Public apathy undermines fight against pollution: Salkar

Panaji: Vasco MLA and SGPDA chairman, Krishna ‘Daji’ Salkar, on Thursday expressed concern over what he described as “growing public apathy towards environmental issues”, stating that a lack of sustained citizen participation was undermining efforts to tackle pollution and push for sustainable development.Speaking at the International NetZero Summit in Panaji, Salkar recalled a public hearing held a few years ago in Vasco on a “very serious issue” related to polluting industries. He said that while nearly 500 people gathered on the first day to protest against polluting industries, the turnout dropped drastically on the second day.“There are 36,000 people in Vasco who are directly affected by pollution caused by these industries, but at the public hearing there was almost nobody.

It makes me wonder whether we are really interested, or whether we have resigned ourselves to fate, accepting whatever is going to happen,” he said.Describing the situation as “very depressing”, Salkar said that despite govt pushing for green energy and other environmentally friendly initiatives, meaningful change would not be possible without public awareness and participation at the grassroots-level. He stressed that environmental consciousness must reach “the lowest level” of society.

Drawing a parallel with the Swachh Bharat mission, Salkar noted that the initiative was initially ridiculed but gradually gained acceptance. “Modi cannot change everything alone. Unless each and every one understands their social responsibility and acts accordingly, nothing will change,” he said.Salkar said Goa govt was working to integrate sustainability at the planning stage to balance development with environmental protection.