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200 farmers protesting against upcoming Goa airport arrested in fresh flare-up
The proposed International Airport at Goa’s northern frontier is being built on 1-crore square metres of land that has been acquired after much opposition that lasted more than a decade and was challenged right up to the Supreme Court.
More than 200 farmers who were protesting against the acquisition of their land for the construction of a link road between the upcoming International Airport at Mopa in North Goa were arrested after they disrupted government surveyors who had come to demarcate the land.
The protesting farmers who included women blockaded the road leading to the site and refused to budge forcing the police, who had gathered in large numbers to bundle them into buses and place them under arrest.
“The farmers had gone to oppose the survey being conducted for acquiring land for a eight kilometre long link road between the national highway and the upcoming airport. They have all been arrested,” Bharat Bagkar the convener of the Samiti formed to protect the farmers’ interests said.
“How much more land should we part with? It is always we who have to pay the price of development. Is there no other area that you can choose to ‘develop’? Let other parts of Goa also see the benefits of ‘development’. It’s not like we are the only farmers,” he said.
The proposed International Airport at Goa’s northern frontier is being built on 1-crore square metres of land that has been acquired after much opposition that lasted more than a decade and was challenged right up to the Supreme Court.
Fresh protests erupted after the Goa government on December 31 published fresh acquisition notices this time for an eight kilometre long ‘link road’ that is to connect the airport with the national highway. The government proposes to acquire a width of 120 square metres to make way for the road.
“Each farmer realised how much land he was going to lose. Prior to this they had no intimation and the notice came as a shocker -- one farmer is losing 36,000 square metres -- The people have already lost land for Sport City, Ayush Hospital, Cricket Stadium and the Tillari Canal,” Bagkar said.
“We are not willing to part with our land. We are willing to fight till our last breath,” he added.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, however, said the Goa government is going out of its way to compensate the farmers whose lands are being acquired and that they should cooperate.
“I have already met them twice and listened to their demands. I have told them that the government is committed to go out of the way to ensure compensation for them for their land,” Sawant told reporters late on Friday, after the protestors were detained.
