Team Herald
PANJIM: The residents of Vanxim/Capao Island have stated that the islanders had been deprived of basic needs, such as education and clinics, for more than 50 years, and no authority or group “that is currently pretending to defend our cause and that of our island” had ever supported them or even bothered to extend them any help required for a decent living on the island.
In a statement issued by the residents through the Vanxim Self Help Group on Saturday, the locals stated that all agricultural activities on the island had been stopped over 40 years ago, and more than half of the islanders had migrated in search of employment and better living conditions.
“Only few of us are left in the hope that some economic development will happen on the island and we will get job opportunities,” said the villagers, adding, “Now that the resort development project is approved on the island, Margarida Silveira (Maggie) is falsely claiming to represent the villagers of Vanxim/Capao and trying to malign the image of the Church of Santa Monica. All the local residents, including Margarida, are the beneficiaries of the Church and residing on property owned by the Church of Santa Monica.”
The villagers also stated that on preliminary enquiry in their locality, there did not appear to be persons by the names of Seby Fernandes, Damacin Oliveira and Marian Fernandes.
They added, “Margarida, Seby and two others referred to in your report (Herald February 2, 2016) are not authorised representatives to speak on behalf of the residents of neither our village nor any other organisation like Bharat Mukti Morcha (BMM), which she claims to represent on behalf of the locals.”
