TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: Curtorkars braved heavy rains on Sunday to join the candlelight procession taken out in the village against the controversial 85 room hotel project and to maintain peace and harmony in the village.
Men, women, the young and old participated in the rally as a banner called for saving the village and to make a better world with peace and justice. The rally wended its way through the village, with the participants singing hymns and reciting prayers along the way.
An anti-hotel project activist, John Da Silva told the media that peace in the village will get disturbed and vitiated if the 85-room hotel project is allowed in the village. “Today is a day of peace. In Curtorim, there are attempts made to disturb peace in the village by brining a project against the wishes of the villagers. There won’t be peace in the village if the hotel project takes concrete shape,” he said.
He said the rally will also send a message to Curtorkars in particular and Goans in general that the villagers have come out to preserve the peace in the village. “Till date, Curtorkars have maintained peace and harmony. We don’t want a project which will disturb our peace”, he said, while thanking the villagers for coming out in large number to register their protest against the hotel project.
Charles Barretto said the sentiments of the people of Curtorim are deeply hurt because of the hotel project. “The people today have sent out a clear message that they are opposed to any project against their wishes”, he said.
Curtorim MLA Reginaldo Lourenco, who joined the rally, said he will stand by the villagers opposed to the hotel project. He told the media that he would ask the government as well as the Panchayat to revoke the licence granted to the controversial hotel project. “I am with the people as Curtorkar and an MLA. There should not be any fear in the minds of anyone about my stand on the hotel project. I am opposed to the project”, he said, while informing that he would raise a calling attention motion in the House on Monday to draw the government’s attention to the people’s opposition to the hotel project.
