------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Documented by Goa Desc Resource Centre Ph:2252660 Website: www.goadesc.org Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Press Clippings on the web: http://www.goadesc.org/mem/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------- Stormy scenes witnessed at CCP meet --------------------------------------------------- A meeting of the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) witnessed stormy scenes, yesterday, regarding the renaming of city roads, development of Mala Lake, the IFFI and dumping of Mapusa's garbage at Curca.
Corporators Milind Bharne passionately appealed to his colleagues to immediately ratify a resolution calling for at least seven city roads to be renamed after freedom fighters and martyrs. Reading from a list of roads with Portuguese names, Bharne briefly explained the history of each and the atrocities committed by the colonialists.
Corporator Deepak Mapshekar vehemently supported Bharne's motion and in a show of apparent bravado demanded that CCP immediately change the names. Corporator Patricia Pinto noted that though the motion was widely supported, there was a need to make the changes systematically. She urged the corporation to produce a detailed map of the city's roads and then set about reaming them, a suggestion that was not agreed to by Mapshekar and Bharne.
The outcome of the discussion was inconclusive and the corporators decided to defer the decision till the next meeting.
Corporators also grilled CCP officials about their lack of action against erring restaurant owners and builders. Taking up the cudgels Pinto raised questions about why no action against restaurants with illegal expansions and builders who had violated parking rules.
"We are only issuing notices to the parties but no action is being taken, " she noted. Mayor Ashok Naik promised to look into the matter.
She also raised questions about the Corporations's failure to stop the Mapusa Municipal Council (MMC) from dumping garbage at Curca.
"What is the use of starting bin-free campaigns and asking our people to segregate garbage and use vermicomposting pits when garbage from Mapusa is being indiscriminately dumped at Curca ?" she asked. The Mayor assured the councilors that he would contact the chairperson of the MMC and trash out the problem in the coming week.
Pinto also sought to know why garbage was still being collected from the Taleigao village. She said, "They were not happy with the municipality so thay wanted to have a panchayat. If that was the case then why do they want us to collect their garbage ?"
The Mayor replied that the CCP would be given a monetary grant from the state government in return for collecting garbage from Taleigao. He said, "The government has requested us to help them and we are complying with that request."
The meeting witnessed some light moments when corporator Ruth Furtado sought to know why there were no development works being carried out in her ward in Miramar.
Replying to her query the Mayor noted, tongue-in-cheek, "Madam, works worth Rs.4 crore had been allocated to your ward but are at a standstill," referring to the now stalled Campal four-laning project. ----------------------------------------------- Gomantak Times 6/12/03 page 1 -----------------------------------------------
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