CALANGUTE: The Water Resources Department’s (WRD) attempt to revive the development of the nullah originating at the ‘Fondvem’ water body at Khobrawaddo in Calangute has run into trouble again, after the Calangute Constituency Forum (CCF) claimed the project would ‘disturb the ecological balance of the area’.
The Rs 2.7-cr project had initially been launched in December 2021, but the work was stopped after people raised objections to the building of a road alongside the nullah.
In a letter to the state chief secretary and other authorities, the CCF said, “We object to the present project plan. We suggest that only the side retaining wall of Fondvem be constructed using eco-friendly material and without disturbing the environment. Making a three-metre road surrounding Fondvem as shown in the plan will lead to the misuse of the area.”
The CCF has claimed that the project has not been approved by the Department of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, despite it being a low-lying area. “Fondvem has been preserved
by our ancestors and left untouched by any development because the area is used to accumulate rain water which helps in recharging the ground water table,” said the CCF.
Calangute MLA Michael Lobo, while announcing the revival of the project, had stated that no road is coming there. “We’re making a channel for the water flow by putting a ‘bundhara’ on both sides and a garden with a walking track will come on top of the retaining walls where locals can go for walks,” he had said.
