Trinamool Congress to contest Goa Zilla Panchayat polls

Panaji: The All India Trinamool Congress was in Goa for "the long run" and would contest this year's Zilla Panchayat elections, its local leaders said here on Wednesday.

The Mamata Banerjee-led party had drawn a blank in the 2022 Goa legislative assembly elections.

Party spokesperson Trojano D'Mello, speaking at a press conference along with state convenor Mariano Rodrigues, said Trinamool Congress did get a vote share of ten per cent in the assembly elections.

"The All India Trinamool Congress came to Goa in 2022....We contested the assembly elections. We got about 10 percent of the vote. We are committed to Goa. We are here to stay," he said.

It will contest the Zilla Panchayat elections which are due later this year, D'Mello added.

"AITC is here for the long run," he asserted.

The party was trying to strengthen its base in 10-15 assembly segments in Goa, D'Mello sad, adding, "AITC Goa workers are in touch with the people everyday. We are there with the people, without making much noise." Party MP Derek O'Brien recently spoke in the Rajya Sabha about the need to preserve Goa's rich coastal culture, he noted.

This culture was made up of mainly two communities, D'Mello said.

"One is the fishing community, with all their great traditions, and the other is the toddy-tapping community. These vibrant communities have a great tradition, but now they are going through an existential crisis. It is primarily because of the CRZ, Coastal Regulation Zone (rules)," he said.

Fishermen cannot build a house or even park their boats on the coast and face many other problems due to CRZ rules, and can not afford to buy land elsewhere due to rising prices, he added.

"Worse, (fishing) trawlers are coming and robbing them of their livelihood. This is affecting 20,000 fishermen and about one lakh people," the Trinamool leader claimed.

The party has shown how to work for the welfare of fishermen in West Bengal, he said.

The West Bengal government has introduced the Samudra Sathi Scheme under which each fisherman gets Rs 10,000 for two months during the off-fishing season and the Matsya Jeebi Credit Card, he noted.