CURCHOREM
Anticipating that Defence Ministry officials along with their teams would perform Bhumipujan and commence works on the DefExpo project at Betul plateau, about 500 villagers from Naqueri-Betul and nearby villages gathered at the site since early Thursday morning to thwart any activity.
Quepem Mamlatdar Prataprao Gaonkar visited Betul where the locals had gathered, with a circular from the South Goa Collector asking some people who are in the forefront of the agitation to attend a meeting at the Collector’s office at Margao for a discussion on the
DefExpo project.
The protesting locals were expecting defence and government officials to visit the site to perform Bhumipujan and commence work of setting up makeshift infrastructure for the expo.
The locals said that on Wednesday evening, the Superintendent of Police South Goa had served notices to 12 locals who were in the forefront of the agitation, asking them to attend a meeting on Thursday at 4 pm.
However, on Thursday morning, Quepem Mamlatdar Prataprao Gaonkar visited Betul with a notice from South Goa Collector Sachin Shinde asking five members, which included the Quepem MLA; Superintendent of Police South Goa; Under Secretary Industries of Goa; Director, Defence Exhibition Organisation; Ministry of Defence; and Orixtt Porjecho Avaz (OPA) spokesperson Freddy Fernandes, to attend a meeting at South Goa Collector’s office at 5 pm.
On hearing this, the locals got annoyed and pointed out that the Superintendent of Police South Goa had served notices on Wednesday evening to about 12 people, which included five parish priests, along with other members who are leading the agitation against the DefExpo project.
“Why are the other names not included in the notices?” questioned a local.
The locals said the notice issued on Wednesday stated that the meeting would be convened at 4 pm on Thursday, but the next notice states that the meeting will be at 5 pm.
Quepem Mamlatdar Gaonkar said the meeting has been fixed at 5 pm and those served with the previous notice will get a fresh notice for the meeting.
Initially, the summoned members decided not to attend the meeting, but later after a brief discussion among OPA members and local representatives, it was decided to attend and listen to what the defence officials and other government officials have to say about the
DefExpo project.
