MARGAO
A meeting called by the Navelim panchayat with sewerage officials to address the burning sewage issues plaguing the village was called off midway on Tuesday after the officials failed to answer any of the questions raised by the public.
With no answers forthcoming from the officials, sarpanch Paul Pereira and the participants said no purpose will be served in continuing the discussions.
The sarpanch later told the media that it has now been decided to invite PWD Minister Nilesh Cabral, who also holds the Environment portfolio, besides the Principal Chief Engineer, PWD and other senior sewerage corporation officials to shed light on the issues and the time frame for the commissioning of the long-delayed sewerage project.
The sarpanch further said the officials, who turned up for the meeting, have been told by the panchayat to take urgent measures to desilt the drains and nullahs which have been blocked with silt on account of the digging carried out by the department to lay the sewerage line.
The participants led by Eleutorio Carneiro questioned the officials at the meeting to shed light on the commissioning of the Navelim sewerage project. The officials, however, had no answer even as Carneiro and others reminded them that the project work, which commenced way back in 2014 remains incomplete to date.
Carneiro and the participants have feared that the project may turn into another white elephant if urgent measures are not taken to complete the work and commission the project.
They also demanded to know whether the STP plant set up at Sirvodem will take care of the sewerage generated in Navelim.
Navelim Village Development Committee (VDC) convenor Joao Souza sought to know whether the sewerage technology adopted by the government in 2014 is still relevant or has turned obsolete, further questioning whether any new technology has been developed to address the sewage issue.
Participants pointed out that the departments implementing the sewerage project have not taken the local body or the people into confidence.
Citing the instance of how a sewerage digging machine is stuck up inside the earth for the last three years, they pointed out that the locals would have guided and advised the contractor how to go about the work if they were taken into confidence.
The participants also raised the question of the use of morass for the construction of the sewage chambers instead of sand, demanding to know whether the chamber would stand the test of time with alleged substandard work.
