Work on Rs 41.94 cr project expected to start in Nov: Shirodkar
Water Resources Minister Subhash Shirodkar (right) replying to a query raised by Saligao MLA Kedar Naik in the Assembly on Wednesday.
Photo Credits: Narayan Pissurlenkar
MAPUSA
Water Resources Minister Subhash Shirodkar on Wednesday informed the House that improvement of Mapusa River from Guirim to Tar junction will be taken up at an estimated cost of Rs 41.94 crore in an effort to mitigate the flooding problem in Guirim.
Shirodkar also said that a meeting will be soon held with the Captain of Ports to find a solution to the river from Moira and beyond.
“The Mapusa/Tar river is around 4.5 kms long. We are dredging the river from Moira upto the Tar bridge. There is also a provision for construction of wall protecting the banks of river at vulnerable stretches for a length of about 1,200 metres,” Shirodkar said.
Shirodkar said work on the project is expected to start in November so that the contractor gets at least five months before the next monsoon to complete most of the work, if not entirely.
The WRD Minister was responding to a query raised by Saligao MLA Kedar Naik during the Question Hour on the annual problem of inundation of fields in Guirim.
Naik said the farmers have to face heavy losses due to flooding of the fields.
“The flooding of the fields has been happening for the last 10 years. The engineers need to find the root cause of the problem,” Naik said.
Shirodkar informed that during the expansion of the National Highway most of the construction material has been dumped in the surrounding areas blocking the access of the water.
Secondly, he said, the pipes that were laid across the highway were of small size and stressed the need to construct a box culvert for easy passage of water.
Aldona MLA, Carlos Ferreira said there was also a need to dredge the river from the Tar bridge and beyond along the Moira side in order to have smooth flow of water.
He also said that water hyacinth growing in the river was another major concern which had to be addressed on priority.
Deputy Speaker and Mapusa MLA Joshua D’Souza admitted that a lot of debris was dumped in the fields and even in the river during the expansion work of the NH66. He also said that the full width of the river needs to be examined and emphasised the need of employing a team of experts to find a lasting solution to the problem.
