The Mala Lake in Panjim has emerged as the latest water body to fall prey to contamination and neglect after hundreds of dead fish were found floating in the water in what is one of the few inland water bodies that the capital city can boast of.
The images are stark and almost surely indicate that the water of the lake is polluted most likely with sewage and possibly other contaminants which have caused the mass die-off.
One possible mechanism behind this is that high levels of sewage spur the growth of bacteria that feed on its contents; these bacterial blooms then deplete the water of dissolved oxygen, leading to a high biological oxygen demand.
Beyond a certain limit, the fish cannot survive as oxygen levels are cornered off by the blooming bacteria and end up dying. It is a phenomenon that has been witnessed across water bodies including River Sal, the Mapusa River that runs through Bardez and several other smaller ponds and lakes.
But it serves to highlight exactly how neglected Goa’s water bodies are. Despite tall promises, Goa has no clear mechanism in place to ensure that its water bodies including notified wetlands are protected.
While mechanisms are in place -- albeit not really functioning optimally -- for garbage collection, cleaning of streets, roadsides and other public places, when it comes to water bodies and rivers, everyone pretends that they are perfectly capable of cleaning themselves.
As a result we have rivers, creeks, ponds and lakes choking on plastic and other municipal waste alongside natural and organic waste in the water bodies. One trip to the mangrove forests in and around Panaji should be enough to convince you that this is the case.
Fishermen pulling up tons of plastic instead of fish during the season’s first catch has now become a yearly occurrence. Reports of high coliform levels in the rivers and in the waters along the State’s beaches have persisted for more than two decades, yet the State government still has no action plan to keep the rivers clean.
The pace of completion of sewerage projects is glacially slow and even in areas where it is complete, connections are pending and while the State claims it is open defecation free, the reality is quite far from it.
Mala Lake was once set to be a tourist spot and crucial recreation zone for Ponjekars. But mired in scams, it has remained neglected and left to fend for itself. While limited fishing activity takes place in the water body, the future of such activity is now in question.
It must not be forgotten that it wasn’t too long ago, during the recently concluded session of the Goa Legislative Assembly, that Water Resources Minister Subhash Shirodkar promised to tackle Goa’s deteriorating water bodies, now afflicted by siltation, strangled by invasive seaweed and water hyacinth, and subjected to indiscriminate dumping of waste from markets, gutters, sewage, and the like.
It is high time the State government draws up a comprehensive plan to tackle the pollution of Goa’s water bodies by first addressing the sources of pollution. Be it the River Sal, the Mapusa River, or the many lakes and rivers that need improvement, a plan to finance and maintain water quality is of utmost importance. Let the fish deaths be a wake-up call not just for Mala Lake, but for water bodies across the State.
