PERNEM
Locals and members of various organisations staged a one-day hunger strike on Thursday to demand a halt by all inter-state buses at the Pernem bus stand.
The protest was called off after Deputy Collector Dipak Vaingankar assured to intervene in the matter and discuss the issue with the KTC, Maharashtra State Transport Corporation, traffic police and Goa police regarding halts at the Pernem bus stand.
The protest was initiated by senior citizens of Pernem and various social organisations who came together under a banner to stop the inconvenience to passengers from Pernem taluka.
Speaking at the protest, Umesh Talvanekar stated that in the past, inter-state buses would make a halt at the Pernem bus stand but now, all buses, including private buses and state-run buses, have avoided the Pernem bus stand.
Chandrakant Jadhav pointed out that the Maharashtra ST buses come via Panaji but they do not enter Pernem bus stand and go directly to Maharashtra via the highway.
“In the past, we had warned of initiating an agitation and we wrote letters demanding the stops for interstate buses. A letter was given to the Pernem deputy collector a fortnight ago, but no action was taken in this regard, so we had to protest today,” said Jadhav.
Jagannath Pandit and Anand Naik also spoke on the issue and placed their demand. Tuem panch Uday Mandrekar said Pernem taluka is developing at a fast pace and there are mega projects, but the centrally located bus stand does not have a halt for inter-state buses, which causes inconvenience to locals.
The protestors have warned of a larger agitation if authorities fail to ensure that inter-state buses make a halt at the Pernem bus stand.
