Development eludes St Cruz

SOIRU VELIP | NT
Senior Reporter
PANAJI
The St Cruz constituency that neigbours the state capital has not seen much development and people of the assembly segment lament about the woes that have plagued the villages that come under the constituency.
The constituency, which has seen rise in population, has been lacking in basic facilities like proper sanitation and drainage system, sewerage network, collection and disposal of garbage, playgrounds, marketplaces etc. With the state assembly elections being round the corner, the inadequacy of basic facilities is seeking urgent attention.
People from the constituency complained to this reporter that they have been facing the problems for decades, and even during the five-year term of former MLA Atanasio ‘Babush’ Monserrate nothing has changed.
Some residents said that in the last five years Monserrate was hardly seen in the constituency after the 2012 elections.
The constituency, which consists of three village panchayats of Merces, Chimbel and St Cruz, has 27,578 voters. Out of which 14,170 are females and 13,408 are males.
This time, there are nine candidates in the fray – Prakash Naik (MGP), Hemant Golatkar (BJP), Antonio alias Tony Fernandes (Congress), Jose Gomes (AAP), Shakeel Shaikh (NCP), Pedro Pires (CPI); Rudolf Fernandes, Helen Lourenco and Jose Lopes are contesting the polls as Independent candidates.
“The people of St Cruz had elected the last MLA factoring in his work in his home constituency – Taleigao. But the development that had been seen there (in the Taleigao constituency) has not been taken up here. New MLA will have to take care of basic needs and development of the constituency,” said a senior citizen from the constituency.
BJP nominee Hemant Golatkar has assured that if elected he would take up the issues like scarcity of water, sewage connections, and protection of agriculture land at Chimbel.
Claiming that he facilitated in extending benefits of various government schemes to the people, Golatkar said that if he is elected then he would focus on giving jobs to locals.
Keeping aside the promises, the vendors at the Calaphur ‘marketplace’ complained about the absence of a proper market complex, and they are forced to sit at roadsides which causes traffic congestion.
Similar situation can also be seen at the Merces ‘marketplace’ as elected representatives and the authorities have failed to build a proper market complex.
The people are also demanding a flyover at the Merces junction besides widening of narrow roads.
There are no proper drainage and sanitation facilities in most of the localities, and hence waste water can be seen in open areas.
However, Prakash Naik, MGP candidate for the constituency, has a different take.
He said, “I have drawn up a developmental plan for the constituency, which will be detailed in my election manifesto.”
But the ground reality is that in the villages of Chimbel, Merces and even in some parts of Calaphur people defecate in open spaces as they don’t have toilets in their houses.
Moreover, there is no sewage network in the entire constituency.
In the absence of these basic facilities there has been spectre of water-borne diseases.
The constituency has also been plagued by irregular water supply.
“We get tap water hardly for one or two hours everyday. If we go out of the house then water is always at the back of our mind,” a group of women said demanding regular water supply.
But Rudolf Fernandes, Independent candidate, said that people are aware how approachable he is, and added that he and his mother Victoria Fernandes, former MLA, have been helping them at any time.
He said that if elected he would focus on jobs, playground at Merces, and garbage disposal.
The youth of the assembly segment rue about the lack of employment opportunities, playgrounds and gymnasiums.
“There are many young sports talents in our constituency. But there is no proper playground. We are deprived of sports facilities,” a 23-year-old young man said.
Maintenance of lakes at Chimbel, Bondvol and other places has been close to the heart of locals. However, these water bodies are in bad shape.
Antonio ‘Tony’ Fernandes, Congress candidate has promises in this regards. He said that government jobs to the youth, garbage disposal, sewage treatment plant, water filtration plant, and construction of community hall at St Cruz would be his priorities if elected as an MLA.
Clusters of slums at Indiranagar at Chimbel has been an eyesore and points to the failure of government machinery in keeping up the area. A visitor to the area is welcomed by garbage dumps at the entrance of the village.
Waste water and sewage is chanelled through storm water drains to open fields, which has brought death to agriculture in the area, which ironically decides the fate of a winning candidate.
And that is where Jose ‘Joe’ Gomes, the candidate of AAP that has been in the fray in the assembly polls for the first time, touches upon.
Gomes said that if elected he would strive to deal with garbage menace, provide proper sewage network and preserve traditional water bodies for agriculture.