Ahead of demolition of illegal shanties, planned by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), the fishermen themselves removed their illegal sheds on Tuesday. According to the information, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) on April 15, 2015 had demolished 84 illegal structures including some religious structures that were built at Desterro in Baina and were coming in the alignment of the remaining portion of the four-lane highway project connecting Mormugao port with Verna. However, after the demolition the fishermen community again erected 35 shanties for the stocking of fishing equipments, like nets, motors and even for housing the labourers. As the four lane work on the said stretch of NH 17B began, the National Highway Authority of India had to give encumbrance free land to the contractor and thus as these shanties were creating hindrance, the NHAI officials first issued warning to the fishing community asking them to raze down their shades. The NHAI Project Director C O P Furtado on May 25, 2016 issued public notice to the fishermen community to evict from the illegal shades with the request to raze down the shades of their own, failing which the NHAI would be forced to bulldoze the structures with the help of the demolition squad on May 31. Therefore as per plan, the demolition squad with heavy police protection and JCB’s reached the site on Tuesday and gave 15 minutes time to the fishermen to evict from the shanties failing which the JCB would bulldoze the same. Furious to see demolition squad at the site, the fishermen community leaders made several request to the NHAI officials and even other officials from state administration, requesting two days time to remove their fishing equipments. The matter was also brought to the Power Minister and local MLA Milind Naik. Finally, the fishermen community themselves razed downs their structures. Speaking to reporters, Domingo Mendes, a community leader, informed that they had built shanties temporally as they were not having any place to store their nets and other fishing equipments after their structures were demolished last year. They alleged that the MLA Milind Naik had actually asked them to erect temporary structures until further arrangements are made. However, without issuing any individual notices, the NHAI brought huge force to evict them from their respective shades. Anyone going for such demolition would at least think twice as we are poor fishermen and we need shade to operate from the coast, but the NHAI authorities without consulting the local fishermen decided to bulldoze our shades, which is inhuman, he said. Meanwhile, Mormugao MLA and Minister Milind Naik has said that the fishermen at Desterro were given sufficient time to remove their shades as the same were hindrance to the four lane highway alignment. However, the proposal for constructing two shades, exclusively for the fishing community members of Desterro and Baina is in the final stage and it is expected that the shed would soon become reality, he added.
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