PANJIM: The Chimbel Gram Seva Kala Ani Sunskrutik Manch has alleged deforestation in the village during the Ganesh festival while suspecting the activity was to facilitate IT project.

The group’s Vice President Gurudas Shirodkar said it was disturbing to see ‘environmental cum forest tree destruction’ in the name of IT Project in Chimbel on September 13 and 14, 2018.

“Some unknown persons conducted road construction activities by cutting, filling road in survey no 40 in Chimbel wherein IT project is proposed by employing JCBs machine and migrants. Chimbel villagers including environmental activists visited the site on Saturday morning, but unfortunately nobody was there; no JCB machine was seen. However, a road network was constructed illegally connecting up to the Shirent Lake from Old Goa bypass road,” he said.

The villagers are unaware as to who carried out the activity, but nevertheless some villager took photographs of JCB parked at the site.

“The way these roads constructed only indicates that this water reserve famous lake may be buried soon by dumping some unwanted materials/debris. This lake in fact is the core point in this hilly region for various living lives like birds, animals, insects, butterflies, etc and a lot medicinal plants are seen around this lake,” Shirodkar further said demanding that no activity damaging the biodiversity should be allowed in the village.

He said that Chimbel villagers had rejected the IT project at the September 9 gram sabha to which IT Minister Rohan Khaunte had responded stating that IT project is just at initial stage and he would make presentation to the panchayat soon.

The Manch has reiterated that they do not want any such project in the village at the cost of forest/environment destruction. “If this IT project is so beneficial then IT Minister can shift it to his Porvorim constituency or somewhere else, but not in Chimbel,” Shirodkar said.

The Manch has meanwhile lodged a police complaint with the Old Goa police station regarding the deforestation.