Wanton open-cast mining in Goa has devastated the countryside, destroyed forests and severely damaged valuable water resources. Entire villages have seen their crops destroyed by mine slurry and their land reduced to desert. Seby Rodrigues (please see http://mandgoa.blogspot.com)is an activist who has been in the forefront of the fight against irresponsible mining that pays no heed to the devastating consequences it unleashes on the environment and people.

Because he spoke up against Formento, a mining company owned by the Timblo family from Goa, they have chosen to try and silence him. They have sued him for 500 crore rupees (about 125,000 US dollars) for 'defamation' for what he has said on his blog. This suit has been brought by Sujay Gupta the Vice President of Communications for the Timblos. The suit has been filed in Calcutta so that Seby will face further harassment and have to travel up and down.

We are appalled at this attempt to bully and silence a legitimate voice.
We stand with Seby against destructive mining and against all attempts to muffle legitimate voices in a democracy. We stand with Seby in decrying the destruction of Goa's environment by mining companies like the Timblos, and urge minions like Sujay Gupta to sue us too...