During High Court-mandated inspection, farmers warn of crop loss
Farmers and Assolna villagers assemble at the Moddoranchem Torem (water body) as the High Court constituted panel headed by Margao Deputy Collector Laxmikant Desai inspected the lake on Monday.
MARGAO
As Margao Deputy Collector Laxmikant Desai, along with officials of the Agriculture Department and Water Resources Department, descended at the Moddoranchem Torem (water body) at Assolna for an inspection upon High Court orders, beleaguered farmers made an impassioned plea to the inspection team to save the water body and their fields.
In fact, farmers, along with citizens from Assolna, besides members of the Panchayat body, the Village Bio-diversity Management Committee, and the Village Development Committee, all assembled near the water body in anticipation of the High Court-mandated inspection.
The farmers requested the team to issue immediate instructions to the WRD to ensure the timely and secure closing of the sluice gates at Moddoranchem Torem in the first week of October. They insisted that the team direct the local authorities to provide permanent security measures to prevent vandalism and illegal opening of the gates.
Ecological and agricultural importance
Explaining the ecological and agricultural significance of the Moddoranchem Torem, the farmers said the water body acts as a natural rainwater catchment area, recharges groundwater, serves as a fish breeding ground, and attracts migratory birds. The cyclical practice of closing gates post-Kharif and opening them before the next season is a sustainable model that supports both agriculture and the local ecosystem, they pointed out.
They added: “This year, we have already ploughed our fields in anticipation of the Rabi season, relying on the expectation that the sluice gates will be closed in the first week of October 2025 to impound monsoon water. Any delay or disruption will lead to another season of crop failure and financial hardship.”
A memorandum submitted by the Village Bio-diversity Management Committee pointed out that the Moddoranchem Torem has been geo-tagged and included in the Village PBR along with other water bodies. “Its protection ensures surface and groundwater security for future generations; irrigation for downstream paddy fields, our staple food; breeding grounds for fish and aquatic biodiversity; habitat for migratory and native birds; recharge of wells and aquifers that sustain daily life; and natural silt-trapping and water purification functions,” the memorandum stated.
Saying the soul of Assolna will be lost if the water body is lost, the Committee urged the panel to ensure that the sluice gates are secured in the first week of October, to prevent vandalism and illegal tampering of the sluice gates, and to help preserve this irreplaceable heritage for generations to come.
The Margao Deputy Collector has been given a mandate by the High Court to carry out an inspection of the factual scenario on the ground and furnish a report to the Court on or before October 2. The matter will come up for hearing in the High Court on October 6.
