MARGAO
Seraulim village was literally turned into a garrison town on Sunday evening as the men-in-uniform were mobilized in strength to scuttle a youth concert hosted by Seraulim Against Coal.
While the concert was scheduled to start at 6.30 pm, villagers, who had turned to watch the local youth stage skits centered on coal, saw police descending on the venue in large numbers, ostensibly to stop the programme on grounds there’s no permission to use sound.
The programme could not take off with the police insisting on the sound permission, leaving the villagers to return home disappointed.
Seraulim panchayat member Kevin D’Souza cried foul over the police action. “It was purely a cultural programme with the content centered on coal and Mollem. But the police have no right to scuttle the programme on the excuse that there was no permission,” he said.
Bitterly protesting over the police action, Kevin said people enjoy the freedom of speech as guaranteed under the Constitution, saying the police have violated the basic rights of the people to protest. “Whatever it may be, the police and the authorities stopped the people from protesting against coal through skits. This is totally absurd,” Kevin said, while condemning the police action.
The police were at the venue till around 9 pm, ensuring that the programme does not take place as scheduled.
Colva police station in-charge, PI Melson Colaco, when contacted, said there was no permission granted to use sound for the event. He said the police were mobilized as a precautionary measure.
Sources in the know, however, informed that the police had mobilized huge manpower to avert any Arossim-type situation at Seraulim and ensure that trains ran on the railway tracks without any hindrance.
Sources said that force from the Margao police sub-division from the police stations of Margao, Fatorda, Cuncolim, Maina-Curtorim, besides Colva was mobilized at Seraulim. IRB personnel were also requisitioned for bandobast duties at Seraulim as a precautionary measure.
