The panchayat of Karapur Sarvan is a major part of Bicholim taluka, given that it is connects Sanquelim and Bicholim.
If you had to ask any of the locals how to best describe their village, they would, with great admiration, call it the land of temples in view of the several important places of worship that are located in the panchayat’s jurisdiction.
However, they lament that now – the cultural and rural identity of the village is being lost with the rise of modernisation and urbanisation.
Amongst the dozen plus temples, some of them featuring prominently on the Goan map, is the famous Vitthal Rakhumai temple, which is located on the banks of Valvanti River in Sanquelim.
“There are many temples in the village and the government should try to develop this area but at the same time retaining its identity. Besides temples, there are lakes and springs which are another special quality of this village. If all these are developed, this village could be a unique and different tourist destination,” said Tukaram Sawant from Sarvan.
On a matter that requires attention, locals raised concerns about the garbage problem and point out that even though there is potential for greater tourism in the area; the waste management issue needs to be sorted first. A big part of this concern is regarding the fact there is a growing garbage problem along the highways.
“As the village is between Sanquelim and Bicholim, people throw all their garbage at Kulan, which is a secluded area, especially after nightfall,” added another local.
It is to be noted that the panchayat, NGOs and even the Sanquelim municipal council have lifted the garbage from this and surrounding areas but all their officials rued the fact that the perpetrators don’t seem to be deterred and continue littering the place.
Incidentally, there have been several demands during the gram sabha, to take action against those throwing garbage along the road side but nothing much has happened. Locals further complain that it is not just the highway, which is affected with the garbage menace but also some of the interior parts of the village such as the Vathadev area that has become a garbage dumping site.
Compared to other villages, Karapur Sarvan boasts of having a number of facilities nearby, such as the Bicholim Primary Health Centre, the police station, banks, a college etc. Due to the lack of space in Bicholim town, some of these projects had to be shifted to this panchayat area.
Locals feel that the same has given the village that urban touch, which has brought with it, certain trends that can change the shape of the village. One of the reasons, why the locals are apprehensive is due to the fact that the real estate value of the village area going up. While, plots are being developed and sold for commercial and residential projects, on the other hand, many of the locals are abandoning their fields, given that the price of the land has gone up. Ironically, the government had recently proposed to upgrade Karapur Sarvan into an urban village.
While the gram sabha of the village panchayat had unanimously rejected this proposal, locals have demanded the government should instead, focus on improving basic infrastructure as well as developing the lake and springs at Sarvan.
“There are two springs and one of the natural springs is located about 100 metres from the lake and it used to provide water throughout the year. Earlier people used the spring water for bathing purpose as the water was considered to have medicinal value,” said a local resident.
He added that the natural spring has been totally neglected and as a result of which, a portion of it has collapsed. Other residents predict that the spring will die a natural death if the authorities do not intervene and take corrective measures and also maintain it in the future.
“Now, hardly anyone visits this spring and even the panchayat has neglected it. We want the panchayat and other authorities concerned, to take up the initiative and restore this natural treasure,” another resident added.
Ex-panch member Dheeraj Sawant said that he had contacted the MLA and asked him to look into the matter but that there are some other obstacles to the same.
“The land where this spring is located belongs to the comunnidade and they are they are not ready to issue an NOC for carrying out the restoration work,” said Dheeraj said.
“When I was the panch, I had initiated the process of developing the Sarvan spring and had also written to the Water Resources Department (WRD). But as the people were not ready to support, we had to drop the project. There is a need to create awareness among the people so that such projects get public support,” Dheeraj added.
Works which need to be undertaken in the village
– Maintenance of lake in the village
– Restoration of natural springs
– Development of tourism avenues
– Retaining identity of the village
– Improving basic infrastructure
– Preventing the dumping of garbage in public spaces and better waste management
