ST CRUZ
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ASHWINI KAMAT
The constituency of St Cruz comprises three quintessentially laid-back villages of Merces, St Cruz and Chimbel.
The traditionally agrarian society spread over these areas has begun its steady journey towards service sector only recently. The political culture of St Cruz itself depends and borrows heavily from this close-knit rural social fabric since time immemorial. Sentimentalities influence as many votes as other pre-poll perks.
St Cruz, however, is an aberration to the axiom that political stability translates into quantifiable social progress and economic development. Even though this is his first term representing the constituency, sitting MLA Atanasio ‘Babush’ Monserrate has not been able to achieve much over the last four years. An old fisherwoman at St Cruz market made a profound observation when she said, “St Cruz is no Taleigao”.
Speaking on the lines of electoral make-up of the constituency, total electors in 2012 were 25,524 out of which 21,421 (83.92 per cent) voted. Of these, 40.43 per cent votes were garnered by Monserrate, who won by a victory margin of 2,336 (10.93 per cent) votes.
Activities of Rudolfo Fernandes, son of former legislator Victoria 'Mummy' Fernandes, have gathered pace over the last two months with small groups of his close workers being summoned for long huddles at Fernandes' residence every week.
Having expelled the sitting MLA from the party for anti-party activities, Congress claims to have begun its block-level activities with an eye on the 2017 polls. As per ground reports, the ruling MGP-BJP coalition has also started consolidating its base.
A lot will depend on how each candidate approaches the long-pending issues of St Cruz.
Unresolved civic issues in this constituency mainly stem out of ill-planning and complete lack of political will. Basic amenities such as sewerage, drainage, garbage treatment facility, health services, security, a common market complex and playgrounds continue to dominate the gram sabhas.
Garbage is a pressing issue across the constituency and is debated upon repeatedly at every panchayat meeting and gram sabha. Merces Panchayat officials informed that dry waste is collected each day and is then taken for disposal and treatment by a GSPCB vehicle on a weekly or fortnightly basis.
Identification of a location for a wet waste treatment facility is the hurdle St Cruz has yet to cross and as a result, collection and disposal of wet waste across the three villages has yet to be streamlined.
The other basic amenities eluding St Cruz are water and electricity supply. It was informed that the water pressure is low across the constituency and the electricity supply is erratic.
Among the other grievances voiced by an evidently discontent electorate is the absence of a primary health centre in close proximity of the constituency. People raising this issue are usually told that PHC Corlim caters to St Cruz. They are also asked why they need a PHC with the tertiary hospital Goa Medical College and Hospital at Bambolim and all the doctors and clinics located at stone’s throw away in Panaji.
Lack of a market complex also found a mention in most of the conversations. The market in St Cruz is necessarily a bunch of vendors selling fish, vegetables, fruits and other items on the road right outside the St Cruz Panchayat building. Needless to say that the road remains closed for commuters during business hours.
Road widening has been undertaken at several stretched in St Cruz over the last couple of months. But the residents expressed deep disapproval over the manner in which roads were widened, allegedly by encroaching on paddy fields and lakes. Moreover, it was pointed out that not only are the roads not equipped with drains, they are also not flanked by footpaths. A resident of Merces informed that the road has been widened from Merces Church to Chimbel. “But it has benefitted only hawkers and serve as widened parking spaces,” he lamented.
The main bypass from Merces to Old Goa, currently under construction and upon completion could prove to be a boon. But owing to the ongoing work since the last three years, the road is in a deplorable condition, much to the inconvenience of regular commuters.
Land-related issues continue to persist and illegal mutation of tenanted land and filling-up of low-lying land and paddy field is allegedly common occurrence.
Parallely, houses and monstrous housing and residential projects have mushroomed in St Cruz over the last decade. In the absence of strong public infrastructure, this ‘development’ is weighing down on the existing resources.
Moreover, it is rarely the St Cruz local who buys a flat in one of these housing complexes.
Around 60 per cent of the educated youth in Merces and an equivalent number in St Cruz and Chimbel are unemployed. The number of schools in these villages also leave a lot be desired. There are a handful of educational institutions. But the educated youngsters are left with little choice but to join the casino or hospitality industry. A few have smaller jobs with meager salaries in or around St Cruz. This forces a considerable number to migrate to Europe at a steady pace.
Villagers of Chimbel sought to highlight this situation when the government unveiled its plans to set up an IT park atop Kadamba plateau in Chimbel. They also approached the MLA with their concerns and the fact that Monserrate has yet to make his stand clear on the matter is etched on to their minds.
“It was Monserrate, the then Taleigao MLA, who played a role in getting Rajiv Gandhi IT Habitat in Dona Paula and he transferred that plan to Chimbel after being elected as the St Cruz MLA,” stated a resident of Chimbel, who was instrumental in consolidating the opposition to the proposed IT park.
However, the underlying grievance, technically speaking, appears to be that of accessibility. According to most residents, the difference between the former MLA Victoria Fernandes and the sitting MLA rests, among other things, on the accessibility to the constituents.
Victoria represented St Cruz for four consecutive terms which lasted a total of around 13 years. Contrarily, the rise in resentment and disillusionment with Monserrate in less than four years of his very first tenure as St Cruz MLA has been fuelled by the fact that he remains highly inaccessible to the villagers who elected him.
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Basic issues have yet to be met, and development is a far-fetched dream. Roads have been widened without offering proper drainage and footpaths. Fundamental issues continue to persist. The issue of IT park was communicated to the MLA informing him that this transfer of land will not benefit the locals in any manner. His tenure is almost up but we haven’t heard from him about the IT park.
Issues of garbage, schools, playground still remain. One year into his tenure, the MLA had assured us that a nullah would be constructed near Indiranagar, which has not been delivered. The people of Chimbel wrote to him about their anxieties concerning IT Park in Chimbel. But he has not responded to us.
He has not done anything for Merces. Paddy fields are being converted illegally and land-filling is rampant. There is zero development and because of this many youngsters move out to places like London. Many of us are looking at a political alternative to the existing ones.
Not much development has been achieved over the last four years. Nothing has changed even after we voted a new MLA to power. There is heavy miscommunication and absence of communication between the government and the people when it comes to schemes and projects. We are quite isolated despite being so close to Panaji.
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Year Winner Party Votes polled Runner up Party Votes polled
1967 S J De UGS 7087 J L C Araujo UGF 4045
1972 Jack Sequeira UGS 6586 Diogo Fernandes IND 4483
1977 Jack Sequeira JNP 4462 Diogo Fernandes MAG 2656
1980 Michael Fernandes INC (U) 4574 Francisco Branco MAG 3110
1984 Francisco Branco IND 5537 Antonio Monteiro INC 2939
1989 Victor Gonsalves INC 5729 Victoria Fernandes GLP 4432
1994 Victoria Fernandes IND 5791 Victor Gonsalves INC 4665
1999 Victoria Fernandes INC 8829 Anil Hoble MAG 3442
2002 Victoria Fernandes INC 6658 Anil Hoble BJP 6618
2007 Victoria Fernandes INC 7385 Anil Hoble BJP 6040
2012 Atanasio Monserrate INC 8644 Rodolfo Fernandes IND 6308
25524
Candidate age party votes polled voting
Atanasio Monserrate 49 INC 8644 40.43%
Rodolfo Fernandes 50 IND 6308
It’s difficult to say. I have not been in power this time round, and the government has been sluggish over projects and other things. Five years are yet to pass. It is easy to sit in judgement now. A lot of people will say a lot of things. But I have done what I could.
What matters is what the people think at the time of voting. Now a lot of people will want to play safe and not speak against the ruling establishment. A lot of people from the ruling party will pretend that the fate of the constituency is in their hands. None of this is true.
It depends on what inspires me. If I dream one night that I have to contest in Santa Cruz, I will contest in Santa Cruz. If there is a constituency that is in need of development that calls out to me, I will contest from there. For the moment, I think Panaji needs an MLA who also controls the city council. Make of it what you will.
A: Almost 90 per cent of the ongoing works, which the MLA claims to have taken up since 2012, are projects passed due to efforts of the former legislator. Babush is only completing what Victoria Fernandes started. In fact, he has deliberately kept several works pending.
A: People of St Cruz are smart. They have wisened up to the verdict of 2012 and have realized that there is zero accessibility to the sitting MLA. It takes months for St Cruz residents to meet Babush.
A: Nothing of that sort is presently on the cards. But 2017 polls will have either me or Victoria ‘Mummy’ contesting from St Cruz. The aim will be to revive and resolve the pending issues of St Cruz which include employment, streamlining the provision of basic amenities and development of roadways as well as other public infrastructure, which are the need of the hour.
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The constituency of St Cruz comprises three villages of Merces, St Cruz and Chimbel.
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