SANGUEM: The Kalay gram sabha strongly opposed the handling of ore at Kalay railway yard and instead proposed that the ore handling activities be undertaken at Chowgule plant at Costi Village.
The gram sabha, which was recently held, witnessed heated arguments between the contractor and Sarpanch who strongly supported the villagers in opposing the ore handling activities at the railway yard.
The villagers opposing the ore handling activities at railway yard opined that there are houses all around the railway yard and the handling of ore in the locality will severely impact the lives of the villagers living in the vicinity.
Narendra Gaonkar, sarpanch of Kalay Village Panchayat along with the member Balu Rekdo claimed that a kindergarten, a chapel and the local market are in the vicinity of the railway yard and the handling of ore activities in the area will have severe affect in the locale. Ore handling activities in the village are opposed by four out of five panchayat members and some villagers have approached the Tribunal to ban the ore handling operations at railway yard.
The panchayat member supporting the ore handling activities in the village claimed that the activities will provide employment opportunities to the villagers.
Former Kalay sarpanch Kishore Rama Gauns Dessai hit hard at the panchayat for having approached the Tribunal over the issue as any orders passed in this regard will have severe impact on the development activities in the village considering the fact that the village comes within the buffer zone of Netravali Wild Life Sanctuary.
Dessai claimed that the opposition to ore handling at Kalay yard would have given a boost to the development activities in the village. Dessai charged the sarpanch and others of misguiding the locals on the issue. On the other hand, villagers and the sarpanch opposed the ore handling activities at the yard and were determined to go to any extent to oppose the ore handling activities at the railway yard.
Incidentally, though the issue of ore handling at railway yard rocked the gram sabha, the decision on the issue now primarily rests on the outcome of the petition filed before the Tribunal where along with the villagers and the contractor concerned, the panchayat is also a party.
