Rains continued to batter Goa for the third day in succession inundating the landscape, and with it huge portions of roads and highways making commuting extremely difficult. Houses have been damaged and trees uprooted. In some areas residences and even religious places have been flooded with rain water making its way inside premises. Ironically, while it pours, the district administration and the disaster management teams are conspicuous by their absence.
The incessant rain has taken its toll, and once again exposes the State’s unpreparedness. The rampant and faulty planning is completely exposed. Flooding near the recently opened Atul Setu is a glaring example. The Indian Meteorological Department has issued an orange alert for Goa till August 9 with a warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall in the State. While the water level is rising and rivers are in full spate, there is no advisory issued by the government cautioning citizens. High-voltage overhead electricity cables have snapped in several places risking lives. Portions of roads are non-motorable and even ferry points have been submerged, but there is not even an alert or a precautionary announcement.
The uniqueness of our disaster management team is it shows up when there is no disaster. Is this exercise restricted to only formal site visits? Where are the PWD engineers and other officials? Is the disaster management only entrusted to the Fire Department? They are the only ones who are seen braving the weather and clearing roadblocks and debris. Government machinery has failed to take serious cognizance of the situation and swing into damage-control.
While there is a water swell all around, even the Education Minister Pramod Sawant failed to fathom the plight of the school community. Parents had to endure the vagaries of harsh weather and wade through streams of water to reach their wards to schools, at times even endangering lives. The low turnout in schools on Tuesday was a testimony to this. It took three days for the Director of Education to issue a circular announcing a holiday on August 7. Is this a situation of wait-and-watch?
The incessant rains saw a mudslide atop the Cortalim circle hillock, part of which has been razed due to the approach roads of the Zuari bridge. The exposed part of the hillock is precariously close to the traffic and mudslides could have disastrous consequences on motorists. The entire stretch from Thana to Agassaim bypass has been dotted with potholes, including those on Zuari bridge itself. Most of this part of the highway is not illuminated too. Who is responsible for this mess? And why has government not learnt lessons from the past? Last year, the PWD had to swing in and hotmix this potholed stretch during the rains only after public outcry.
In times of such natural calamities, Goans have nobody to turn to. Probably, all they can seek is some divine intervention.
