Saligao MLA Kedar Naik on Sunday reviewed the ongoing desilting operations near Green Park and held a meeting with officials of the Water Resources Department (WRD). Stressing the urgency of the project, Naik directed officials to adhere strictly to timelines and maintain quality standards.
“St Anthony Vaddo in Guirim near Green Park witnesses severe flooding during the monsoon. Through the WRD, we have undertaken desilting works to address this. Desilting of bhandaras is crucial, and traditional methods must be retained,” Naik said, underscoring the importance of restoring the river’s natural flow.
The Rs 46.52-crore project, spearheaded by the WRD, covers a 4.5-km stretch of the river from Guirim to the National Highway bridge at Tar junction.
The contract has been awarded to M/s Bagkiya Construction Pvt Ltd.
At the heart of the project is large-scale desilting and widening of the riverbed to significantly enhance its water-carrying capacity and ensure faster discharge of monsoon runoff. Officials said this intervention is critical to preventing the river from breaching its banks during peak rainfall.
In addition, flood embankment bunds will be constructed along both riverbanks using earth and moorum to guard against tidal surges and high floodwaters. Sluice and flap gates will be installed at 200-metre intervals to automatically shut during high tides, thereby regulating water inflow and preventing backflow flooding in adjoining areas.
To further fortify the riverbanks, a composite flood protection wall made of concrete and laterite boulder masonry will be built. A dedicated sluice gate structure will also be installed to isolate floodwaters from the Guirim catchment area from the main river channel.
A high-capacity pumping system “ equipped with pumps capable of discharging 3,000 cubic metres of water per hour, along with a 320 KVA DG set, pump house, control panels and pipelines “ will form a crucial component of the flood mitigation strategy.
