n Villagers vow to stop all work on the project if PWD tries to bulldoze its way rnn Want bypass to be built on stilts along the Salpem lake stretch rnn Demand rehabilitation of families facing displacement from their ancestral homes
MARGAO
Villagers of Navelim and Telaulim came face to face with PWD, NH officials on Monday as the government tried to execute work of land filling for the proposed western bypass with heavy police protection.
Angry villagers have vowed to stop all work on the bypass project on Tuesday if the PWD tries to bulldoze their way. They demanded that the government built the bypass on stilts along the Salpem lake stretch and rehabilitate the families facing displacement from their ancestral homes.
A public meeting has also been called at the site on Tuesday evening, with people affected by the government’s highway expansion project, right from Canacona to Agassaim, expected to attend
the meet and register their protest against the anti-people projects.
Villagers assembled at the site along the Navelim-Sinquetim road when trucks laden with mud wend its way for land filling of the stretch under heavy police protection. This is the first time that the NH-17 has tried to complete the land filling with police protection and the development comes a day after PWD officials had a meeting
with Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.
Navelim MLA Luizinho Faleiro, who was called at the site by the people, requested the PWD officials as well as SDM, Margao, Uday Prabhudesai to stop the work at least till the issues raised by the villagers are resolved. While PWD, NH senior engineer Panandikar claimed that the work of land filling is being undertaken as per the instructions of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, Faleiro argued that there’s nothing wrong to pay heed to the points raised by the villagers.
The situation threatened to go out of control after villagers cried foul as unloading of the debris continued at the site, but intervention of Margao PI C L Patil averted the situation from getting worse after he told the contractor to stop the ongoing work since the Chief Minister has called a delegation of the villagers for discussions.
Panandikar later maintained that work at the site will resume on Tuesday morning, evening as the villagers warned of action if the work takes off without the authorities promising the bypass
on stilts.
Faleiro told the media that Navelim and Telaulim villages are only demanding the bypass on stilts and the rehabilitation of the displaced people. “How can the PWD go ahead with the project without the EIA study report. The Salpem lake is a ecologically fragile area and mud filling will destroy the environment,” he said.
George Barretto has warned the government not to bulldoze with the project, saying people of Navelim and Telaulim will not remain silent spectators if the bypass is not built on stilts along the Salpem lake stretch.
Meanwhile, a delegation of the land losers was called for a meeting with the Chief Minister in Panaji, on late Monday evening.
