Team Herald
VASCO: The night vigil to oppose coal and double tracking which started on Friday midnight at the railway track in Arossim got curtailed midway following police intervention.
The vigil, which was supposed to continue till morning on Liberation Day, went on for nearly 4 hours and ended by 2.30 am after police intervention.
After witnessing some 120-odd protestors sitting on the railway track opposite the St Lawrence Chapel at Arossim, Cansaulim, the police force along with Vasco Mamlatdar Dhiren Banaulikar, and Joint Mamatdar Krishna Gauns arrived and tried to pacify the aggrieved protestors. They repeatedly requested the protesters to move away from the railway track. But the protesters refused and instead argued with the government authorities stating that they are protesting at the track to oppose coal and double tracking.
The protestors also booed and disobeyed the plea of the men in khaki, who continuously tried to convince the agitators including women from across Goa to clear the track. After conversation, the Mamlatdar informed the protestors that he has the order from the South Goa Collector to clear the track and requested them to leave the track. After noticing that the protestors were refusing to move away from the track, additional police force with batons, tear gas, riot helmets and shields, etc, were deployed at the site.
Later, the policemen managed to move away some agitators such as Abheejit Prabhudessai and others from the track and after convincing the protestors, the Night vigil got curtailed by 2.30 am with the protestors leaving the track and returning home. The police managed to clear the track without resorting to lathicharge. Earlier, the protestors lit candles, held banners with the messages such as “Our Goal, No Coal”, “Liberation from Coal” and “No Coal”. They also chanted slogans against the three linear projects and the crony capitalists.
Whether any protestor was arrested during the vigil DySP Mormugao Raju Raut Dessai replied in the negative. He confirmed that between 2.30 am and 2.45 am the track was cleared.
