QUEPEM: In a victory for environmental conservation, the united efforts of Xeldem villagers have compelled authorities to relocate the construction of a tower away from a declared Wetland area. The tower was initially planned to facilitate the drawing of high-tension wires on the banks of Xeldem Lake.
Protests erupted on December 23, observed as World Farmers’ Day, as locals objected to the construction near the ecologically sensitive lake. The movement gained momentum, with MLA Nilesh Cabral, ZP member Siddharth Dessai, Sarpanch Kavita Gauns Desai, and a representative of the Tamnar Power Project inspecting the site on Thursday.
MLA Nilesh Cabral said that interests of the community and their desire to protect the environment were of paramount importance. “There is no compromise on my commitment to protect the environment and that is why the people have my full support,” he said. Following the site inspection, a consensus was reached to halt the ongoing construction immediately and relocate the tower to a site away from the lake.
Prashant Gauns Dessai, who initiated the movement on World Farmers’ Day with a hunger strike, asserted, “We shall give the authorities one day to stop the ongoing work, and if it continues tomorrow, we shall resume our agitation.”
The locals were also agitated that the Goa State Wetland Authority officials, who inspected the construction site, had submitted a report that it was being done beyond the buffer zone of the Wetland.
“After six months of struggle, we finally got the authorities to inspect the site, and they have assured us that the tower will be erected at another place,” said Aditya Desai, the first to raise concerns about the construction.
Vishal Dessai commended the united struggle of the villagers, highlighting the lake’s significance as a biodiversity hotspot in the village, leading to its declaration as a Wetland.
The authorities had initially proposed constructing the tower, which would draw high-tension lines. The villagers pointed out that while the water of the lake is used by the cattle to bathe and drink, during the dry season, they also consume the fish caught in the lake, which they said they would not be able to do with a high-tension line passing above the lake.
