WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 2024
Team Herald
CARMONA: Carmona residents have demanded that the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) conduct an immediate inspection of the various sites along the River Sal fearing an ecological disaster due to the destruction of its fragile ecosystem in the name of desilting River Sal.
Speaking to the media, Carmona sarpanch Allwyn Jorge said, “The desilting of River Sal by the Captain of Ports (CoP) seems to be heading for an ecological disaster as the contractor has dumped all the collected silt from the River Sal on to the river banks. The entire silt is being washed back in the river in the rains. Large amount of destruction of mangroves and other variants of the fragile ecosystem along the river can be seen totally destroyed in the name of desilting. Original bundhs have been converted into sand banks with the trees and its vegetation missing.”
“The work seems to be devoid of any supervision from the government departments. The collected silt needs to be shifted to another location since if the silt washes back in the river, the whole purpose of desilting River Sal will be a blunder. It is a classic example when the mother nature claims back what man has taken away in the name of desilting,” said Jorge.
Agreeing with him was the Carmona Villagers Social Welfare Forum (CVSWF) president and Carmona Village Development Committee (VDC) convenor Socorro Miranda. Socorro said, “I do not think the GCZMA has visited the site and inspected the ongoing desilting operations as no supervision has been done by them. Most definitely, they should visit the site and observe the ongoing desilting operations.”
Carmona Villagers Committee (CVC) president Blair Rodrigues said, “Desilting has been undertaken as there’s a lot of silt accumulated in the river resulting in pressure onto the bundhs that break frequently. The river has to be desilted at least one foot depth not a lot. Earlier, after desilting, we would use the desilted mud as manure for the fields and coconut trees.”
