SANGUEM: The death of the 13-year-old boy who drowned while swimming in Selaulim canal has left the villagers of Cotarli concerned about the safety of people residing alongside the water body.
Cotarli resident Uday Deikar said the drowning death of local teenager Suresh Jadhav is the twelfth such incident to take place at the Selaulim canal, which supplies water to fulfil the agricultural needs of several villages in the taluka. “Despite the repeated incidents of drowning cases, the authorities have failed in putting safety measures in place,” alleged Deikar.
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The citizens of Sanguem have urged the Water Resources Department to install protective barriers along the canal, particularly at places where it passes through residential areas.
Another villager Milton Fernandes pointed out that there were many places where the main canal passes through the thickly populated areas of Cotarli, Temchowaddo, Nagvem and Molcornem.
In some parts, the houses are located less than fifty to hundred metres from the water, and this raised serious concerns about the lack of safety measures along the channel.
At Cotarli, a Government Primary School is also located very close to the canal and the children studying at the school use the service road passing beside the water channel.
Councillor of Sanguem Municipal Council Meshu D’Costa echoed similar concerns and urged the Water Resources Department authorities to install side barriers at least at places where the canal is lined with houses on both sides.
Earlier this week, Suresh Jadhav, a Class IX student of Union High School, Sanguem, died of drowning when he had gone for a dip in the canal with his friend. Incidentally, even after being informed about the death of the young boy, long-winded discussions between the Curchorem and Sanguem police over the point of jurisdiction of the incident led to his lifeless body left floating in the canal for almost three hours.
Meanwhile, relatives of the deceased castigated the men in uniform for the delay in retrieving the body, and claimed that if the boy was fished out the canal as soon as his friend raised the alarm, perhaps doctors may have been able to resuscitate the child.
Another villager questioned as to what the police would have done if it was a case of theft or murder, requiring urgent intervention. “Would the police leave the venue without action or investigation?” questioned the villagers.
