MARGAO
Strongly batting in favour of the controversial Western bypass without stilts, National Highway officials have maintained that no stagnation or flooding will occur and the rainwater will drain effectively if the Sal river is cleared of its silt, garbage and vegetation accumulated over the decades.
That’s not all. Officials further stated that regardless whether the river Sal is desilted or not, the stagnant water level would not rise more than 0.20 meters as per the technical, hydrological and hydro-graphical studies and calculations, considering the volume of floodplain lost due to presence of embankment and also presuming that there is no cross flow of water in a worst-case scenario.
Given the stiff opposition to the project, highway officials sought to reassure the people that not even nominal stagnation of water in the surrounding area will occur if the River Sal and all its channels draining water into it are desilted and cleared of the silt, vegetation and garbage and brought to its original natural state.
“From the prevailing situation, with or without embankment with designed openings, it hardly changes the apprehended scenario of floods in low-lying areas of Seraulim,” NH-17 Executive Engineer, R Kamat, replied to the notice served by Adv Radharao Gracias on behalf of the Seraulim villagers.
“The road is designed and constructed by taking into all the aspects of hydrology and hydrography to prevent any additional stagnation and flood-like situation due to the presence of embankment as apprehended. The embankment has much more than adequate capacity for putting up cross draining structures to permit cross flow of water and balance it in case of any water stagnation due to incessant precipitation,” the reply stated, while asserting that no objections were raised during land acquisition, which was completed in 2006.
Kamat stated that a signalised junction will be provided at the crossing of the national highway bypass and wholesale fish market road, with the other crossing proposed on the Colva road with an underpass.
“The area through which the bypass is being built in Seraulim and other villages is very old, abandoned and has fallow paddy fields, which are not cultivated for very long period. These are neither eco-sensitive nor any area comes under tidal effect and CRZ regulation,” Kamat said, while justifying the decision not to obtain NOC from the CRZ authorities.
The highway officials further stated that work of large public project of national importance cannot be stopped purely on the basis of unfounded apprehensions of a limited group of people.
And, Kamat said, no environmental impact assessment study was required for the project as per the prevailing norms as the bypass was
less than 100 kilometres in length.
On the villagers demand for stilts fearing that the embankments will hamper the flow of water, Kamat said, “The flood basin, contrary to what is claimed, is very large compared to the area occupied by the embankment. The embankment has provision for far more than adequate requirement of cross drainage structures to permit cross flow of water even in the event of highest possible rainfall as per local meteorological data made available.”
