SUNDAY, MAY 05, 2024
Team Herald
PANJIM: A large number of people mostly youth from different parts of Goa on Sunday took out a rally at Old Goa demanding immediate demolition of an ongoing construction within world heritage site failing which the people will take law into their hands and raze the structure.
The youth tied friendship bands and pledged to protect Goa and not to allow illegalities near the world heritage sites.
Fr Eremito Rebello said that heritage was important for the people of Goa and alleged that the government authorities, local village panchayat and politicians have connived to allow illegal construction near St Cajetan Church situated within the world heritage site. He demanded that the State government should check all the `fabricated’ documents produced by the proponents and permissions granted by the government departments.
Fr Rebello warned that if the government fails to demolish the ongoing construction then the people of Goa will take law into their hands and raze the structure like the way they did to demolish constructions carried by the SEZ promoters at Verna.
Historian Prajal Sakhardande alleged that the construction of a bungalow has been permitted by violating UNESCO’s world heritage norms and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) rules. The government authorities have also flouted rules to grant permissions, he said demanding to know how can constructions be allowed within one-kilometre radius of world heritage sites.
Activist Anthony Fernandes alleged that permissions have been given by producing fraudulent documents and slammed elected MLAs for not raising the matter in just concluded Assembly session. “We had submitted letters to all 40 MLAs but nobody raised it in the Assembly,” he said adding that one of the MLAs showed concern and raised the issue of demolition of a church in South Delhi. Though it is a good thing to do the same MLA should have done similar thing to protect Goa by stopping illegalities in the State.
This was the second protest held by the people of Goa demanding to demolish construction of a bungalow near the world heritage site at Old Goa.
