MARGAO
Ahead of the ensuing municipal election and the Assembly battle next year, BJP leader Damu Naik has finally descended on the battlefield.
On Tuesday the two-time former Fatorda MLA took up cudgels for the residents of Bollepand, behind the KTC bus stand, who bitterly complained of stench from the overflowing septic chamber.
That Damu is leaving nothing to chance to get his political ambition on track was evident after he impressed upon PWD Minister Deepak Pauskar to attend to the grievances of the residents.
Damu’s action also coincides with the Fatorda police launching a concerted drive against migrants and beggars to curb the begging nuisance in the Old Market area.
This is perhaps the first time that the BJP leader has physically got down on the Fatorda ground to take up a public issue posing health hazard and nuisance to the immediate neighbourhood.
Incidentally, Damu had returned on the saddle of Ravindra Bhavan, Margao, after a gap of three years and a half, but this is perhaps the first time that he has descended on the ground, apparently to take on his arch rival, current MLA Vijai Sardesai.
“Residents of Bollepand approached me to take up the issue of sewage overflowing from the chamber causing a nuisance in the entire locality. Since it was a genuine issue, I got the PWD Minister Deepak Pauskar to inspect the site and take remedial action,” he said, while expressing happiness that the minister has set a time-frame for the PWD officials to plug the sewage flow.
Both Damu and Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai have fought as many as three Assembly elections since 2002, with the Goa Forward chief winning twice against the BJP leader, who defeated Sardesai only once in the year 2007.
The duo was locked in a fierce battle for the 2015 Margao municipal elections for the Fatorda area, before the Sardesai-backed Fatorda Forward made a clean sweep winning all the 11 seats at stake.
Sources in the BJP camp say the party leadership and Damu have put behind them the debacle in the 2015 municipal election and are on the job to checkmate the Goa Forward Chief and his panel in the ensuing election.
Billed as the semi-final clash between the Goa Forward Chief and the BJP leader, observers say the ensuing municipal polls may turn out to be a no-holds-barred battle.
