MARGAO
With Cyclone Tauktae and the rains causing sea erosion along the coast and the river side, a group of villagers of Cavelossim has called for suitable measures to stop further erosion of the coastline and the river front.
The request was made to local MLA Churchill Alemao, who inspected the Cavelosism coast line as well as river side with officials of the disaster management authority, RDA on Thursday before taking up the proposal with the government to initiate measures, including building a training wall at the mouth of the river Sal.
A villager Roy Baretto pointed out to the MLA and the officials that the Cavelossim has been battered by sea erosion, further pointing out the river side of the village was also hit by the rising waters, with waters reaching the door steps of some villagers. “Cavelosism village is surrounded by sea on the west and river Sal on the east. This is a low lying area and has been affected by rising sea water. Our main concern is that the village should be protected from the rising sea water”, he said.
Suggesting that a protective wall along the coast will help stop the sea erosion, Roy demanded that the proposal should be included in the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP). “A protective wall will stop the sea water from coming into the village”, he added.
Cavelossim Sarpanch Denis Dias told the media that the proposal to build a training wall at the river Sal mouth has been pending in the National Green Tribunal. He said the banks of the river Sal is getting eroded with each passing year, and called for suitable measures to stop the erosion.
He said the Panchayat and the villagers will sit and discuss whether the training wall is required at the river Sal mouth before taking up the proposal with the Benaulim MLA.
Churchill later told the media that the he will seek an appointment with the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant so that the villagers and the panchayat can submit their proposal to stop the erosion.
Batting for the training wall at the river Sal mouth, Churchill said the training wall can be answer to the sea erosion at the river Sal mouth. “I had in the past taken up the issue of building a training wall at the river Sal mouth to stop the erosion in Cavelosism. I will discuss the matter with the Chief Minister along with the village Sarpanch, panch members and the villagers to address the issue”, he said.
