CANACONA
The 150-metre stretch of Poingnuinim-Galgibaga link road remains largely inundated with flood water for the last 15 days and has posed a threat to the age-old weakened culvert bridge which may collapse at any moment if the water is not cleared soon.
Locals fear the culvert bridge which is a connecting factor between Poinguinim Bazaar-Magdal (Galgibaga) and dangerously weakened and even the PWD engineer feels it could fall.
Incidentally, with the Galgibaga river flowing parallel to the 150 metres long link road passing through paddy fields floods the entire paddy field on its western side, and overflows over the road into the already flooded eastern side paddy fields, bringing undue pressure on the already old and weakened culvert situated at the northern-end of the link road. Through this link road, the floodwater storms back into the Galgibaga river.
According to a seating panch of Poinguinim Village Satish Painguinkar, the WRD by constructing a retaining wall on the edge of western side paddy fields along the river bank has blocked the natural floodwater passage, which instead gets blocked and overflows submerging the link-road (Poinguinim-Galgibaga road). "This situation (flooding of the either-sides and submerging of this road) is now witnessed for the last 15 days, giving all the troubles to the local people. A team of WRD and PWD (Highways) engineers has visited the site, and when I asked an engineer, the engineer agreed that the life of the culvert is over, it has become weak and it can collapse. So, it is essential that government give immediate attention to this road."
Painguinkar informed that the widening and upgradation of this 150 metres long road is pending, and if the regular flooding and submerging of this road is to be avoided, the culvert bridge has to be re-constructed in an elevated position. Besides the height of this link road needs to be raised at least some metres above the present level to avoid its flooding.
"We are told that this 150 metre road will be widened to 12 metres, but its height needs to be compulsorily elevated and the old culvert bridge must be constructed at a wider and higher level to allow free passage of floodwater into the river," he added.
