Protests damaging Panaji city square, mayor looks to denotify site

Panaji: Fearing damage and deterioration to the state's oldest city square Azad maidan in Panaji, plans are afoot at the local civic authority, the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP), to denotify the site as a location for peaceful protests.

According to city mayor Uday Madkaikar, the maidan, which is located in the centre of the city and hosts the martyrs' memorial dedicated to Goa's freedom fighters, is deteriorating owing to the protests and agitations routinely conducted by citizens.

"The grounds tend to be damaged due to these protests. Even the toilet facilities are overworked during protests, leaving a mess behind," Madkaikar said, adding that the municipal corporation would be soon moving a resolution to denotify the grounds for protest meets. The protest meets, Madkaikar said, could alternatively be held at the Campal parade grounds, located a short distance from the Azad maidan.

The city square, located opposite the Goa Police headquarters, was designed by the colonial Portuguese regime in the 1880s. After the Liberation of Goa, Lt. General KP Candath, who in 1961 led the Indian armed forces which eventually liberated Goa from colonial rule, was invited to unveil the martyrs memorial at the maidan in the 1970s.

The Azad maidan was formally notified by the authorities as a site for carrying out peaceful protests in the 1980s.

The proposed decision has rankled the opposition.

Opposition MLA Rohan Khaunte has said that the Opposition as well as NGOs should unite and ensure that the Azad maidan grounds are retained for popular protests.

"De-notification of Azad Maidan for public protests is a direct infringement of people's right to democratic protests," said Khaunte, a former Minister.

A city lawyer, Aires Rodrigues has already issued notice to the Corporation of the City of Panaji on the move calling it "a very high-handed and outrageous move besides a blatant assault on democracy".

"Azad maidan has been over the years where aggrieved citizens have congregated to raise their voices against injustice and to demonstrate on various issues concerning Goa. I have given the CCP seven days to come clean on its agenda for Azad maidan," Rodrigues said.