vishant vaze | NT
SANKHALI
The ban on mining and its fallout is one of the main issues in Sankhali. The irregular power and water supply is also likely to have a bearing on the ensuing panchayat elections in the town. There are also other issues like lack of medical facilities, lack of full-fledged police station and traffic congestion.
Sankhali which was earlier known as Pali constituency comprises of municipal area Sankhali, village panchayats including Amona, Surla, Harvalem, Navelim, Kudne, Velgeum and Pali-Kothambi.
Mining was the mainstay of the livelihood of a sizeable population until it was banned rendering many jobless and resulting in a total collapse of the Sankhali economy. Though, the mining operations have restarted, the problem of unemployment still persists in the town.
Village panchayats from Sankhali are also facing issues such as lack of crematorium, sulabh toilets, sport’s ground, garbage disposal including water shortage in some parts of the village.
The villagers say that the government needs to develop Sankhali villages and focus on youth empowerment.
A local resident said that employment opportunities, power, water supply and other social and economic development is lacking in the town.
Another resident said that, many business units were closed in the last few years which resulted in large scale unemployment problem. However it was the responsibility of the government to provide jobs to the youth, he said.
According to local residents, the villages in Sankhali need a master plan and more funds should be provided by the government and mining companies to give a boost for sustainable development of every village in the panchayat areas.
The lack of toilet facilities is a major issue as open defecation is rampant in different areas of Sankhali.
With sanitation facilities lacking in the town and large-scale open defecation, Sankhali has turned vulnerable for possible outbreak of diarrhoea as it is making slow progress on achieving zero defecation status, said a local resident.
Sankhali has a high migrant population most of whom live in unhygienic conditions and use open spaces including the railway tracks to answer nature’s call. Women are mostly inconvenienced due to lack of toilet facilities in the villages.
There is a private crematorium in the town but sometimes locals do not allow people from outside the town to perform the last rites, said a villager.
The Village Panchayats of Surla, Naveli, Kudne, Pale Kothanbi, and Amona have taken some initiatives for constructing a public crematorium. The work of constructing a crematorium has been taken up under the MPLAD fund scheme, said Shivaji Naik from Navlim Maina village.
In the last five years farming which was almost on the verge of extinction has once again been revived in the villages of Amona, Kudne, Navelim, Pali Kothanbi, Surla and Velgeum panchayat areas. However farmers live in constant fear of crop damages caused by wild animals leading to huge losses.
The problem was brought to the notice of the government and forest department several times but nothing concrete has been done to tackle the issue.
