MARGAO: Taking advantage of Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai’s special visit to Benaulim, the village panchayat and locals of surrounding villages made a point that the sensitive demand of villagers – the western bypass on stilts – to put forth before the Governor during an interaction with the newly-elected panchas.
Newly elected Sarpanch Xavier Pereira submitted a memorandum to the Governor, bringing to his notice also other two important issues; to prohibit discharge of the sewage water into River Sal from the Colva Sewage Treatment Plant and the protection of traditional fishermen and coastline.
Governor Pillar accompanied by Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas, and others visited the Colva Beach, wherein the MLA and other traditional fishermen present at the site briefed him their issues.
It has been brought to the notice of the Governor that the short spell of heavy incessant rains in July displayed a short demo of the flood situation at the western bypass site.
“The inspection of the Water Resources Department on July 5, along with the officials of the Disaster Management Cell of the Collector South Goa, on the insistence of the villagers and local MLA, documented that the submergence of the ‘kaccha’ service road for the western bypass laid in the water catchment area, inundation of agricultural fields, besides houses affected by flooding,” stated in the memorandum.
Villagers appealed with the Governor to reconsider their decision to construct the western bypass on embankments at Benaulim and protect the village from the disasters of environmental destruction by building the bypass on stilts.
