Residents of Nanus-Usgao belonging to the Scheduled Tribe (ST) community held a protest urging authorities, including the panchayat, to take immediate and strict action against illegal encroachments and construction activities by migrants on land belonging to locals. They warned that their agitation would intensify if no concrete action is taken within the next fifteen days.
Locals have appealed to other communities to unite and support the ST community in their fight against land encroachment. They fear becoming landless as migrants continue purchasing plots, leaving no land for future generations.
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Residents said their ancestors lived in the area for over 400 years, but encroachments have destroyed their land and even blocked the pathway to a religious site where rituals have long been performed. Details of the destruction have been submitted to the Usgao Ganjem Panchayat.
A similar report will be submitted to the Administrator of Comunidades North, the local comunidade, the ST Commissioner, local MLA and Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, the Ponda mamlatdar, the BDO and the talathi.
They also complained of illegal encroachments on land at Chafemal, where their ancestors originally settled. Construction near the holy lake (tolle) by the Bhumika Devi Temple—a site where devotees take a holy dip during Mahashivratri—poses a risk of sewage contamination, they said.
The residents stressed that the encroachments pose a direct threat to the existence of two of their local temples.
