It may be a never ending story for the Corporation of the City of Panjim (CCP) to chain the number of issues which should be on the top of the priority list. The number of issues that the state’s capital has been facing has piled up for decades. The constituency was always ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party through key leader Manohar Parrikar. He has been the Chief Minister twice and has now been elevated to the Union Defence Minister.
However, Panjimites have been deprived of basic necessities for many years, despite the powerful MLAs rule for over 15 years. The constituency has always been his, but the CCP has always been ruled by strongman Atanasio ‘Babush’ Monserrate.
Babush once again attained an absolute majority in the latest CCP polls despite the BJP being in power and their own MLA not getting beat. The people of the city have placed their faith in Babush and he has, so far kept his word.
Though Babush released a very long CCP election manifesto, Panjimites are interested in only two things – de-congestion of the city and garbage management. But the question before every Panjimite is whether Babush will be able to clean up Panjim’s mess.
Monserrate, an uncrowned king of the CCP said in his manifesto, “Panjimites refer to me as the leader and a man with a mission. My legacy, record of services rendered and dedicated commitment to people, especially the weaker sections are clear.”
Babush has laid emphasis on resolving the garbage problem. He has gone on record to say that 26,000 sq mtrs of area in Taleigao can be utilized to set up a garbage treatment plant, considering the fact that the Bainguinim waste management facility continues to be marred by controversy and opposition.
Babush has also said that each and every move of the CCP will be kept transparent so that the people of Panjim come to know who exactly is detrimental to the development of the city.
“I have already spoken with Panjim MLA, Siddharth Kuncolienkar to call for a joint meeting of all three MLAs who are connected with the construction of the garbage treatment plant at Bainguinim and to see who exactly is opposing it. If Pandurang Madkaikar doesn’t want the plant in Bainguinim, then 26,000 sq mtrs of land is available in Taleigao, belonging to the village panchayat which can be used for the construction,” Babush said, also noting that there won’t be any difficulties if everyone has good will towards development.
“Panjim doesn’t really require anything new. All that we’re asking is to manage the city with the existing resources. Two problems should be tackled on a priority basis – Garbage and deco-congestion in the city,” Shivraj Vijaykar, a resident of Tonca said.
Another resident, Amresh Chodankar said that there wasn’t a difference between the manifestos of the BJP and Babush. However, people have voted his party to power and he must resolve basic issues which the capital city has been suffering from for decades.
“Babush has promised a garbage treatment plant at Taleigao, which currently is the need of the hour. He should take only one resolution on a priority basis and fulfill it,” Chodankar said.
However, Panjim MLA, Siddharth Kuncolienkar said that the government is going ahead with the Bainguinim plant and that next week, he will be calling a joint meeting of all three MLAs. “The meeting is basically for coordination purposes. The site of the garbage plant will be decided by the experts, not me or the Taleigao MLA,” he explained.
