Says it was a natural calamity
TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: In a complete twist to the July 2 Cuncolim flooding, the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) has only sounded apologetic, but has made it categorically clear that the Agency cannot be held responsible for the flooding, which left a trail of destruction in Sanvorcotto area of the town.
That’s not all. While locals had attributed the flooding to ‘man made’ factors due the temporary road diversion (piped culvert) erected in the river channel, the GSIDC has come out with a theory that what happened in Cuncolim on July 2 was a natural calamity. “It’s a natural calamity, since the main reason for flooding is torrential and incessant rains over a span of 2-3 days in the State, more significantly in the Cuncolim municipal jurisdiction, as a result of which water in the rivulet had reached above the temporary road level. Also, it was learnt from the locals that excess water in the Selaulim dam/canal had been released during the same time,” GSIDC Managing Director Sanjit Rodrigues has informed Cuncolim Municipal Council.
GSIDC stand assumes significance given that Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar himself had blamed the GSIDC contractor for being partly responsible for the flooding.
Interestingly, Sanjit says the GSIDC had directed the contractor to demolish the whole diversion as a precautionary measure and clear the river channel portion in particular, but the operation took more time due to heavy and continuous rains in the following days.Also, GSIDC is not willing to assume responsibility vis-a-vis the height of the temporary road diversion, saying the road diversion height was decided by the consultant on the basis of site data and information provided by locals.
The GSIDC stand has triggered protest from Cuncolim Municipal Chairperson Devendra Dessai. How can the GSIDC abdicate its responsibility for the flooding when even the Chief Minister and GSIDC Chairman Manohar Parrikar during his visit to the site had partly blamed the contractor for the flooding, he questioned.
Desai further demanded to know whether the GSIDC had sought necessary information from the PWD, Selaulim division before making the claim that release of excess water in the Selaulim dam/canal was one of the cause of flooding.
“GSIDC’s stand is unacceptable to the people of Cuncolim. The GSIDC and its contractor are fully responsible for the flooding. The victims should be fully compensated by the government. If the government is mobilising resources to arrange relief to Uttarakand, we fail to understand why the government is dragging its feat to compensate the Cuncolim flood victims,” Desai wondered.
