CANACONA
Upset over with railway authorities for failing to resume halts at the Canacona Railway Station, members of the Canacona Senior Citizens Forum (CSCF) and Swabhimani Jagruth Canconcars agitated outside the railway station.
They have threatened to intensify their agitation if the trails halts are not restored at the Canacona Railway Station by January 5, 2023.
Carrying placards and shouting slogans, the protestors assembled at Nagorcem before beginning their march to go to the Konkan Railway Station, only to be stopped by a strong police force, just outside the railway station.
Canacona Mamlatdar Manoj Korgaonkar along with DySP Gurudas Kadam, Canacona PI Chandrakant Gawas, Konkan Railway Police Inspector Sachin Pannalkar held discussion with the agitating residents and later escorted KRC Karwar Region, Regional Traffic Manager Sunil Nadkar to interact with the agitating people.
The agitators sought to know why the train halts have not been resumed despite the normalisation of trains post the Covid lockdown.
Nadkar explained that the halts are decided by Railway Board and moreover, due to financial unviability, the Railway Board had decided against the halts at the Canacona Railway Station.
Nadkar, however, assured to take up the concerns of Canacona residents to the Railway Board authorities for a favourable response.
Unhappy with the response, the agitators explained that they were only demanding the resumption of train halts which were existing prior to the Covid lockdown.
Claiming that people had sacrificed their lands and properties for the Railways to pass through Canacona, the aggrieved locals said Canacona is a tourism destination and people are being unnecessarily harassed and inconvenienced to travel either to Margao or Karwar to board a train.
Some of the leaders blamed the government for taking the people of Canacona for granted and also accused the government of trying to finish tourism in Canacona.
The agitators then demanded a deadline for the trains to resume halts as existing before the Covid lockdown and related facilities to be provided at the Canacona KRC Station.
Canacona Mamlatdar Manoj Korgaonkar also asked the railway authorities to give a timeline as to resumption of train halts at Canacona.
Nadkar, however, expressed his inability to give any deadline and only assured to forward their demands along with his report to the authorities on Thursday itself.
Finally, the agitators declared if the train halts are not restored by January 5, 2023, a larger agitation with more people would be led to the Canacona railway station.
Kamlakar Mhalshi, Ulhas Pai Bhatikar, Santosh Naik Gaonkar, Anil Bhagat, Councillor Dhiraj Naik Gaonkar, Vikas Bhagat, Janardhan Bhandari, Joseph, Vaishal Pagui, Dilkush Shet, were among the agitators who spoke during the agitation.
