Team Herald
MARGAO: Baina Ramponkar and Fishing Canoe Owners’ Society and Old Cross Fishing Canoe Owners Co-Operative Society have welcomed Supreme Court order dismissing the appeal filed by Mormugao Port Trust’s (MPT) for dredging.
Olencio Simoes, General Secretary of Goenchea Ramponkarancho Ekvott (GRE), said that MPT had illegally and shamelessly started capital dredging to deepen the existing navigation approach channel in Vasco bay to allow larger capsize vessels into port area and for that purpose they had proposed to deepen depth of water to 19.5-19.8 meters from the existing depth of 14.1-14.4 meters over the entire length of 18 km of the approach channel.
“In collusion with corrupt MoEF officials, MPT managed to get an Environmental Clearance (EC) exempting public consultation in complete violation of the provisions of the EIA Notification, 2006. This Clearance was quashed and set aside by National Green Tribunal judgment of September 2, 2016 which was challenged by MPT before the Supreme Court,” he said.
Olencio said that MPT stood exposed completely as “their illegalities of the past several years” have been exposed by the Supreme Court and also by National Green Tribunal.
“We demand that Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar direct MPT to restore our beach by conducting beach nourishment or any other beach restoration methods and bring back the lost glory of Khariwado beach so that we can continue with our traditional fishing business which we have inherited from our forefathers,” Olencio said.
Old Cross Fishing Canoe Owners Co-op Society President Custodio D’Souza said that the length of Khariwado beach is almost 1.10 km but almost 550 meters of that coast has been completely eroded and the remaining beach is also getting eroded due to continuous erosion caused by MPT’s dredging activities.
“Today the breadth of the beach is hardly 35 meters as compared to several years before, when we had more than 400 meters of beach width. Due to continuous and unsustainable dredging done by MPT for the past several years, the sea water is almost touching our houses and we don’t have space even to park our canoes and this has completely affected our traditional business of fishing,” he said.
