SANGUEM
While the government is firm on setting up the IIT project at Cotarli village in Sanguem, the farmers are equally determined to fight to death to get the project shifted elsewhere.
The farmers have insisted that the IIT project, once commissioned, would lead to an environmental disaster in Sanguem and that farmlands within and beyond the proposed project site would be finished forever.
The agitation initially began with a handful of farmers from Cotarli, but has begun to grow as farmers and other associations from as far away as Pernem, Mapusa and Quepem have extended their support to the agitating farmers.
In a bid to stop farmers from going further and to stop meetings at the proposed IIT site, the government got the South Goa Collector to impose Section 144 within the proposed site.
This, however, has not deterred farmers from going ahead with their agitation and they have continued their sit-in protest at Dando-Sanguem since the last month.
Constancio Mascarenhas
Convenor of Sanguem Bachao Andolan
The proposed site of 9.50 lakh square metres, which the government claims to own based on the survey records, is a blatant lie. The survey records came into being in 1971 when the government conducted the survey and recorded its name in the survey records, when in reality, this land exclusively belongs to the locals and the comunidade. The government has no right whatsoever over this portion of land and the same has been in possession and enjoyment of the local farmers for a long time.
The names of farmers, however, do not find mention in the property bearing Survey No 21/1 of the Cotarli village, which is in the name of government of Goa. Farmers have occupied vast portions of this land and have their cultivations on the land, which is now proposed to be allotted to the IIT. The Chinchant Chapel and a cemetery are also on the said land.
What is more worrying and disturbing is the fact that around 3,15,266 sq metres of land is occupied by the hill, which is home to various fruit and non-fruit-bearing trees. Large numbers of wild animals are located on this hill. It will be a disastrous situation if the government goes ahead with its wicked mind of getting the project commissioned in Sanguem.
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Santano Rodrigues
Activist
It is a do-or-die situation for the farmers. The proposed site for IIT is totally an agricultural site. The site is not only surrounded by farmlands but is home to a large number of birds and wild animals. The natural fauna which surrounds the proposed site will be destroyed forever. The project, if commissioned in Cotarli village, will be a disaster in waiting not only for the farming community having their farmlands in the village but for the people of Sanguem as a whole.
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Milton Fernandes
Farmer
It is not that we are opposing IIT but what we oppose is the government’s decision to get it on the pristine farmland at Sanguem. The project could well be accommodated at the existing site at Farmagudi or elsewhere in the State.
While the government should be for the people and respect people’s decisions, it is the other way round in Goa. The government is working for the detriment of Goa and the Goans, only to please the Central government.
The project was once rejected from the same place when Prasad Gaonkar represented the Sanguem constituency. Now with the change in guard, Sanguem MLA Subhash Phaldessai is determined to use the government machinery in getting the project here. We will not allow this to happen. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Phaldessai should step behind before it is too late, and the agitation worsens.
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Joseph Fernandes
Farmer
We are fighting for our rights and to protect the environment. If the land is allotted to the IIT, we will be left nowhere. The whole area will turn into a concrete jungle, and all the farmlands and agricultural plantations which surround the proposed IIT site will be destroyed forever.
As of now, we have received the support of farmers from all over Goa. If the government does not scrap the IIT from the site, the farmers' power will reign supreme. Under no circumstances will we allow the IIT project to come up on pristine farmlands at Sanguem.
