Sec 144 throughout Goa, AMCAC to intensify stir

Sandesh Prabhudesai
5 April 2000  

Peaceful Goa appears to be turning into tension-prone area with the state government imposing section 144 throughout the state while agitators of five villages in South Goa threatening to spread their violent stir against the controversial Meta Strips project.

Admitting that Goa has a limited force to tackle the public violence which prompted the state police to resort to firing yesterday, two additional companies from the CISF and Karnataka has already landed here while the state expects the CRPF also to arrive by tomorrow.

Following the whole traffic being paralysed along the national highway connecting three towns of Panaji, Margao and Vasco on Tuesday throughout the day by burning state-owned buses and blocking the roads, the area remained tense even today though the traffic was moving normally.

The emergency cabinet meeting convened today formally decided to set up an experts panel headed by a retired judge to probe into the alleged pollution angle of the multi-crore project manufacturing brass strips and foils, owned by Sushil Khaitan, son-in-law of Dr Sitaram Jindal, CMD of the Jindal Aluminium Ltd.

"The ball is in their court now", said chief minister Francisco Sardinha, reiterating that his government would not allow any pollutant plant in the state including the Meta Strips, if the experts panel established what the agitators are alleging.

The Anti Meta Strips Action Committee however has also reiterated that they would not agree with anything less than scrapping of the project immediately. "If Sardinha was sincere enough, he could have stopped work on the project and closed the factory six months ago when he took over", says Nelson Fernandes, the AMCAC secretary.

The 16 AMCAC activists sitting on indefinite hunger strike in Panaji for the last 10 days are also not prepared to end the fast though tourism minister Victoria Fernandes personally met them as a government emissary, with an assurance to stop the works at the factory. "Let them seal the factory and then we would decide", said Mathany Saldhana, the ZP member leading the fast.

With mistrust playing a major role in resolving the issue, the police however is gearing up to face any situation emerging out of the AMCAC threat to intensify the agitation and spread it to other areas. "I do not think situation has arisen to impose curfew, but we are prepared to face any eventuality", says Karnal Singh, the acting DGP.

Though Singh denies any kind of police brutalities on Tuesday, local newspapers have reported series of incidents where police beat up innocent men and women including a few priests while three of the victims are being hospitalised including one for the bullet injury.

At least four policemen including two officers are also injured as irate mob attacked them at isolated spots on the hillocks from where the locals have been resorting to violent actions in a guerrilla style. They even burnt down the Cortalim police outpost.

With few Christian priests also appears to be guiding the whole operation behind the scene, police fear that the violence may now spread throughout Salcete, a Catholic-dominated and thickly populated taluka in South Goa, surrounding the Margao city.

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