The debate over Goa’s Ganpati celebrations and the repeated appearance of the elephant Omkar raises a larger question about how the State balances religious tradition with environmental responsibility.
Ganesh Chaturthi is deeply rooted in Goa’s cultural and social fabric. The festival brings families and communities together and is an important part of Goa’s identity. But devotion cannot come at the cost of the environment.
The concerns surrounding the immersion of idols, especially those made from materials that do not easily dissolve, deserve serious attention. If an idol repeatedly returns to the shore or remains in the water, it is a clear indication that traditional practices need to evolve with environmental realities.
The answer, however, is not to target the festival or the faith associated with it. The government must work with communities, artisans and organisers to encourage environmentally friendly idols and ensure proper immersion facilities.
Goa has already taken several steps towards controlled immersion, including designated immersion sites. But implementation, monitoring and public awareness are equally important.
The Omkar episode should therefore be treated as a lesson rather than merely a curiosity. It reminds us that what we put into our rivers and seas does not simply disappear.
Goa can celebrate Ganpati with the same devotion while adopting practices that respect nature. Tradition survives when it adapts responsibly.
The real test is not whether Goa celebrates Ganesh Chaturthi with enthusiasm. It is whether we can celebrate Bappa without leaving behind a burden for the environment.
Paresh Naik,
Margao
When Politics Becomes a Game
By Damodar Kamat
Goa’s political battle appears to have entered a new digital phase, with a satirical online game taking aim at the Congress ahead of its Goa Rakhan Yatra. The “Khokha Run” game uses a caricature resembling Congress Goa chief Girish Chodankar and turns allegations surrounding the distribution of party tickets into an interactive game.
Political satire is not new to Goa. But when serious political allegations are converted into entertainment, there is a danger that the line between satire and fact becomes blurred.
The allegations about money influencing party tickets remain allegations. They must be established with evidence, not through a game, social media post or political campaign. At the same time, the Congress cannot simply dismiss the episode as humour if questions are being raised about transparency in candidate selection.
Political parties should welcome scrutiny, particularly before an election. If there is nothing to hide, the process of selecting candidates and allocating tickets should be transparent enough to withstand public questioning.
The more interesting aspect of the “Khokha Run” episode is what it says about the changing nature of political communication. Voters, particularly younger people, increasingly consume politics through short videos, memes, games and social media rather than conventional speeches and press conferences.
That makes political satire a powerful tool. But power comes with responsibility.
If political parties and their opponents turn every allegation into a joke, meme or digital game, voters may eventually find it difficult to separate political criticism from verified information.
Goa needs political debate, satire and even humour. But it also needs facts.
An election should ultimately be about what parties stand for, what they have done and what they propose to do. The danger begins when politics becomes a game, and allegations become the scorecard.
Damodar Kamat,
Mapusa
