Support grows for Unity Mall hunger strike

Panaji: Activists and politicians came out in support of Chimbel villagers who have been sitting on a hunger strike since Sunday with govt showing no intent to stop the tourism department’s Unity Mall project.

John Nazareth, Congress’s Santa Cruz block president, former AAP president Amit Palyekar, functionaries of Revolutionary Goan, and social activist Tara Kerkar met Chimbel residents on a hunger strike.




Nazareth said the future of Toyyar Lake was at stake. “When the mall starts, waste will be released into it, and in no time, the water body will be polluted,” he said. Kerkar said, “I am upset that residents don’t get access to mountains and lakes while govt claims its share first. Govt knows how to cause pain to people.”

Anna Gracias, a local, said the aquifers, an integral part of the lake, were already destroyed. “Who will ensure the the lake is clean? We source water. We don’t want another mall here.”