Team Herald
MARGAO: A clarion call has been sounded urging all Benaulim villagers to attend Sunday’s crucial gram sabha of Cana-Benaulim Village Panchayat.
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“Together, we need to unitedly request the Benaulim Panchayat to support the villagers on the western bypass issue and also provide an update on the Pedda sewerage pipeline,” said the villagers.
It may be recalled that the villagers had urged the panchayat to reschedule the gram sabha to April 24 as they feared that Code of Conduct for the upcoming panchayat elections may be imposed soon, which would block the panchayat from holding gram sabhas at a later date.
The locals have also been insisting that these two issues, of the western bypass and the sewerage pipeline be taken up on priority given their opposition to these projects that they say will harm River Sal.
The locals had prevented the western bypass work at Benaulim from being carried out and had approached the High Court in connection with the opposition to the work of laying a pipeline for the treated sewage water in Benaulim, which will be discharged into River Sal.
Elsewhere in Cavelossim, activist Roy Barretto has also called for a united front to protect River Sal from further contamination.
“River Sal is one of the most polluted rivers in Goa, and is now under threat as the State government is planning to bring one more pipeline from the Colva Sewage Treatment Plant (STP), which will only add to the present problem. Margao’s Khareband has two STPs, both are non-functional and they discharge raw sewage into our river, which is the lifeline of Salcete taluka and is now dying,” said Barreto.
He released a video on this and commented about the dangerous water hyacinth cover at several parts of the river, which needs to be removed to save River Sal.
