Fury as Goa’s rare wildlife park faces invasion by rail and road

Thousands are protesting in the Indian state, suspecting the coal lobby is behind construction plans in sanctuary

Mollem national park has long been the emerald in Goa's crown.

The verdant jungle which covers this steep area of India's Western Ghats mountain range is home to leopards, Bengal tigers, pangolins, black panthers and hundreds of endemic species of flora and fauna found nowhere else on the planet. The muscular state animal of Goa - the gaur, or Indian bison - is often seen trudging through the forests, and the park's Dudhsagar waterfall is among the highest in the country.