MARGAO
The rains have subsided and the Public Works Department, National Highway may be back soon to resume land filing work on the controversial western bypass in the low-lying and flood plains of river Sal in Benaulim village.
Farmers, however, remain unfazed. The beleaguered farmers have descended at Tolleaband, which acts as a water catchment area during heavy rains, to cultivate the fields of their ancestors. They seemed to have not lost hope that the government would see reason and build the bypass passing through their lush green fields on stilts.
In fact, a group of farmers Minguel Fernandes, Raymond Costa and others have just finished the sowing operations at Tolleaband, where the National Highway has dumped soil right in the middle of the lush green fields to raise an earthen embankment to pave way for the road bypass. These farmers tilling the land of their ancestors had reaped a moderate harvest just before the onset of monsoons and have now gone for the second crop.
The farmers know for sure that their cultivated paddy will be buried under the earthen embankment when the PWD contractor returns back with a fleet of trucks to carry out land filling. They, however, have not lost the hope that the bypass will be built on stilts, citing the latest report compiled by the Water Resources department (WRD), which has come categorically clear that construction of the bypass sans stilts will flood the village.
In fact, the farmers have taken a risk by going for a second paddy crop when the PWD is expected to dump hundreds of truck-loads of mud into their fields.
Says Minguel: “All this time we have been knocking the doors of the government agencies expressing our fears to flooding if the bypass is built on stilts. Now a government agency, the Water Resources Department has come clear that nothing short of stilts will devastate Benaulim village. Now why would the government want to do a re-think on constructing the bypass on stilts?”
He added: “Despite the bypass passingright through our fields, the farmers had never opposed the road. We now hope and pray that the government would have a glance at the WRD report and scrap the plan to build the bypass on earthen embankment.”
Farmer Raymond Costa has echoed similar sentiments. He pointed out that the government should lend its ears to the cries of the farmers and the villagers and build the bypass on stilts. “We are not opposing the bypass sans stilts just for the sake of opposition. The WRD report has come out clear that construction of the bypass sans stilts will cause irreparable damage to the village due to flooding”, he said.
Newly-elected Benaulim Sarpanch Xavier Pereira is no stranger to the western bypass issue affecting the village. In fact, he was one of the villagers who had been vocal in demanding construction of the bypass on stilts. Now occupying the hot seat after the recently-held panchayat polls, Xavier has vowed to take the movement for the bypass on stilts campaign to the logical end. Promising to take up the bypass issue at the very first panchayat meeting, Xavier has favoured roping in an agency to do a hydrological study on the issues. “The hydrological study will not only shed light on the issue, but will help the panchayat body to knock at the doors of the judiciary," he added.
