Angry Bhoma locals issue final warning to govt over highway expansion project

PONDA: The furious Bhoma villagers have issued a final ultimatum to the Government for shelving the road expansion plans for the National Highway, else be ready to face their wrath.

The villagers warned Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, PWD Minister Nilesh Cabral, Power Minister Ramkrishna Dhavalikar and Art and Culture Minister Govind Gaude against taking them for granted. 

“If they want highway expansion, they will have to first face us. We are ready to die for saving our houses, village and temple. Don’t take us for granted. Ek tar ziktale na tar martale (will do or die) to save village from destruction. Our main demand is build a bypass,” the villagers said in unison at a public meeting on Wednesday.

The villagers challenged Cabral to show his power point presentation on ground at Bhoma and not in his office .They rejected claims of Dhavalikar and said there was no politics involved and nobody had instigated them. “We are not kids. We are desperate to save the heritage of our village for that, we are even ready to fight,” the villagers added. 

Local crusader, Sanjay Naik alleged that the government was working to protect lands of landlords and wanted to deprive people of their houses and temples. 

“The government is working to protect the lands of landlords and wants to deprive people of their houses and temples. Landlords have control over 80 percent village land, while locals only have 20 percent, on which there are houses and temples. Government does want to spare even this remaining area,” Naik said.

Villagers pot shots at Dhavalikar and local MLA Govind Gaude for supporting the project and also hit out at Ravi Naik and Subash Shirodkar for not looking into problems of Bahujans.

Senior citizen Suresh Gaude recalled how BJP leader and former CM Manohar Parrikar had assured them of a bypass road. He said in temple premises, former CM Parrikar had said that with houses and temples on side of road, highway expansion not possible. 

“He had assured us that the houses and temples won’t be touched. He had even planned a bypass road and had shown it on Regional Plan. The highway expansion was scrapped at that time. If today BJP truly wants to uphold the legacy of late Manohar Parrikar, then they should give us a bypass assured by him,” Gaude said. 

He recalled that the Nylon 66 agitation was scrapped after one local was hit by a bullet on his chest. “We are ready for such agitation to ensure that the highway expansion plan is scrapped,” he said.