Panaji: All auctions of sluice gates of five tenant associations of Neura, Mandur, Azossim and Carambolim should be deferred by authorities till damaged bunds are repaired and submerged fields are drained of water, demanded residents of the villages.
Khazan Action Committee (KAC), a villagers' group lobbying to restore agricultural activity in the state's biggest khazan belt with 2,000 hectares of cultivable land from Agasaim to Gandaulim, made this demand while alleging that the fields have not dried up.
"Khazan fields are flooded by
sluice gate operators in connivance with tenant association office-bearers to rake in more profits at the cost of farmers," KAC convener Ramrao Wagh said in a press note. The sluice gate operators claim fishing rights at auctions, but KAC wants the process to be deferred till the vast agricultural land dries up after urgent repairs and tenants associations produce audited accounts.
The vast khazan fields have sluice gates popularly known as Damda, Ofla-Dongzo, Kauje, Neura and St Mathew's, Azossim. "It is heartening to note that due to strict action taken by the revenue department, Damda fields are slowly drying up, but others are still flooded," Wagh stated.
When more khazan area is submerged, the fish catch can increase for the sluice gate operator, but farmers lose their lands.
Agricultural activity has diminished due to high labour cost, flooding of fields and growth of mangroves in this fertile khazan belt.
KAC is trying to fight the nexus between the sluice gate operators and tenant association members in the area.
While appreciating revenue minister Rohan Khaunte's action against Damda khazan, KAC has stated that a mamlatdar inspected the flooded area after being directed by the north Goa collector.
