Goemkarponn Desk
CANACONA: Fearing the livelihood of the Hill-Growers selling their produce on Highway roadsides, would be lost once the proposed 4-Lane highway from Gulem to Balli becomes a reality, Shristhal Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC) have demanded suitable provision for the local vendors on the proposed four lane NH66 at Gulem in Canacona Taluka.
Anticipating loss of livelihood for the hundreds of local vendors selling their locally grown produce, once the proposed four lane becomes a reality, the Sristhal BMC has written a letter to the Public Works Department (PWD-NH) with a copy to the Canacona MLA and GLA Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar as well as Minister for PWD Nilesh Cabral and Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant, requesting to keep/propose an extra lane or Bay or make a provision for such a thing so that the local veggie producers can smoothly continue their decades old sale of local produce.
‘If such arrangments are not made livelihood of hundreds of hill-growers will be lost, as these people mostly consisting of women are known to traditionally sell their produce/locally grown vegetables and fruits, amongst other things by either squatting a-side the NH66 road, or by setting up some small temporary sheds mostly during monsoon season.
Infact, these women from Canacona feared their livelihood would be at stake once the vehicles will zoom past on the 4-Lane road comes up without any halts if none is seen across the road selling local produce’, informed a BMC meb er Shirish Pai.
‘Hence, we are just asking PWD (NH-Roads) to propose and create a corridor or service road or extra lane or Bay along the road at the suitable points’, added BMC Chairman Vinay Tubki.
According to sources, BMC has already started registration process of these local Vendors with intention to issue them the necessary Cards. And according BMC, as a part of this process BMC members carried out personal visits on Friday alongwith concern Panchayat Members.
The delegation consisting of Sristhal BMC chairperson Vinay Tubki, members Shirish Pai, Anjali Gaonkar, sarpanch Sejal Gaonkar, panch members Ganesh Gaonkar, Akshada Velip and Nilesh Gaonkar were part of the members who called on the women selling locally grown produce along the NH-66 at Gulem section.
On Thursday, BMC has submitted the request letter to Speakar Ramesh Tawadkar, after Tawadkar declared the work on the 4-lane (Canacona to Panzorconi(Cuncolim) would commence within the next 1 ½ years time and completed within 4 years.
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