the goan I network
PANAJI
Not only approach roads are an issue here, but plastic bags, banana peels, broken glass bottles and heaps of garbage are seen everywhere in this part of Calangute.
Michael believes that the outline development plan (ODP) will be an answer to a lot of these issues. He said, “The draft ODP of Calangute is already out. We have marked places where we will make roads, which will connect to houses of poor people. We will also have streetlights on these roads.”
The draft ODP of Calangute came out when Michael was the chairman of North Goa Planning and Development Authority. If Michael gets re-elected this time, his success will depend upon whether draft ODP of Calangute becomes final and how much of that he manages to implement.
A resident of Maddo Vaddo, who preferred to remain unnamed, said, “I have been trying for the last eight years to get an approach road to my house, but so far I am unable to do so. I also think that rich people, who have houses along the road, don’t want approach road to be built to the houses of poor people,
who don’t have an access to road yet.” A lot of such poor people in Maddo Vaddo and Umta Vaddo, without having access to road are fishermen. There is a clear rich versus poor divide in these villages.
As of now, in these parts of Calangute, you either have hotels, where tourists stay, and all of them have access to road or you have houses of poor people without road access. This divide must be addressed by whoever wins the next election.
Michael’s main rival in the upcoming elections is Congress candidate Joseph Sequeira, who is also deputy sarpanch of Calangute village. Sequeira is believed to have a lot of hold on Calangute village, but Michael thinks that people will vote for him since he has worked for development of Calangute constituency.
In Michael’s tenure as MLA, sewage pipelines were laid from Baga to Ximer, but sewage connections to residents and businesses aren’t given yet. People are already apprehensive that there is something wrong with sewage pipelines and roads will have to be dug again.
To this, Michael replied, “Main roads, where sewage pipelines were laid, will not be dug again. Only in few places, a bit of digging will be required because chambers need to be connected to side chambers.”
The survival of Calangute depends upon sewage infrastructure now as groundwater is already polluted. People in this part are desperately hoping that they will get connection to sewage pipelines soon.
It is clear that people of Calangute expect huge improvement in quality of infrastructure. Whoever is elected as their next MLA will have to deliver on that.
