Team Herald
MARGAO: Anger and frustration boiled over at Primeirovaddo, Velsao on Monday evening as residents took direct action against railway construction work that has left them landlocked in their own homes. Local villagers successfully halted a grader that was levelling mud dumps, bringing the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited’s (RVNL) work to a standstill in a desperate bid to protect their access rights.
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The concern was once the road is levelled, their access would be permanently blocked, besides other potential concerns with the height of the track being much higher than their compound walls and related water drainage problems in the monsoon period.
Highlighting the mounting crisis facing the community, local resident Sandra Rodrigues’s situation exemplifying the daily hardships being endured. “My car as well as my scooter are now blocked within my compound,” Rodrigues lamented, describing how her family has been forced to cope with mounting difficulties through no fault of their own. “The landfilling activities have effectively trapped residents, turning their homes into islands cut off from essential access routes, said Rodrigues
Former Environment Minister and ex-MLA Alina Saldanha, joined the protest, directing pointed questions at RVNL officials about their intentions. She also challenged their plans to pursue what locals describe as a coal corridor through Goa, questioning the necessity of such development in India’s smallest state.
The Deputy Manager of RVNL faced intense criticism from directly affected villagers, who made it unequivocally clear that the railways cannot arbitrarily acquire private land for their second track project. The railways’ aggressive approach has particularly angered residents given that the land ownership itself remains under dispute.
Goencho Ekvott (GE) founder Orville Dourado Rodrigues, while attempting to maintain dialogue with railway officials, emphasized the widespread support their cause has attracted. “This isn’t just about Velsao anymore,” he explained, highlighting how organizations and individuals from across the region have rallied behind the affected residents.
“The railways’ rush to proceed with construction while the matter remains active in court, with the next hearing at the Inspector of Survey and Land Records (ISLR) Court in Margao scheduled for February 17, 2026,is questionable,” said Dourado.
“Why such haste?” Dourado demanded of the railway authorities, pointing out that the disputed land’s ownership is still being contested in the District Court. The railways’ determination to forge ahead despite pending legal proceedings has only intensified local resistance, with residents viewing it as a clear disregard for their rights and the legal process.
The evening’s events marked a significant escalation in the ongoing dispute, with residents making it clear they won’t stand idly by as their community’s access rights are stripped away. They vowed to continue to protest what they have alleged is an unauthorized encroachment by the Railway authorities on their fundamental right to access their own homes.
