MARGAO: Colva residents have demanded that the PWD plant five saplings for every tree cut along the Margao–Colva road and questioned the setting up of transformers along the expanded area where the trees had been cut.
Pointing out that the PWD has to bear responsibility for replanting the trees, residents also called on the Forest department to monitor the same and to check if permissions had been taken to cut the trees.
Stating that the Benaulim MLA Caetano Silva was answerable to the people of Benaulim constituency on this, Colva Civic and Consumer Forum secretary Judith Almeida condemned the cutting of trees on the roadside of the Margao–Colva road and claimed that over 150 trees had been cut including the age-old ones.
“The reasons cited were that it was on public area and they were cut to make way for expansion. Why are they then allowing transformers for private establishments to come up on this same expanded area of this major district road,” Judith questioned. Judith felt that the widened roads will only lead to speeding and given that there are two bottlenecks near the Colva Police Station and Mungul junction, the number of accidents is bound to increase with possibility of crashing into the said transformers.The residents called on the authorities to respond immediately given that the laying of rubble on the expanded part is already underway.
