Mud dumping goes unabated in Verla-Canca panchayat areas
AGNELO PEREIRA
MAPUSA
Like in Parra and Arpora in Calangute, land filling activity is also going on in the Verla-Canca village panchayat area of Siolim constituency.
What is alarming is the pace of land filling activity in the area which appears to dwarf similar activity in Calangute.
Several land filling activities have been noticed along the internal Verla-Canca road leading to Anjuna. New commercial enterprises and shops have come up overnight on either side of the district road soon after the mutton shops at Verla-Canca up to the border of Parra.
The modus operandi is to fill the agriculture land by the side of the roads and then erect a commercial structure/shop on the landfill.
Verla-Canca panchayat seemed oblivious to the rampant land filling activity.
Panchayat Secretary Keshave Phadte said he was not aware of any land filling in the panchayat area.
“I have not seen any land filling, nor have I received any complaint of land filling,” a nonchalant Phadte said. He further said that the talathi was responsible to take action against illegalities, if any.
Verla-Canca Sarpanch Mohan Dabhale said he wasn’t aware of the land filling and the panchayat hadn’t received any complaints.
“We have not received any complaints so far. Earlier, we had taken action against some persons,” Dabhale, a close aide of former water resources minister said.
The straight Verla-Canca road which connects the coastal village of Anjuna has vast tracts of fields on either side of the road. Much of the land filling activity has been taking place on the right side of the road on way to Anjuna. Now, it’s catching up on the left side of the road too.
Incidentally, the Verla-Canca panchayat office and the residence of former sarpanch and present panch member, Milton Marques is on the same road.
Incidentally, Marques now doubles up as the PA of water resources minister.
When contacted, Water Resources Minister and local MLA Vinod Palyekar said that he wasn’t aware of the land filling activity. “I was not aware of this land filling and I will take up the matter with the deputy collector,” Palyekar said.
