Goa shifts Rs 228 crore Mirabag water project to Panchawadi

The Goa Cabinet has approved shifting a proposed barrage and 50 MLD raw-water pumping station from Mirabag to Panchawadi in South Goa as part of a Rs 228 crore project intended to ensure a dependable supply of raw water to the Panchawadi drinking-water treatment plant.

The decision was taken on Saturday, October 10. The revised arrangement involves changing the location of the proposed infrastructure from Mirabag in Sanvordem to Panchawadi in the Shiroda area.

The Cabinet has also approved a 50 MLD raw-water pumping station near the Selaulim dam along the Selaulim irrigation project canal. The facility is intended to draw water from the reservoir and augment the minor irrigation tank at Panchawadi, reported The Times of India.

The project’s gravity and rising-main alignments, designs and drawings will be modified to accommodate the change. Pipelines are planned along the irrigation canal within acquired land and along a Public Works Department road.

The revised plan also involves an approximately 170-metre underwater crossing of the Zuari river. The necessary no-objection certificate will have to be obtained from the concerned department before work on that crossing begins.

The Cabinet has approved the use of materials worth around Rs 80.5 crore that were procured for the original project. These include pumps, motors, ductile iron pipes and other associated equipment. Additional materials will be procured as required under the revised alignment.

The original barrage-construction component will be dropped and replaced with the supply, laying and commissioning of 13.8 km of 700 mm-diameter ductile iron pipeline.

The Mirabag proposal had faced opposition from local residents and environmental activists. The revised arrangement changes the location and engineering scope while retaining materials already procured for the project.

The project is intended to provide a dependable raw-water supply to the Panchawadi treatment plant. Its execution will require revised designs, alignment changes and the necessary clearances for the river crossing.