MIRAMAR CIRCLE UPGRADATION
THE GSUDA is now active at two important places in Panjim, one is at Miramar Circle and the other is at Campal Stadium grounds –both under Smart City Mission work currently going on all over the city which is in shambles and a threat to the public.
At Miramar circle a garden is likely to be renovated. The tiling work around the circle I assume was never attended since Portuguese left Goa! The surroundings of this circle had cemented tiling covers for water drainage when water accumulated due to regular spraying of garden and rain. Its outlet was supposed to go in front of the pergola through a duct where there was expectation that the water would be absorbed by the sand on the beach.
I feel the duct at the circle which was opened needs to be closed permanently as it doesn’t serve any purpose. But no one understood the volume of water over the years which accumulates on the road during the monsoon rains! There is not even a rudimentary canal taking the water to a river and no one attempted to fix this over the years — which is why Miramar circle area near the pergola gets inundated once it starts raining. There is no outlet for water to drain away somewhere.
Then a few days ago one fine morning the CCP and the Smart City workers decided to attend to the titling work. We see now cemented covers lifted for maintenance and the whole circle is in a mess (see photo here).
Ex-Mayor Surendra Furtado used to raise the issue of water accumulation here due to non- levelling of the drain to Panjim- side and problem of inundation in nearby colonies.
Campal colony is the main area getting affected but luckily there is a pond which gets filled during the rain. Also the other side of road there is another colony called Indoor stadium and their residents are also equally affected due to the overflow coming from Miramar circle. This flooding can be avoided if just proper levelling is done to direct the water to a now existing new drain!
Instead we now have a dump yard area converted into a hillock at Campal Football Stadium, where all the mud extracted from nearby sideway road which got upgraded…and the mud rubble recently dumped onto the so called Campal football stadium. I just visited this Campal ground and found GSUDA trucks under BCPL banner making trips to clear the mess…
Casually I inquired about the foundation stone which was inaugurated many years ago by ex-Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, with other dignitaries, which was existing at the corner of Campal football stadium? The supervisors of GSUDA at this site told me the foundation stone is missing, most probably lifted for safety purpose as mud and pipes might have been dumped over it or taken to GSUDA premises.
My multi-million dollar question: Will this Campal area ever be restored as a football stadium?
— Stephen Dias, Dona Paula
SOLAR FERRY BOAT IDLE!
GOA’S first solar ferry boat bought at a whopping 3.9 crores is lying idle for over four months. On 13th October last year while commissioning it, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had announced that it would be plying on the Chorao – Panaji route. He also said he would endeavor to replace all existing ferries with solar ferries to stop fossil fuel and move towards solar energy.
This Goa’s latest white elephant is gathering dust and rust as the Goa government does not have the required manpower to operate this solar ferryboat. Another classic case of putting the cart before the horse. People have a right to know as it is taxpayers money and convenience that is being trampled on.
Taxpayers’ money cannot be squandered in such a reckless manner without proper planning and non-application of mind. Action must be taken against officials responsible for such willful negligence while dealing with the State coffers. The amount of waste at the heart of Government is spiraling out of control. There is little evidence of accountability and responsibility with zero tolerance to waste and corruption being taken seriously to protect the best interests of the taxpayer with a variety of projects. The mess of Panaji because of the discredited reckless and dangerous Smart City project is yet another shining example of such waste without proper planning, thought or supervision.
— Aires Rodrigues, Ribandar
BABA RAMDEV & CM!
OUR Chief Minister Pramod Sawant (who otherwise has absolutely no time to meet those fighting over a variety of issues and asking for justice in different parts of Goa) was seen passionately roaming around with Baba Ramdev everywhere, like he was one of his close personal bodyguards, actively doing a yoga exercises with him during his recent visit to Goa.
Now a memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed with Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved for collaboration in potential areas like agriculture, floriculture, horticulture, farming, rural development, dairy management, etc, after promising him all the required assistance to set up his own South India’s biggest Patanjali Ayurvedic Wellness Centre in Goa soon to promote “spiritual-tourism” (when CM and his government is fully supporting casino tourism in the Mandovi river in capital city Panaji). This clearly shows that CM Sawant must have deliberately invited Baba Ramdev during the carnival period and sign deals to officially help him expand his spiritual business empire in Goa – isn’t Baba Ramdev the Central BJP government’s brand ambassador and all-round expert in spirituality?
Everyone knows that Baba Ramdev is not a scientist or a doctor, but is a highly successful self-made businessman-cum-yoga teacher of India. He is now keen on setting up his ambitious south India’s biggest Patanjali Ayurvedic Wellness Centre in Goa because he knows there’s lots of money in fooling visiting gullible foreign tourists and selling Patanjali medicines and products to them!
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant should instead of supporting Baba Ramdev support Goa’s own qualified medical practitioners/doctors to set up medical research centres, hospitals to help tourists foreign and domestic who are seeking health care to do with blood pressure, diabetes, thyroid, cancer, etc. These centres can offer some of the best scientifically tested modern medicines/ medical facilities to Goans and tourists alike in future.
–Jerry Fernandes, Saligao