Ahead of SC hearing, Goa mining dependents plan 3-day protest

An organisation of people affected by the closure of mining in Goa will sit on a three-day protest in Jantar Mantar in Delhi from Tuesday.

The move comes ahead of a likely Supreme Court hearing this week of an appeal filed by mining companies challenging a 1987 law that abolished mining concessions granted by the Portuguese-era government in Goa, Puti Goankar, president of the Goa Mining People's Front said Monday.

"The Goa Mining People's Front will stage a three-day protest at Jantar Mantar from April 9. Our main demand is that mining in Goa resume immediately. The GMPF has also filed an Interlocutory Application (IA) in the Supreme Court, which is likely to be listed for hearing soon," Goankar said.

The SC, in an order in February last year, had quashed 88 mining leases and banned the extraction of iron ore in Goa from March, 2018.