AUGUSTO RODRIGUES
With erratic power supply in Anjuna and Vagator due to fre quent load shedding, locals are upset that a private agency has been given a permanent electricity con nection to use decorative street lights on electric poles from Mazakai Circle to Vagator Petrol Pump and beyond. “We have to go on pro tests to the Department of Electricity over no lights due to constant load shed ding or erratic billing. In stead of solving our prob lems, private agencies are being given permanent electricity connections to put fancy lights on elec tric poles, for reasons best known to those involved,” said disgruntled villager Raphael Lobo. An RTI accessed by O Heraldo indicates that the Department of Electric ity has given a permanent electricity meter connec tion for street lighting from Mazakai Circle to Vaga tor Petrol Pump to Shank Creations. In a letter dated March 13, 2026, bearing refer ence no SC-271/2025 26 and with no address mentioned, the proprietor of the private company writes: “I hereby declare that we have obtained the No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Public Works Department and An juna Village Panchayat for ten years for the installa tion of the said street lights and advertisements.”
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The unaddressed letter goes on to state: “I further state that all documents and information submitted by us to the Electricity Department for obtaining the electricity meter connection are genuine, true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief. Kindly process our application for the new electricity me ter connection.” Details provided in the RTI indicate that the office of the Village Panchayat, Anjuna-Caisua, had, on January 24, 2026, issued permission to Shank Creations for the installation of advertisement poles and boards from Mazakai Circle to Vagator Petrol Pump and from Vagator Petrol Pump to Vagator Beach Road. In the application form for a new connection, the applicants give their address as Mazakai Circle to Vagator Petrol Pump and state that the purpose of supply is for “street light purpose”. In the column asking whether proof of ownership or occupancy of the premises for which the electricity connection is required has been submitted, the applicants state: “Yes”. Annexure 5, the wiring contractor’s completion and test report, is dated March 7, 2026, while the reverse side of the form, which is supposed to be filled in by the Electricity Department, is blank.
At the bottom of the form, it is stated: “WARNING: No connection can be released without filling this proforma.” The proforma, however, is blank. “We have been struggling due to frequent load shedding, and here, when we go on protest, they are giving connections to make electric poles look decora tive,” fumed Balbhim Malvankar, who obtained the RTI. “The locals,” according to Malvankar, “have to suffer while uninterrupted elec tricity is supplied to the nightclubs. What is the point of decorating electricity poles with lights? What purpose does it serve?” he wondered. The situation on the electricity front is bad in this tourism belt. “There are times when we are called during the day and asked by the department to turn on our generators. We hotels face the problem of generator shedding and not load shedding because the village is not equipped to handle the power,” said the general manager of a hotel on condition of anonymity. “Under such circumstances, it is strange that they think it wise to give connec tions to decorate the electric poles. Advertisements are okay, but light decora tions on electric poles are laughable,” he added. “If there is an illegal building and the Panchayat gives an NOC for an electricity connection, the department gives the connection. Whether a structure is legal or illegal is not for us to determine,” stated an Executive Engineer, Department of Electricity. “The Panchayat should answer why they have given the NOC,” he added. Anjuna Sarpanch Surendra Govekar believes it is ultimately for the Depart ment of Electricity to decide whether it can give the connection or not. “If there is no capacity, they should not release the connection,” stated Gov ekar. “If the Panchayat goes to do something good, there are people who will always want to complain. There is hardly any electricity problem these days.
Our streets cannot be kept in the dark because people can be attacked at night,” reasoned Govekar. “Having regular street lights is one thing, but having fancy lights around street light poles throughout the year is another. It all boils down to how electricity is used and how it is wasted. We may not feel the pinch of electricity being wasted today, but it will come to haunt us some day,” reasoned Desmond D’Souza from Vagator. Referring to the grouse of locals regarding load shedding, Shetye assured that “once the new substation in Saligao is charged, 99 per cent of electricity prob lems will be solved.”
