PANAJI: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday announced that the government will soon initiate a comprehensive master plan for Bicholim to guide its future development.
“Within a few days, the master planning of Bicholim city will be initiated. This will encompass underground cabling, a future IT network and a sewage network,” Sawant said while inaugurating the redeveloped KTC bus stand at Bicholim. He said the planned sewage infrastructure would also help address the condition of the Valvanti river and ensure that future development is supported by adequate civic infrastructure.
Sawant said the government’s approach was to create infrastructure that would cater not only to Bicholim’s present requirements but also its future growth. He pointed to the redevelopment of the KTC bus stand as part of this wider development plan. The new bus stand has been developed at a cost of around Rs 16 crore on 5,730 square metres, with approximately 1,205 square metres of construction.
Defending the decision to inaugurate the facility ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi, Sawant said the remaining minor works would be completed shortly. “Even if a small amount of work remained incomplete, we deliberately decided to inaugurate it before Chaturthi so that facilities would be available to the public,” he said.
The Chief Minister said the bus stand had been designed as an interstate facility and would assume greater importance with the expansion of road connectivity in and around Bicholim. “A bypass was created for Bicholim city at a cost of more than Rs 100 crore. In the long run, we have a futuristic plan to directly connect from Banda to Dodamarg, and from Dodamarg to our ring road,” he said.
Sawant said the new bus stand would also consolidate several transport-related services currently operating from the old premises. “The Transport Department’s office, the Kadamba Transport Corporation’s office and all other services that are currently operating from the old KTC will be brought here within two months,” he said.
Sawant also directed the KTC to allocate a shop for women and Self-Help Groups under the Community Level Federation. The shop will allow SHGs from across Bicholim taluka to display and sell local products. The Chief Minister said the bus stand was part of a broader transformation of Bicholim, which had witnessed significant infrastructure development over the years.
Referring to projects undertaken since he became an MLA in 2012, Sawant cited the new hospital, police station, fire station, administrative building and bypass. He said the old police station building behind the bus stand was in a dilapidated condition and had been renovated before the police station was shifted there. The fire station was also shifted from the city centre, while the new administrative building provides facilities for the Deputy Collector, Mamlatdar and court-related services. Sawant said the administrative building would also be inaugurated soon. “Today you can see how Bicholim is expanding. We have made long-term provisions for its development and are systematically transforming the face of Bicholim,” he said.
Sawant linked the government’s development agenda with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Viksit Bharat 2047’, saying infrastructure was being created with the needs of future generations in mind. He also hit out at the Opposition, accusing it of spreading “false propaganda” against government projects. “As elections approach, the Opposition will have absolutely nothing to say. In Bicholim and across Goa, they cannot point out a single project that we announced but failed to complete,” Sawant said.
He appealed to people to return the BJP-led government to power in the 2027 Assembly elections. “We must all resolve that this double-engine government should return to power in 2027. If we want to take infrastructure development and human resource development further, we need your love and blessings for this BJP government,” he said.
Sawant also added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday on September 17 would be observed through a month-long ‘Seva Ka Sankalp’ campaign, beginning on September 17 and continuing until October 17. “It is not a birthday celebration, but a resolve to continuously serve the people,” Sawant said, urging people to participate in the initiative.
