Padubelle, 08 May 2012: Villagers of Ward V of Belle Panchayat in Padubelle gathered in large number to protest over the hurried bridge which was being constructed across the main stream blocking the smooth flow of the rain water. It was only at the final stage of the construction, the villagers came to know about the construction. The road and bridge ended in the open fields behind Padubelle Garodi which wouldn’t serve any purpose.
The villagers found it not only to be a total waste but also posing a great danger of heavy flood during the rainy season. When contacted the President of the Panchayat Smt Jacintha Aranha and the Zillah Panchayat Member Smt Ida D’Souza expressed their ignorance over such a project inside the Panchayat jurisdiction. Even the Zillah Panchayat President Mr Shanker Poojary disowned such a project. Later, the people came to know that it was being jointly funded by Taluk Panchayat and Zillah Panchayat but the project was yet to be sanctioned.
The sun pipes which were laid across the stream would certainly block the rain water and there would be a threat of heavy flood during the rainy season. The stream carried the rain water from a distance of five kilometers all the way from Bantakal and from Kunjarugiri. Fearing this, when most of the villagers objected to this project, only a few Panchayat members blamed the protesters accusing of non-cooperation towards village development. Some of the protesters even doubted the motive behind such a keen interest in the work which wouldn’t help anyone.
Even after requesting not to continue the construction work without discussing with the villagers, the work was almost completed forcibly in spite of the protest. Annoyed villagers contacted the Panchayat President and the Zillah Panchayat Member to look into the matter. They along with the PDO and the Engineer visited the spot in the evening of Monday, May 07, 2012 and after a discussion the Ward Members Mr. Parashuram Bhat and Mr. Shashidhar Wagle agreed to clear the already completed construction and to construct a bridge to walk over the stream as the actual plan is.
Senior citizens F.M Mendonca, Boniface Mendonca, Sheena Shetty, Lilly Mendanca, Catherine Rodrigues, Irine Alva, Roman Alva, Mary Alva, Sushila Sherigar, and the youngsters Shanker Bhat, Vincent D’souza, Harish Shetty, Mahabal Shetty, Jagannath Poojary, Ramesh Poojary, Raghu Salian and Vincent Alva Joined in the Protest.