Staff Reporter

Margao

The gram sabha of Cavelossim village panchayat on Sunday discussed several issues, including village development as well as tourism infrastructure, to create and provide better facilities for the tourists.

The panchayat budget and the audit report for the years 2018 to 2022 were also placed before the gram sabha members. Sarpanch Dixon Vaz chaired the meeting.

The village panchayat secretary and panch members were present.

The sarpanch said there was a need to boost tourism in the village.

“We would like to put Cavelossim back on track in terms of tourism, and draw more tourists even during the monsoon but we need to work on something like adventure sports and cultural programmes.

In the month of July or August, we will be having a meeting with all the stakeholders on what needs to be done and how to go about it as far as beach and tourism infrastructure is concerned,” he said.

Setting up of a dog shelter was identified as a priority for the village as there were complaints of stray dogs roaming on the beach.

“The dog shelter is our priority; we get a lot of complaints from tourists that there are too many dogs on the beach. There is no place to rescue the canines and rehabilitate them. We have asked for land and can have one of the best dog shelters in Goa. We want to eliminate the problem of stray dogs,” said Vaz.

The gram sabha members were also informed of the panchayat’s plan to utilise the ferry ramp in the village that is lying unused.

The ramp could be put to use as the villagers have boats or in case of a natural calamity, to aid in disaster management, it was stated.

Revision of taxes paid by hotels and pay parking at the beach were also discussed.
“Pay parking is another important aspect. We are trained by GIPARD on how to generate revenue and we have to think out of the box. There is also a ferry ramp that we would want to adopt to use for any village requirement and disaster management,” said the sarpanch. Discussions were also held on the budget and the audit reports for the years 2018 to 2022.

Suggestions made in the audit report discussion included the use of state and central funds instead of allowing it to be returned.