Team Herald
MARGAO: Benaulim MLA Churchill Alemao has asked the Government of Goa and the Central Ministry for Road Transport to listen to the worries of the people over the work of Western bypass road. The MLA has said that the river Sal dredging has to be necessarily completed before the work of the road is undertaken in the flood prone areas to make sure waters don’t enter into the houses of the nearby villages.
Reacting to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari’s comment that he was unhappy at the slow progress the western bypass construction, Churchill said that Gadkari is not from Goa and hence doesn’t know what people want. “Some newspapers reported that no sanction for a bridge is possible at this juncture. But I want to convey to him that the River Sal needs dredging before the work of western bypass is taken up,” he said.
“The water will enter houses even if there is bridge on stilts and everyone knows this fact. In fact, I feel that the rules for mangroves protection have to be relaxed as they have entered the rivers and fields of the people,” Churchill said.
He said he would speak to Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to know whether the government would trample on the people or meet their demands.
“The government always says that they have no bar on spending money on these works, then, why not spend here for the betterment and safety of the people?” Churchill questioned.
