Velsao and the coastal belt of Mormugao taluka has witnessed enormous destruction due to rough weather conditions and rise in the sea level.The fishermen along the Velsao coastal belt have been warned to keep away from their houses which are located near the shore in order to avoid any casualties. The fishermen have also been warned by the district administration not to venture into the sea for fishing activities. On Monday night the fishermen along the coastal belt of Velsao noticed the destruction of the Velsao promenade which was constructed by late Matanhy Saldanha. The fury of the sea was so strong that a number of coconut trees were uprooted resulting in a drastic change to the coastline.
A shack named ‘Anoshka’ owned by Tony D’Souza at Velsao beach was damaged due to the rise in sea level. A number of plantations along the beach and other beaches in Mormugao taluka were affected due to the rise in sea level. A life guard station located at Velsao beach is also lying in a precarious condition due to the rough weather condition.
The Minister for Forest and Environment inspected the Velsao beach along with district collector South Venancio Furtado, deputy collector and sub-divisional magistrate Mormugao Gaurish Shankhwalkar, water resource department junior engineer Rameshwar Sawant, electricity department executive engineer Sunil Wadekar, former Sarpanch of Velsao Pale Issorcim village panchayat Fatima Pereira and others.
Environment Minister Alina Saldanha said, “As the rain fury would continue till the end of the monsoon, I have directed the concerned department and also the district collector South to lay concrete slabs towards the affected portion of the beach. I have also suggested to the district South administration to construct a retaining wall for the fishermen residing along the beach belt.”
The district collector South Venancio Furtado said, “I have warned the fishermen not to venture into the sea due to the prevailing rough weather conditions.”
The former sarpanch of Velsao Pale Issorcim village panchayat Fatima Pereira told this daily that it is for the first time that the Velsao villagers and fishermen have witnessed the severe devastation of the beach.The former sarpanch of Velsao Pale Issorcim village panchayat Fatima Pereira told this daily that it is for the first time that the Velsao villagers and fishermen have witnessed the severe devastation of the beach.
