MARGAO
Loutolim villagers on Sunday conveyed a message loud and clear to the State government and Centre that they had first opposed the controversial Rassaim jetty in 2017 and are doing so again in 2022, and will not hesitate to take the streets in the future if the government tries to bulldoze with the project.
Speakers cautioned the villagers to stay alert and united, asserting that the government appears hell-bent on pursuing the project against the wishes and sentiments of the local populace.
In his address, Xavier Fernandes patted the villagers on the back for their resoluteness in opposing the project since 2017.
“When the controversial jetty project was first mooted five years ago in 2017, the people had turned up in large numbers to register their protest. Five years later, we have found the meeting hall full to its capacity and members standing outside,” he said, warning that the battle will continue till the project is scrapped.
He added: “We will never allow the Modi government and the State government to bring the jetty for cargo and coal transportation. We are all determined to oppose the project and protect our village for posterity. We Lotlekars will be back on the roads again if the government does not see reason and scrap the project.”
Gram sabha member Basilo D’Costa accused the government of its sinister plans to nationalize the rivers to build jetties along river Zuari. He suggested that the panchayat take legal recourse and drag the government to court if authorities do not listen and bulldoze with the project.
Ramiro Mascarenhas lamented that though the villagers had said a firm no to the jetty in 2017, the government is still pursuing the project.
He called for introspection over the government’s plan to build four jetties in a radius of 2-3 kilometres along river Zuari under the guise of tourism development.
Ramiro has warned that the government is fooling the people by saying the jetty is meant for tourism development and asserted that the infrastructure is being proposed for coal transportation. The Centre has even drawn up plans to take over minor ports across the nation.
Addressing the meeting, Franky Monteiro urged the gram sabha and panchayat members to brace up for a sustained battle saying the government seemed determined to bulldoze with the jetty project.
What sort of tourism is expected to get boost at Rassaim, ask villagers
MARGAO:
Loutolim villagers on Sunday questioned what sort of tourism is expected to get a boost at Rassaim “ the hub of shipyards and repair workshops.
Villagers saw red in the latest decision of the government to accord NOC for the jetty, saying the government is out to hoodwink the people on the project.
Franky Monteiro said the jetty was proposed to be constructed in 2017 for passenger/cargo handling. Two years later, he said the government said the jetty is required for passengers, adding that now the government has come out with the proposal to build a coastal jetty.
“What is this coastal jetty about, whether it is for dry dock, passenger or shipbuilding and what is the intended use of this coastal jetty,” Franky questioned, asserting the government is fooling the people.
He demanded to know the nature of tourism the government intends to develop at Rassaim when the place has only shipyards and workshops around. Further questioning the plan to build a terminal building at Rassaim at Rs 6.1 crore with an STP, he said the plan to build jetties at Rassaim in Loutolim and two jetties on either side of river Zuari at Durbhat and Shiroda only goes to show the sinister plan to use this infrastructure for coal transportation.
Another gram sabha member Sairaj said there’s no tourism in Rassaim area of the village, which plays host to shipyards and workshops.
Anti-coal activists back in action, join motor rally
MARGAO
Anti-coal activists attired in black t-shirts carrying black banners, black placards and black flags were back in action on Sunday.
They all joined the motor rally that started from Rassaim point before wending its way to the Loutolim panchayat ghar to attend the extraordinary gram sabha. Many of them were prominently seen holding anti-coal and anti-jetty banners right inside the meeting hall, while a member was seen moving around with a black flag.
After curtains came down on the gram sabha meeting, wherein it resolved in one voice against the proposed jetty, the anti-coal activists headed home, but after a rally that wended through the wards of Loutolim, highlighting the dangers and the health hazard posed by coal transportation.
Says activist Xavier Fernandes: “Villagers have come out for the meeting attired in black t-shirts and banners as a mark of protest against government’s covert and overt attempts to make Goa a coal hub. The people are not ready to believe that the jetty and other infrastructural projects are development oriented. All these are being executed as per the Sagarmal project to develop infrastructure for coal transportation."
