CANACONA
Incessant overnight rains took a toll in Canacona causing heavy water-logging in the fields the Poinguinim-Galgibaga road was completely submerged on Sunday morning.
Motorists, especially motorcycle riders, had a tough time crossing the heavily inundated road on a stretch of around half a kilometre, following heavy rains late Saturday night.
Helpless residents complained bitterly that the low-lying areas on either side of this road, which had natural passages for rainwater to drain, were submerged due to the filling of land.
The locals alleged that the more than technically specified height of the recently-constructed WRD retaining walls on either sides had blocked the nullahs leading to the waterlogging.
The residents have appealed to the WRD to take necessary action to clear the blocked nullahs and take up other measures to retain the free flow of rainwater to avoid frequent flooding of the road.
A resident Rupesh Kankonkar, claimed that people have resorted to massive filling of paddy fields as a result blocking natural water passages.
Premanand Chari, a senior citizen and resident of the locality, stated, “The unwarranted filling of land has caused severe ecological damages in the area. Now the situation has reached such a stage that water will begin to enter residents’ houses if no corrective measures are not taken.”
He said in the past people had objected to the filling of land and had warned of floods, but the cries were not heard. “Reality has hit us hard and now we can’t even ride a cycle on this road. It’s high time the authorities take corrective measures, before we see something bad happening,” he added.
