Govt Surrenders: CM scraps IIT project in Melaulim

Pramod Sawant led government finally surrendered the Melauli battlefield. Chief Minister announced the proposed IIT project supposed to come up in Melaulim cancelled. The Chief Minister said he would think of dropping cases filed against villagers. But said that the cops had not stepped on sleeping women in return accusing villagers of hitting cops with sharp objects and injuring 6-7 cops.

Pramod Sawant led government finally surrendered the Melauli battlefield. Chief Minister announced the proposed IIT project supposed to come up in Melaulim cancelled. The Chief Minister said he would think of dropping cases filed against villagers. But said that the cops had not stepped on sleeping women in return accusing villagers of hitting cops with sharp objects and injuring 6-7 cops.The Melaulim had turned into a raging battlefield with villagers up in arms over demarcation of land. Villagers become aggressive after Valpoi PI stepped on sleeping women resulting to a violent brawl between cops and villagers. The police used teargas cannon and imitated lathicharge against villagers. Both police and cops were injured in the scuffle. The neighboring villagers also backed Melauli villagers in their agitation forcing local MLA Vishwajit Rane to write to the Chief Minister to shift IIT from Sattari. After Vishwajit's request Chief Minister Pramod Sawant convened a meeting with elected representatives of Sattari.

The Chief Minister said elected representatives had given him a memorandum demanding to shift IIT from Melaulim. The Melauli villagers have won the first chapter of historic battle. However, the war still rages on. The issue is now not only IIT. The land issue has now become a hot topic. Villagers are not only demand ing to drop cases filed against them, but also to transfer their land to their names in form of class one which the government claims belong to them. Various NGOs and political parties also highlighted the lethargies in Goa Mundkar act in connection with the Melaulim issue. Now we have to just wait and watch what the government will do in this regard.