TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: The St Inez Creek is vital to the city of Panjim and its drainage, since it was intended to carry rainwater from the fields and streets right from Taleigao to Panjim and empty it into the Mandovi. However, the state of the creek, once used for fishing and commuting via small crafts is now in a despicable state.
The St Inez creek has not been desilted or cleaned by the authorities in recent memory. Nor has anyone been penalized for pumping in bath water, constructing toilets over the creek in areas like St Inez, nor anyone fined for dumping garbage or construction debris in it.
In fact, the Vivanta by Taj Hotel was clearing the area in front of the hotel right up to the sewage plant. However, there was a complaint about a net that it had placed across the width to collect leaves and other floating garbage and the Corporation of the City of Panaji instead of backing this initiative asked them to remove the net.
The government has the money to start the work on the creek under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, but there are accusations that this is not being done. Maybe it is the politics between the CCP and the Chief Minister who refuses to releases the money. But ultimately the city will suffer.
The St Inez slums that form vote bank of some corporators throw garbage into the creek and some have even built temporary toilets over the creek. The sewage of the entire St Inez slum flows into the creek. Plastic too is dumped into the creek all along the way. At Campal, the bath water from a hotel flows directly into the creek.
Construction debris too is dumped into the nullah and this has been going on for years. At places the creek is completely blocked due to siltation and there is hardly any follow of water.
However, though successive governments and municipal corporators have come and gone, nobody has done anything and this rancid foul smelling creek continues to get polluted even further, posing both a health hazard and inundation threat.
