The worst fears of sewage water finding its way into the River Sal, notwithstanding the ongoing de-silting work, has come true. Inspection of the desilted river course from Navelim towards Khareband revealed the worst scenario, as the stinking sewage water welcomed a boat carrying Fisheries Minister, Avertano Furtado and city-based journalists in the river on Wednesday.
Thick black-coloured water emanated a foul odour greeted the team, as the boat headed towards Khareband bridge. The unbearable stink made the team to beat a quick retreat and return to Sinquetim, thus indicating that the sources of sewage pollution still remain unplugged till date.
In fact, the team saw for themselves that a couple of points were discharging sewage water along the river course. Comparatively, the problem has been more acute along the Sinquetim-Khareband course of the river - the stretch housing the Sirvodem sewage treatment plant and the storm water nullahs - than along the Sinquetim-Telaulim stretch.
The Fisheries Minister told the media that he would get all the sources that are discharging sewage water into the river plugged after the completion of the ongoing work.
“People will have to bear with the situation for some more days before the stink disappears after the commissioning of the sewage treatment plants. After the removal of sludge from Khareband post the desilting work, the water has turned dirty and has flowed towards Varca area, thus emanating a foul odour. But, I am confident that the stink will disappear after the commissioning of the two STPs,” Avertano said.
Saying that the River Sal desilting work is his dream project, Avertano clarified that the desilting work is not restricted to Navelim, rather the entire river will be taken up for desilting in phases.
“The river was neglected over the years, but I have taken the initiative to restore the same to its pristine glory. We have plugged the sewage discharge point near Kudchadkar hospital. The old market and the Sirvodem points will be plugged soon,” he reassured, while making a fervent plea to those raising questions on the desilting project to support and cooperate with the work.
“What we need is encouragement from the people and not dharnas. Let us all work together to restore River Sal. We will welcome any suggestions in that direction,” he added.
****
Avertano moots backwater tourism in River Sal
Fisheries Minister, Avertano Furtado has said that the Centre has promised to take up the beautification and desilting of River Sal at a whopping cost of Rs 200 crore, even as he has suggested introduction of backwater tourism in River Sal, a la Kerala, and making use of the water channel for transportation.
“When I was taken by Union Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar, to meet Union Surface Transport Minister, Nitin Gadkari, the latter promised to sanction Rs 200 crore for the beautification and restoration of River Sal. In fact, Gadkari had told me to identify certain points along the 36-km course of the river for beautification. The funds may come anytime from the Centre,” he said.
On the proposal to start backwater tourism in River Sal, Avertano said he and the team of MLAs, led by Deputy Chief Minister, Francis D’Souza, were impressed by backwater tourism in Kerala.
“Once the river is decontaminated, it can be used for backwater tourism,” he said, adding that the river can be used for water transport from Betul to Mungul-Margao.
****
Activists reiterate demand for plugging sewage points
The Save River Sal movement stepped up its campaign in support of its demand to first plug all sources leading to the pollution of the river before executing work on the desilting of the river.
A group of individuals from Margao, Carmona, Fatorda and other parts of Salcete assembled on the banks of the river near the wholesale fish market to underscore the need to desilt the river on scientific lines by plugging all the sewage discharge points before taking up the desilting work. They demanded that instead of taking up the river desilting work in a piecemeal manner, the government should start the work from the starting point at Verna by plugging the sources from where pollution originates.
Convenor of Shadow Council of Margao, Savio Coutinho, pointed out that since the government has proposed to spend Rs 200 crore on the cleanup of River Sal, it’s not clear how the money is sought to be utilised on the work. He also said work on the project is being executed along the Navelim-Telaulim stretch of the river, but hastened to add that the river course up stream between Khareband and Verna remains untouched. To make matters worse, while desilting work is in progress, there’s no stop to the rampant discharge of raw sewage water in the river, Coutinho said.
Carmona-based Serafino Cota clarified that people are not against desilting of the river, saying that the work will invigorate the river. He, however, hastened to add that the pollution sources needs to be plugged on priority basis to check the stink from spreading to the entire river course.
“Desilting will benefit the river only if the pollution is checked by authorities. We would all like see that the once lifeline of Salcete is restored to its pristine glory,” Cota said, while demanding that the government should commission the two sewage treatment plants under construction within 60 days and stop the discharge of raw sewage into the river.
