SANGUEM: The farmers from Sanguem who are opposing the establishment of an Indian Institute of Technology campus on their cultivated lands at Cotarli village, have urged Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to spare some time to visit the proposed site, in order to understand the ground realities.
Claiming that the statements made by Sanguem MLA Subhash Phaldessai about the farmlands and agricultural plantations, were false, the farmers said Sawant should pay a visit to the site, and see for himself.
The farmers, who have been forced to move their protest from their plantations to a house in Dando due to the imposition of Section 144 at the proposed IIT site, have completed two weeks of a sit-in agitation in a bid to pressure the government to move the project to a different location.
“The frequent claims made by Phaldessai, that the proposed site is barren, is a lie. Our existing plantations at Cotarli village and the area surrounding the hill, are clear indications that we have been in possession of these farmlands for decades,” said an elderly lady at the protest.
With the Chief Minister expected to visit Sanguem to lay the foundation stone for the new Temple at Temchowaddo, the farmers hoped he would stop by to hear out their grievances.
