TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: The past soured relations between the Margao Municipal Council (MMC) chairperson and chief officer, and the badly coordinated works of agencies like JICA, Water Supply and Electricity has put the town’s monsoon preparedness in jeopardy. Areas like Azad Nagari, Calconda, Borda, Vidhyanagar had overflowing drains and blocked gutters with the likelihood of the situation worsening as the monsoon progresses.
Sewage contractors dug up underground channels for laying pipes and poured the mud into the drains which blocked them. Heavy showers on Friday night resulted in flooding of the drains on the main and internal roads of Navelim and Shirvodem.
Former MMC chairperson Savio Coutinho called on the sewage contractors and got the water logging sorted. “The sewage contactor has demolished the footpath and also blocked the drains. These contractors need to be more responsible while working,” Coutinho said.
Ward no 4 represented by Tito Cardozo also encountered water logging. “Even after the order of District Collector to suspend digging, JICA and the water supply contractors continued digging. We have stopped two digging works in three days. There is a complete man and machinery failure at MMC,”Cardozo said.
Other wards faced minor incidents of water logging but the biggest fear is of trees falling as MMC’s tree cutting machine is out of order.
