MARGAO
Agitated over the encroachment of Church property by the railway authorities while executing the track doubling work, agitated parishioners of Chandor marched to the site on Thursday morning and got the heavy machinery removed from the Fabrica land.
The parishioners later went to the Chandor police outpost and lodged a complaint against the railway officials, demanding that the police register a FIR against the erring officials. The parishioners later went to the office of the Cuncolim MLA Clafacio Dias and submitted a copy of the police complaint, demanding action.
The parishioners along with the Attorney of the Fabrica Igreja de Chandor, Darwin Cardozo marched to the church property at Chandor on Thursday morning, where they came across heavy machinery involved in the ongoing track doubling work.
Asserting that the railways has entered the Church land without any permission and consent from the Fabrica, they demanded that the railways immediately stop the ongoing work and get the machinery removed from the property.
Since there were no senior officials present around, the parishioners later went to the Chandor police station and lodged a complaint.
The Fabrica attorney Darwin Cardozo later told the media that the railways brought in machinery in the Church property without any permission or consent. “How can they just enter the property without permission. They have neither taken any consent nor paid us”, he said, while claiming that the railways have further damaged the water bodies, including a sluice gate and a century old Cross.
He demanded that the railways immediately vacate the Church property, remove the machinery and seek permission from the Fabrica.
Saying that the railways are going ahead with the work when the local MLA Clafacio Dias had told them to stop the work, the Fabrica members said the railways have resumed the work without demarcation and sans permissions. “We have been told that they had entered the land just 3-4 days ago, and they have caused huge damage to the property”, he said.
Local villager and Parishioner Joy D’Silva said the railways have clearly entered into the church property without permission. “It is clear that the railways have taken advantage of the situation as the Fabrica committee have to comply with the laid down procedure in initiating action. Since the church and the land belongs to us, we will lodge a complaint with the police against the railways”, he said, while asserting that the land in question has neither been acquired nor taken over by consent.
Escrivao Agnelo Fernandes along with a group of parishioners later went to the office of the local MLA and submitted a copy of the complaint lodged with the Chandor police outpost.
In the complaint, the parishioners claimed that the railways have carried out land filling, construction work such as piling, besides cutting down a couple of coconut trees.
They further stated that the ongoing work has left the sluice gate damaged besides damaging the centuries old Cross in the property, thus hurting the religious sentiments of the villagers which could result in law and order in the village.
While demanding registration of a FIR in the case, they have further demanded that the authorities fix an immediate site inspection of the property.
