Chandor to become a heritage village

Announcement made by CM in his budget speech

Margao: Even as villagers of Chandor are demanding that the government put an end to the movement of trucks carrying stones through their village so as to protect the old houses, the state government has decided to develop the village in South Goa as a heritage village to showcase the rich history of Goa.

In his budget speech, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday announced that the government proposes to develop Goa’s old capital Chandor as a heritage village.

Welcoming the decision, leader of the Opposition and Cuncolim MLA Yuri Alemao thanked the government. He said Chandor is known for its heritage and “we welcome the decision”.

The villagers, however, have once again raised the issue of the unabated movement of trucks through the village even as the authorities remain mute spectators.

According to the villagers, in 2008, the South Goa collector had banned the movement of trucks through the village. However, the authorities have failed to implement the ban, they said.

Claiming that the trucks cause vibrations that cause damage to the heritage houses and monuments in the village, the villagers said, “We hope that with the new announcement, the government will now implement its own order and stop the movement of trucks.”

A villager said, “We will have to wait and see what the government is proposing to do. It is too early to say anything at the moment, but the movement of these heavy trucks has to stop. They need to be diverted via the freshly-notified State Highway 8.”