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Chandor Ganv Vhodd Zaum! |
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Let�s Improve Things Around Here! While planning big and ambitious new infrastructural and development projects is necessary, it is equally important to pay attention to the things that promote the intangibles like good health, a good education, a rich social and community life, personal mobility, a clean living environment�. Mercifully, most of the elements that promote these goods are still available to us in Chandor. Let�s do everything we can to preserve those we have and add to them. Hold hard to our open spaces! Never let them go! Just as the human body needs lungs to breathe, a village needs open spaces to express its sense of being and community. We usually come out into the open when we need a breath of fresh air and when we wish to relate with the wider world. In fact, our wide open spaces may be the essence of our life experience in Chandor, and all of Goa as a whole. This is what makes Goa Goa, the comparative openness all around us. Open public spaces are where we come together and interact with each other as friends and co-villagers. Take the church patio, for instance. The comfortable seats around an open, paved floor, the refreshing breeze coming down from the Mount, the passing show of passers-by and cars on the road, and the benign presence of the white church behind us � these are what draw us out of our homes and help us mix amiably with friends and neighbours. Similarly with places like a football ground, a public garden (let�s get one for Chandor quickly now!), a children�s park, a promenade... It is clear that we need as much breathing room as possible throughout the village. Apart from their social function, we need to save open spaces also for the scope they allow, in future, for occasionally parking our cars and scooters, which seem about to outnumber humans in Chandor any day now. (Consider the number of vehicles parked choc a bloc outside the church during Sunday Mass). The village panchayat would do well to maintain a list of our open spaces and move to acquire and preserve (after due process and recompense to owners) those needed by the community. A preliminary list of the open spaces we have been able to identify:
Agriculture is still comparatively alive in Chandor, thanks to the few brave souls among us. (If we have any sense, the rest of us will also work to restore this means of sustenance to good health once again). In anticipation of this happy day, we need to protect and safeguard all the tiny threshing spots (foddam) presently in use near our paddy fields. A comprehensive list may be drawn up with the help of the Tombos (registers) and Croquis (cadastral survey maps) available with the local communidades. These contain details of the various land uses, such as plots reserved for paddy-threshing, footpaths (painddo), fish ponds etc. The village panchayat may take control over these little pockets of land as soon as possible. A few threshing spots (foddam) are identified below:
Playgrounds With the arrival of TV, video, computers and the Internet, more and more of us are turning into couch potatoes, to the detriment of our physical, mental and social health. It is imperative to encourage as much physical activity as possible, particularly among our youngsters. The playgrounds presently in use need to be better maintained and no diversion of use of any kind should be permitted on them. (Ideally, each ward should have a children�s park, a girls� playground, a boys� playground, a sub-market and a community centre). Some playing fields in the village:
Promenades All over the country, more and more people fall prey to illnesses brought on by a sedentary lifestyle. Given the health problems in our village (particularly diabetes, for which exercise is claimed to be the best remedy) we may do well to plan promenades and walkways throughout the village. A few locations for these promenades are indicated:
More roads yes, but what about safety, and parking? We are fortunate in that all our wards are well connected with roads, but we can certainly do with more. The residents of Doneamod, for instance, lack motorable access to the main road from the foothills at Mulem, where they live. (This is where the leopards make their bold entry into the village). Does anyone know that it takes almost an hour to reach the road by foot from here? A road is also needed over the canal to Voil� Todem at Binddimod, as also one at the other end of the village in Moddi, Cotta, beginning at the Railway tracks. (Most of us are not aware that Chandor extends an arm towards Guirdolim over the railway tracks here!). The Chandor communidade has already approved the proposal for a three-metre wide stretch for this road. Roads may also be considered at Odnem in Cavorim and at Hatram Mod. Another necessity is the early commencement of and completion of the proposed bridge over the railway tracks near New Township. (Does anyone know what�s holding it up?). While planning more roads and new bridges, let�s also spare a thought for our safety on roads. The ever-increasing traffic makes wider roads and safe paths for pedestrians absolutely necessary, particularly in the village centre. This is a sensitive location with traffic converging on it from all directions all through the day. Broad footpaths on both sides of the road are a must here, right from the school to the Church shops, to ensure the safety of people passing this way. One safe path may commence at the school wall near the tintto, keep as close to the church as possible, curve in between the patio and the Braulio Carvalho mausoleum, keep between the Ashoka trees, pass in front of the Bill Cardoz building, meet the road in front of Tithu�s bar and continue to the railway crossing and onwards. On the other side of the road the safe walkway may start alongside Albert�s shop, go past the market and meet the side road touching the telephone exchange. It may also not be too early to think of a subway from the school and church side to the market side of the road. The vendors in the market spilling onto the road aren�t helping matters here any either. Till the subway comes up, though, a zebra crossing near the electricity pole near the market should help us tide. It is necessary for the village panchayat to immediately take possession of the stretches earmarked for road widening and demolish encroachments, if any; section 73 of the Panchayats Act empowers the administrative body to do this. When planning roads, repairing or broadening them, provision also needs to be made for a channel alongside, broad enough to accommodate the underground electricity cables, telephone cables and the PWD�s water pipeline. And what about parking space? Has anyone noticed the heavy trucks parked at critical points right on the Church crossroads, particularly in the mornings? This is definitely a safety hazard. We need to find a convenient and dedicated parking area nearby for passing cars and trucks. A parking fee may be levied for using this facility. We also need to re-consider the bus halt near the mausoleum touching the church patio. This turn in the road at a major crossroads is an accident waiting to happen. We propose that the stop be moved slightly ahead, opposite the fish-market, in a safe lay-by off the road, parallel to the zebra crossing suggested above. We would also do well to spare a thought for devotees at Alma Furis. They would appreciate praying safely off the road, a little into the fields, rather than on the roadside as they have to now. Bus Service: Even though the number of private vehicles will continue to rise, we can expect the need for public transport to continue for quite a while. It may therefore make sense to add to the bus routes now on offer. There appears to be a need for services to Quepem, Curtorim and a new route to Margao via Sarzora-Navelim. What is more important, however, is the quality of the service provided. We need to ensure that buses stick to time schedules; perhaps logs kept at strategic points to note the arrival and departure moments of the bus would help monitor punctuality. Bus time-tables may also be displayed at these spots. Similarly, the near-collapse of service on Sundays and holidays needs to be addressed, perhaps by cancelling the licences of slackers. Another option would be for buses of the proposed Chandor cooperative bus society completely taking over service on local routes. The bus stop shelters in the village too need to be designed better, perhaps on the lines of the bus bays seen on the Margao-Panjim route. Let�s build them in cool laterite, the stone of choice for all roadside structures in the village. Signage: The concrete signboard in front of the church informing us that Chandrapura used to be the capital of the Kadamba dynasty in 11 AD was a source of immense pride to many of us. Unfortunately, the lettering has been washed out since the past many months. Can the panchayat repaint the board any time soon, please, and also put up elegant signs throughout the village identifying different wards and streets by recognisable names? We also need to clear away the private signs cluttering the church junction. (We desperately need a No Parking sign here to deter trucks parking smack in the centre of the junction. Electricity: All the wards in the village have been electrified, except for Hatram Mod in Covatem, which apparently still does not have streetlights. This is unconscionable and needs to be remedied immediately. We also need not just a sub-office of the Electricity Department but also a sub-station in the village. The demand for electrical power can only increase in the years to come, so we would do well to select the site for the sub-station right away. Given the frequent power breakdowns, let�s also seriously consider alternative sources of energy � a solar energy plant, for instance. Wouldn�t it be something to have all our streetlights powered by solar energy?! We hear the Department of Alternative Energy Resources is quite generous with funds for such projects. Let�s keep Chandor chaka chak! Good health is the first requirement of a good life, in fact, of any kind of life at all. Our villagers already suffer from diseases like diabetes or from the accompaniments of too good a life � obesity, cirrhosis etc.. We don�t need to add ailments caused by garbage and filth to this list, do we? We are likely to have a huge health problem on our hands soon if we don�t tackle the ever-increasing mounds of waste in the village. Till the proposed waste recycling unit goes on stream, therefore, we need to immediately dig up about ten compost pits throughout the village and start clearing up the eyesores we see all over the place. (There are farmers in the village already picking up vegetable waste from the market for their compost pits or for other private use. Other farmers also wish to be included in the arrangement). Next we put in place a system of garbage collection, segregation and disposal: wet waste goes into compost pits (fertiliser for our cooperative natural farm) and plastic, glass and metal waste is sold. Crucially, we stop using the market place as a garbage dump. The market vendors must not be allowed to bring waste into the market. Unloading of vegetables and their sorting on the roadside and within the marketplace must be prohibited in the same way as pig-slaughter has been prohibited. The market-place cannot be allowed to become a godown and a work-place to process goods at the same time. If waste is a by-product of the vendors� activity in the market, they may either deliver it to the panchayat waste collector for composting or (if our panchayat continues its apathy) take it back with them the same way they take back their unsold or excess stock. The bins in the market, so generously donated by a village lover (and not, repeat NOT, placed there either by the panchayat or the church authorities) may also be shifted to a less sensitive and obtrusive location. Has anyone noticed how even passing motorists bring their waste to dump into the bins in the marketplace and at Mamlatemer? We cannot allow Chandor to be treated as a garbage dump. Nor can we allow the heart of our village to be turned into a filthy slum. In the matter of waste recycling, we may do well to follow these guidelines: The polluter cleans up, or pays to do it. Waste will be cleared every day, and recycled. Garbage shall not enter the fish market, only consumables will. The panchayat needs to immediately constitute an Amenities Committee (under section 63 (1) (iii) of the Goa Panchayat Raj Act, 1994) to prepare a comprehensive waste recycling and garbage management scheme for the village. Night life It tends to be a bit boring in the evenings in Chandor, doesn�t it? Perhaps we need a community centre filled with the accoutrements that can make life fun before we head for dinner and bed. An outdoor badminton or tennis court, a gymnasium, pool tables (no card tables, please!), table tennis, a community TV set, a computer or two, a carom board, newspapers and magazines, and even dancing in the corner if some people feel inclined to move a leg! Yes, this should considerably improve our evenings! We don�t need to look too far for venues for these goodies. The primary school in Culsabhat, renovated and strengthened, and the Cavorim community hall (gloriously empty most of the time) could set the ball rolling! Of course, we also need to develop venues for small meetings of public interest groups, community groups like the somudaiyo, consumer and civic forums, the Jaycees, or a local history centre. The more conversations on as many themes we make possible, the more full our evenings, and perhaps, our lives!
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