The government’s struggle to find a permanent home for IIT Goa hit yet an other roadblock on Sunday, as hundreds of devotees and villagers braved heavy rains to launch the ‘Save Katam gal’ campaign. Gathering at the revered Katamgal Dada shrine near the Goa Engi neering College (GEC) in Farmagudi, the protesters united to oppose the setting up of the permanent cam pus on the sacred plateau. Devotees performed a tra ditional Gharane (ritualistic prayer) to seek divine in tervention against the pro ject, citing severe religious, cultural, and environmental concerns. Social activist Gu rudas Naik, who spearhead ed the meeting alongside local devotees, declared that the deity owns the en tire plateau. He warned that erecting concrete fences or blocking the deity’s unseen nightly pathways would bring ruin to the region. The latest agitation was triggered by the re cent placement of sur vey markers inside the sacred precincts of the shrine.
Protesters alleged that the construction would destroy a traditional mango grove and irreversibly damage the ar ea’s cultural heritage. Speakers at the event also questioned the government’s educational priorities. They pointed out that local prima ry schools are shutting down while commercial private universities flourish. Activists further alleged that local landscapes are being destroyed to please a Delhi-based political lobby. In a show of solidarity, the meeting received support from PMC Councillor Venkatesh Naik, social activists including Rama Kankonkar, Xencor Polji, and Manisha Usgaonkar, and Karapur protesters led by Dr Swapnil Salelkar, who have been protesting for 85 days.
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The organ isers confirmed that a legal battle against the land acqui sition will commence shortly. Gurudas Naik openly dared the government to lay the foundation stone, warning of severe consequences. Dr Swapnil Salelkar, who is currently leading the public agitation in the Karapur-Sarvan region of Bicholim, said, “We are staging an agitation against a big project that is encroaching on the land near our Ravalnath Rakhandar deity, and our protest continues today on its 85th day. Today, all the protesting villagers came by bus to support the devotees of Katamgal Dada. Our Rakhandar gave us strength; likewise, we are here to pray with the Katamgal deity to make all the agitations successful in Goa.” Activist Rama Kankonkar alleged that the BJP govern ment itself is against God and Rakhandars, giving only the “gift of agitations” to the people. He said, “When a Catholic brother like Avertino files a petition in the High Court to save the Khapreshwar Rakhandar, and our Muslim broth ers come forward asking to stop cow slaughtering. How can anyone say they are against Hindus?” Former Congress general secretary Manisha Usgaon kar said, “Since childhood, my parents have told me that Katamgal Dada is our Rakhandar (protector). We are not against the IIT, but not at the cost of destroying the sacred places of our Rakhandars. For the BJP, only land and mon ey are important. We are committed to protecting the land of our Rakhandars.” “The Farmagudi plateau is the land of Katamgal Dada and it should remain as it is for the deity. Nobody can grab the land of the deity, as doing so is never fruitful to anyone.
Even the Ponda businessman who purchased the deity’s land here is falling sick and does not come here anymore. I assure my full support for this agitation,” said Venkatesh Naik, PMC councillor. The protest marks the latest bottleneck in the Centre’s long search to find a permanent home for IIT Goa. The Union Ministry of Education’s Site Selection Committee approved the Farmagudi site on May 19, 2026. Following this, the Ministry officially directed the Goa government on June 11, 2026, to expedite land transfer formalities. Farmagudi joins a long list of previous sites—including Loliem, Melauli, Cotarli-Sanguem, Keri, and Codar—where proposed IIT campuses had to be completely shelved fol lowing intense and sustained public resistance over land rights.
