STREET VOICES: What should the government/ company do to resolve the Pilgao ore transportation issue?

Intro

The farmers of Pilgao Sarmanas have blocked the ore transportation for the past twenty days. Due to this, the mineral transport has come to a complete standstill. While farmers and locals have objected to transportation of ore by the first route through their fields, they have also opposed transport through the second route through Mathawada. The locals also say that the transport of ore through main road will be in violation of High Court judgement. Herald TV asked the locals what is the solution to this imbroglio.

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All the mud has gone into our fields. During the rains they really become muddy. Government should help us to restore our fields, so that once again we can grow the crops and earn our livelihood.

Bhanudas Salelkar, Farmer

About 150 people from our village are unemployed. My suggestion to the government is that they should at least absorb us in government service, since we have been retrenched from the mining industry and our fields have been destroyed. If government cannot solve our problem, they should give us jobs. They have announced that they have around 2000 vacancies. Employ us, that is my wish.

Hanumant Salelkar, Worker

All the employees from all four villages have been retrenched from work by Sesa-Vedanta. They have brought labour from outside Goa. We don’t have jobs, so this road should not be given to the mining company. My request to the government is that all the workers from Shirgao, Bicholim, Lamgao, Bordem and Mayem should be given jobs either by the company or the government.

Naguesh Naik

The company has retrenched me after 15 years by just paying me Rs 3 lakhs and packed me off. The original employers were good, but when Vedanta took over they have retrenched us. How will we feed our children, how can we send them to school. Government should ask the company why the villagers have been retrenched. Government should have insisted that only if they employ local labour will they be able to run the mines.

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Naguesh Kauthankar Worker

The government should have taken all the panchayats in the area and the people and then started mining leases. Even when mining was started they did not take us into confidence. That’s why this situation has arisen. My wife is a sarpanch, they have tried to petition the company, but they are not ready to listen. They should solve our issues and start ore transportation.

Manohar Kambli Farmer

I have a truck repair garage, I have tippers, I have fields. After mining stopped for 5 months I had to send back my workers to their village. Now we don’t have any work. The government has to talk to the farmers, the cashew growers, the workers, locals and restart mining. Government has to talk to us and solve our livelihood issues. Nilesh Phadte, Garage Owner The only way for Vedanta to restart mining is to restore the fields of the villagers and to take back the retrenched workers. The farmers want to grow the fields. If they pay the benefits to the farmers and re-employ the workers the issue will be solved.

Anil Salelkar, Villager

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