SUNDAY, JULY 28, 2024
Team Herald
QUEPEM: The suspected pollution of River Kushawati whose waters had suddenly changed colour yesterday was reportedly due to the collapse of an under construction bridge over the main canal at Karali.
Anjalist Da Costa from Avedem disclosed that the bridge under construction collapsed at 5 am on May 16 due to which the soil kept at the site was dragged into the river thereby changing the water colour.
“Soil was kept at the site to block the flow of water in the canal so that the bridge could be constructed. However, when the under construction bridge collapsed, it pushed the soil which then entered the river,” he said.
He demanded that the government act against the contractor undertaking the work and claimed that there was no supervisor seen at the site since the work commenced some days back.
“Fortunately the accident occurred when there was no work going on as otherwise labourers working there would have probably lost their lives,” said Angelist adding that the accident was due to sheer negligence on the part of the authorities for failure to supervise the work properly.
He also praised the labourers for acting swiftly and preventing the water from entering the fields and road nearby that would have caused flooding and instead letting the water rush into the river.
Joe Fernandes from Zerlabhat, Avedem who had demanded a thorough inquiry into the incident, said there was total lack of accountability led to suspicion amongst the people.
On Sunday, on seeing the change in water colour, there was suspicion that the water was polluted by industrial waste or sewage dumped into it.
However, as it was only soil and construction debris that caused the change in colour, the waters cleared about two kms away as the soil settled on the river bed.
Although it is now established that the river was not polluted by any effluents. Locals demanded that action be taken against the contractor for his negligence in carrying out the work.
