Team Herald
MARGAO: The hope of having a happy New Year evaporated for residents of Mollo in Velsao on Thursday morning as railway authorities rolled in with JCB machines, demolishing structures, uprooting trees and leaving the helpless local community watching in anger and despair. Some residents alleged that they were locked in their homes to stop them from intervening and halting the ‘bulldozer action’.
The demolition, carried out by South Western Railways (SWR) and Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), razed a family distillery, a toilet block, a shed, and even coconut and avocado trees. The operation unfolded despite assurances from authorities in late December that no action would take place until a scheduled meeting with the Directorate of Settlement and Land Records (DSLR) on January 6. Some affected family members, who had travelled to Old Goa for veneration, returned to find their structures already demolished.
“Three years back, the Chief Minister had come here and said he wouldn’t allow anything to be demolished. What happened to that promise? Where is he now?” asked a distraught Joanita Aguiar. Only a while back, the JCB machine had torn down her country liquor distillery, a cherished family legacy spanning four generations, as her heart-wrenching cries of ‘AvoiGhe’, a Konkani expression of fear, shattered the peace of the village.
“This was a peaceful village, but can anyone live here with all that is happening? We had no idea about this action until we saw their workforce come here, accompanied by a bus full of police. We were served no notices. We were not allowed to protect our own land. The distillery was our source of livelihood. What do we do now? They even demolished our toilet even. Where will we go now?” Aguiar asked in anguish.
South Goa MP Capt Viriato Fernandes, who rushed to the site upon hearing of the incident, questioned the urgency of the project.
“Why the rush to go forward with this project when the existing track is grossly underutilised? This is all being done for coal, not for the people. We will not give up the fight,” he said.
Capt Viriato pointed out that only seven passenger trains use the track weekly, a number that has decreased since the pandemic.
He also criticised the disregard for Goa’s traditions and livelihoods. “The lady’s family has been using this distillery for generations now and this is a traditional activity of Goa. No consideration was given to her,” he lamented.
Olencio Simoes, General Secretary of Goencho Ekvott, accused the railways of acting with impunity. “It looks like the railways do not care about any local authority here and dictate terms to the State government. In the previous case of tree cutting here, the Forest Department had warned them they would seize their equipment if such activities continued without permission. This was ignored,” Simoes said.
He also highlighted the unresolved issues surrounding land rights and project demarcation. “The DSLR had fixed a meeting for January 6 to address these concerns, and the Collector had verbally instructed that no demolition would be carried out until then. What happened to that?” Simoes questioned.
Locals also expressed their anger over the State government for failing to take cognisance of their multiple complaints in this matter, or intervening as the demolition drive was on. They pointed out how they saw the talathi and mamlatdar immediately leave the site when they heard more people and the MP were coming to protest.
The demolition, part of the contentious double-tracking railway project, has reignited fierce opposition from locals, who cite environmental damage, heritage loss, and violations of due process. “Like in other States, bulldozer action has started in Goa too. When the demarcation exercise is not yet complete, how are they forcefully going ahead with this? Are the police here to protect the people or prevent them from seeking justice, as we saw today?” Simoes added.