**************************************************************** Documented by Goa Desc Documentation Service & circulated by Goa Civic & Consumer Action Network (GOA CAN)<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ***************************************************************** ------------------------------------------------------- 'Congress will soon rule treasury benches' ------------------------------------------------------- For Mormugao MLA Karl Vaz, representing the constituency runs in the family. Following the footsteps of his father and ex-minister John Manuel Vaz, Karl entered the 2002 assembly polls and went on to defeat family foe, Shaikh Hassan Haroon.
In fact, the Sheikh-Vaz tussle has been the hallmark of the Mormugao elections in recent times. Shaikh Hassan won in 1989, but lost to John Manuel Vaz in 1994. Shaikh Hassan re-captured the seat in 1999, but lost to John Manuel's son Karl in 2002. In an interview with Herald, the Mormugao MLA claims that his priorities for the constituency include the rehabilitation of the Tariwada landslide affected families and measures to abate the nuisance of dust pollution in the area. What was your secret magic formula for defeating a seasoned politician in these elections? I had no secret formula. It is only the fact that the people believed me when I promised development. Shaikh Hassan Haroon has been fooling the people with empty promises for years and people were fedup with his lies. Now that you are elected as Mormugao MLA, what are your priorities? My first priority just now is to see that the affected persons of the Tariwada landslide are rehabilitated at the earliest. It is a shame that the previous MLA and minister in the BJP government has just neglected them although he was chairman of the rehabilitation committee. I recollect your assurance given during your election campaign that you intend to tackle dust pollution. How do you intend to go about it? I have already asked the MPT, Deputy Collector and Health officials to convene a meeting to chalk out and discuss ways and means. I have also asked my office to explore the present legislation on this subject. If necessary, to explore amendments to the act or rules in this regard. The four-lane highway work carried out by the Border Road Organisation under the guidance from Mormugao Port Trust has slowed down when it reached the crucial stretch from Baina to Tarriwaddo. What do you intend to do to see that the work gets on once again? I have already asked my office to convene a meeting of all officials concerned to accelerate the process so that the bottlenecks are cleared. Would you continue from where your father the ex-urban development minister left off, as far as cleaning up of Baina is concerned? The actions of my father in respect to the red-light Baina has been misunderstood. The Baina movement for the restoration of the beauty of the beach and making it available to public use without nuisance, was much before he became the minister. As far as the red-light area, his objective as the minister was to reduce the nexus of criminal elements with the red-light area and to improve and ameliorate the woes of the unfortunate women. My approach at this juncture will be to evolve action by consensus, to encourage the NGOs working in these areas and to involve the authorities to improve the living conditions. But do you have anything concrete in mind when it comes to the infamous red-light area? The Baina area is notified as a slum and there is are large amounts of funds for slum improvement. There are funds for improvement of housing, drainage, etc and if these funds are utilised properly, the area will see a drastic change. I intend to see that the funds are utilised properly. As a newcomer into politics, will you be able to understand the needs of the people? I am no newcomer to politics. If given a chance to join any ruling party, what will be your stance? I am already in the ruling party, the party that is ruling the opposition. The time is not far when our party will rule the treasury benches. Do you feel now that you are in the opposition, development and other works in Mormugao will be hampered? Being in the opposition does not mean that development of the constituency will not take place. In fact, to queries in my speech on the motion of budget, the chief minister had assured that no constituency, whether in opposition or otherwise, would be neglected. Statistics indicate that there is an increase in malaria cases in Baina. How will you tackle this problem? With the improvement of drainage in the slums, the problems of water-logging, which gives rise to malaria, will reduce. The foundation stone for the Indoor complex and land filling was undertaken a few years ago. There has been no progress since then. What do intend to do about it? If you will recall, the indoor complex and land filling was undertaken by my father at a time when he was an independent MLA and not in the ruling party. On the other hand, I belong to the Congress which is presently the second largest party. So I see no great problem in ensuring the fructification of the Indoor complex. ---------------------------------------- HERALD 27/6/02 page 3 ---------------------------------------- ======================================= GOA DESC RESOURCE CENTRE Documentation + Education + Solidarity 11 Liberty Apts., Feira Alta, Mapusa, Goa 403 507 Tel: 252660 mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Working On Issues Of Development & Democracy ======================================= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-W-E-B---S-I-T-E-=-=-= To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from GoaNet | http://www.goacom.com/goanet =================================================================== For (un)subscribing or for help, Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dont want so many e=mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Help support non-commercial projects in Goa by advertizing!! * * * * Your ad here !!
