This from the Navhind Times online editon.
http://www.navhindtimes.in/goa-news/morjim-landowner-refuses-cremation-villagers-take-body-cm-s-house
The Morjim villagers squatting at the Green Park junction blocking traffic.
(Erwin Fonseca)MAPUSA: Tension prevailed at Bagwada, Morjim on Tuesday evening
when a land owner refused cremation of a woman. Pernem deputy collector, Mr
Rajendra Mirajkar who on being tipped off rushed at Morjim along with the
Pernem police but was unable to pacify the crowd.The crowd thereafter went with
the body to Panaji where five of them later met the Chief Minister, Mr Kamat
and placed before him their grievances.
According to information available, the body of a 60-year-old woman, Shashikala
Bagkar was taken for cremation at a traditional cremation site at Bagwada,
Morjim as the village has no common cremation site and the bodies are cremated
in different private properties. Most are however cremated on the banks of the
river Chapora. To add to the woes of the Hindu community, this land which was
being used as a cremation site has been bought for a hotel project since the
last 5 years and now there are restrictions to go to the site.
A petition was filed in the court and the court upheld the ownership of the
land owner in its order about 3 years ago and passed strictures against
trespassers.
On Tuesday afternoon, when the body of Shashikala was taken for cremation the
landowner blocked the procession and denied cremation in his land. The body was
brought for cremation at 1 p.m. As permission was denied there were heated
arguments between the two sides. Pernem PI, Mr Uttam Raut Dessai and the
mamlatdar, Mr Bhushan Sawaikar rushed to the spot but could not do anything. Mr
Dessai deployed a strong police force to avoid any untoward incident.
The body was kept outside the gate till 5 p.m. When at 5 p.m., deputy collector
of Pernem, Mr Mirajkar arrived on the scene he had to face the wrath of the
agitators. He was abused by the aggrieved people. Thereafter the people decided
to go with the body to the Chief Minister’s residence and ask him to intervene.
Pernem PI, Mr Dessai requested the land owner and an industrialist, Mr Babi
Bagkar to allow the cremation of the body as taking it to Panaji was not
advisable, however the people did not listen to the pleas and went ahead.
Interestingly, all throughout the evening the people expressed great resentment
over the fact that no panchayat member neither the local MLA, Mr Laxmikant
Parsekar had come to enquire into the problem.
The various officials who had arrived also failed to solve the matter. A lawyer
from Mandrem, Mr Prasad Shahapurkar also arrived on the scene and tried his
best to solve the confrontation at Bagwada, but in vain. The land owner then
deployed private security at the site, and the problem did not end there.
Pernem PI, Mr Dessai informed DySP, Mr Sammy Tavares about the crowd proceeding
towards Panaji via Mapusa. Mr Tavares alongwith Mapusa PI, Mr Rajeshkumar and a
strong police force stopped the procession at Green Park junction at Guirim.
Mr Mirajkar and the Bardez deputy collector, Mr Redkar who also arrived there
tried to convince the crowd of around 200 people, but the crowd was adamant.
Incidentally, in the normal course women from Hindu community do not attend any
cremation, but probably for the first time it was noticed that the women
outnumbered the men at Morjim and they were also present at Guirim. As they
were stopped from going ahead the women squatted on the Panaji-Mapusa highway
at Guirim and blocked the traffic for almost an hour. Mr Tavares along with his
force was trying his best to regulate the traffic flow. Determined to go ahead
the crowd did not bow down to any requests and went ahead to Panaji.
