PERNEM:  Raising their ante against the proposed Mopa airport project, which has received in principle approval from the Centre,   the villagers from Pernem  taluka  on Sunday held a meeting at Nagzarim asserting that they would not part with their land for the proposed project.

Speaking at the meet, which was attended by the villagers from Nanechepani, Shemechiadvan, Casarvarnem, Nagzarim and other villages of the taluka,  Mr Ramesh Gawas, a noted teacher, said, “Farmers need to protect their land for the future generations as without land they will have no social standing in their own village.  They should oppose these unwanted projects which will not be of any help to them.”
Stating that villagers will not get any benefits by parting with their land for the Mopa airport, he said, “Our politicians should be pro-people and not anti-people. The government should immediately drop the idea of making the people of Pernem landless, and instead promote agriculture.”
He advised the villagers to continue tilling their land, as had been done by their forefathers over centuries. 
A villager from Shemechiadvan, Mr Sandip Kambli said the proposal of making an  approach road of 160 mts width and acquiring agricultural land forcibly from people  is uncalled for as nowhere in India there may be  a road   of 160 mts width. In Goa there is no road which is more than 25 mts wide. The proposed road would necessitate demolition of more than 80 houses.
He claimed that till date the villagers have not been officially intimated about how much land would be acquired, nor they have been officially asked if they are willing to part with the land. But a notice is being issued directly to individuals stating that government intends to take possession of their land as specified in a government notification, he said.
The locals would not be benefited by the airport but their lands would be snatched away for the project, Mr Kambli observed.
He claimed that a government report on the proposed Mopa airport says that for the airport to be profitable it needs IT park, ice city (for ice-skating), golf courses, numerous five-star hotels, etc.
“We don’t want any compensation for our land, which is an invaluable treasure kept by our forefathers for us.  We have been living here for centuries… and to save our houses, cultivable land and plantations we are opposing the proposed international airport project,” he said.
He said several villagers from Nanechepani, Shemechiadvan, Dhangarwaddo- Casarvarnem, Tulaskarwadi, Ameri, etc would be affected by the proposed airport.