Team Herald
PANJIM: With monsoons becoming active over Goa, the Altinho hillock that houses the High Court of Bombay at Goa and several old residential heritage houses, is awaiting major disaster. All thanks to the unfinished work of the retaining wall by the Public Works Department (PWD).
Also the unplanned construction for over two decades and failure to maintain the slopes has led to sporadic landslides around the hillock with barely any precautionary measures initiated. The entire stretch, where the retaining wall work is taken up, has often been prone to landslides, albeit with minor incidents, especially during the rains.
The residents in the vicinity have been reeling under constant fear for the last many years especially during the monsoons as they say that the whole hillock, which houses the High Court of Bombay at Goa and some of the important heritage houses, is crumbling, and with the rainfall it further loosens the mud and could result in a collapse.
As Herald visited the site, it was revealed that the construction of the retaining wall was far beyond completion. Also it was witnessed that the heavy rainfall was slowly bringing down mud from the hillock thus posing danger to the HC building situated right above.
“The whole of Altinho has been under the assault of development. Many of the people have been digging up in one place or the other for construction of building without leaving proper channels for water drainage. Due to heavy rainfall and drilling by heavy machinery, the soil is getting loose and is causing the rocks to collapse,” said an Altinho-based advocate on the condition of anonymity.
The citizens further claim that the work should have been undertaken much before the monsoon so as to prevent the possibility of threat to the people of that locality. Also the road side on the Corte de Oiteiro road has been cordoned off and especially during the peak traffic hours and due to heavy movement of vehicles there could be the possibility of accidents happening on the narrowed portion of this road.
The Geological Survey of India (GSI) had sounded the alarm in the 1980s that the western face of the hillock was fragile and the topography should not be disturbed. Thereafter in 2009, GSI had conducted a survey of the unstable areas on Altinho hillock and recommended soil nailing as a protective measure to arrest landslips during the monsoon. It is only after around nine long years that authorities have finally taken the matter seriously.
It was in 2014 that PWD decided to float tenders for soil nailing to stabilise vulnerable spots on Altinho hill but companies ignored the tenders due to hindered access to the slopes.
Mala, an interior part of the capital city located beneath the hillock, always faces a threat of being washed away if there are any major landslides. The area that houses over thousands of old-structured houses fear of being trapped if mud and rocks come sliding down due to heavy rain.
The vulnerable spots starting from below the High Court of Bombay at Goa are covered with plastic sheets every rainy season but in absence of permanent solution, landslides have become a common feature.
However, the PWD has said that the HC building is completely safe and will not collapse as the soil nailing has already been done with 8-9 metres of reinforcement.
“As the monsoons have begun, we had to stop the work as digging in this season can be dangerous. But we have already finished the soil nailing with 8-9 metres of reinforcement. The HC building is completely safe. Previously the soil had no strength,” said PWD-Principal Chief Engineer (PCE) Uttam Parsekar
Meanwhile, the structure, height of which will be of average 12-14 mtrs, will ensure the entire area from the heritage steps covering the building of the Bombay High Court and the houses around the vicinity are protected from landslides.
