VALPOI
A number of policewomen and locals were injured in violent clashes between the police and locals at Shel-Melauli on Wednesday, after police fired tear gas shells and lathi charged the agitators, who retaliated by hurling stones at the police.
The tense standoff between the police and locals opposing to the IIT project had begun on Tuesday after locals tried to oppose a government team from surveying the site for the IIT project and further escalated into violent clashes on Wednesday.
In the morning, a large number of people assembled at the Murmune side of the IIT project, when they learnt that the government survey team had proceeded to undertake the survey work from the Dhamshe side.
The agitators then quickly moved towards the Dhamshe side of the site and a huge police force present at the site stood face to face with an equally large number of agitating locals, who were chanting slogans against the government and local legislators.
All hell broke loose after locals alleged that Valpoi PI Sagar Ekoskar had walked over some women lying on the ground and the police suddenly charged at the protestors and tried to remove them from the site.
The police also resorted to a lathi charge on the protestors and fired tear gas shells in a bid to disperse the crowds.
The furious protestors retaliated by hurling stones at the police and about 6-7 lady police constables were reported to have been injured in the stone-pelting incident and were sent to the Valpoi Community Health Centre for treatment.
The agitators claimed that a number of locals were also injured in the police lathi-charge.
With a growing number of agitators joining in the clashes, the outnumbered police quickly withdrew from the site.
The agitators then met at the site and squarely blamed the police for causing the tension and starting the clashes, insisting that they had been peaceful in their agitation until the police charged at them.
They accused some police of stamping their feet on the bodies of the women who were laying on the ground.
Reinforcement then arrived for the protestors, as locals from Dhamshe joined in the agitation in support of Shel-Melauli locals.
Hundreds of agitators then staged a protest march to the Valpoi police station and blocked the road. Much of their ire was directed at the State government and Valpoi PI Sagar Ekoskar.
Shubham Shivolkar of Melauli and co-convener of the Melauli Panchakroshi Gram Bachao Andolan demanded action against PI Sagar Ekoskar sparking off the police brutality on the agitators. He also demanded the presence of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant at the site to meet all the protestors and said the locals had refused to send a small delegation to interact with him.
The agitators were assembled outside the Valpoi police station till Wednesday night.
Meanwhile, a number of activists and groups decried the police action on the locals of Shel-Melauli.
The Shree Parshuram Gomantak Sena denounced the police lathi charge on women and other protestors at Shel-Melauli and offered full support to the agitating locals in their struggle for their rights.
Manoj Parab of Revolutionary Goans, who was present at the site along with his supporters, claimed that the people of Canacona had successfully driven away the IIT project and said the locals of Shel-Melauli would also oppose the IIT project.
He said some youth from Canacona had also joined in the protests in solidarity with the Shel-Melauli locals.
