23:33 IST
the blue room
Baina,Goa

The first round of silent protest happened today, rather unexpectedly for the activists. They got to know today morning that the central minister for road transport and shipping was attending a conference at The Leela in south Goa. They decided to take banners of protest and stand outside the hotel. About 30 people turned up. I tried to get inside the conference hall as a media person, but not having an affiliation with an outfit nor a business card turned out to not work in my favour. Bah.

The activists stood in a line on the side of a road, holding placards like “Goa against Coal” and “Stop Double tracking of Railways”, waiting for the media to come out and see them. They wanted to be heard, to make news, to get the authorities to take notice of them. They are a small group in the country today aware about the projects and are desperate to be heard before it is too late.

About 40 minutes into the wait, we saw the transport minister’s car zoom past, with him sitting in front on the passenger seat. I was on the left side of the road, his side, and saw him pass a smile to the activists. He acknowledged their presence. The press came out, and interviewed the activists.