Team Herald
MARGAO: Aam Aadmi Party volunteers gathered at the old slaughter house called “Vakari” on the Benaulim Varca road at 6.30 am on the World Environment Day to highlight the pathetic condition of the once pristine waters of River Sal that has now turned into a big gutter only emitting bad odour.
The river is fully covered with weeds, plastic and even sewage that has totally changed the complexion of the river where, in the not so distant past, people used to bathe during the monsoons, recalled AAP Goa convener Elvis Gomes.
AAP volunteers also bombed the open spaces along the river bank with “seed bombs” where seeds of various plants were coated with mud to create balls that were thrown in the open spaces hoping that the monsoons will germinate them.
Lamenting that successive governments have destroyed the environment of Goa for the interest of the corporate they support, Gomes said that AAP is the only party concerned about Goa’s environment.
“River Sal today smells like the Mithi River that runs between Bandra and Mahim in Mumbai and degradation of Sal is a reflection of the quality of governance Goa has had where consciousness of environment is negligible,” he said.
Sidharth Karapurkar, Solon Furtado and other party leaders also addressed the volunteers and vowed to continue the fight for environment.
