Most of the huts were removed by the inhabitants, while the remaining were removed on Wednesday. Navelim MLA Avertano Furtado stated that illegal encroachments would not be tolerated and immediate action would be taken against them.
Panchayat secretary Custodio Faria said, “The houses that have electricity and water bills and other valid documents will stay. The rest will be issued show-cause notices and demolished. The panchayat has presently issued five more show-cause notices, and there are many more to come.”
The Rumdamol panchayat identified the other encroachments and sent a resolution to the comunidade and collectorate to proceed with demolition after extensive meetings with the Housing Board and comunidade administrator.
Local panch member and former Sarpanch Samiulla Faniband said, “We will stand by our words and clear all illegal structures from Rumdamol.”
The panchayat had sent a show-cause notice to the huts’ occupants on May 6 after Rumdamol locals lodged a complaint alleging the hut occupants were a nuisance. The situation became tense on Thursday when a hut owner tried to self-immolate. Fortunately, the police stopped her.
