FRIDAY, DECEMBER 01, 2023
Team Herald
CALANGUTE: Former chief minister late Dr Wilfred de Souza’s family has alleged that illegal developments around his ancestral house in Saligao are leading to a health hazard, with the authorities turning a blind eye.
Talking to media recently, Joanne de Souza, the former chief minister's daughter, pointing out the various illegalities said, in her absence the authorities raised the height of a footpath which passes alongside the compound wall, and in the process blocked a drain which used to drain rain water from the area. This has resulted in all the rain water entering the house compound and also into the house, damaging the furniture and creating a health hazard due to the water-logging, she said.
She said the drain further on which used to take the rain water in the nearby fields is now being used to discharge sewage by some neighbouring properties. “The farmers have blocked it because they don't want sewage coming into their fields. So the sewage accumulates there leading to a stench and breeding of mosquitoes, risking dengue and malaria,” de Souza said.
She also said their ancestral house well has been polluted after a neighbour built his soak pits only a few meters from it. “The water has been tested by the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB, and the report says E-Coli is present in the water,” she said.
“Despite writing to the local authorities, the MLA and others, nothing has been done,” she said.
