Team Herald
MARGAO: Several prominent residents from Margao on Sunday warned the authorities, especially the Water Resources Department (WRD) over the strong possibility of destruction due to flooding behind ESI Hospital, Margao.
The Shadow Council for Margao also extended its support to the residents, as all gathered at the site and warned the authorities. They pointed towards the excavation carried out by WRD for the construction of an alleged unnecessary “Branch Nallah ”. The walls of the existing nallah have been exposed, and will most certainly collapse due to the storm water pressure, thereby flooding and destroying everything that comes in its way.
The walls of the existing nallah are not designed to retain the water pressure during heavy flow, explained Savio Coutinho. It was the landmass on the other side of the nallah walls, which supported the walls, he said.
It may be recalled that on the eve of Christmas on December 24, 2021, the Shadow Council for Margao had complained over the illegal felling of 30 trees. The trees were cut to make way for the shifting of the nallah to facilitate real estate development.
“Why should Rs 81 lakh from the public exchequer be spent to benefit someone’s private agenda?” SCM questioned.
Coutinho said they have apprehensions that the work which the SCM has already exposed as a scam, has been left in the present status so that the existing nallah should breach and break open, so as to give an opportunity to fulfil the dubious need of some vested interests.
“We wish to very categorically state that the Water Resources Department shall be solely responsible for any form of destruction or losses caused by their criminal negligence,” he stated.
SCM further revealed that they have filed written complaints to the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, WRD Minister Subash Shirodkar and the Executive Engineer of WRD Div III, and alleged that some strong forces are behind this scam.
The sole purpose of inviting prominent residents from Margao to this site was to give them a better understanding of this issue, and how public funds are misused.
Speaking about development works Coutinho further pointed out to a tender worth Rs 3.5 crore to provide hotmix carpet for the roads in ward 20.
The residents have now demanded that the PWD Minister Nilesh Cabral, who had campaigned in Ward 20 during the municipal elections, to inquire from his department where the second layer of hotmix carpet had vanished.
The two layers of hotmix carpet are designed to be provided immediately one after the other, however the first batch of roads was provided and the first layer has disintegrated at several places.
