It must be said that Bhatlem in Panaji has been at the receiving end of the haphazard way the Smart City work is being carried out. It may be recalled that recently the residents of low-lying areas in Bhatlem and nearby places faced tremendous losses after the main pipeline supplying water to Taleigao and Dona Paula burst, leaving their homes flooded and destroying home appliances and other household articles. However what was surprising was that according to locals the authorities were conspicuous by their absence. Now a gas pipeline belonging to Goa Natural Gas Pvt Limited was allegedly damaged by the workers while carrying out sewerage works thereby disrupting gas supply to 4,000 houses. It is learnt that the emergency response team rushed to the spot and stopped the gas leakage and repaired the pipeline. Be that as it may, it must be said that a fire incident at the spot could have ended in a catastrophe. The gas in the pipeline could have caught fire and in the process the fire could have entered the houses where the gas is supplied through the pipeline. It was fortunate that there was no fire incident at the point of the leakage. It would be prudent for the Goa State Disaster Management Authority to be in readiness 24X7 to face any eventuality while the Smart City work is in progress.
