MARGAO
A gymnasium, a leisure room for senior citizens, besides a library was what was planned when the spectator stand on the east side of the Raia panchayat ground was built under the MPLAD scheme at a cost of Rs 70 lakh over a decade ago.
Sadly, the rooms under the stand have not been put to the intended use to date as these have come in handy for the PWD to store water tanks.
An inspection conducted by Raia Sarpanch Minguelina D’Souza along with Raia villagers, including former Sarpanch Xavier Fernandes, has revealed that water tanks have been stored in one of the rooms under the spectator stand.
That’s not all. Going by the situation, there seems to be no maintenance of the rooms as evident by the fungus on the walls and water seepage inside.
What’s interesting to note is that work on the east side spectator stand had commenced around 2009, but the rooms are yet to be handed over to the panchayat body to date.
Incidentally, when work on the stands was getting completed around 2011, a portion of the structure had sunk, before the PWD stepped in to stop further damage.
Former Raia Sarpanch Xavier told the media that the rooms and the stand have not been handed over to the panchayat to date as it had insisted that the PWD first repair the structures.
“When the PWD had first asked the panchayat to take over the stand and the rooms around 2011, we had agreed to take over the structure but after watching the conditions during the rains. Since there was water seepage into the rooms, the panchayat had refused to take over the premises,” he said.
Xavier claimed that the PWD had in the past tried to hand over the stand and the rooms after effecting cosmetic repairs and painting in the rooms. “During my stint as sarpanch, I had complained to the then District Collector South N D Agrawal about the situation and the Collector was kind enough to inspect and make recommendations”, he said.
Local villager Anthony Barbosa has called for an inquiry into the east side spectator stand. “We cannot allow the wastage of public money. Agencies such as the Vigilance and the Anti-Corruption Bureau should probe into the wastage of public funds,” he demanded.
Sarpanch Minguelina told the media that the
panchayat would write to the Executive Engineer, PWD, on the issue and also inform the Collector.
Plaint against
cellular Co officer for trespassing
MARGAO: Acting on a resolution, the Raia panchayat secretary has lodged a complaint with the Maina-Curtorim police with a plea to register an FIR against a senior executive of a cellular company for allegedly trespassing into the panchayat property by constructing a base foundation using concrete for a mobile tower.
The FIR has been lodged after an inquiry conducted by the panchayat revealed that the company has allegedly trespassed into the panchayat property. The matter was placed before the panchayat body meeting and it was resolved to lodge an FIR against the company’s senior executive.
