Goemkarponn desk
BICHOLIM: This pandemic might have hit many but there is a section of people who seem to have taken the opportunity for farming that benefited themselves as well as others.
This is a story of Vishwambar Gawas who was once working in a mining industry at Navelim but left it some six years ago and entered farming. “It was a hard decision as our fields were covered with mining sludge and also saline water used to enter our fields.” Gawas recalls.
Maina-Navelim in Sanquelim is one of the worst hit by mining and farming was almost equal to impossible and most of the people from the village depended upon mining.
Gawas kept no stone unturned and he also got help from mining firm and horticulture for making his dream come true. In the one and half acre farm that he has developed he has got production of almost all the crop.
Not just this, with the help of the government he and others also tried to repair the bundh so that saline water should not enter their fields. He now feels that his decision some six years back was a blessing in disguise.
“Mining has stopped, there is pandemic and everything has come to a sudden halt but what remains is farming. “People are suffering because of lack of oxygen and I feel that real oxygen is available in the farms. Today the necessity of the people in terms of vegetables is fulfilled through farms.” Gawas says.
“Because of this pandemic almost all the businesses have perished but what remains is agriculture. Since last six years I am full time into this business and Goa Horticulture is also helping us by taking the vegetables from us” Gawas tells.
He feels that the real peak season of farmers have come. “In Goa there is lot of land which is kept uncultivated. I call upon the youths to turn to farming and support the government’s move of ‘atmanirbhar Goa’.” He suggests.
