When the residents of Benaulim, Seraulim and Mungul had first raised the banner of protest against construction of the western bypass to Margao, it was taken with a pinch of salt. MLAs came out in support and the government pretended to listen. But work continued. The people had warned that the area would get flooded, but officials sought to downplay those fears in the hope that the bypass would be constructed, the culverts would allow water to flow through and everything would be as they had panned. Fortunately or unfortunately that did not happen. All it took was a few pre-monsoon
showers to submerge low lying areas along the bypass. Imagine what will happen when the monsoons hit the State in
full fury as predicted by the meteorology department?
People who live in the area are aware of the flooding that
takes place because they witness it every year. The officials
were also aware because a high-level panel headed by Sanjit
Rodrigues had arrived at the same
conclusion in 2001-02. The report
submitted by him had called for
a re-think on construction of the
bypass along the present route on
grounds that the area was a wetland
and catchment area for the
rive Sal. It was ignored and today
these areas face the prospect of
flooding once the rains arrive.
The picture of a signage indicated
the site for construction of the western
bypass with the flooded area in the background tells the
whole story. It is a story of improper planning, shortsightedness,
and in this case, an utter disregard for local conditions.
No one is saying that the bypass is not required. Traffic on
NH17 has increased exponentially and the portion from Nuvem
to Margao gets congested during peak hours. The eastern
bypass was constructed a long time ago and the western
bypass was hanging fire for many reasons. When the government
finally decided to go ahead with it, it made the serious
error of ignoring the Rodrigues report. What remains now is
the suggestion made by the locals to build it, but on stilts. In
other words, an elevated road, which will cost much more, but
will do away with all the problems associated with the present
one. The government has already planned elevated roads and
bridges costing Rs 10,000 crore along NH17 to overcome several
local problems. If this can be done for other areas, why not
extend the same benefit to Seraulim, Benaulim and Mungul?
After all, what’s good for the goose is also good for the gander.
It appears that Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar
has taken cognisance of the issues raised by the villagers and
MLAs representing the area and has approached the Union
Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping for additional
funds to construct the western bypass on stilts. If this
is true, why was the State government not kept in the loop?
It makes no sense for Parrikar to pursue one solution to the
problem while the state government goes ahead with work on
the ground. This approach will only result in wastage in funds,
unless Parrikar’s efforts are only meant to mislead the people
until such time as the project is complete. If Parrikar is pursuing
the matter, then the state government must stop all work
along the bypass until such time the Centre takes a favourable
decision. In the end, the solution must benefit people without
harming the environment and when such a solution exists, no
matter what the cost, it must be pursued.
