MAPUSA
In a rare public outburst against his own party, Calangute Sarpanch Joseph Sequeira on Thursday lashed out at the BJP-led government and its officials for failing to repair roads in the State’s most prominent tourism village.
Leading a delegation of BJP-backed panchayat members to the Public Works Department (PWD) office, Sequeira expressed anger at the continued neglect of Calangute’s battered roads despite repeated complaints.
“We are from BJP and this is a BJP-supported panchayat. If I, being a BJP member, have to protest at the PWD office, then what will be the fate of the common man?” Sequeira fumed.
The sarpanch revealed that the panchayat had written to the PWD on September 9, warning that if road repairs were not undertaken within a week, members would march to the department.
On Friday, when the protest was held, Sequeira claimed no senior engineers were available to meet them.
“The roads are in such bad condition that people have suffered fractures. Even if people die, nobody is bothered. The PWD is simply not interested,” he alleged.
Sequeira did not spare PWD Minister Digambar Naik either, accusing him of refusing to take his calls.
“The BJP government is not interested, and the officers are also not interested in doing work. What is the use of us being from the ruling party if our work is not done? This has to be brought to the notice of the chief minister,” he said.
While insisting he remains loyal to the party, Sequeira made a direct appeal to BJP State President Damu Naik and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to intervene.
“Our party is a very good party, but officers and ministers are not listening. This is very sad,” he remarked.
The tirade comes at a time when poor road conditions across Goa have drawn widespread criticism, leaving the BJP government vulnerable to charges of inefficiency, particularly in high-profile constituencies like Calangute that serve as the face of Goa’s tourism industry.
