Onewould have thought that Panaji having been selected as Smart City under theSmart City Mission would have seen a real "smart" kind of developmentbeing conceived and implemented at least partially. However, the recent monsoonhas on the contrary exposed the capital city as prone to flooding and even thecondition of roads being pretty abysmal. Where has the precisely planneddrainage system that the Portuguese regime constructed gone? The unplanneddevelopment of Panaji has rendered it unable to cope with flooding andespecially in the last two years when the city received 170 and 168 inches ofrainfall respectively, the lack of infrastructure has been exposed and floodingunchecked. Hardly any improvement has been observed. To salvage some pride, theGSIDC along with the local panchayat as well as the Archaeological Survey ofIndia should devise and implement for the world heritage site of Old Goa as apilot project, a plan to have an effective drainage system which will preventflooding thus saving the world heritage monuments that are priceless Goanpossessions that need conservation. Also, a no-development buffer zone shouldbe demarcated around the holy city so that it maintains its world heritagestatus. With enough space, devising good infrastructure is still possible. Thisconsideration should be given serious thought as Old Goa should not go thePanaji way.
