MARGAO: The farmers and Madel residents protested against the WRD project which is planned to be constructed at the truck terminus land at Madel. The people said that it is bizarre that they are being deprived of the agriculture land when the government plans to have agriculture 365 days.

Martha Miranda, a farmer growing rice here at the land, said, “These are our inherited lands and have been protected by our forefathers for years. Now the plan shows that the land is for some project of SUDA and it is wrongly done.” 

“This is not fair on the part of government. These fields are ploughed by us and we are depending on this. We have to protect these fields. No process has been done, no notice has been issued and neither anything is spoken on compensation,” said Judas, another farmer. 

“Government speaks of 365 days cultivation, but now they want to take over our fields. We have been in this occupation for so many generations and we want it to continue,” said Josephine Miranda. 

“Vijai Sardesai had told us to keep the fields green all the time and also gave us seeds, but now we fail to understand who wants to take the land,” she added.

“We request the TCP minister to protect our fields or else we will be forced to stop it the way truck terminus was shut down by all our people in the High Ccourt,” the farmers warned.