Panaji: The operation of Goa police’s Calangute traffic cell has come to a standstill after the village panchayat switched off the main power switch over the non-payment of an electricity bill amounting to Rs 8 lakh.
The cell has been operating at the Poriat football ground at Tivai Vaddo since 2012. The traffic cells were shifted from the Calangute police station premises at the request of former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar. The traffic cell failed to pay its electricity bill for over a decade, resulting in the disconnection.
Calangute sarpanch Joseph Sequeira said that the cell had not paid a single rupee to the panchayat since 2012 with regards to the electricity bill. He stated that several letters were written to the Calangute traffic cell’s Superintendent of Police (SP), Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP), and Police Inspector (PI) to inform them about the dues, but there was no communication from the cell. On April 2, Calangute panchayat wrote its last letter to the cell’s SP, DySP, and PI.
In the letter, the panchayat informed them that if they failed to pay the amount within seven days, the panchayat would disconnect its electricity. “We waited for seven days, but there was no communication from the traffic cell. After waiting for nearly 24 days, we decided to switch off the main electricity switch and disconnect the electricity supply,” said Sequeira.
The sarpanch said that the panchayat has regularly been paying the power bill to the electricity department, but the Calangute traffic cell did not pay the power bill to the panchayat. He also mentioned that due to space constraints at Calangute police station, the panchayat allowed the cell to move to the football ground.
“We have been writing letters to the traffic cell and even to the chief minister to shift the Calangute traffic cell from the football ground to the Calangute police station premises, as the Saligao police station has been shifted from the premises of the Calangute police station, but there has been no reply to the letters,” said Sequeira.
The sarpanch also noted that not only the electricity bill amount, but the panchayat has also been removing the sewage generated by police personnel at the traffic cell. “We sent out sewerage tankers and removed the waste generated by police personnel, and even that amount has been borne by the panchayat,” he said.
Sequeira further added that in the initial days, the panchayat even provided a four-wheeler to the Calangute traffic cell to manage traffic in Calangute, and the fuel and maintenance costs were borne by the panchayat.
