Goa, May 27 -- VASANT PEDNEKAR

As the first dark clouds gather over Goa and the air thickens with the promise of rain, the State en ters its most vulnerable sea son. The monsoon in Goa is not merely a climatic event; it is a stress test for governance. Roads weaken, drains choke, garbage accumulates faster than it can be cleared, and low-lying neighbourhoods anxiously await the first heavy downpour. At such a time, urban local bodies are expected to func tion with urgency, sensitivity, and local insight. Yet this year, as in recent times, Goa faces the monsoon without elected municipal councils, a reality that exposes the deeper cost of delayed municipal elections. Municipal bodies are the closest rung of government to the citizen. They ...