THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 2024
Team Herald
PANJIM: The authorities concerned may have claimed to have “fixed” the damaged sewer lines, but the ground reality revealed a different story as O Heraldo visit to St Inez found raw sewage flowing into the creek through a drain from an excavated trench located close to a sewerage chamber near the Church.
It is pertinent to note that the work to lay a new sewer line is being carried out recently under the Smart City Mission by the government along the St Inez stretch.
In March, raw sewage from at least three chambers overflowed on the road making the lives of the residents and the motorists miserable, with the authorities concerned then claiming that there was a blockage, which according to them was subsequently “fixed”.
However, on Thursday afternoon, when the O Heraldo team visited the area, it found raw sewage flowing into the St Inez Creek through a drain from an excavated trench adjacent to the road, located near a chamber.
The drain through which the sewage was seen flowing into St Inez Creek passes through a residential area, posing a health hazard. The O Heraldo team further found that the flow of the raw sewage into the creek was not constant but with pauses in between which raised eyebrows if the same was deliberately released.
When contacted the Public Works Department (PWD), the engineer concerned said that the work along the stretch from Tonca Circle up to the St Inez junction is carried out by a Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA) appointed contractor and that the department has nothing to do with it.
Vijaykumar Honawad, GSUDA’s Chief Project Officer, who also holds the charge as Chief General Manager of Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Ltd (IPSCDL) said, “Whatever damage was done to the sewer lines has been repaired and restored and beyond that if anything is happening then it is PWD’s lookout.”
