PONDA
Heavy police force was deployed at the site. According to reports, a large number of villagers gathered in the temple and restrained the temple committee members from entering the temple and convening the meeting in their office. The villagers told the committee members not to enter the precinct of the temple and advised them to convene meeting in hotel. They shouted slogans against the temple committee and warned them not to dare to enter the temple again. “We demand the scrapping of Mahajan Act. We want our rights,” said the mob. Deputy Collector (promoted as additional collector) Johnson Fernandes, Mamlatdar Joao Fernandes, Joint Mamlatdar Abhir Hede and DySP Sunita Sawant were present. The revolt against the temple committee has been started in Marcaim since the Shree Navdurga Saunsthan (SNS) ga Pratishtna (SDNP) prohibiting SNS from replacing the idol till final verdict was pronounced. They have also demanded to dissolve the temple committee of Navdurga (temple Marcaim) and to appoint an administrator. SDNP president Shailendra Panajikar was requested by Fernandes to allow the temple committee to hold meeting by convincing the locals, but Panajikar told Fernandes that he can t help in any way. To this, Fernandes then requested the temple committee members to leave the place to avoid tension. Fernandes told media persons that as villagers didn t listen to his request, he requested the temple committee members to leave the place. “They had convened budgetary meeting, which is held in every temple on July 31. But to avoid tension, I requested them to leave this place,” Fernandes said. The committee members were given police protection when they left temple area. SNS president Vallabh Kamat, who was at the spot, refused to comment on the issue. Ponda Police informed that temple committee members have lodged a complaint in this regard.
