GROUND REPORT : Karapur warriors take battle to Delhi, other Goans salute them in Panjim

For 100 days, the people of Karapur-Sarvan, especially the women of the village, have braved the sun, rain, pressure and personal hardship to oppose the massive Abhinandan Lodha project proposed in their village. Their struggle is not merely against one construction project. It is a battle to protect village life, water sources, traditional access, agricultural lands, the groundwater table and the very character of Goa. The proposed project, comprising hundreds of apartments and villas, has become one of the clearest examples of the growing conflict between ordinary villagers and powerful political, corporate and real-estate interests. On the 100th day of the agitation, a group of protesters travelled to Jantar Mantar in Delhi to take their fight to the national capital, while activists, senior citizens, political representatives and concerned Goans gathered at Azad Maidan in Panaji in solidarity. The villagers have questioned how a project of this scale received permissions and why, according to them, a proper environmental impact assessment and environmental clearance were not obtained. The controversy also involves the ownership and sale of the two parcels of land on which the project is proposed, with members of the extended Rane family reportedly contesting the ownership and transfer before the courts. But the legal and planning questions go much deeper. Activists point to permissions granted under Sections 39A, 17(2) and other provisions of the Town and Country Planning framework, including the deletion of proposed roads shown in the Regional Plan and the creation of a new access route for the project. They allege that construction activity has continued despite court proceedings and directions relating to projects connected with Section 17(2), and an application has now been filed seeking status quo on construction and further permissions. The ground report also raises a larger question: why are movements fighting land conversion, hill cutting, destruction of fields, mega-projects and the loss of village identity still functioning as isolated protests? From Karapur-Sarvan to Chimbel, Sanguem, Benaulim and several other parts of Goa, the issues are increasingly similar, but the people’s struggles remain divided. Activists at Azad Maidan called for a united, statewide democratic movement capable of bringing thousands of Goans together and sending a clear message to any government that ignores public concern. The opposition too must be judged not merely by its presence at protests during an election year, but by whether it is prepared to repeal destructive provisions, review controversial conversions and restart Goa’s planning process from the grassroots. Saving Goa cannot be reduced only to opposing Section 39A or stopping one Lodha project. It requires a complete review of anti-people land conversions, the protection of the Regional Plan, bottom-up planning and the restoration of the rights of villages to decide their own future. This INK Goa ground report from Azad Maidan documents the voices, concerns and determination behind the 100-day Karapur-Sarvan agitation. Above all, it salutes the women and families who have remained on the ground every day, sacrificing their comfort and family time because they believe that their fight is no longer only for their own homes or village. It is a fight for Goa. Ground report: Sujay Gupta INK Goa