MARGAO
As their eviction loomed large with the authorities securing the acquired land with barbed wire fencing, beleaguered farmers of Aquem-Baixo, Navelim made a fervent plea to the government not to displace them from the land of their ancestors.
Perhaps for the first time in the decade-old battle to save the agricultural fields from being converted for development projects, these farmers now feel threatened as the government authorities have gone about securing the land with barbed wire fencing.
A little over a month ago when GSUDA officials had descended on the fields for demarcation, Agriculture Minister Chandrakant Kavlekar had promised to work out a solution to the land tangle by consulting Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.
To their utter shock and surprise, officials again descended on the fields to erect barbed wire fencing, sending clear indications that the GSUDA has something up its sleeves to take possession of the acquired land and displace the farmers.
While the officials went about securing the property with barbed wire fencing, the land in question is playing host to lush green traditional Goan vegetables, including tambdi bhaji.
A farmer Claudius Dias said despite assurances that these fields will be retained for agriculture, the government has plans to evict the farmers from the land of their ancestors. “When we had called on Deputy CM Kavlekar on October 14, he had assured us that the government will work out a mechanism to de-notify the land. Erecting barbed wire fencing only goes to show that the government has other plans. We request Kavlekar and the government not to displace us from the fields,” Dias said.
He added: “This land is fertile and best suited for agriculture and vegetable cultivation. Our ancestors had been cultivating these fields since pre-Liberation days. Today, we eke out a living in these fields. Farmers toil in these fields and grow vegetables, and the surplus is then sold to Horticulture outlets. When Goa gets its vegetable requirement from across the border, our government should leave these fields for the farmers only for agriculture.”
It’s now over a decade and a half that the government had acquired the fertile agricultural fields located opposite the Margao railway station to set up a transportation centre.
It was only around a decade ago when the government had planned to rehabilitate displaced traders from Rawanfond on the acquired land that the beleaguered farmers realized that the agricultural fields of their ancestors have been acquired by the government.
Since then, the farmers have been waging a battle with the government, knocking on the doors of successive Chief Ministers, right from late Manohar Parrikar to Pramod Sawant for the return of their land for cultivation.
Another farmer Verodian Dias said she and the other farmers have no other agricultural land, adding they eke out a living on the land in question. “Last time, the government had assured us that our interests will be protected, but they have come back again, this time to put up barbed wire fencing,” she said with a fear on his face that the government might just displace them from the agricultural fields.
