Opinion Poll Day seen as decisive moment for villagers to protect Curtorim’s identity
Congress leader Moreno Rebello making a point on the decision of Curtorkars to say no to multi-dwelling units in Curtorim. Santosh Mirajkar
Come Opinion Poll day, and residents of Curtorim will take a vow to protect the village from multi-dwelling units threatening to change the demography of the predominantly agricultural village – known as the granary of Salcete.
In fact, ex-Curtorim Zilla panchayat member Moreno Rebello and Congress member told the media on Thursday that the time has come for Curtorkars to act on their own to stop the multi-dwelling projects pushed down the throats of the villagers. “When the Powers that be and the village panchayat are not cooperating with the villagers, they are left with the last option – to do what they want to save their village from the construction activity”, he said.
He added: “We don’t want our village, known as the granary of Salcete to turn into a concrete jungle in the near future. People of Curtorim had enough of the Kargil housing colony. We don’t want another Kargil in Curtorim. Multi-dwelling units are being proposed with swimming pools, which is not a good sign for an agricultural village”.
Saying the villagers of Curtorim have launched a sustained agitation to stop multi-dwelling units proposed in the village, Rebello said the message from Curtorkars is loud and clear that they will not accept multi-dwelling units in the village come what may. “On Opinion Poll Day, villagers will take a vow to oppose and stop all multi-dwelling units in the village. We fail to understand how come the village panchayat is clearing the permissions when the panchayat is struggling to handle the garbage generated in the village”, he said.
He added: “If the Panchayat cannot handle existing garbage, how come the panchayat handle the garbage generated by the proposed multi-dwelling units in the village. Enough is enough. Our patience is running out. Villagers have now decided to act on their own to stop the mega housing projects”.
