PANJIM, FEB 18: The St Inez nullah running through ward number 13 raises a stink as it passes through the densely populated housing colonies. For the 2011 CCP polls, the residents feel that the corporator should promise to clean the St Inez nullah, which not surprisingly, has become the bane of the ward.
Prasad Amonkar, a corporator from the Babush panel, elected last time around, tried his best to fix the problem, but the blockage of funds under Jawaharlala Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) impeded his intentions. The ward has Tamba colony, Navketan colony, Evergreen colony, Madhuban, Parijat and many other housing societies, where many of the who’s who of the city stay.
The ward also houses the city’s only traffic signals, which incidentally were supposed to work on solar energy but ceased to function a few years later, forcing the traffic police to man the flow of vehicles. The road at this intersection wears a worn out look post the heavy monsoon, but just recently, that look is getting a makeover. A few months ago, just before IFFI, the Panjim MLA Manohar Parrikar was personally seen supervising the reconstruction of this pothole ridden road stretch.
Amonkar said that he has undertaken works worth Rs 50 lakhs in this ward which includes hot mixing of roads, repairing of drains and two separate gardens for Tamba and Navketan colonies. Work worth another Rs 40 lakhs through the public works department, are in the pipeline.
Amonkar, in 2006, had defeated Ramchandra Bakhle. This time around, the ward is reserved for women forcing Amonkar to shift his aspirations to another ward. Mangala Karapurkar, supported by Babush and BJP-backed Bharti Borkar will be locking horns for the upcoming 2011 polls. Thirteen is usually considered an unlucky number; let’s hope these resident’s fortunes will change in the coming years.
C. Shetye, a housewife says, “The colony where I live is well maintained,especially the garbage problem, which was haunting us, has been solved. But only small patches of roads have developed pot-holes, which required hot mixing.”
