Issues of stray dogs, anti-rabies vaccine raised
A gram sabha member making a point at the meeting held on Sunday.
MARGAO
The contaminated Colva creek dominated the proceedings of the Colva village panchayat on Sunday, with members demanding a solution to the issue.
The issue over stray dogs and anti-rabies vaccines at the Health centre was also raised by the members.
At the meeting chaired by Sarpanch Tereza Fernandes, gram sabha members draw attention of the chair to the contamination of the Colva creek with waste and sewage water.
The Sarpanch replied saying that a joint inspection of the creek was conducted recently by officials of the health, Goa state Pollution Control Board, Water Resources department and the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority. She, however, said the report from the GSPCB is still awaiting, saying that further action will be initiated based on the inspection report.
Social activist Judith Almeida pointed out that she has been told by hotel and restaurant woners that though they have applied for sewage connections, the department is not releasing the connections.
In this connection, Almeida requested the Sarpanch to write to the Sewage Infrastructure Development Corporation of Goa Ltd (SIDCGL) to ensure that applications made by hotel and restaurant owners are disposed of by releasing the connections on priority.
Gram sabha member Thomas Rodrigues said a permanent solution to stop the contamination of the Colva creek needs to be initiated on priority since the issue brings bad name for Colva and tourism in the village.
Rodrigues also raised the issue of shortage of anti-rabies vaccines at the health centre, saying that when dog bites are on the rise at Colva beach, the health authorities should maintain stock of the vaccines.
The sarpanch said the Panchayat will write to the Health Minister as well as the Health Director to provide sufficient number of anti-rabies vaccines at the health centre.
The meeting also witnessed discussion on the sopo collection. The Sarpanch later told the media that the Panchayat has decided to collect the sopo departmentally.
Gram sabha members also opposed the controversial Smart meters for households in the village.
