MAPUSA
In bid to tackle the stray cattle menace, the Aldona panchayat has decided to appoint Gomantak Govsevak Mahasang to lift and take
care of straying cattle in its jurisdiction.
“The panchayat has decided to appoint Gomantak Govsevak Mahasang of Sikerim, Mayem, as pound keeper for the village. The organization will be responsible to lift stray cattles which will help the panchayat to tackle stray cattle menace in the village,” Aldona Sarpanch Deepak Naik informed the gram sabha on Sunday.
He said the pound keeper has been appointed under the Goa Stray Cattle Management Scheme 2013.
Giving thumbs up to the scheme, a villager, Salvador Fernandes said that there was a need to identify the number of cattle owners ward wise in the panchayat. “Unless we collect and compile proper data it will be difficult for the panchayat to tackle the stray cattle menace,” Fernandes said. Another villager, Nicholas Dais questioned how the panchayat would tackle straying cattle from neighbouring villages. Expressing his reservation about the scheme, Teo D’Souza said bigger panchayats had tried and failed to control stray cattle menace in their areas.
The sarpanch said that the scheme was being implemented following a direction from the government. “We will implement the scheme and later conduct a survey if it is working for the village,” Naik said.
A villager, Savio Figueiredo stressed on the need to have a dedicated ambulance facility for the village, as government ambulance refuses to ferry patients to private hospitals. “We will have to work out a plan on how to use and maintain the ambulance. It can also be shared with neighbouring villages,” Figueiredo said.
A local Pranjali Dessai called for activation of the village child committee which has been constituted by the panchayat. “Recently, there has been rise in crimes involving children. Village child committee will be of considerable help to work in the interest of the children in the village,” Dessai said.
She stressed on the need to identify isolated spots where children or youth frequent during the evening hours so that steps can be taken to illuminate such places.
