MARGAO
How many times has the river Sal passing along the Benaulim-Khareband stretch been desilted in recent years? And, whether the desilting was executed without putting in place a comprehensive drainage plan to mitigate floods along the river course? Or, whether the huge money that has gone into the desilting of the river has gone down the drain in the absence of a scientific study on the flooding pattern?
Well, these and other questions may come to the fore with the Centre’s expert deputed to study the flooding at Tolleaband-Benaulim, R K Pandey coming out strongly for a comprehensive drainage plan around the Benaulim-Khareband area to contain the floods during the monsoons.
In fact, river Sal on the upstream stretch would resemble any other storm water nullah if one takes a view of the river from the Khareband bridge. In the absence of any embankment worth its name along the river course, a stranger may not recognise the stretch as a river, but any other ordinary water nullah.
Even the Centre’s expert R K Pandey, during inspection of the area from the Khareband bridge, had remarked that the river Sal does not look like a river in the strict sense of the term. In fact, he pointed out that non-desilting of the river coupled with the fact that it has no embankments is contributing to the river flowing in full spate, inundating the low-lying area along the course, including the Tolleaband water body.
Inquiries by The Goan have revealed that the desilting of the river Sal was perhaps taken around two decades ago when then Urban Development Minister Digambar Kamat had taken up the work. Much water had flown down the river Sal since then and the government again took up the river desilting work around two years ago, throwing up a simple question – whether the desilting had no impact on the inundation of the flood plains of the river during monsoons.
Sources in the know informed that the Mungul-Benaulim-Khareband stretch of the river is heavily silted and the entire stretch has no embankment.
