MARGAO
Salcete coastline has come under strain with the coast battered by huge waves over the last few days as incessant rains and rising water triggering to sea erosion this monsoon.
Right from Mobor-Cavelossim to Benaulim and beyond, Salcete’s coastline has been badly battered by waves and sea incursions resulting in erosion. While many may term the sea erosion along the coastal belt as nothing new, locals fear the worst if the authorities, including the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) and environmental experts, do not step in to find a scientific solution before it is too late.
Mobor-Cavelossim
Battered and bruised in the last monsoons, nature’s fury has not spared the Mobor-Cavelossim beach belt this year too – considered the hub of starred resorts in down South Goa.
It’s another matter that none of the authorities, including disaster management, GCZMA or other experts, deemed proper to inspect the Mobor coast after last year’s monsoon when the belt witnessed large-scale erosion.
The story may not be different this year. Already, the Mobor stretch of the beach belt from the river Sal mouth to the starred resort has been affected by sea erosion. Locals feared the worst is not over yet, with the incessant rains and rough sea not subsiding and the annual cyclonic winds yet to hit the coastline.
Chairman of Cavelossim Bio-Diversity Management Committee Roy Barretto said the Mobor-Cavelossim beach stretch has been hit by sea erosion this year too. “We had a very bad monsoon last year when a significant portion of the beach was eroded due to sea erosion. So far, we have come across erosion of the beach belt once again. We will have to wait and watch how the situation unfolds in the coming days,” Roy said.
What has left Roy and other villagers agitated is the failure of any response from the authorities to stop the annual sea incursion. He has feared that the day will not be far away when a portion of the beach around the river Sal mouth may be submerged underwater if measures on scientific lines are not adopted to protect the coast from destruction.
“Last year, the panchayat as well as the villagers petitioned the government for its intervention to save the Cavelossim-Mobor beach from further destruction. There was no response from any of the State agencies. We have been told that officials of a central agency had descended on the beach for an inspection, but we have no idea whether any report has been prepared to save the Mobor-Cavelossim beach from further erosion,” he said.
Roy added: "Southern states such as Kerala are believed to have adopted measures to protect erosion of the coast by rising seawater. The State government or the Centre could explore the possibility of conducting a study to find out whether similar measures could be adopted at Mobor-Cavelossim”.
Sarpanch Dixon Vaz informed that he had addressed letters to a host of authorities after last year’s monsoons when the Mobor stretch of the Cavelossim beach was hit by erosion. The sarpanch had even submitted a memorandum to the Union Minister for Environment and Climate Change during his visit to Goa, but in vain.
"We had knocked on the doors of the authorities to come and inspect the beach belt hit by erosion. The Mobor stretch of Cavelossim, close to the river Sal mouth, where the river meets the Arabian Sea, is an eco-sensitive zone. The authorities need to protect the narrow strip of land between the river on one side and the Arabian Sea on the other,” Dixon said.
He added: “At least the construction of the breakwater system at the river Sal would have helped contain the damage caused by sea erosion. But, the project has been hanging fire for reasons best known to the fisheries department.”
Benaulim
A visit to the Benaulim beach, which is declared Asia’s third most beautiful beach, revealed that waves have battered a significant stretch of the coastal belt during the monsoon fury. At one or two places, one could find a protective wall giving way after being battered by the waves.
Debris of sandbags and other materials used to protect the shore from the rampaging sea could be seen strewn on the beach.
That the beach belt was hit by huge waves is evident by the fact that a good portion of the beach has been found eroded.
With monsoon fury at its peak, locals did not rule out the possibility of further damage to the coastline in the coming days. A resident pointed out that the annual cyclones have still not taken place, adding that the beach had in the past bore the brunt of rising sea water during the rough seas.
With no reply on demand for land, fishermen anchor boats near shore
MARGAO
Left with no option, most of the traditional fishermen have anchored their fishing boats close to the shore as the Fisheries Department failed to respond to their plea to allot a sizeable portion of the defunct Benaulim prawn hatchery land to anchor their vessels during monsoon.
The traditional fishermen have been asking for a parcel of land inside the sprawling land admeasuring 50,000 square metres, which once housed the now defunct hatchery.
In the absence of a dedicated anchoring site, traditional fishermen have been left with no option either to anchor their fishing vessels close to the shore or tow them to their place of residence for safety.
Traditional fisherman Pele Fernandes said the traditional fishing vessels, mostly canoes, run the risk of being washed into the sea during cyclonic weather: “That’s the reason why the fishermen had been repeatedly asking the Fisheries department to allow us to anchor our fishing boats inside the prawn hatchery, but in vain.”
He added: “It is a sheer irony that when the defunct Benaulim prawn hatchery is playing host to 50,000 square metres of land, the traditional fishermen are forced to anchor their vessels on the shore, facing the risk of being washed away into the sea.”
While the Fisheries Department has floated an Expression of Interest inviting private players to set up a shrimp and fin fish hatchery on Public Private Partnership model, Pele said the traditional fishermen will continue their efforts till the government allots a parcel of the hatchery land for the fishermen to facilitate their fishing activities.
