Team Herald
BICHOLIM: Pilgao farmers are now contemplating to approach the High Court of Bombay at Goa to stop the ore transportation in the village as they complained that the main road has turned dangerous for motorists especially students due to the reckless driving by truck drivers, which is causing dust pollution.
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The villagers claimed that they are using the ferryboat service and complained that dust pollution could cause breathing problems due to movement of iron ore-laden trucks.
To add to their woes, the mining company is yet to settle their demands including compensation. The ore transportation currently resumed ore transportation along the main road with police protection despite the villagers objecting to the transportation of ore from the village road to the Sarmanas jetty.
On December 17, the High Court had asked the State government to find a solution to the ore transportation at Pilgao, Bicholim within the ambit of law.
Sudhakar Vaingankar, a farmer from Pilgao told O Heraldo that a delegation of farmers will meet Bicholim Deputy Collector Rohan Kaskar on Thursday, December 26, to know what action the government will take against the mining company for using the main road by violating the Environmental Clearance (EC) order and the status of their demands.
“Vedanta Ltd is using the main road for ore transportation in violation of EC order. This was only possible because of the government support. The government is supporting the interest of the mining company and not the farmers. We will meet the Deputy Collector on Thursday to know what action they will take against the mining company using the main road by violating the EC order.”
Vaingankar said that the main road has turned dangerous for the motorists and students. The villagers mostly using the ferryboat service have raised apprehensions due to reckless driving by truck drivers. Secondly, it was also causing dust pollution on the main road.
He also informed that they will again approach the High Court in this regard,
Dayanand Kavlekar said, “I was retrenched by the mining company in July 2023. They are not reemploying us or giving us any compensation. We held talks with the company three to four times, but nothing happened. We will continue to fight for our demands.”
Similar views were expressed by another farmer Rajan Pilgaonkar. ‘The company is fooling us. It is promising compensation, but not keeping up to its promise. We will now meet the Bicholim Deputy Collector in this regard on Thursday morning,” he said.
The farmers stated that the company has made their fields uncultivable due to siltation. During the talks the farmers had demanded to be paid at Rs 6,000 per square metre of land, but the company reduced it to Rs 5,400 per square metre. The company agreed to pay compensation within the next few years. But the affected farmers demanded upfront payment.
After Pilgao, the villagers of Mulgao have decided to take a firm stand against the mining activity fearing it would wreak havoc in the village.
The villagers have served an ultimatum to the mining company demanding to settle their demands within the next 15 days. The villagers have demanded to demarcate the buffer zone and to exclude all the houses, temples, lakes and plantations.
They have also demanded compensation since 2011 and to desilt the fields. The notice has been jointly served by the Mulgao temple committee president Vasant Gad, farmers association chief Prakash Parab and the Mulgao Village Panchayat.
The villagers said that after more than a decade the government has allowed mining activity and the mining company is indiscriminately transporting iron ore causing dust pollution in the village.
The villagers stated that they will chalk out their future strategy after the end of the ultimatum.
