Karapur-Sarvan, which is a having 11-member panchayat, has witnessed major development in the area since last five years.
The panchayat’s strategic location has given it an upper hand over other panchayats in the taluka. Since the last five years, several housing projects have come up in the panchayat area as a result of which the price of land has increased. There are several establishments including banks, petrol pump, Bicholim PHC and the new Bicholim Police Station in the panchayat jurisdiction.
Despite these facilities, the residents complain that not much has been done by the panchayat.
“The panchayat has always been busy in internal politics. Seven sarpanchas have been elected while on the other hand the panchayat has witnessed three deputy sarpanchas,” claimed Tukaram Sawant, a resident.
“In some places, the panchayat has repaired the roads and has also developed some lakes. But major problems such as garbage and water scarcity have been ignored,” Sawant added.
The residents of Vitthalapur, Gokulwada and Ektanagar complain that every year in April and May, they face acute water scarcity and have accused the panchayat of not doing anything to solve the problem.
They further complained that Vathadev village has been reeling under the garbage problem and the panchayat has turned Nelson’s eye to this problem too.
Deputy Sarpanch Dheeraj Sawant claims they have proposed a new building and during the current tenure the existing building has been renovated.
“In some wards we have replaced old electricity wires with new ones and we have also renovated the local lakes which were neglected all these years,” Sawant informed.
He lamented that despite making several requests to the elected representatives they were unable to sanction a playground for the panchayat.
The panchayat is faced with another problem – the increasing number of roadside vendors along the Bicholim-Sanquelim road.
“Many are non-Goans who are conducting business by the roadside and this has increased since last five years. It has severely affected our business,” Umesh Sawant, a cement retailer complained.
Residents complain that these roadside vendors hinder the smooth flow of traffic along the highway. Recently, based on the complaint of some residents, Sarpanch Aaryan Gaonkar inspected the site but failed to stop these roadside vendors from conducting their business. The vendors claimed that they had already taken the required permission from the panchayat for carrying out their business. The panchayat warned the vendors of causing traffic congestion along the highway.
