The decision of the government to ask the River Princess Hatao Manch (RPHM), a group of villagers from Sinquerim to submit plans for removal of the marooned ship was a sign of desperation.

How a ‘protest group’ suddenly came to possess expertise in ship salvaging was a mystery that only members of the State Disaster Management Authority would be able to throw light on. Strangely, even as the ship shows signs of cracking the government is still at its wit’s end. Having run into a legal hurdle, thanks to a case filed by Madgavkar Salvage and with Salgaocar Mining Industries Pvt Ltd refusing to give a Rs 10 crore bank guarantee, a frustrated government turned to the RPHM. That was like asking the Goa Bachao Abhiyan to submit plans for construction of the sea link from Vasco to Panaji! This signals a complete breakdown in the decision making ability of the government and reinforces the suspicion of political interference in the tendering process. Ship salvaging is highly skilled job and it would be in the fitness of things to select a company with a proven track record, not a civil society group, no matter how committed it is to removing the ship. It is not even clear if the RPHM is registered as an organization. Also if someone as resourceful and rich as Mr Anil Salgaocar is reluctant to part with Rs 10 crore, how would the RPHM put up so much money in the form of a bank guarantee? And what about the Rs 110 crore fund required to salvage the ship on no-cure-no-pay basis? Ten years have passed since the ship got grounded. How much more time are we going to waste on misguided experiments?