Margao: Quepem MLA Altone D’Costa on Thursday warned state govt to begin the long-pending internal works on the new Quepem police station building within 15 days, failing which he said the people of Quepem would launch an agitation.D’Costa led a protest demonstration in Quepem, demanding that state govt release funds and issue a fresh work order to resume construction, which has been stalled for years despite the structure being largely complete.“I am asking chief minister Pramod Sawant and PWD minister Digambar Kamat, please keep your politics aside, don’t subject Kepekars to hardships by keeping the police station building indefinitely pending. The issue is about the welfare of Kepekars,” D’Costa said.He said residents currently have to hire a motorcycle or a rickshaw to reach the existing police station, which is located nearly a kilometre away from the town.“Govt is spending crores on unwanted projects, why can’t it spend some additional Rs 5 crore and complete the building? Or if you can’t do it, just tell us. People of Quepem will contribute money for the project and raise the required funds,” he said.As reported by TOI earlier, while the reinforced cement concrete (RCC) structure of the building has been completed, finishing works remain stalled due to the absence of expenditure approval, with no fresh work order issued to the contractor.The project was sanctioned in November 2016 but ran into cost overruns after soil tests necessitated a change in the foundation design, exhausting the original Rs 5-crore allocation before finishing work could begin. A revised estimate of Rs 5.2 crore, covering finishing works, utilities, the compound wall and landscaping, was subsequently approved and awarded. However, work is yet to resume on the ground.
