Mapusa river works progress, but will Guirim stay dry this monsoon?

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, along with WRD Minister Subhash Shirodkar and Saligao MLA Kedar Naik, takes a boat ride on the Mapusa river while reviewing ongoing rejuvenation works.

MAPUSA
A chief minister in a boat, cameras in tow, gliding over a river that has long refused to stay within its banks – on the surface, it looked like progress in motion.
As Chief Minister Pramod Sawant reviewed the Rs 46-crore Mapusa river rejuvenation project at Guirim, there was movement, messaging and measured optimism. But beneath the optics, a stubborn question refused to drift away: when the monsoon arrives, will Guirim stay dry?
Because here, the story of the rains is written in waterlogged fields and marooned homes. Each heavy downpour turns vast stretches of land into a floodplain, swallowing roads, pathways and low-lying fields.
In St Anthony Vaddo, the isolation can last days – doors shut, movement stalled, life paused until the waters retreat. For residents, the memory of past monsoons lingers longer than any official assurance.
Against this backdrop, officials say the desilting of the Mapusa river – central to the ambitious project – has crossed the halfway mark and is on track for completion by November, raising cautious hope in flood-prone areas of Guirim and Mapusa.
The project, undertaken by the State’s Water Resources Department (WRD), is designed to tackle chronic flooding in low-lying localities such as St Anthony Vaddo and areas around Hotel Green Park in Mapusa, where the river routinely overflows during the monsoon, damaging homes and disrupting daily life.
Sawant, who reviewed the ongoing work near Hotel Green Park, also spoke with WRD officials and the contractor. WRD Minister Subhash Shirodkar, Saligao MLA Kedar Naik and members of the Guirim panchayat were present.
With the monsoon approaching, the Chief Minister directed officials to expedite desilting, remove excess mud and clear encroachments that obstruct the natural flow of rainwater into the river.
“During the rains, fields in Guirim get submerged and the river’s course becomes indistinct. With this desilting work, we have rejuvenated around 4.5 km of the river,” Sawant said, adding that beautification measures would be taken up alongside.
“People will be able to go for morning walks and the area could also attract tourists,” he said.
The project covers a 4.5-km stretch from Guirim to the National Highway bridge at Tar junction and has been awarded to M/s Bagkiya Construction Pvt Ltd.
It involves large-scale desilting and widening of the riverbed to enhance its water-carrying capacity and ensure quicker discharge during heavy rainfall.
Flood protection measures include embankment bunds along both riverbanks, sluice and flap gates at 200-metre intervals to prevent backflow during high tides, and a composite wall of concrete and laterite masonry to strengthen the banks.
A dedicated sluice gate will isolate floodwaters from the Guirim catchment, while a high-capacity pumping system capable of discharging 3,000 cubic metres per hour will further aid flood control.
Once completed, the project is expected to provide long-awaited relief to residents who have endured years of monsoon flooding.