Team Herald
MARGAO: The Congress Party on Wednesday slammed Town and Country Planning Minister Vijai Sardessai for coercing people to gravitate towards his supporters by stopping developmental works and said his strategy of politicising development would be given a befitting lesson by the people at the elections.
Briefing media persons, South Goa District Pradesh Congress President Joe Dias accused Vijai of making the people of Chandor dance from pillar to post for more than a year with regard to their demand to de-notify the State Highway passing through their village.
Cuncolim MLA Clafasio Dias, who was present for the press briefing, claimed that “Even I had taken up this matter with the minister besides raising it in the assembly and now that the villagers approached him through Joaquim Alemao the problem is suddenly resolved.”
He said this was nothing but a political game played by Vijai to promote Yuri Alemao as his party candidate in Cuncolim at the next elections. “Everybody has a right to contest in a democracy and the people will elect the candidate of their choice,” he said while pointing out that Cuncolim has rejected Yuri’s father Joaquim Alemao twice already.
He also pooh-poohed Joaquim’s claim that the alignment of the National Highway at Panzorconi has been finalized by the engineers at his office. “There are three alignments proposed and the engineers are supposed to meet the local people and decide upon the matter,” he said while accusing Joaquim of misleading the people.
Dismissing the charge that the Cuncolim Municipal Council chairperson was changed to clear security deposit, Clafasio said the security deposit was paid by him for the works he had executed when he was a PWD contractor and added that the money has to come to him by right.
“It is Joaquim who transferred funds meant for Cuncolim and gave even jobs meant for people of Cuncolim to Sanguem only to promote his son’s candidature there,” he said.
Claiming that he wanted to test the waters and had asked the people of Chandor to approach Joaquim, he thanked Vijai for solving the issue of the State Highway and said now the people of Guirdolim should approach Joaquim to solve the issue of the underpass.
Nuvem MLA Wilfred D’Sa appealed that at Nuvem junction all traffic be diverted via the bypass when it is time for commencement of schools and otherwise there would be total mess and confusion there. He also pointed out that while asphalting the old highway no space was kept for pedestrians while marking the asphalted road.
He also pointed out that the Eastern bypass from Nuvem to Arlem has not been illuminated till date and appealed to the government to fix street lights as soon as possible there as anti-social elements are misusing the road.
