PONDA: The Marcaim constituency comprises six village panchayats-Kavlem, Bandora, Talavalim, Durbhat, Adpoi, Agapur, Kundaim and Marcaim, which is one of the biggest one in the State.
Marcaim locals demand that the government and comunidade lands at Marcaim should be given to landless villagers on priority basis and not to religious mutt or ‘outsiders’.
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Kundaim villagers are against allotting the land to NGOs, charitable trust. They claim that the villagers or bhumiputras need this land for housing purpose as most of them are landless.
Other major demands of the villagers include public crematorium at Marcaim, Marcaim-Agassaim Cortalim bridge, 80 per cent jobs to the locals in Marcaim Industrial Estate, gaushalas for stray cattle, proper roads, revival of paddy cultivation and upgradation of Marcaim Primary Health Centre, which is their long pending demand and ignored by the government.
Marcaim local and a professor Namdev Naik said, “Most of the Marcaim villagers are landless, facing shortage of land for house constructions, while on the other hand, there is vast land of comunidade and surrounding panchayats. This land should be given to local bhumiputras, by framing proper schemes and providing them at affordable rates for housing purpose. However, we have often noticed that ‘outsiders’, NGOs, charitable trust and religious mutt are easily grabbing the land at the cost of villagers.”
Naik said, “More than 2 lakh square metres land is given to religious mutt at Marcaim and Kundaim. Already Marcaim, Kundaim villagers lost vast land of village to the industrial estate and the available land should be given to housing project on a priority basis instead of mutts, NGOs or charitable trust. A housing scheme was framed in 1991 for Marcaim villagers by the government. The files with respect to providing 400 sq mts of plots to the villagers are biting the dust.”
“In absence of public crematorium, the locals face hardship at Marcaim. There are private crematoriums but they are not allowed for general public. Hence, the government should sort out the issue. The Marcaim Primary Health Centre which was built two decades ago has seen no major upgradation, which is the need of the hour,” he added.
President of Marcaim Nagrik Samiti Premanand Gaude said, “Recently there was a chaos over the issue of Chitrapur-Karnataka based mutt starting illegal construction at Kundaim, which was strongly opposed by the locals.”
He strongly criticised the pharmaceutical and other industrial units for not providing jobs to local Goans on a priority basis.
“The villagers are facing pollution and other issues due to the industries in the village while these units are giving priority to ‘outsiders’ in filling the jobs. Policy to give 80 per cent jobs to Goans should be immediately implemented as unemployment is a major problem in the village,” he said.
He also stressed on the need for revival of paddy cultivation at Marcaim.
“The villagers at Marcaim, Kundaim face lot of hardship due to breaches in bandaras, causing flooding in the fields and damaging paddy crops to the tune of lakhs of rupees. The villagers want concrete bandaras at riverside to protect the paddy land. Besides, the roads in Marcaim are in bad shape and badly need improvement and hot-mix carpeting”, he added.
