AUGUSTO RODRIGUES
ALTINHO/CAMURLIM, PER NEM: Evidence that a senior official of the Captain of Ports (CoP) is facing a Vigilance inquiry over alleged bribery linked to sand extraction has strengthened activists’ belief that the burden of responsi bility for illegal sand mining is shared by officials across several departments, includ ing the police and the CoP. A confidential letter dated May 7, 2026, from the Direc torate of Vigilance, accessed by O Heraldo, indicates that while no disciplinary pro ceedings are currently pending against the official, a matter remains under investigation. According to the letter, an online complaint has been registered against the officer alleging that bribes were collected from sand extractors at the rate of Rs 5,000 per person per canoe. For anti-sand-mining activists, the existence of a complaint against a sen ior CoP officer comes as no surprise. What has en couraged them, however, is the Vigilance Directo rate’s acknowledgement that the matter is under scrutiny, giving hope that their campaign against illegal sand mining may finally gain traction.
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“An internal inquiry is being conducted, and some irregularities have come to light based on statements that have been recorded. The report will be shared with the relevant authorities,” disclosed Captain of Ports Octavio Rodrigues. “I am not in a position to comment further. The law will take its course,” Rod rigues added, declining to elaborate. “Cases are often filed against activists to deter them from lodging complaints. The fact that someone has come forward and filed a complaint against a staff member of the CoP department is noteworthy,” said advocate Viraj Bakre, an anti-sand-mining activist who has filed a contempt petition against the office of the Captain of Ports before the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court. “Money is circulating between different offices because no licences are being issued for sand mining by the Department of Mines. It is not just the staff of the Captain of Ports; the police, talathis, mamlatdars and others are also involved,” alleged Bakre. “We have filed a contempt petition against the Captain of Ports and asked them to remove all unauthorised canoes from the river. We want every unau thorised canoe removed from the riverbanks, and that is not being done,” he claimed. “I have photographs taken on April 27, 2026, from the Camurlim ferry ter minal, complete with GPS coordinates, which clearly indicate the presence of canoes used for sand extraction,” Bakre alleged while sharing the images. A few canoes were seen on both sides of the Camurlim and Tuem ferry termi nals on Monday evening. However, O Heraldo could not independently establish whether they were licensed.
Unlicensed canoes are often associated with illegal sand extraction. “There are canoes used for fishing along the waterfront in Camurlim and Tuem, and not for sand extraction,” said a Marine Inspector attached to the CoP, speaking on condition of anonymity during an inspection on Monday afternoon. “Sand extraction is a regular activity here. Some days only a few canoes are involved, while on others the numbers increase. It is a big business in which everyone profits, while locals who care about our rivers are the ones who suffer. The canoes were taken ashore only a few days ago,” said a resident of Tuem, also on condition of anonymity. While CoP staff deny any involvement in wrongdoing, senior officers insist that robust safeguards are in place to prevent illegal sand extraction. “Our staff is part of the Flying Squad constituted pursuant to orders of the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court. All illegal canoes reported to us have been shredded.
The few canoes you saw could be authorised vessels with no connec tion to sand mining,” the Marine Inspector said. Many in the fishing community believe that some individuals are willing to abandon discipline for financial gain. Balbhim Malvankar, chairman of the Chapora Fishermen Association, said that it is not at all difficult to believe that an official or more are engaged in mak ing a fast buck by joining hands with illegal sand miners.
