Dissensions hit MMC over Carnival chief selection

TEAM HERALD

teamherald@herald-goa.coM

MARGAO:  Dissensions have hit the ruling Margao Municipal group over the selection of the president of the three-day Carnival festivities in the commercial capital.

While a section of the 14-member group headed by Chairperson Dayanand Deulkar want former Chairperson Arthur D’Silva to head the Carnival panel, the proposal has come under opposition from the group led by Pratima Coutinho.

Sources in the know said the 14-member ruling group had a dinner party at Furtado’s last night wherein Chairperson Deulkar conveyed to Pratima to the demand made by some members to make Arthur the chief of the Carnival panel. 

A visibly upset Pratima is believed to point blank opposed the move, saying that the Arthur group had the opportunity to organise the Carnival last year and demanded that the privilege of organising this year’s Carnival festivities.

Given the situation, the MMC Chairperson is believed to be treading a cautious path, even as he has convened a meeting of the 20-Councillors in his chamber on Monday noon to take a call on the Carnival organising committee.

Deulkar is believed to have told his aides in the Council that Arthur’s group has strongly demanded that the former Chairperson be made the Carnival panel chief. The group is believed to have argued that the ruling group had recently made Pratima the Chairperson of the market committee and she should not raise objections to Arthur’s candidature vis-a-vis the carnival committee.

Pratima, however, has told his ruling Councillors that the Council should elect a new panel of Councillors to organise this year’s carnival festivities on grounds that one of the contractor was not cleared of his payments till date.