Villagers say man has been running shack for 20 yrs
TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: Allotment of shacks on the Betalbatim beach has kicked up a major row, with villagers demanding justice for a local shack owner, who has been denied a shack this year despite running a shack for the last 20 years.
“We the villagers of Betalbatim demand justice to Sebastiao Fernandes by allotting him the shack under the State shack policy”, declared Betalbatim villager Dunstan D’Costa on Tuesday.
Addressing the media, Dunstan said that Sebastiao has been denied a shack at the Betalbatim beach without any rhyme or reason. “We support the government shack policy which speaks for weightage for the shack owners with experience. But, here is an instance wherein Sebastiao had been running a shack since 1993, but his claim has mysteriously not found favour with the Tourism Department this year”, he said.
The villagers had called on the Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar and were given a patient hearing, but the villagers demand justice for Sebastiao. “Those who had just one year experience are laughing and running a shack at the beach, but Sebastiao, who has been dependent on shack business for his livelihood is without any business”, he said.
Replying to a question, Dunstan said that a total of 11 shacks have been allotted to Betalbatim village this year, but lamented that shacks earmarked at Alila Diwa are being run by Majorda villagers.
The villagers had called on the Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar and were given a patient hearing, but the villagers demand justice for Sebastiao
