NT NETWORK
MAPUSA
Heavy pre-monsoon showers that lashed the state on Wednesday caused water-logging in many parts of Mapusa with the market and Ansabhat area turning into virtual swimming pools.
The Ansabhat area has turned into a major cause for concern for the council which had undertaken a pre-monsoon work with proper planning but with only first showers, the entire area especially near the north education zonal office witnessing water-logging due to which a lot of hardships are being caused to people especially the shopkeepers.
On more than two occasions, municipality workers have de-silted the drains and main nullah but still the problem continues. Major concerns are the cross drains below the road which have got choked with silt and until that is cleared, the water logging is likely to continue.
Another bottleneck is the road in front of Chacha Nehru Park as all outlets have allegedly been blocked during the footpath laying work done by the GSUDA contractor as a result the entire area was inundated under water. Water even entered the park with a major section getting water-logged.
Local councillor Tushar Tople claimed that this is the first time that there has been water-logging in the area. He blamed it on work of sewerage project as the silt has entered into cross drains and blocked them. He also said that the outlets were blocked when the footpath was constructed by GSUDA. He also said they are trying their best to clear the silt.
Similar situation was witnessed in Mapusa market where all the roads and footpaths were inundated under rainwater. In some lanes it was next to impossible to even walk as knee-deep water had got accumulated.
President of Mapusa Merchants Association Ashish Shirodkar said, “A delegation had met the chairperson and requested him to take up the de-silting work of entire market area and he had promised that within 10 days everything will be undertaken and completed but he has failed to deliver on his promise and now the entire market area is water-logged.”
He further said, “The de-silting work of main nullah behind the market should be done on priority basis as the water level in it has increased hence its depth needs to be increased but it was not done as a result the market got water-logged. We need a dedicated engineer for Mapusa market for supervising the de-silting work.”
Chairperson of Mapusa Municipality Sandip Falari, who went around in the city along with other councillors, said, “Despite undertaking de-silting work, we find drains choked with all types of garbage dumped into the nullah by people resulting in its blockage. In addition, there is silt from sewerage project hence we need to open all cross drains under roads using JCB and do their de-silting.”
When questioned about Mapusa market, he said, “It took nearly one month to de-silt all the drains in Mapusa market. We have to check what went wrong. I have instructed all supervisors to clear the blockage. With regards to blockage of outlets near the park, I have asked the contractor to rectify the problem so that there is proper flow of water.”