VASCO
The death of a woman after a massive boulder came crashing down on her house at Vaddem have caused panic among residents in the area and they have stepped demands for a retaining wall to protect them from similar tragedies.
A resident, Adv Santosh Naik, said small landslides had been taking place in the area since for last few years. “We petitioned all authorities and also submitted complains, but nothing had been done till date and we have now lost a fellow resident to a tragedy.”
“We have been demanding safety measures or at least a retaining wall and we have now also informed Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) Chairperson and ward councillor Nandadeep Raut to take up the issue after carrying out an inspection so that no more lives are lost,” said Naik.
Another resident, Sanjay Naik, said the PWD claimed to have taken some safety measures and as a result, many other houses had been saved
or there could been a bigger disaster.
“The government has only been doing these temporary measures since the last 5 years and now they will say they don’t have funds on account of the pandemic,” said Naik.
Shreejit Kavlekar, another resident, said a boulder had rolled down a few days ago in the same area.
“Fortunately, no lives were lost and we had also appealed to authorities to have a retaining wall. After the tragic loss of a resident, the government must take up the issue of the retaining wall,” said Kavlekar.
Retaining wall pending because of NOC, says MMC
VASCO: Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) Chairperson and ward councillor Nandadeep Raut has the work to construct a retaining wall had been pending for want of an NOC from the land owner.
“Every year, these landslides have been occurring but the boulders that have rolled down were much smaller in size and usually had fallen away from houses, unlike the incident on Monday night,” said Raut.
“I had earlier also requested the dy collector to take up a retaining wall in the area for the safety of residents. I had also spoken to Vasco MLA Carlos Almeida on this issue, but the works are pending because of the land owner’s NOC.”
“I appeal to the government to help the poor family and offer a house to them under the PM Housing Scheme and make temporary arrangements for the family, because the house is completely destroyed in the incident.”
“I also request the government to begin work on the retaining wall because landslides have occurred annually since the last 5 years and there should be no more loss of lives,” Raut added.
