MARGAO: In a massive show of strength, the villagers of Sao Jose De Area put up a united front while voicing out their opposition to the ongoing hill-cutting activities in the village, for a real estate project.
At a public awareness meeting that was held in the same ward of the village, where this activity is taking place, residents of that ward such as farmers and youth, expressed their outrage at the manner in which they have been allegedly treated by those who are behind the project.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
Sarpanch Joyce Dias informed the audience that she herself was insulted badly and the owner and contractor of the project had allegedly mocked the authority of the local panchayat and had asked her to ‘get out’ when she went as the village head to take action against the project.
She further lamented that the government authorities are turning a blind eye to the demands of the village to save this land for posterity and said this was totally opposite to what the Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said about Goa during his recent visit to the State.
Franky Viegas, a youth of the village alleged that the government is seeking to give all permission to ‘Bhumpitras’ and thereby keeping out the original ‘Goemkars’ of the village, destroying their fields, adding to the garbage menace and weakening their water supply.
While the villagers vowed to protest until the project is scrapped, activist Freddy Travasso demanded that BJP ministers such as TCP Minister VIsjwajit Rane and even union Minister Shripad Naik visit the village and see the destruction taking place of natural resources.
He added that if this project becomes a reality by cutting the hill, many such real estate projects will come there and the local villagers will be forced out from their own village where they have lived for generations.
