MARGAO: The lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus has come as a blessing in disguise to the Carmona Panchayat which is now able to engage migrant labourers at the wages recommended by the government and have started cleanliness and pre-monsoon works.
Before the lockdown, the migrants used to refuse to work for the panchayat on grounds that the wages offered were low. Now since they cannot get work anywhere, they are willing to take up the work as the panchayat issues them work passes as directed by the Director of Panchayats.
Sarpanch Allwyn Jorge disclosed that the panchayat has already cleared all the garbage and litter that was lying by the main roads and now proposes to clean the internal roads, too, thus giving the village a clean and neat look.
The panchayat has also cleaned the Material Recovery Facility and plans to clean up all the public open spaces in the village.
“Once the road side cleaning is done, we propose to use the labourers to clean the gutters and the water bodies in the village,” he said adding that this would ensure that the village does not face any flooding during the monsoons.
The panchayat also proposes to coordinate with the Electricity Department to trim the roadside trees, which can damage the power cables during the monsoons. This, the sarpanch said, would ensure uninterrupted power supply during the monsoon.
Jorge disclosed that the panchayat will not get involved in distributing of provisions to the villagers, but has ensured that the shop keepers do order the required stock so that villagers do not suffer. “We hope that the Horticulture Corporation revives its stores in the village, but meanwhile we have arranged a private vegetable vendor to provide vegetables in the village,” he said.
“We plan to use this lockdown period to help nature recover and will clean and rejuvenate the natural resources like springs and ponds,” he said adding that the restriction of people’s movement is helping the cleanliness drive in a big way.
