The approximately 300 villagers were led by Cumbharjua MLA Pandurang Madkaikar and accompanied by Golti Navelim sarpanch Prasad Harmalkar, St Mathias sarpanch Prashant Harvalkar and Cumbharjua sarpanch Surendra Naik.
Villagers said the ferry from Cumbarjua to Gaundalim often breaks down and creates hardships to the commuters. “Often ambulances are caught up due to non-availability of ferry services,” Madkaikar said, addressing the media.
He added that villagers fear that after the start of Gaundalim-Cumbharjua bridge the ferry services may be stopped. “We demanded that the ferry services from Gaundalim to Cumbharjua should not be stopped as the people of these villages have to travel far for work and there are no bus services from these villages,” he said.
Villagers also demanded that an extra ferry be operated on the Divar-Old Goa route. “We have demanded that three ferries be put on Divar-Old Goa route so that there are non-stop services to the villagers and also the old ferries be replaced,” he said.
Madkaikar further said that the Superintendent has assured to solve their issues within 10 days.
