PANJIM: Even as crores of rupees have been pumped to clean the St Inez creek and with Water Resources Department (WRD) officials claiming that the cleaning work is almost over and likely to be made spic and span by April end, residents allege that it is still dirty, chocked with garbage and stinking.
Speaking to O Heraldo, WRD Executive Engineer Nazareth Vaz said, “The cleaning work is progressing and we are going to deploy four aerators in the creek by the second week of April and will be installed near Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) Tonca. The cleaning is almost done but weeds have grown in some places and we will clear them. Retaining walls have been constructed wherever they were required. My work is almost over by 99 per cent and our target is to finish the work by mid-April 2024.”
The desilting work was given to the Water Resources Department (WRD) in 2021 and the work started in the early 2022. The cost of the project is approximately Rs 37 crore.
For decades, the 3.7 kilometers long St Inez Creek, which opens into River Mandovi and is considered as the lifeline of the capital city, Panjim, has been in dire straits.
The residents have been complaining about the foul smell emanating from the creek as the water had turned black. There were overgrown bushes too and locals claim that sewage water is released in the creek by housing societies at nights.
Krishna Kant Naik, a St Inez resident said, “What is there to comment upon. You yourself can see how dirty the water is. Foul smell emanates from and sewage water is released from societies at nightss and we are helpless.”
“In the month of December, the WRD claimed that the desilting work would be 'completed' by the month of March 2024. Now it is only to be seen whether the creek water is cleaned by April or not,” said Naik.