Team Goemkarponn
CANACONA: Social activist Shubham Komarpant called off his sit-in protest outside the Deputy Collectorate in Canacona within hours of launching the agitation after the government issued financial approval for repairing the non-functional lift at the Community Health Centre (CHC), Canacona.
The lift, used by dialysis patients and their families to access treatment facilities, had reportedly remained out of order for the past six months, causing inconvenience to patients visiting the government hospital.
Komarpant had earlier submitted notices to the Deputy Collector and other concerned authorities, warning that he would launch an agitation if the process to repair the lift was not initiated.
He began the sit-in dharna outside the Canacona Deputy Collectorate along with four associates, including young activist Sunay Komarpant. Social worker Somdatt Deshmukh, Gaondongrim panch and former sarpanch Dhillon Desai, senior citizen Natividade De Sa, Canacona Congress ticket aspirant Chetan Manju Desai, Congressman Sanju Naik, RGP leader Prashant Pagi, Vikas Bhagat, Umesh Tubki and others joined the protest in solidarity.
During the agitation, authorities initially presented a work order for repairing the lift. However, Komarpant refused to accept it, insisting that financial approval was necessary because the contractor had reportedly stopped the repair work over non-payment of pending dues.
Following this, Komarpant received a call from the Deputy Collector informing him that a copy of the financial approval would be provided and that repair work would commence immediately. The official also requested that he call off the agitation.
Subsequently, the Joint Mamlatdar and Canacona Health Officer jointly handed over a copy of the financial approval to Komarpant. He and his supporters then ended the dharna by accepting lemon water.
Speaking to the media after calling off the protest, Komarpant criticised Canacona MLA and minister Ramesh Tawadkar over what he described as a lack of improvement in healthcare services in the taluka.
He also questioned the delay in constituting a Health Visiting Committee (HVC), stating that the minister had spoken about appointing the committee when only three months remained in the tenure.
Komarpant said the lift should have been repaired on priority, given its importance to patients, particularly those undergoing dialysis. He reiterated that the repair work had been delayed because the contractor’s dues had reportedly not been paid.
The activist maintained that the government should have treated the matter with urgency instead of allowing the lift to remain non-functional for months, adding that the financial approval was essential to ensure that the repair work could proceed.
