Team Herald
PERNEM: Virnoda Panchayat gram sabha resolved that the panchayat body will resign if the government fails to construct underpass at Volpya Junction.
Initially, the Sarpanch Prashant Rao welcomed the villagers and explained the reason for holding a special gram sabha.
All the panch members present informed the villagers that the panchayat body will resign if their demand is not met.
Past few months, the locals of Virnoda, Volpya, Amay and Bhutwadiare had urged the State government to construct an underpass at Volpya Junction in Pernem.
The villagers claimed that there is a need of underpass for the people to move across the highway since there are residential areas on both sides of the highway and Volpya Junction which is located just before the Virnoda Village Panchayat links these four villages to the main highway. Absence of underpass will cause them trouble once the highway gets ready and had blamed the panchayat for the same.
Sarpanch Prashant had informed that while undertaking work of the new six-lane highway the government did not take the villagers and village panchayat into confidence. Government failed to make a provision for the villagers to cross the highway as well as a way to reach to the highway directly.
The locals also raised concern over the absence of service road to move around in the locality. There are houses, fields and plantations on both the sides of the highway and having an underpass and service road is a need of the hour,” a villager said.
The villagers further highlighted that if the government does not make a provision for an underpass for the commuters and pedestrians to cross the highway then they will have to travel almost four kilometers to reach the next underpass to cross the highway.
Taking the villagers sentiments into consideration, the panchayat body then passed a resolution that all the panchayat members will resign if no underpass is constructed.
The panchayat also resolved that till the underpass is constructed, work of the highway will be stopped.
“Crores of money is being spent but no provisions are made for the villagers. There is no benefit to the villagers. What people will do if there is no road to move across,” Zilla Parishad Member Tukaram Hàrmalkar said.
