Ponda: Villagers have opposed govt’s acquisition of Katamgal Dada Shrine land for the IIT campus at Farmagudi in Bandora gram sabha. They want the land to be protected as a biodiversity site.Surel Tilve, a local, said the shrine land is a natural water-harvesting site that has kept the land in nearby villages fertile.On June 28, the activists gathered at the Katamgal Dada shrine at Farmagudi to voice their opposition and offered a formal “garhane” (collective obeisance) before the deity, reiterating their stance against the IIT project.St Andre MLA Viresh Borkar, Ponda councillor Venkatesh Naik, Rama Kankonkar, Dinesh Gaunekar, Shankar Polji, Sanjay Naik, Manisha Usgaonkar, and Swapnil Karapurkar, along with other activists, had attended the public meeting opposing the govt move.
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The protest follows the Union education ministry’s approval of the Farmagudi site. On June 11, 2026, it asked Goa govt to expedite land transfer formalities. The cabinet later approved the transfer of 5 lakh sqm of govt land for the IIT campus.Presently, the IIT is temporarily running in the campus of Goa Engineering College, Farmagudi. The campus has faced repeated opposition, forcing govt to scrap plans or relocate after facing local opposition.Earlier proposals at Loliem, Melauli, Cotarli, Keri, and Codar were abandoned after public opposition over land acquisition.
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