The constituency of Priol comprises seven panchayats and is one of the most neglected areas in the state. People are facing lot of problems, water scarcity being the main issue.
Since Priol is an area which is located at different altitudes, people living in hilly areas lack the luxury of having potable water and those in low lying areas have no proper roads. In some places the villagers are forced to carry sick people on their shoulders to get medical help. Most of the roads have not been tarred and villagers have to bear the dust created by passing vehicles.
When this reporter visited Kerim Panchayat situated at a high altitude, the villagers were seen waiting for the water tanker to arrive. Empty barrels are placed on the roadside. These would get filled only when the tankers arrive at the site. The roads winding up the hills also have sharp turns in Savoi-verem and Kerim.
A Kerim villager Tulshidas Gavde, who was waiting for a bus to arrive, said local women face hardships for water, especially in summer, when they have to travel longer distances to fetch water. The villages of Nalle, Amadi, Vangal falling under the Kerim Panchayat and some parts of Savoi-verem are permanently dependent of tankers to get water. The demand to construct a storage tank has fallen on deaf ears. The plan to build a 25MLD water treatment plant is yet to materialise as villagers continue to face shortage of drinking water.
Adv. Varad Mardolkar and Ramkrishna Zalmi said the constituency is the worst sufferer of the amendment in the Agricultural Tenancy Act and farmers are losing cases in Court because of lack of documents.
When this reporter visited to Apewal panchayat the villagers at Karmale complained that there is no access road in their area. “In our area 150 houses are isolated. When someone falls sick or needs urgent medical attention we have to either carry the patient on shoulders or on a makeshift wooden structure till the main road covering a distance of about one kilometre,” said a villager.
A similar situation prevails in Kerim, Wangal, Nallem and Amadi. The youths staying at Wangale in Kerim said their clothes are dirtied by the dust arising from the mud roads. “We have to walk at least a kilometre after getting off the bus to reach our destination. The villagers need more KTC buses to alleviate our suffering. The farmers also cannot transport their agricultural machineries for lack of proper roads,” said a youth from Kerim.
The Mangueshi Mahalsa is a famous tourist destination. The tourism project, which includes rest room and hotel, is neglected for the past four years, resulting in a loss to the government treasury.
The KTC bus stand at Marcel also needs attention. Since Priol is land of famous artists a Ravindra Bhavan in the need of the hour at Marcel or Kerim.
A high-voltage battle is expected for the Priol seat between Independent Candidate Govind Gavde and two-time MLA, MGP President Deepak Dhavalikar. In the absence of an alliance, BJP is expected to support Gavde who is trying his luck for the second time against Deepak. As an Independent candidate Govind secured more than 10,000 votes despite an alliance in 2012.
The AAP, which had earlier supported Govind Gavde unconditionally, has withdrawn their support to Govind alleging that BJP is communal. The Kejriwal party has now fielded Dr. Dattaram Desai who is a social worker and also was in the forefront in the agitation against Nylon 66.
Beside Congress candidate Ramkrishna Zalmi is also in fray. Zalmi is the president of the Tenant Mundkar Association fighting for interest of farmers.
“He (Deepak) has failed to provide jobs and bring overall development. I will focus on providing education, improving agriculture and promote job-oriented industries and arrange training for youths,” said Gavde.
Rejecting the allegation, Deepak said his work will return him to the Assembly.
“The BJP is weakened. It claims of securing 17,100 votes for North Goa BJP MP in the 2014 Lok Sabha election from Priol. If such is the case why are they now supporting an Independent and not fielding their own candidate? I am not bothered even if all parties support an Independent candidate contesting against me,” said MGP President Deepak.
