'State sold six rivers and now want to sell 105 km coastline of Goa' Agnelo, prez of Ramponkar Ekvott

President of Ramponkar Ekvott, Agnelo Rodrigues accused the state of selling Goa’s 105 km coastline.

He was speaking at the recently held two-day women workshop organized by National Fishworkers Forum (NFF) at Benaulim, on Thursday, February 24.

“The state sold six of our rivers and now they are selling entire 105 km of coastline. If the National Coastal Zone Management Authority did not request and remove the port limits and add 46.06 lakh square meters of sand dunes, the fishing community in Goa would have to take to the streets,” he said.

The general secretary of NFF, Olencio Simoes, also criticized the Minister for Environment and Climate Change and said that the environment minister is playing with the lives and sentiments of the people of Goa as the National Coastal Zone Management Authority is acting on the order of the capitalist rather than the state government.

He further stated that there are plans to privatize the entire sea and rivers and 7500 km of coastline and 14500 km of rivers in India.

"Cabinet Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav should immediately intervene to save the state of Goa, as the CRZ notification specifically addresses the bizarre situation in the state of Goa, including ensuring livelihood security for the coastal fishing community and other local communities,” Simoes added.

Stating the aim behind organizing this workshop, Simoes said that this was to enable women to address issues related to their livelihoods and to create awareness about various environmental and anti-fishery projects proposed by the central government, such as the Sagarmala programme.

In order to protect the unique coastal strip and to encourage sustainable development based on scientific principles, the National Fishworkers Forum (NFF) rejected the request of Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority's (GCZMA) coastal plan - Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) and demanded removal of port limits.

All the nine coastal state of India participated in the workshop.