fábricas and con-
fraternities. A decree of February 24 , 1788 sought
to put an end to this abuse. But all the decrees
of the archbishop had produced little tangible
results.
It is against this background that one should
seek to explain how and why the grand church
buildings, new or rebuilt, could mushroom all
over the Old Conquests in Goa through the 18th
until mid 19th centuries. Some Portuguese art
historians on look-out for green pastures have
been throwing-up wild suggestions to explain
the grandeur of the Church architecture and paint-
ings in Goa in order to emphasize the uniqueness
of the so-called “Indo-Portuguese art”. The grow-
ing influence of the native clergy in the 18th and
19th centuries and their inter-caste rivalries have
been high in the order of such explanations, for-
getting that there could be situations of common
interest wherein caste rivalries could be forgot-
ten.
and burnt in that occasion. It came to be known
later that it was a diversionary strategy of Chimaji
Appa, whose main target was Bassein. The Por-
tuguese authorities in Goa were running for funds
to meet the threat. The village communities of
Goa were called upon to contribute fixed amounts
in two installments. The Church confraternities
were invited to loan their silverware to the Mint
for coining. Interestingly, the State Council decided
that all able-bodied servants / slaves should be
recruited for defence, and each of the five major
religious orders should provide companies of 50
religious each for assisting in the trenches and
fortified outposts that were clearly identified in
the same Council proceedings. They were to op-
erate in day and night shifts. The natives were to
be watched closely for their usual unwillingness
to fight.
Such situations of crises and fresh demands
for funds had made the village communities the
milching cows of the colonial state. F.N. Xavier
provides detailed tables of the moneys paid by
each village of the Old Conquests during 1780-
1839. They were always called euphemistically
«donativos», suggesting that they were willing con-
tributions. The provinces of Salcete, Bardez and
Ilhas paid in proportion of 3:2:1. One can see
there clearly how much was extracted from each
village for the purpose of cult, and other expenses,
including the construction of the proposed new
capital in Mormugão in 1776, a plan that was
later abandoned in favour of Panjim or Nova Goa.
But there is one feature in the State supervision
of the village and Church funds.
That feature has not been noticed by re-
searchers so far and could provide a clue for the
surge of the church constructions or enlargements.
A clue that may be well applicable till our own
times! Unlike other expenses which required prior
State permission, the funding of churches and
cult required no such permission. The village
headmen raised such funds with much enthusiasm,
often in collusion with their respective parish
priests and in fraudulent manner. Under the guise
of divine cult much money was pocketed for pri-
vate use (“para a sombra delle converterem as mesmas
fintas para os seus usos particulares”). It is not sur-
prising if this was a loophole that the Goan natives
had discovered to meet the ongoing crisis of the
colonial regime and its habit to impose fresh
taxes upon the native population.
By Adelmo Fernandes

‘concession’ if they don’t insist on tickets. KTC buses are in-
variably scheduled so that they leave just after private buses
running on the same route, so that the latter get to pick up
all the passengers at the stops. Private bus owners demand
fare hikes but don’t implement the raised fares, effectively
making KTC buses more expensive than their competitors.
While some leakage takes place at lower levels, most of it
comes from people in responsible positions. This cannot be
allowed to continue. KTC needs a spring cleaning. The ring
leaders of these rackets have to be caught and punished.
But, even if all the leaks are plugged, the KTC is unlikely
to break even. No matter; at least it can come up to the op-
erating levels of New Delhi or Mumbai. Some more revenue
can be generated by emulating the Hyderabad and Bangalore
corporations. Realistically, though, the government is going
to have to come up with the rest.
I
s Goa a safe place to live in? Well that is the big question on
everybody’s mind. A recent survey conducted by ‘Tripadvisor’
showed that Delhi was the most unsafe city in the country. The
national capital is followed by our very own peaceful(?) Goa. In
fact Goa has even beaten Mumbai to the third place as the most
unsafe tourist destination in the country. Interestingly the survey
also showed that Baga beach is the third dirtiest beach in the
country. The dirtiest being Juhu beach in Mumbai followed by the
Marina beach in Chennai. What should really bother our politicians
is the fact that even though tourism is the bread and butter of
Goa’s economy, the State is being seen as an unsafe tourist desti-
nation. But then does it really bother our politicians? Hardly. Our
politicians still keep on harping that Goa is a safe place for tourists,
even though there have been several assaults on foreigners. Be
that as it may. How many Goans feel safe living in Goa? A survey
in this regard carried out among Goans would probably throw up
some startling facts. The older generations always keep talking
about those-good-old-days when they would sleep in their homes
with their windows open. Mind you during those days, window
grills were unheard of. Now we are not safe in our homes even
when our doors and windows are fortified with iron grills. Our
women are not safe. We have our very own version of a serial
killer and ‘Jack the Ripper’. We have our own brand of rapists who
seem to have a liking for white skin. Some of our politicians are
known to have spent time behind bars. The one who has not, is
on the run. This very politician had the audacity to say that Goa is
the “rape capital” of the country. He was probably right in saying
so. But then it was his sacred duty to make Goa a safe place for
the women-folk. He failed in his duties quite miserably. How safe
are our roads? Many lives have been lost because of the pathetic
conditions of our roads. A light shower and the potholes on our
roads open up like festering wounds. There seems to be no remedy
for the malady. It pays to say a small prayer before hitting the road
on your vehicle. For even if you obey all the traffic rules there
could be someone out there driving like hell. He is probably high
on the bottle that cheers, or could be having a heated discussion
on his cell-phone. Can the food we consume be considered safe?
In the past we have heard of adulterated food. We probably thought
that fruits were the safest food we could consume. Unfortunately
artificial ripening of fruits has been the order of the day. We could
probably end up with cancer by consuming those artificially ripened
mangoes. We are in the midst of the South West Monsoon. The
roads have already started flooding and the water keeps entering
our homes. The hills which have been cut to make way for mega
housing projects have caused land-slides burying the old houses
on the way. Electric poles uproot leading to unscheduled power
shut-down. Indeed in Goa it is not only the tourists who feel
unsafe, probably every Goan feels the same way too. It is only the
Almighty God who sees that no harm comes to us. Our politicians
are more concerned about keeping their position and their seat of
power safe. May God keep us safe.

Letters to the Editor

MPT & non-Goans
Peter Andrade, Vasco
Your column ‘100 years ago’ (Herald, 1 July),
talks about the employment of non-Goans
in the works carried out in the Mormugao
Port in 1910. That was during the Portuguese
fees than last year. The fee receipt that has opportunism. Principles, policies and ideology
Paths of Wisdom
been sent home clearly mentions that these
are ‘provisional fees, subject to approval’.
Letter of the Day have long been thrown out of the window. It
is only money and muscle power that deter- The Shrewd Manager w
This means there is no approval obtained. mines the outcome of elections. Unless you b
The school authorities are openly flouting
the rules, and testing the patience of parents.
This needs to end somewhere. The best
Towards a Police State?
Dr Francisco Colaço, Margao
have a criminal charge or two to your credit,
you should not contest elections and, if you
don’t, you should not expect to win.
(Luke 16: 1-13)

Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man

era. Has freedom changed anything? The
present MPT administration is now out to
displace Goans who are not their employees!
High school fees
Atul Raikar, Arrosim
As my children begin another academic year,
parents like myself have to put up with un-
aided schools once again demanding higher
100 Years Ago
PRIMEIRO DIARIO NAS COLONIAS PORTUGEZAS
3 July, 1910
City Plan
Via a Decree from the Police Control of
Vasco da Gama, the rest of coconut trees
from the few bye-lanes, are going to be
chopped and sold to ease the way for
the planned for the future City.
Communal Conflict
To avoid a bigger conflict between the
Hindus and the Muslims, due to important
posts occupied by the former in the
United Provinces, some providential
measures are being adopted by the Gov-
ernment as suggested by the Indian Tele-
graph.
Vendors Threatened
The vegetable and other road side ven-
dors are complaining that a gang of bare-
foot youngsters are threatening them of
dire consequences unless they part with
their profits.
Spectacles Invented
Monsieur Sommier, the Chief of French
Police, has created spectacles through
which the wearer can obtain the rear-
view without turning.
way to do it is to impose a fine and impris-
onment on the head of the institution. Their
greed for money has driven them crazy.
It’s a business
Jerome Goes, by email
The letter ‘Sting Corrupt Officials’ by Vishant
Shirodkar (Herald, 14 June) is right. Corrup-
tion is rampant in every department. But
the employees say they are justified in taking
money, because their job cost them in lakhs.
A job for a traffic inspector costs about Rs25
lakh. Even an LDC clerk pays Rs7 to 10 lakh; ask
any parent that has an educated daughter or son
who wants to work for the government.
Corruption breeds corruption. Every em-
ployee feels they have invested, and wants
the money back. That is business.
‘Mera Bharat’ debate
Vincent Rego, Dubai
With regard to Maya Dessai’s letter ‘Mera
Bharat Mahaan’ (Herald, 30 June), she has
misunderstood the concept. What Radharao
Gracias tried to project in his article ‘Chau-
vinism versus Patriotism’ (Herald, 25 June)
is the real scenario in India today. It is noth-
ing against the country.
Maya is talking about the white wash that
can be seen from outside. But if you look
from inside, it is a mess – full of corruption,
dirt and filth that nobody wants to clean
up. My heart bleeds for the poor masses
that are the worst sufferers. Maya should
rather think about the root cause of what
our country is going through.
Why bash Ronaldo?
Jonathan, by email
After Portugal’s defeat to Spain, Cristiano
Ronaldo drew much flak from the media
and Portuguese supporters. After the match,
the media concentrated only on Ronaldo,
as if the entire Portuguese soccer team had
just one player!
w
to
d
Though our chief minister’s latest political move is being hailed by some as a One party ticket per family is another appointed a man to manage his prop-
masterstroke, it is sad to see the Congress party in Goa decaying to the point of farce. If Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi can erty. He was told that the manager was s
becoming the antithesis of what its founding fathers envisioned. That apart, what contest in the same state at the same time, wasting his money. So, he called him lo
worries me the most is that our beloved land is fast inching towards becoming a why have a different yardstick for the rest? and asked, “What is this I hear about a
police state. you? Give me a complete account of th
The unfolding scenario leaves us wondering whether the Goa Police are being used Scam on the way how you have handled my property, be- fo
today as a mere toy by those who control our destinies. We see the scandalous, the Reuben S, Chicalim cause you cannot be my manager any ti
immoral and the corrupt go scot-free (provided they don’t rub the powers-that-be the longer.” The servant said to himself,
The news that the Kadamba Transport Cor-
wrong way). Conversely, the innocent who raise fingers against strongmen (like those “My Master is going to dismiss me from m
poration (KTC) wants to lease out its lands
who protest against environmental crimes) can be threatened into extinction. my job. What shall I do? I am not strong b
to ‘spruce up its revenue’ should ring warn- enough to dig ditches, and I am ashamed is
The ferocity with which former Tourism Minister Mickky Pacheco’s case has been ing bells. The new KTC chairperson wants
pursued is something to watch. Let it be so. But the blatant manner in which the Atala to ‘lease’ prime properties to big builders
to beg. Now, I know what I will do! a
drugs case has been brushed under the carpet bares the other side of the coin; a grim Then, when my job is gone, I shall have e
for construction of malls, hotels and other friends who will welcome me in their ju
reminder that those who rule us thrive on opportunism, political expediency, half- mega real estate projects. What is the pur-
truths and half-justice that borders on vendetta. homes.”
pose of leasing such valuable assets that So, he called in all the people who
Not that the BJP regime was any better, but surely, with the Congress firmly in the will eventually generate minimal revenue were in debt to his master. He asked
saddle, we are in for times of greater moral decay.
Salazar in a new avatar?
through rents? the first one, “How much do you owe
The government has acquired a habit of my master?” “One hundred barrels of
Crime Branch, is thy name PIDE? acquiring lands for ‘public purpose’. These
Note: PIDE or ‘Policia Internacional de Defesa do Estado’ was Salazar’s dreaded secret olive-oil”, he answered. “Here is your fr
police, like Russia’s KGB or Israel’s Mossad.
lands are then conveniently re-assigned for account,” the manager told him, “sit th
an altogether different, often ‘private’ pur- down and write fifty”. Then he asked h
pose. Can the chairman please explain why
One must remember that Cristiano is only another one, “And you, how much do k
human. He too is disappointed after the
Time for Dr Hubert pre-existing lands cannot be used for other you owe?” “A thousand sacks of wheat”,
Fatima Sardinha, Margao government purposes, instead of transfer- he answered. “Here is your account,” the N
defeat. Let us give him some much-needed ring them enmasse to builders?
breathing space. I am sure this talented I salute Dr Hubert Gomes on opening a manager told him; “write eight hundred”. It
young player will continue to entertain us health centre in the memory of his late As a result, the master of this dishon- e
with great football. mother, Dona Angela Mesquita, which will
Mapusa’s woes est manager praised him for being so h
benefit the underprivileged. Jyoti Shetgaonkar, Morjim shrewd, because the people of this world d
Tech in football Enough is enough. Goans have reached a I fully agree with the views expressed by are more shrewd in handling their affairs
saturation point. It is time for a change. That Vasanti Alornekar in her letter ‘Probe Mapusa than the people who belong to the th
Belinda Braganza, by email light.” c
is why Dr Hubert has accepted to contest elec- Council’ (Herald, 29 June). It is high time
This is in response to the letter ‘England tions at the request of the people of Benaulim. that the government institutes a probe into Jesus said “And so, I tell you: make fo
denied’ by Errol D’souza (Herald, 1 July). Dr Hubert is a personality with foresight the working of the Mapusa Municipal Council friends for yourselves with worldly in
Errol says that football should use hi-tech and is determined to work for the down- (MMC), whose cupboards are full of skeletons. wealth, so that when it gives out, you
digital video replays for fair play, like cricket. trodden, unlike seasoned politicians, who Everyone, including the CM and the local will be welcomed in the eternal home. o
I disagree. tread on the downtrodden. Likeminded peo- MLA, can see the congestion caused by Whoever is faithful to small matters will
Some technology should be used, like in ple should come forward and fight against builders who have grossly violated all rules. be faithful in large ones; whoever is dis-
hockey, where the teams get two chances corruption in Goa. But no action has been taken against illegal honest in small matters will be dishonest
to challenge the referee’s decision. If the Let us end the nexus between non-Goan buildings, even though everyone living in Ma- in large ones. If, then, you have not
first challenge turns out false, the team been faithful in handling worldly wealth,
builders and our mighty hefty politician. pusa and around is put to great inconvenience.
loses the second one too. Waka waka, amkam naka, selling of Goa! People visiting Mapusa for official work how can you be trusted with true 2
If this is introduced in football, it will not wealth? And, if you have not been faith- e
cannot park their vehicles because the
only make matches more interesting, but Rot starts at the top builders have not left any space for parking. ful with what belongs to someone else, it
help to bring about justice and fair play. Buildings have been allowed even on steep who will give you what belongs to you? T
But if technology is used throughout the Aires Rodrigues, Ribandar h
slopes. Only a judicial inquiry will reveal all You cannot serve both, God and
match, it will spoil the fun. Today, politics is all about convenience and the muck that has accumulated. money.

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