RASSAIM: Loutolim villagers and social activists have questioned how the Rassaim jetty project turned into Sagartat Samriddhi Yojana when the Captain of Ports (CoP) documents show that the project is under the Sagarmala programme?
The locals on Tuesday slammed the government authority over Deputy Captain of Ports Premlal Sirsaikar’s statement that the proposed jetty at Rassaim is exclusively for commuter transportation and is proposed to be built under the Centre’s Sagartat Samriddhi Yojana.
A local Ramiro Mascarenhas said, “The term redevelopment and refurbishing of the jetty are totally false as there is no existing Jetty at Rassaim but a ramp for ferryboats.”
“Till now all the correspondence between concerned authorities, interdepartmental or to panchayat states that it is under Sagarmala project then suddenly how does it change to Sagartat Samriddhi Yojana?” he asked.
He said when Dy CoP says it is for passenger/tourism, the villagers would like to ask him whether the barge repair yards lining the Zuari River bank at Rassaim are the tourist spots that the tourists will be shown and he says it is also for berthing barges.
Reacting strongly to this statement, Xavier Fernandes, a social activist from Loutolim said, “The statements of CoP clearly show that the government is not firm on its own policy pertaining to the proposed jetty at Rassaim and elsewhere.”
“It is clear evidence that this government is trying to fool the people. We, the villagers, have been raising our voice against this issue since 2017, wherein the concerned authority had mentioned that the proposed jetty is for cargo/passengers,” he said.
Fernandes said since then all the correspondence of the authority has continued to mention that the jetty is for cargo and passengers when there are no documents to prove that their claim is correct.
“As per the National Waterways Act, it is clearly shown that they can acquire as much land they want and that the State authorities will have no say. And hence, the National Waterways Act should be put in place. Whatever the situation, the villagers will not allow any jetty at Rassaim,” he warned.
“What cargo will the barges bring to Rassaim, Loutolim or what cargo will they take? How will passengers and vehicles alight from the ferry when the design shows it is 3.1mts from MSL?
Mascarenhas said, “Dy CoP visited their panchayat in 2019 during a gram sabha and when people questioned him why the letter from CoP to our panchayat states that it is for passenger/cargo he said it was a mistake when the Sagarmala project clearly says it is for port expansion, quick evacuation of cargo, an increase of industrial output and logistics also the parking facility is not shown on their plan which will definitely displace the locals who are staying close to the river bank.”