Raia locals clash with cops over road to housing proj

| NOVEMBER 18, 2019, 02:25 AM IST

the goan I network

MARGAO 

Residents of Dagual-Raia threatened to block the main road in protest against the police personnel trying to widen an existing road to make way for the property acquired by the men in uniform for a police housing society.  

In fact, the residents and the policemen, including retired police nearly clashed at the site of the road widening when the local residents protested against the work, demanding that the policemen produce the permissions in support of their activity.  

The policemen, as usual, contended that the work has all the necessary permissions, and will produce them before the authorities. At one stage, the local residents and the policemen nearly came to blows before better sense prevailed.  

The local residents led by Sarpanch Xavier Fernandes wondered why the policemen are executing work on the road widening during the weekends if they have the necessary permissions from the authorities.  

He pointed out that the Raia Panchayat had issued a stop work order in respect of the road widening work around 20 days ago, even as he demanded to know whether the policemen have got the stop work order stuck down by any appellate authority.  

A retired police, Shashi Desai said the people of Raia are opposing the policemen housing society from day one on the premise that the people who will reside in the proposed colony will be all outsiders. He claimed that the policemen have obtained the necessary permissions to carry out the work, while refuting allegations that the work is being done illegally.  

Even as the local residents forcefully stopped the JCB from executing the road widening work for the failure to produce the permissions, Sarpanch Esmeralda Gomes made her presence felt at the venue.  

The Sarpanch also wondered how the road widening works can resume when the Panchayat has stopped the work. The residents have decided to go to the Raia Panchayat on Monday to find out whether the policemen have produced any documents to resume work on the road widening. 


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