QUEPEM: It took just one rain shower to transform the Avedem village football ground in Quepem Taluka into a swimming pool.
Local panchayat members laid the blame on the contractor hired by the Rural Development Agency (RDA) who built the ground. They are especially sore about the fact that the RDA didn’t see it fit to take the panchayat into confidence despite it having knowledge of the area’s topography and other aspects.
The panchayat has now demanded that pending work, which began in January 2022 and was expected to end in November last year, be completed on a war-footing.
“Work has become difficult because the local authority was not consulted. For example, a proper drainage system around the football field was not built to suit the topographical conditions,” Panch Siddharth Kalekar said.
Ramchandra Prabhu Desai, another member, said plans have been in the offing to fill the ground with soil so that it remains slightly elevated than the surrounding area and hence, will not flood. “But now that the monsoon has arrived, we may have to reconsider this solution too,” he said.
Avedem Sarpanch Bhupendra Gawas Desai said, “The panchayat is particularly irked because the contractor isn’t available to address the local body’s concerns about the ground.”
“Directions had been given by the Sports Minister to the relevant authorities to complete work on the ground in a timely manner. But now, with the contractor not even answering our phone calls, it doesn’t seem that we will reach a resolution soon. The children of the village have been yearning to play football on the ground and it is the duty of the government to make sure they can,” he said.