Team Herald
MAPUSA: Guirim farmers whose fields have been destroyed due to heavy rainfall and flooding on Saturday urged the State government to compensate for their losses at the earliest.
President of Guirim Comunidade Tulio De Sousa said, “The Chief Minister visited and inspected the inundated fields. He called upon the local MLA and panch members but the farmers who are most affected were not even informed. The Chief Minister also assured that the government will provide compensation to the farmers for their losses. However, we don’t know when the government is going to give it and through which department whether Agriculture, Revenue or PWD. We urge the government to compensate for the losses at the earliest.”
Further, De Souza said, “This is a manmade disaster by the national highway contractor. The Chief Minister said that this is a manmade disaster but this disaster is made by the highway contractor, who has dumped the debris, mud and concrete material in the fields which has caused flooding. We have been highlighting this issue since long time that the highway contractor has carried out the work haphazardly.”
“The compensation which the Chief Minister has announced should actually come from the company, which has created this manmade disaster by dumping debris,” he added.
“We also demand with the government to release the compensation money to the land losers whose land has been acquired for the highway construction. It’s been years that the government has acquired land of the farmers and also of Comunidade for the highway expansion. However, the land losers have not received the compensation amount. The compensation amount has already reached the Land Acquisition Officer and are also awarded but has not reached the land losers,” De Souza said.
