CANACONA
Amid public uproar, a starred hotel acted on instructions on the Canacona Deputy Collector and removed an iron gate which had blocked access to two houses in Canacona.
Locals had reacted with anger and had protested after the hotel had blocked the access to a house on Sunday by erecting an iron gate on the road leading to two houses of families belonging to Pagi community.
On noticing the unusual development on Sunday, Ashok Pagi, the son of the victim, Surang Pagi, and Canacona Municipal Council Vice-Chairperson Gandesh Madgaonkar questioned the person working on installing the iron gate, blocking access to the two existing houses of Pagi community.
Claiming to have been using the pathway to visit their religious place (Gharvayi), the locals accused the hotel management f using the services of bouncers to forcibly carry out the work on Sunday.
After the gate was erected on Sunday, CMC Chairperson Sara Samba Naik Desai, councillor and former Chairperson Ramakant Naik Gaonkar, Councillor Dhiraj (Pandurang) Naik Gaunkar, Patnem councillor Shubham Komarpant, local councillor Gandesh Madgaonkar, President of Canacona BJP Mandal Vishal Desai, former CMC Chairperson Shyam Desai, Shri Mallikarjun Devasthan, Shristhal Mahajans Shambha Naik Desai and others held an emergency meeting in the hall of Vithal Rakhumai Devalaya at Canacona.
The leaders and a number of locals then led a march to the hotel and demanded the immediate removal of the iron-gate installed on the fence on the traditional path leading to the two houses.
They demanded that The palki roads and other traditional paths cannot be allowed to be closed, as originally agreed while building the hotel itself.
As the hotel management did not agree to their demand, they finally called on Canacona Deputy Collector Madhu Narvekar, who ordered the hotel management to immediately remove the gate.
People also demanded that the hotel concerned give in writing that they would not carry out such acts again, especially blocking traditional paths and the paths used for religious purposes during certain times of the year.
Finally, the hotel management accepted the directives of the Dy Collector removed the gate and cleared the way, opening access to both houses of Pagi community.
