Fisheries Dept issues work order to Sulabh International for Rs 1.13 cr; eight bathrooms also proposed; agency seeks six months to complete project, but govt wants it finished in 3 months
Construction material is mobilised by Sulabh International for construction of the 50-seater toilet block at Cutbona fishing jetty.
Photo Credits: Santosh Mirajkar
MARGAO
Over a decade after the Fisheries Department had mulled a 50-seater toilet block at the Cutbona fishing jetty, hopes are raised that the sanitation facility may finally see the light of day in the next six months.
For, the Fisheries Department has issued the work order to Sulabh International to build the toilet block, besides eight bathrooms at the jetty to cater to the growing requirements of the migrant crew workers at the State’s largest fishing hub.
The decade-long delay in putting the toilet block in place, however, is expected to cost the government a bomb. If sources are to be believed, the cost of construction of the toilet block has almost doubled over the last 10 years. If the toilet block was estimated to cost around Rs 60 lakh in the year 2013-14, the government has sanctioned an order to Sulabh to build the toilet block at a whopping cost of Rs 1.13 crore.
A senior Sulabh official told The Goan that the Fisheries Department has issued the work order to start work on the toilet block. “Sulabh has sought six months’ time to complete the project, but the Fisheries Department wants the project to be completed within three months. We have mobilised the material for the construction of the sanitation facility,” the official added.
Environment Minister Aleixo Sequeira said the work order has been issued by the Fisheries Department for the construction of the toilet block after the PWD gave the technical sanction for the estimates.
The Velim panchayat had given the NOC for the 50-seater block around 2013, but the sanitation facility has failed to take shape in the last one decade. The Cutbona fishing jetty is the home for over 200 fishing boats, employing around 4,000 migrant labourers. In the absence of any sanitation facility other than the lone Sulabh toilet block, the migrant workers have been using the adjoining fields and water bodies to answer nature’s call.
STP to treat sewage back to haunt authorities
MARGAO: As Sulabh International is bracing up to build the 50-seater toilet block at the Cutbona fishing jetty, the same old question has come back to haunt the authorities – the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) facility to treat the sewage before the treated water is released in the river Sal.
For the moment, the Fisheries Department has issue the work order for the construction of the 50-seater toilet block, but questions remain unanswered when would the STP take shape at the jetty and whether the STP is feasible at the jetty given the high water table.
When this question was posed to the Environment Minister Aleixo Sequeira, he said the STP is mandatory to treat the sewage generated by the toilet block. “I will find out from the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) whether any proposal is come from the Fisheries for a STP at Cutbona jetty. One thing is clear, that the 50-seater toilet block will require the STP to treat the sewerage, but it is for the authorities to decide how to go about in setting up the STP at Cutbona,” he added.
A Sulabh official said the STP does not come in the scope of work of the 50-seater toilet block. The official, however, hastened to add that the agency would build a septic tank for the toilet block as per the rules in force.
