VALPOI
The Sattari Bhumiputra Sangathan has raised an alarm against attempts by environmentalists to declare the Mhadei Sanctuary, comprising 31 villages in Sattari taluka, a tiger reserve. Stating that due to the sanctuary, the issue of wild animals has risen for the people of Sattari, the organisation said the demand for a tiger reserve is truly outrageous, adding that these activists are not aware of the overall situation of Sattari taluka.
The organisation has warned that if a meeting is organised in Sattari in support of the tiger reserve, it will be disrupted.
The group also hailed Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Forest Minister Vishwajit Rane and MLA Deviya Rane for rejecting the tiger reserve proposal.
The Sattari Bhumiputra Sangathan President Harishchandra Gawas along with the office bearers Atanio Pintu, Batu Gawde and Shivaji Zarmekar Krishna Kerkar were addressing a press conference at Valpoi.
The organisation said that after the Goa government recently rejected the proposal for a tiger reserve, the people of Sattari expressed satisfaction.
But some environmentalists are trying to push for a tiger reserve once again, they said adding that several problems have risen in the 31 villages of Sattari taluka due to the sanctuary and since the last 24 years, there has been a demand to scrap the notification.
The attempt to insist on the tiger reserve project by holding press conferences in the cities is an attempt to rub salt in the wounds of the people who are suffering due to the sanctuary in Sattari taluka, the organisation said. They have warned to sternly act against any attempt to demand a tiger reserve in the taluka.
Several restrictions have come into force through the sanctuary, creating issues for the villagers of this area, and if the notification of the sanctuary is not scrapped in the coming time, the public will have to face serious consequences, they said.
On the other hand, if the tiger reserve proposal goes through, the rural Sattari taluka will have a bleak future and the people of these areas will move to the cities, they stated.
Hence, there is a fear among the locals of an end to the culture of the rural areas, the group said, adding that the environmentalists have been requested through the organisation to give up their efforts to insist on the tiger reserve.
