MARGAO: Representatives of the Benaulim panchayat, including Sarpanch Xavier Pereira and members of the village committee that was constituted by the gram sabha presented a petition to PWD Minister Nilesh Cabral on Wednesday and apprised him of the ground reality in constructing the bypass on embankments.
At their meeting held at the Secretariat, they requested Cabral to consider the villagers’ demand for building the Western Bypass on stilts for the benefit of the environment, a measure to combat floods and climate change impact, protection of agricultural lands and the livelihood of local farmers.
They further requested that reclamation work for the bypass be kept on hold until the hydrology report is prepared. They further pointed out that the length of the portion of the Western Highway running through the catchment area is 1.55 kilometres and that the highway authorities claim that there aren’t sufficient funds to build the Western Bypass on stilts in Benaulim. They also noted that the approximate differential cost of building this portion of the highway is only Rs 112 crore.
They explained that the portion of the bypass in Benaulim is now being built on embankments, by reclaiming the remaining catchment area. “The rich bio-diversity at the spot will be lost forever. The wetlands which are a
habitat to migratory birds will be history,” said the villagers.
