ALFRED FERNANDES
SANGUEM: The Goa Government proposed site for IIT at Cotarli Sanguem, which was subsequently rejected by the Central Government, has turned lush green.
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Following a series of attempts by the government to bulldoze the farmlands to pave way for concrete structures, some farmers who had stopped cultivating their fields for the last couple of years owing to stray cattle menace, have descended into their farmlands and have worked wonders.
“The paddy fields in particular are literally smiling and the farmers are gearing for a bumper crop,” informed Pedro Cruz.
“Having a first look at the paddy crop, the yield looks to be pretty good and the government should take cognisance of the heavy yield in store for the farmers and should work on the modalities to protect the pristine farmlands at Cotarli village from stray cattle menace,” urged Milton Fernandes, a farmer.
The farmers at Cotarli have to work strenuously to protect their farmlands and paddy fields from stray cattle day and night. Stray cattle frequenting the area are giving the farmers sleepless nights,” claimed Fernandes.
“The government, which was devoted to devastating these farmlands, should now come up with an exclusive offer for farmers to fence their paddy fields and other agricultural plantations,” said Filipe Vaz, another farmer.
Ever since the IIT project was scrapped from Cotarli village, the farmers descended into their farmlands and began preparing the ground ready for cultivation.
Besides paddy being the major crop, the farmers have taken to vegetable farming, and banana and coconut plantations for extra earnings.
The farmers expect that the coming season will see more people marching to their paddy fields to get the total area under cultivation.
“However, one fear remains in the minds of the farmers is that of getting the harvesting machine to their fields. During the sowing operations, the men in uniform had tried to block the lone pathway leading to the paddy fields through the police quarters, which is now occupied by India Reserve Battalion,” claimed Santano Rodrigues, a local.
