MARGAO: The after effects of the incessant rains on Friday were felt on Saturday with numerous cases of tree falls, house damages and collapses of some of retaining walls. The continuous rains have loosened mud and weakened several trees across village areas of Salcete, as a result of which tree fall cases were recorded across the taluka.
The Margao fire fighters were kept on their toes as several cases of tree fall were reported. The electricity department officials too had a tough time restoring electricity to the areas which lost power due to the falling trees.
A vehicle repairs garage at Navelim was damaged to a great extent after a tree fell on the garage. Later, the tree was cut and removed by the fire fighters. The owner of the garage claims a loss of Rs 20,000 in the tree fall.
An elderly couple was trapped in their house in Tolebandh due to water logging all around their area. The couple was rescued by the fire fighting team on Saturday afternoon. Benaulim MLA Churchill Alemao and the local panch visited the area. Churchill Alemao said, “PWD Minister Sudin Dhavalikar thinks that I am (instigating) the people to agitate over the Western bypass road work. He should come and see what has happened here and first dredge the River Sal to stop this inundation of the areas.”
A chapel in Dicarpale was damaged after a coconut tree fell on the structure. And three tree falls on to the roads were reported on Saturday including one at Betalbatim.
A retaining wall parallel to a main road at Axen, Curtorim holding earth and a bungalow on top gave way on Saturday. The bungalow is in a precarious condition with the earth on its side giving way. The wall collapse also damaged an electricity pole and snapped the wires causing power cut which took hours to restore.
