MARGAO
Union Minister for Road Surface Transport Nitin Gadkari’s emissary Manoj Kumar along with PWD officials descended at Loutolim for discussions with farmers opposing the new high level Borim bridge from crossing over the khazan fields in a bid to find a solution to the alignment to the bridge.
After discussions with the representatives of the farmers led by Chairman of the Tenants Association Alberto Pinheiro, Kumar, who is believed to be the Protocol officer in the Union Minister’s office, said the government will take a final call on the bridge alignment.
Kumar said he cannot say at the moment about a solution to the bridge alignment. “We have heard the grievances aired by the farmers. We will hold further discussions. It will take some time. The government will take a decision,” Kumar said.
He further said the team of officials has come to understand the issue raised by the farmers. When a villager questioned whether he has seen the soil of the khazan fields, Kumar shot back saying, “We have seen the soil sample, but there is an engineering solution to the issue. Solution for soil is an engineering solution.” The villager, however, said they are not interested in giving their fields for the proposed bridge.
Farmers, on the other hand, continued to keep their fingers crossed over their demand that the bridge should not cross over the khazan fields.
Chairman of the Loutolim Tenants Association Albert Pinheiro explained to Kumar and his team that Gadkari’s suggestion to reduce the width of the bridge passing through the khazans is not acceptable to the farmers. “Assuming the government decides to reduce the bridge width from 60 meters to 30 meters, it will end up affecting some of the farmers and depriving them of their livelihoods. Around 400 farmers are eking a living on the khazan fields. They will die of hunger,” he told the team.
Pinheiro drew attention of the team that the CRZ norms bar any construction activity in the khazan fields. Demanding to know whether bridges have been built anywhere through the khazans, Pinheiro said, “People say the new Borim bridge will not destroy a single house, but we would like to ask whether any house can be built in a khazan land.”
Asked whether he is hopeful of a solution to the vexed issue with the government zeroing in on the alignment passing through the khazans, Pinheiro said, “We are hopeful of a solution. We are not pessimistic, but optimistic that the government will take cognizance of our issues and work out a new alignment.”
He added: “They have offered to compensate the farmers in lieu of loss of land. But, farmers are not interested in the compensation. The khazan fields were given to them by their ancestors and they want to hand over the fields to the posterity.”
