Railways’ faulty culvert blocks drainage and floods fields, sparks anger in Arossim

MARGAO: Goencho Ekvott (GE) and residents from Arrosim slammed the South Western Railway (SWR) for a faulty culvert construction that has blocked the drainage system, flooding fields near the railway track and the historic St Lawrence Chapel.

GE founder Orville Dourado Rodrigues stated, “The culvert was built without considering that the natural flow of stormwater is from the West of the railway tracks to the East, to circumnavigate the St Lawrence Chapel, and then towards Cansaulim. However, we noticed that the culvert was built under the tracks with the slope towards the West, restricting the flow of water.”

As a result, Rodrigues noted that paddy fields on the West have remained submerged under rainwater even in the third week of August, preventing local farmers from planting, and causing loss of livelihood.

Ciriaco Gomes, a resident with fields near the tracks, confirmed these issues. “I could not cultivate properly this year as the fields were flooded, with water not being able to flow out,” Gomes said. He blamed the railways’ faulty work, stating that he only managed to cultivate a small piece of land in mid-August while losing out on the previous months.

GE suspects that the culvert might have been intentionally built with the wrong directional slope towards the West, to justify to the public that on account of the high water table, SWR will be unable to construct the underpass for the benefit of the villagers of Arossim and surrounding villages. “In March 2023, hundreds of residents protested against the intentional blockage of newly installed storm water pipes under the existing single railway track. This blockage was discovered and broadcast on live television, prompting immediate action. Over two days, the embedded concrete in the pipes was cleared using mechanical equipment,” Rodrigues continued.  

“Under public pressure, the local MLA had announced that the railways agreed to construct a culvert for storm water passage and an underpass for safe access to the St Lawrence Chapel, a long-standing demand of the public,” he recalled. Rodrigues called on SWR to honour their commitment to construct the underpass for the safe passage of villagers across the track and warned them against taking the silence of the villagers for granted.

“People were opposing this because they knew that this would happen during monsoon, but our pleas were not heard by them,” said Anthony Da Silva from Arossim. He added that the chosen location for the underpass is not feasible as it’s a low-lying area prone to flooding. “At present, people struggle while crossing the railway tracks,” he stated.

Da Silva also mentioned that during the initial protests, residents were threatened with police action. It’s worth noting that during the protests, locals, including senior citizens, were threatened with police cases. The police appeared to show more support to the authorities than to the residents in distress.