Farmers oppose widening of Mapusa-Canca road stretch

The farmers also alleged that Ports Minister Michael Lobo ruthlessly ran roughshod over them in order to expedite the widening of the road.

According to Jeniffer D’Souza, who claims to own a field in the area, the government should have taken them into confidence before starting the work.

“We have no problem if the government is widening the road but they should do it legally and follow all the procedures. The road widening work has been taken up without following the land acquisition process,” D’Souza said.

She also said the faulty development work by the government forced her not to plough her field for the last two years.

“After the construction of the roundabout at Canca, all the rain water gets accumulated in my field. I had no option but to stay away from cultivating the field,” she said.

She further alleged that Calangute MLA Michael Lobo harassed her and her family because she was opposing the widening of the road.

“My power was disconnected and I was put under a lot of hardship. I have endured all the suffering and will continue to fight for justice,” she said.

Another farmer, Anil Vengurlekar said those in power were trying to suppress the voice of the farmers.

“When we sought information on the ongoing road widening project the info was denied to us. They are doing the work without going through the process of land acquisition. They should resolve the problem of farmers,” Vengurlekar said.

Farmer, Kashinath Lingutkar said the government was appealing to people to cultivate fields but in this case the government was making life difficult for farmers.

“With the widening work of the road we have no access to our fields. It appears the government wants to ensure destruction of the fields,” said Lingutkar.

The farmers said they have no opposition to the road widening project but were against a big road as envisaged in the current plan.