PANJIM: Shel-Melauli villagers relaunched their agitation from Monday to fight for their demand after a four-day strike last week, at the village panchayat premises.
The protesters were present till late night due to which the panchayat office could not be closed. Satari Taluka Deputy Collector Praveen Parab tried to persuade the protesters. However, it was a complete failure.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane and Water Resources Minister Filipe Neri Rodrigues will inaugurate the Rs 111 crore irrigation project on the Mhadei River at Ganje, on Tuesday.
The villagers will continue their stir overnight at the panchayat office and the possibility of villagers marching to the venue, Tuesday morning, cannot be ruled out. As a result, a large number of police personnel have been deployed.
Valpoi MLA and Health Minister Vishwajit Rane on Monday stated that he has asked Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant to drop all charges filed against Shel-Melauli villagers during their agitation against the India Institutes of Technology (IIT) project last year.
Responding to the ongoing protest by the Melaulim villagers demanding withdrawal of criminal cases filed against them, Rane said, “With reference to all the cases filed against the villagers of Shel-Melauli village in Guleli Panchayat during the IIT protest, I have written a letter to the Chief Minister to drop all charges against them. This issue needs to be put at rest as there will not be an IIT project in Guleli and as decided by the Cabinet.”
“I am confident that the CM will pay heed to my request in public interest, In addition, I would also like to make a request to the CM that the land that was transferred for IIT project must be taken over by the government and reverted back to the Revenue Department,” he said adding that he will meet the Chief Minister in this regard to follow-up on the same.
