24 Nov 2022  |   06:21am IST

Delhi Jal Board consultant inspects blackened River Sal, claims ‘de-centralised treatment’ could help clean river in 90 days

Delhi Jal Board consultant inspects blackened River Sal, claims ‘de-centralised treatment’ could help clean river in 90 days

Team Herald


MARGAO: Even as the Goa government is yet to draw up an action plan to clean the contaminated River Sal, a consultant for the Delhi Jal Board on Wednesday visited the Kharebhand stretch of the river and said it could be cleaned very easily, using a sustainable and relatively cost-effective technique called de-centralised treatment.

Ankit Srivastava, an expert in Hydraulics and Water Bodies discussed the cleaning of the blackened river with Benaulim MLA Venzy Viegas at Khareband, and told reporters that new technology, which complies 

with National Green Tribunal norms, can be used to 

remove the sludge and 

treat the contaminated 

river water.

He claimed that they have executed such river-cleaning projects at nearly 35 sites in Delhi, and at other places, and those lakes are much bigger than River Sal in Goa.

“I think the pollution of River Sal can be treated very easily, in around 80 to 90 days, as the right technology exists,” said Srivastava.

Pointing out that de-centralised treatment does not require too much infrastructure or investment; he said it was suitable for an eco-sensitive area like Goa, where it is best to avoid excessive construction parallel to rivers, as would be required for a conventional STP. The method involves setting up small-scale, energy-effective and tech-forward water treatment systems at the site of demand and supply.

Srivastava added that he was a technical consultant who could provide the solutions, but the cleaning project will have to be 

executed by the government of Goa, or agencies it appoints. 

IDhar UDHAR

Idhar Udhar