the goan I network
MARGAO
At a special gram sabha chaired by Sarpanch Sonia Dias, villagers have resolved to take out a protest march in the villages of Guirdolim, Chandor and Macazana, the three villages affected by the frequent closure of the railway crossing, after a period of seven days.
Villagers, who turned up in large numbers for the gram sabha, felt that the time has come to voice the long pending issue with the government and railway authorities before the railways take up the track doubling work. They pointed out that though the issue had figured prominently at almost all the gram sabha meetings of the panchayat during the current and previous terms, no resolution has been forthcoming from both the Goa government and the railways till date.
After the meeting, Sarpanch Sonia told The Goan that the gram sabha has resolved to enquire from with District Collector whether any land has been acquired for the construction of the proposed subway, besides the civil design plan. “The panchayat is completely in the dark over the issue. Hence, it has been decided to write to the District Collector to provide details on the acquisition of land for the subway and the design plans,” she said.
The sarpanch said that the village will seek help from other panchayats such as Chandor and Macazana to hold a protest march since the railway crossing also affects people from these villages.
Participating in the discussions, former sarpanch Milagres de Chandor said the panchayat had proposed to the government to construct a subway at the existing railway crossing as a solution.
The issue of the no confidence motion tabled against Sonia by five members of the 7-member village panchayat also figured at the special gram sabha. While the signatories insisted that the no confidence motion has been brought since the sarpanch is not taking the members into confidence, Sonia defended herself, attributing the situation to her refusal to issue NOC for dance floor application made by a panch.
