MARGAO
If the authorities have turned a blind eye to the Colva creek, contaminated by release of sewage and dumping of plastic and other waste, the Utorda creek is craving for attention, with foul odour emanating from it for want of upkeep and maintenance.
When The Goan team visited the beach belt on Sunday, it came across foul odour emanating from the creek, while plastic and other waste lay dumped along the creek.
Locals pointed out that there’s no regular maintenance of the creek, with no agency around to lift the waste dumped inside. Local residents also suspected that some unscrupulous establishments may be discharging sewage into the creek, even as they demanded timely maintenance of the creek to cap the foul odour. “When tourists come to see the picturesque beach, the authorities should not ignore the maintenance of the creek. The water body should be kept clean at all times,” remarked a resident.
When The Goan contacted Majorda Sarpanch Moises Vaz to shed light on the maintenance of the creek, he said the water body was cleaned up only around six months ago with the help and assistance of the local starred hotels. “Since the tourism department was not forthcoming to clean up the creek, the hotels were roped in to undertake the clean up operation,” the Sarpanch added.
While promising to inspect the creek, the Sarpanch lamented that the tourism department’s support has not been forthcoming to maintain the cleanliness of the water body.
The Colva creek too had been craving for attention for long now. During his recent visit to the Colva creek, local residents, including Sarpanch Menino Fernandes, hotelier Mathew Diniz and other stakeholders had drawn the attention of WRD Minister Vinoda Paliencar to undertake desilting of the Colva creek and to keep the foul odour at bay.
