Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday said 67 huts at Baina beach in Vasco were demolished in order to save hut-dwellers during monsoon and claimed that his government acted as per law and offered rehabilitation to the evicted families, .
Responding to the threats issued by members of various Kannada organizations led by Kannada Organisations Action Committee (KOAC), Belgaum, which is protesting “eviction of Kannadigas in Goa”, Mr.
Parrikar told The Hindu on the sidelines of a function here that he did not consider the evictees as Kannadigas or Karnataka people.
“People who reside in Goa are Goans for me and I have to take steps to ensure safety of such people if they are exposed to risk of high rising water levels on the beach during monsoons,” he said.
Stepping up the pressure, the forum had on Wednesday threatened to stop supplies of milk, meat, vegetables and fruits from Belgaum to Goa and consequently paralyze Goa’s tourism.
Mr. Parrikar said he would ignore these threats because they were based on ill-information. He said the demolition was undertaken by Dy. Collector under Disaster Management Act and following due process of issue of notices and also offered rehabilitation.