The senior citizens during a hunger strike at the KRC Station in Canacona on Friday.
CANACONA
Canconcars comprising senior citizens and women staged a hunger strike at the Canacona railway station on Friday morning to protest against apathy of the Railways and government by failing to resume long distance train halts at the railway station.
The agitation which began at about 9.30 am and it was called off at 1.30 pm after KRC Senior Traffic Manager Sunil Nadkar assured a joint meeting with protestors between senior railway officials and Canconcars in the office of Canacona Mamlatdar Manoj Korgaonkar on January 19 at 11 am.
Over 100 protestors including members of Canacona Railway Stop Bachao Action Committee (CRSBAC), Forum for Senior Citizens of Canacona, women and others carrying placards went to the Canacona KRC Station and squatted outside the KRC booking counter.
A police team prevented entry of any of the protestors inside the Railway Station Control Room, the cabin of Station Master and other KRC Staff.
The protestors included two councillors Dhiraj Naikgaunkar and Shubham Komarpant, CRSBAC Coordinator Janardhan Bhandari and Convenor Shantaji Naikgaunkar, social activists Ulhas Bhatikar, Natividade De Sa, Dilkush Shet, Anil Bhagat, Babu Komarpant, ex-CMC Chairperson Rajendra Desai, Shyamsunder Desai, Sandesh Telekar and many other prominent residents of Canacona.
The agitators claimed that while their protest on Friday was a day-long affair, they would agitate on the railway tracks and roads if the Railways fails to act by Friday night.
Canacona Mamlatdar Manoj Korgaonkar along with police officials DySP Sandesh Chodankar, Gurudas Kadam, PIs Sachin Pannalkar and PI Chandrakant Gawas interacted with protestors.
Korgaonkar assured to invite a KRC official to meet the protestors and explain the position of the KRC.
As the day progressed, more people, including tourist taxi operators, joined in the agitation.
“Even after sacrificing their land at a cheap price, taking part in agitations, facing police lathi charge and police cases, a great injustice has been done to Canconkars by the KRC authorities by cancelling the stop/halt of long-distance trains at Canacona,” said Bhandari.
“Senior citizens of Canacona and others have communicated this issue with all railway authorities and even informed the State government, MP and local MLA. Even a morcha to the Canacona Railway Station failed to move railway authorities. It is high time now to unite together and fight for our legitimate demand.”
KRC Senior Traffic Manager Sunil Nadkar met the agitators and assured that a joint meeting would be convened along with railway officials on January 19. Satisfied with this assurance, the agitators called off their protest.
