PANJIM: Ward number 8 of the Corporation City of Panaji (CCP) is a prominent area of St Inez still crying for the basics of garbage clearance, parking, traffic, drains.
The ward starts from Caculo Mall and goes on to the Models complex next to St Inez Church. It has 1050 voters and the residents number approximately 2500. Almost 40% of the voting population comprises migrants who have settled down in this ward for over 35 to 40 years. The ward has a number of restaurants, cafes, showrooms and other commercial establishments.
Speaking to Herald, present ward member Tony Rodrigues, who is not in fray this time said that in the last term CCP did not release any funds for this ward which led to no development.
The major issue of this ward is parking and traffic which chokes the junction near Cafe Borkar where two roads join. There is need of a traffic island and zebra crossing along the footpath for pedestrians for a safe walk, said resident Arjun Pujari.
“The traffic at all hours at this junction creates a lot of nuisance in the locality. This is further affected due to improper parking on the entire stretch,” Pujari said.
The other issue is of garbage menace where garbage is dumped in open areas in the ward in the absence of proper bins which should be provided by the CCP.
Rosy Fernandes, a resident of ward number 8 said that the streetlights on the main road and inside the ward are not fixed which makes elderly people think twice before moving out in the evening as there are plenty of stray dogs in the vicinity.
She also highlighted that the drains have remained choked for many years and are not cleaned; besides there is a need of construction of new drains. The un-maintained drains lead to problem in the monsoons.
New constructions coming up in the ward are not properly monitored by the authorities issuing licenses, is another issue in the ward which has seen rampant construction in the past few years.
