TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
MARGAO: Tension rent the air on the Nuvem bypass on Tuesday noon after the local panchayat stopped filling up of a portion of low lying marshy land along the bypass by the road contractor.
While the contractor’s JCB operator claimed he was manhandled by the Nuvem Panchayat secretary, the latter firmly denied the allegations and false and baseless. An agitated contractor, Clafacio Dias, who came rushing to the spot, later parked his jeep right on the road in protest against the assault on his employee, disruption traffic on the bypass
The incident occurred when the Panchayat Secretary Sheikh Abu Hassan, who was overseeing the panchayat’s ongoing work of removing illegal land filling along the bypass, questioned the contractor’s JCB operator for filling up the marshy land. While the JCB operator claimed the secretary assaulted him and took away his mobile and keys, Panchayat secretary, Sheikh Abu Hassan rubbished the allegations. “I was supervising work on removing the illegal land filling on the bypass when I found the JCB operator filling up the marshy land. I only told him to stop the work. There was no assault,” Hassan asserted.
Heated exchanges ensued between the contractor and his supporters and the Panchayat secretary before the police could arrive at the spot. Social activist Zarinha da Cunha was also not spared by the group as she came at the receiving end of the contractor and his men, who abused her with expletives and filthy language.
Zarinha expressed her anguish that the Maina Curtorim police, who rushed to the spot, acted as mere spectators and did nothing to stop the contractor and his men from hurling abuses at her and the panchayat secretary. “Why did the police not pull up the contractor for parking his jeep in the middle of the road? Why is work on the bypass still continuing despite the road being opened for traffic? Why are the contractor’s wheel loaders still move on the bypass, posing danger to the villagers. Why boards are not displayed on the bypass giving information about the work,” Zarina questioned, while asserting that the villagers will work for the protection of the environment and the people.
Contractor Clafacio Dias, however, maintained that work on filling of the low lying marshy land was being carried out legally and on instructions of the PWD. “The panchayat secretary has no right to stop the work and assault my operator. If they want some information, they should have obtained the same from the PWD,” Dias said.
Nuvem MLA Mickky Pacheco, who came on the scene, tried to calm down tempers. He told the contractor not to fill up any land beyond the permissible area. The MLA also got the road measured with a tape.
