AUGUSTO RODRIGUES
GONCOI, SANCOALE: Sancoale is sitting on a time bomb. A bomb of mistrust. A bomb of discontent. A bomb of desperation, lit by a spark of defiance.
Premanand Naik, a former sarpanch of the village has gone where no agitations have ever gone. He has made the fight for Goa, for the people, a life-and-death matter whose fast unto death has entered its sixth day and the government is waiting and watching. And yes - starved of ideas and strategy to tackle this protest which is so out of syllabus.
“There is a limit in life. We gave the government numerous opportunities to undo the wrong, but they thought they could fool around with us. My life is not just to save my village, but my Goa. This is what has been giving me the strength to go on for the last six days,” says Premanand after collecting himself from a nap.
As Premanand slept, the number of visitors streaming from different parts of Goa kept increasing and the message that he was not alone started getting deafening. “How is he doing? Is his health being monitored? Why is it that there is no ambulance around?” asked Prakash, who claimed to have come from Cacora.
Premanand, according to volunteers keeping him company through the day, drinks water and manages to go to the toilet by himself. “His pressure has gone up and he has been finding it difficult to sit for long,” disclosed a volunteer.
His sleep gets disturbed as his wife Ujwala arrives with their only son. The little boy moves towards his father, cuddles him and disappears whilst Ujwala sits along with some villagers.
“It is a shame that the Chief Minister has still not reacted. I grew up selling fish to his (Premanand’s) father. If something happens to him, the Chief Minister will be responsible,” says Soccorina, whose outburst leaves Ujwala in tears.
“At least, my wife is crying when I am alive and not when I am dead. Believe me, she will carry my fight forward after my death,” interjects Premanand.
For one, the Naik family seems to be taking the village through another trajectory.
“All the robbers have got together and the good people have had to come out on the road,” explains Maria Fernandes, who is from Ward 2 – the fulcrum of the project. “This is the beginning, for the corrupt who thought they could sell us,” she adds.
“The decision to go on a hunger strike was not sudden,” explains Premanand. “It was only after it became evident that Bhutani was using the government as boxing gloves against us, that I thought of this step,” confesses Premanand as he gradually begins to lose his voice.
“When I die, the people of Goa will wake up. The police came along with the Collector, threatening to arrest me. I warned SP Sunita Sawant that I would write a suicide note that she is responsible for my death,” said Premanand as he kept thanking the visitors extending him solidarity.
As it is tea time, Tulsidas Naik, panch of Ward No. 2 walks inquiring about Premanand’s health.
“The authorities are hand-in-glove with all those involved in this scandal. When the project proponents themselves, in a statement to the panchayat, stated that they do not have 37 permissions, what else is left,” wonders Tulsidas.
“Premanand’s fast unto death is not an eye-opener for the people of Sancoale, but the whole of Goa. He has lit the spark for all of us and whatever stand the government takes, we are confident Goans will rise in support of us because if Sancoale is saved, Goa gets saved,” assumed Peter D’Souza, who has approached the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court.
“We are not against the people. We have stopped all work and we will start only after we get permission from the High Court of the proper government authority,” said Amit Taneja of Bhutani.
The old, young and children keep stopping by to have a word or inquire about his health or ask if they could be of help as Premanand’s fast gets close to entering its seventh day.
As people kept expressing their views, the bubble in Ujwala burst and she said, “I will hold Chief Minister Pramod Sawant responsible for my husband’s death and I will make him pay for it.”
Then, it became clear Ujwala Naik was not alone.