The high-level meeting chaired by South Goa District Collector Egna Cleetus and attended by South Goa MP Viriato Fernandes and RVNL officials at the South District Collectorate.
Photo Credits: Santosh Mirajkar
MARGAO
A day after the uproar over the track doubling project at Velsao and Arossim, a meeting chaired by the South Goa Collector, Egna Cleetus, IAS, resolved to hold a demarcation and survey of the affected stretch by Goa government surveyors and to provide assurance to the local residents that their houses will not be bulldozed by the railways.
The survey and demarcation of the land in question will take place in the presence of Goa government surveyors, officials of the railways, and Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd officials. Officials of the Water Resources Department (WRD) are also expected to inspect the adjoining water bodies to recommend the cleaning of silt deposited in the stormwater nallahs.
The meeting was attended by a delegation of residents led by South Goa MP Captain Viriato Fernandes, RVNL senior officer D C Sahoo, deputy collectors, as well as residents Olencio Simoes, Orville Dourado, and others.
The MP drew the attention of the district collector to the fears and apprehensions raised by the residents of Velsao, Arossim, and Azossim that their structures, including outhouses and toilet blocks, would be demolished to make way for the double track. He pointed out that some of the structures would be landlocked after the construction of a retaining wall by the railways, leaving the residents confined to their homes.
“Such a situation will not allow the residents to move out of their houses to go to schools or conduct their daily chores. The railways should ensure proper access to the local residents,” he demanded, adding, “The residents want the railways to clear the drains and stormwater nallahs of silt.”
During the meeting, local residents said they had come to demand the plans, stating that some of the existing drainage systems are clogged due to the ongoing track doubling works. RVNL senior official D C Sahoo assured the residents that not a single house would be demolished.
Olencio Simoes demanded that the government should drop the double-tracking project on the Arossim-Azossim stretch, as the track would pass very close to the existing houses. “We don’t want the track doubling project. It is only meant for the transportation of coal. As per the Supreme Court’s observation, the track is underutilised. In this situation, the government should drop the proposal to lay the double track from Arossim to Azossim,” Olencio demanded.
