MARGAO
A meeting held under the banner of Goencho Ekvott at the Lohia Maidan on Saturday unanimously resolved to demand the scrapping of the destructive projects being pushed by the central and State governments on the people of Goa.
The assembly of people asserted that the ill-conceived projects will destroy the heritage of Goa, the environment, the agricultural land, our forests, rivers, hills, etc, and most importantly damage our Goem, Goenkar and Goenkarponn.
In another resolution, the people expressed great anxiety with respect to contentious issues like OCI and dual citizenship, with speakers saying it was a tool to deny the Goenkarponn to fellow Goans who accepted Portuguese citizenship view better employment prospects and future of their children.
The gathering has resolved to demand OCI status and dual citizenship for eligible Goenkars.
The people resolved to maintain the centuries old communal harmony between various sections of the society and denounced attempts by certain organisations with a subtle backing of powerful political functionaries to create divisions and spread hatred among the people.
It was further unanimously resolved for the use of ballot voting and withdrawal of the EVM machines during elections.
The contentious coal and double tracking issue, besides Mhadei took the centre stage at the public meeting as speakers cautioned that Goa is on the verge of extinction in view of the anti-people projects thrust on the people.
Former MLA Alina Saldanha explained how the houses, compound walls of the people run the risk of being razed down by the track doubling project. Saying the track doubling project is being pursued by the government solely for the purpose of coal transportation, Alina wondered why the imported coal is not being unloaded at any of the Ports in Karnataka for enroute to the coal powered industries at Bellary. “Enough is enough of the destruction that has taken place in the State. We have to unitedly stand by the people,” she added.
Activist Shankar Polgi took exception to Environment Minister Aleixo Sequeira’s statement that there is no coal pollution in the Port Town of Vasco. Saying that politicians will never support the public to stop coal pollution, Polgi said the government will only understand the language of agitation. “We can force the government to stop coal pollution through a massive agitation when 5,000 people come on the streets in protest,” he said.
Historian Prajal Sakhardande warned the people that Karnataka government is on the verge of diverting river Mhadei in coordination with the Central government. “The Chief Minister of Karnataka has asked the Centre to give the sanction to divert river Mhadei. The time has come for the people of Goa to unite. Goa is on the verge of extinction,” he said, while giving a call to the people of Goa to save Mother Goa from destruction.
Social activist Rama Kankonkar took on Social Welfare Minister Subhash Phal Dessai for raking up the Shivaji Maharaj statue in a bid of foment communal trouble for political gains. “At Areal village, the Minister was repeatedly asking whether the people were demanding the demolition of Shivaji statue. The Minister was anticipating that the people would demand demolition of the statue, but, the villagers, comprising of the Christian STs, were heard loud and clear that they are not for demolition,” he said.
Blaming the BJP government for the ills plaguing the State, Kankonkar urged the people to teach the BJP a lesson in the coming 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Pointing out that the 1.80 lakh ST population, hailing from both Hindu and Christian communities, have been demanding political reservations since the last two years, Kankonkar said the BJP government has been only fooling the STs when the community has been demanding the notification before the Lok Sabha polls.
Capt Viriato Fernandes, Savio Coutinho, Anant Agni, Rajan Ghate were amongst the speakers who addressed the meeting.
