Calvim’s drowing tragedy has sunk other issues of Aldona
Nestled amongst green fields and trees, set by a river,Aldona is a sleepy little Goan village. And while the sleepy village rose up tovote for change in March 2012, its focus has remained fixated on a tragedy thatmay have galvanised them, but that has seen the rest of the village’s issuesfade into the background.
When Glen Ticlo decided to contest the Legislative Assemblyelections against MLA Dayanand Narvekar, he knew that it wasn’t easy going upagainst a man who had been in power for a long time and had a huge amount ofsupport.
Then came the Calvim tragedy, when a bus carrying childrenplunged into the river. The apathy of the Congress and the delay in vital work,one of them being the Calvim bridge, came to the forefront. Aldona rose up andvoted Ticlo into power.
Glen Ticlo has come good on some of his promises, madeduring the buildup to the election. He did work to provide a platform for thevillage youth, encouraging them to participate in the panchayat elections,ensuring that six young faces were voted to power as panchas. Among them, twobecame sarpanches, of the Nachinola and Aldona wards.
But, issues like the lone primary health centre at Gavar, adilapidated market structure and the demand for a bypass on stilts (to savefields) connecting Corjuem bridge to Nachinola, have not seen the light of day,even as the village looks to the Calvim bridge as the answer to their problems.
“Even though the BJP leaders gave us assurances to build abridge connecting Aldona to Calvim on a priority basis, not much headway hasbeen made. The work started late and will possibly take a long time, which is amajor concern amongst the locals,” says Bastora local Siddesh Chari.
The backlash of this fixated view is that efficient garbagemanagement, proper widening of roads and other infrastructural facilities likea ground, community centre and gym facilities are overlooked. Ticlo mantainsthat all this work will be completed before his first term ends.
As Aldona is in the neighbourhood of Porvorim and Mapusa –the two heavily urbanised constituencies in Bardez -- the growth of Aldonatowards urbanisation is but natural. Ticlo is aware of the pressures on Aldonaand the urgent need for development.
But, it remains to be seen whether the overall developmentof the village will be held to ransom by the demand for a bridge over Calvim.
