Mapusa traders taken by surprise as silt alongwith rain water enters 5 shops

MAPUSA
Heavy rainfall on Wednesday night resulted in rainwater alongwith silt entering into five shops at Sirsat waddo in Mapusa as one of the main nullahs coming from Dattawadi was choked near the Kranti island and in its vicinity.
The shop owners were taken by surprise when they saw water in their shops as they opened their premises on Thursday morning. The shops were soiled with rainwater mixed with silt and the owners had to take help of Mapusa fire station personnel to clean up the silt.
Satish Arsekar, gold jewellery shop owner, said that “I never expected something like this would happen. Every year water gets accumulated in front of the shops but it is for first time that muddy water has entered my shop.”
He said that the main nullah coming from Dattawadi was choked with silt as a result the rainwater overflowed. “In the morning, the situation was so bad that roads had become slippery because of the overflowed silt and, therefore, we had to call Mapusa fire station to clear it up,” he added.
Similarly, near the novelty store in Vicky Manerkar house, rainwater gushed into the house and the family had no option but to wait till morning for the municipal workers to come and clear it.
In Khorlim and Cunchelim, the locals complained that drains in their wards were not cleaned on time and, as a result, the drains overflowed and the water accumulated on the roads and even entered houses.
When contacted councillor Tushar Tople about the choked nullah, he said that “we had undertaken desilting work well in advance but overflowing happened due to sewerage work going on uphill in Dattawadi area. The dug up mud flowed down alongwith rain water.”
He further said that “the matter will be taken up with the chairperson Sandip Falari urging him to stop all sewerage work in the town during monsoon.”
Meanwhile, the municipal workers are on their toes clearing up the choked drains in the municipality area. NT