VASCO: New sluice gates for the farmers of Pale-Tollem at Velsao were installed, recently.
Velsao Parish Priest Fr Lawrence Rodrigues blessed the sluice gates on Thursday and the ceremony was attended by Cortalim MLA Alina Saldanha, Members of Pale Tolem Xetkaranchem Association and the farmers.
The work of development of Tollem Bund and sluice gate was taken up by the MLA through the Water Resources Department last year. Installation of the new sluice gate is a part of this project, apart from strengthening the protection wall of the bund.
“This is the first time ever the farmers of Velsao are going to have the sluice gate system in place which will be easy to operate and will do away with the earlier method of using mud and wood planks to create bandharas to stop the water flow for irrigation purpose. This involved a lot of hard work, time and labour for the farmers,” Alina said.
She also prayed that the efforts of the farmers be rewarded with a bountiful harvest and hoped the younger generation will also show interest in agriculture, which is one of the traditional occupations of the state of Goa.
