MARGAO
The intended objective of Konkan Railway Corporation to dig a trench along the railway tracks in the Pedda-Khareband area before the onset of monsoon was to do away with water stagnation. But it has turned out to be counter-productive. Three months down the line, the trench is emanating sewage odour and is a breeding ground for water-borne diseases.
In fact, the entire stretch of the trench, right from the La Flor hotel building to the Cine Lata slum, today resembles a waste water stagnation point, thanks to the trench. Local residents and visitors to the area have been complaining of foul odour emanating from the trench. The mosquito menace has also come to haunt the people living around the entire Pedda-Khareband area.
The KRC had dug up the trench as an underground cross drain connecting the La Flor side of a storm water nullah to the Khareband side was found choked for want of maintenance. To tide over the problem, the KRC had dug up the trench connecting the storm water nullah from the area right opposite the La Flor to the Cine Lata stretch. With the rains subsiding for the moment, water gushing out from the storm water nullah into the trench has resulted in water stagnation, emitting foul odour and raising fears amongst the residents that the trench may become a breeding ground for vector-borne diseases.
When The Goan called up KRC Senior Officer, Baban Ghatge, to shed light on the trench posing problems to the local residents, he said the trench was dug up to facilitate drainage of the storm water during the rains. “The problem could have been easily resolved had the Margao Municipal council opened up the choked nullah on the other side of the railway tracks,” he said.
To a query, Ghatge pointed out that he would ask his officials to inspect the area and submit a report on the ground reality. “We will also write to MMC to find ways to reopen the water nullah on the Khareband side of the tracks to facilitate drainage of water from the storm water nullah,” he stated.
