the goan I network
MARGAO
Will the proposed additional culverts be adequate enough and meet the requirements of monsoon water drainage in the wetlands and floodplains of river Sal along the Seraulim-Mungul-Benaulim belt where the National Highways Authority of India has planned to build the Western bypass with no provision
for stilts?
This question has come to the fore once again following incessant rains during the last two days. The river Sal has been flowing in full spate, inundating large tracts of low-lying fields along its course from Seraulim-Mungul and Benaulim.
Take note, these are the very wetlands and low-lying fields where the alignment of the controversial Western bypass passes and threatens to flood the villages along the 2.75 km route between Seraulim, near the wholesale fish market road and the Varca road in Benaulim.
A look at the low-lying areas of Mungul and Seraulim showed that the fields were all submerged under water after two days of heavy rains. Local residents of Seraulim and Mungul fear construction of the bypass through the wetlands without stilts will divert rainwater in the low-lying areas of their villages.
At the moment, the demand of the villagers for stilts hangs in balance. During the tenure of the ex-Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar the government had proposed construction of additional culverts to allay apprehensions that filling of land to make way for the bypass would inundate the villages.
Estimate prepared by the PWD, NHAI, has pegged additional cost of Rs 140 crore to build the additional culverts along the 2.75 km stretch between Seraulim and Benaulim.
The prospect of bearing the additional cost of Rs 140 crore was flatly rejected by the Centre, leaving the state government to recently come out with a solution that the government will first spend the money and then seek reimbursement from the Centre as was done in the case of the Mandovi bridge.
This arrangement, sources say, may not offer any solution to the long-pending demand of the villagers of Seraulim, Mungul and Benaulim to build the bypass on stilts.
Incidentally, the stretch of the bypass from Verna to Nuvem is complete and tarred by the PWD and the NH officials along with traffic officials had inspected the road to throw the same for vehicular traffic and to take away the traffic load on the existing Verna-Nuvem-Margao highway.
