This flooding of the streets is an annual affair but the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) always says that it is prepared for the monsoon season. However, Dharmesh Rawal says that as soon as the monsoon begins Panjim starts flooding.
The CCP despite claiming it cleans the drains during the pre-monsoon works, the capital city continues to suffer from the flooding.
“It’s high time that the authorities act and find a solution,” says Rajendra Talaulikar
The people of Panjim are fed up with the flooding. Instead of just cleaning the drains before the monsoon, the CCP should carry out the cleaning on a regular basis feels Pratiksha Gaonkar.
“The tourists who visit the city throw plastic boles into the drains which results in choking. There should be a strict check on such activities and fine should be imposed,” said resident.
“The authorities should clean the age-old drains which are choked up. The CCP cleans the drains as a part of the pre-monsoon work but later the same problems occur because people just thrown away the bottles and other stuff on the roads,” said Mihir Joshi.
I feel the main reason is that the gutter system is not cleaned well and every year the government only clears the drains two weeks prior to the rainy season. On the other side, public is also to be blamed as they throw their leftovers, plastic wrappers, etc, on the streets and this further leads to clogging of the drains. While the public should be sensitive, the corporation should ensure that there are dustbins on the streets. There is a large population which is willing to follow the cleanliness.
— Rohan Zaveri, shopkeeper
The government should come up with proper solutions to the flooding in the city during the incessant rains as the city’s levels are lower than the sea level during high tide. Unlike the Portuguese who would undertake dredging of the river before the monsoons, we don’t see it happening now. The sediments keep accumulating and therefore there is rising level of water which in turn flows back into the city during heavy rain and puts everyone’s life out of routine. Panjim cannot become a smart city if this continues to happen every year. The insurance companies are no more insuring our business establishment as every year we are claiming insurance cover against the loses due to flooding.
— Gajanan Golatkar, shopkeeper
I have a furniture shop and every year during monsoons due to flooding I face trouble with water entering my shop and affecting the furniture. The CCP needs to improvise the drainage system across the city. After 2015 when the drainage system was redone, there is more water that enters into our shops which indicates that there is something faulty.
— Mohammed Salahuddin, shopkeeper
Over the last decades we have been suffering this menace of flooding and water inundating our shops. Despite several demands, our requests have fallen on deaf ears. The drainage system that we have is existing since the Portuguese era and nothing new has been done. In addition what we see is that only the height of the roads is increased, making things worst. They should use the latest technology of road scrubber before laying the hotmix layer whereby the height of the road will not keep on increasing. The worst is the no-dustbin formula of the municipality. People need dust bins to throw away the waste in their hands, else it goes down the drain.
— SUDIP KAMAT, Shopkeeper
