JOSEPH PINTO | NT
CALANGUTE
MLA Michael Lobo will be looking to wrest control of the Calangute Village Panchayat from his archrival Joseph Sequeira who has been at the helm of panchayat affairs for the last 25 years.
The major issue that haunts the village is narrow internal roads, water, power supply and flesh trade which has tarnished the image of the village.
There are 11 wards in Calangute panchayat and wards 1, 2, 5 and 8 are reserved for women while 6 and 9 are reserved for OBC.
Sequeira will contest in a straight fight against Francisco Rodrigues in ward number 7. While Calangute ZP member who resigned to contest the panchayat polls Shawn Martin is contesting in ward no 10 at Khobra waddo against ex-sarpanch Annie Fernandes and two time panch member.
“Together for Calangute” panel is riding on the leadership of MLA Michael Lobo and is convincing voters to vote for a change. The panel is highlighting the developmental works done by the local MLA namely, sewage network, garbage treatment plant and illegal structures that will be regularised under the ODP plan.
Calangute is facing many issues such as poor electricity, water scarcity, narrow internal roads, prostitution, hawkers, beggars, transgender and touting which has tarnished the image of Calangute.
Chandrakant Govekar, a local resident from Calangute said that the internal roads are very narrow and residents are not giving an inch of their land for road widening.
Another villager said that the authorities are not taking any action against prostitution, and pimps are also involved with nefarious activities in different areas of Calangute.
The village panchayat is meanwhile helpless as no action is taken by the police. A morcha was carried out in the past at the police station but nothing concrete has taken place. Villagers have said that the authorities are turning a blind eye to the nefarious activities which is bringing a bad name to the village.
Tourists, who have come in large numbers in Calangute, have expressed ire so also the locals owing to frequent power cuts, bad roads and traffic jams, with some holiday makers even deciding to check out of hotels in the locality. Many tourists have been left disappointed over the pathetic condition of the infrastructure in the famous touristic village, said Calangute hoteliers, who are complaining of losing their customers.
Ramdas a local resident said that though the village gets the highest revenue in state in terms of taxes, the residents are given step-motherly treatment due to the erratic power supply. He said that children cannot sleep in the night due to frequent power fluctuations.
The touristic image of Calangute is also facing a serious threat from nefarious activities such as drugs, dance bars, flesh trade, unscrupulous massage parlours and even robberies. In the past, Goa was known for its exotic food, music and hospitality world over, but in recent times things have changed due to an increase in crime, denting the reputation of the world famous coastal area.
The IRB police said that children and juveniles create nuisance on the beach by going around begging or pestering tourists, especially foreigners.
Touts have also contributed to the negative image of the village, who double up as guides and supply girls for flesh trade, and also cheat tourists by taking money on the pretext of supplying girls.
The Sequeira panel says that the development of the village is their main manifesto and if elected the village panchayat will not allow any illegal construction in fields, while giving more stress on medical facilities for the villagers of Calangute.