Reiterating their strong opposition to the proposed Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) project at Codar, the residents on Sun day threatened to launch a major agitation if the pro posed campus in their area is not scrapped and demanded that the same be relocated elsewhere. Raising concerns over the potential loss of their cultiva ble land, the locals at a public meeting at Codar empha sised their reliance on this land for sustenance, ques tioning what they would eat if the IIT were to come up in their area. The meeting was ad dressed by Vishram Gaonkar, along with locals Devendra Chari, Dharmanand Chari, Dnyaneshwar Khande parkar and others, who af firmed their commitment to fight until the government scrapped the project. The residents on Monday, plan to submit memoran dums to the Chief Minister, the Administrator of Comu nidades, Agriculture Minister Ravi Naik, and MLA Govind Gaude. Highlighting that ap proximately 80 per cent of the proposed land is cultivated ag ricultural land, crucial for the livelihood of the locals, Vish ram demanded that the pro ject be relocated elsewhere to save their land, noting that five lakh square metres is forested, with very little barren land available. The residents also feared that thousands of trees would be felled, leading to the destruction of natural habitats for wildlife. They stated that the land is culti vable, with locals growing cashew, horticultural crops and monsoon vegetables. Claiming that they still de pend on agriculture and hor ticulture for their livelihood, the locals feared the project threatens forests, water sourc es, and wildlife habitats and raised concerns about adverse consequences for future gen erations. The residents further raised concerns that the pro ject would jeopardise the ex istence of Codar as they would lose their identity due to the influx of migrants.
Locals also feared the proposed IIT project's potential threat to the biodiversity in Codar and surrounding are as, particularly its people and other parts of Bethora, who rely on agriculture. They said the area proposed for the IIT project is known as ‘Wagati’ (a habitat for tigers) and questioned where these animals would go if the IIT project proceeds.