Common man hit as markets flood, roads wash away

MAPUSA/CALANGUTE: Pernem and Bardez talukas in North Goa were among the worst affected by the downpour on Wednesday. Waterlogging caused traffic snarls and forced motorists to explore alternative routes.
Pernem’s arterial road from Agarwada to Keri, saw waterlogging near Arambol and Mandrem. Buses had to stop plying, prompting passengers to alight and wade through knee-deep water. Family and friends were called to pick them up, making their return home an arduous one. There was poor attendance in schools and colleges as a tree fell on the road at Paliem, blocking all transportation.

A coconut tree crashed on a chawl at Kattem-Baina

Traffic on the busy Chogm road passing through Porvorim was also affected by the rain. By evening, the superficial patch work done to roads after the laying of the sewerage line which is routed through the highway was washed away. Post 5.30pm traffic moved at a snail’s pace on this route for a kilometre starting immediately after O’Coqueiro circle. Two-wheelers had it tougher, navigating potholes submerged in water.


A car veered into the fields in Xell, Bastora

Also submerged was the Mapusa market. Failure of the municipality to clean the gutters caused flooding, with rain water entering several shops and affecting businesses. Then Mapusa Municipal Council chairperson Rohan Kavlekar had promised to undertake pre-monsoon works. “Every year Mapusa market is flooded. The municipality shows expenditures on gutters when the civic body has actually failed to undertake proper works,” Mapusa resident Mahesh Rane said.


Mapusa market was heavily waterlogged(L) Roads in Calangute and Candolim were inundated(R)


In Xell, Bastora, 5km from Mapusa, five people had a lucky escape as their car went off the road and plunged into the fields, submerging it. The situation in the state capital was not much different. A shop owner on 18th June Road in Panaji said that many pedestrians had falls due to the slippery streets and sidewalks.

Roads in Calangute and Candolim, too, were inundated with water. Drains and nullahs overflowed in many areas and the Calangute market was waterlogged.