Goa: Opposition flays govt over lack of preps to deal with flooding

PANAJI: Opposition MLAs took the government to task over flood-like situations that many parts of the state witnessed following heavy rain recently.
GFP MLA Vijai Sardesai along with Congress legislators Sankalp Amonkar and Altone D’Costa moved a calling attention in the House over the issue.
Sardesai sought to know whether the state disaster management team lacked the capability to promptly deal with weather phenomena. He also asked whether the government failed to take climate change into consideration while building mega infrastructure projects that have aggravated the situation.
In his reply, revenue minister Atanasio ‘Babush’ Monserrate explained the measures initiated by his ministry to mitigate the crisis.
Sardesai, who was not impressed by the response, said it took the state disaster management team a day to reach villages in Pernem that were affected by heavy rains.
“Villagers of Mopa told a news channel that a disaster management team reached them a day after they were affected by heavy rains. In many places, flooding occurred due to lack of pre-monsoon works of drains and nullahs that were not cleared and desilted,” Sardesai said.
Major roads were flooded and there were heavy landslides, but the PWD ministry lacked foresight to deal with the problem, he said.
Citing the environment impact assessment document for the Mopa International Airport, Sardesai said that rainwater accumulating in paved areas and around buildings was to be routed to rainwater harvesting pits so that flooding does not occur in the downstream villages. “The solution would cost the government just Rs 15 lakh to install water harvesting measures, but no mitigation measures were taken,” he said.
Quepem MLA Altone D’Costa sought to know when Paroda residents, who have to brave floods annually during the monsoon, will get relief.