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Issues on the backburner
- A comprehensive solution devised to tackle Margao's traffic woes
- Parking lots mooted by GSUDA have failed to take shape
- Ambitious transport plaza at KTC bus stand in limbo
- District hospital in the doldrums since Kamat government's exit
- Work on restoration of the polluted River Sal remains grounded
- Government’s plan to tackle Sonsodo mess yet to take off
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If the State’s commercial capital failed to receive the attention it deserved during the Parrikar regime, Chief Minister, Laxmikant Parsekar’s one year rule did not help the city either. In fact, there’s no change in the ground reality in almost all the burning issues plaguing Margao, be it traffic congestion, health facilities, parking, the Sonsodo imbroglio, restoration of the River Sal to its pristine glory, et al, reports Guilherme Almeida.
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The much-hyped city de-congestion plan a la Panaji mooted by the BJP government to ease the acute traffic congestion in the commercial capital has failed to take off “ first under the Parrikar regime and now during the first year of Parsekar's rule. Bumper-to-bumper traffic is literally the order of the day in Margao, but a comprehensive solution has eluded the city till date. Neither the city planners nor government agencies have come up with any comprehensive plan to ease the situation.
The parking lots mooted by the Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA) have also failed to take shape till date. Work on the two parking lots at the pick-up stand and opposite the KTC bus stand were to take concrete shape by December this year, but the parking plan has yet to get a nod from the planners.
That’s not all. It’s now exactly four years since former chief minister Digambar Kamat had laid the foundation stone for the ambitious transport plaza at the KTC bus stand on Dusshera day. Neither the Parrikar regime nor the Parsekar government has shown any interest in the project, with the end result being that the state’s commercial capital has no full-fledged bus stand, leave alone a transport plaza to boast about, unlike small towns which play host to spacious and modern bus stations.
The health sector is also craving for attention. If there’s no improvement in terms of amenities and manpower at Hospicio, the district hospital has been in the doldrums since the exit of the Kamat government. Leave alone the lack if beds, the acute shortage of doctors and para-medical staff, besides infrastructure has hit the functioning of Hospicio. But, the grave situation at Hospicio has not driven the BJP government to expedite work on the district hospital that has been under construction for nearly half-a-decade now. When The Goan contacted the Managing Director of Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC), Sanjit Rodrigues, he said the work order has been issued to the contractor to complete the hospital work within 18 months. Officials in the know, however, said that completion of the work would greatly depend on the funds made available by the government.
Promises to rehabilitate the residents of Tasanzor and the migrant-inhabited Moti Dongor still remains a pipe dream for the beleaguered residents. Though the legal battle over the demolition of the structures atop Talsanzor and Moti Dongor is pending before the High Court, government is yet to come out with a rehabilitation plan as promised by the BJP government.
Work on the restoration of the polluted River Sal is yet to take place, even though the Captain of Ports, James Braganza, recently announced plans of dredging the river at a cost of Rs 3 crore. Questions are now being raised as to whether the dredging proposal is part of the central government's ambitious plan to restore the water bodies across the country, or whether it is being undertaken by the local government.
The government’s plan to tackle the Sonsodo mess has not changed the ground reality. Though the High Powered Coordination Committee (HPCC) headed by Chief Minister, Laxmikant Parsekar had strongly recommended outsourcing of Margao’s door-to-door waste collection, the government is yet to give its green signal to the outsourcing proposal till date.
