PONDA: Locals of Bhoma village in Ponda strongly oppose the existing plan of road widening as it threatens to divide the village and destroy the identity of two heritage temples.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, local resident Sanjay Naik urged NH authorities and the government to construct a bypass through the orchard land as shown in the Regional Plan 2011, which would preserve the Sateri and Mahadev temples, Sati Ghumati, and Tulsi Vrindaavan.
Naik expressed disappointment in the government, stating that it talks about Hinduism but fails to take the villagers into confidence, to save their temples. He called for the government to discuss the actual highway plan with the villagers and not just the widening of the Bhoma part of the NH.
The fear of losing the two temples and Ghumati for the proposed road widening has caused panic among the villagers, who believe that the builder lobby is behind the destruction of the village.
Naik said that the widening work of the 200 metre stretch has been planned from Kali Mathi to Banastari with an elevated road, and without an underpass. Despite filing an RTI, the villagers are not getting proper information and the local ministers in Ponda taluka are not speaking out or bothering to protect the village, he lamented.
