Team Herald
Porvorim: Even as the 200-year-old sacred banyan tree was mercilessly cut on Sunday morning at Porvorim for translocation and activists gathered to protest, a significant and controversial absence marked the proceedings – none of the top Opposition leaders were present at the
site to lend their weight to
the agitation.
With PWD and police authorities overseeing the translocation armed with a court order, activists and local residents did what they could, calling for the preservation of both the tree and the Khapreshwar Temple next to it and passionately pleading with the authorities to halt the cutting.
Activists were quick to criticise the lack of political engagement. Dipesh Naik, an environmental activist, expressed frustration over the situation: “If you go to the roots of the political parties, they have nothing to do with the Khapreshwar Devasthan. Political leaders only showed up later,
when they saw a political opportunity."
Naik clarified that the activists' demands had been focused on preserving the specific site where the banyan tree and temple stood, not relocating the temple or shifting the tree. "Politics and religion cannot be mixed," he stressed. "Though we fought this battle without political party support, we later saw party leaders come in only after realising the public outcry. Their statements were more about political mileage than about the cause we were fighting for.”
Environmentalist Avertino Miranda, who has been at the forefront of the protest, echoed Naik's sentiments. He remarked,
"We never sought political support.
Miranda added, "We don’t align ourselves with any party because they’re all the same. Politicians show up when they see an opportunity to make a statement. None of them supported us during our struggle." Miranda emphasised that the protection of the tree and temple was a community effort, not a political one. "It was a people's protest, not a party protest," he added.
Swapnesh Sherlekar, another activist at the site, took a more neutral view on the political presence. "Both the AAP and Congress presidents showed up in the evening. While it was late, we welcomed anyone who came in support of the cause. We’re focused on the issue at hand, not on the politics," he said.
However, Xencor Polgi, another activist, questioned the silence of Goa’s Union Minister Shripad Naik – the elected representative of North Goa – regarding the issue. "What’s the use of them being in power if they can’t even protect a temple?" he asked, criticising the lack of intervention from the political leadership.
Meanwhile, Sunil Kawthankar, Vice President of the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC), responded by defending his party’s involvement. "Our local team was deeply involved in the protest," he said, though acknowledging that they had not anticipated the extent of the demolition. "We never expected the BJP to go as far as demolishing the temple," Kawthankar added.
During the day, Kawthankar filed a complaint before Crime Branch against officials of the Porvorim Police Station, Joint Mamletdar, Bardez, and a private contractor involved in construction of the National Highway at Porvorim for the ‘illegal’ demolition of Dev Khapreshwar Temple.