Hi Roland. Appreciate your attempt to help. The fact is, our panchayats are filled with businessmen for whom cheating and fraud are essential traits. Imagine, any self-respecting sarpanch creeping like a thief late at night into the market with labourers and building two stinkbombs there despite the consensus in the village that public toilets must only be in secluded corners and far away from people's homes! The Chandor sarpanch used to work as a seafarer (the term preferred now) and now runs a shop which stocks foreign goods, which in earlier days people called smuggled goods. It, therefore, shouldn't be tough to fabricate a market plan which can turn out to be yet another source of income.
The deputy sarpanch, for his part, undertakes small-time construction jobs and sells property, and is known to find the post of pancha very lucrative, if you know what I mean. In fact, it was this guy, hailing from the same house as Menezes Braganza, who pulled the toilet for the tintto from a corner in the church yard, where the priests logically wanted to put it up, and started this whole mess which has been going on since 2006. I could go on and on, but I'll spare you, and goanetters... Of course, the villagers' fightback against the sullying of Chandor's fish market and village centre did have the effect of delivering Goa's first-ever people's plan, which went on to serve as a model for the Goa People's Plan, which came a while later. Titled Chandor Ganv Vhodd Zaum, the Chandor plan took inputs from people in all wards of the village before it was published and distributed locally; an e-version (how quaint this sounds!) was also circulated online. It was quite well-received throughout Goa. (Plans are on to upload it to Youtube soon). Once again, muito obrigado for taking an interest. Will keep you, and goanet, posted.
