MAPUSA
With pre-monsoon showers around the corner, concerns are mounting in Mapusa over whether flood-prevention measures are being executed effectively, particularly in the busy sub-yard market belt where drainage remains a persistent weak point.
Activists have now shifted the focus from whether desilting is being carried out to how it is being done, arguing that current efforts may offer only temporary relief rather than a lasting solution.
Members of the citizens’ collective Together for Mapusa (TFM) have flagged what they describe as a flawed approach to nullah cleaning, warning that incomplete execution could undo the entire exercise once the rains begin.
According to the group, while desilting machinery has been deployed in recent days following administrative intervention, large quantities of excavated silt and debris continue to remain piled along the edges of the drains. This, they argue, poses a risk of the material being washed straight back into the nullah during the first spell of heavy rain, effectively negating the work already undertaken.
The issue had earlier been escalated to district authorities amid fears of waterlogging in the market area, which is prone to flooding during intense rainfall. A joint inspection involving pollution control officials reportedly identified significant dumping within the drainage channels, contributing to restricted water flow.
Civic voices now stress that desilting must go beyond surface-level clearance. They are calling for a more comprehensive approach, including immediate lifting and scientific disposal of the waste, as well as deepening of the nullah to improve its carrying capacity. Without these steps, they caution, the town risks slipping into a familiar cycle of last-minute clean-ups followed by monsoon flooding.
“The drain-clearing work was taken up only after our intervention, but the desilting at the sub-yard has been poorly executed. Once the rains set in, the silt will simply wash back into the drain,” said Mahesh Rane, President of TFM.
TFM general secretary Jitesh Kamat called for the prompt lifting of the accumulated silt and garbage, urging authorities to transport the waste to an authorised dumping site without delay.
With Mapusa’s drainage system already under strain due to urban pressure and waste mismanagement, the coming weeks are likely to test whether the administration can move from reactive measures to sustained flood mitigation planning.
