SUNDAY, MAY 05, 2024
Team Herald
VASCO: The OSD to the Chief Minister and officials of the South Western Railway, who descended at Cansaulim for the purported survey of the areas which would get affected by the doubling of the railway tracks, did get a survey – not of the tracks – but of the people’s wrath.
The survey, ostensibly an olive branch proposed by the CM and earlier accepted by the Village Action Committee was derailed by the spontaneous people’s anger with a direction of its own. The message was clear. The project had to stop.
The protests also turned into an intense agitation against what they felt was the expanding coal transportation project of private players, for which this double-tracking was taking place.
Over 300 people from South Goa, right from Margao to Majorda, Arossim, Cansaulim, Velsao, Pale and Issorcim villages, most in Cortalim constituency, gathered along with a few politicians near the Cansaulim Railway Station on Tuesday morning. They arrived with banners, placards displaying the messages of ‘no doubling of railway tracks’ and ‘We don’t want coal in Goa’.
Aggrieved locals from Velsao, Cansaulim, including some senior, prominent civil society members, questioned local MLA Alina Saldanha and the South Western Railway authorities about the main aim of the doubling of railway track through villages where people from all strata are going to suffer on all grounds, from their health to their ancestral properties. Saldanha tried hard to pacify the angry crowd, which booed the railway authorities and constantly asked questions.
Later, due to heated discussions between the MLA and the locals who were not in a mood to listen to the SWR authorities or to allow the re-survey, it didn’t happen.
During a recent meeting with Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant, it had been agreed that the re-survey would be conducted for the doubling of railway track project to identify and analyse the ground situation – how the people, their heritage houses, health would be affected if the doubling of tracks project materialised. Saldanha, who is with the people in opposing the project, had even followed up with the CM’s office when there was no confirmation.
Meanwhile, Saldanha, along with SWR officials and Commander Padhye, OSD to Chief Minister, were shown the heritage houses and the proximity of the houses and damage caused to the structures. The MLA also emphasised that the main reason behind opposing this doubling of railway track project is that the project will not benefit the locals, instead it will adversely affect the heritage houses, people’s health due to coal dust and they will lose their ancestral property too.
Incidentally, ancestral land, mainly filled with trees and grass now, belonging to her late husband Matanhy Saldanha’s family is also next to the railway tracks and will be impacted by the double-tracking.
A large police force was stationed at the site to maintain law and order during the inspection.
