BY NIRGOSH GAUDE | NT
PONDA: Bandora village in the neighbourhood of Ponda is bestowed with beautiful temples, paddy and arecanut fields, and two ministers – PWD Minister Sudin Dhavalikar and Art and Culture Minister Govind Gaude from the village serve the state presently. However, the village is lagging behind in many areas.
The panchayat comprises 11 wards which include Nageshi, Dhonsi, Bandora, Raigini, Ramnathi, Kharwade, Unir, Gaunem, Farmagudi, Chirputem and Shapur.
Despite smooth functioning of the panchayat, the village has seen little development in the last five years.
The panchayat has tried its hand at door-to-door garbage collection, but it works in a limited way, claimed a local.
Tackling of garbage issue, stray cattle menace, improvement of angandwadis, library, primary schools and healthcare facilities have received hardly any attention.
Even the panchayat hall and the garden in front of the panchayat office have been poorly maintained, claimed Surel Tilve.
“With the local MLA serving the state with two important portfolios of PWD and transport for many years, Bandora village has seen improvement in roads and water supply in most parts, but nothing more is happening. The village requires attention in a lot of areas. The panchayat also has no proper sources of revenue,” said a Bandora local, Shashikant Bandokar.
The issue of NOC, that had been given by the panchayat for the proposed sewage treatment plant at Unir, allegedly without taking locals into confidence, dominated discussions at gram sabhas for last one year and the proposed project continues to be a major issue in the village. The dissent of the locals compelled the panchayat to revoke the NOC.
Later, demanding to know the exact location of the plant, the locals stopped the sewer line laying work. The locals alleged that the panchayat had given the permission for the STP without conducting any impact study.