WRD officials inspect the Moddorachem Tollem, Assolna.
MARGAO
Senior officials of the Water Resources Department (WRD), led by Superintendent Engineer Ankush Goankar, inspected the Moddorachem Tollem at Assolna to work out a solution to the demand made by farmers that the WRD should take steps to store water in the water body for irrigation, and the rival claim that the water storage inundates their field.
Local farmers submitted petitions to the WRD office citing a report submitted by the Agriculture Department dated October 1, 2025, stating that the catchment area should be blocked by the end of September, during which period the paddy crop should be harvested by mid-September to enable the farmers to grow two more crops, depending on the availability of water in the catchment area.
They insisted that the farmers should be told not to delay the cultivation of their paddy fields, pointing out that cultivating the fields late and harvesting the same in November is delaying the process of formation of the Moddorachem Tollem, which has been done for generations. “This exercise of late cultivation and late harvesting has caused loss to the farmers and their livelihood, which has to be noted and compensated for by the concerned authorities,” the farmers petitioned.
In fact, the farmers suggested to the Superintending Engineer that the government should come out with a circular mandating all farmers to cultivate the fields as per a schedule and harvest the fields on time.
Another group of citizens drew the attention of the WRD officials to the fact that storage of water at the Moddorachem Tollem helps conservation of the water bodies and helps maintain the underground water table.
The WRD officials are expected to file a detailed report on the inspection before the High Court on the next date of hearing.
