CANACONA: Road / Electricity / Cellular connectivity / Public transport / Potable water. Does Keri have all or any of these five facilities? The answer is No, No, No, No, No.
But while Keri is an extreme among the extreme cases, there is one facility that none of these six villages have – public transport
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The villages are Vavurla, Keri, Nadke, Endre, Marle and Tirwal.
In the picturesque rural landscape of Canacona, the absence of public transport continues to be a stark reality. People move on foot to access essential services and transportation hubs, navigating treacherous paths to reach markets and administrative offices.
While some villages like Chapoli, Tirwal, and Marle can boast of road connectivity, absence of public transport exacerbates the villagers’ plight. On the other hand villages like Vavurla and Nadke grapple with inadequate road infrastructure, with Endre relying on access through Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary while Keri has no road connecting to it at all.
Nadke and Endre are accessible by road passing through the wildlife sanctuary where a person is needed to open and close the gates at the entry to the sanctuary and there is no asphalted road within the sanctuary.
Keri nestled within Cotigao, epitomizes the challenges faced by rural communities, with no roads, electricity, mobile signals, or potable water. The absence of these basic necessities poses grave hardships as even an ambulance cannot reach it in times of emergency.
Despite being near the taluka headquarter, Chapoli villagers endure the inconvenience of not having any public transport, resorting to private vehicles or enduring lengthy walks to access essential services.
Meanwhile, Marle villagers, after years of struggle, secured an approach road in 2022, but still have to trek long distances to access public transport.
Krishna Gaonkar, a resident of Marle, encapsulates the frustrations of villagers, lamenting their inability to seize employment opportunities due to the lack of public transport.
“Employment opportunities are plenty to fulfill the needs of the families, but we cannot avail them in the absence of public transport,” said Krishna Gaonkar.
Dilip Gaonkar of Vavurla echoes similar sentiments, highlighting the seasonal challenges posed by muddy roads.
Vavurla village is in Quepem taluka but its access is from Gaondongrem in Canancona taluka and residents prefer Canacona market which is only four kilometres away and also has public transport to go there.
While Villagers like Devu Gaonkar of Keri acknowledge the challenges posed by the sanctuary’s presence, they are hopeful of improvements. Despite the hardships, villagers persevere, navigating hours-long treks through jungles for education and employment opportunities.
“I am about to turn 60 years now and since birth, our parents trained to face any situation in life including emergencies. However, what we don’t have now is in stark comparison to facilities that many other villages enjoy now,” Gaonkar said
