The Goan plunged into the Sal to see its state. Its correspondent got into a boat and travelled down the length of the Sal. This is his river report
7:00 am: Set sail in a motorboat from Cavelossim jetty
8.00 am: Circled the island in river Sal at Cavelossim,opposite Hotel Old Anchor. Pipes take water from river Sal to the island usedfor prawn cultivation.
A multiple luxury villas project leaves swimming pool waterdirectly into the river.
Similar pipes from other hotels and resorts are also visiblerunning into the sea.
One shacks, open pipe from the toilet also let into theriver. River milk packets, tetra packs and bottles are found floating in themiddle of the river.
8.30 am: Circle around the huge garbage dump partiallysubmerged into the river. Locals accuse shack owners from Cavelossim and Moborfor the garbage dump along these parts of the banks.
9.00 am: Garbage chokes a tiny distributary at Assolna. Hugeencroachments and illegal retaining walls built by restaurants and hotels alongPassagem, Assolna. Broken toilets, cements blocks and old grills make way intothe river at Cavelossim and Assolna in the form of rejects and constructiondebris.
9.30 am: Huge iron debris noticeable in the river from theongoing construction work of the Assolna-Cavelossim bridge. Foreigners andlocals commuting along the ferry carry garbage in plastic bags and throw it inthe river.
Uprooted poles along the banks make the journey alongCarmona and Chinchinim dangerous with live electric wires running dangerouslylow.
11.15 am: Sealed garbage bags in black seen floating belowthe Orlim-Chinchinim bridge. Locals blame hotels for this menace. Bags areusually thrown from the top of the bridge. Prawn hatcheries around this arearelease water into the river. This water is considered as stagnant water andharmful to the marine life.
11.30 am: At the Navelim-Varca stretch. Large scalepollution from garbage and sewage is noticeable. Traces of oil also seen and isbelieved to be kitchen oil released by hotels in Margao.
12.00 noon: Moregarbage noticed. Thermacol and plastic from packaging units dumped in theriver, float all the way beyond Telaulim and Chinchinim.
12.15 pm: River comes to a major roadblock. The abandonedSinquetim-Benaulim bridge construction blocks the river with huge iron castingsrunning across the river blocking all navigational access.
12.30 pm: Final access to river blocked near Khareband withplants, weeds and lotus growing wild in the river. Foul smell emits from theriver probably of the sewage from the slums at Khareband.
