-- Samir Umarye BICHOLIM DEC 31: The devastating floods of 1992 and 2000 returned to haunt residents of Bicholim taluka this
year, when flash floods destroyed property all over the taluka. Bicholim taluka is always considered as flood prone and this was proved true yet again when the people of Bicholim were awaken to see their houses and establishments flooded with water. All the tall claims of the government and the authorities fell flat and just in few hours there was a huge destruction of property in Bicholim and Sattari. This time over the water current was far more than what the 'Bicholkars' had experienced earlier in 1992. The government made an initial estimate of Rs 1.72 crore at its first day and declared compensation of Rs 10,000 to the victims. The day which could be marked with black letters in the history of the taluka came some three months back on September 27. The Bicholim taluka was hit by a severe floods on Thursday night, due to heavy rains, in which property worth lakhs of rupees was damaged and the life was paralyzed. When the water started rising the areas of Keri Sattari were affected much before the Bicholim taluka. The water table on the Keri Dam started rising late in the evening on Thursday. The PWD chief engineer, Sandeep Nadkarni tried to wash his hands off the matter by claiming that the floods were caused not due to the release of dam water but due to heavy rainfall. At about 11 pm the water had almost flooded some of the areas of Keri including Ghoteli, Shiroli and the surrounding villages. Several houses were entirly flooded and due to the last minute flood call people prefered to save themselves rather than their property. In Bicholim the situation was under control till midnight when suddenly the water level started rising. In about an hour due to high tide the entire market area was under water. In Bicholim the worst affected areas included Pilgao, Mulgao, Gaonkarwada, market area, places near the Town centre, Shantadurga High School, sonar peth and other surrounding area. In Sanquelim the areas which were affected include Supachikond, Harvalem, New market and the old market area. Many families had to be rescued by the fire force as the water engulfed several houses at Sanquelim. A truck carrying milk packets was almost submerged under water as the driver was not able to reckon the depth of water near Shantadurgh High school. Many of the electronic items, cloths, furniture from the shops were damaged due to floods. About 15 houses were damaged, roads were submerged breaking taluka's contact with the rest of the world. It was only in the morning that the water table receded and the people had a sigh of relief. The Chief Minister, Digambar Kamat assured a permanent solution to the problem and a committee was appointed with the deputy collector as its head. The state government immediately sanctioned about 64 lakh to 678 flood victims from Bicholim and Sattari. Even today their are many families including the farmers who are yet to be compensated and they have almost given up their hopes. Life may have returned to normalcy in Bicholim, but the people are painfully aware that another flood could strike at any moment leaving them with little time to prepare to face nature's fury.