ion
by over 500 trucks on a small stretch cutting across
barely 17 kilometres, and passing through the densely
populated village of Sanvordem.

Derek Almeida was the News Editor of Herald then. He
was the one who encouraged me to do another series on
the also-distant Canacona taluka, which was in the news
in those days for opposing number of larger tourism
projects. I actually spent a week in the different
localities of Canacona, including a over-night stay at
Cotigao wildlife sanctuary. This was followed by number
of stories on the developmental and environmental
issues in Goa.

Herald was going through a transition when I joined the
paper. Diedre Sampayo-Fernandes had just taken over as
the publisher of the Herald and was taking keen
interest in the affairs of the paper. She made an
unsuccessful attempt to streamline the functioning of
organization. On the editorial front, Rajan Narayan had
become almost defunct due to his deteriorating health.
Devika Sequeira and Pamela D'Mello had just quit and
Julio D'Silva (who, in the ever-so-political world of
newspaper politics, was perceived as being close to
Rajan Narayan) was brought into Panaji as the Chief
Reporter, on shifting Alaric Gomes to Margao. Franky Fernandes
of Vasco joined, shortly followed by Rupesh Samant. It
was an entirely a fresh team.

For some reason, the reporting desk was given the
lowest priority. I had to handle the reporting-desk
single handedly for months together. Besides, also
perceptible was the same instability at the top during
those couple of years, around the mid-nineties. We saw
as many as four to five mainly outstation deputy
editors come and go. Hardly anybody could withstand the
internal politics and rivalry. We were grappling in
darkness in the absence of the required guidance. There
wasn't any motivating force. Meanwhile, Julian also
made her foray into reporting after working in the
magazine section for couple of years.

The post of Chief Reporter was vacant for quite
sometime following the resignation of Julio Da Silva.
His perceived closeness with BJP had probably started
long before he joined BJP, to contest Cuncolim
constituency on that party's ticket in the 1998 Goa
assembly elections. But ambition cost him both a career
and a (political) seat. Meanwhile, Ashley do Rosario
rejoined the Herald after a stint with The Navhind Times
ended. After keeping him without designation for
awhile, Ashley was finally given the