ENVIRONMENTAL ALARM: Suspected illegal dumping and landfilling near the Agharvaddo bridge salt pans draw public ire and prompt calls for urgent action from authorities.
MAPUSA
Raising serious environmental concerns, the Calangute Constituency Forum (CCF) has submitted a formal complaint to various authorities against alleged illegal dumping and landfilling activity in the salt pan and water body area near the Agharvaddo bridge in Calangute.
In a letter addressed to the Member Secretary of the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA), the Goa State Biodiversity Board (GSBB), the Goa State Pollution Control Board and the Calangute Sarpanch, Forum President Premanand Diukar and other members have called for immediate action to stop what they describe as irreversible damage to an ecologically sensitive zone.
The Forum highlighted that salt pans are not wastelands, but vital ecosystems that regulate floods, support biodiversity and sustain traditional livelihoods. The complaint states that the illegal dumping violates Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) guidelines and the Environment Protection Act, 1986.
“Salt pans are vital ecosystems that support birdlife, aquatic species and traditional livelihoods. Dumping debris into these water bodies is a clear violation of environmental norms, CRZ guidelines and may attract penal action,” Diukar said.
“The silence of the authorities and the community is deeply concerning,” the letter read, adding that visible destruction continues unchecked.
The CCF has urged the authorities to inspect the site, identify and penalise the violators, halt further landfilling, restore the damaged area and install warning signage to prevent future violations.
The Forum has also annexed photographic evidence of the ongoing activity and appealed for urgent intervention to protect Calangute’s natural heritage.
