Panaji: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on January 11 said he was open to ‘discuss’ with the villagers protesting against the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) project in the stage.

He, however, clarified that the government would not withdraw its proposal to build the IIT at the site that has been identified.

Speaking to reporters at the state secretariat, Sawant said that the ‘unrest’ in the village needed to settle down.

“We are open to discuss the issue. The government is ready to discuss it. We want to make the IIT there. We do not want to cause them (the villagers) any trouble. I do not want to cause anybody any trouble or inconvenience but they should support us in the development,” Sawant said.

Asked if he would visit the protesting villagers to discuss the issue, Sawant replied in the negative.

“They should come and meet me. I have already visited the village once,” he said adding that the unrest needs to settle down in the first place.

Meanwhile the protesting villagers have hardened their stance and demanded the release of those arrested in connection with the clashes. They also sought the withdrawal of cases filed against the villagers for rioting and the suspension of the police inspector Sagar Ekoskar, who they say is responsible for provoking the violence on January 6.

Ekoskar is accused of stomping over the protesting villagers who had set up a blockade by sleeping across the entrance of the site in a bid to stop government surveyors.

“We are giving the government 10 days to withdraw the decision to build the IIT in our village. We are firm that we do not want the IIT to come up here. Today, people from many villages and the rest of Goa have come to support us,” Shubham Shivolkar, co-convener of the organization set up to oppose the IIT project, said.

“PI Ekoskar should be booked, he should be terminated and legal action should be initiated against him,” Shivolkar said.

The protesters have received support from the neighboring villages of Mauxi and Damashe. Despite the efforts of the police to curtail the procession of villagers from neighboring villages to the protest site, agitation swelled on January 11.

Sawant said that the demarcation work would resume after the issue had settled down.

What began as murmurs of discontent against the proposed IIT, the agitation gathered pace after the government decided to fast track the project.

In May last year, the Goa government had formally transferred around 1 million sq. meters of land in Melaulim village in North Goa for setting up of IIT-Goa. Functional since 2014, IIT Goa has been functioning from a temporary campus at the Goa Engineering College.

Two sites previously identified by the state government, in Canacona and Sanguem sub-districts were scrapped in face of protests from residents.

Two people arrested by the police for their alleged role in the violence a week ago were granted bail by a local court on January 11.

The land demarcation work was set to begin on January 5.

A couple hundred villagers sat blocking roadways as the government deployed a police force for surveying the disputed tribal land. Police were equipped with tear gas, and riot gears.

Nikita Naik, a villager protesting at the site, said, “The demarcation was done without our consent. We don’t recognize such process.” She asserted that the villagers had been protesting peacefully so far. “But the time has come for the villagers to become more aggressive, to save our land,” she added.

On January 5, the villagers managed to defer the land survey until 1 pm. The protesters later drove the officers off the site.

However, the demarcation was completed and clashes ensued between the villagers and policemen after the land survey officials had vacated the site. The situation only grew tenser.

January 6, several policemen were injured when the protesters threw stones at them.

Clashes continued throughout the day as villagers threw stones and set police shields on fire. Several people on both sides were injured and rushed to the community health center. Police Inspector Sagar Ekoskar is accused of mistreating a woman who was lying on the ground in protest.

Unati Melekar, a villager, said, “The clash started when police started moving towards the villagers lying on the ground. Ekoskar stamped on the chest of a woman.”

This led to hundreds of villagers gathering outside the Valpoi police station, demanding the inspector’s suspension. The protesters have also demanded the chief minister to visit Valpoi and hear the residents’ woes. They have pledged to continue the protest until their demands are met.

The chief minister blamed Shel-Melauli villagers for taking law in their hands and said the government will go ahead with the IIT project.

The Goa Cabinet in August last year cleared a proposal for the IIT-Goa campus in the Sattari subdistrict’s Guleli panchayat. The ownership of much of this land was contested by local and tribal communities of Shel and Melauli villages who had lived there for more than 80 years.

The livelihood of these tribals depended primarily on cashew plantations and forest produce. However, the disputed community lands were not registered in their name.

Shubham Shivolkar, whose family has been involved in cashew farming for years, said “the government announced the project during the lockdown and no correspondence was made with the residents of the village. We came to know about it through newspaper.”

A number of ancient temples fall within the proposed land area, so the government tweaked the plan to exclude 45,000 sq meters containing the temples.

In its place, the government included vast stretches of fertile agricultural land, the protesters allege.

Goa, a tiny state of more than 3,000 square kilometers, has the highest per capita in India — twice the amount of the nation.

Sources: hindustantimes.com, twocircles.net