While Shiroda has been in the news of late, the residents of Shiroda rue that the constituency is often forgotten about and their demands are usually low in the pecking order compared to those of other constituencies. Not a small constituency by any means, Shiroda has around 28,000 voters from across all communities with a majority of Bhandari, ST, Catholic and Muslim voters.
When Herald spoke to a cross section of the public; one of the most common demands were about the chronic traffic congestion issues and the need for better planning, including a bypass road that would go a long way in addressing these issues. Locals have complained that the roads are narrow and this has been the case for the past many decades, during which period the population of the constituency has substantially increased. They also felt that the number of accidents on the main roads and internal roads would reduce if the roads are widened.
“The major problem in Shiroda is the traffic congestion we face throughout the year. The situation becomes worse during festivals like the Zatra, Kamaxi Amavaysya festival as well as during Shigmo and Carnaval Parade, where the locals face great hardship in traveling to whichever point of the constituency due to the bad traffic congestion. Therefore a bypass road is the need of hour and should be the first priority of development,” said Suraj Naik, Shiroda resident.
Locals have also questioned what had happened to the KTC bus stand in Shiroda that was constructed 12 years ago but is still not in operation, which they feel could have helped solve the daily traffic mess at Shiroda Bazaar.
While locals have called for roads to be widened at Borim and Bethora, they question what had happened to the pending proposal for a bypass road at Shiroda Bazaar given the heavy congestion in that area. Locals felt that the roads needed to be widened from Top Cola Borim to Borim Bridge Circle and that the proposal for the bypass had to be expedited.
Another resident Prakash Naik concurred and gave the example of how people are facing problems at Borim; due to the constant flow of traffic where they do not get a chance to even cross the road.
“Hence, a bypass road is the need of the hour in the village. Also, the Borim bridge is in a dilapidated condition. It faces lot of pressure of heavy vehicles due to the closure of heavy traffic on Zuari bridge and for the last several years, these vehicles have been diverted via the Borim bridge. The government should go for an alternative bridge before this bridge collapses. If it collapses then it will affect the people from the South and North Goa and the locals will face great hardships and there will be a need to start a ferryboat on this route, “added Prakash.
Locals have reiterated that the Borim bridge that connects the North and South Goa, needs to be replaced with a new one given its bad condition.
The second biggest issue the locals face is that of water shortage, particularly in remote areas. One village that is most affected by this is Bethora Panchayat and Sarpanch Sushant Gaonkar felt this was a key issue that the elected representative should address on priority.
“Bethora panchayat has one industrial estate. With growth of the population, the old narrow pipelines are failing to provide adequate water supply and these old pipelines should urgently be replaced with bigger sized pipelines,” said Sushant.
Locals further pointed out that areas like Pazer, Tarvalem, Shirshirem, Borim and Bethora were facing a water crisis, which needed to be solved immediately. Locals are hoping that the Water Treatment plant at water treatment plant at Mhaisal dam and the plans for another water pipeline to Shiroda from Zuari will help ease their water woes.
Another major demand across the Shiroda voter base is for the overall socio-economic development and for this; they feel there is a need for more industries. They argue that whilst there are industrial estates, the scope of industries operating needs to increase by leaps and bounds.
“Currently 90 per cent of Industries are closed in Bethora Industrial Estate. Few decades ago some, so called industrialists grabbed the benefit of government subsidies at Bethora Industrial Estate but closed these industries after operating the same only for a short period. Further, plots are developed at the Panchawadi Industrial Estate but there is no inflow of industries or generation of jobs. The new MLA should look into this as unemployment is a major problem in Shiroda,” says Harshad Devari.
Locals further felt that due to the lack of jobs available in Shiroda, the per capita income of the people living in Shiroda is low. They feel that economic upgradation and emphasis on higher quality education along with the setting up of industries can help provide jobs to the educated youth. They poked holes at government claims that they had created schemes to encourage industries as the need of the hour was to assist the youth facing difficulties when they approach these industries for jobs. They called for better support from the government and elected representations in this regard.
Another big issue on the demand list is to create a better mechanism across the constituency for its garbage disposal and management. They point out that with the increasing number of residential settlements, the authorities have not been able to rise to the occasion and solve the garbage menace and that this could create a health hazard.
A demand for a crematorium given the hardships the people face for final rites and funeral arrangements; also figures high on the list of issues the Shiroda public want resolved on priority.
Finally, the locals also call for a ground with modern amenities to allow sportsmen from Shiroda to develop their talent.
