SANGUEM: The youth from Bhati Village in Sanguem are eagerly waiting for the completion of the lone playground in the village.
The village youth said the work of the playground had started some six years back but except for the levelling work of the ground and that of construction of the compound wall, most of the other project work remains incomplete.
Former Chairperson of Zilla Panchayat Navnath Naik said the work of the playground was started during his tenure and was expected to be completed by now. However, the project work is clandestinely stopped midway ultimately making the villagers suffer.
Given the present condition of the playground, the youth are unable to use the ground. Just like the condition of the roads in Goa, the playground at Bhati has developed puddles all around.
Naik alleged the contractor also failed in proper levelling of the ground which led to the formation of many puddles.
Sarpanch of Bhati Village Panchayat Uday Naik is, however, of the opinion that it is all the fault of the Sports Authority of Goa and the concerned engineers for the present condition of the playground in the village.
“Once the deal is allocated to the contractor, the engineers attached to SAG failed to visit and supervise the construction work at regular intervals, ultimately leading to alleged sub substandard quality of work,” said Uday.
“Prior to the levelling work of the ground, a vibrator is required to be used for settling the mud but in the instant case it was not done and this led to the sinking of the mud used in levelling work at many places,” he added.
Naik also complained that the contractor failed in making provision to arrest the flow of mud from the side of the road on the ground. Due to the recent heavy rains, the loose mud from the side of the ground made its way on playing area thereby making the ground slippery and dangerous for playing.
A retaining wall to arrest further flow of running mud on the playing area is now a must and needs to be done on urgent basis to prevent further damage to the ground, claimed Naik further adding that there “is no accountability from the SAG on its project works once they are tendered.”
Naik also pointed out that the contractor has allegedly failed to construct a drainage system for the monsoon water to flow outside from the ground leading to stagnation of water inside the playing field.
The aggrieved village youth while calling for immediate clearance of loose mud which has come on the playing area, appealed the SAG authorities to direct the contractor to level the many puddles which have cropped up on the ground.
The youth also demanded for the installation of metal fence all along the internal road as many a time the balls go out of play area and this may cause accidents.
The playground is also reported to be used by senior citizens and others for morning and evening walks. However, since the onset of monsoon, people have stopped using the ground their strolls.
