Villagers protest against doubling of railway tracks in Goa

Panaji: The villagers of Velsao in South Goa on Friday protested against the doubling of railway tracks. They claimed that the work is being done on a portion of land that belongs to them, not the Railways.

Villagers also said that Mormugao Deputy Collector had promised to carry out a joint inspection on Friday but he did not turn up at the site. Goencho Ekvott's founder member Orville Rodrigues also backed the protesting locals and said the deputy collector was supposed to come to the site to check the documents of the land. "Locals have all the documents to claim that the land belongs to them. Still, the Railways are carrying out work of doubling the tracks."

Former Environment Minister and ex-MLA Alina Saldanha said there is evidence that the work is being done on private land and the Railways is trespassing without speaking to the owners. "Is this the rule of the day to trespass on people's property without informing them? Has the government carried out any study to find out the impact of the work (double tracking) on the life of people? Nothing is done. Why are we being treated as second-class citizens?" she questioned.

She added that there are cases where one track is seen in front of the house and the second is (proposed) behind the house. "How will these people stay in such situations? Are you a responsible government?" Saldanha quit the BJP before the assembly elections and joined the AAP.

Villagers claimed that they face harassment in government offices and will not go there to show documents.