Velim locals vow to continue stir till govt scraps fish meal project
HERALD REPORTER
MARGAO, SEPT 1
Rejecting government’s offer to keep land acquisition process for the proposed fish meal project at Cutbona on hold, Velim villagers on Wednesday have vowed to continue their agitation till the process to acquire land admeasuring 30,000 sq mts is scrapped by the government.
The villagers went ahead with their planned dharna outside the Velim panchayat ghar this morning even as the government late last night decided to keep the land acquisition process on hold.
A written communiqué received from the Deputy Collector, Land Acquisition conveying government’s decision to keep the land acquisition process in abeyance found no takers with the agitated villagers.
In fact, the villagers warned the government not to play with the sentiments of the people, saying the authorities will have to face the consequences if they fail to pay heed to their demands.
Convenor of Velim Civic and Consumer Forum Ramona Almeida said the villagers would meet again to decide the future course of action. Addressing the villagers at the dharna site, Almeida gave a call to the people to unitedly continue the agitation till their demand is met. “What is this land acquisition process when the authorities continued the process all along without addressing the problems and fears of the villagers and now say the entire process is kept on hold”, she said.
“We have concluded that we don’t trust the bureaucracy and the political power. What they say, write and think is different. We are going to continue our agitation till we get a complete assurance through proper channel to scrap the land acquisition process”, she said.
Warning the government not to play with the sentiments of the villagers, Almeida said the government should be ready to face the consequences if they do not pay heed to the voice of the people, adding “if the government does not listen to the people, unitedly, wed will show the power of the villagers”.
“We are firm in our decision that we will not allow the fisheries department to acquire 30,000 sq mts of land at Cutbona”, she asserted.
Velim Sarpanch Reny Caeiro came under sustained criticism from the villager, who questioned her for attending Tuesday’s meeting with the Ministers by keeping the people in the dark. When the Sarpanch read out the communiqué from the Land acquisition officers stating that the acquisition process is kept on hold, the villagers rejected the letter and asserted that nothing short of scrapping of the project would satisfy them.
The villagers also demanded to know the absence of local MLA and Water Resources Minister Filipe Neri Rodrigues at the dharna. They recalled the statement of Fisheries Minister Joaquim Alemao stating that he would not mind dropping the fish meal project if the local MLA is opposed to the same, and demanded that the local MLA immediately convey his opposition to the fish meal project.
Agitated villagers also welcomed the statement of the Fisheries Minister to shift the fish meal project to North Goa, adding that Alemao should not waste any time to take the project to the North.
Another villager Melson Luis said the though Cutbona jetty plays host to 300 fishing vessels, the fisheries department has provided sanitation facility for only four toilets for the 2500-odd labourers. Luis maintained that labourers had been answering nature’s call in the adjoining fields in the absence of sanitation facilities, forcing farmers to abandon the fields.
