Team Goemkarponn
VELSAO: Protests erupted at Pale village in Velsao as the Railway Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) today after Railways Joint demarcation was cancelled last moment.
The locals also blamed the BJP for malpractices to harass locals and expressed strong objections and called for the project’s cancellation, citing environmental and health concerns as well as legal irregularities.
The residents also demanded that the double tracking project be abandoned, claiming that the project has been opposed since 2016.
Locals claimed that “proper procedures are not being followed in land acquisition.”
The villagers also said that there is extensive deforestation, and the RVNL keeps up its operations in spite of warnings from the Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ), Water Resources Department, and Forest Department.
According to locals, the local panchayat has also rejected the proposal, pointing to the possibility of structural damage from train vibrations and health hazards to the locals from coal pollution.
Locals also said that they were notified that the double tracking project had been abandoned in the Kulem area and that the government of neighboring Karnataka had already put an end to it.
Villages added that the impacted residents, represented by Aldona MLA and advocate Adv Carlos Ferreira Alvares, had filed a suit before the High Court.
“RVNL cannot begin work in this manner since the subject is sub-judice. The legal processes that RVNL has employed are quite dubious. We want to record all activities for legal evidence, as our lawyer has reassured us that RVNL’s acts are unlawful, in order to hold the contractor and their staff accountable,” Simoes continued.
