MAPUSA
For more than a week, the office of the deputy collector in Bardez has come under a strain as it has been functioning with just one deputy collector who has to handle the monitoring of various Covid-related operations besides its normal work.
From monitoring the Covid containment zones to supervising home isolation cases and from monitoring the Covid care centres to supervising the vaccination programme, the lone deputy collector in Bardez has been literally on toes to ensure everything moves clockwise.
The Bardez office of the deputy collector has two deputy collectors, Deputy Collector-I Kapil Phadte and Deputy Collector-II Mamu Hage.
Deputy Collector-II Mamu Hage, who has been recently promoted, took charge as the Additional Collector, Panaji in the first week of May.
The government appointed Veera Nayak as the deputy collector-II in place of Hage in the taluka.
However, the problem started when Deputy Collector-I Kapil Phadte went on medical leave after he injured his leg on May 16.
Bardez is the largest populated taluka in the State with 46 revenue villages and comprises seven assembly constituencies “ Mapusa, Porvorim, Calangute, Saligao, Siolim, Tivim and Aldona.
The Deputy Collector-I looks after 24 villages while Deputy Collector-II oversees the balance 22.
The taluka also has four primary health centres -- Porvorim, Candolim, Siolim and Colvale -- and one urban health centre in Mapusa.
Besides, the North Goa District Hospital in Mapusa has been designated as a Covid hospital while SAI hostel (boys and girls) at Peddem has been declared as the Covid care centre.
“With one deputy collector on medical leave, there is tremendous pressure on the lone deputy collector who has to oversee and monitor all the Covid-related works in Bardez besides attending to her normal duties as sub-divisional magistrate,” said an official, who is privy to the functioning of the office of the deputy collector in Bardez.
“It will be very difficult for one deputy collector to supervise a vaccination programme in the taluka whenever it is held,” the official added.
With the fast approaching rains, the office of the deputy collector has to also gear up to tackle monsoon-related works in the taluka.
The office has been saddled with several applications for cutting of dangerous trees before the monsoon.
