the goan I network
PONDA
With the department expected to act on the minister’s directives, the Codar river will now be virtually off-limits to visitors as both access points are through the agriculture department property.
Responding to a report in The Goan, Sardessai sent a note to the director of agriculture stating that drowning incidents in the Codar river in Bethora-Nirankal could have been avoided if access to the river had been restricted through agriculture department land.
“Over 20 people have drowned in the river in the past ten years. In a recent incident, two youth from Vasco lost their lives. If entries were restricted from the agriculture department land, these lives could have been saved. So, steps may be immediately taken to restrict public entry from department land,” the minister said in his note.
The Goan had reported on Monday that in the past five years people drowned in the river which is located in Bethora-Nirankal, about 10 kms from Ponda. The recent drowning deaths have, however, not deterred picnickers from bathing in the river on every available occasion.
Efforts had been made to prevent swimming in the river after three youth had drowned in 2012. Following protests by locals, authorities closed the entry point in the agriculture department land, while police teams were also stationed in the area for about 15 days to ensure that picnickers did not visit the spot and swim in the area.
The department had also installed a board to warn people from trespassing into the area.
But all these precautionary measures have been forgotten by authorities and ignored by picnickers, who are only too happy to trespass into the area and enjoy a swim.
Local panch Prasad Prabhugaonkar had squarely blamed agriculture department officers for all the drowning cases in the river. “Had the officers prohibited people from entering this area, these incidents would not have taken place,” Prabhugaonkar said.
