MARGAO
Will Minister for Ports Michael Lobo and Salcete’s lone Minister Filipe Neri Rodrigues manage to calm the storm kicked up over the contentious issue of river Sal dredging?
In fact, as the row over the controversial river dredging plan has refused to die down, all eyes are focused on the crucial meeting called by the Minister for Ports Michael Lobo to discuss the contentious issue on Monday morning, even as the traditional fishermen went into a huddle at Assolna on Sunday evening to discuss the issue and to present a united front before the government.
The stakeholders, including the village sarpanchas, however, are sore that the government and the Captain of Ports did not follow the protocol of inviting them in writing.
The traditional fishermen, who were the first to express their strong reservations over the government’s plan to desilt the river, pointed out that no invite was sent to them in writing. Only the State Bio-diversity Management Committee has sent written invitations to the members of the village bio-diversity committees to attend the meeting in the Secretariat.
The traditional fishermen inhabiting the banks of River Sal under the banner of AVCB Traditional Fishermen on Sunday deliberated on the Captain of Port’s proposal to desilt the river Sal from the Telaulim-Varca bridge to downstream in a distance of six kilometers.
The association headed by Agostinho Furtado had been trying to figure out from the office of Captain of Ports whether the government has drawn up any plans to take up the river de-silting from the Orlim bridge downstream to Betul, which they consider as the breeding ground for rich variety of fish, including shellfish.
Given that the Captain of Ports has planned to carry out dredging of the river to a depth of three metres and width of 12 meters in a length of six kms, the traditional fishermen have contended that the plan is not just for desilting of the river, but capital dredging since the depth at most parts of the stretch has always been much less than three meters, especially along the “bhats” (mudflats) where shellfish and other fish species breed and flourish.
Former Ambelim Sarpanch Cruz Silva, who attended the meeting of the traditional fishermen at Assolna on Sunday, said a delegation of the association will attend the Monday meeting to find out what’s the river Sal desilting all about.
“We have expressed our strong reservations to the river desilting plan, especially if the same extends from the Orlim bridge to Betul. Let the government explain to the stakeholders what is the plan all about,” he said.
Apart from the traditional fishermen, the desilting proposal has come in for strong opposition from the villagers of Chinchinim. The village panchayats of Chinchinim, Assolna, Velim and Varca have objected to the river desilting.
