Continuing their opposition against the State government’s ambitious Unity Mall and 17-storey Prashasan Sthamb (Administrative building), villagers of Chimbel reportedly performed the traditional prayer or 'gharane' at the Kadamba Plateau. The ritual was performed to seek divine protection over the village’s sacred sites and ancestral land citing ecological concerns and destruction of fields. Incidentally this is the same area surrounding the designated Chimbel wetland lake where the IT Park project was proposed by the government in 2018 and was dropped after opposition from the villagers. Toyar Lake is a wetland that is historically significant as a former water source for Panaji and a biodiversity area. In 1909, during the Portuguese era, a dam and pipeline system were built here to supply water to Panaji and Ribandar. According to the villagers if the lake is destroyed, there will be water scarcity in the future. Tourism minister Rohan Khaunte reportedly said significant employment opportunities will be created for local communities at Chimbel. Even though the projects are to come up on government acquired land, the sentiments of the local populace needs to be taken into consideration before going ahead with the twin project.
