MAPUSA
Opposition to the heli-tourism on Aguada plateau got a further boost on Wednesday after Calangute Panchayat openly came out in support of former Calangute MLA Agnelo Fernandes and the Candolim Panchayat.
It was a day of high drama as the former MLA along with the Candolim Sarpanch Sandra Fialho and her deputy and seven others were detained by Calangute Police on charges of obstructing the helicopter service at Aguada plateau.
All 10 were later released with a warning not to gather at the site again.
Calangute Deputy Sarpanch Joseph Sequeira along with his panch members rushed to the Calangute Police Station and extended their support to the former Congress MLA and the Candolim Panchayat.
“What the BJP government is doing is not right. Why did they have to arrest the former MLA and the panchayat members,” asked Sequeira, while speaking to The Goan.
“We oppose the helicopter joy rides at the Aguada plateau as tourists coming to Goa for peace and tranquility will get disturbed by the noise created by the helicopter rides,” he added.
He further stated that the Calangute panchayat will support its Candolim counterpart in its fight against the government’s decision on heli-tourism and work out a strategy to counter the government.
Earlier, Fernandes along with the Candolim panchayat members were detained after they marched to the Aguada plateau and demanded from the officials and police permissions to carry out the helicopter rides from the area.
Terming the helicopter rides on the plateau as illegal, the former MLA and the panchayat members said that the tourism department had failed to obtain permissions from the Candolim panchayat.
Candolim Sarpanch Sandra Fialho said that three structures were erected in the area without obtaining necessary permissions from the panchayat.
“The present location from where the helicopter rides are being conducted is not the helipad. The actual helipad site is further down,” said former Calangute MLA Agnelo Fernandes and questioned the authorities for carrying out illegal activity in the area.
Fernandes along with the other panch members then rushed towards the Pawan Hans helicopter stationed at the helipad, but they were disallowed by the large team of policemen.
The police later detained the former MLA and the Candolim panch members and took them to the Calangute Police Station and later released.
“We have evacuated the people who had gathered on the plateau and asked them not to go to the place again,” said Bardez Mamlatdar Madhu Narvekar.
Besides the former MLA, Candolim sarpanch and her deputy, the police also detained panch members Blaise Fernandes, Lalita Kerkar, Fermeeno Fernandes, Stella Mascarenhas, Amelina Dias and Patrick Gonsalves and ex-sarpanch, Ramkrishna Kerkar.
