A State which has been voted as the best administered smallstate in the country, it is ironical that a small village comprising of 20families live in near darkness.
Nadkem a village in Contigao village panchayat in Canaconacelebrated half a century of Goa’s liberation in near darkness.
The state boasts of having the highest GDP in the countryand the best indicators in health and education, but Nadkem lacks basicfacilities like electricity, roads, water and education.
Successive governments have failed to fulfill the villagers’primary demand for electricity besides other facilities.
95 percent of people from Cotigao village panchayat, whichcomes under wildlife sanctuary are made up of tribals. And those living inNadkem are all tribals.
According to local Bhoiro Gaonkar for years, the twentyfamilies, who reside in the Nadkem have been vocal in their demand forelectricity.
The neighbouring villages which received electricity linesbefore the area was declared as a wildlife sanctuary all have power but Nadkemcontinue to live in darkness. In this age of technology they still use kerosenelamps in the night.
In 2010, on the request of Poinginium MLA Isidore Fernandes,the government had installed solar panels with battery backup as a solution toNadkem’s electricity problem.
“Within three months the installation broke down. Nadkem nowreceives less than 30 minutes of electricity every day,” said Sarpanch RajeshGaonkar.
According to Devidas Gaonkar a Marathi daily correspondentsome people had purchased radios and TVs as soon as they received “SolarElectricity,” but their joy was shortlived.
During Ganesh Chaturthi, the residents of these housescelebrated the festival without electricity and perhaps theirs was the onlyvillage ward in the state of Goa to celebrate the festival with oil lamps,Gaonkar said.
These people are predominantly into agriculture. Theresidents here have been long demanding basic facilities like electricity,roads, water and education, but their pleas have fallen on deaf ears, saidlocal resident Prakash Gaonkar.
He further said that they have also been demanding a bridgefor decades, to connect them from Eda in Cotigao to their village. During themonsoon, the ward is completely cut off from civilization and access to theward is not only difficult but nearly impossible due to the fast current of theriver water.
However, officials of the forest department do not seem tounderstand or do not want to understand the hardships faced by the villagersresiding in this hilly terrain.
Local MLA, Ramesh Tawdkar with Parrikar-led government isdreaming to make Goa a model state but here is a village that lacks basicfacilities.
