Major drama unfolded in Cansaulim on Sunday as furious locals blocked heavy machin ery brought into a private property to commence work on a railway under pass linked to the South Western Railway (SWR) double-tracking project and confronted Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) of ficials after a senior officer admitted that land acqui sition was still ‘under pro cess’. Residents said the works were being carried out without legal authority, without notices and with out consent, prompting al legations of criminal tres pass and renewed anger over the way railway-relat ed works are being forced through in the village. Locals said machinery was operating at two loca tions near the Cansaulim railway station when they reached the site early on Sunday and found RVNL equipment inside the prop erty of Maria Celina De Souza Antao and Joaquim Celiano Antao, despite the family’s police complaint filed after their compound wall was demolished and fruit-bearing trees were cut earlier this week. The residents said they had alerted local author ities to the renewed tres pass but were told to ‘ap proach the court’. With no immediate action from police, locals rushed to the site and physically blocked the machinery from mov ing further into the private land. The locals demanded immediate withdrawal of machinery, a complete halt to all activities until land acquisition is legally com pleted, and action against officials responsible for the trespass and demoli tion. They said they would pursue legal remedies and warned that unless author ities enforce the law trans parently, tensions along the double-tracking route will only intensify. Political leaders reached the scene soon after re ceiving information on the machinery entering the private property in Cansaulim.
These leaders included Goa Pradesh Congress Commit tee (GPCC) president Amit Patkar, South Goa MP Captain Viriato Fernandes, Goa Forward Party (GFP) president Vi jaiSardesai, Cortalim Congress leader OlencioSimoes, Go enchoEkvott (GE) leader Orville Dourado Rodrigues, and GoyantKollso Naka (GKN) founder AbhijitPrabhudesai. Their arrival triggered the escalation, drawing more locals and activists until the confrontation turned into a high-voltage face-off with RVNL officials. Environmentalist Dr Bolmax Pereira and activists John Coutinho, SabitaMascarenhas, Freddy Travaso, Anthony Fernandes, Tony Cardozo and Anthony D’Silva also joined as tensions rose. Confrontation peaked when the senior RVNL officer su pervising the work responded sharply to the landowner and those present, saying, “Do what you want to do.” The residents said the remark — made in the presence of the Joint Mamlatdar and the elected representatives — inflamed the situation. During the same exchange, the sen ior officer admitted to the leaders that land acquisition was still ‘under process’. Villagers and leaders said this admission directly contra dicted the presence of machinery inside private land and proved that the work amounted to criminal trespass. GFP president VijaiSardesai condemned what he called the attitude and arrogance of the railway authorities, not ing that villagers were told they could ‘go to the court’ even as machinery stood inside a private property where clear ownership documents had been produced. He questioned how such conduct could be allowed ‘on anyone’s property’ and said the government’s behaviour amounted to ‘institutional dadagiri’. Sardesai said the episode showed authorities felt they could act without accountability and declared that the mat ter would be taken to its logical conclusion. He demanded strong action against officials involved in the trespass, say ing such acts cannot be normalised in Goa. He added: “What is happening in Goa today as seen and stopped by us in Cansaulim — illegal trespassing, land grabbing and the misuse of authority — is nothing short of a final assault on Goenkarponn. This is our home, our identity, our legacy. Together, we will resist, and we will not be silenced.” South Goa MP CaptViriato Fernandes said he had person ally examined the legal documents and lodged a complaint, but no action was taken. He questioned how the police could refuse to act when RVNL officials themselves admit ted that land acquisition was still ‘under process’. Fernandes said it was disturbing that police at the site still allowed work to continue despite the presence of writ ten complaints from both the landowner and an MP. GPCC president Amit Patkar said the Cansaulim incident echoed a similar trespass episode in Velsao and questioned why the work was carried out on a Sunday when revenue offices were closed. He said the timing raised questions about intent and accountability. Cortalim Congress leader OlencioSimoes highlighted what he described as a ‘blatant contradiction’ in the au thorities’ justification. He said residents had earlier pro posed an underpass at the railway level crossing near the Cansaulim Primary School, but it was rejected due to a high water table and a rail overbridge was sanctioned instead. He questioned how the same authorities were now push ing an underpass through a water body, saying the incon sistency was unjustifiable and demanded criminal action in the present case of trespass. Police inaction became a flashpoint as Sardesai, Patkar and Fernandes confronted Verna PI Anand Shirodkar, ask ing why no steps had been taken on either complaint. Locals said they were distressed that even after produc ing ownership documents and raising repeated objections, the police did not stop the machinery. Residents said they felt abandoned and forced into physically defending their land because authorities refused to intervene. The Joint Mamlatdar was deputed to the site but referred the matter to the Deputy Collector, Mormugao. Locals said that while responsibility shifted between offices, machin ery continued operating inside private land until sustained pressure from residents, activists and leaders forced its partial removal. They insisted that complete withdrawal and a total halt to all works were necessary until the land acquisition process was completed. Sunday’s confrontation unfolded against the backdrop of rising anger from the previous day, when the locals issued a detailed rebuttal to a message circulated by supporters of the double-tracking project claiming the underpass was a long-standing demand. Residents said that while safer access had been discussed earlier, that did not legitimise trespass, demolition or land invasion. They said no land ac quisition notice had been issued, no surveys conducted, no compensation discussed and no environmental permissions obtained, and that fruit-bearing trees, a nullah and heritage laterite walls had already been damaged without consent. They described the circulated message as ‘an attempt to twist the narrative and mask what RVNL had done’. They clarified that the divide among local residents was not over the underpass itself. A section of people from the opposite side of the tracks said they supported the idea of a crossing for easier access. Those supporting the Antao fam ily emphasised that they, too, were not opposing the un derpass; their objection was solely to the manner in which the work was carried out — through trespass, demolition of a compound wall, uprooting of trees and alterations to a water body without any notice, consultation or consent. They said the issue was not development but due process, ownership rights and legality. Civil society participation added further weight to vil lagers’ concerns. GKN founder AbhijitPrabhudesai, who helped organise the massive anti-coal meeting at Lohia Maidan in Margao — where double tracking was heavily criticised — said the Cansaulim incident was part of a wid er pattern seen across Goa, where authorities bypassed le gal safeguards in the name of infrastructure. GE leader Orville Dourado Rodrigues said RVNL and SWR were functioning as though procedural norms did not apply to them and that Sunday’s events highlighted long-standing grievances that remained unaddressed.
