MARGAO
As the international coastal cleanup got off at the 75 beaches across the country, coinciding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday, officials and guests grappled with tar balls washed ashore the world class iconic Colva beach on Saturday.
The tar balls, which were washed on the Colva beach in small quantities, literally invaded a vast tract of the beach, right near the venue on the beach playing host to the International coastal cleanup.
Water Resources Department (WRD) Minister Subhash Shirodkar along with GTDC Chairman Ganesh Gaonkar and local Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas along with officials collected the tar balls as part of the beach cleanliness programme.
The WRD Minister sought to find out from the Coast Guard officials over the incidence of tar balls occupying a vast track of the Colva beach and an official replied saying that there is no incident of any collision of ships or oil spillage reported along the coast.
Minister Shirodkar, however, said that he would request the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) to make a study of the incidence of tar balls that has been affecting the Goan beach belt over the years. The Minister has called for putting a mechanism in place to avert such incidents, saying this does not augur well for the environment as well as for tourism.
“We can understand that the oil is discharged around 1,000 kms away and is washed ashore here. But, we should set up a mechanism wherein no ships are allowed to discharge oil in the sea close to the coast,” he warned.
Even as the WRD Minister along with GTDC Chairman Ganesh Gaonkar, Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas, Colva Sarpanch Suzie Fernandes, panch member Domingo Rodrigues and officials of the Coast Guard, tourism, besides school students participated in the international coastal clean up campaign, workers employed by the Tourism department were involved in cleaning the beach of the oily substance.
Shirodkar, Gaonkar and Viegas also joined the workers after collecting the trash and litter from the beach belt along with the student.
