Team Herald
QUEPEM: Villagers of
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Curchorem and Sanvordem have lashed out at the
South Western Railways for carrying out indiscriminate land-filling of the river Zuari and its banks for the
construction of a railway bridge,which is part of their controversial double-tracking project.
Anxious that the land-filling will lead to flooding of their homes and property during the monsoon, the locals have demanded that the piles of earth be removed immediately, and the river restored to its original state.
“On both sides of the Zuari river, at Kamral, Curchorem and Dhadem, Sanvordem, the railway contractor has filled the river banks with a large amount of soil in order to construct the pillars for the parallel bridge, for the railway double-tracking project. Even though the bridge work is now complete, the earth has not been removed yet,” said local resident Rajendra Kakodkar.
The railway contractor however claimed that they have obtained all legal permissions from the departments concerned, for the land-filling.
Kakodkar alleged that the filling of the river was against Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules as the area upto Comproi is governed by the CRZ. “Many questions are being raised as to whether the contractor or the railways had obtained approval from the CRZM before silting the river bank, or if a river flow study was done by the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) before the bank was filled with land,” added Kakodkar.
Gautam Bhandari, a resident of Dhadem village said that heaps of soil and big stones were placed on the river bank on both sides of Kamral and Dhadem. “Due to the filling of the river banks, the natural flow of water has been blocked. Now, when the tide is low, the bottom of the river
can be seen. This may cause a serious problem during the rainy season,” said Bhandari.
Bhandari said that a house in Dhadem village was damaged after rainwater entered it during the rains last year, as the area is already prone to water-logging. He expressed fear and worry as the railway contractors have failed to remove the soil dumped at the bridge site, despite several appeals and requests from locals. “The people are worried; we expect floods and water logging in Mirabagh, Madel ,Astemol, and Kamral villages,” added Bhandari.
He called on the Sanvordem panchayat to inspect the railway bridge site and the condition of the river, keeping the interests of the people in mind. “Till date, the panchayat has not conducted an inspection,” added Bhandari.
