PARRIKAR, THE WORST MLA OF PANAJI CITY Stephen Dias, Dona Paula
Manohar Parrikar has been the MLA of Panaji for over twenty years and has been elected by the voters of Panaji constituency for an uninterrupted term till today. However, it is a tragedy of sorts, that the Bombay Indian Institute of Technology Metallurgist has not been able to make Panaji, the state capital of Goa into a crucible of purified shinning example of a constituency which he has been elected and has been revered as Bhai, for which now he has nothing to show. If anyone remembers the state of the St. Inez creek before Parrikar took over as the MLA of Panaji, and the decaying state in which it is in now, one will certainly endorse that this metaphor is not an overstatement but the stark reality. A look at the state of the roads in Panaji, if one is a pedestrian, will determine the difference between the state the roads and the footpaths before his becoming the MLA of Panaji were in and the state it is now in. The drainage system in the capital city is another example of the abject neglect of the city and during the rainy season, the flooding of the roads is a testimony that Parrikar has had nothing in his heart of hearts to seek for the state in which Panaji is in after twenty long years. A garbage treatment plant has been built in Saligao, but Panaji does not have a garbage treatment plant so far to treat the garbage generated in the city. Is this what was expected of such a well qualified man on whom Panjimites put their trust on to make Panaji an example of a city, that too being the capital of Goa? Parking woes and the traffic snarls are other issues that he has not bothered to solve for the city residents. We believe that every one has his own karma and it is rather shocking that Parrikar is now paying for having neglected Panaji for so long. Not only Panaji, but the rest of Goa also is going down because of his reluctance to resign gracefully even when he has been on what may be termed as life support. The people of Panaji are fed up with his intransigence and we only hope that the coming elections will see a brand new MLA for Panajji who will resurrect Panaji, which has seen such abject neglect. If the BJP has Parrkar as its symbol, then the BJP is going to be reduced to smithereens in the next Assembly elections. Good riddance for bad rubbish. END NOTE: It is pity that majority of local papers failed to publish this letter except one but incomplete; sorry to say which could be the reasons for lack of space. I still have hopes that others may carry it in full as these are facts being written by me as Panjimite. We need a change of CM and also the governance to alleviate our city performance and for long sufferings. My next letter coming up soon in response to a one writer in GT. The title will be : CONTRARY TO OPINION PARRIKAR SHOULD RESIGN IMMEDIATELY