ALFRED FERNANDES
alfred@herald-goa.com
SANGUEM: The villagers from the twin hilly areas of Salgini and Verlem will be finally relieved to some extent as the PWD officials have assured to undertake the repair work of the almost non-existent road to the twin villages from Wednesday June 02, 2021. The work which would have been started from Monday May 31 is allegedly held up for a couple of days owing to some communication from the Forest Department.
The road to Salgini and Verlem, the hilly areas in the remote Netravali village has been lying in dilapidated condition for past couple of years making the villagers face untold hardship in traversing to their villages due to the bad road.
The two wards incidentally have a single road to proceed to their villages unlike the town roads where one can take several short cuts to lead to one destination.
After a ground report on ‘Herald’ highlighting the plight of the villagers given the bad condition of the road, former MLA Sanguem Subhash Phaldessai accompanied by Suvarna Zambaulikar and others submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant demanding urgent repairs to the dilapidated road to Verlem and Salgini village before the onset of monsoon season.
The Chief Minister had immediately called on the Executive Engineer PWD Vinayak Mashelkar who had assured that the repair work would be undertaken by Monday, May, 31 and accordingly got deputed its officials to survey the repair work that needs to be taken on urgent basis.
Phaldessai also visited the village road and highlighted the places where the repair work needs to be undertaken and suggested the need for laying of underground pipelines at several places for flow of monsoon water which otherwise overflows on the road causing problems to road users.
Zilla Panchayat Member Suresh Kepekar informed that work pertaining to the repair work would be undertaken latest by Wednesday or Thursday and that the same would be completed before the monsoon provided it does not rain. Kepekar said that he is given to understand by the PWD officials that the work could not be undertaken today (May 31) for want of communication from the Forest Department.
It is pertinent to note here that the Government had assured construction of a new road to the village last year. However, the assurances never materialised making the villagers continue to suffer from the bad roads in the village.
Former Deputy Collector from Sanguem Ajay Gaude had even cited invocation of relevant sections from Disaster Management Act to get the road work done in the village if the Forest Department creates any problem to issue NOC for construction of road to the village as it a necessity.
Last year during monsoon, the KTC had even threatened to withdraw the lone bus plying in the village given the bad condition of the road and considering the danger that lies to the commuters and the KTC workers. However, considering the service to the society and it being the lone bus plying to the village, the KTC later withdrew the letter which was addressed to the panchayat and continued plying the bus to the village.
The Verlem and Salgini along with the neighbouring Tudov village are at the receiving end from the Forest Department as all of them come within the jurisdiction of Netravali Wild Life Sanctuary. The Forest Department has been reportedly denying NOC for any development works in the village, including for the construction of road to the village and this has been one of the reason as to why there has been no development in the hilly areas for last several years.
The PWD has been writing letters to the Forest Department for the last over one year for NOC to construct new road in the village but the Department has till date not issued the same, informed Assistant Engineer PWD Sanguem Dayanand Nadkarni.
