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South Asian Film Festival in Goa from Fri (June 27) to Mon (June 30)
At Kala Academy, and ESG, Panaji, Goa
http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2008-June/076384.html
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While the Government was coming to grips with the ultimatum served by a
committee of temple managements headed by the ex-BJP MLA Mr Prakash Velip to
the Chief Minister Mr Digamber Kamat to investigate immediately and book the
culprits behind the desecration of a temple at Tilamol Quepem or face an
inevitable show down on 1st July, 2008 ; Margao the commercial and cultural of
Salcete was gripped by sporadic events created by a religious activist group
belonging to the majority community which resulted in clampdown of section 144
and arrests of six persons believed to be fomenting the trouble.
According to reports that this writer obtained from the site of the incident
late evening the trouble started this afternoon in the vicinity of the Rumdamal
grounds at Housing board which comes under the jurisdiction of the VP Romdamol
Davorlim.
Two youths aged 25 - 30 years both allegedly from the neighbouring state of
Karnataka one a vegetable vendor and the other dealing in metal both from the
majority community were involved in an altercation.
It is at this juncture a friend of one of the fighting duo belonging to the
Moslem community intervened to pacify the two. This angered one of the
fighting duo and who then attacked the one intervening to stop the fight .
At this juncture another person a ward pancha also belonging to the Moslem
community happened to be passing by in his Wagon R after the Friday namaz and
he tried to intervene. The supporters of one of the fighting duo did not take
kindly to his intervention and is alleged to have banged the front of the
vehicle and warned him not to interfere. A little later the group led by the
pancha went to the house of one of the warring duo who banged his car and
finding him absconding allegedly damaged a part of the house.
It is believed that one of the fighting duo is a an actvist of a religious
outfit and the attack on him by the group belonging to the pancha was given a
communal angle. No sooner the news spread of the fight at Davorlim it is
believed that other members of the group from Calconda forced shops and
commercial establishments around the New Market station road to abruptly shut
down and that a meeting was planned to be convened near the Pimpalkatta old
Station road as a show of protest. Meanwhile the police sprung into action
and began a lathi charge to disperse the rioters and made arrests. Unconfirmed
reports state of a press photographer being assaulted in the melee have been
taken to hospital for prelimianry treatment.
When this writer visited the Davorlim area there was a heavy police bandobust
apparently to avert any further communal incidents. It may be noted that there
are several masjids in and around the Rumdamol Davorlim area and the Moslem
community mainly the migrants and economically backward society live in the
government tenements.
The Monte ( wrongly labelled by the Goa Government as " Moti Dongor " instead
of just Monte in Portuguese language , as Dongor is in Konkani and both mean
hill in English ) a central government notified slum is the vote bank of Mr
Digamber Kamat, the CM of Goa and MLA Margao right from the time he was
elected to the Margao Municipal Council and is nursed by him as a sure vote
bank. It has a sizeable section of migrants from neighbouring state of
Karnataka mostly vendors or menial labour. The CM has posted a heavy police
bandobust in this area too avert any misuse of the situation for political
purposes.
With most of the shops closed since 1623 hrs the New Market and Gandhi market
wore a deserted look. Many office goers were caught unawares of the
developments but rushed off to their respective villages. Two shops were
damaged one belonging to M/s M D Costa and some others who had not promptly
closed the shops when asked to do so by the crowd.
That there is a subtle communal tension prevailing in the city having a
population of well over a lac was evident since past two incidents last year
and the latest utterances of the religious activists in the second fortnight of
April 2008 at a religious function held at the Costa Grounds in Aquem. Later an
overnight sprucing up a temple structure at Rumadamol just in the vicinity of a
Masjid spelt the growing insecurity being felt by those from the Moslem migrant
community.
With two successive defeats of the BJP in Margao despite their contention that
CM was overwooing the minority migrant community to secure his vote bank Mr
Kamat has remained unfazed. But this time round he acted to show his no
nonsense attitude to communal riots. Many citizens felt that unless such
seemingly communal sporadic flare ups are dealt with giving the law enforcing
authorities the independence; Margao could continue to be a keg of ammunition
awaiting to explode .
rom the Rumdamol Davorlim end
GODFREY J. I. GONSALVES,
BORDA, MARGAO, 403 602, GOA. (INDIA)
+91 98221 58584 (24 HRS)
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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