MARGAO: Benaulim Constituency locals on Tuesday protested at the site of under-construction western bypass at Seraulim, where the work of mud-filling had begun.
The gathered locals stopped the contractor from continuing the work and said they will keep a vigil to see that the work doesn’t resume later.
Benaulim Zilla Panchayat member Hansel Fernandes said, “A meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday to discuss this matter further.”
He pointed out that the biodiversity of the area is at stake and will be lost if the project continues in this manner.
The meeting will be held at the office of Benaulim Aam Aadmi Party MLA Venzy Viegas and will be attended by the PWD officials concerned.
Speaking to the media persons at the site of the protest, Fernandes reiterated that the public wants the bypass to be built on stilts, which is an acceptable alternative to them.
Fernandes, the AAP elected representative, also said they will oppose the actions of the State government and are prepared to fight this legally too in the courts.
He added that the area gets flooded in the monsoon and filling up of low-lying areas will lead to greater flooding and the locals who have houses in the vicinity will be the first to be affected.
Another local resident Dione Fernandes added that not just the people of Benaulim but those living in surrounding areas will be affected too.
She also said this is an area known for accidents and the western bypass in its present form will lead to more traffic and more accidents.
She hit out at the 10-member committee that had been formed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to look into the matter given that the State government was continuing to fill up the low-lying area.
She questioned what will happen to the families whose houses will be flooded after the western bypass is completed through the mud filling of the area.
She also raised concerns about the fate of the local farmers as they will lose their fields too in the process.
Architect Royla Fernandes, the Congress leader from Benaulim who has approached the NGT and Bombay High Court at Goa said that she is praying that the courts do not allow the destruction of wetlands, floodplains and agricultural lands through this mud filling.
She too emphasised that the suggestions of the locals, which has been the same for the last couple of years, for the bypass stretch to be built on elevated stilts is the only solution.
