OLD GOA
After completing a mammoth 99 days on Wednesday, the Old Goa fast satyagraha is all set to complete 100 days on Thursday despite the ups and downs that came along the way.
And to commemorate the milestone, the Save Old Goa Action Committee (SOGAC) will organise a small get-together at the protest site at the St Cajetan precincts, in which like-minded individuals are expected to participate.
It all started with a protest march being held from the St Cajetan church to the site of the structure on July 7, last year, which later culminated in a meet in which the protestors demanded that the controversial structure should be demolished at the earliest.
It was soon followed by a heritage friendship march on August 1. Here too, the protestors warned of taking law in their own hands if the structure was not demolished at the earliest.
With nothing happening on the demolition front, a maha-morcha was organided on November 21, in which thousands of people participated including priests, nuns, students, activists, lawyers, politicians, historians, architects among others.
In the maha-morcha, a decision was taken to take on the government of the day politically to ensure its defeat at the upcoming Assembly elections.
Two days later i.e. on November 23, like-minded people came together and decided to organise fast satyagraha outside the Basilica of Bom Jesus, which coincided with the commencement of the novena of St Francis Xavier.
As the people’s satyagraha started receiving public support, politicians too joined the chorus with one of them starting a parallel protest of fast unto death.
As pressure mounted and the satyagraha entered day 6, the Se Old Goa panchayat then issued a stop work order to the construction of the structure, on November 30.
The satyagraha received a major boost as the Church came out strongly and openly in support of the protestors, as Archbishop Felipe Neri Ferrao urged authorities to refrain from promoting illegalities in heritage sites at Old Goa, during the Solemn High Mass on the feast day of St Francis Xavier, which was attended by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, ministers and MLAs.
As the feast concluded, the satyagraha was moved inside the precincts of St Cajetan church, where it continues till date.
Due to the satyagraha, the Town and Country Planning (TCP) department was forced to revoke the technical clearance issued to the controversial structure.
The Se Old Goa panchayat followed suit revoking the construction and subsequent renewal licences.
Finally, after completing all formalities the panchayat issued demolition order to the owner of the structure Sumermal Jain on February 11, giving further boost to the resolve of the satyagrahis.
It was not smooth sailing for the satyagraha, though, as one of the participants Nicholas Nazario Fernandes died in an accident which occurred on February 9.
If the loss of one of its participants was not enough, there was more trouble in store as SOGAC vice-president Golda Almeida quit the satyagraha citing harassment by fellow members while also levelling various allegations against the committee.
But, the ups and downs have failed to derail the satyagraha which continues to go strong as it enters the 100th day on Thursday.
