PONDA: Nothwithstanding the tall claims of the government about fast infrastructure development in Goa’s rural areas, the authorities have been dragging their feet to complete the construction of a rural health centre in Collem for the last six years.
The locals hit out at the authorities for their indifferent attitude towards the senior citizens and ailing patients who they claim have no choice but to travel to distant places either to Curchorem or Ponda for seeking treatment.
Sources stated that the construction was halted abruptly on many times as the contractor was not paid his dues on time. “90% of the work is completed but further delay seems unavoidable as the code of conduct due to Lok Sabha is right around the corner,” they opined.
The then MLA Deepak Pauskar laid the foundation stone of the rural health centre on October 18, 2018. The work came to a standstill during the two-year pandemic period and then it was resumed for some time and stopped again.
Locals say that a doctor visits the Collem rural health centre twice a week while he visits Mollem once a week.
However, given the rapid rise in population in the area and thousands of tourists visiting Dudhsagar falls, Collem is urgently in need of full-fledged hospital.
When contacted, Health Minister Vishwajeet Rane said that efforts are being made to complete the construction as soon as possible. It is important to note that there is no medical treatment facility nearby if a road mishap takes place at Anmod Ghat or Mollem and so, the injured are taken to Piliem PHC. Due to lack of immediate medical services, some injured have lost their lives on the way to GMC, Bambolim.
