The protests around three three infrastructure projects that threaten the forests in and around Mollem National Park and Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary continue to rage on.?
On Sunday, thousands of Goans came together bearing torches and candles in the historic village of Chandor. The protest wasn't a conventional one.
The people sang, danced and raised slogans against the government for allowing expansion of a railway line through protected areas to increase coal carrying capacity of Goa¡¯s Mormugao Port.
Amid the lockdown, the National Board for Wildlife cleared or discussed more than 30 forest clearance proposals.?
The Western Ghats, which form a huge protected area in Goa, are 150 million years old. They are older than the Himalayas and completely irreplaceable.
There are only 36 biodiversity hotspots in the world and the forests of the Western Ghats is one of them.?
The sanctuaries are home to several species of flora and fauna, such as tigers, pangolins and mouse deer.
The railway line, by far the biggest of the three projects will come at a cost of diversion of 113.857 ha. of forest land and felling of 18,541 trees.
The four laning of existing two-lane highway will lead to felling of 12,097 trees.