PANAJI
After public backlash for not taking responsibility for the haphazard execution of Smart City works, Panaji MLA Atanasio Monserrate on Thursday took a potshot at his predecessors for neglecting the civic issues and instead “building bridges.”
“Earlier things had collapsed…these are being replaced…all these works are pending for the last 25 years. Instead of bridges and all, the most important thing is… I am more about my constituency than anything else,” he said while responding to media queries about daily complaints over the inconvenience caused to the general public owing to the ongoing works. The BJP legislator however refrained from naming anyone.
Monserrate acknowledged the inconvenience but assured the work will be completed within one month. “Just relax. I have not done anything,” he said, adding, “The work is ongoing. Let these be complete. People need to have patience because these pending works are taken up now.”
The Panaji MLA also refused to react to the spillage of sewage owing to the works in most parts of the city stating, “Some or the other problems are occurring every day.”
The minister was at the receiving end of the people through his recent statement that he is an MLA and not an engineer and was not accountable for the Smart City works.
In his repeated media statements, he said that people should have patience if they want a progressed Panaji, adding that landscaping, intersection redesign and plazas are part of the development planned. While the city is also preparing for the G20 Summit, the haphazard digging of roads and laying of huge pipelines continue to happen at a snail’s pace.
