Bhoma women ready to ‘lay down’ their lives to prevent road expansion

PONDA: Alarmed with the arrival of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) officials in Bhoma village to conduct survey for road widening purpose, the villagers led by the women folk, have resolved to prevent the government from executing road expansion work and even threatened to lay down their lives for the same, while reiterating their demand for a bypass.  

They said they held several public meetings, corner meetings against the project peacefully and their patience should not be tested.

The most vocal of them were the women, who feared losing their houses and the village temple due to this project.

They warned the government that currently the government has seen a peaceful form of their agitation, they opposed a survey for road widening, and they urged the government to take them into confidence on widening issues.

The government should not test their patience by going ahead with project work. The women said they would sleep on the road and are ready to die, but won’t allow the road widening work.

The villagers have decided to gather in large numbers in ‘Bhoma Adcolna’ gram sabha scheduled on next Sunday to show their might against the government decision on road widening. The main demand will be to scrap the existing highway expansion plan and press for constructing a bypass at Bhoma to save villages houses and temples.

Senior citizen Shantu Bhomkar said that she and the other women villagers will fight to protect their village at any cost, they are ready to die for this purpose by lying down in the path of the heavy earth movers. She said that the Bhomkars want a bypass road.

Deputy Sarpanch, Shaila Naik supported the villagers’ demand for bypass. Another panch member Sunil Bhomkar said he is with villagers on this issue.

Sanjay Naik, convenor of Bhoma agitation against road widening, said the government should clarify its stand on the road widening issue. While on one instance, a land acquisition notice says 64 houses will be affected, while on the other occasion, it says only four houses will be lost for land acquisition. “The government should not keep us dark on this issue. Until it explains to villagers about the exact plan of widening and satisfies them with proper planning, the Bhomkars will continue agitation against road NH widening. He said Villagers strongly in favour of a bypass for Bhoma.