MARGAO
Sao Jose de Areal witnessed an uproar on Thursday after fish was found dead in a water body, as locals raised serious questions over the pollution of the water bodies and demanding inspection of the scrapyards and the nearby fish canning units.
Officials of the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) rushed to Areal to collect water samples from the water body for examination. Local Velim MLA Cruz Silva also descended in the village after his attention was drawn to fish mortality in the water body.
The MLA later told the media that a similar situation was witnessed in the village last year after the water in the water body had turned black. He has demanded an immediate inspection of the scrapyards and the canning units to find out the source of the pollutants and the mechanism put in place by these units for discharge of their effluents. “When we did an inspection of the water body with the panchayat, we noticed that a couple of scrapyards and a fish canning unit are located near the water body. There is a need to do a thorough inspection of these units to find out the source of pollution,” Cruz demanded.
The MLA assured that he would check with the Areal panchayat whether the scrapyards are operating with licences, adding that he would try and get a team from the Collectorate for inspection of the scrapyards along with the local panchayat body. “We need an inquiry how the effluents are finding its way into the water bodies and the fields,” he asserted.
Social activist Freddy Travasso demanded thorough inspection of the scrapyards and the factories by the concerned agencies to ensure they have put a mechanism in place to treat the effluents. “Our appeal to the factories and units in Areal is to please allow the villagers to live peacefully. Let them do their business, but without dirtying or polluting the village,” he said.
Freddy demanded that the joint inspection of the scrapyards should be conducted with police protection to ensure proper inspection and inquiry into the operation of the units.
