MARGAO
Goencho Ekvott, spearheading the movement against track-doubling, coal transportation and other projects, held an impressive awareness meeting in Carmona village on Friday, with speakers making an impassioned plea to Carmonkars to join the ongoing battle against the ill-conceived projects.
Over 60 youth from across Goa also performed a skit at the meeting and dance to popular music to show their solidarity to the movement against the plans to make Goa a coal hub.
Goencho Ekvott Convenor Creson Antao explained to the villagers how the organization had placed before Chief Minister Pramod Sawant their main demands, including the scrapping of the land acquisition process, immediate stopping of the illegal works of South Western Railway, removing MPT from the ambit of the Major Ports Authority Bill 2020 and opposing to the satellite port at Betul and the three linear projects through Goa.
Creson expressed his shock that FIRs have been filed against executive members of Goencho Ekvott and Goyant Kollso Naka, not by the Railway police but by the Goa Police at the behest of the State Government.
Saying that the police have registered an FIR against him as well, Creson said he and the rest of the team at Goencho Ekvott are not afraid of such official intimidation tactics and that they will take this as a challenge which will ultimately bear fruit. Captain Viriato Fernandes has warned the government not to suppress the ongoing movement with false cases. He reiterated that the people of Goa are ready to face bullets to save the state for posterity. The meeting was also addressed by Fr Bolmax Pereira, Dr Jorson Fernandes, Roger Godinho and architect Royla Fernandes.
