Cumbarjua MLA Rajesh Faldessai called for improvements in sports facilities for various schools across the constituency, pointing out that schools in Old Goa, Divar, Cumbarjua, and other areas had good enrolment but were lacking in sports infrastructure.
“St Aloysius School in Divar has no playground. They need a ground. There is space there which seemingly does not belong to anybody and could be utilised before the land is grabbed. If the original owners come forward, the land can be returned to them, or it can be bought outright and used for the school,” Faldessai said.
“Old Goa has a good school but no proper ground, and the existing ground is in bad condition,” he added, noting that he has personally helped these schools financially on several occasions to upgrade their infrastructure.
He urged the Chief Minister, who is also the Education Minister, to make contract-based teachers permanent, saying they are left in uncertainty because of yearly contracts and no future prospects. “Many times they come to us for help,” he said.
Faldessai also demanded the restart of sand mining leases, even if in a limited fashion, stating that several people in his constituency depend on it. Due to the ban, many who had taken loans to buy boats are now suffering.
“On account of the ban, sand has become very expensive, and even getting five to ten cubic metres of sand has become a task,” Faldessai said.
“I trust that the Chief Minister will resolve the problem and restart sand mining at the earliest,” he added.
He also raised the issue of the Goa College of Agriculture, which was built at a cost of ₹18 crore, and questioned the Legal Metrology Department for failing to tackle the pilferage of domestic LPG gas.
“These people will become as rich as the Ambanis by stealing one to two kilos of gas from each cylinder. The Legal Metrology Department needs to crack down on it,” Faldessai said.