GAURESH SATTARKAR
The six-day long sit-in protest against the proposed Zuari River bandhara at Mirabag trans formed into a pan-Goa movement, as leaders from over a dozen villages de scended on Sanvordem in a massive show of solidarity. Under the banner of Go enche Rakhandars, a group of 20 leaders led by activists Rama Kankonkar arrived in a convoy of nearly 10 cars to galvanise local residents, vowing to resist what they described as a “dangerous project” being forcefully imposed without public consent. With representa tives from across the State including Bhoma, Karmali, Divar, Sonshi, Sankhali, Ta leigao, Nuvem, Khandepar, Usgao, Priol, Bambolim, Ma pusa, Porvorim and Socorro joining the frontlines, the agitation has gained momen tum, setting the stage for a wider confrontation with the government over environ mental safeguards. Over the past several days, many activists and support ers from across the State have extended solidarity to the villagers. Several of them have been sitting with the pro testers daily, expressing firm opposition to the bandhara project. “Repeated requests to the government have yielded no results and the time for mere appeals is over. The villag ers of Mirabag are firm in their stand: they do not want the project, nor do they want any presentations about it. In the past, presentations were shown and objections were raised by people, but no concrete action was taken. Illegal projects should be scrapped even before being brought before the panchayat. Crores were spent on legal battles but the mat ter still remains unresolved,” Rama Kankonkar said. “The water belongs to the villagers and is not anyone’s private property to be diverted. Local devasthans should not be disturbed. An earlier attempt to construct a band hara at Khandepar was linked to supplying water to a large project at Savoi Verem. Facing obstacles there, efforts are now being shifted to Mirabag, putting local villages and residents at risk. The project’s proposed capacity has been increasing from 30 MLD earlier to 50 MLD and now report edly 60 MLD raising concerns among villagers,” he said. “First farms and hills were affected, and now their eyes are on water. If the project is not scrapped, people from across Goa will gather in large numbers to intensify the protest. Public hearings are conducted, objections are sub mitted, and then matters are pushed into court where they remain pending for years. Take the Bhutani project as an example: despite objections being filed, justice has still not been delivered. The only way to stop the project is by build ing strong public pressure on political leaders,” Kankonkar added. After intensifying agitation and growing public backing, the Water Resources Department (WRD) has reportedly issued a hearing notice through the Deputy Collector of Sanguem to the panchayat concerned. Earlier, the project’s proposed capacity was stated to be 50 MLD then reduced to 30 MLD, then again raised to 50 MLD, and now a no tice mentioning 60 MLD has reportedly been sent to the panchayat, raising further concerns among locals about the increasing scale of the project. However, the villagers remain steadfast in their demand, clearly stating that they do not want the bandhara project under any circumstances. Their stand remains unchanged. They are calling for the complete scrapping of the pro posed project. “The government is responsible for destroying nature, natural habitats, and the ecological balance. Several vil lages have already suffered due to large scale projects. Some projects are sanctioned despite knowing that peo ple will oppose them. These are undertaken only for namesake purposes. Such projects are shown as major expenditures, while in reality, the public does not bene fit from them and it goes in their pockets. Elected repre sentatives are accessible during election time but rarely present themselves when people need support. Respect public sentiment and refrain from introducing projects that face strong opposition from the people” said Fidoll Pereira, activist “We don’t want any presentation because we don’t want the bandhara. The Deputy Collector has sent a letter scheduling a hearing, We are not interested in any hearing or presentation. Our only demand is that the bandhara pro ject must be scrapped. The project was first proposed, and its capacity was stated as 50 MLD. Following public opposi tion, it was reduced to 30 MLD, later increased again to 50 MLD, and now the hearing notice reportedly mentions 60 MLD,” said Sanket Bhandari, local. “The WRD intends to convert the entire village into a dam. After the hearing, the capacity could be increased again. The government is misleading the people. The en tire village stands together and is receiving support from across Goa. Scrap this project,” Bhandari added
