MARGAO
Former PWD Minister Churchill Alemao on Sunday demanded that the government take up on priority the work of desilting the river Sal with embankments along the stretch from Mungul to Khareband bridge on topmost priority.
Addressing the media in the presence of panch daughter Sharon, Churchill said his consistent stand that the solution to the problem of flooding of the low-lying areas of Benaulim during monsoons has been vindicated by R K Pandey, an envoy deputed by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari to Benaulim to study the flooding pattern.
Churchill said he is not opposed to the construction of the western bypass passing through Benaulim village though many on WhatsApp misguided the people of Benaulim in the run up to the 2022 Assembly election. “Union Minister Gadkari has sent his envoy to Benaulim to study the demand for construction of the bypass on stilts after he was petitioned by Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai. I have no problem with the bypass on stilts. If Gadkari is ready to build the bypass on stilts on the Benaulim stretch, it is certainly welcomed,” he said.
Churchill, however, said what is required at the Khareband-Tolleaband area is the desilting of the river Sal and construction of the embankments for quick drainage of rain water.
“Let Gadkari build the bypass passing through Benaulim on stilts. But, let the government also take up the desilting of the river stretch from Mungul to Khareband, which does not look like a river with the water overflowing most of the time,” he added.
He appealed to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to consider his plea for the desilting of the river Sal from Mungul to Khareband to take care of future requirements, adding, ‘let the bypass come on stilts if Union Minister Gadkari is ready to fund the project’.
