the goan I network
PANAJI
Days after the Congress and some locals from the area filed a complaint in the Crime Branch alleging that former Minister Rohan Khaunte had illegally constructed a road through fields in Socorro and Pomburpa, the Porvorim Farmers Club came
to Khaunte’s defence on
Monday.
The Farmers Club has said that they themselves asked Khaunte for the five-metre wide road to help them to facilitate work in the fields.
At a press conference in the city, one of the farmers from the Club said, “We couldn’t take the tractors through the fields. It used to take so long for us to drag the tractors through the mud. So we asked for the road.” He added that farmers who are not from the area were poking their nose in the issue.
“We know how much trouble we used to face. A press conference was held by some people not from the area claiming that the road passing through our fields is illegal. If there was a genuine problem, the farmers of the area would complain. But there was not a single farmer amongst those who held the press conference. All the farmers are with us. We don’t want compensation. We had taken a resolution saying we want the road.”
Another farmer came on record to say, “We requested the MLA to construct the road. The road is not for cricketer K L Rahul. Rahul has his own road to his house and doesn’t need our road for access to his place. We’ve given an NOC for this road.”
