MARGAO: Opposition is brewing from like-minded NGOS and citizen groups against the controversial railway double tracking project in Goa, with the South Western Railway (SWR) set to conduct speed trials on the newly-laid second track between Majorda and Cansaulim, on Monday, June 10.
The Majorda-Cansaulim stretch marks the third such section to be readied for double tracking, after the Margao-Sanvordem and Sanvordem-Kalay routes were completed in October 2021 and May 2024, respectively. The Majorda-Cansaulim stretch is likely to be commissioned after the speed test trial is over. However, the project still faces stiff resistance in areas like Seraulim, Velsao, Pale and Issorcim, where local residents have been unwavering in their opposition.
Slamming the Railways’ approach, Orville Dourado Rodrigues, founder of Goencho Ekvott (GE), the NGO that has been at the forefront of protests, said, “Despite the Supreme Court verdict against them and having stalled the project through the Western Ghats, the Railways are adopting malpractices to fraudulently state that necessary permissions have been obtained.”
Rodrigues claimed that the Railways were misrepresenting a High Court order against another NGO in Chandor, as being applicable to the villages of Seraulim, Velsao, Pale, Issorcim and Sancoale, which lie on the route towards Vasco. “This order is not at all relevant to our case,” he asserted.
He highlighted the unwavering resolve of the local populace, accusing the Railways of prioritising commercial interests over environmental and health concerns. “We shall not allow our residential areas, our farmland, our paddy fields and our groundwater to be further polluted,” Rodrigues vowed.
The anti-double tracking movement recently received a boost with the election of Capt Viriato Fernandes, as the new Member of Parliament for South Goa on the INDIA Bloc ticket. Fernandes had made the railway project a key campaign issue, garnering widespread support in villages along the rail route.
“Village after village backed him. Such is the determination of the local population, and for sure our South Goa MP elect will stand shoulder to shoulder with the masses,” Rodrigues added.
The escalating tensions set the stage for further confrontation as the Railways inch closer to the Velsao area, where GE and other local groups have dug in their heels against the land acquisition process for double tracking, citing concerns over noise, dust pollution, and adverse health impacts.
There are also concerns about people’s houses alongside the to-be-laid tracks being damaged and the residents displaced from their own homes with questions being raised as to why the Railways are not showing documents to prove their land ownership in view of the fact that locals have with them land ownership documents.
In nearby Mollo, a fishing hamlet, there have been allegations of serious environmental degradation of natural resources.