Yet, the State government and the local panchayats and municipalities portray that these are natural disasters beyond mitigation. Pre-monsoon maintenance and precautionary measures are the responsibility of the departments and it is the duty of the local governing bodies to ensure that the works are completed within schedule. However, whether it is the capital city of Panjim or the towns of Margao, Curchorem, Vasco, Mapusa, or the villages from North to South, the roads have been washed away, and gutters and nullahs have got choked, resulting in accidents.
Trees crashing down should have been the easiest guess of all things for the administration and appropriate steps ought to have been taken to cut down dangerous trees and prune the maximum of the trees which could pose danger once the monsoon peaks. But the daily reports of trees uprooting and crashing on vehicles, electricity poles and houses is only an indication that the authorities have failed in their duty.
Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (GSIDC) has been vested with the responsibility of maintenance and repair works of the school infrastructure. O Heraldo in its special series on the school buildings has exposed the pathetic condition of the school infrastructure, in addition to the news reports from various quarters of the State about the ceilings of schools and government offices chipping off, and government buildings’ walls collapsing. All these incidents could have been avoided only if the departments concerned had done their job and precautionary steps were taken to either demolish or renovate the structures.
From citizens to the media, everyone had expressed apprehensions and concerns regarding the ongoing infrastructure works in the State – especially Panjim’s Smart City works, but the government paid no heed and on the contrary announced that the works will continue even during the monsoon. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant insisted time and again that the capital city will not witness flooding and the truth is out in the streets and localities of Panjim which get inundated every day as a result of the incessant rains.
Even though roads cannot be recarpeted during the downpour, the least the government can do is put up sign boards indicating the dangerous spots, and, wherever possible, undertake repair works and not get stuck in red tape. If the Kala Academy renovation works can be handed out without a tender on a nomination basis to a specific contractor, smaller contracts can easily be distributed like election goodies amongst the registered contractors only to ensure people’s safety.
In the aftermath of the Canacona flash floods of 2009, a report was submitted to the State government by a team of scientists from NIO with one general recommendation that well-known practices in forest management for preventing mudslides, such as afforestation of mountain slopes, and river management, such as de-silting of river beds, should receive emphasis. Has the government even considered investing in such a practice? It took 12 years to rebuild two culverts in Cotigao that had been washed away in 2009. And that speaks for the pace of urgency with which our government works.
Has the lethargy of the bureaucracy made the losses the citizens face just statistics? Human loss cannot be just statistics and the losses incurred by the people due to government negligence should be considered a crime. The government ought to wake up from its slumber in order to avoid major disasters. It’s better late than never.
