Khotigao locals urge halt to Forest Dept construction

CANACONA

Residents of Khotigao have petitioned the Deputy Collector to demand an immediate halt to the construction by the Forest Department at Piplamol-Khotigao.

In a representation on Monday, villagers accused the Forest Department of undertaking many activities near human settlements and in the deep forest under the pretext of protecting and conserving the forest in Khotigao.

“Due to the activity of the Forest Department, no protection and conservation work is being carried out for the forest. On the contrary, this disrupts the biological chain in the forest and destroys the forest, creating many problems for wildlife,” stated the petition.

The locals claimed that the department has started construction work adjacent to the main road at Piplamol in Khotigao.

On February 23, the residents had gone to the site and had asked the department to stop the work. Speaker and Canacona MLA Ramesh Tawadkar had also visited the spot and had advised the Forest Department that the department should stop the work if there was public opposition.

The issue was also discussed in the Gram Sabha held in Khotigao village, and a resolution was passed that neither the Forest Department nor anyone else should undertake any work in the village area without obtaining a no-objection certificate from the local Panchayat.

However, the Forest Department has started working again from March 21, the locals stated in their petition.

The locals claimed that the department had started construction in a similar way a few years ago at Yeda on the road leading to Nadke and Keri villages in the Khotigao Panchayat area. When people inquired about it, the department had said that they were building it for the forest workers to rest. They had assured the people that they would not do anything else besides that.

However, within a few years, locals said the Forest Department built a check post at that place and further alleged that the people of both Nadke and Keri villages were constantly being questioned and repeatedly harassed.

The locals feared that if the department constructs a building in Piplamol, the people of Nadke-Keri will be harassed regularly, while the people of Yeda, Kusken, and Baddem villages will be harassed in the future.

Strongly opposing the construction work, the locals requested the Deputy Collector to stop the work so that people are not harassed in the future.