MARGAO
Determination was writ large on the faces of the people, especially women, as they descended on the entrance of the Ravindra Bhavan at Margao for the Sunday hearing of the Coastal Zone Management Plans (CZMP).
They had all come with a single point mission “ to get the authorities listen to what they wanted to say on the controversial CZMPs, but in vain as the police and authorities stopped them from entering the venue of the public hearing.
Many of them had come from the Cansaulim-Arossim-Velsao belt, besides Sao Jacinto Island, while others came from Salcete coast and further down south. There were people from Assolna, Velim, Ambelim, Loutolim, Chandor and other places anxious to speak on how the CZMP would affect their lives.
That the police stood firm and pushed these people behind did not deter them from making known their presence and their protest. As the public hearing resumed inside the auditorium, women and the elderly stood outside the Ravindra Bhavan main gate, awaiting their counterparts to return back and convey the news.
It was only after 6 pm when the proceedings inside were capped after the reading of the minutes, that the people outside decided to head to their respective villages.
While the women stood with banners and placards to make the authorities hear their voices, convenor of coastal communities, Xavier Fernandes was heard arguing with the authorities over the denial of entry for the people.
MLAs Vijai Sardesai and Reginaldo Lourneco, besides NCP Chief Jose Philip D’Souza, who came to express their solidarity, all demanded that the people be allowed to go inside for the hearing.
A woman demanded to know whether the hearing was private or public when people are denied entry, further demanding to know why the authorities did not hire a playground to hold the public hearing.
