Ahead of Prez visit to Goa memorial, coal protesters detained

They will be detained till the end of the presidential programme, the official added.The president is scheduled to address a public gathering at D B Bandodkar ground later in the evening after laying a wreath at Martyrs Memorial at Azad Maidan..

Several people protesting against reported plans for coal transportation in Goa were detained on Saturday ahead of President Ram Nath Kovind's visit to the Martyrs' Memorial here as part of celebrations to mark 60 years of the state's liberation. A police official said the group was detained in Panaji city, almost two kilometers away from Azad Maidan.

They are demanding that doubling of a rail route, expansion of the national highway between Goa and Karnataka and setting up of a new electricity transmission line be scrapped as these are aimed at making the state a ''coal hub''. They will be detained till the end of the presidential programme, the official added.

The president is scheduled to address a public gathering at D B Bandodkar ground later in the evening after laying a wreath at Martyrs' Memorial at Azad Maidan.