Goa News: Cuncolim Municipal Council fills up dangerous well outside Ind Estate

CUNCOLIM. CUNCOLIM: The Cuncolim Municipal Council on Saturday filled an open well on the ground with soil following the order of the south goa collector. It may be recalled that the council had on February 28 demolished the wall around the illegal well dug on pasture land outside the Cuncolim industrial estate after it came under controversy after locals protested and demanded its closure.

The collector, who heads the disaster management committee, directed the Cuncolim Municipal Chief Officer to fill the dangerous well before the monsoon so that cattle and common people do not fall into it.

The Municipal Chief Officer John Fernandes, Engineer Uday Desai and Inspector Balso Desai, along with Junior Engineer Satendra Faldesai, Assistant Engineer Melita Fernandes and Water Resources Department (WRD) supervisor Antonio Menezes were present at the spot. When asked why they had to wait for the collector’s order to cover the well, chief officer John Fernandes said, “Our jurisdiction is only above the ground and that is why we demolished the wall around the well.”

Recall that the WRD had earlier seized water pumping sets and other items, but in the absence of a barricade, the well continued to pose a threat.

Incidentally, Shaba Desai as president of Sociedade Agrícola dos Gauncares de Cuncolim e Veroda had written to the collector on March 21, 2024 and Aviraj Desai, who complained about the illegal well, had also written to the collector on April 4, 2024 about the threat posed by this open well.

However, the collector ordered the Cuncolim Municipal Council to fill up the well on May 26, 2024, taking cognizance of the report published in O Heraldo.