Installation of the floodlights would be completed only after May 12, says GFA VP Lavinio.
In an interaction with The Goan Everyday, Lavinio Rebello, GFA Vice President (North Goa) stated that when he was at the stadium in Mapusa on Wednesday morning, the shopkeepers in the immediate precincts of the stadium were upset.Their outcry was reasoned to the fact that the floodlight poles stationed in front of their shops would prevent them to do business and thus face losses.
BASIL SYLVESTER PINTO
Panaji
Towards the end of September last, the foundation stone for the installation of floodlights at Duler Stadium, Mapusa took place much to the thrill of football aficionados in North Goa.
Hopes were on that the work would be expedited shortly but the project went into cold storage.
But more recently, football fans in Bardez Taluka have a reason to rejoice with work on the installation of floodlights having begun.
In an interaction with The Goan Everyday, Lavinio Rebello, GFA Vice President (North Goa) had to state that he was at the stadium in Mapusa on Wednesday morning and the shopkeepers in the immediate precincts of the stadium were upset.
Their outcry was reasoned to the fact that the floodlight poles stationed in front of their shops would prevent them to do business and thus face losses. Throwing more light on the matter, a local informant divulged to this daily that the mast is on the ground on one side of the stadium facing a bank on the internal road which is the property belonging to GFA.
On further investigation, our source found out that as of today minor work is in progress since a while at the basement level which has been accrued. It is only left to be pulled up the cranes. And before the actual utilisation of the floodlights, it has to be tested as well.
When queried as to when the floodlights would be operational, Lavinio disclosed that the installation of the floodlights would be completed only after May 12. The project was handed over to SUDA who gave the contract to a party who would have to hand-over the lights to SUDA, who in turn would hand it over to GFA.
Talking on behalf of GFA, Lavinio expressed his gratitude to the Government without whose help incurring the expenses for the dream project would not have materialised. He went out to single out Dy Chief Minister, Francis D’Souza, who took the initiative under Urban Development to assure North Goa football fans that a long-cherished dream would soon see the light into the twilight.
According to a reliable source at the Duler Stadium, it is learnt that the internal cabling for the mast had not come yet which stayed work of the commencement of the project.
With one of our sources revealing to us that GFA have their coffers empty, and floodlights functionality not easy on the pocket, GFA will charge the clubs using the facility Rs 20, 000 upwards based on the generator, diesel requirements. The North Goa GFA Vice President further reasoned out that with generators in due course getting depreciated, a cost of replacement to the existing one would have to be taken into account while setting norms of receiving fees from the teams per match. Rebello, also added that only big matches like the I-League would be held here. Talking of the advantage of organizing matches under floodlights at Duler, he points out that compared to Tilak Maidan, Vasco and Fatorda Stadium, where night matches do not draw in large numbers (in the I-League), the stadium at Mapusa, draws larger numbers even to other GFA recognized matches.
While stating that Bardezkars are dying for good football, he notably mentions that unlike Fatorda where the fans sit afar from the action and thereby do not develop a good rapport with the match proceedings, at Duler, the fans are more involved and the intensity is much more, as their proximity to the live action is much closer.
