Digital Goa, Dec 25 – A large number of villagers marched to the site of the Tourism Department’s Unity Mall project at Chimbel today, expressing strong opposition to the construction near the ecologically fragile Chimbel Lake. Residents alleged that the panchayat illegally issued a construction licence to GTDC for the project, in violation of High Court directions. A heavy police presence was deployed at the site to maintain law and order. To intensify their agitation, the villagers announced a hunger strike on December 28 near the project site. They have also planned a march to the panchayat and a public rally in the first week of January to draw the attention of the government and the public to their protest.
