the goan I network
PANAJI
Around 300 families from Sangolda are opposing the widening of CHOGM road, calling it a “destruction of the scenic village.” Stating that there is absolutely no need to widen a road when the local people do not want it, some 15 people from Sangolda under the banner “Together For Sangolda” came together to address a press conference in the capital city on Saturday.
Saying that ‘development’ wasn’t meant to be at the cost of the common man, whose houses would need to be brought down for road widening, Dominic Fernandes, backed by Washington Pereira, Sandra Fernandes, and all other locals present, condemned the move to attempt widening of the road.
“We don’t want the road widened and our homes destroyed,” said Dominic. “We did not elect our MLA Jayesh Salgaonkar so that he would facilitate the destruction of our homes. This is not development,” he said, adding that what CHOGM road was in urgent need of was tarring.
“Hot mixing of the road is the need of the hour. It hadn’t been done for the past 10 years or more. But does our MLA care about that?” he questioned, while Sandra added that due to bad state of CHOGM road, at least two people had lost their lives in three or four road accidents over the past couple of years.
The villagers are said to have been fighting against the widening of CHOGM road since 2004.
The residents also fumed that the MLA had not consulted anyone of them before deciding upon the “development project.”
“Why is he planning it behind our backs? What’s to hide?” questioned Dominic.
Sandra meanwhile said that their homes had heritage value, and that if the government was adamant about widening the road, all these homes, that attracted tourists, would go. She claimed “broad roads” did not show the rich heritage of Goa.
The residents were adamant in their view that if development was not benefiting the common man, it was not development but destruction. They termed the road widening an anti-people project that was benefiting only a certain few.
The road widening of CHOGM road includes underground cabling, repairing and hot mixing of roads which may be the cause for demolition of a few heritage houses.
