Velsao locals aghast as rly workers destroy storm water drains, begin work on pvt land

Team Herald

MARGAO: To the shock and anger of the people of Velsao village, Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) on Friday carried out development work in the same private properties where the villagers had gathered recently to protest against such encroachments.

“Storm water drains have been destroyed to construct the embankment by RVNL. This is the same plot belonging to the Barbosa family at Primeirovaddo, Velsao, that Herald first broke the news about. The land owners had filed a complaint with the Velsao panchayat, which had issued a stop-work order to RVNL, after conducting an inspection and finding merit in the complaint,” said Orville Dourado Rodrigues, Goencho Ekvott’s Founder.

“We want to know what action the Mormugao Deputy Collector and the South Goa District collector will take against the encroachment by RVNL. We have confirmed that the property has been encroached upon, after we conducted the demarcation using the ‘Total Station’ instrument, which is 100% accurate,” said Rodrigues.

Later on Friday evening, RVNL General Manager visited the site at Primeirovaddo, Velsao, and tried his best to pacify the angry villagers.

When the villagers demanded that Directorate of Settlement & Land Records (DSLR) personnel conduct a land survey, the GM insisted that the land survey be conducted by RVNL’s surveyor, a suggestion that the villagers flatly rejected.

It may be recalled that the land owners had earlier produced documents to prove their ownership, which had been sent to the panchayat, Mormugao Dy Collector and the Verna police.

Landowners from the surrounding areas who have been affected by the double tracking work had also filed complaints with the Dy Collector’s office. However, the Dy Collector, who is also land acquisition officer for the double-tracking  project, had allegedly insulted the locals and even hurled their ownership papers away.

Last month, on January 13, after a series of confrontations between the locals and RVNL officials, there was a massive show of strength where the villagers and people from other 

villages as well had 

gathered for a scheduled site inspection.

That inspection was to be carried out by the Dy Collector to examine the issue of encroachments, but he did not turn up for the same.Former MLA and ex-Minister Alina Saldanha had criticised the Dy Collector for not showing up and also questioned the absence of Cortalim MLA Antonio Vaz.