SANGUEM
Is the remote Molle ward of Rivona village in Sanguem taluka being chosen as the proposed site for the IIT Goa project?
This is the question doing the rounds among people in and around Rivona village, as they are still in the dark over the exact location of the project, since neither the State government nor Sanguem MLA and Social Welfare Minister Subhash Phaldessai has disclosed the site as yet.
Doubts began to grow over the possibility that the IIT project could be set up in Molle ward after villagers had found many arecanut and coconut trees identified and numbered in a private property, thereby indicating that a survey had been conducted at the site.
The villagers were initially unaware why these trees had been numbered at the site, and speculations were fuelled after it was announced that a site at Sanguem had been shortlisted for the IIT Goa project.
Incidentally, trees in any property are usually marked and numbered whenever there is a move by the landowner to seek permission from the forest department to fell the trees.
While residents await an explanation over the identification of a number of trees in the property, they are also waiting for Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to make an announcement of the site being chosen at Sanguem for the project, as had been claimed by Phaldessai, who is determined to get the IIT project at Sanguem.
As such, villagers, particularly those who allegedly have possession of a portion of the private land which is set to be acquired for the project by the government, are cautious before making any move.
When contacted, some residents preferred to seek clarity on the IIT project and adopted a wait-and-watch approach, before commenting and disclosing their future plans in the matter.
The State government has been struggling to find a permanent location for the IIT Goa, after encountering stiff opposition from people in Loliem-Canacona, Melaulim-Sattari and more recently, by farmers from Cotarli-Sanguem.
