GAURESH SATTARKAR
A day after Chief Minister Pramod Sawant assured Mirabag villagers that their concerns over the controversial bandara pro ject would be addressed, the ground reality at the protest site tells a very dif ferent story — one of deep mistrust, fatigue with ver bal assurances and a move ment that is only hardening in its resolve. Now in its 45th day, the agitation has outlasted the Chimbel protest. But un like that struggle — which ended in victory — Mirabag villagers say they are still being strung along, with promises replacing policy and meetings substituting for decisions. The immediate trigger for the renewed anger is the outcome of the Chief Minister’s meeting with a delegation of protesters, facilitated by BJP Goa pres ident Damu Naik. While the government indicated a shift from the bandara to a jackwell project, villagers have rejected the proposal outright, calling it yet an other attempt to repackage the same plan without for mally scrapping it. “Three times the govern ment has made fools of us by shifting the project from one place to another. On Wednesday, we met Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, and after speaking with him, we also held discus sions with our villagers. We have taken a clear de cision — we do not want any project at the marked site. We are demanding a written scrap order for the bandara project,” said San ket Bhandari. At the heart of the stand off is a simple but non-ne gotiable demand: a written government order cancelling the bandara project. Protest ers say anything short of that leaves room for the project to be revived at will. “The Chief Minister said that the government will build a jackwell project, but they can take that pro ject anywhere else — we have no objection to that. What we want is written assurance that the bandara project is scrapped. Today they are saying it is only a jackwell, but tomorrow the government may change its stand, deny giving any such assurance, and restart the bandara project. That is why we want everything in writing,” Bhandari added. For villagers who have spent over a month in make shift tents, enduring heat, uncertainty, and repeated cy cles of hope and disappoint ment, the latest assurances have done little to inspire confidence. Instead, they have reinforced a growing perception that the govern ment is buying time rather than resolving the issue. That mistrust was sharp ened further by what pro testers describe as a per functory and superficial interaction with the Chief Minister. “The Chief Minister called us for a meeting, but honestly, it didn’t feel like a proper meeting at all. There were five of us and five from their side. We asked ques tions and they gave answers, but there was no meaningful discussion,” said protester Apa Naik.
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“In my opinion, such an important issue needed at least four to five hours of serious dialogue. Instead, everything was wrapped up in just 30 minutes, which I do not accept as a proper meeting,” he said. Even the government’s alternative proposal has raised more questions than answers. The introduction of a ‘jack well’ in place of the bandara has been met with scepticism, with villagers questioning both its intent and clarity. “The term ‘jackwell’ they used was also confusing. The en tire discussion felt childish because there was no real effort to understand what we were trying to say. We went there to listen to them, but they should have listened to us equally. In the end, nothing changed,” Naik said. Underlying this rejection is a broader fear — that the jack well is merely a tactical retreat, not a policy shift. “They set aside the bandara project and introduced the jackwell idea, but we fear that later they will again claim problems with it and bring back the bandara project. There was also a tone of indirect pressure during the discussion. But we want to make it clear — we are ready to sit in protest for 100 days if needed. What we demand is simple: written confirmation that the bandara project has been completely scrapped. Instead of decreasing, the number of people opposing this project is only increasing,” he added. Financial concerns have added another layer of suspicion. Villagers are questioning the logic of retaining a Rs 400 crore outlay for a modified project when approximately Rs 60 crore has already been spent, arguing that any genuine change in scope should trigger a fresh process. They insist that if the government is serious about a jack well, it must revise cost estimates, float a new tender, and — crucially — move the project away from the current site. The agitation itself has steadily escalated over the past weeks, with mashal rallies, gheraos at the WRD office in Pa jimol and the Sanvordem panchayat, and dharna protests at Lohia Maidan. In a dramatic show of dissent, four protesters even unfurled banners inside the Assembly session, leading to their arrest. Yet, despite the scale and persistence of the protest, vil lagers say they have been met with silence from elected representatives. The project impacts three constituencies — Sanguem, Sanvordem, and Curchorem — but protesters point out that not a single MLA from these areas has public ly stood with them or visited the site. With patience running thin, villagers have now set a clear deadline. If a written scrap order is not issued within two days, the agitation will be escalated to Azad Maidan.
