WRD to clear part of Mapusa river of invasive weed

Water hyacinth, the invasive weed covers a large surface of Mapusa river near the Tar bridge.

MAPUSA

Finally, work on de-weeding of part of the Mapusa River is expected to begin from next week onwards, which may or may not bring some relief but definitely not resolve the entire problem.

The deadly weed has spread its tentacles occupying almost the entire stretch of the river running from Hotel Green Park in Guirim/Bastora, Mapusa and up to Moira.

The Water Resources Department (WRD) has said it will take up the work of scooping the water hyacinth from Tar bridge to Moira bridge while remaining silent about the northern side of the river from Hotel Green Park to Tar bridge.

“The work to de-weed the river stretch has been tendered. We will use an amphibious machine to scoop up the weed from Tar bridge to Moira bridge. The work is expected to start from next week,” a WRD official informed.

The work has been tendered for Rs 5 lakh.

The invasive weed has spread at a fast pace along the entire stretch of the river from Hotel Green Park right up to Moira bridge raising concern among locals about the damage that it could cause to the flora and fauna of the river.

Also there are serious concerns that since the entire river stretch is covered with the weed it could restrict the movement of water flow and cause floods during the monsoon.

The civil groups who were actively involved in clearing the river from the deadly weed expected the government to clear the entire stretch of the river from Hotel Green Park to the Moira bridge.

“We are elated that the government has finally decided to clear the weed from the river. But clearing part of the river will not solve the problem. In fact, the northern side of the river from Tar bridge to Hotel Green Park is thickly infested and has to be cleaned,” said Sangam Mhapshekar, part of the group actively involved in clearing the messy weeds.

Aldona MLA, Carlos Ferreira had also written to WRD Minister, Subhash Shirodkar stressing the urgent need for de-weeding of the river from Hotel Green Park up to Moira village.

He said although the issue required a larger study and a plan of action, immediate action was required to clear as much weeds as possible to avoid flooding in the monsoon.

“The State would end up battling the flood related issues including payment of compensation to those affected which could be avoided if steps are taken in the right direction at the earliest. The invasion of the water hyacinth in the river has caused flooding in Bastora and also Paliem in the past and if urgent measures are not taken, there will be a repeat of flooding which will also affect across on the other side at Guirim,” Ferreira said.