VASCO
The rift within the BJP in Mormugao constituency came to the fore when nine Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) BJP councillors loyal to ex-MLA Milind Naik hit out at allegations levelled against them by Mormugao BJP MLA Sankalp Amonkar.
Addressing a news conference on Monday, the councillors said they had met Mormugao Port Authority (MPA) Chairman Dr N Vinodkumar to discuss coal pollution issues and maintained that they were not against coal but wanted the port to take measures to reduce pollution.
“We had just gone to seek clarification from the MPA to decide on the next plan of action. We discussed various issues with the MPA Chairman including transportation that has now been moving from Sada irregularly without proper timing and requested the vehicles not to be overloaded,” said Councillor Kunali Parsekar.
“We had also suggested that MPA takes measures to sprinkle water, clean roads and even engage manual labourers to clean the dust along the road shoulders. We asked the MPA to engage in community services through CSR activity and we even asked the MPA to take a joint meeting to show all MMC councillors how coal handling plants are operated."
MMC Councillor Leo Rodrigues said Amonkar had assured people that he would stop coal totally if elected but after getting elected, he joined the BJP and his stand changed to controlling pollution.
MMC Councillor Damodar Kaskar said that Wards 2,5 and 6 were most affected by coal dust pollution.
"What is wrong if any municipal councillor raises coal pollution issue when local residents of his ward are facing inconvenience? We were trying to highlight the issue at our level and we don't know what upset the MLA so much. Another major cause of pollution is transportation that moves from Sada side instead of Vasco after Amonkar has been elected as the MLA," said Kaskar.
MMC Councillor Prajay Mayekar questioned Amonkar’s silence on coal pollution for two years after being elected as MLA.
"We are hardcore karyakartas of the BJP and Sankalp Amonkar who has now joined the BJP must not spoil the name of the party with such stunts. We are not asking for coal operations to be shut down but we want measures to be taken to control pollution," said Mayekar.
Councillors Ramchandra Kamat and Damodar Naik also spoke on the occasion.
