Bicholim witnessed a heavy downpour on Tuesday night and the rains continued till the wee hours of Wednesday, flooding the Sanquelim market.

To make matters worse, authorities were compelled to open all four gates at the Anjunem dam, as the water had touched the danger levels.

Sensing danger, a number of people tried to retrieve their belongings from the shops. While some managed to salvage some of their possessions, others could not do so.

Most shops in Sanquelim market were flooded by early Wednesday morning, as rainwater destroyed clothes, groceries and other goods in the shops.

The Sanquelim market area was most affected by floods, specially since the market has structures on all sides, making it difficult for water to flow elsewhere.

Later in the morning, authorities used pumps to remove rainwater from the market area.

Angry shopkeepers accused the government of failing to address the problem on time.

“Despite investing huge money on a retaining wall and a pump house in the market, the floods continue to destroy our goods. These measures are useless and it is just an eye wash,” complained an affected shopkeeper, Sandeep Kanekar.

Incidentally, officials from the Irrigation Department were not alert enough to start the lift irrigation pumps as the rainwater began to rise in the Sanquelim market area.

The pumps were started under the supervision of engineers, but only after rainwater entered the shops.

Rainwater also entered in houses at low-lying areas in Vithalapur, Maulingtad and surrounding areas.

According to Chief Engineer (Water Resource) Sandeep Nadkarni, the flood was caused not just because of rains in the State, but also due to heavy rains in the Ghats.

“The floods were caused as there were heavy rains in the Ghat region,” explained Nadkarni. “The retaining wall along the Walwanti river is not completed, but will be taken up shortly. With the retaining wall, the problem will be solved.”

Bicholim Mamlatdar Pramod Bhat, Mayem MLA Anant Shet and other government officials visited the site and took stock of the situation.

Speaker Pratapsing Rane on Wednesday visited Sanquelim market area to take stock of the situation. He was accompanied by Engineer Nadkarni, Sanguem Municipal Council Chairperson Anand Naik, SMC Chief Officer Bhanudas Naik and other councilors.

Former Sanquelim sarpanch Praveen Blaggen claimed that flood precautionary measures undertaken by the government at a cost of Rs 22 crore in Sanquelim were washed away in the floods.

Meanwhile, low-lying areas in Bicholim, including Bandarwada, Gaonkarwada, Bordem main road and near Shantadurga High School were also submerged due to heavy rains on Tuesday night.

Rainwater also entered the fields at Mulgao, Shirgao, Latambarcem, Nanora and Kudchirem area, causing losses to the farmers.

Elsewhere, a huge tree fell on a road at Chodan where heavy rains snapped off electricity wires disrupting power in the area.

In the evening, the toilet of the police outpost at Dodamarg was damaged when a tree came crashing down on it. The Bicholim fire force officials went to the site and cleared the debris.

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The assurance was given when Chief Minister Digambar Kamat called on the prime minister and explained to him the tremendous loss the State and its people suffered due to the unprecedented floods particularly in Canacona.
The Prime Minister gave a patient hearing to the chief minister and said that as an immediate relief to the Goa Government  to overcome the situation, the Government of India will release Rs 5 crore immediately, an official  statement said here. Kamat made a special trip to the national capital to seek financial assistance from central leaders for the loss caused in the last few days.

“The chief minister put before the prime minister the entire position of Goa which has experienced heavy rains from September 29 to October 2 due to which unprecedented floods occurred in many places”, the release said.
The Prime Minister asked the chief minister to prepare a detail report of the floods and damage caused due to heavy rains and forward it to the Ministry of Home Affairs within two days after which a Central Team will be sent to the Goa to assess the damage. Dr Singh also assured the Chief Minister of ‘maximum financial aid’ to Goa to cope with the situation.

The Chief Minister also met Union Agriculture Secretary Nanda Kumar and apprised him of the situation in Goa and sought financial assistance for the unprecedented loss caused to agriculture, the statement said.
The Chief Minister was accompanied by Chief Secretary Sanjay K Srivastava and Secretary to Chief Minister Raajiv Yadhuvansi.

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Stating this at a news conference here late Saturday evening, Chief Minister Digambar Kamat also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 1 lakh each to the families who lost their loved ones in the worst ever floods in Canacona.

While it was partial relief on Saturday from the heavy to very heavy rain that lashed Goa on October 2, the forecast from Met office is “sequence spells of rain or thunder showers with possibility of heavy to very heavy rain in some areas”.

The chief minister also announced an immediate relief of Rs 5000 to each of the needy people affected by the floods. It is estimated that about 2000 people have been displaced after their houses were destroyed and are presently taking shelter at various locations, the highest being at Kindlem (700 affected people), Shristhal and Poinguinim.

Kamat said he has also spoken to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Home Minister P Chidambaram and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar regarding the devastation in Canacona taluka.
“They assured us all support and even offered to depute the army and navy at the shortest notice. But since the situation did not demand the presence of such agencies, we decided to keep that only as an option if the situation warrants”, said Kamat.
“The Centre also wanted to send rescue teams, but we said the situation did not demand that at this juncture. What is required now is rehabilitation and that is our priority”, he added.
When asked to comment on the losses in the taluka, Kamat declined to put a specific figure to the damage.

A clear figure of the damages will emerge by Sunday evening after the assessment will be completed by five deputy collectors and five mamlatdars, instructed to undertake the task, he said.
“Around 50-60 houses have been destroyed, while 25 others suffered extensive damage. The rest have all got their household items damaged after rainwater entered their homes”, said Kamat.
The chief minister assured that despite the ownership of the land, a decision would be taken to either construct houses or compensate the affected house owners, once the actual quantum of damage is ascertained.
“Those who lost household goods such as TVs, fridges, ovens, etc, will be compensated as per norms/criteria of the Government”, Kamat said.
When asked if sufficient funds were available with the State, Kamat replied: “For a disaster like this, each collector has funds of Rs 2 crore. But if needed, we’ll ask for central funds as well”.
Meanwhile, officials including the talathis from the Mamlatdar’s office have already begun undertaking surveys to assess the damages and losses suffered by people in the taluka.

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