NESHWIN ALMEIDA
MARGAO: It’s a month since municipal councils have been formed and Goa gears up for the Christmas season. Slowly, the residents of Margao are getting restless and feel they have given their new councillors enough time and now they want to see results. The town is still in a mess with road digging, snarling traffic, broken sidewalks, illegal vendors looming through the evening, commercial establishments flouting rules and uncollected garbage, which gets strewn by an unaccounted stray dog menace. Nothing’s changed.
“Actually we’re yet to see performance, and I am getting restless to come back to the council meetings and protest. Now, see these mobile towers erected overnight but not one councillor is raising this issue. One is opposite the Holy Spirit Church, a heritage structure. No rules followed. Even in other areas, this council is yet to wake up I feel,” asserts restaurateur and social activist Nelson Fernandes.
Deputy chairperson and Ward No 15 councilor Doris Texeira who’s in her third term has shifted base from neighbouring Kharebandh to Sirvodem, the outskirts of the town, which supports a maximum migrant population.
“I have noticed that most shops in Margao don’t pay taxes. My aim to meet recovery of taxes through Advertisement Act, trade licences or under the various sections of the Municipal Act. I am in the process of forming committees and groups to serve notices, summon such business establishments and recover from defaulting residents. Its only revenue that will help the municipality functions better,” Texeira said.
While first time councillor Suchita Malkarnekar who represents Comba around Metropole area asserted that she has a lot of requests from her residents and she’s still going through them and figuring out how to implement them while she also wants all previously tendered work to be done on a fast-track.
We asked her about her manifesto and promises and she felt that it’s not really important but what’s more important is to hear people out through visits, then concentrate on manifesto promises.
Margao MLA Digambar Kamat asserted that the council needs to sit down and work hard on meeting their manifesto needs immediately since they got a mandate based on the promises of Model Margao and Fatorda Forward manifestos. Kamat asserted that his role as MLA is to oversee as the onus is on the council to function.
While Young Turk and Comba councillor Ketan Kurtakar pointed out that roads and drains besides smooth garbage collection, seems like a priority of every household. Kurtarkar asserted that a town looks smart only when it is garbage free and that is his aim to ensure garbage free wards in the next three months. Kurtarkar pointed out that the people’s unhappiness with the previous council was their failure to lift garbage and he wants to ensure that doesn’t repeat again.
Malbhat councillor Rupesh Mhatme, who returns to the council after being out for eight years, speaking to the Herald said he’s focus is to make Malbhat garbage free and beautify the ward, which has not happened for a long time. “Our garbage picking up system is all wrong and needs a serious rethink and proper planning and that is my priority,” claimed Mhatme.
While Margao town’s main councillor Damodar Naik feels that the compactors that collect garbage in the town are in a bad shape, and all the time drop leachate and effluents from the garbage collected which stinks and leave Margao in a stink. He asserted his priority is to assure a better garbage collection and a cleaner one that doesn’t inconvenience anybody.
