Team Herald
PONDA: The Goa Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Chairperson Deepak Karmalkar visited at Opa, Khandepar, in response to a complaint filed by Jaiwant Audo Gaude and other local villagers of Opa, Khandepar against the officials for denying them from their traditional right of cremation which they were using from last so many years.
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The Chairperson directed the Forest Department officials not to stop the villagers of Opa, Khandepar till the disposal of the pending matter and steps should be taken to resolve the issue by the Forest Department, Curti-Khandepar Village Panchayat and the affected villagers of Opa, Khandepar.
Jiss Varkey, IFS, Deputy Conservator of Forest Panjim; Deepak E Tandel, Range Forest Officer (RFO) Ponda; Deepa A Redkar, Forest Guard Ponda; Ponda PI Vijaynath Kavlekar, Adv Upasso Gaunker, Curti-Khandepar sarpanch Abhijit Gaude, Jaiwant Gaude, Sudesh Gaude and others members were present.
When contacted, sarpanch Abhijit Gaude told O Heraldo that as per traditional and rituals the ST communities living at Opa had been conducting cremation in the village. This was going on till the government declared the forest areas. Due to this the Forest Department is not allowing villagers to perform their traditional and ritual in the area. In the past the Forest Department officials had stopped cremation midway much to the chagrin of ST community.
“Last week the panchayat members discussed the issue with Forest Department officials and told them not to stop cremation in the area. And that the ST community should not be deprived of their rights The Forest Department officials have now told us to identify 2,000 square metres of land in the village for construction of a crematorium,” said Gaude, who also belong to ST community.
