Team Herald
PANJIM: A large number of people from Quepem constituency that is represented by Town and Country Planning (TCP) Minister Chandrakant Kavlekar joined the Old Goa ‘satyagraha’ on Monday. The protest site has now shifted to near the Divar ferry as the earlier site of the protest, near St Cajetan church and the construction project they are opposing was not enough to accommodate the large crowds.
People from Quepem town and other areas from the constituency like Quitol, Fatorpa, Canaguimim, Cola and Barcem had come to express and show their solidarity with the citizens who have been on a chain hunger strike for the last 20 days. Besides Quepem, citizens from Calangute constituency, such as areas of Arpora, Parra, Calangute village and Candolim were also present on Monday.
They were all unanimous in demanding the government raze the illegal structure in the protected area at Old Goa.
Alton D’Costa from Quepem questioned why the Old Goa panchayat is moving at snail’s pace in completing the process it had initiated against the construction project. He demanded that the Quepem MLA and Deputy Chief Minister Kavelkar explain the reason for this delay given that the TCP department had also recently written to the Old Goa Panchayat about the project that has come up in a protected area of Old Goa.
Citizens also questioned what the TCP staff does and if they are hired as ‘planners’ to draw plans not as ‘blueprint approvers’ to approve construction drawings.
The citizens also recalled that they, along with the Save old Goa Action Committee, had been demanding for a Master Plan since 2011, and that the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) made a similar proposal in 2016.
Citizens pointed out how the likes of Charles Correia Foundation (CCF) and former Chief Town Planner, architect Edgar Ribeiro, had recently asked why all these master-plans have been shelved.
D’Costa also asked which builders are behind stopping the demarcation of buffer zones and further appealed to Kavlekar to immediately update the regional plans within the next week, or give the citizens a white paper as to why it is delayed.
Locals from Calangute-Candolim asked Waste Management minister and Calangute MLA Michael Lobo where his 3 lakh supporters are. Citizens recalled that Lobo had promised to get the structure demolished but given that the structure is not yet demolished, they criticised the Minister for only paying them lip service.