Team Herald
MARGAO: With de-silting of drains having not been completed in several areas of Margao the effects of the pre-monsoon rains could be seen all over. Station road, Colmorod, Shirvodem, Cine lata, fire station and several others areas were under water on Friday night.
Nearly, 60 houses right in the middle of the town near Cine Lata went under knee deep water, while the station road was flooded with rain and drain water. Several people in these areas complained of having lost their appliances in the flooding.
Dammava Jamuni, a resident of the Cine Lata area informed that the entire area of about 60 households were flooded as water entered their houses on Friday night. She blamed the MMC for the flooding and informed that the workers only replaced two drain covers and nothing else.
The people said they went to Margao MLA and told him that they have stood by him for 20 years and now he has to provide them relief from this problem.
Yet another woman from this area said the drains here have not been cleaned for two consecutive years. People here say the drains passing in front of their houses carry all the sewage from the town and empty it into a creek beneath the rail line which takes it to River Sal. This was the water channel in the past which has become silted due to sewage release.
Ward No 20, residents of Colmorod area have been subjected to immense hardships on account of water-logging every year and last night was not any different.
People alleged that the drains here too were not cleaned. “The entire compound of one Josephine Andrade, behind GP School at Colmorod got flooded and water entered into the low lying parts of their house.
The four- lane road from Sirvodem junction up to Kiran Steel was flooded with water as the road side drains are clogged. Locals blamed the authorities for lack of foresight and monsoon preparedness.
Work to clear the drains by removing the footpath pavers and RCC slabs was on till late evening on Saturday. Locals have appealed to the concerned authorities including the MMC, to ensure speedy completion of the de-silting work and restoration of the footpaths.
The former Councillor of this ward Savio Coutinho said the Council is yet to engage workers for pre-monsoon works as was done in the past. He complained that the municipality-owned JCB is engaged more often for private works than public-related works and has called for maintaining of proper log book records.
