PANAJI: A mud road laid in the middle of the Mapusa river at Tar kicked off a furore among activists and others, as they appeared to be in the dark about the purpose of the reclamation.The mud-dumping activity in the river, flowing east of the small bridge linking Bastora to the town, had commenced a few days ago. By Saturday, the glaringly red embankment through the river stretched out almost 100m.In the absence of any boards with project details, citizens and activists raised a storm on social media, speculating about the nature of the work.But Aldona MLA Glenn Souza Ticlo said that the reclamation was being done for a project to dredge a 440m stretch of the river towards the east at a cost of Rs 42 lakh.“Over the years, the silt has accumulated. After desilting, the depth will be about two metres,” Ticlo said, speaking to STOI on Saturday.The shallowness of the 30m-wide river creates hurdles for immersion of Ganesh idols. “During Ganesh Utsav, the idols have to be immersed in shallow water and idols can be seen at low tide or wash up on the banks,” a resident said.Activists decried the burying of the river without exploring options for dredging activity. “The river (stretch) is fully saturated with mud and it will affect marine life and the ecosystem. This will cause more damage to the river,” said coordinator, Goa Green Brigade , Avertino Miranda.Speculation was also rife that the project was aimed at facilitating the building of a jetty in the area. But Ticlo denied it stating that there was no such proposal and the mud in the river will be totally cleared.“The road is for movement of vehicles to carry the silt, as there is no other access on either side of the river, ” the Aldona MLA said.Residents and politicians had demanded desilting of the river and submitted petitions to the authorities regarding approval for the project, he said, adding that water resources department (WRD) had taken up the proposal. But WRD officials were not available for comment.Andrew D’Souza, a village development committee member of Bastora panchayat, demanded transparency regarding the project. “If it rains heavily during the project schedule, it may cause flooding due to displacement of water,” he said.Ticlo said he expects the project to be completed in a month.

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