MARGAO: Within a week the Maina-Curtorim Police station will be shifting to Manora Raia from the South Goa District Police premises. While police are quite excited about the change, people of Raia are questioning the need for this temporary shift.
Police Inspector Shivram Vaigankar said the new premises will be completed in another three days after which they will be ready to shift within two days.
The Maina-Curtorim Police station will be housed temporarily in the government primary school at Manora Raia which has five rooms renovated and given a new look. Former sarpanch of Raia, Xavier Fernandes questioned the logic of shifting the police station to Manora on temporary basis and asserted that this temporary is the police idea and was not demanded by the villagers.
“About 10 years ago the government has already acquired land at Sonsoddo near the veterinary hospital to construct the Maina Curtorim police station,” he said while insisting that the police station could have continued to be in Margao while the government constructed the police station at Sonsoddo.
PI Shivram agreed that 9,000 sq mts of land has been acquired for the Maina-Curtorim police station at Sonsoddo but said because there was uncertainty over when the new building would be constructed they were shifting to the said primary school premises.
Maina-Curtorim Police look after the law and order situation in Loutolim, Camorlim, Raia, Rachol, Curtorim, Macasana, Guirdolim, Chandor Cavorim, San Jose de Areal, Davorlim, Dicarpale, Housing Board and Rumdamol.
There are two police outposts at Chandor and Davorlim under the police station but they only deal with minor crimes.
While having the police station at Manora Raia will help residents of Loutolim, Camurlim, Raia it will cause problems for residents of Chandor, Guirdolim and Macasana who will have to travel all the way to Raia while earlier they had to only go to Margao.
But the fact remains that there has been demand for a very long time now that the Maina-Curtorim police station should function from its jurisdiction and that is why land was acquired 10 years ago to set it up at Sonsoddo.
The proposal to shift it to Manora Raia was made about a year ago when the new DIG took charge and within a year now the police station will be shifted.