Humans flee with cattle, fodder as waters of Tillari flood Ibrampur

IBRAMPUR (Pernem) If a red alert for inclement weather is enough to cause most people to panic, the plight of the residents of Ibrampur in the Pernem taluka is far worse.

‘Adopted’ by North Goa MP Shripad Naik, the small agricultural village that lies on the banks of the Chapora river has largely been left to fend for itself over the past three monsoons when excess water from the Tillari dam in Maharashtra.

 is discharged into the already swollen river, flooding almost everything in its wake and forcing a migration of people and animals inland each time.

The village witnessed catastrophic flooding for three consecutive years – 2019, 2020, and 2021 – a calamity villagers attribute to the irresponsible behaviour of the government and authorities operating the Tillari dam. Each year, they’ve struggled immensely to rebuild, only to have it swept away from them in the following monsoon.

But do they have the government’s back? Not quite. They have been told that they will not be compensated for any losses during floods if we do not shift their cattle and other belongings to safer lands on a permanent basis.

They also said that the compensation they’ve received so far hardly covers their losses. “If our loss is worth Rs 50,000, the government gives us Rs 5,000, which cannot be termed as compensation,” one of them said. (See Box)

Herald witnessed this first-hand on Friday when some farmers owning cow sheds in low-lying areas were frantically making arrangements to move their cattle and fodder to a safer place. Many even pleaded with relatives and friends on higher and drier ground in the village to keep their livestock until their own areas were out of danger.

“On Thursday night, we were told that water from the Tillari dam would be released that night itself. We stayed awake the whole night keeping watch, worried about our cattle, poultry, fodder, and other belongings. The water was ultimately not released, but now, the village has been put on red alert and we are trying our best to move most of our belongings to safer places,” said Nitesh Kalangutkar, a young dairy farmer.

Recounting their horrors, the villagers said that over the past three years, water from the reservoir was released without advance notice by nightfall, when they were asleep, leaving them with little to no time to prepare. “At least we were informed a day in advance this year,” one of them said.

Ninety percent of Ibrampur’s population is dependent on agriculture and dairy farming, and the losses they face when the village’s low-lying portions get inundated are significant. They said the situation gets so grave that some cow sheds remain under water for several days.