Team Goemkarponn
Shirgao: Following the tragic stampede at the Shree Devi Lairai temple in Shirgao on May 2 that claimed the lives of seven devotees, the Goa Foundation has issued a strongly worded statement mourning the victims and criticising the state government’s handling of both the festival and the region’s long-standing environmental degradation.
The incident, which occurred during the annual Lairai Jatra that draws over one million devotees over five days, is currently under official investigation. Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant visited the injured and expressed condolences. However, the Goa Foundation has called for deeper introspection, linking the tragedy to decades of unchecked mining activity and the resulting ecological collapse in Shirgao village.
According to the Foundation, Shirgao has suffered extensive environmental damage due to mining, which has drastically reduced agricultural land and depleted natural springs. Once considered a fertile part of Goa’s food belt, the village is now grappling with drought conditions even in peak monsoon months like July. The narrow village roads, unchanged for decades, are ill-equipped to handle the massive influx of pilgrims, a factor the Foundation believes contributed to the chaos during the Jatra.
In its statement, the Foundation also criticised the state government’s decision to re-auction mining leases within the Shirgao settlement.
In November 2022, Chief Minister Sawant, who also holds the Mines portfolio, issued Letters of Intent to three companies—Vedanta Ltd., Rajaram Bandekar, and Salgaoncar Shipping—granting them rights to resume extraction activities in the region, including areas encompassing the Devi Lairai temple and surrounding lands.
The Foundation recalled that when the issue was first raised, Dr. Sawant initially expressed ignorance about the inclusion of the temple area within the lease boundaries. However, in March 2024, despite the Model Code of Conduct being in effect, the Chief Minister signed a lease agreement with Vedanta Ltd., with agreements for the remaining two companies expected to follow.
“While the government has declared three days of mourning for the stampede victims—none of whom were residents of Shirgao—it continues to ignore the long-term destruction of the village and its cultural heritage,” the Foundation stated.
It further alleged that the continuation of mining under new 50-year leases, set to expire in 2074, will irreversibly damage the region.
The statement concluded with a warning: “Today’s politicians are not only compromising the lives of the present generation but are also endangering the prospects of future generations.” The Goa Foundation has called for urgent review and reversal of mining leases affecting sacred and ecologically fragile sites like Shirgao.
