PONDA: The Curti-Khandepar gram sabha held on Sunday witnessed heated discussions on key issues, including garbage disposal, division of the crematorium for different communities and the bus shed issue at the Opa-Khandepar junction.
The meeting, which was chaired by Sarpanch Sanjana Naik, extended until 3 pm and was attended by a large number of locals.
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One of the main topics of discussion was the Ponda Municipal Council’s (PMC) halt on garbage collection from the panchayat area. Villagers claimed that the PMC’s garbage treatment plant is located within the Curti-Khandepar Panchayat area and a court order had directed the PMC to treat garbage free of cost.
However, the PMC stopped lifting the garbage, citing lack of funds and labourers for the past year. As a result, the panchayat has been spending Rs 1.20 crore on garbage treatment. The gram sabha members decided to seek legal advice and potentially file a contempt petition against the PMC in court for not adhering to the court directive.
Another contentious issue was the removal of ‘gaddas’ encroaching public thoroughfare. Some locals had approached the Deputy Collector to address the encroachments at Opa junction. However, other villagers argued that the ‘gaddas’ have been there for several decades and should not be removed without proper demarcation conducted by the PWD and Panchayat.
The matter of the crematorium was also a point of contention. Locals expressed dissatisfaction with the panchayat’s failure to demarcate and allocate 17,000 square metres of land for Hindu, Muslim, and Catholic communities’ cremations.
They also raised concerns about the lack of proper records for body disposal. In response, Sarpanch Sanjana Naik assured the villagers that all records would be maintained and appropriate by-laws will be framed before the next gram sabha.
Other developmental issues were discussed during the meeting, including an inquiry into the Rs 7 lakh expenditure on bush cutting and demands for a probe into non-functioning CCTV installations.
The villagers also requested the construction of an anganwadi at Prabhunagar, Curti, and take note of non-functioning of streetlights on national highway.
Furthermore, there was a resolution to utilise idle water tanks for water supply to the villagers, demand for action against truck parking and the demolition of an illegal structure owned by a company that allegedly employs few locals while primarily hiring non-Goans.
