After being hit by heavy rains which left several roads flooded in Valpoi, the Valpoi Municipal Council (VMC) has decided to set up a 24-hour team to tackle floods in the town for the next eight days.
This was discussed at an emergency meeting convened by the VMC to take stock of flooded roads in the past few days and to suggest measures to prevent similar incidents in future.
The meeting was chaired by VMC Chairperson Sehzeen Shaikh and those attending the meeting included Chief officer Suryajirao Rane, Dy Chairperson Anil Katkar, Councillors Ramdas Shirodkar, Vinod Haldankar, Vasiuddin Sheikh, Prasanna Gawas, Nirmala Sakhalkar, VMC Junior Engineer Jayesh Kalangutkar and PWD engineer Gurudas Gokhale.
It was decided that a 24-hour team would be set up for the next eight days to clear flooded roads and to restore traffic along the routes. The PWD would also pay closer attention to tackle flooding near the Valpoi Community Health Centre and the Maruti Mandir at Valpoi.
The VMC also decided to take strict action against those residents who block the flow of water, which could lead to flooded roads.
The council also discussed the need to get residents to cooperate with door-to-door garbage collection, as many residents continue to dump household waste into the drains. This leads to blocked drains which prevents the flow of water.
Ramdas Shirodkar pointed out that many drains in the municipality are about two decades old. He said the narrow drains restrict the flow of water, causing water accumulation at many places. He demanded a master plan for Valpoi municipality.
Councillors also claimed that many small bridges in the municipal area are in a bad condition. The PWD engineer Gurudas Gokhale said a proposal has been submitted to the department to construct new bridges in place of old bridges in Sattari and they await approval.
He assured that when the plan is approved, all old bridges in the municipality will be replaced with new bridges.
The council was also informed that 10 houses in the municipality were affected by the floods and the structures had sustained minor damages.
