City councils fail to clear clogged drains before time; several other areas battered by heavy rains and strong winds
Mapusa Municipal Council’s shoddy pre-monsoon works exposed
the goan I network
MAPUSA
Call it the cyclone Mora effect or just pre-monsoon showers, the Wednesday downpour flooded Mapusa market and streets with water even entering several shops and houses exposing the shoddy pre-monsoon work of Mapusa Municipal Council.
The civic authorities were left clueless, as the incessant rains wreaked havoc in the market and several low-lying areas around the town.
Within hours of the relentless rain, several parts of the famed Mapusa market were flooded with water even entering several shops.
While consumers were struggling to find their way through ankle-deep water, shopkeepers were busy trying to empty water which made way into their premises.
Water rushed into the premises of Daud Electricals, the popular hardware shop D Pancar and several other shops, leaving the owners with no choice but to physically remove water their premises. “This has happened because the pipes that used to channel the rainwater into the drains have been blocked while carrying out the drainage work,” said Khalid Carol, owner of Daud Eletricals.
Water gushing from the hills flooded several roads in Khorlim so much so people were finding it difficult to find their way back.
Water also made its way inside the homes of several people residing in Khorlim.
Wednesday’s downpour exposed the slipshod pre-monsoon work carried out by the civic authorities.
It also showed the city fathers in poor light for their complete failure to monitor and lead the civic body from the front to be monsoon ready.
As part of pre-monsoon works, the sludge was removed from the drains and stacked on the side of the roads. After more than a week, the Wednesday rains took the sludge right back into the drains, clearly exposing the lack of coordination among the civic workers.
As reported by The Goan a week back, the slow work on the drains taken up by Goa State Urban Development Authority (GSUDA) further rubbed salt on the wounds of the residents in Mapusa.
Most of the drains near Canara Bank and further down lie open and could be life threatening to people visiting the market. GSUDA’s incomplete work and failure to take up the tarring of the road from Union Pharmacy to Mapusa Urban Coop Bank has turned the road mucky and slippery.
Non-completion of footpath along the same route has also added to the misery of those visiting the market.
As usual power failures and complaints of power fluctuations were reported from several areas in the taluka.
Mapsua Fire Brigade officials received at least nine calls of tree falls in several parts of Bardez.
