Chief guests are usually given due respect at events and so, WRD Minister Subhash Shirodkar and Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar were in for an unpleasant situation when a landlord rebuked them for not having invited him to the function to inaugurate a project, which had been set up on land donated by him.
The incident took place when Shirodkar inaugurated a Lat-Baim at Dapot-Maxem in Loliem-Polem village in the presence of Speaker and Canacona MLA Ramesh Tawadkar, Sarpanch Pratiza Bandekar, Dy Sarpanch Chandrakant Sudhir, Panchas Sachin Naik, Ajay Lolienkar, Panch Ashutosh Naik and Nisha Chari.
A minute’s silence was observed in memory of late Nishant Prabhudessai, a former sarpanch who had proposed the development of the Lat-Baim, who passed away last month.
Speaking after the inauguration, Shirodkar said the department would carry out water-mapping of Loliem-Polem village and added that the rich availability of water should be be naturally tapped and not artificially pumped. He also suggested to use solar pump to lift the water from the Lat-Baim.
Tawadkar and Bandekar also spoke at the event.
As the function ended, a visibly upset Mahesh Warik, a staunch BJP supporter, walked in and questioned Shirodkar for not having had the courtesy to invite him to the project, the land for which he had donated.
An embarrassed Tawadkar tried to pacify Warik and he along with Shirodkar tried to give him bouquet.
Warik flatly rejected the bouquet and continued his outburst at the two leaders: “You people only complain that Goans do not not come forward to part with their land for the government projects. With such an attitude, this is why people are reluctant to donate their land.”
“I had not demanded my father’s name in the plaque, but I was hurt that I was not invited to this function. I too beleive that government should get all support and cooperation from Goans, but the government should know how to respect people from the ground level.”
Shirodkar then apologised to Warik by saying it had been a mistake not to have invited him to the function.
Incidentally, Warik is a staunch BJP supporter and a diehard fan of former Chief Minister late Manohar Parrikar. At one time, Warik had grown his beard and shaved it only when work on the twin bridges of Galgibaga and Talpona were taken up.
