The villagers of Carmona that have been protesting against the use of concrete for the beautification project of Gavona lake have challenged the Carmona panchayat for an open debate on the ongoing controversy. The villages believe that the use of concrete for building a retaining wall will damage the pond and block flow of water besides leading to other ecological problems for the lake.
The villagers reacting sharply to the statements of Carmona panch member Orlando Da Silva have pointed out that as there has been an invitation for historian Prajal Sakhardande to visit the panchayat office, the villagers are ready to come to the panchayat and discuss the issue threadbare.
The villagers have also rejected the statements of the panch member and thus want a debate on the same issue.
The issue has come back to limelight after the historian extended his support to the agitation of the protesters and called for measures to preserve what he called a ‘heritage lake.
The villagers questioned that if the Water Resources department had all the permissions why had work on the lake been abandoned by the contractor after their recent meeting with the locals on the issue. They have also pointed out that the Carmona comunidade had filed a complaint against the contractor and reiterated that the neighbouring fields are still being cultivated every year as mentioned in the police complaint filed by the comunidade. They asserted that no discussion has been taken over regarding this pond either at the Gramsabha or with the field owners. Reiterating that cement has been used and its not a case of just pitching stone boulders, the villagers gave the example of how the lakes in Curtorim, such as the Angdi Tollem, Mai Tollem, Colomba/Kum Tollem and Gud Tollem have all dried up. The villagers also said that desitling of lakes is mandatory and nothing to be praised about as it is an essential requirement.
Agnelo D’costa, the Attorney of Communidade of Carmona who filed the police complaint against the contractor on February 29, 2016 further pointed out that the retaining wall was being constructed without the permission and NOC of the communidade of Carmona thus trespassing the relevant provision of criminal procedure code.
“Cheryl Mendes and other paddy filed owners who are using the water from the pond situated at Gavona ward for cultivation of paddy fields. In the process the contractor is using rubble, concrete and cement which hampers the ecological and biodiversity regulations. This too will cause grave inconvenience to the paddy field owners to draw water for cultivation in the future,” said Angelo.
Agnelo added that they have demanded that the contractor be directed to remove the entire material used form the site.
