PANJIM: Protesting against the inclusion of Old Goa in the Planning Development Authority’s (PDA) ‘anti-people plan’, residents of Old Goa, concerned citizens and heritage enthusiasts held a dharna at Gandhi Circle on Gandhi Jayanti.
The protestors questioned why they have to constantly come to the streets to ensure that the heritage of Old Goa is conserved and fear that existing PDA plans will destroy the same. Members of the Save Old Goa Action Committee were also present for the protest.
Speakers at the protest raised concerns about the preservation and conservation of Old Goa, lack of consultation with residents for tourism-related issues like the recently-inaugurated helipad and a proposed jetty.
Speaking at the event, Rama Kankonkar and Aruna Wagh paid respects to Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri and claimed that the State has turned a blunt eye towards people’s issues.
They further alleged that on the other side, the State had fast-tracked the developments to benefit developers and politicians.
They gave examples of how Gandhi had preached nonviolence and honesty, but lamented that the authorities seem to be promoting frauds and corruption, while the law and order situation deteriorates.
Speaking to media persons, Mariano Ferrao emphasised how the issue is not restricted to the concerns of local residents alone but is a State issue as the heritage sites of Old Goa hold sacred value and are cherished by all citizens of Old Goa.
Local resident Glean Cabral also spoke about their protests against a construction that is coming up near the St Cajetan’s Church in Old Goa. He said that they had met Deputy Chief Minister and TCP Minister Chandrakant Kavlekar on Friday who has assured them that he will revoke the construction licence and that they will wait and see if this materialises or not.
Architect Tahir Noronha pointed out that till the time the politicians give their assurances in writing, they have to remain cautious. He opined that the reason the government is considering withdrawal of permission to the allegedly illegal construction is that they have to file an affidavit in the Supreme Court on October 8 and all the citizens are looking forward to seeing how the court proceedings develop.
He also spoke about the OLD Goa PDA issue as well.
“Remember in December we were assured that Old Goa will be removed from the PDA. Yet, in April 2021 under the cover of the lockdowns, we had a gazette notification released which notified the land use register and map for Old Goa,” said Noronha.
He added that the Kadamba Outline Development Plan (ODP) is just a collection of a few plots and defies planning theory and logic.
Other villagers demanded that a master plan be prepared, which will address their concerns in a holistic manner, especially about preserving heritage structures.
“They are clueless about our heritage but still finding loopholes in the law and cheating us. But we will fight this,” said the local residents who had gathered for the protest.
“We have been informed that the existing land use has been prepared and approved and the ODP is being prepared for part of Old Goa Village. The PDA says the part that has been chosen, has been done in such a way that it does not affect the heritage sites. However, they have completely forgotten the outer fortress wall of Old Goa and the Bainguinim spring which are within this area!” added Cabral.
