Team Herald
PANJIM: Chorao-Pomburpa locals on Monday threatened to block the main road as a protest against government’s failure to repair bunds connecting two khajans. The people have given 10 days ultimatum to the government to repair the bunds.
On Liberation Day, Deepkumar Mapari, a local, launched a unique protest, as he sat on the inundated Pomburpa-Chorao road, to protest the flooding. The road reportedly goes underwater every 15 days, due to tidal movement.
“The protest was spontaneous, I had not planned this,” Mapari said.
“I am protesting as a resident of Chorao. I’m not protesting as a political party man. People here are suffering, I too am suffering,” he stated. This has been going on for last five years and even cars have been washed away due to the flooding.
“It has been almost three years we are requesting the authority to build a bund, to prevent flooding. Since the bund is broken the road gets flooded and therefore it becomes difficult for the locals to commute from my village to Pomburpa,” said Mapari.
He said, “Due to the request made a couple of months back, the government has built a retaining wall by the side of the road which is of no use. The work was done without taking suggestions from the engineers and technical people.”
“Neither the committee nor the panchayat authorities responsible for constructing the bund are paying attention to our issue. We request the government authorities to look into the matter and solve it within 10 days. Otherwise, we will agitate against the government’s failure to solve the issue of villagers by blocking the main road,” added another local.