Locals hope things will improve when junket tour returns
TEAM HERALD
bureau@herald-goa.com
CALANGUTE: With status quo declared over road widening work from Khobravaddo, Calangute, locals are now left with dust pollution and uneven roads.
Though the sewerage treatment plant work has been completed with the laying of a pipeline, the road has not been restored to its original condition.
The uneven and muddy road causes inconvenience to the locals and business community. The GSIDC has been entrusted to carry out the works on road widening, but there is no progress on this front so far.
The fallout of the public spat between Calangute MLA Michael Lobo and local bigwig Joseph Sequeira is also a cause of concern for the locals, as development could come to a standstill. However, the locals are waiting for a turnaround in the unsavoury development, following an official European tour by both the leaders.
Lobo had earlier made a statement that the Calangute Association-Baga roads would be open for general public by October end. However, the public spat between Lobo and Sequeira at the Calangute market forced the Deputy Collector of North to issue an order calling for status-quo on the work, as Calangute Panchayat was in the process of carrying out road widening work.
Sequeira had earlier claimed that the local body wants to complete the road widening work, while Lobo had stopped the road widening work after terming it as “haphazard development.”
Lobo was seized of the matter and constantly in touch with GSIDC officials, but nothing concrete materialized. The new developments may take place only after the return of the GSIDC officials and the leaders from their European tour.
