Canacona flood - few glimpses, few insights

Devidas Gaonkar captured some key moments of the Canacona floods in early October 2009.

This picture is mouth of Talpona river in Talpona. The mouth of river twenty five years ago was 300 meters wide. Curretly due to siltation the mouth of river just 28 meters. The island seen in the picture is actually a silt accumulated over the past two decades...


Goods vehicle on road at Bhatpal - Highway NH 17 - caught in floods...

Houses under floods in Bhatpal. ground floor was affected by flood waters...

Houses destroyed due to floods in Poinguinim. 93 houses collapsed in Canacona taluka due to floods and 2 People died.

This house crushed due to floods at Poinguinim.

Another site of house collapse in Poiguinim. Most of the house collapsed are in Panchayat Jurisdictions of Poinguinim and Loliem.

Bridge washed away in Ponsulemol, Khotigao. Now wooden make shift bridge installed by villagers.

Due to bridges washing away in flood waters villagers have made Bandharas as wooden bridges. This picture is from Ponsulemol, Khotigao.

Talpona River changed its course. Once it was a paddy field in Ponsulemol. Due to this phenomenon people not only lost paddy but also their land - now occupied by river course. Where will the people cultivate paddy in next season. Seeds of crisis are sown here - question of food security for families, for communities.

Some people are yet to gather courage to look at the future. They are still looking at past, what floods brought them...

For the present they are forced to live in huts like this one at Mahalwada, Poinguinim. Reality is real as reflected through the cupboard mirror.




Cleaning up the debris of house collapse in Mahalwada, Poinguinim...

This lady - Baby from Ardhofond - had a brush with death. She and her family - husband and daughter had narrow escape. Just as water entered her house she broke open window and pushed out her bedridden husband along with the daughter out. Then she got out. Few seconds later house collapsed.

One scene of flood water in Babrem, Loliem adjacent to a house.

Temporary human residence in cowshed at Welwada, Poinguinim. Cattle are tied in open.

Reconstruction of houses has began. This particular picture is from Welwada, Poiguinim.

Government official in chair but with a difference: Canacona Mamlatdar Vinayak Volvoikar moved around with people in the middle of floods sometimes risking his life. He rendered all the help possible...

Sebastian Rodrigues