TEAM HERALD
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
PANJIM: Dredging of River Sal, the lifeline of Salcete which is in a pitiful state will be taken up at the earliest, according to assurances given by Minister for Water Resources Dayanand Mandrekar in Assembly Monday.
He told the House that his department would draw up estimates and undertake the work soon, while replying to the discussion on the demands for grants initiated by Velim MLA Benjamin Silva and other MLAs.
“It is my assurance that the River Sal will be dredged wherever it is needed. I will ask the department to draw up estimates, and we will complete the work as soon as possible,” Mandrekar said.
The issue of the dredging of River Sal has been a contentious issue, with the work not taking place due to the controversy between two groups.
While the Cutbona boat owners wanted the mouth of the river dredged to facilitate navigation, other villagers apprehended a possible natural calamity and were worried about the bivalves, oysters, and other marine life that would consequently get affected due to the proposed dredging.
The issue of dredging of lakes, ponds, nullahs and other water bodies was raised by several MLAs, with each of them demanding and pointing out as to how nullahs, ponds, etc in their respective constituencies were not dredged by the department causing them to silt. The minister assured all the members that these works would be taken up successively.
