MARGAO
Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Digambar Kamat has taken up the issue of rejuvenating the River Sal with the Central government, seeking priority funding from the Union Jal Shakti Ministry. Kamat, who had vowed to restore the river to its pristine glory after the 2022 Assembly elections, confirmed that he has formally approached the Centre for financial assistance to undertake a comprehensive rejuvenation project.
Making his position clear, Kamat acknowledged that piecemeal efforts would not be sufficient to revive the river. Drawing from his experience, he recalled that during his first stint as Urban Development Minister nearly 25 years ago, desilting work was undertaken along the River Sal stretch from Mungul to Khareband. Subsequently, successive governments carried out desilting up to Navelim and Telaulim. Despite these efforts, a long-term and comprehensive solution for restoring the river has remained elusive.
“I have made a strong case before the Central government to sanction funds from the Jal Shakti Ministry for the rejuvenation of the River Sal and to restore it to its pristine glory,” Kamat said.
Sources, however, indicated that the initiative may face time constraints, as the State is headed for Assembly elections exactly a year from now. Despite this, Kamat is understood to have made a forceful representation to the Centre, pressing for early sanction of funds to ensure the project can move forward.
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RK Pandey’s recommendations
to restore Sal and prevent flooding
*Flooding in the flood prone low-lying area is a routine phenomenon during monsoons and cannot be prevented entirely, till a comprehensive drainage plan addressing the outfall issue is sorted out
*The discharge capacity of Sal river also need to be taken in to consideration, which appears to be low, suggesting that measures for increasing the discharge capacity of Sal river may be taken including de-silting / dredging
*Increasing the number of culverts on the Khareband-Varca road. The western bypass is having 10 balancing culverts in 650 m length (total area 157 sqm), the 750m Varca road is having only 2 culverts (total area 36 sqm) for discharging water into the Sal river, which is insufficient for quick drainage. There is need to provide additional discharge area from Varca road to Sal river by way of increasing the culvert size or its numbers.
