MARGAO
May 30, 2000. Former chief minister Francisco Sardinha descended on the banks of River Sal at Sirvodem-Margao to commission the 7.5MLD Margao Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP) on the occasion of Goa Statehood Day.
The STP commissioning promised to put an end to the sewage stink in the commercial capital and stop the flow of sewage effluents polluting the River Sal, the lifeline of Salcete.
Around 23 years later on May 31, 2023, Water Resources Department (WRD) Subhash Shirodkar will descend on the river Sal banks at Khareband on Wednesday to launch the Geo-bag technology at a storm water nallah in a bid to stop sewage effluents from flowing into Sal and contemplating the river.
On the eve of the launching of the geo-bag technology, Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas, who is the main proponent of the technology, has gone to town that the technology will be commissioned on Wednesday noon by the Minister after a lot of running around to make it a reality.
“This is a victory for us. This is something great. This achievement has happened. From here, the river Sal plugging should start. I think the government should take interest”, he said.
Venzy added: “Whatever needs to be done will be done to make sure the river Sal is plugged and is free from contamination by sewage and waste water”.
The Benaulim MLA’s anxiety is understandable given that he has got the government to adopt the Geo-bag technology a la the national capital Delhi, where water bodies are being decontaminated by the technology.
The pilot project, however, has only brought to the fore the debatable question how and why the ambitious sewerage project, launched in the mid-80s is still not implemented till date, more so when the 7.5MLD plant was commissioned around 23 years ago.
The Geo-bag technology project to stop sewage flow from the storm water nallahs into the river Sal at around half-a-dozen sites across Margao and Fatorda area will also bring to fore the question how sewage and waste water is still flowing into Sal from Margao and Fatorda and contaminating the river day in and day out by flouting all environmental norms in force.
The Sirvodem treatment plant complex is now playing host to two state-of-the-art plants, a 20MLD plant and another 6.75MLD plant. Sadly, the commissioning of these two STPs by itself could not bring about a turn around as sewage continues to find its way into the river for the simple reason that the entire commercial capital is still not connected to the sewage plants.
In fact, raw sewage and waste water is flowing into the river Sal at six different points along the river course from Fatorda right up to Khareband in Margao.
A host of inspections carried out by the Goa State Pollution Control Board, Water Resources department, besides the district authorities headed by the district Collector had time and again unearthed the discharge of raw sewage into the river Sal, but problem of raw sewage discharge into the river is far from over.
The river rejuvenation plan unveiled by the government in the wake of National Green Tribunal’s directions has been confined to the papers, thanks to the apathy and indifference of the authorities and the powers that be.
