PANAJI
Locals from the fishing village of Nauxim and adjoining 12 villages opposing the Rs 350 crore AHOY Marina project in the River Zuari bay adjoining their village have declared that they will hit the streets at 4 pm on November 7 with the protest rally from Taleigao to St Andre and St Cruz constituencies.
A public meeting has been convened on November 8 at 4 pm near Siridao panchayat to renew opposition to the proposed marina project and to create awareness among people of Goa about the pitfalls of this project.
The locals pointed out that Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has never visited the spot to decide the sustainability of the proposed marina and urged the CM to convene a meeting of the locals and five MLAs to understand the opposition to the project.
“No government officer has ever approached us to discuss the matter with us. The project is very dangerous and we warn that it will hurt at least 13 villages as well as national security. We want the project to be scrapped and not pushed for via the back door,” the locals announced unanimously at Azad Maidan in Panaji on Monday.
It was disclosed that the executing agency of the project, Kargwal Constructions, has approached the High Court of Bombay at Goa seeking directions to be issued to the state government to conduct the public hearing.
“We are of the opinion that the government is in favour of that private party and we are interested in knowing the stand of the government through its say before the HC,” said one of the locals.
It may be recalled that Kargwal Constructions had acquired a stretch of 1 lakh sqmts (10 Ha) of waterfront adjoining Nauxim on October 12, 2010 from Mormugao Port Trust on a 30 year lease, which includes a construction period of two years.
A decade earlier, MPT had invited bids for leasing its waterfront for developing two green marinas. These are primarily parking facilities for pleasure boats, yachts and small vessels. However, public outcry has prevented the projects from materialising.
Upon completion, AHOY Marina is expected to boast 239 berths for docking 15-20 footer boats, yachts and two large boats.
The proposed project includes breakwaters and a jetty for small crafts and for facilities such as crew accommodation, restaurant, clubhouse, training pool, service/repairs centre and so on.
