MARGAO
Shadow Council for Margao convener Savio Coutinho has said with the Margao Municipal Council claiming helplessness in trimming branches of a tree dangerously bending over the 4-lane Margao-Navelim road, citizens of Colmorod seek assistance from the electricity department staff to do the same.
Coutinho informed that a rain tree lay bending over the main road at Colmorod, and posed a serious threat to public life.
“When the MMC was approached on Monday, they claimed that they did not have the cutting blade/saw to undertake the trimming work, while a sanitary inspector tried to push some sort of agenda by suggesting to the Chief Officer that the MLA's son (not even the MLA), had such a cutter, as such he could be requested to provide the same,” Coutinho revealed.
He added: “The MMC vice-president, Dipali Sawal, while informing that the "MLA's son" is out of the country, said that she would check upon the availability of the much-needed cutter blade. My first thought was that when there are so many government agencies, why should anyone be made dependent upon an "MLA's son"? As such, I approached the Electricity Department Assistant Engineer Carlos Fernandes, as there was a likelihood of some electricity cables getting damaged in the event of the collapse of the tree.”
He said Engineer Carlos promptly obliged and provided his staff and the much-needed cutter-blade and successfully completed the work of trimming the tree on Tuesday evening.
The SCM convener expressed his displeasure that the council tries to systematically make Margao people dependent on an "MLA's son".
Ironically, last year, the council went on a rampage cutting dozens of healthy trees fully, only when trimming was required, that too illegally, Coutinho charged.
