MARGAO
With the decision at a crucial meeting on river Sal to keep the project on hold for a week till the stakeholders are taken into confidence, the scene now shifts from the state Secretariat back to the river Sal “ the epicenter of the ongoing agitation against the river desilting.
As promised at the meeting, officials of the Captain of Ports visited Assolna with copies of documents pertaining to the river desilting before handing it over to the members of the fishermen community, which had expressed its reservation to the river Sal desilting project.
The fishermen community under the banner of AVCB Traditional Fishermen Association is now expected to scan the documents, raise their queries and concerns and invite officials of the Captain of Ports to address the issues.
In the meantime, the contractor, Vaibhavi Dredgers is also expected to start the work of physically marking the areas that is proposed to be dredged in the river Sal from the Telaulim-Varca bridge to a distance of six kilometers downstream.
‘We have received copies of the relevant documents from the officials of Captain of Ports in respect of the river Sal desilting. Members of the fishing community will sit and scan the documents and study the proposals”, informed former Ambelim Sarpanch Cruz Silva.
He pointed out that the traditional fishermen has called for a physical inspection of the areas to be dredged in the second phase of the dredging activity. “After the study followed by discussions, we will hold a joint inspection of the river to ascertain the ground reality before taking any decision”, he said.
Cruz pointed out that the fishermen community had during the preparation of the Coastal Zone plan had identified the fishing zones in the river Sal, including the marine habitat of the various species of fish, including shell fish and their breeding grounds, right from the Orlim bridge to the river course right up to the river mouth in Betul.
“Let the Captain of Ports Officials and the contractor show us the places that would be taken up for dredging. Accordingly, the traditional fishermen will give its opinion”, he added.
That the crucial meeting in the Secretariat called by Ports Minister Michael Lobo was attended by Velim MLA and Fisheries Minister Felipe Neri Rodrigues, Velim Sarpanch, Savio D’Silva, Ambelim Sarpanch Dennica Corriea, Assolna Sarpanch Xavier Almeida, Chinchinim deputy Sarpanch Valentino Barretto, besides Panchayat members and the heads of the bio-diversity committees of these villages, only indicates that the MLA and the panchayat bodies have come out to express their solidarity with the traditional stakeholders.
Dredging a must, won't
harm the river: Minister
PANAJI: Insisting on dredging of River Sal as a must, Minister for Ports Michael Lobo on Monday tried to pacify aggrieved traditional fishing community that desilting or dredging work of River Sal will be done by taking into consideration of all views of the fishing community.
Lobo however said that dredging will not harm the river banks and it is necessary for the flow of water as the river has been silted.
He said that EIA report will be placed before the fishermen and also contractors will do the work taking the fishermen into confidence.
The Ports Minister said that right from Nuvem till Navelim, 6 kms of desilting work has already been completed.
Filip Neri Rodrigues accepted that the government had not taken fishermen into confidence.
"I have fishing community in my constituency. The government has not taken into consideration the fishing community which is one of the biggest stakeholders", he said.
