Goemkapronn desk
VASCO: A landslide at Vaddem on Wednesday damaged a house at the base of the hillock sending a wave of panic across the area, especially since the area had been landslide-prone and a lady was killed in a landslide reported in the area a few years ago.
Fortunately, this time around, no loss of life was reported due to the incident.
A resident, Sabastian Rodrigues, whose house had been damaged, narrated the series of events and said that she and her husband had already shifted to their brother’s house.
“The incident happened on Wednesday with a tree collapsing on the house, and the fire brigade staff said that they would clear the tree but warned us of a dangerous situation. At around 1 pm in the afternoon, a rock boulder came down and damaged the wall of our bathroom,” said Rodrigues.
Vasco MLA Krishna Salkar and Former MMC Chairperson Nandadeep Raut on Thursday carried out an inspection on Thursday morning to take stock of the situation and assured the people that the long-pending demand for a retaining wall was in the final stage.
“This one km stretch area is on the base of the hillock and is a landslide-prone area. We have seen that a huge boulder fell on the house and killed a lady during a landslide a few years ago, after which we had proposed a retaining wall in the area,” he said.
He added, saying the long-pending demand for a retaining wall and the works are in the final stage, with the tender already getting financial approvals.
“We need a few NOCs from the private landowners from this area, after which the works will begin for the entire area in phases if need be, at least before the next monsoons. I have even apprised the CM of the matter and requested him to take quick action because though we have offered compensation to the deceased lady and the house owners earlier, it is not a solution. We will put pressure to get the works of retaining wall in this area on top priority,” said Salkar
Former MMC Chairperson Nandadeep Raut said that landslides had been occurring consecutively for the last four years.
“Every monsoon brings down trees, stones and boulders in this area, and we have requested Salkar to expedite works on the retaining wall. I request the locals living in this area to temporarily vacate their houses and shift to another location during monsoon if possible. We had also appealed to Goa Shipyard Limited to take up the retaining wall because many here believe that the piling works of GSL for a new building had led to cracks on the hill and also on many buildings around the area,” said Raut.