PONDA: At last, the Agriculture Department shut the access to picnickers to the Kodar River by constructing a laterite stone compound wall in the plantation property owned by the government.
The wall is 2.5 metres in height and covers a distance of 350 metres. Nearly 300 metres of the compound wall stands complete while the remaining work is progressing.
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Officials at Kodar Agriculture Farm said the compound wall is constructed to block the entry of picnickers to the Kodar River and prevent drowning cases.
According to locals, at least 30-35 drowning cases occurred in the Kodar River in past 12 years. The visitors were reportedly trespassing into the government-owned plantation to gain free access to the river.
It may be recalled that Kodar River was in news for deaths of picnickers due to drowning with the villagers demanding that the access from farm of Agriculture Department be blocked and blamed the department for the drowning cases.
It is pertinent to note that in the past when three youth got drowned, GOACAN convenor Roland Martins had complained to the Ponda Deputy Collector with a several cuttings of Herald reports on the drowning cases and had recently held a series of meetings with the officials of various departments. He had suggested the government to take precautionary measures to prevent drowning cases in Kodar River.
Bethora, Nirankal and Kodar locals have welcomed the move to construct a compound wall as Kodar River earned the “Killer River” tag. For the past many years over two dozen persons including the youth and school students lost their lives especially during the summer season when picnickers from across the State visited the river for bathing to beat the scorching heat especially during March, April and May. The locals had complained of picnickers creating nuisance at the site by breaking liquor bottles.
According to locals, to stop drowning deaths, the government needs to study the access points leading to river to prevent picnickers from gaining access to the river.
