the goan I network
PONDA
The Goa Mining Peoples Front (GMPF) expressed disappointment after being unable to meet Union Ayush Minister Shripad Naik on Wednesday, to submit their memorandum seeking a resumption in mining activity.
While GMPF convenor Puti Gaonkar told The Goan that Naik had to go to Delhi urgently and hence, they could not meet him, another GMPF member believed that the union minister had avoided meeting them.
“We had sought an appointment with him and we tried to meet him at his Old Goa residence and also at Adpai. But since he had to rush to Delhi, we could not meet him,” Gaonkar said.
“Naik is expected to return to Goa on Thursday evening and we will seek a fresh appointment with him. We will also meet MPs Narendra Sawaikar and Vinay Tendulkar.”
However, another GMPF member believed Naik had avoided meeting them even though an appointment had been sought.
“If he was not interested to meet us or if he had no time, he should have clearly conveyed it to us. First, we went to Old Goa and we were told that he was at Adpai. But we could not get to meet him there as well,” complained a GMPF member on condition of anonymity.
The GMPF has decided to stage a bandh in the six talukas of Quepem, Bicholim, Dharbandora, Sanguem, Ponda and Sattari on October 3, to pressurise the government to resume mining activity in the state.
The GMPF has also threatened to stage a three-day protest with the participation of 1,000 mining dependents at Jantar Mantar in Delhi during the first three days of the forthcoming parliament session.
