PANJIM: Debris of the
collapsed first Mandovi bridge that have remained in the river for 30 years are
having a serious impact on the riverbed and the water flow. Asserting this, a Goa
Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) expert report also states that
construction of the third bridge over the river will further affect the water
flow.
Following directions from
the National Green Tribunal (NGT), GCZMA expert member Antonio Mascarenhas
inspected the ongoing construction activity of the third bridge to study its
impact on the coastal environment.
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“The existence of the
remnants of the collapsed bridge in the river and its impact on the river bed
or flow has rarely been considered, but has in fact been overlooked. The debris
of the collapsed bridge remain in the river and can still be seen at low tide,
even after three decades,” the report stated recommending that the government
immediately clear the material.
The first bridge over the
river Mandovi, constructed in the 1970s collapsed on July 5, 1986 and some of
the debris still remain in the river.
“Any obstacle within a river
affects the flow regime, in our case, the piers of the bridges I and II, and
now the larger foundations of the new bridge. In addition, a riverbed
obstruction has been caused by debris of collapsed bridge I and coffer dam made
for construction of bridge II. These aspects need to be taken into
consideration,” Mascarenhas said in the report.
GCZMA has noted that the
rectangular shape of the pile caps is rather surprising, and such a move is
bound to affect the long term river flow and tidal dynamics.
The expert member observed
that the river has undergone maximum anthropogenic (human) interventions and
can thus be considered as the most impacted as compared to all the other river
systems of Goa. “The river bank, the Panjim side in particular, has under gone
systematic and continuous modifications almost on a yearly basis since the last
four decades at least,” he observed.
Mascarenhas is of the view
that there needs to be a probe whether or not human actions along the river
banks have affected the river system.
The Authority’s
term ended on July 21.
