PERNEM
Tense moments were witnessed at Varkhand on Thursday when angry locals forcibly stopped ongoing work on the Mopa Airport Link road.
Locals became furious when they noticed work still in progress despite sending a notice to the company to stop work on the Mopa Airport Link road and confronted workers at the site.
The locals who were led by Mopa Airport Panchkroshi Jan Sanghatana President Bharat Bagkar then blocked the road with large stones, preventing the movement of heavy machinery.
A Pernem police team rushed to the site to prevent the sitUation from escalating further.
Varkhand-Nagzar Sarpanch Sanjay Tulaskar went to the site and discussed the matter with a company engineer in the presence of Pernem PSI Baburav Desai.
“We believe the work is illegal and locals are against it. If the work is legal, then show us the documents or else stop it. The panchayat has served a notice and till the time you cannot furnish the required papers, I request you to stop the work,” Tulaskar told company officials.
The officials later agreed to temporarily stop the work and were awaiting directives from the PWD.
Later when contacted, Suresh Shanbhag, director in the Directorate of Civil Aviation told reporters that the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has provisioned a budget of Rs 60 crore for the affected people who have lost land and trees.
“I appeal to the affected people to make their claim and they will be helped,” said Shanbhag.
