MARGAO
Former PWD Minister Churchill Alemao has on Saturday demanded that the government order a high level probe into the Zuari land to find out how much land was handed over to Birla Industries and whether the land can be used for real estate development.
He also made a fervent plea to the government to desilt the River Sal between Nuvem to Khareband and further downstream to prevent floods along the flood plains of River Sal.
Addressing the media, Churchill said the Zuari land, if taken back by the government, can be used to build 2-3 additional runways for the Dabolim airport. “I had made this demand to take back the Zuari land to expand the Dabolim airport, but successive governments did not pay heed to my demand,” he said, while requesting Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to order a probe into the Zuari land.
Meanwhile, Churchill pointed out that though there is no large scale flooding at Khareband despite heavy rains, the River Sal need to be desilted thoroughly right from Nuvem to Khareband and further downstream to take care of future requirements.
“I request the government to not only desilt the river from Nuvem to Khareband, but to build and strengthen the embankments to channelise the flood water,” he said.
Reminding that the envoy sent by Union Minister for Roads and Surface Transport Nitin Gadkari, R K Pandey had made recommendations for a comprehensive drainage plan at the Khareband-Benaulim stretch of the river Sal, Churchill said the government should take cognizance of Pandey’s recommendations and take up the work of desilting of the River Sal.
Former minister expresses support for Konkani in Roman script
MARGAO: Former PWD Minister Churchill Alemao has said he would be the happiest man if Konkani in Roman script is accorded equal status along with Devanagari script.
Commenting on the script row, Churchill said he is happy that youngsters such as Kennedy Afonso and others are taking the movement in support of Romi script forward. “I along with Adv Radharao Gracias had then pleaded with Dr Wilfred De Souza that we should launch an agitation to demand equal status for Roman script. But, since the Konkani language agitation had claimed the lives of seven young people, Dr Wilfred advised against a fresh agitation and we all settled for the government’s decision,” he recalled.
