the goan I network
MARGAO
Two days after the Navelim gram sabha opposed a police station in the village, Navelim MLA Luizinho Faleiro along with police officials fanned out to a number of places in the constituency and outside to scout for a suitable land for the proposed Navelim police station.
With Navelim villagers opposing the setting up of police station in Navelim, Faleiro along with Margao police station in-charge, PI Kapil Nayak and others hopped from one place to another with the hope of identifying suitable land for the police station.
The team is believed to have even visited a couple of places at Dramapur and Sirlim villages, besides the Housing Board at Rumdamol and Davorlim area to scout for land to set up the police station.
The Navelim MLA told The Goan that the proposed Navelim police station will have jurisdiction not only over Navelim, but the villages of Telaulim, Dramapur-Sirlim, Aquem-Baixo, Rumdamol Housing Board, Davorlim and Dicarple. “We have shortlisted a couple of places which can be explored to set up the police station, but it is left for the people and the police to take a final call,” he said.
Faleiro clarified that once the police department zeroes in on a particular place,
the proposal will then be placed before the gram sabha for a nod.
Police officials in the know, however, said the entire objective of setting up the Navelim police station would be defeated if the police station is set up in the interior areas of Navelim constituency. “Setting up the new police station at Rumdamol housing board or Davorlim will serve no purpose. People of Navelim will then demand that they would be content under the jurisdiction of Margao police station,” remarked a police official.
The official further pointed out that the department is looking out for a central place which is easily accessible to all the surrounding villages. “Navelim village would have been an ideal village for the new police station. But since the villagers have opposed the same at the Sunday gram sabha, the fate of the proposed police station now hangs
in balance,” the police official added.
The Goa police had initial plans to house the proposed Navelim police station at the Navelim panchayat ghar. The panchayat ghar was even inspected and accepted by the police top brass including IGP Jaspal Singh, SP headquarters Shekhar Prabhudesai, SP, South Arvind Gawas and others. While the police department had decided to house the police station on the ground floor of the panchayat ghar, the Navelim panchayat made it clear that they cannot spare the panchayat hall to house the police barracks since the hall is used to hold the gram sabhas and other panchayat functions.
Incidentally, while some of the panchayat members were in favour of setting up the proposed police station at Mandopa and Cairo Nagar on land gifted to the panchayat body, the Sunday gram sabha has vetoed the proposed Navelim police station from being set up in Navelim village.
