Team Herald
PANJIM: Buoyed by the success of the ‘Maha Morcha’ that was attended by thousands of people on Sunday, Citizens of Old Goa, the group that has been organising protests against a construction project that has come up in a protected area, will now be holding a ‘satyagraha’ in the form of a hunger strike starting from Wednesday.
Stepping up the ante against the proponents of the project that’s being constructed near a protected monument at Old Goa – the Largo of St Cajetan, Viceroy’s Arch and St Cajetan Church – the citizen’s group announced that they will hold their strike outside the Se Cathedral and opposite the Basilica of Bom Jesus.
The strike will coincide with the Novenas of St Francis Xavier that will also begin on Wednesday and is expected to be attended in large numbers. An appeal has been made to the public to join them in this strike that will be held between 8 am and 6 pm on a daily basis until a future course of action is decided upon at a later stage.
The citizen’s group, which is supported by the Save Old Goa Action Committee (SOGAC), addressed the media on Tuesday. The group clarified that it is a non-political movement, in view of the fact that political leaders from several parties had descended at the protest site, and said the protest is by the people of Goa from different backgrounds, who are concerned about Goa’s heritage irrespective of their individual religious affiliation.
Advocate Andra Mascarenhas lamented that they had exhausted all legal means and other options such as letters to the Chief Minister and heads of concerned departments, meeting with the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Minister, protests, etc and yet the situation has remained as it is.
She pointed out that the work on the construction project has not stopped and if it is completed, it will set a bad precedent for all heritage structures in the State.
The citizen’s group criticised the BJP government at the Centre, given that party spokesperson Shaina NC’s husband is allegedly the promoter of the project and slammed the State government and the local panchayat for allowing the construction project to come up despite the glaring irregularities involved.
Pointing out that at Sunday’s meeting, the manner in which various government bodies had connived to manipulate the official records had been discussed; the citizens also questioned how BJP State president Sadanand Shet Tanavade can say this is a local issue.
While activist Aruna Wagh said it is a structure and area of international repute, local resident Glean Cabral alleged that the then Goa head of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) was transferred from the State to prevent him from filing an affidavit in the Supreme Court that would have portrayed the correct picture of the flaws and frauds of the project.
Wagh also questioned how the State government could so easily be manipulated and criticised government officials for not doing their lawful duty.