Floods hit Bicholim REVIEW 2019
samir umarye
SPECIAL STORY
REASONS FOR FLOOD
Release of waters from Tillari dam
Authorities concentrated on city area
No desilting done of river flowing from Sal
Tillari dam water not monitored by Goa govt
SOLUTIONS
Goa government to monitor the Tillari dam water level
Build retaining wall at Sal
Desilt the river at Sal
Discourage Sal villagers from constructing houses near low lying areas
Increase Tillari dam height
BICHOLIM: The people from Bicholim might have not even dreamt of a possible flood in the taluka but the nature showed its devastating strength by flooding Sal village and creating havoc in other parts of the taluka.
The same waters of Tillari that the people from Sal were so dependent upon for their fields brought about havoc in the village. The low lying areas were flooded and the houses were inundated causing panic among the people.
What added fire to the fuel is the rumors that spread in the village that the Tillari dam had breached and this led the people to flee from their houses to a safer place. As per the reports there were also no electricity in the village and the panic stricken villagers ran out of the houses.
“The rumour was such that all the people started running taking their belongings with the help of whatever vehicle they could get out of the village.” Meghasham Raut from Sal told Herald.
“The government machinery totally failed here in Sal as there was no proper management of the resources. The water had raised the previous day but the authorities did not take it seriously and no rescue equipments were brought in” Raut told.
“They had about 24 hours to prepare for the worse situation but they paid no heed. It was only when the water started entering the houses that the authorities woke up from their sleep. All the authorities and the politicians came at around 11 pm when water had already engulfed the village and we had moved most of the people to safety” Raut expresses his anger.
“If they were knowing that there was a possibility of danger they should have made the necessary arrangements in the village. The Goa government should have also monitored the situation at the Tillari dam and should have alerted the residents” Raut claimed.
The people feel that the small bridge that connects Sal to other parts of Bicholim should be given height. “This year’s flood could just be a trailer to what is going to come in the future. We would urge the people not to build houses in the low lying areas and the connecting bridge should be re-built so that people would get an access to move out of the village in case of an emergency” another villager, Deelip Desai told.
Govind Phadke from Nanoda, a village close to Sal, feel that there should be a permanent solution to this problem. “Sal village is very close to the river and there is always a danger from Tillari dam. The water that is let out from this dam has direct effect on this village and so a big retaining wall could be built near the river so that the water dosen’t enter the village.” Phadke told expressing a need to desilt the river.
It may be stated that Bicholim is considered as flood prone and there were many instances where in the floods had led to huge loss of property. In 1992 and 2000devastating floods had shown the people from Bicholim what water could do if no precautionary measures are taken. Bicholim had to bear the brunt of flood yet again in 2017. In 2017 Bicholim’s the worst affected areas included Pilgao, Mulgao, Gaonkarwada, market area, places near the Town centre, Shantadurga High School, sonar peth and other surrounding area. In Sanquelim the areas which were affected include Supachikond, Harvalem, New market and the old market area.
Many families had to be rescued by the fire force as the water engulfed several houses at Sanquelim. A truck carrying milk packets was almost submerged under water as the driver was not able to reckon the depth of water near Shantadurgh High school. Many of the electronic items, cloths, furniture from the shops were damaged due to floods. About 15 houses were damaged, roads were submerged breaking taluka's contact with the rest of the world.
Some people feel that based on the previous experience of floods the authorities might have thought that floods would affect Bicholim and surrounding areas and probably the remote village of Sal was totally ignored.
If Tillari waters affected Sal village there were many villages in other parts of Bicholim which also suffered losses. But the magnitude of this loss in the city area was much less than that of Sal. Inspite of the afforts by WRD to pump out water from Sanquelim market the water entered the market and flooded some of the shops. During the three days that rains lashed the taluka there were more than 100 calls that the fire force officials received. Most of these calls were about trees falling and damaging the houses.
Eventhough this year the Bicholim city was spared by the rain there were few areas like the Bandarwada where the road was flooded. In Sanquelim people feel that it was because of heavy rainfall that the roads were flooded and have urged the government to find the cause for the same.
“Mining and the silt has entered the gutters and rivers and here, most of the time this is the only reason for roads getting flooded. This could be an eye opener for the government and the authorities as they should now think as to why this is happening and plan accordingly.”
It was not only the houses that were affected with floods but also fields were severely damaged due to flooding. “There are several fields, especially the khazan fields that were destroyed because of flood. The hard work of the farmers have gone is waste and there are some who have suffered a huge loss” Sakharam Pednekar from Mayem told.
When contacted environmentalist, Ramesh Gawas stated that the height of the dam could be increased to avoid flood in Sal.
"The enginners till date have not studied the implications of what happenes if Tillari dam water is released and which villages will be affected because of this" Gawas told adding that in cities it is more of waterlogging conditions rather than flooding.
Eventhough there are few who charge the authorities there are many who applaud the afford put in by the Bicholim mamletdar, Pravinjay Pandit. The Bicholim mamletdar, Pravinjay Pandit when contacted stated that they rescued in all 49 persons from Sal, Amona, Menkurem and Pilgao.
"At present the situation is under control and we are monitoring the situation closely" Pandit told.