SANGUEM: Despite tall claims by successive governments of having spent several crores of rupees on development projects in Sanguem, the constituents here wonder as to where all this money has gone as the constituency continues to fall short of desired development projects even after six decades of liberation.
Except for development of main roads, there isn’t any marked improvement of basic facilities in the constituency.
The basic demand of the people from Sanguem for past several decades remains to that of upgradation of primary health centre. Despite an urgent need for improvement of medical services at Sanguem PHC, no efforts are seen being endorsed by successive governments to upgrade the health centre and provide the much desired services at the PHC.
Except for first-aid, the PHC does not have any other notable services. It fails to provide much needed emergency services in cases of cardiac arrest and accidents. In such an eventuality, the patients are referred to Hospicio Hospital Margao after first-aid treatment which many a times has proved costly on account of long distance involved in shifting the patients to Margao.
The successive governments have also miserably failed in solving the issues of 89 families who paved way for construction of Selaulim Dam. Even after over 30 years of their displacement, these families continue to remain landless despite assurances by the government of housing and agricultural plot.
The dam-affected Selaulim evacuees have time and over again been knocking the doors of the governments to resolve their issues but to no avail.
In the year 2019, Revenue Minister Jennifer Monserrate assured of getting their issues resolved within a month. However the issue continues to remain at the same platform as it was on day one of the assurance, with no solution at sight in the near future.
Ironically, Sanguem taluka despite being the home for Selaulim Dam which caters to the drinking and agricultural water supply needs of people in South Goa, many villages in Sanguem taluka viz Pansaimol and some pockets in Netravali, Kavrem Pirla and Wadem village face drinking water supply problem during summer season.
Sanguem constituency is also lacking internet services in the remote areas which ultimately has caused severe hardships to the student community and professionals during Covid times. With online classes and work from home being the order of the day, people residing in the remote areas sometimes have to travel as far as two kilometres to track internet signals.
In the agricultural sector also, the picture is not too rosy for the farmers. Since the closure of Sanjivani Sugar Factory, farmers who were involved in Sugarcane cultivation are spending sleepless nights as future for Sanjivani Sugar Factory continues to remain bleak with concrete solution at sight as of now.
The scenario in mining sector is no different either. With no signs of immediate revival of mining activities, youth in the taluka ponder over their future. They however continue to keep their fingers crossed with the hope of seeing better days once the new government comes.
