PANAJI
In a show of adamancy, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Sunday said the team of revenue officials will continue on Monday the survey and demarcation work of land in Sattari allotted to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).
Sawant admitted that work in the village of Melauli had faced some obstruction but insisted that it will start again on Monday.
He also advised the villagers not to fight there and cause obstruction to the government officials and instead engage in talks to resolve issues.
Meanwhile, the situation in Melauli remained peaceful even as a group of protesting villagers continued to stay in the forests more than two days after violence erupted there when a band of officials were attacked with stone-pelting.
The police had resorted to a lathi-charge to bring the situation under control and virtually laid a siege in the area by deploying more forces there and also beefing up the strength at the Valpoi Police Station.
The villagers have been protesting against the loss of their land to the prestigious IIT campus project for several months now.
Earlier the government had already de-notified some 40,000 square meters of land from the original 10-lakh square meters allotted for the IIT campus heeding to villagers' demands that a revered Hindu temple exists there and should be left out.
The agitation however continued with villagers claiming lands they cultivated for generations were snatched.
The government however claims the land is State-owned but has agreed to compensate 'cultivable rights' of genuine cases, including providing alternate land.
The deadlock however continues with the protesting villagers refusing to budge.
