Team Herald
PERNEM: Pernem, which is an agriculture-oriented constituency, comprises 17 villages and a municipality. Several government offices be it emergency, educational institutions, etc are located in Pernem town.
Pernem’s Tiracol River links Goa to the neighbouring Maharashtra. The constituency known for its culture has produced several artistes.
Its population is dependent on agriculture but most agricultural land has been acquired for various government and Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects including the Greenfield Mopa Airport, AYUSH Hospital, link road and the starred hotel project which has witnessed protests from the locals to protect their land and livelihood.
The latest project which has come to haunt the locals of Pernem is the star hotel project which also includes casino at Dhargal for which almost four lakh sq mts land have been acquired by a private company.
Due to the land acquisition, most people especially farmers, who lost their land, have not received proper compensation.
Another major issue is unemployment. The government brought several projects in Pernem by claiming that these would provide employment to the locals, but till date only a handful have been provided with jobs.
The constituency is plagued by water shortage especially in areas such as Mopa, Torxem, Pernem town, Dhargal and Corgao village, which has largest voting population in the constituency.
The internal roads too are in bad shape and few wards which have no proper access roads, people are forced to walk through the jungle.
For years, the farmers from Ibrampur, Hankhane, Chandel and Hasanpur have been complaining to the concerned authorities of crop damage by wild boars, bison and peacocks.
