The Pargaon-Dungi villages located on the outskirts of the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) site have, for the fifth consecutive year, been flooded following incessant rains in the region.
The villagers blame land filling at the airport site and lament that despite CIDCO’s claims of pre-monsoon measures being taken every year, there is little change on the ground during the monsoon.
The villagers have long been demanding a rehabilitation package on par with the NMIA PAPs. The villages are located around 100m away from the site and hence CIDCO has rejected claims for rehabilitation.
Several protests have been held over the years and the villagers have also threatened to stop the airport work.
Pramod Naik, 40, a resident of the village, said, “Our village is flooded despite barely 2-3 days of rain. Last year, the village drowned. This year, too, we are headed towards the same situation if the rains continue to lash the region.”
The residents claimed that CIDCO had assured to take measures closer to the monsoon, however none of them worked.
Naik said, “This year, they decided to increase the capacity of the holding pond saying it will help accumulate more water and prevent flooding of the region. We opposed it. However, they went ahead with it. That too has not helped the situation. Instead, they should rehabilitate us from the village.”
Machinder Mali, 35, another resident, added, “We never had floods in our area except in 2005. However, ever since the land filling at the airport site started, there has been no respite from floods. We suffer heavy losses every year as water enters our homes and our electronic and other household items are destroyed. Our fields are also destroyed because of the flooding every year.”
CIDCO did not give any statement when contacted. An official requesting anonymity claimed, “We have taken all the necessary pre-monsoon work in the region. Incessant rains, however, result in flooding of the low-lying region.”