More locals come forward with complaints landlords the highhandedness of the landlord
Says toilets/ bathrooms demolished, access to their houses, Bhatti-Huts, house-Wells blocked by the landlord
Locals demand criminal action against the landlord
Landlord says ‘Bhatti’ was not in use and can’t allow numerous structures other than a residential house to mundkars forever
Goemkarponn desk
CANACONA: In a new twist to teh Bhatti demolition story, several residents of Palolem gathered, demanding criminal action against the landlord for their highhandedness in demolishing 100 years old Bhatti-Hut, age-old toilets, blocking access to residences, house-well and chopping down of Trees without forest permissions.
The residents have also demanded the restoration of the 100-years old Bhatti of Piedade Cardoz (still used by the family to cook food and dine) mercilessly razed and set ablaze by the landlord on Wednesday.
Stating most of them are traditionally and over several decades living in the land belonging to landlords in Palolem, the residents decried the high-handed action by the landlord’s daughter-in-law Roopa Naikgaunkar in grossly playing with the law of the land.
“The said Roopa Naikgaunkar had arbitrarily forcefully not only demolished the more than 100 years old ‘Bhatti-Hut’ had also destroyed it in fire, has blocked access to the house of Piedade’s house. The landlord has also demolished the family toilet and bathroom and blocked access to the ‘Bhatti’ belonging to Sebastian Carvalho, yet again demolished another Family Toilet more than 50 years old belonging to Pedro Cardoz,” residents said.
They said the landlord is putting a fence between her house and has blocked access to the family to the house-well and another family.
The landlord has also chopped down several big-trees without showing any scant to the authorities, they complained.
Addressing the media at a press conference Ward Councillor and former CMC Chairperson Simon Rebello informed all the structures demolished arbitrarily by the landlord has registration numbers, and according to form I & XIV, there 9 houses and 4 Bhatti’s/Firwood Huts of the Tenants in the property which the landlord has begun to harass the age-old tenants.
“People residing here have all the papers and licences of their structures and have lived peacefully with the close terms/relations with the landlords since the age. But the sudden highhandedness by one of the landlord’s family is very much unprecedented and unwarranted and should never happen again in these modern times. Our PM and the government says Water and Soucholaya (Toilets) are basic rights of the citizens and do everything to provide the same to the people. But here, breaking down the toilets and blocking access to the Wells is not a good thing to happen at all,” he said.
Another Tenant Sebastian Carvalho informed she too is a tenant of the same landlord said, we are also subjected to cruelty by this landlady; our family toilet is demolished by her, demolished our fire-wood/Water-Warming /Bathing Hut, and had cordoned off entry to our ‘Bhatti’ giving us no space to even breathe’. Cajy Cardozo also informed their more than 50 years old Toilet was demolished, making them helpless to continue living in their house.
Another woman pointing to the well informed how the landlord had blocked her access to the Well by cordoning off her entry from her house.
The residents calling for criminal action against the landlord for the atrocities on their tenants have demanded immediate restoration of the age-old traditional Bhatti-Hut, which the family was still using to cook food and dine.
Meanwhile, when contacted reacting to the allegations made by the people/tenants against Roopa Naikgaunkar (who is reported to be out of the station), Dayanand Naikgaunkar informed the families/Tenants were duly informed to remove the unwanted and not required structures from their land, but they didn’t do it, and hence they were forced to remove it by themselves. “Besides their house, how many Huts do they need? No one is taking toddy now, so why is a Bhatti required? As they (tenants) had removed, we removed most of the huts, which were simply standing and occupying our land,” he said.
