PONDA: Farmers in Gaunem-Bandora are facing a serious threat to their livelihood as their bagayat crops and agricultural lands remain submerged due to the entry of river water, prompting urgent demands for repairs to the Marcaim sluice gate.
The damaged sluice gate has allowed river water to flow freely, causing significant damage to their crops and posing a risk of complete destruction.
Affected farmer Shashikant Gaude explained that the doors of the sluice gate have remained open throughout the year at Gando, Marcaim, leading to the ingress of river water into the bagayat and agriculture lands at Gaunem-Bandora. As a result, he and other farmers have been unable to cultivate their crops, with paddy fields, coconut, banana and areca nut trees suffering extensive damage, amounting to a loss of Rs 3 lakh for the year.
Jose Silveira, another farmer, lost around 100 coconut trees and several other spice and areca nut trees due to river water intrusion. The farmers have been tirelessly seeking assistance from the government to repair the sluice gate at Marcaim to prevent further damage to their crops and bagayat.
Farmers from Shigmo Maand, Gaunem in Bandora village have urged the authorities to address the critical situation and compensate them for their losses. They said that repairing the sluice gate before the rainy season is essential to protect their crops from further harm.
Responding to the concerns, Ponda Mamlatdar Vimod Dalal stated that he has already given directions to the stakeholders and the Water Resources Department (WRD) to repair the sluice gate at Marcaim. However, WRD officials have mentioned that the repair work would be possible only after the rainy season, with an estimated cost of Rs 1.30 crore.
