MARGAO: Breach in two places of the main Selaulim Irrigation canal between Quepem and Paroda resulted in farmers from Chandor and other areas not receiving water from the Paroda canal for the last three days and the dry spell is expected to continue for another day.
Water from Selaulim project is provided to the Paroda canal to augment it so that it has sufficient water to supply beyond Chandor even to Macasana. However, due to leakages in the canal there has been no supply of water to Paroda canal due to which it went dry after providing water to some parts of Chandor.
Junior Engineer Sawant lamented that he was informed about the scarcity of water only on Friday night and accordingly identified the problem and got in touch with the engineer concerned looking after the Selaulim irrigation project.
Executive Engineer Mohan Halkatti who looks after the Selaulim project said the breaches have been repaired today and said that by tonight it should dry. “We shall be releasing the water tomorrow provided the repaired portion has dried or it may take another day,” he said.
Meanwhile, farmers are quite upset and worried about the fate of their paddy cultivation. It may be recalled that farmers cultivating fields at Ghottmorod in Cavorim Chandor did not get water for more than three weeks after it was released in the Paroda canal because one chamber was blocked and a coconut tree blocking it had to be removed.
While the transplanted paddy survived that lack of water, now the farmers are faced with another shortage just when they have fertilized their fields and water is required to ensure that the fertilizer is digested properly by the plantation instead of damaging it.
Colva Police registered a case of unnatural death following the discovery of a dead body of an unknown male person aged between 35 to 40 years. The body has been sent for post mortem.
The strong built dark complexioned person’s body was found under a tree behind an abandoned house near the four road junction and he was wearing a black and white checks shirt and a jeans.
