MARGAO: A tussle between two departments over who should bear the maintenance expenses has resulted in the old primary school building at Carmona being neglected due to which weeds and wild grass has grown all over the compound making it safe haven for snakes and other reptiles.
The government primary school that used to run closed down for lack of students many years ago. And after that one classroom is occupied by the Women and Child Department that is managing an anganwadi and the other classroom is leased out to the Directorate of Health Services to run a rural medial dispensary.
However, though both the offices are functioning regularly and have visitors every day, neither of them bothered to clean the surroundings due to which wild grass has grown and the visitors have often seen snakes slithering through the grass.
Carmona Sarpanch Allwyn Jorge said the Health Department states that the anganwadi should do the clean up job as they do not pay the water and electricity bills. The premise actually belongs to the Education Department and it has leased out the two classrooms to the two departments and asked them to maintain the place.
It may be recalled that as the departments were not doing the maintenance work, the panchayat funds were utilised to repair the roof and give it a new look as it was threatening to come down as the false ceiling had literally collapsed.
To make matters worse, the government has now installed two toilets in the compound without water or electricity connections and without a septic tank which is bound to make the place filthy in the near future.
