TEAM HERALD
CALANGUTE: Tenants involved in salt extraction activities at Agarwado in Calangute have accused the Calangute Police of harassing them, an allegation which has been denied by the police.
While some aggrieved tenants complained that Calangute Police have been regularly questioning their antecedents and rights over the salt pans, Calangute Police clarified that they have approached them to serve a notice issued by the deputy collector regarding a dispute of rights over the salt pans.
“The Calangute Police has been harassing us time and again for silly issues over the salt pans at Agarwado, Calangute, which we are in possession for the last 65-70 years. We have been regularly carrying out the salt extraction from the salt pans by emptying the accumulated water, etc,” Clinton D’Souza told Herald.
“When we started the activity of pumping out the water, a Calangute Police team came and questioned us. We categorically informed the police team that we are the tenants and have every right over the salt pans and have been doing it for last several years.”
“The Calangute Police team kept visiting us and asked us to submit the documents in this regard. Even though we did this, they did not stop harassing us.”
“The Calangute Police then asked us to stop our regular activities due to a complaint from one person, who, they claim, is the son of the landlord. We have asked the person and the Calangute Police to prove his identity, but they have failed to do so,” D’Souza added.
D’Souza alleged that the police harassment could cost them their livelihood.
“The police have come to our site 4-5 times and have kept asking us to stop work at the salt pans. However, we cannot delay the process and we have to resume our regular activities at the salt pans.”
“We don’t know why they are harassing us even though we have moved the matter before authorities concerned regarding the dispute over rights. It is now March and we need to carry out the process at the earliest to obtain the salt yield for this season,” added D’Souza.
When contacted, Calangute PSI Nitin Halarnkar refuted the allegations that the police had been harassing the tenants and had denied them the right to carry out the work.
“We had only gone there to serve them the notice from the deputy collector & SDM at Mapusa,” clarified PSI Halarnkar.
