TUESDAY, MAY 07, 2024
Team Herald
PANJIM: The Old Goa ‘Satyagraha’ chain-hunger strike protest entered its sixth day on Monday and the citizens who are part of the protest demanded that the government doesn’t employ any further delaying tactics and raze the controversial project to the ground.
The citizens who have been agitating against the project that has come up in a protected area in Old Goa also said they are waiting to see hard copies of the orders given by various government departments concerned in writing as opposed to just listening to the verbal assurances that have been given.
Ana Gracias, an activist from Chimbel also pointed out that all the assurances that have been given have not been made to them directly but have been said to the media. She said the citizens would have expected that someone from the government or Old Goa Panchayat would have come personally to meet them and give these assurances in person so that they too could ask questions such as the timeline of the proposed action plan.
She also pondered as to what more the government has to wait for when the Old Goa panchayat and the Town and Country (TCP) Minister Chandrakant Kavlekar, have already admitted to various flaws with the permissions that had been granted for the project and had stated that such permissions would be revoked.
This was in reference to what Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had stated about assessing what is illegal and then taking action.
The citizens pointed out that the statements made by the TCP Minister and Old Goa panchayat shows that the project is indeed illegal.
Glean Cabral, a resident of Old Goa further demanded that the government also fulfils the second of their two demands, that is for marking of buffer zones around all heritage sites in Goa on the Regional Plan 2021. He added that this is important as it would ensure that all such structures are protected.
He also maintained that people from all walks of life and political parties are free to support them but their main concern is that the people of Goa come forward and show solidarity with their cause.
The protestors also made a note to counter suggestions that are being made by some elements regarding how the protest should be and emphasised that this is a non-violent protest.
They added that they are on a ‘Satyagraha’ in the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi and don’t want to create a commotion given that the protest is being held opposite the Basilica of Bom Jesus where the St Francis Xavier novenas are being held.
The citizens also criticised the CM for having tried to brush them aside in the past and refusing to meet them in person
They added that they will not withdraw their protest until the construction project is demolished and urged the government to expedite the steps needed to be taken for this to happen.
