Drains through which raw sewage flows into St Inez creek are being covered up

Team Herald

PANJIM: Drains through which raw sewage is flowing into St Inez creek are being covered by the authorities concerned without taking any measures to stop the flow of the sewage.

On Friday afternoon, when the O Heraldo team visited the area, it was found that six labourers were engaged in work undertaken to cover up the drains through which the raw sewage flows into an excavated stench and it further leads to St Inez creek.  

The particular drain and the excavated trench is located close to a sewerage chamber near the St Inez Church. The raw sewage flows into St Inez Creek passing through residential areas, posing a health hazard.

It is pertinent to note that the work to lay a new sewer line is being carried out recently under the Smart City Mission by the government along the St Inez stretch.

The engineer concerned of the Public Works Department (PWD) had stated that the work along the stretch from Tonca Circle up to the St Inez junction is carried out by a Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA) appointed contractor and that the department has nothing to do with it while Vijaykumar Honawad, GSUDA’s Chief Project Officer who also holds the charge as Chief General Manager of Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Ltd (IPSCDL) stated that the damage done to the existing sewer lines while executing the work of laying new sewer lines were repaired by the GSUDA appointed contractor and that anything happening beyond that was PWD’s lookout.

The statement and counter-statement by the officials concerned is not serving the purpose, it is high time that the agency or the department concerned take the onus and immediately carry out the rectification work so as to stop the flow of raw sewage into St Inez creek as the mouth of the creek opens into the Mandovi river.