By Lissy Maruthanakuzhy

Panaji, Oct 8, 2021: A priest in the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman is on a twin mission – promote cleanliness and plant trees as part of caring for the environment.

Father Milagres Dias, assistant parish priest of the Holy Trinity Church in Benaulim braved heavy monsoon rains to clean a local beach with the help of youngsters and parishioners. He said he was distressed to see huge piles of plastic bags and other garbage items littering the pristine stretch of the beach.

“We gathered more than 1 metric ton garbage,” Father Dias told Matters India.

According to him, it was the first time he observed such huge garbage deposits in three years since he came to Benaulim, some 35 km south of Panaji, the state capital.

He approached the youth members of the parish and started the cleanliness drive with seven of them. Later around 45 parishioners joined them and completed the drive.

The volunteers wore raincoats while gathering the garbage from the beach with their bare hands. They also used rakes to pull out waste going into the sea.

“It had to be done quickly because the monsoons would wash the dirt into the sea in the high tide,” said Pele Fernandes, a fisherman who assisted in the drive.

Father Dias said they spent one hour with the Lord before undertaking the cleanliness for another hour. “Clean environment is the creation of God,” asserted the 43-year-old priest. “Cleaning the surrounding, keeping God’s creation beautiful is my duty. Wherever I go I pick up empty bottles and plastics lying around and put in the bag,” said the priest, a native of Chorao, a pristine Goa village.

Pointing to the boot of his car he said, “I carry waste bags always. I like to keep the roads clean. Seeing me the parishioners also pick up bottles on the road and place them in the waste box.” He also gently whispers to tourists to keep the village clean.

Jonathan Barretto, a youth member the Benaulim Trinity choir, says garbage has left most places in Goa, including its pristine beaches, stinking. “Despite the rains, we managed to clean the beach along our parish boundary. The happiness of being a part of such a great initiative is immense,” he told Matters India.

Barretto said cleaning the neighborhood was not new to them. “We used to do this for the past many years. However, this year, we started the cleanliness drive in our village every Sunday. We had to end it in April as the second wave of pandemic struck.”

For Konrad Rodrigues another youth, taking care of the environment is his way of manifesting his patriotism. He regrets that many people destroy the beauty of his motherland by deliberately and habitually throwing garbage in public places, beaches, springs, and roadsides.

“If steps are not been taken to control the problem, tourism industry in Goa will die,” Rodrigues warned. Goa is India’s top tourist destination, “but we cannot invite tourists to our state of filth and garbage are strewn everywhere.”

Father Dias, a popular tiatrist and writer, uses dramas and songs to conscientize people about the protection of the environment. He has directed and staged more than 13 dramas on various topics – religious, youth, motivational.

Tiatr is a type of musical theater popular in Goa, Mumbai and wherever Konkani speakers have a considerable presence.

His YouTube video on Benaulim “Treasure of riches” describes the beauty of the place through song, visuals of village life and music. Benaulim is the birthplace of Goa’s saint Joseph Vaz who is fondly called grandson of Benaulim.

The video urges everyone to save beautiful Benaulim rich with flora and fauna. “But illegal encroachment threatens to turn it into a concrete jungle. The garbage issue has too left a stinking mark on this village,” Father Dias said.

Christians are the majority in the village, but they live in harmony with Hindus and others. Their communal harmony is witnessed in the religious festivals in the village.