Goemkarponn desk
PONDA: Bhoma villagers strongly opposed the existing road widening, destroying the identity of two age-old temples and blamed the builder lobby for scrapping the bypass at Bhoma.
They claim the builders have purchased properties and developed the orchard land shown for bypass.
The locals asked NH Authorities to construct a bypass through orchard land, as shown in the Regional Plan 2011.
Sanjay Naik said ten years back, the Highway widening plan was scrapped, and two bypasses were planned. “That time, BJP leader and former CM Manohar Parrikar had supported us. The bypass was even planned from hilly orchard land in the 2011 Regional plan,” he said.
Naik added suddenly, in 2022, the locals learnt from a notification that the Government wanted to widen the existing road plan that was scrapped in 2010 considering the villagers’ objections.
“Nothing will remain to feel proud of after four lanes in the middle dividing villagers,” Naik lamented.
He urged NH Authorities and Government to Construct a bypass through orchard land, as shown in the Regional Plan 2011, to preserve two age-old temples, namely Sateri and Mahadev Temple, beside Sati Ghumati and Tulsi Vrindavan.
“In many parts government saved villages by constructing bypasses. The BJP government talks a lot about Hinduism but needs to take them into confidence to save their temples,” he said.
Naik demanded that the Government discuss the highway plan with Villagers, but the sad part is that we need to be shown the plan from Kali Mathi to Banastari, and it talks only about the widening of the Bhoma Part of NH.
He said villagers recently filed RTI but are not getting proper information on Highway.
He regretted that the local Ministers in Ponda Taluka were not speaking a word nor bothered to protect the village.
“Since the 2022 Notification for widening, villagers are panicking,” he said, adding that the builder lobby is behind the village’s destruction as they want to develop orchard land and construct buildings on orchard land where exactly Bhoma bypass was planned in 2011 regional plan.
Besides this, another bypass from the field was also proposed upto Khorlim, which could reduce the distance by four km, but despite these two plans, now Government want to widen by destroying the village, which will benefit the builder lobby who are eying to built constructions on orchard lands from Hilly are proposed for bypass road in the Regional Plan.
Naik also said the four-lane widening work of 200 meters long is proposed at Bhoma village from Kali Mathi to Banastari with an elevated road without an underpass.
“There is a desperate attempt to divide people to show that just a few people oppose, so they cannot fight unitedly,” he charged.
He said Government should sit with people and show them the plan.
He fears losing two temples and age-old Ghumati for proposed road widening and had warned to fight against it till their last breadth and vows to save three temples from road widening, which they fear would destroy temples and divide and destroy their village-only village heritage.
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