the goan I network
MAPUSA
From bad roads to garbage, stray cattle and street lights, students of Siolim-Marna took their sarpanch and panch members to task on a host of issues plaguing the village.
Students from SFX High School and HSS and Kirti Vidhyalaya took the opportunity to raise various issues affecting the village and development work at the bal sabha held in the Siolim-Marna panchayat recently.
With the main Siolim-Marna road in a pitiable condition, the students took no time to question the panchayat members for failing in their duty. “The roads in the village are in pathetic condition. For the last four months, the residents of Siolim have faced difficulty in traveling on the main Siolim-Marna road that is completely destroyed,” Nelson Carvalho, Class 12 student of SFX, said.
He also said stray cattle were moving dangerously on roads while garbage was not being picked on time.
Class XI student of HSS, Jane D’Souza said although Goa has been declared open defecation free, people were still found urinating in the open and there were no adequate facilities provided to women. “There is need to provide public toilets to commercial units in the village,” D’Souza said and added that there was no proper drainage system along the MDR-6.
Another student opined installation of traffic signals at unmanned road junctions to reduce traffic jams. He also stressed the need of a website for the panchayat when the government was focusing on a digital push in the country.
A student of class XI, Lynoshka Linson requested for interlocking tiles in front of the SFX school up to the transformer as water gets accumulated in the areas during the rains. She also appreciated the works undertaken by the panchayat along with the child committee.
The students of SFX HSS also raised issues of erection of bus stops, destination signboards, funds for a new ground, making footpaths free for public to walk, etc.
Siolim-Marna sarpanch Monali Pednekar informed the students that the panchayat would soon distribute dustbins to each household in the village. She also said only those residents who produce house tax receipts will be provided with the dustbins.
Pednekar said the panchayat provides new light fixtures during the festival season and urged the students that when the light fixtures don’t work, they should call up the Siolim sub-section office to register their complaints. The sarpanch also spoke about the initiatives taken by the panchayat with regards to the Swacchata Hi Seva during the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
The panchayat members assured to do their best to try and complete the proposals offered by the students. Panch members Sylvester Fernandes, Fermina Fernandes, Vignesh Chodankar, William Fernandes, Mahesh Govekar and Sharmila Vernekar were also present.
