Workers remove the demarcation poles erected by railways. Santosh Mirajkar.
MARGAO
Sao Jose de Areal villagers and railway officials once again came face to face near the Ralloi station, this time over the demarcation of land by the railways.
Trouble started around noon when the workers went about the work of erecting poles in one of the properties, which is still to be acquired by the railways for the double tracking project. Villagers led by activist Freddy Travasso and others vehemently objected to the work of erecting poles by pointing out that the work is being carried out in a property which has still not come in the ownership of the railways.
While the officials on the site claimed that the land in question is put for acquisition by the railways, locals as well as the panchayat told the officials in no uncertain terms that they should not take up the work till the name of the railways finds mention in the Form I & XIV.
Caught on the wrong foot, the workers engaged by the railways removed the poles from the property.
Sao Jose de Areal panchayat members led by Acting Sarpanch Antonia Oliveira, outgoing Sarpanch Vincy Mascarenhas also rushed to the site and directed the railway officials to stop all work in properties not in the name of the railways.
Freddy informed that the railways were executing the work of demarcation of their land when they encroached in one of the properties, which is still in the possession of the land owner. “When this was brought to my notice, I rushed to the spot and got the work stopped. I later informed the Panchayat members to initiate action as per the law”, Freddy said.
He pointed out that the railways cannot do any work in a property which has still not been acquired by them. “Initiating a land acquisition process does not mean the land is acquired by the railways. This only goes to show that the railways are bulldozing their way with the project”, he added.
A senior railway official informed that the workers erected the poles in the property which has still not come under the possession of the railways. “The property in question is put for land acquisition. But, the workers erected the poles in that property’, the official said.
Earlier this week, the villagers had stopped work of painting of the Ralloi railway station on grounds that the work was taken up despite the stop work order issued by the Panchayat body.
