MARGAO
Demanding criminal action against those responsible for digging the illegal borewells in the Cuncolim Industrial Estate, the United Goans Democratic Party (UGDP) has said that proper, regular inspections must be carried out by WRD with surprise monitoring as one cannot play with the health and lives of human beings.
UGDP President Dr Jorson Fernandes has demanded the shutting down of the fish meal processing units at Cuncolim till they take proper, corrective and preventive measures.
While saying that the Water Resources Department penalized two industrial units at the Cuncolim Industrial Estate imposing fines totalling Rs 45,000 for illegal bore wells, and also directed the closure of bore wells by some units, he said laboratory findings point out to the serious health hazard as the groundwater was found to be polluted and unfit for consumption.
“The physicochemical parameters of water samples from bore wells from Cuncolim Industrial Estate, South Goa received on 20-11-2020 have shown the presence of total coliforms, faecal coliforms and E-coli, thus making the groundwater unfit for human consumption. One shudders to imagine the after-effects leading to serious diseases, thus endangering precious human lives,” he said.
Dr Jorson said the problem leading to very serious, unimaginable health hazards cannot be just resolved by imposing simple fines. “Prompt corrective as well as
punitive measures need to be undertaken as the authorities have failed to carry out the checks during the regular inspections.”
