Navelim opposes bridges
HERALD REPORTER
MARGAO, JUNE 14
The Navelim gram sabha witnessed uproar over the Sinquetim-Benaulim and Dongorim bridges with the gram sabha members strongly opposing their construction.
At the meeting held at the Rosary School hall on Sunday, agitated gram sabha members demanded to know why the villagers were not taken into confidence while considering the proposal for the Sinquetim-Benaulim Bridge. They expressed their apprehensions that many houses would be affected, while others maintained that the compound walls would have make way for road widening once heavy traffic plies on the bridge.
They also feared that the bridge would damage the environment as the bridge is planned on marshy land and fields in the vicinity. Another contention raised by the opponents is that the government has till date not done any Environment Impact Assessment of the project, even as they passed a resolution to oppose the bridge.
The members also opposed the bridge at Dongorim saying the bridge was to come on aligned route. Members argued that the PWD is planning the Aquem-Baixo-Dongrim Bridge on aligned route and not the original one.
The meeting witnessed a lot of commotion during discussion on the issue and the Sarpanch Paul Pereira had to clam down rising tempers. At the last gram sabha, it was resolved that the bridge should be small to accommodate only 2-3 wheelers since as the existing mandop bridge is a few meters away.
The meeting also discussed the garbage menace with members saying that all housing colonies, individual houses and institutions should have composting pits for organic waste. It was decided that plastic and other garbage should be picked by the panchayat. Also, people asked the panchayat to be strict with people dumping garbage along the road and to put up notice boards for the same.
Other resolutions adopted were to save the frog, to have police patrolling near the Church due to rising incidents of molestation and eve teasing, to demand a new health centre with all facilities.
The FAR which was resolved in earlier special gram sabha to finalise RP2021 , was made effective from today to be 80% upto 500 sqmts and for plots above 500 sqmts to have VP3 status as per RP2021. Cooperative farming was also deliberated at the meeting so that farming activities of all cash crops could be started.
for medicinal plants, vanilla plantations etc after studying the correct crop.
