the goan I network
MARGAO
Saxttikars in general will readily agree that River Sal “ considered Salcete’s lifeline “ rises at Verna and meets the Arabian Sea after meandering through Verna, Nuvem, Margao, Navelim, Telaulim and other villages along the 35-km course.
Don’t be surprised if the River Sal does not find mention in the draft Coastal Zone Management Plan “ especially the course of the river, from the place of its origin at Verna right up to Margao, prepared by the Chennai-based agency.
If the CZMPs have not been displayed at the village panchayats of Verna and Nuvem and at Margao Municipal Council, there’s a reason behind it. The authorities no longer consider the Verna-Margao stretch of Sal as a river under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms.
That’s not all. Even the Kharebandh stretch of the river “ which was once the berthing point for boats importing tiles to the city “ does not find a mention as a river in respect of the CZMP hearing.
This may come as a surprise to many, more so when the Captain of Ports had just three-four years ago had desilted the River Sal stretch from Kharebandh bridge to Navelim on the pretext that this stretch of the river is affected by tidal currents.
Captain of Ports James Braganza says he has no idea why the River Sal from the starting point to Margao does not find a mention in the CRZ. “I have no idea why the authorities do not consider the Sal course from Nuvem to Margao as a river. When the Captain of Ports had carried out desilting of the River Sal around four years ago, we took up the river course from Kharebandh bridge to Telaulim as the stretch came under the tidal currents,” Captain of Ports, James Braganza told The Goan on Thursday.
When The Goan, however, contacted Member Secretary, GCZMA Ravi Jha, IAS to shed light on the fact that the CZMPs are not displayed in the village panchayats of Verna and Nuvem and the Margao Municipal Council for public scrutiny, he said the department has gone by the official notification.
When it was pointed out to him that generations of people from Salcete had believed in the fact that the River Sal rises at Verna and empties in the Arabian Sea at Betul and hence ought to have been mentioned in the CZMP, Jha pointed out that whether a water course is a river or not under the CRZ is considered on the degree of salinity.
Incidentally, the very name “Kharebandh” indicates that it has some association with salinity, sources said, leaving them to wonder about the reasons for decline in the salinity of the river near the Kharebandh bridge. “If the degree of salinity has declined due to man-made factors, the solution lies in addressing the issues rather than blaming on the tidal currents for restricting the course of the river,” sources in the know added.
Sources in the know said there may be ramifications on the ground if the stretch of the river passing through Margao is not considered a river for the purpose of CRZ. Already, an educational institution was accused for obtaining permissions for land filling on the banks of River Sal by showing the river as a nullah.
