CURCHOREM: The ongoing agitation against the proposed DefExpo and aero show at Betul gathered further momentum on Friday, when about 200 locals from Betul and surrounding areas staged a protest rally at Quepem.
The agitators later submitted a memorandum to the Quepem Deputy Collector, in the presence of MLAs Vijay Sardessai (Fatorda), Naresh Sawal (Bicholim) and Rohan Khaunte (Porvorim).
The protest rally, staged under the banner of 'Orixtt Porjecho Avaz' (OPA), commenced from Quepem cemetery, with the locals marching around Quepem garden holding banners criticising the government for enforcing its will on the people and demanding the protection of their land.
The locals later gathered at the Quepem garden, where a public meeting was convened in the presence of Sardessai, Sawal and Khaunte, Generation Next President and Convenor Durgadas Kamat, who pledged their support to the agitation led by Betul People against the proposed DefExpo and aero show.
Speaking on the occasion, social activist and OPA Secretary Freddy Fernandes sought to justify their opposition to the defence expo project.
Reminding the people that then chief minister and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had once said, “I will not spare an inch of land to the Navy”, Fernandes accused Parrikar of taking a U-turn by attempting to acquire huge land at Betul and using it for DefExpo and the aero show.
Criticising the government for not taking the local panchayat and locals into confidence before handing over the Betul land to the defence ministry, Fernandes said the land had been acquired for other projects.
“Our agitation is apolitical and purely people centric and not political party centric,” clarified Fernandes.
He also told the protesters that the MLAs present for the protest rally have rendered their support as Goans. He also thanked Fr Maverick Fernandes, Fr Savio Fernandes and Fr Eremito Rebello for supporting the people in the agitation.
In his speech, Fatorda MLA Sardessai alleged a large land scam in Betul.
“The locals and the panchayat are deliberately kept in the dark,” said Sardessai, while criticising Chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar for misleading and keeping the local people in the dark over DefExpo project.
“Parsekar should make it clear that he is not setting up the DefExpo and aero show project at Betul,” demanded Sardessai.
Later, Orixtt Porjecho Avaz Committee President Pressy Fernandes on behalf of the protesters submitted a memorandum to Quepem Deputy Collector Shankar Gaonkar, who assured the protesting locals that he would forward their memorandum to the South Goa collector.
In a press note, Fernandes claimed that residents from Naqueri “ Betul, Fatorpa “ Quitol, Velim, Assolna, Ambelim and Khola, under the banner of Orixtt Porjecho Avaz (OPA), had taken part in the protest rally.
“Besides great promises of generating employment for the locals by acquiring community lands, the GIDC has done nothing for nearly a decade and is now handing over the land to the Ministry of Defence as a permanent venue for DefExpo which is of no benefit for the villagers.”
“The villagers are also questioning the procedures that were followed in allotting the land to the Ministry of Defence by a mere letter by the Defence Minister to the Chief Minister. The Government is unclear about the operations to be conducted till date. The local governing bodies were not consulted and were kept in the dark,” the press note stated.
'The legislators who were present in solidarity with the people assured to demand a special Assembly Session to discuss this subject,” the press note added.
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The locals marching around Quepem garden holding banners criticising the government for enforcing its will on the people
