MARGAO
The government may have moved with alacrity to puncture the movement against the linear projects, including coal transportation and track doubling, by linking the Zilla Panchayat results to people’s rejection of the ongoing agitation.
Organizations spearheading the ongoing agitation not only appeared firm in their stand that the ZP election result will in no way derail the movement, but were confident that it would further strengthen their resolve to make the movement stronger and force the government to scrap the controversial projects.
That’s not all. Leaders of Goyant Kollso Naka and Goencho Ekvott are believed to have had a meeting to come together and unitedly take the ongoing movement to its logical conclusion.
Goyant Kollso Naka Co-convenor Abhijit Prabhudesai told The Goan the Zilla Panchayat will not have any bearing on the ongoing movement against the three linear projects, saying the Zilla Panchayats have nothing to do with the real issues plaguing the people of Goa.
Convenor of Goencho Ekvott, Creson Antao, echoed similar sentiments. He dared the government to hold a referendum or an election to gauge the public mood on the three linear projects instead of linking the ZP mandate to the anti-track doubling and coal transportation movements.
Abhijit Prabhudesai said the Zilla Panchayat elections are inconsequential to the ongoing movement against the plan to make Goa a coal hub. “The Zilla Panchayat elections have nothing to do with the real issues of the people. All I can say at this time is that the people’s movement will only get stronger by the day. One has to remember that elections bring people’s representatives to power, but people’s power is greater than everything else,” he told The Goan.
Asserting that the ongoing movement will become stronger in the coming days, Abhijit said, “The ZP election will not change the fact that coal is going to kill the world. None of the concerns change because of the Zilla panchayat election.”
Reiterating that the three linear projects are against public interest and hence are anti-national, Abhijit said the Goyant Kollso Naka and other organisations spearheading the movement will soon resume their agitation after a break because of the election.
“Our agitation will resume immediately and let me tell those who have tried to link the ZP mandate against the agitation that the movement against coal will only become stronger in the coming days,” he asserted.
Goencho Ekvott convenor Creson Antao, on the other hand, pointed out that the organizations spearheading the anti-coal movement did not field any candidate nor had supported any candidate in the Zilla Panchayat polls.
“It’s surprising that the government, which did not make the agitation a poll issue, was suddenly linking the ZP results against the anti-coal agitation. Zilla Panchayats are not the right forum to discuss and decide issues such as coal hub, track doubling and the linear projects,” he said.
Throwing up a challenge to the government to hold an election or a referendum to ascertain the say of the people on the linear projects, Creson said it is just a matter of
days that the organizations spearheading the anti-coal agitation will be back to the roads again.
