-- Samir Umarye
BICHOLIM The State government may have planned an ambitious sports policy for the State, but one visit to Bicholim town’s lone football ground is enough to realize the fallacy of the policy. There have been frequent demands in the past to upgrade the Shivaji Maharaj Maidan, which is in the heart of the city, but the Bicholim Municipal Council (BMC) and the State government have been equally responsible for virtually abandoning the ground. However, two recent events have pushed the BMC sufficiently enough to seriously consider the development of the playground: The recent death of Bicholim’s well known football player, Peter Fernandes, and facebook posts on the Bicholim Group by a prominent citizen from Bicholim, Arun Salkar. The 1957 photo of the Bicholim ground by Arun Salkar on Facebook's Bicholim Group immediately received about 244 likes and some 38 comments, including a post from Bicholim MLA Naresh Sawal. “Bicholim Municipal Council is working on the Bicholim ground and it is under tender process. Very soon, you will see the new look of this ground, if everything goes well,” posted Bicholim MLA Naresh Sawal on the Facebook page. Speaking to Herald, Bicholim Association of Football Friends (BAAF) Vice President Naresh Kadkade said: “The post on facebook’s Bicholim Group by Arun Salkar shows the ground way back in 1957. If you see the condition of the ground today, it has only become worse,” “We must admit that the Portuguese at least had maintained the ground and had even erected a fence around the ground. But the Goa government totally ignored the ground after driving away the Portuguese,” said Kadkade. “Being centrally located, it attracts a good audience for any football match. Even in small villages, there are grounds developed by the government, but Bicholim city has no such ground developed to a respectable standard. We have heard that about Rs 2 crore had been sanctioned for the ground but after that the BMC has not done anything in the matter,” Kadkade added. Another local, Ramchandra Popkar, was also unhappy with the condition of the ground and accused local politicians of making hollow promises. “Every politician addressing a public meeting on this ground have invariably assured to renovate the ground after getting elected, but they forget their promise once elected into power,” said Popkar. Bicholim Councillor Kamlakant Teli said Peter Fernandes, who collapsed while playing on the ground and passed away a few weeks ago, had a dream to improve the infrastructure of the ground.’ When contacted, BMC Vice-Chairman Riyaz Beig told Herald that the BMC had floated a tender to renovate the ground on Friday. “The last date to submit the tender is November 12. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 1.83 crore and the company/contractor will be given a time limit of 365 days to complete the work.” “There will be special seating arrangements on two sides of the ground, with protective nets on the other sides to prevent the ball from damaging vehicles on the road,” informed Beig. “In the second phase, the BMC will seek the assistance of Goa Football Association to lay turf on the ground. We have contacted a special consultant from Pune to design proper drainage to prevent water accumulation on the ground,” Beig said.
