With power outages order of the day along Salcete coastal belt, sarpanchas and deputy sarpanchas of Cavelossim, Varca, Orlim and Carmona came under one banner to seek justice and to stop the harassment meted out to the people by way of power outages.
Cavelossim Sarpanch Dixon Vaz warned the government not to test the patience of the people of South Goa, claiming that South Goa is being sidelined and neglected in the political scheme of things. He warned the government that frustration is building up in the village, saying that the government should pull up their sock and fix the problem.
Besides Dixon, the media were briefed by Varca Sarpanch Salesiana Fernandes, Orlim Sarpanch Simon Pereira and Carmona Deputy Sarpanch Neslyn Jorge and other panchayat members.
The sarpanchas complained that the field staff attributed the power outages to the failure of the main line. They also complained of manpower shortage at the power department office and lack of infrastructure. They warned they will be left with no option than to come on the streets to protest over the deteriorating power supply.
They pointed out that the government should fix accountability and take responsibility for the power failures instead of laying the blame at the doorsteps of the linesmen.
The Cavelossim sarpanch maintained that South Goa has been neglected by the government, with the power infrastructure not receiving the attention it deserves. “Given the situation, we do not see any hope. Hence, we have all decided to come together to seek justice,” he said.
He added: We have been given step motherly treatment by the government. We have neither a father nor mother since there is no Minister in the government from Salcete. This appears some sort of punishment the people are facing as they are made to agitate for basic things such as water and power supply.”
Varca Sarpanch Salesiana Fernandes said the government should understand that Salcete coastal belt is the State’s tourism belt, adding that power outages have left the local residents in a big loss, with electrical appliances damaged owing to the power outages.
Orlim Sarpanch Simon said the power officials are involved in a blame game as the power outages are taking place every few minutes. “There is no maintenance on the power infrastructure. Conductors snap resulting in breakdown,” he said, while warning that Orlim villagers will take action if the situation is not rectified by Friday.
Carmona Sarpanch Neslyn Jorge said the power woes plaguing the people of Carmona have worsened after the maintenance shut down. “Out of 24 hours, there is no power supply for more than six hours every day. This is not government at the doorsteps,” she said, adding that the situation will only bring the people on the streets.
