Team Herald
VELSAO: Villagers of Velsao once again turned out to be guardian angels and protectors of their village as they firmly and clearly asked the contractors hired by South Western Railways from trespassing onto the private property and houses of villagers, on the pretext of doing a survey.
The umbrella organization of NGOs across the belt said they stopped the illegal demarcation done by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) contractors who are being hired by South Western Railways.
In a press note issued by Goencho Ekvott joint secretary Olencio Simoes they stated that the RVNL officials, which is private authority, is acting as a government department and illegally trespassing in private property and houses of villagers without informing the owners, concerned authorities nor the local body, which is panchayat of Velsao Pale Issorcim.
Simoes said that the RVNL authorities have illegally started demarcating land for double-tracking without land acquisition and thereby forcefully entering into their properties and installing barbed wire fencing thereby blocking the right of access to the houses and properties.
He added that the land acquisition was opposed in past right from 2008 when the Railways had planned to acquire and now once again the landowners have opposed the same land acquisition for doubling of the railway line.
Goencho Ekvott founder Orville Dourado Rodrigues warned the government that if such illegal and forceful development is forced against the wishes of the people of Velsao or Goa, then GE will be forced to mobilise thousands of people to come on the streets.