Daijiworld Media Network - Valpoi

Valpoi, Apr 20: Sticking to their decision, Ansulem villagers told the North Goa collector R Menaka and her team who visited the village on Friday 'no road, no vote' to convince them to change their minds.

Earlier, on April 7, TOI reported the boycott decision by Ansulem villagers. As per the report, the main road leading up to the village has been in poor condition for a decade. There are no street lights, no proper drainage and the village bridge is in bad shape and could collapse this monsoon. Villagers said they had raised the bad road issue in the gram sabha for the past 10 years, but nobody was willing to take any action.

In her attempts to convince the villagers Maneka said, “Since the model code of conduct is in place, no new work can start. I tried to explain to the villagers that due to the code, it is not possible to start work immediately.”

She told villagers that she would inform the committee about their demand and explained to them the importance of casting their vote. Nevertheless, the villagers were not convinced and accused Rane and North Goa MP Shripad Naik of never visiting them.

It is reported that the villagers asked the officials to first begin work and only then would they vote. “I feel very bad to see little children coming walking in the absence of transport in our village, which is grossly neglected by the government,” said senior citizen Annapurna Gawas.