MARGAO
The area at the entrance of Gomant Vidya Niketan has received a face lift in tune with the art and culture the city’s premiere cultural institution has been associated with over the decades, thanks to the beatification initiative by local Councillor Shagun Naik.
A pedestrian footpath that resembles a musical piano and instruments displayed at the entrance has added beauty to the centre of art and culture.
Just a stone’s throw away from the cultural institution, right opposite the Gomant Vidya Niketan, the iconic old Margao bus stand, is craving for attention. Degenerated into a state of neglect, apathy and illegalities, the bus stand resembles an eyesore for want of attention from the local Municipal body and the powers that be controlling the civic body.
Margao MLA Digambar Kamat led the First Citizen Damu Shirodkar, City Fathers, Municipal officials and citizens to launch the beautification work in front of the Gomant Vidya Niketan, but there seemed no word coming from the civic body or the government over plans to spruce up the old bus stand and rid the area of the eyesore.
Otherwise, consider this. When school children return to school early morning, they walk past the bus stand and the stench around, where egg shells and garbage is found strewn around. The bus stand has become a makeshift parking lot for accident vehicles as the Margao police dump the accident vehicles at the area for want of alternate space for parking.
That’s not all. Fast food kiosks are permanently parked on the bus stand when the Margao Municipal license condition mandates the owners to tow the gaddas away after business hours. Neither the Margao MLA controlling the BJP-ruled Margao Municipal Council nor the City Fathers or Municipal officials have ever attempted to enforce the license conditions for reasons best known to them.
Resultantly, the bus stand space is being occupied by the gaddas round-the-clock when the license conditions mandate the owners to get the kiosks only during evening time.
Political interference and vote bank politics, civic officials, in private say has come in the way of the enforcement by the Margao Municipal sanitary inspectors.
A citizen, who regularly comes to drop her ward at the city schools, wondered what sort of message is the local civic body and the powers that be sending to the tiny tots over the dilapidated condition of the bus stand area.
“These leaders swear by Swaachata and participate in cleanliness drives. Do they have no time to rid the old bus stand of the eyesore or is it because the powers that be have a vested interest in not initiating action against the illegalities at the bus stand”, the citizen remarked.
