MARGAO
Welcome to Sao Jose de Areal. Located on the outskirts of the state’s commercial capital, Areal village plays host to as many as eight out of the 25 abandoned stone quarries dotting Salcete taluka.
Here, local villagers under the banner of Sao Jose de Areal villagers Union have not only waged a sustained battle in a bid to stop basalt stone quarrying in the village, but have time and again insisted that the comunidade body and the lease holders restore the abandoned quarries.
While the villagers had knocked the High Court doors to stop basalt stone quarrying in the village, proceedings under section 133 of the CrPC have been pending before the Salcete Mamlatdar for action against the quarries.
A glance at the list compiled by the district authorities on abandoned quarries shows that a lone drowning death had taken place at an abandoned stone quarry in Areal village. Villagers in the know, however, say that the abandoned quarries, frequented by picnickers and enthusiastic youth, must have claimed around 3-5 lives over the years, in the village.
Around five years ago, drowning deaths at an abandoned quarry in North Goa had its echo at the Sao Jose de Areal gram sabha in September 2019. Agitated members had raised an uproar over the danger posed by the abandoned quarries to human as well as animals. In fact, gram sabha members had demanded that the panchayat immediately write to the Curtorim comunidade to take up the exercise of restoring the quarry pits.
The members had further demanded that the Curtorim comunidade stop executing any further lease deeds for quarrying till existing pits are restored.
Social activist Freddy Travasso, however, lamented that the demands of the villagers and the Panchayat gram sabha were conveniently ignored and neglected by the comunidade and other authorities over the years. He has demanded to know the status of the case pending with the Salcete Mamlatdar instituted by the Maina Curtorim police in connection with the abandoned quarries.
“After complaints by the villagers, the police had instituted a case in the year 2018 under Section 133 of the Cr P C before the Salcete Mamlatdar vis-Ã -vis the quarries. It’s now over five years since the case was instituted before the Mamlatdar, but there’s no early end to the proceedings. We only hope that the proceedings are expedited and taken to the logical conclusion at the earliest”, Freddy said.
He added: “Villagers have been demanding at the village gram sabha over the years that the panchayat write to the Curtorim comunidade as well as the Administrator of Comunidades, South Goa to initiate necessary action against the abandoned quarries, but in vain”.
District Collector Asvin Chandru’s latest exercise prohibiting entry to the abandoned quarries for swimming has brought the issue of abandoned quarries back to centre stage. Areal villagers, however, seemed keeping their fingers crossed whether the Collector’s exercise will address the root of the issue and take to task the people responsible for leaving the quarries abandoned, by getting them restored as per the lease and license conditions.
