On a rainy Monday, as we ride through Betul from both ends via Velim, Mulkornem or Naqueri, the leftovers, the torn banners, incomplete road widenings, the clearing for the parking and vehicles and barren land are still visible from the recently held defence expo.
But Betul, on June 04, woke up to another shocker, when Union Minister for ports, roadways and highways flew to Goa and announced plans for an MPT satellite port in Betul and the MPT’s desire to get another 200 acres of land for the same, while they already hold around 3,000 sq meters around Betul, along the river Sal.
Government officials point out to Herald that the Center and State government is keen to have a satellite port in Betul to start and exploit bauxite and iron ore mining and also to extend a rail network for the same through the Balli rail line.
United Goans Foundation (UGF), annoyed by this move has flayed the Centre for the proposal to acquire Betul for the MPT Expansion. UGF accuses Parrikar for selling out large tracts of Goa’s land to the Centre under various guises while they question why the MPT is not demolishing Cidade de Goa in its own jurisdiction?
“The existing MPT itself is not running up to capacity utilization and has already scrapped its mega West of Breakwater Project so why does it need a satellite port and that too at the mouth of River Sal?” asks UGF President Dr Aashish Kamat.
Similarly, local Velip men led by Depshish Velip recalls how he was one of many village youth who went to the expo on the last day, since it was free for civilians but like all other local youth, the arms and ammunition meant nothing to him, since they got no employment but on the contrary, since their buses were diverted in the chaos, he couldn’t even venture to Margao for his daily wage work on those three days.
The MPT expansion may not be on the same side of Betul as the Defense expo but locals from Canaguinim to Betul are still sore on how the government sold prime Betul land to ONGC only to construct holiday homes in Goa for its employees and how now it was to parcel more of the coast while the entire fishing community would face the repercussions.
“Dozens of trawlers venture into the sea from Betul. We’re struggling for years because the mouth is not desilted. We have our problems here but the government and its departments of fisheries and ports have never looked into our problems. But here the government seems excited to sell off our coast to the MPT. Look at their harassment to the Khareawaddo fishermen in Vasco and that’s what Parsekar wants to choose for us?” questions trawler contractor, Dominic Pereira from Betul, who like others finds it hard to digest that the BJP government is inflicting these wounds on fishermen during the fishing ban, when they’re already out of business and struggling for a livelihood.
Betul residents are even more perturbed that the CM had the audacity to make a public joint statement with MPT Chairman and Nitin Gadkari without having the fishing community representatives at the same meeting and without even an environment impact assessment report.
