GSPCB staff collecting water samples from the River Sal near the Khareband Bridge after citizens complained of pollution by discharge of raw sewage. Santosh Mirajkar
MARGAO
Even as a team of Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) has once again descended at the Khareband bridge to collect water samples from the river Sal to check pollution, questions have been raised whether the Margao Municipal Council has initiated any action against the unauthorised hutments in the locality contributing to the river pollution.
The GSPCB team has apparently come to collect the water samples after citizens from Benaulim complained of raw sewage discharge in the river, raising a stink near the Khareband bridge.
Even as the GSPCB team told the media that the samples will tested in the laboratory to check the extent of pollution, Cavelossim Sarpanch Dixon Vaz demanded to know whether the Margao Municipal Council has initiated any action in the matter after the inspection held in April last.
Quoting the report filed by the Margao Health department, Vaz said the report has clearly stated that the Health Centre has not issued any NOCs for the unauthorised hutments on the banks of river Sal at Khareband. He said the report has further confirmed that the presence of the hutments has contributed to sanitation issues in the locality.
“We are going to call on the Margao Municipal Chief Officer to find out whether his office has initiated any action against the unauthorised structures and hutments based on the Health centre’s report. Unless the concerned departments initiate action to curb pollution of the river Sal, the inspections will have no meaning and the findings will remain only on paper”, he said.
He added: “Though I am resident of Cavelossim, the raw sewage discharged in the river Sal at Margao has contributed to the pollution of the entire river. Last time around, we had inspected the river at five points. We have not seen any visible action on the ground after the previous inspection”.
