PANJIM: Should the hopes of the people of Panjim, swim or sink? Here are the official thunderings over flooding in Panjim heard on Monday.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that the Smart City Panjim will not experience flooding during monsoon as his government has taken enough precautions. However, the Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Nilesh Cabral after inspecting works in Panjim said that he can’t assure there will be no flooding in the capital city. The locals have said that the passing of buck is happening as usual.
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CM Sawant chaired a meeting of the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) on Monday, which was attended by the Panjim MLA Atanasio Monserrate and Chief Secretary Puneet Goel.
CM said, “We have taken hundred percent precautions to make sure flooding does not take place during monsoons. The Water Resources Department (WRD) has been asked to install additional pump stations at Mala, Panjim, to avoid flooding.”
However, PWD Minister Cabral, after inspecting a Smart City work site in St Inez said, “I will be very blunt, there is no assurance of non-flooding this year. However, if we work together this year, there will be no flooding next year,” he said.
Cabral went on to warn the locals that PWD will disconnect water connections of the people, who release water from their drain pipes in the open.
A resident of Kamat Plaza in St Inez, Ms Karapurkar, who questioned the District Collector Mamu Hage during her inspection, said that everyone is just passing the buck. “We understand that the work is complex and they need time. We have continuously complained and warned that the sewage water is flowing into our domestic water tanks,” she said. “The passing of buck should stop,” she added.
In the recent past, the residents of Panjim and the Mayor of the Corporation of the City of Panaji Rohit Monserrate have already raised apprehensions of flooding of the city this monsoon, due to the never-ending works carried out under the Smart City Mission, which have clogged and damaged the storm drains in Panjim.
Residents of Panjim including the CCP Mayor Rohit Monserrate have already raised apprehensions that the capital city may witness the worst-ever floods this monsoon. With no assurance from government agencies, the Smart City dwellers are on the edge since Goa is expecting a heavy monsoon this year.
