ENVIR ONMEN I A CTIVISM

G O A N S P R O T E ST
A G A I N ST C O A L M I N I N G
HOW A P ROJECT TO SOLIDIFY GOA AS A MAJOR
/ COAL HUB HAS SPAR K ED WID ESPR EAD PROTE STS

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SWIPE LEFT
 D O UBLE T R A C KING
• Protests kicked off last week in Goa when work was
resumed on a stretch of railway that passed
through many sensitive areas, and have escalated,
centred a round the old ca pital, Chandor.

• Known as 'double tracking', the process being

implemented is the doubling of railway tracks
between Tinaighat and Vasco de Ga ma.

• Activists held a candlelight vigil between

10:30pm on the 1st of November and Sam on
the 2nd, as opposition parties back the
protests; protesting
..•. ..
continued over the night of 3rd November.
--
 T HE R A ILW A Y
• In 2010 the Ministry of Ra ilways sanctioned the
double tracking of the Hospet-Tinaighat-Vasco
Railway. The first part of the railway between
Hospet a nd Tina ighat went through the relatively
easier, flatter Deccan Plateau.

• The second part however runs through wildlife

sanctua ries in the Western Ghats as well as
densely populated coastal areas.

• This means that the construction requires an

Environmenta l Impact Assessment (EIA) as well
as land properly acquired, two rules protesters
allege have not been followed.

Photo: Indian Rail Info

 L E G A L I SSU E S
• The doubling of the rail track reportedly includes
the felling of trees in the Bhagwa n Mahaveer
Wildlife Sa nctuary as well as a nationa l park on
Goa's border; residents claim the government
a llowed construction to go ahead despite an
incomplete EIA.

• According to Deepika D'Souza, Secretary of

Goya nt Kollso Naka (No Coa l in Goa) group,
private property is a lso allegedly being infringed.

• Added on to this, work has been proceedi ng in

Panchayats without the required permissions,
rounding off a plethora of issues that must be
addressed.
 G O A A S A C O A L H U B?
• Accordi ng to government documents, the double
tracking of the line is meant to enhance Goa's
capa bility to tra nsport Adani coa l inland from
the port of Mormuga o to Northern Karnataka.

• This line is part of a much larger project, including

the construction of a new flyover, four-lani ng the
NH4-A, a nd constructing nine jetti es on the Zua
ri a nd Mandovi rivers, the double-tracking is but
the tip of the iceberg for the industrialization of
Goa.

• Known as the Saga rmala progra mme , the plan

to carry 137 million tonnes of coal a year would
devastate fisheries, mountainsides, a nd wildlife in
Goa.
 T H E PR O T E STS
• The protests in Cha ndor managed to stop several
Ada ni coa l trains and stop work on the line
(albeit tempora rily).

• Work at the Davorlim level crossing is sc heduled

for November 8th, and protest groups have
declared intent to protest in large numbers there.

• With opposition parties bac king the protests, the

government will now have to sit up, notice, and
possibly change their view - at least take
cognizance of environmental outcomes.