This story is from June 6, 2019

Corporation of the City of Panaji rolls up its sleeves to tackle flooding in city

The Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) is gearing up to cope with the first rains set to hit the state in a few days.
Corporation of the City of Panaji rolls up its sleeves to tackle flooding in city
Representative image
PANAJI: The Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) is gearing up to cope with the first rains set to hit the state in a few days.
Four new drains were built in the Panaji market to avoid flooding in the area. In other parts of the city, CCP’s 40 workers and additional 20-odd contract workers have been put on the job to tackle incidents of flooding.
“We have asked L&T to clear all the bridge debris and drains near the bus stop at Patto,” mayor Uday Madkaikar said.

A special culvert built at Mala by the water resources department (WRD) is expected to prevent the area from flooding.
The first round of cleaning up all the major drains in the city has been completed, and workers are now engaged in ward-wise work, Madkaikar said. The corporation is also carrying out pruning work on D B Marg, Caranzalem and Altinho roads where there is thick foliage.
Commissioner Shashank Tripathi said a 10-member night squad is already in place to deal with any monsoon-related scenarios.
“The cleaning of drains will be an ongoing process, especially after the first rains when silt and other matter gets deposited,” Tripathi added.

BJP-backed panel councillor Pundalik Raut Dessai said pre-monsoon works that began in his ward haven’t been completed yet.
“Last year, pre-monsoon works went on for four and a half months. This time work began only a month ago. I don’t feel we are prepared for the monsoon,” he told TOI.
Drains in front of Stella Maris in Miramar, which is prone to flooding, are almost completely filled with stagnant water. Similarly, the St Inez creek hasn’t been desilted or even cleared of debris lying along its banks, with citizens fearing water from the creek will enter their homes again this year. In places where drains have been cleaned, the silt and waste is seen lying dangerously close to the drains, threatening to block them again. Citizens also raised the issue of concrete waste from construction being thrown into the drains, thus blocking them.
“In the event of high tide and heavy rainfall, the city will get flooded. We cannot prevent that. We have pumps in place to pump out water,” Madkaikar said
Panaji resident Patricia Pinto said that during any infrastructure work, clearing and cleaning debris and waste must always be incorporated into the same contract.
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