Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar promises activist Shreha Dhargalkar help to re-build Verna resident’s house

PANAJI: Social worker and women’s rights activist Shreha Dhargalkar met Goa State Assembly Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar and requested his help to rebuild the house of the Verna family whose home was demolished.

Tawadkar promised Shreha help to aid the family rebuild their house. Speaking to this reporter on phone, Shreha said, “Ramesh Tawadkar sir is very humble and kind. He has promised me help to rebuild Remediana Castanha’s house.  He is so down-to-earth that he agreed to meet us and even personally assured the Castanha family of whatever help possible,” Shreha who was accompanied by her husband Jerome Pereira and the aggrieved family said.

“The Goa government under the able leadership of CM Dr Pramod Sawant has several schemes for widows, SC & ST families and others. One has to furnish the paperwork to be eligible for these schemes which are really beneficial for the underprivileged people,” Shreha explained.

As reported earlier, a poor family from Verna whose house was demolished, was helped by social activist Shreha Dhargalkar to get a plot of land from the Goa government to build a house.

Shreha took great pains and literally moved mountains, petitioning Revenue Minister Atanasio “Babush” Monserrate and Goa CM Dr Pramod Sawant as well as the other authorities.

The family was rendered homeless after their alleged “illegal” house on Verna Comunidade land was demolished by the authorities. After a public hue and cry the government allotted a plot of land to them under the 20-point programme.

“The plot has been allotted to Remediana Castanha under the under the 20-point programme at Nagao,” Srineth Kothwale, Additional Collector-I, South Goa said.

A few months ago, an alleged “illegal” house constructed on the Verna Comunidade land was demolished after an order was issued by the court, Kothwale explained.

The demolition of the so-called illegal structure erected on land belonging to the Comunidade of Verna, under Survey No. 48/0, was carried out based on the final order in Case No. 1/37/Verna/2012-2013/455, dated August 21, 2012, passed by the Administrator of the Comunidade of the South Zone, Margao, Shreha said, adding that the plight of the poor woman moved her that she decided that she will not rest unless the woman gets justice.