For TCP Minister Vijai Sardesai, a new police station that he proposed exclusively for Fatorda constituency would be a matter of pride. While this may ring in good news for the people of Fatorda, government's priorities on preferring Fatorda over other villages and constituencies that are waiting in queue for their turn should come in for serious questioning. For now, the proposed Fatorda police station is purely based on political boundaries and not on parameters of population, size of policing area and crime statistics. The question here is why are Curtorim, Colva and several other areas whose need of the hour is a separate police station ignored and why the government is rushing ahead with the Fatorda police station?
Top on the list should have been the Colva police station when a magisterial inquiry report in 2013 had pulled up the state administration over the state of affairs of that structure. Inquiry officer, Sandhya Kamat had made it clear in her report that the Colva police station building is not safe. But nothing has changed since then. Next on the priority list should have been a Curtorim police station. The Maina-Curtorim police station which is housed in Margao headquarters since late 80s has around 12-13 villages in its jurisdiction but continues policing areas which are scattered by boundaries of villages that are apart by several kilometres. Land was acquired in 2005 at Sonsodo-Raia to construct a modern police station with a lock-up and other facilities, but there has been no political luck for an independent police station premise for Maina-Curtorim.
Again, why should the government accede to the demands of Vijai to restrict jurisdiction of the new police station to only Fatorda, shutting the doors for neighbouring Nuvem constituency. Two years ago, the Goa police had proposed a separate police station for Fatorda that included Nuvem village and the Fatorda Municipal area. The inclusion of Nuvem in Maina-Curtorim jurisdiction is geographically incorrect and Fatorda would be the closest and best possible option.
The urgency of the Fatorda police station is also questionable for the fact that it will be housed in the abandoned police staff quarters at Arlem as a makeshift arrangement, a structure from which families of police personnel had shifted after it was declared unsafe around five years back.
Parrikar-led government has given in to the demands of Vijai and the administration is in a tearing hurry to set up the Fatorda police station. It's one of those decisions which are made purely to appease the coalition partners completely overruling the ground realities. It's only to be seen how far Parrikar manages to keep the Goa Forward happy and how far he can stretch the boundaries. What also remains to be seen is if a resurgent Parrikar will emerge after the by-elections.
Top on the list should have been the Colva police station when a magisterial inquiry report in 2013 had pulled up the state administration over the state of affairs of that structure. Inquiry officer, Sandhya Kamat had made it clear in her report that the Colva police station building is not safe. But nothing has changed since then. Next on the priority list should have been a Curtorim police station. The Maina-Curtorim police station which is housed in Margao headquarters since late 80s has around 12-13 villages in its jurisdiction but continues policing areas which are scattered by boundaries of villages that are apart by several kilometres. Land was acquired in 2005 at Sonsodo-Raia to construct a modern police station with a lock-up and other facilities, but there has been no political luck for an independent police station premise for Maina-Curtorim.
Again, why should the government accede to the demands of Vijai to restrict jurisdiction of the new police station to only Fatorda, shutting the doors for neighbouring Nuvem constituency. Two years ago, the Goa police had proposed a separate police station for Fatorda that included Nuvem village and the Fatorda Municipal area. The inclusion of Nuvem in Maina-Curtorim jurisdiction is geographically incorrect and Fatorda would be the closest and best possible option.
The urgency of the Fatorda police station is also questionable for the fact that it will be housed in the abandoned police staff quarters at Arlem as a makeshift arrangement, a structure from which families of police personnel had shifted after it was declared unsafe around five years back.
Parrikar-led government has given in to the demands of Vijai and the administration is in a tearing hurry to set up the Fatorda police station. It's one of those decisions which are made purely to appease the coalition partners completely overruling the ground realities. It's only to be seen how far Parrikar manages to keep the Goa Forward happy and how far he can stretch the boundaries. What also remains to be seen is if a resurgent Parrikar will emerge after the by-elections.
