Ponda: Driven by fears of losing their livelihood, seasonal Mollekars (monsoon vegetable cultivators) from Farmagudi-Bandora in Ponda taluka have urged the state tourism department to avoid encroaching on their cultivable land.They allege that the proposed development of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj fortress at Farmagudi could affect over 90 traditional cultivators. Virendra Shirodkar, president of the Mollekars’ organisation, Shrikrishna Bhajipala, has urged the department to drop plans to acquire their land.Shirodkar said the project has already encroached on some of their land, and they have sought 1 lakh sqm of land to create parking facilities for vehicles visiting the renovated fortress.The farmers stated that the hilly land sought by the department from the comunidade has been cultivated by them, as it was previously cultivated by their ancestors, who grew monsoon vegetables and earned their livelihood from it.The farmers said they are not against the renovation of the fortress, but do not want their cultivable land to be encroached upon.Bandora panchayat member Sukhanand Kurpaskar said the tourism department already has a sizable land area near the Shree Bal Ganesh Temple, opposite the fortress, that could be used for parking.The Mollekars addressed the press at the Bandora village panchayat on Thursday, along with Bandora sarpanch Ramchandra Naik.Naik said he and local MLA and power minister Ramkrishna “Sudin” Dhavalikar are aware of the problem. He said that the gram sabha planned to discuss and pass a resolution, but could not be held due to the recent ZP elections. He also said that the gram sabha would be convened soon, and the panchayat is committed to resolving the issue in consultation with govt.
