All the hype, hoopla and suspense around the Lok Sabha elections here in Goa is over and Goans have delivered their verdict splitting the spoils evenly between the two contenders -- the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the somewhat combined but beleaguered Opposition comprising the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party, the Goa Forward Party and the others.
While the electorate in North Goa voted back Shripad Naik with a handsome one-lakh plus vote margin, in the South a refreshing fresh face in Captain Viriato Fernandes was given the thumbs-up over Pallavi Dempo who was yet another 'fresh face' in politics whom the BJP fielded tom-toming the women's empowerment card.
The verdict is paradoxical as the contending parties -- the ruling BJP-led formation which also comprises the MGP and the Independents and the Opposition Alliance (INDIA) -- have both won one each and are rejoicing.
Only the third party in the fray -- Revolutionary Goans Party -- isn't rejoicing even if their President Manoj Parab did rake in a respectable tally of votes in North Goa.
But now that the election season is over, many are hoping that the treasury benches and those on the other side of the aisle in the Opposition will get down to serious business of governing Goa and getting the priorities right -- working not solely for the money bags and harping on the 'ease of doing business' but also sparing a thought for the common citizens and tackling the hurdles to the 'ease of living' such as the traffic chaos and the ridiculously high road accident fatalities and the erratic delivery of basic services.
Court's overrun, nature's deadline (monsoon) haunts 'smart city'
Like last year, the rain gods are smiling on the Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited (IPSCDL) again this year and have given it that extra time to clear all the mess in the city.
The South-West monsoon had already arrived in Kerala more than a week ago but there is no sign of its abundance and fury here in Goa yet. It typically hits the State about a week after Kerala, but apart from some light rains and the often overcast skies, the real thing is yet to arrive.
IPSCDL and its contractors will not be complaining. They may have got past the High Court designated deadline of May 31 to finish, pack up and go, despite their partial winding up of their operations in the city thanks to the unverified "90% of the work is over" claims of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Revenue Minister Atanasio (Babush) Monserrate.
The bigger challenge for them (IPSCDL/Contractors) now is to effectively finish, clear off all the mess and actually go before nature's deadline arrives -- the fury of the monsoon. Fingers crossed.
Pay parking returns with a bang
With the mess in the city owing to the 'smart city' work throwing traffic in complete disarray, the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) had suspended charging vehicle users fees for parking in the city. It ordered the contractor to shut shop but last week this pay-parking regime was re-imposed, despite the city still being a far cry away from total normalcy.
On ground zero, that is the streets of Panaji city, meanwhile, the contractor and his pay-parking marshals are on a rampage appropriating almost every square inch for their pay-parking scheme.
Take for instance just two areas where they are making merry -- MG Road where several locales are still no-go zones because of unfinished work and Panaji's Casino zone along the DB Marg. Here, the yellow uniform-clad marshals of CCP's pay-parking contractor charge their fees and let vehicles park everywhere, even in areas which are not notified as pay-parking zones.
On the DB Marg along the Mandovi river-front where inch by inch the Casino operators have laid a siege on, the pay-parking marshals are making the best of their business, often charging their patrons parking fees by the hour, even.
Try driving into the city from the Ponte de Linhares and you will have to possess the skills of a 'Formula 1' driver. The already narrow stretch of road up to the Adil Shah's Palace is rendered narrower with bikes to the left and cars to the right, parked haphazardly and paid for. It's an automobile mayhem.
