MAPUSA
While the incessant rains spared the blues at the famed Mapusa market, several low-lying areas and thoroughfares in Bardez were inundated on Tuesday.
Part of the Guirim village, close to the NH66, remained flooded throughout the day as there was hardly any respite from the pouring rain.
A house partially collapsed at Khorlim in Mapusa while the fire personnel attended to at least five calls of tree fall in Anjuna, Mapusa (2), Aldona and Siolim.
Traffic came to a halt in some areas as vehicles made it's way slowly through the flooded roads.
Intense spells of rain led to the flooding of the fields and roads near the panchayat office in Guirim. The Guirim panchayat office and a government school in the area were also partly submerged underwater.
Locals blamed the ongoing expansion work of the NH66 which has aggravated the flooding in the area.
“Every year when there is heavy rain our fields get flooded but the water used to drain off quickly and we could carry on with our farming activity. But for the last two to three years since the work on widening of the national highway started the water refuses to drain off. The contractor has haphazardly dumped the debris along the service roads thereby blocking the access of excess rainwater,” said Lalitha Naik, a resident of Guirim.
The villagers also slammed the panchayat body for failing to take any preemptive steps to stop the recurring of such flooding incidents.
The inmates of a house had a miraculous escape after part of their house came down at around noon at Kasarvadda in Khorlim, Mapusa.
The fire personnel estimated a loss of Rs one lakh on account of the damage.
The key Cunchelim road in Mapusa also experienced water-logging but the civic workers managed to clear the road for traffic.
For the second year running, the Mapusa market did not experience flooding despite the heavy downpour. Most of the merchants attributed the success to clearing of all market drains last year during the lockdown.
“Although we experienced heavy rain there was no water logging in the municipal market, thanks to the great job done by the civic body last year,” said Pandurang Sawant, a member of Mapusa Merchants Association.
