MARGAO
Ahead of the planned construction of the controversial stretch of the Western road bypass without stilts, the government has kick-started work on the desilting of river Sal along the Seraulim-Navelim river course.
Work on the Rs 16-odd crore river Sal desilting work has started from the wholesale fish market and the river will be desilted right up to the Our Lady of Lourdes Chapel, Navelim covering a distance of around eight-odd kilometres.
While the desilting of the river Sal, along this stretch was long overdue, as this portion was heavily desilted, with weeds taking deep roots in the river, obstructing water flow during the monsoons, many say the government might have taken up the river desilting work first before resuming work on the Western bypass along the problematic 2.75 km stretch, from Seraulim near the wholesale fish market to Benaulim near Karle properties.
For, while the government has drawn up plans to go ahead with the controversial bypass work by floating a fresh tender estimated around Rs 148 crore, the river Sal desilting is apparently being undertaken first to win confidence of the people agitating against the bypass without stilts.
The government and the PWD had been arguing that desilting of the river Sal will take care of flooding along the 2.75 km bypass stretch, between Seraulim and Benaulim, considered the wetlands and the water catchment areas of Margao and the surrounding villages.
Benaulim MLA Churchill Alemao too had strongly vouched for the river desilting work on the plea that the desilting will stop the river from overflowing during monsoon and also ensure smooth and quick water flow along the course. Incidentally, Churchill had told the PWD that work on the bypass cannot start along the Seraulim-Benaulim stretch without the desilting of river Sal.
Residents of Seraulim, Mungul and Benaulim on the other hand, had been insisting on the construction of the Western bypass on stilts, arguing that land filling up of the vast low-lying fields along the 2.75 km stretch will displace the rain water flowing into the water catchment areas as far away as Verna, Nuvem and Betalbatim.
The 11-km Western bypass from Navelim to Verna passes through the villages of Navelim, Benaulim, Seraulim, Mungul, Nuvem and connects the national highway at Verna after the Agnel Ashram traffic junction. While the Verna-Nuvem stretch has been opened for traffic, and work on the Navelim-Telaulim stretch underway, work on the 2.75 km Benaulim-Seraulim stretch has not yet started after villagers raised concerns over flooding if the bypass is built without stilts.
