the goan I network
MARGAO
With the National Highways bracing up to bulldoze with the construction of the Western bypass through the 2.75 km stretch passing through the flood plains of River Sal and water catchment areas, Seraulim villagers on Monday told PWD officials to do a rethink on the bypass through land filling, claiming the village has already witnessed a huge impact with the bypass construction up to the wholesale fish market.
The residents have also disclosed plans to knock the doors of the Judiciary for justice if the government is hell bent in bulldozing the project through the wetlands of Seraulim, Mungul and Benaulim villages without stilts.
PWD, NH Assistant Engineer Rajesh Gawde has only promised the beleaguered residents to convey their sentiments to the higher authorities. While asserting that desilting of the River Sal will go a long way in the free flow of rain water, Gawde has also suggested for another joint meeting with all the agencies, including the Water Resources Department (WRD) and district authorities to work out a solution to the issue.
Monday’s inspection was called by the Seraulim village panchayat with the PWD, NH officials and other authorities after local farmers complained of destruction of paddy cultivation in the village due to water-logging caused by the construction of the Western bypass stretch up to the wholesale fish market.
The farmers claimed that the earthen embankment raised by the National Highways to pave way for the bypass up to the wholesale fish market has only resulted in water-logging of the fields, destroying their paddy cultivation. They claimed that instead of flowing in its normal course during the monsoon, the rain water returned back to inundate the low-lying areas of the village, including the Odlem tollem, while attributing the phenomenon to the earthen embankment raised by the PWD to lay the bypass.
The farmers and villagers feared that if construction of a small stretch of the bypass at the wholesale fish market can have a negative impact on the rain water flow, the villages will be inundated with the displacement of water in the event the bypass is built on earthen embankment.
A farmer Eulogio Gomes drew attention of the AE Gawde how the water inundation has destroyed his crop this year due to the man-made factors.
The residents also raised the issue over the traffic snarls at the traffic junction will throw up after commissioning of the bypass up to the wholesale fish market. Saying that the Seraulim road plays host to hundreds of vehicles heading to the wholesale fish market, they feared that traffic signals will not solve the issue of traffic snarls on the Seraulim-Margao road.
AE Gawde tried to convince the villagers led by Sarpanch Domingos Fernandes, panchas Leslie Dourado and Kevin D’Souza, the villagers and the farmers that the PWD had already built additional two culverts on the stretch for smooth flow of water.
When AE Gawde told the villagers that the proposal for the construction of the bypass on stilts has not found favour with the Union government with the proposal entailing an additional Rs 500 crore, the villagers wondered why the government had to go ahead with the bypass if it did not make arrangement for the funds.
The engineer, however, pointed out that the government has sanctioned additional culverts on the 2.75 km stretch, between Seraulim to Benaulim, to take care of the fears of flooding raised in many quarters with additional costs.
