MARGAO
Sarzora villagers on Monday hit the streets to protest against plans to set up a railway station in the village.
Questioning the government’s plan, the villagers said the government and the Konkan Railway Corporation have been silent on their demand for a road overbridge at the Sarzora railway crossing, which is affecting the villages, including school children.
Panchayat members, including Sarpanch Leona Fernandes, Sabita Mascarenhas, and villagers handed over a memorandum to Velim MLA Cruz Silva, with a plea to forward it to the government to shelve plans to set up a railway station in the village.
Sarpanch Leona and Panch member Sabita pointed out that they do not want the heritage and biodiversity of their village to be affected by the proposed railway station.
The Velim MLA has promised to take up the issue with the government, assuring the Sarzora villagers that he would stand by them in opposing the proposed railway station in the village.
In the memorandum handed over to the Velim MLA, the villagers expressed their anguish, anxiety, and worry over recent reports that the government has proposed a station at Sarzora, Mayem, and Neura on the Konkan railway route.
“Sarzora is a peaceful, serene, and tranquil village, and we have maintained it this way by opposing and stopping any unwanted and unplanned projects, including high-rise buildings, which will not only disturb the peace of our village but unsettle and totally upset our day-to-day living,” the memorandum said.
The villagers added: “Our village is basically an agricultural belt, with vast tracts of land under rice cultivation and large coconut plantations, bounded on the east by a huge hill, a habitat for numerous wild animals, including leopards, medicinal plants, and diverse flora and fauna. The picturesque Sarzora lake of our ancestors, enveloped within the hill, irrigates a massive area under rice cultivation. Sarzora is rich in its biodiversity, a very eco-sensitive area, and hence any commercial development in the village will lead to the exploitation of the natural resource cover.”
Saying the villagers are not against development or improvements in village life, they, however, warned that they will oppose, tooth and nail, unplanned and unwanted development which will be highly detrimental to the villagers. “The consequences of having a railway station in a peaceful village are severe and bad for our villagers. Notwithstanding the influx and settling of migrants that will follow, the slums and shops that will be set up, the increase in robberies and crime which can be anticipated, besides numerous other disadvantages and ill effects which one can well visualise. Margao station is just eight km from our village and Balli station even closer. Therefore, this makes no sense to have another station in our village, except maybe if there's any hidden agenda of the government,” the memorandum added.
