MARGAO
Villagers of Folli ward of Guirdolim village assembled near the Nocazan sluice gate, which was in the news on the issue of the double-tracking project, but for a different reason.
The villagers had a thanksgiving litany at the Cross located at the Nocazan sluice gate on Saturday evening to thank and praise the Almighty for stopping the railways from destroying the sluice gate.
They also offered thanks to the Lord since the mud and silt which had found its way into the Nocazan lake and the sluice gate and which had led to constant flooding was also removed from the water body.
Indeed, residents of the Folli ward of Guirdolim village have been waging a battle with the Railways not to shift the sluice gate and to de-silt the Nocazan lake. The area had witnessed flooding in the last two monsoons, and the villagers had feared the worst in the ensuing monsoons before the railways agreed to the demand of the villagers and left the sluice gate untouched.
Chairperson of Guirdolim village Bio-diversity Management Committee, Agostinho Antao said the villagers are truly grateful to the Almighty as they have been now saved from the perils of having flooded houses, a problem that they have been living with for the past three years.
He added: "In December last year, the Railways approached the villagers and agreed not to shift the sluice gate of the Nocazan lake. They also agreed to clear the debris from the lake to the Kushawati river. The water channel has been de-silted and one can even find fish from the river entering the water body,” Antao said.
He added: “The villagers would have been exposed to floods this year too if mud from the water body right up to the Kushawati river was not removed. The railways have also built a retaining wall as per the demand of the villagers.”
As the litany was led by Janet Fernandes and the prayers by a senior citizen Rita Martins, the villagers of Folli ward thanked Marcelino Fernandes, Jose Pexotio, Mario Pexotio, Mathew Pexotio, Joseph Pexotio all of Folli ward and Agostinho Antao, Chairperson the Guirdolim Bio-diversity Management Committee for leading the battle against the Railways and saving the sluice gate from getting destroyed
Meanwhile, the proposed works to repair the damaged sluice gate and de-silt the tributary of Zuari river near the Guirdolim railway line are now likely to be carried out after the monsoons.
Water Resources Department officials informed that since the monsoon is fast approaching, work on the restoration of the damaged sluice gate and the cleaning up of the tributary of River Zuari will now take place only after the monsoons.
