TEAM HERALD
VASCO: South Goa Collector Venancio Furtado accompanied by various teams on Monday morning removed the remaining eight huts and three religious structures within the high tide zone at Baina Beach.
About 250 police including personnel from Indian Reserve Battalion were stationed at the site to avoid any law and order situation. The Disaster Management team made an announcement minutes before the demolition drive urging the migrants to vacate their huts and move to a safe place. However, all the eight huts were found empty as the migrants had already shifted to other locations.
The demolition drive began at 8.30 am and concluded at about 11.30 am. Four JCBs were engaged to remove the remaining huts, three religious structures and two new huts which had come up after the previous demolition drive on July 11. About 12 trucks were pressed into service to clear the debris and by evening the disaster management team had cleared all debris from the area.
Incidentally, no migrant came forward to avail of the food grains and other material that was kept ready by the Mormugao Deputy Collector’s office at the Ravindra Bhavan in Baina. The migrants also did not shift to the relief camps, as they had already shifted to another location.
The migrants even refused to take blankets, medicines, clothes and other food grains which were stocked in one of the religious structures and supplied by Bhimashankar Patil of Nav Nirman Sena from Bangalore.
Speaking to Herald, South Goa Collector Furtado said he would send a second warning notice to the houses located near the sewerage treatment plant which have seen massive soil erosion within a month.
“There is a warning of cyclonic wind and waves along the Goa coast, due to which I will send a second warning to the residents of the illegal dwellings near the sewerage treatment plant at Baina to shift to a safer location to avoid any loss to life and property,” he said. “If there is any loss of life and property due to cyclonic wind and waves, the residents of the illegal dwellings should not blame the government for not warning them in time to vacate their houses and shift to a safer place,” warned Furtado.
