SANGUEM: The villagers from Cotrali and Zoriwaddo in Sanguem stopped the heavy trailers transporting raw material to the factories in operation at Xelpem Industrial Estate, last night.

In a late night protest, the villagers blocked the road demanding that the trucks that were responsible for snapping of electric cables be stopped from plying through that route.

After the midnight blockade, the villagers on Wednesday morning presented a memorandum to the Police Inspector Sanguem with copies marked to Sanguem mamlatdar, Quepem deputy collector and the local MLA for immediate stoppage of all trucks carrying raw material to the factories at Xelpem from 7 pm to 8.30 am and from 1 pm to 2 pm for the safety of the villagers and students going for classes.

The villagers led by panch Vithal Gaonkar also demanded immediate widening work of the road from Cotarli to Xelpem Industrial Estate which the villagers have been demanding since past several months.

Gaonkar informed that ever since Pepsi commenced production at Xelpem Industrial Estate, the traffic on the rural Cotarli road has increased manifold and the villagers find it difficult to use the road during the movement of heavy trailers.

Gaonkar also claimed that since the electric cables at most of the places run low in the village, the snapping of the electricity cables have become a regular feature, since the time big companies put up units at Xelpem Industrial Estate.