Opposition highlights pressing issues

Opposition highlights pressing issues
HERALD REPORTER
PANJIM, JULY 19
The Opposition MLAs brought to the notice of the House some pressing issues requiring urgent attention of the Government on the first day of the Goa Legislative Assembly during the discussion on budget session.  
Siolim MLA Dayanand Mandrekar informed that a sand bar that has appeared again in river Chapora was causing great inconvenience to fishermen and as such the authority concerned should make efforts to remove the same. He highlighted the sand erosion near Starco in Anjuna and warned that hotels in the vicinity were in danger.
The MLA mentioned that Mapusa Deputy Collector D Redkar has been given several additional charges as a result of which he wasn’t able to deliver the goods. There is a need for a full-fledged deputy collector to check into illegalities in Bardez taluka, he said.
Mandrekar said he has been taking up the issue of Chapora Fort since 1999 and pressed for its renovation in the Assembly. Archaeology ministers have come and gone but nothing is happening as far as renovation of the fort was concerned, he stated.  
The MLA was highly critical of Vishwajeet Rane for his “I don’t care attitude” to his party’s call for starting the new Asilo Hospital on August 15. “There was no mention of hunger strike in our press conference, but the next day Rane said we would go on hunger strike or do anything and he didn’t care,” he mentioned.   
Mandrekar accused Rane of using goondagiri type of language with them. “He wants to give the hospital to a private party under the PPP model. We oppose this move,” he said.
Looking towards Aldona MLA Dayanand Narvekar, the Siolim MLA said during his tenure as health minister the former had never spoken of PPP the way Rane was doing.
Mayem MLA Anant Shet also raised several issues before the House and laid special emphasis on mining, both legal and illegal.      
Shet maintained, “Apart from illegal mining, the Government should check into legal leases whether everything inside was going on within the leased area. A control has to be maintained on the legal mines and these should not be allowed to mine very deep so as to disturb the water table.”