PONDA: The Hanuman Temple in Ponda has received praise by locals for providing basic facilities to the hundreds of Indian youth who have been in Ponda for a week now as part of their applications for the ongoing army recruitment drive at the military camp in Curti. At the same time, locals have criticised the government for its insensitivity and failure to look into the problems faced by the thousands of such youngsters, who are forced to defecate in the open given the lack of toilet and lodging facilities. The government’s much publicised move to set up bio-toilets too have come under flak given that the same could not be provided for these army jawans.
Further, it is learned that the Centre had directed the State government to provide the youth with basic facilities and a local committee comprising of officials from the PWD, municipality, police, electricity and other government offices was to be formed. Locals slammed the government for its failure on this front as well.
Locals had sympathy that the army jawans had been forced to sleep on footpaths, temple premises, below the underpass amongst other areas.
