PANAJI
Urban sewage discharge and the flow of waste water from casinos and restaurants along its banks on either side are the chief sources of contamination and a pollution threat to the Mandovi river in the capital city and further upstream into the Arabian sea, multiple studies including one by the reputed Dona Paula-based CSIR-NIO have said.
With the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) itself flagging the levels of pollution in rivers and coastal (Arabian Sea) waters in its annual report, efforts if any by local authorities and State government departments to stem the flow of urban waste into the river have come under a scanner.
The NIO study released last year had blamed wastewater (sewage) from homes, commercial establishments on the banks of the Mandovi and entertainment vessels (casinos and cruise boats) for contributing to the microplastics in the river's waters.
The study which was subsequently published in a couple of reputed journals was led by NIO's Principal Scientist Dr Mahua Saha and her research team also comprised of a researcher from a Netherlands University.
Panaji's Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP) which treats all of the capital's sewage discharges (after treatment) directly into the river via a pipeline and nullahs.
The St Inez Creek is another source which carries urban waste into the river. The nearly three-kilometer creek with origins in the foothills of Taleigao's Nagalli Hills, flows into Mandovi river at the bridge near the Entertainment Society of Goa (Old GMC). The creek has remained in a state of neglect for decades and the WRD only recently fortified its banks with concrete in certain stretches.
The CCP has in the past acknowledged the direct discharge of waste water and sometimes sewage into the creek by establishments and buildings which have mushroomed on the eastern bank along the creek's course.
Former CCP councillor Patricia Pinto, who has often raised voice over the neglect of the creek laments that the authorities are showing no concern.
"No one is bothered, but some citizens keep raising their voices to seek accountability from the authorities," she said.
A couple of days ago, a night soil tanker was video-filmed by a citizen discharging sewage into the creek at Camrabhat, Pinto said.
Meanwhile, another study done some five years ago had found traces of mercury in the Mandovi river. The study was conducted jointly by the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) at Kharagpur, and NIO.
A heavy metal, mercury can be harmful if consumed by humans, even fatal, and is classified as a neuro-toxin.
The IIT-Kharagpur and NIO study even found traces of mercury in the edible oysters harvested from the river but said that the heavy metal in the oysters was found to be within "permissible limits".
The study however had said that “further investigation is required to identify the source of high concentration of mercury” but there is no evidence if any governmental body has followed up.
