MARGAO
Taking cognizance of the pathetic state of the Colva creek at the iconic beach, Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas on Saturday got the Water Resources Department (WRD) officials and the contractor to ensure the entire creek is de-weeded and cleaned before the onset of monsoons.
He further said work on replacing the non-functioning lamps at the beach square will be replaced in the next few days to ensure proper illumination at the beach square.
Taking note of the media reports that the Colva creek is hit by pollution despite crores of rupees spent on the beautification, the Benaulim MLA with WRD Assistant Engineer Sainath J and the contractor descended at Colva on Saturday to take stock of the situation.
After coming across the state of affairs of the creek, wherein weeds have resurfaced and the water channel becoming a waste dumping ground, the MLA told the WRD to get the contractor to clean up the entire creek before the onset of monsoons.
“We have put a plan in place wherein the entire stretch of the creek will be cleaned before the onset of monsoons. The situation is indeed bad. The contractor will put a bhandara in the middle of the creek and the water channel will be desilted,” he said, while saying that work on cleaning the creek will kick start from Sunday.
The contractor has been set a time-frame to complete the work within 15 days. The WRD is expected to file a status report of the Colva creek in the High Court which is monitoring the cleaning work.
Underlining the need to promote friendly tourism and launch a mission to protect the environment, the Benaulim MLA said around 38 fixture lights have been non-functioning at the Colva beach square. “The orders for the replacement of the fixture lights have been placed. The same will be replaced by next week,” he added.
While making an appeal to the people to come and participate in the mission to save the creek, Venzy sent a message loud and clear that sewage should not be discharged into the creek.
The contractor Gaurav assured that the creek will be de-weeded before the onset of monsoons, further ensuring that no waste from the creek will go into the sea in the coming monsoons.
