MARGAO
On the eve of World Environment Day, the Sewerage & Infrastructure Development Corporation of Goa is still struggling to plug the rampant discharge of sewage water into the river Sal, the lifeline of Salcete.
Major stormwater nullahs still carry the sewage water into the river Sal at a number of points, indicating that the Sewerage Corporation and the PWD are still struggling with the task to channelise the sewage waters into the two state-of-the-art STP plants at Sirvodem-Margao.
As a temporary measure to stop the sewage flow into the river Sal at two points -- at the Comba ring road and at Khareband, the Sewerage Corporation has initiated work to collect the sewage water at one place and channelise the same into the nearest sewage chamber, before the water gets treated at the Sirvodem plant.
Work to plug the sewage flowing into the river Sal through the stinking storm water nullah at the Comba ring road is underway, with officials saying it may take some days before a pipeline, connecting a broken chamber to the new trunk line, stops the sewage flow into the nullah.
At Khareband, residents of River Sal estate were surprised to see a sewage line being brought on the banks of the river Sal earlier this week. Inquiries by The Goan have only revealed that the Sewerage Corporation now plans to collect the sewage water of the Khareband stormwater nullah and channelise the water through the pipeline to the nearest sewage chamber, before the water flows into the STP.
An official, however, said it would take some time before the sewage water carried by the Khareband nullah is plugged, indicating that the stormwater nullahs will continue to act as sewage water channels in the commercial capital.
