Goa: Vasco, Verna fire station staffers kept on toes

VASCO: Incidents of minor landslides and tree uprootings, besides rescue calls, kept fire station personnel at Verna and Vasco on their toes all through Tuesday.
Since Monday morning the fire stations have already received five calls to clear uprooted trees.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Vasco fire station received an emergency call to clear an uprooted tree and a boulder that had slid downhill at Vaddem, opposite the Goa Shipyard.
Locals in the area were asked to remain cautious and officials informed residents that the South Goa collector had ordered construction of a 150m retaining wall, which will be built soon.
Vasco fire station incharge Francisco Mendes said that while calls to clear landslides are diverted to PWD staffers, the fire station workers attend to emergencies like trees uprooting.
Meanwhile, the Verna fire station cleared the Verna-Loutolim bypass road which was blocked for a short while due to a minor landslide. Verna fire station incharge, Dilip Bicholkar, said that from July 1 a total of 31 calls were attended to by his staffers.