CM Sawant lays foundation stone for upgradation of Santa Cruz ground

PANJIM: After years of planning and follow-ups, the dream project of the Santa Cruz village football ground will see the light as the Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant laid the foundation stone for the works on Tuesday.
The work will commence sooner than expected as Dr Pramod Sawant set a deadline for the project completion and assured the villagers to upgrade the existing playground ground within a year.
“We will be completing the project within a year’s time,” stated Sawant, who added that football is a State sports and the Goa Football Development Council has been working tirelessly in helping the budding footballers.
“There should be more of the likes of Arjuna awardees Brahamanand  (San-khwalkar) and Bruno Fernandes developed from Santa Cruz village and we hope to see more players from this village,” stated Sawant.
Speaking during the function, Santa Cruz MLA Tony Fernandes stated, “Now, Tiswadi will have a top ground and I would like to thank our CM Pramod Sawant and the Sports Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar for making this dream into reality. The Government has given us all the support to carry most of the development work in this constituency,”
“Former SAI Executive Director Roque Dias played an instrumental role in getting this ground upgradation work carried out even when he was in Delhi. His contribution towards the ground shouldn’t be forgotten,” added Ferandes thanking the local Village Panchayat members, SAG Executive Director VM Prabhu Dessai and Fr Richard Pinheiro Parish Priest of Santa Cruz Church.
Fernandes further urged the villagers to make the best use of the facility and stated, “Many players from this village have played on this ground and are currently playing in ISL and I hope we have more players representing top level clubs in the country,” he added.
The estimated cost of the project is Rs 4.21 crore while the work order is amounting to Rs 4.59 crore. The funds are being made available under Khelo India Scheme and Government of Goa. The stipulated date of completion is September 19, 2022.