A day after deluge, authorities begin cleanup operations

NEVER TOO LATE: A JCB at work clearing silt and debris from the main nullah at Khorlim, Mapusa.

MAPUSA

As skies began to clear on Wednesday after a day of torrential downpour, local authorities in Bardez swung into action to assess and mitigate the damage left in the wake of Tuesday’s intense pre-monsoon rain.

Several parts of Mapusa and nearby villages were left grappling with clogged nullahs, debris-strewn roads and damage to public and private property. In Mapusa, major roads were littered with debris and plastic waste washed down from higher ground during the rain. The municipal administration deployed heavy machinery, including JCB earthmovers, to clear blocked drains and desilt major nullahs that had overflowed the previous day.

One of the key operations took place at the Usapkar Junction in Khorlim, where a two-wheeler rider was swept away along with his vehicle on Tuesday. The incident raised alarms about the vulnerability of poorly maintained nullahs. “Immediate action was needed to clear this spot. The overflow here was deadly,” said a municipal engineer.

Similar clean-up efforts were observed in other parts of the town, as JCBs were pressed into service to remove accumulated silt and garbage from drainage channels.

With water levels receding, Mapusa Municipal Council (MMC) councillors fanned out across their respective wards to take stock of the situation.

Councillor Shashank Narvekar, who represents Ward 5, pointed fingers at unchecked construction activity inside the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) area at Dattawadi.

“All the excavated mud and debris from multiple construction sites have flowed down with the rainwater, covering roads and even entering residential compounds in Duler,” Narvekar said.

“What’s worse is that no municipal engineers or staff have visited the site to take corrective measures,” he added.

Elsewhere in Bardez, village panchayats were also on high alert. In Anjuna, Sarpanch Laxmidas Chimulkar and his team inspected several affected areas.

Other sarpanchs across Bardez taluka reported similar issues – collapsed walls, inundated fields and blocked drains.