MARGAO
As the tarball menace came to haunt Salcete’s coast, local stakeholders expressed concern over the oily substance posing threat to the environment as well as for tourism.
Workers engaged by a local resort were spotted cleaning up the Benaulim beach stretch on Wednesday morning to rid the tarballs. The resort has apparently deployed its workers early morning to ensure the beach is kept clean for the hotel customers to venture out on the beach.
At Cavelossim, village Bio-diversity Management Committee Chairperson Dixon Vaz was seen displaying the tarballs and how the menace could pose danger to the pristine beach belt along the Cavelossim coast. He said the beach belt was dotted with tarballs, posing danger not only for the environment but for tourism as well. “For the past few years we have taken the matter up with higher authorities such as the Environment Ministry, State Bio-diversity and coast guard but still the issue remains unresolved. I inspected the beach this morning and also spoke to the Member Secretary of Goa state Biodiversity Board to seriously take up the matter so that there is no adverse effect on the environment and as well as tourism,” Dixon said.
Cavelossim-based social activist Roy Barretto reminded that the coastline is a highly eco-sensitive area as per the Environment protection Act 1986, where the Coastal Zone Management Authorities (CZMAs) in every coastal state should and must regulate and implement stringent rules under CRZ Notification 1991, 2011 and 2019.
Terming the tarball menace an environmental disaster, Roy said tarball menace can be avoided by regularly checking log books of shipping tankers, which are importing crude oil to India from the Gulf countries. “They are responsible for tarballs as they carry out washing of their oil tanks before they could take another consignment from India for export. Ship wash needs to be regulated as per CRZ-IV. I have seen these tankers discharging crude oil into the ocean while I was fishing out in the sea,” he said.
Traditional fishermen Pele Fernandes said, “The new Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte and the Tourism Director, besides other concerned authorities, should discuss and deliberate on the issue to put an end to the discharge of oil in the sea. “The tarballs also affect the traditional fishermen as well. We cannot even walk on the shore if there’s a huge deposit of the oily substance on the beach,” he added.
