the goan I network
VASCO
The dry dock at the Western India Shipyard Limited (WISL) at the Mormugao port, which had tilted on Tuesday, partially sank on Wednesday, confirming fears of concerned workers of WISL.
On Tuesday, the workers had claimed that warnings to the MPT, Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) and company officials had failed to yield the desired results and with the dry dock listing towards the western side, they had feared that it would sink and have serious environmental consequences. “On Wednesday morning, the ropes tied to the dock and the yard snapped due to some strong sea currents and the dry dock partially sank,” said WISL union vice president Alex Pacheco.
“At about 7 am, we got a call from our security guard stating that the dock had partially sunk and was clinging on to a rope tied to the dock and the yard on the Eastern side.”
“We rushed to the yard and saw that the dock had partially sunk and was resting on two mooring dolphins. If authorities concerned fail to come out with some solution, the rope securing the dry dock could snap and the dock will sink further. This will lead to a state disaster as there is tonnes of sludge oil stored in the tanks of the dock.”
“If the dock develops any cracks, the sludge oil will spill into the sea and it will not only affect Vasco bay, but the Arabian sea as well,” Pacheco added.
On receiving news from the Indian Coast Guard, a GSPCB team rushed to the site and assessed the situation, but declined to comment on measures to be taken in case of an oil leakage.
South Goa Additional Collector Johnson Fernandes along with Mormugao Mamlatdar Satish Prabhu also visited WISL and took stock of the situation. Officials from the MPT also visited the site.
Another WISL union leader, Devendra Shetye, said the union had petitioned MPT, GSPCB and other authorities, including the management, about the precarious condition of the dry dock and had even mentioned about the problem to Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar. “But, no one gave any serious thought to the disaster in waiting and on Wednesday morning our fears came true.” “Recently, we met Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and brought this and the issue of our salary to his notice. He had promised to work out a solution to tackle these issues. However, 15 days have already passed and Parrikar failed to live up to his assurance,” said Shetye.
Shetye appealed to Parrikar to visit the WISL dock to take stock of the situation and help the workers get their salaries from the management, which has been pending for several months.
MPT steps in to contain damage, files FIR against WISL
VASCO: As Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) officials initiated efforts to lift the partially sunken dry dock at the WISL, port officials also filed a police complaint against the WISL management for acts of negligence.
When contacted, MPT Chief Mechanical Engineer A Ganesan said the MPT deputy chairman and he had had inspected the site and had directed their team to lay booms all around the dock, to contain any spillage of sludge oil.
Asked if the MPT was in possession of any letter from the WISL union regarding fears over the sinking of the dry dock, Ganesan replied: “We have forwarded the letter to the South Goa collector and has urged him to initiate action under disaster management against the company management.”
“We also filed an FIR at the Mormugao police station against the WISL management and have requested the police to conduct an investigation into the negligence of the company.”
To another query on steps to be initiated by MPT to secure the dry dock from further sinking, Ganesan said one team would be monitoring the spillage of the sludge oil, while another team would keep a close watch on the dock.
“We will try and pump out the water filled in the dock and if it is not possible, we will fill the Eastern side of the dock with water and stabilize it,” said Ganesan.
When contacted, the Mormugao Deputy Collector’s office staff was asked if they were in possession of any letter from the South Goa Collector to initiate action against the WISL management under disaster management. Officials confirmed that no such letter had been sent to their office from the South Goa collector.
When South Goa Additional Collector Johnson Fernandes was asked if he would initiate action against the WISL management based on the letter by MPT, he replied: “I will place all evidence before the South Goa collector and accordingly, necessary steps will be taken.”
