MARGAO, JULY 11
Rejecting the outright Sonsodo site to set up the kabrastan (burial ground) for the minority community, representatives of various mosques in South Goa, besides Muslim organizations on Sunday demanded that the government set up the burial grounds only at Aquem as per the 1999 Goa assembly resolution.
In fact, the contentious issue of kabrastan has brought together various Muslim organizations under one banner as evident by a meeting held on Sunday at the AIM hall at Rumdamol-Davorlim.
Participants at the meeting unanimously rejected the government’s recent move to acquire land admeasuring 30,000 sq mts at Sonsodo for the proposed kabrastan. They resolved to ask the government to implement the resolution adopted by the Goa legislative assembly tabled by then legislator and present Chief Minister Digambar Kamat to acquire 99,000 square meters of land at Aquem for all the three religious communities.
Later, addressing a press conference, the President of Jama Masjid , Margao Mohammed Nazil said that Sonsodo is unacceptable to the minority community. “At today’s meeting, every one has demanded that the kabrastan should be set up at Aquem. There was no support for the Sonsodo area”, he said.
Mohammed said Sonsodo is not a fit place for a burial ground given the religious rituals while performing the last rites.
General Secretary of the Sirvodem Masjid and city businessman, Abdulmatin Daud Carol said it’s time the government should honour the resolution passed by the assembly in 1999 and acquired the land for the burial grounds for the Muslim community.
“Sonsodo is not suitable for a kabrastan. The nearby stinking garbage dumpyard is not conducive for a burial grounds in the area”, he said.
Pooh phooing government’s stand that attempts to set up kabrastan in Margao and around Salcete had to be abandoned due to agitation, Abdulmatin sought to know how the government has gone ahead with the District Collectorate and district hospital projects in low lying agricultural land despite opposition from the people. “The government even deployed the IRB (India Reserve Batallion) and other police force at Rawanfond to build houses in paddy fields for the displaced people from Rawanfond junction”, he said.
“We had earlier identified land at Ambaji, Chandrawado, Curtorim and had even bought land in Nessai for the burial grounds. The kabrastran could not materialize due to objections and instigation by some politicians”, he added.
He warned the government that the Muslim community will have no option than to knock the doors of the National Commission for the Minorities to set in motion acquisition of the Aquem land for the burial grounds. “We have already told the commission that the minority community is not interested in the Sonsodo land”, he said.
Shaikh Jina said that former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had told Digambar Kamat to only identify land in Margao and had assured to acquire the land for the burial grounds. “Today, Kamat is the Chief Minister of Goa. The Muslim community is behind me. Why is he not fulfilling the genuine demand of the minority community”, Jina asked and warned that the Muslim community will not take things lying down if the government continues to fool the community with empty promises.
