Having trekked several times to Paikdev's spring to gulp water pouring out of the moss-covered iron mouth, one would think the mysteries of the journey would fade. But, if anything, they have become more poignant – sitting here at this shrine to the snake deity of the Velip community in the village of Maina, in Goa's Quepem District. It is here, amidst thousands of hectares of rolling forests, in the foothills of the Western Ghats, home to countless perennial springs and streams, wildlife and more, that a strange conglomeration of mining companies, politicians and real-estate developers are sharpening their collective sword. These activities were already afoot a year ago, with mining operations systematically destroying forests, because, as the government in Panjim stated at the time, the iron ore was needed by New Delhi to keep its nine-percent growth rate on track. This year, the message is no different.
Last year too I trekked to Paikdev's spring, halting at a curve on the highest hill before the slope leads down to his water, to view the brooding majesty of the dark, cloud-framed Ghats beyond Sulcorna. In the foreground, behind the government school at Maina, barely two kilometres as a bird would fly, I could see how the thickly forested hill I had earlier walked on had literally disappeared; in its wake was a huge pit, its daunting cliffs leading to dirty, muddied water at the base. Today, it is even worse. That same mining pit has rapidly increased in circumference. It is now barely 500 metres from the school, and the many bordering springs have been dammed lest more water flow into the cavernous pit below them.