‘All of Arambol’s kulaghars will die if hills in Bhatwadi are destroyed’

Arambol: At the foot of the densely forested hills of Bhatwadi in Arambol, there stands a maze of horticultural fields, or kulaghars, each attached to a small house and sustained by a family well. The kulaghars and the strip of paddy fields around them ensured that people like 54-year-old Ranganath Naik lived in self-sustained family units in the village.This is exactly the life Ranganath fears losing today, as the village protests the conversion of 3 lakh sqm of the Bhatwadi hills, a private forest, into a settlement zone through a govt notification last month. When Ranganath was a teenager, his father passed away suddenly, leaving behind for his son the only inheritance of a well he built.“The Bhatwadi hills are reservoirs of water. The water that does not let our wells dry even in the summer springs from these hills. If the conversion is not reversed and the trees are cut for development, all our wells, and with them our kulaghars, will dry. My mother sustained us by working in the kulaghar after my father’s passing,” said Ranganath, pointing to the rectangular well.Around 1,000 residents from Varchawada in the valley worry they are set to lose the only source of livelihood they knew for generations.The hill also houses a sacred grove revered by the residents, which is now within a settlement area after its conversion following the private forest land’s sale to a party from outside Goa.Feeling failed by the administrative machinery of the state, the village, supported by nearby Mandrem, held a massive protest and plan to continue until their demand is met.“On Sep 14, we complained to the forest department that the trees on the hill were being cut. An inspection was carried out on Sep 22, and the forest department officials, in turn, told us that the owner was only clearing bushes. When we intercepted a drone carrying out a land survey, we were warned by police that we were trespassing on the property our ancestors frequented to pluck medicinal plants,” said Sitaram Naik.“For generations, we only plucked and never cut anything on the hill because it runs in our blood to consider these hills our inheritance and not something to be destroyed,” said a retired teacher, Atmaji Naik.The residents lamented that despite assurances from the chief minister and the local MLA, the conversion is not being reverted.“Our protest will not be over till they revert it. They will destroy the ecosystem which took thousands of years to develop and now plant trees as afforestation. Before this ecosystem is revived, generations of us will be finished,” said a youngster, Shivam Kambli.The residents fear the hills being lost to the construction of villas or a luxury project by the new owners will turn their village dependent on water supply, like Morjim and other parts of Pernem.“Even the rain pattern may be affected. In Morjim, they have to live with water from tankers even during the monsoon. We do not want to go the same way. Govt is done destroying the land in Goa; now they are coming for the hills. Even the Portuguese were better; they planted cashew trees to conserve soil on our hills. This new colonisation from Delhi parties is worse,” said a local youth, Rohit Satelkar.All Ranganath dreams of is passing on the self-sustained kulaghar his parents raised to his children.“After my father, my mother raised the kulaghar with her sweat and blood. All we have to do is preserve it, and our children will never go hungry. We cannot fail in this one job we have,” said Ranganath.