Agarwada-Chopdem panchayat to develop tourist spots

Agarwada-Chopdem panchayat to develop tourist spots

Dated: Aug 26, 2012

MAPUSA: The Agarwada-Chopdem panchayat has decided to develop areas of touristic potential in the village, as this will lead to increasing employment opportunities.

The recent gram sabha of the Agarwada-Chopdem village panchayat, presided over sarpanch Suman Khorjuvekar, resolved to focus on the tourism-related development in the village. The focus will be to attract a higher number of tourists and to get more investment into the village by developing places that appeal to tourists.

The villagers proposed that the unused ferry wharf at Kurbanwada could be developed into a tourist spot. They demanded that the panchayat should take help from the government and develop the area into a tourism destination on account of its scenic setting along the bank of River Chapora. The villagers demanded that the place should be given facelift with a garden, park, sitting arrangements, lighting and other facilities to create a proper ambiance for the visiting tourists.

The gram sabha members highlighted that the unemployed youth from the village would get employment opportunities as they could engage in the small tourism-related businesses. The panchayat agreed to the demand of the villagers and a resolution was passed to develop the area as the tourism spot.

Situated between Siolim and the Morjim beach, lthough thousands of tourists move through Agarwada-Chopdem to get to beaches in Pernem taluka, the village has no tourism infrastructure.

The panchayat also passed the resolution to construct the two internal roads in the village. The villagers also demanded that all the street lights in the village should be made functional before the Ganesh Chathurti festival.

Deputy sarpanch Prabhakar Nagvekar informed the gram sabha that the panchyat had not yet received the new notice regarding non-collection of house tax, but appealed to the villagers to pay the pending house tax dues and cooperate with the panchayat.

src: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-08-26/goa/33401778_1_gram-sabha-tourist-spots-panchayat