Daijiworld Media Network – Panaji

Panaji, Sep 20: A day after tribal activist Rama Kankonkar was brutally assaulted, hundreds of supporters flooded Panaji’s streets on Friday demanding justice, bringing the capital to a grinding halt and leaving commuters, patients and schoolchildren stranded for hours.

Carrying placards and shouting slogans, the protestors choked key routes from the market area to the ferry point. Tempers flared as ambulances, buses and school vans were stuck in the midday heat.

A mother pleaded for passage as her epileptic son sat in a sweltering car, while parents struggled to pick up children from Cujira’s educational hub. A senior couple heading to Goa Medical College fumed over the hours-long delay, and daily wage labourers lamented losing a day’s earnings.

Despite appeals from bus operators and commuters, the blockade continued until late afternoon, reflecting public anger over the attack on Kankonkar while exposing the heavy toll on ordinary citizens.