Protesters gathered in large numbers outside the Paryatan Bhavan in Patto on Friday, the headquarters of the Tourism Department, shouted slogans against the controversial ‘Jetty Policy’ proposed by the Goa government and demanded that it be scrapped.
Green activists, social workers, farmers and others were part of the few hundred protesters who questioned the need for the policy purportedly to promote tourism but envisaging jetties in areas where potential is negligible.
Three Opposition legislators, including Opposition Leader Yuri Alemao of the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party’s Cruz Silva and Revolutionary Goans Party’s Viresh Borkar, joined the protests.
Abhijit Prabhudesai, a prominent activist who has been criss-crossing the State to build awareness against the policy, accused the government of formulating the draft policy without any consultations with the people and by keeping them in the dark.
“It will impact the fishing community in particular and Goa in general, with khazan and other agricultural lands facing destruction,” Prabhudesai said addressing the protesters.
Claiming that neither a proper study nor any data was collected before the policy was proposed, he said, “Rivers will go in the hands of private parties, if implemented.”
“Goa’s rivers and natural resources should not be permitted to be handed over to private brokers by the government,” he added.
Prabhudesai also questioned the Tourism Department’s failure to disseminate the draft policy to local bodies, including municipalities and panchayats across the State.
Initially, the period for filing public objections and suggestions was ending on Saturday but owing to widespread opposition, the State government has extended the deadline by 15 days until October 31.
The department, meanwhile, is claiming that the policy is restricted to promoting tourism and not coal movement.
Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte, while saying he respects the right of citizens to protest, urged activists to refrain from spreading disinformation about the policy.
“The policy is being wrongly interpreted and many are making misleading statements,” Khaunte said, adding that even after the October 31 deadline ends he is willing to sit across the table to discuss and hear their objections.
