Team Herald
CANACONA: Happy to have rail road through Canacona, local landlords willingly gave up vast tracts of their land over two decades ago only to realise now that the railway is beneficial to everyone except for the Canaconkars as most of the trains zip past them.
Although some trains halt while going up and down at Canacona railway station, but Canaconkars are voicing their demand since last several years to either introduce more trains with halt at the only major station on the southern end of Goa or allow stop for the existing trains plying on the route.
“Canacona is an important tourist destination and lakhs of tourists both domestic as well as foreign come to Canacona to enjoy some of the best beaches not only in India but in Asia, but due to unavailability of trains at convenient times they get inconvenienced,” Anil Bhagat, who is at the forefront making this demand, complained.
Locals are forced to opt for road commuting as the Konkan Railway Corporation authorities have ignored the demand of the locals.
“With strong lobbying from industrialists, KRC have introduced local trains from Pernem to Karwar in view of the thousands of natives of Karwar working at various industrial estates in Goa to facilitate their movement to go to work and come back, but the voiceless Goans are made to travel by public bus transport,” Bhagat said.
“Our representation for additional local train/s which will benefit Goans at large and a halt for existing train running from CST (Mumbai) to Mangaluru and Borivali to Mangaluru during day time has fallen on deaf ears till now,” Bhagat complained.
“If the KRC authorities don’t accede to our demands, we will be forced to change our stance to more aggressive approach,” Bhagat warned.
Diogo Da Silva, president of traders of Goan origin in Canacona, informed that their several pleas with former MP from South Goa didn’t yield any results but their recent meeting with local MLA and Deputy Speaker Isidore Fernandes has raised fresh hopes that the railways will finally look into the genuine demands of locals in Canacona.
