On 1 November, when Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated a 7.32 km long road between the villages of Lutolim and Varna, it reduced the travel distance between Ponda, one of Goa’s largest cities, and Mormugao, the state’s major port. was given. 12 km, cutting travel time by half an hour. This is just one example of Goa’s steady infrastructure development over the years.
With 17 km of road per 1,000 vehicles, Goa’s road network is one of the best in India. Three years ago, the state also got a new cable-stayed bridge over the Mandovi river, which helped ease traffic congestion near Panaji. Another cable-stayed bridge is under construction over the Zuari River – when completed, it will cut the travel time between Panaji and Dabolim airport in half. On November 1, Gadkari announced that the bridge would have a viewing gallery, making it a tourist attraction.
The state also has other impressive infrastructure indices, such as 24-hour electricity supply in rural areas and piped drinking water in 98.5 percent of households. As a result of this infrastructure, it has also made significant progress in improving sanitation, which in turn has helped reduce the incidence of water-borne disease transmission. The Panaji model of cleanliness has set a benchmark – the city’s municipal corporation has a system to segregate dry, wet and reusable waste in the housing societies’ premises and use their waste to produce fertilizer. also encourages, which is used in agriculture.
The state also generates 60 MW of power from the effluent treatment plant set up at Sankhali. Currently, about 70 percent of the state’s municipal waste is processed. Other related indices include the fact that nearly 96 per cent of Goa’s households use clean fuel for cooking. Residents of the state are eager to maintain cleanliness, this was evident in an incident in July, when the Haldona panchayat fined former cricketer Ajay Jadeja Rs 5,000 for dumping his domestic waste in a public place.
With the focus on domestic travellers, Goa’s tourism sector is also getting back on track post the COVID-19 pandemic. The state operates 8.66 flights per 100,000 people per day. This level of connectivity has helped the tourism sector. State Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar is also hopeful that the central government will allow international visitors to return to Goa at the earliest, as several countries are easing travel restrictions following the pandemic.
Goa’s impressive vaccination campaign—the state’s entire eligible population received at least one dose of the vaccine, and 85 percent received two—also prompted the state government to allow the state to reopen its tourism sector as soon as possible. played a role in. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant also says that he is working towards making Goa a destination for medical and adventure tourism.
Goa’s infrastructure has also allowed it to perform well when it comes to education. For example, all public schools in the state have separate toilets for girl students – this has helped reduce the dropout rate among these students. At Kujira, the state’s educational hub near Panaji, schools are waiting for students to return—a state-level task force has recommended reopening schools for students between classes one to eight. Classes have already resumed for higher level students and those studying in colleges.
Chief Minister Sawant says that the state will complete all major infrastructure projects on its slate in the next six months. “We have initiated [these] To strengthen the tourism infrastructure,” he says. We will be in number one position in this area as well. In terms of sanitation, he says his government has successfully implemented several central schemes, such as ending open defecation in villages and piped water supply to all households. “We have also laid emphasis on cleaning of roads and beaches.” He says the state’s high literacy rate is the result of the government’s consistent efforts to provide all possible support to teachers – with 88.7 percent literacy, Goa is one of the more literate states in the country.
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