Rihanna's tweet may show Goa the way to escalate pro-environment protests

In Goa, the Rohanna tweet wave may well inspire a new wave of opposition to the three controversial projects proposed in the Western Ghats

Global entertainment icon Rihanna's tweet about the farmer protests in the national capital may have triggered a Twitter storm in the virtual world, but in Goa, it may well inspire a new wave of opposition to the three controversial projects proposed in the Western Ghats along the Goa-Karnataka border.

Inspired by the attention generated globally on the Delhi's farmer's protests thanks to tweets by Rihanna and environmental activist Greta Thunberg, the Opposition in Goa is planning to do a global outreach against the proposed road, rail and power projects, which are scheduled to be put up in protected forest areas in Goa and Karnataka.

"I want to escalate the issue to the international forum. After Rihanna raised the farmer's issue, the country woke up to it in a big way. The three linear projects planned in the Mollem forests need to be condemned internationally," former Deputy Chief Minister and Goa Forward party president Vijai Sardesai told reporters on Wednesday.

"We have to escalate the protests to an international level because the government appears to be tone deaf to be protests which are being anchored by the youth of Goa," Sardesai also said.

Sardesai also said that to further the international outreach plan against the three projects, his party would also be writing to the Director of the World Heritage Centre and the Switzerland-based International Union for Conservation of Nature for their intervention.

"The Western Ghats which spans across Goa and Karnataka and is home to the tiger as well as several unique species in a world treasure. It must be protected," Sardesai said.