MARGAO: In Colva, there was a commotion late Thursday when locals caught a contractor managing a Tourism Department-owned toilet block with changing rooms allegedly discharging raw sewage into the Colva creek.
Colva Sarpanch Suzie Fernandes rallied behind the villagers, demanding the immediate closure of the beach-adjacent toilet block and legal action against those responsible for the sewage discharge.
The odour of sewage pervaded the iconic beach and surrounding area Thursday evening, prompting locals to realise that septic waste from the toilet block was being discharged into the creek.
After a Colva panch member, who operates a beach shack, discovered sewage being released into the creek from the Tourism Department-owned toilet block, Suzie Fernandes and other concerned locals gathered at the site demanding action.
The Sarpanch asserted that while villagers had no issue with the beach’s changing room setup, the toilet block should be closed for violating regulations. She expressed suspicions about sewage disposal practices, now confirmed by catching the contractor in the act.
Fernandes, accompanied by panch members and villagers, went to the Colva police station to file a complaint and demand legal action against the contractor.
Panch member Domingo Rodrigues questioned the disparity in treatment, noting the Tourism
Department’s expectation for shack owners to manage sewage while overlooking the contractor’s responsibility. He demanded prompt action to address the ongoing sewage problem.
Local restaurant owner Mathew Diniz highlighted the government-owned toilet block as the source of contamination, urging its immediate closure while keeping the changing room accessible. He added that due to the toilet block issue, blame has unnecessarily and wrongly been put on the Colva restaurants.
Carmo Rodrigues expressed astonishment at the Goa State Pollution Control Board’s approval for the beachfront toilet block, urging swift government action to shut it down and mitigate environmental damage.
