panaji even under the heavy heat of a typical goan summer on monday protestors gathered at the ktc circle in panaji were fuelled with energy shouting out slogans protesting against the closure of mines in goa roads were blocked effigies were burnt and motorists were heckled by the mining dependents in a bid to intensify their protest and compel the government to give in to their demandsdadagiri nahi chalegi they screamed oozing of irony as they themselves used dadagiri to forcefully bring the citys traffic to a standstillmen and women both chagrined used water bottles as a substitute for percussions beating them rhythmically as accompaniment to their slogansthe protestors also heckled a bike rider who was maneuvering his way through the sea of agitators to proceed towards bardez your highend bike is made up of iron ore that comes from our mines shame on you for ignoring our plight a protestor shouted the man was let go only when he pleaded to see his wife at a hospital in mapusa he pushed his bike up the slope leading to the mandovi bridge instead of kickstarting to ensure that it wouldnt attract too much attentionmany cars were parked haphazardly outside the ambedkar garden near the panaji end of the old mandovi bridge as their ownersdrivers were forced to abandon their vehicles by the agitatorswe worry about our children not as much about ourselves said one of the women at the protestmining is our daily bread we have no skills or specialization to take up another job we were so affected during the 2012 mining ban that we didnt even have rs 100 in our hands we braved those difficult times back then but now theyve come to haunt us again she said75yearold khwaja modi kalaigar changes the patti attached to the axle on truck tyres for a living which earns him rs 200300 per day with mining closure the septuagenarian who is the sole bread winner in his family fears for the future of his familyi have six people dependent on me back home how am i to provide for their needs with mining closure he criedwomen and children families of the mining dependent also joined the protestnita fernandes whose family operates trucks in capxem had to sell all her gold in order to rebuild her life we were broke when mining shut down in the beginning of this decade later i sold all my jewellery and took loans to start the mining trucks when mining resumed only to be told that it will stop again why is the government toying with us like thissonam teli the daughter of a mining dependent decried unfairness on the part of the government we are three sisters who have come to fight on behalf of our father he has put all his money in the mining business and if it ends so does our future she lamentedmotorists tried to fight back in their own way as they beelined their vehicles on the road leading