MARGAO
South Goa MP Francisco Sardinha on Wednesday took up cudgels for the beleaguered anganwadi and healthcare workers, comprising of nurses and multi-tasking staff (MTS), demanding their regularisation in service with the government filling up vacant posts.He slammed the BJP government for making empty promises on the resumption of mining, demanding to know why auctioning of the 7-8 mining leases could not take place on December 15 when the government had announced that these leases will be auctioned first.
The MP reminded the government that nurses and MTS staff had taken care of the people of Goa when Covid had raised its head in the State last year, saying, “These health workers took good care of the people when the scare had turned away families and friends from each other."
Addressing the media, Sardinha said the government should examine its conscience and mete out justice to the anganwadi and the healthcare workers when the process of filling up of jobs is presently underway.
“I demand that the government give preference to the anganwadi workers and healthcare workers who had put in work for five years and more without regularisation. Only after absorbing the existing staff, the government can then go for recruitment of new staff," he demanded, even as he made a fervent plea to the government to enter into a dialogue with the striking anganwadi workers to resolve their issues.
Saying the State’s debt has jumped to a whopping Rs 23,000 crore during the BJP regime, Sardinha said the Congress government had managed the economy well between 2007-12 when the debt was hovering around Rs 7,000 crore.
On Sonsodo issue, Sardinha demanded that the government clear the dump and look out for an alternative site to take care of the waste of the commercial capital.
“During my stint as MLA in the early 90’s, I had acquired land admeasuring 30,000 square metres to treat the Sonsodo waste, but that initiative of mine had cost me the 1994 election when I had lost by 94 votes. I think it’s now time for the government to look out for alternative land, other than Sonsodo to handle the city waste," he said, adding that funds under the MPLAD development cannot be utilised for garbage treatment.
